How Has Computer Hacking Interfered Modern Society Essay

How has computer hacking inferred modern society? In this passage I will be talking briefly about the fundamentals of computer hacking from the past to the present. Computer hacking has changed more over time resulting in computer emergences to corporate system shutdowns. This research paper will be talking about three major parts of computer hacking. The first concept of hacking is the origin of creation. The next part will be how hacking has affect on the present-day society. Finally, the last piece of information will be going over the future of system hacking. What is a hack you may ask your self but not have an answer or one word phrase for the term? A hack has always been a kind of shortcut or modification, a way to bypass or rework the standard operation of an object or system. The first computer hackers emerge at MIT. They borrow their name from a term to describe members of a model train group at the school who hack the electric trains, tracks, and switches to make them perform faster and differently. A few of the members transfer their curiosity and rigging skills to the new mainframe computing systems being studied and developed on campus. Hacking groups begin to form. Among the first are Legion of Doom in the United States, and Chaos Computer Club in Germany. The movie â€Å"War Games† introduces the public to hacking. A computer hacker intends to ruin businesses performing an act much more unprincipled than an enthusiastic biologist ‘hacking’ away at work or theory. The truth is that computer hacking is in fact easy in the general sense, but more consideration must be given. Some aspects of hacking are used in everyday life and you may not know that accessing wireless internet from another person’s account is considered wireless hacking even though your borrowing there connection. During the 1970’s, a different kind of hacker appeared: the phreaks or phone hackers. They learned ways to hack the telephonic system and make phone calls for free. Within these group of people, a phreaker became famous because a simple discovery. John Draper, also known as Captain Crunch, found that he could make long distance calls with a whistle. He built a blue box that could do this and the Esquire magazine published an article on how to build them. Fascinated by this discovery, two kids, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, decided to sell these blue boxes, starting a business friendship which resulted in the founding of Apple. By the 1980’s, phreaks started to migrate to computers, and the first Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) appeared. BBS are like the yahoo groups of today, were people posted messages on any kind of topic. The BBS used by hackers specialized in tips on how to break into computers, how to use stolen credit card numbers and share stolen computer passwords. It wasn’t until 1986 that the U. S. government realized the danger that hackers represented to the national security. As a way to counteract this menace, the Congress passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, making computer breaking a crime across the nation. During the 1990’s, when the use of the internet became widespread around the world, hackers multiplied, but it wasn’t until the end of the decade that system’s security became mainstream among the public. Today, we are accustomed to hackers, crackers, viruses, Trojans, worms and all of the techniques we need to follow to combat them. Hackers were classified into three unusual types the first category is called In-house hacker. In-house hacker is an employee who is responsible for operating and maintaining the system, who interacts immediately with the system as a programmer or data entry employee and is aware of all the system security capabilities and gaps. He and should be the guard of the system but for different motivations he hacks the system and gets what he needs betraying all the trust given to him. The second type is called super hacker who doesn’t interact with the system but at the same time monitors the system on daily basis and has an eye on what is going on and what type of data is entered at what time then depending on the entries he decides the moment he should get these information and retrieve them for personal motivations while the third type is called professional hacker and this hacker is very strong and capable of getting any type of data, he has the ability of persuading the user or the operator to provide him with the needed information by programming tricks or user friendly screens and this kind of hackers often gets unique training specially when being used in military tasks as what happened in the cold war. Theses are just brief ways hackers have impacted the modern world we all live in. Within the past year there have been two major cases right in the area. Both involve extensive damage, and both are currently in court. The closest case is that of Thomas Crandall, otherwise known as St. Elmo’s Fire. Crandall is accused of estroying attendance and discipline records in a computer at Central Technical and Vocational Center. Police charge that Crandall used a personal computer at his home to access the computer. He is also accused of doing $25,000 in damage to files at Waste Management Inc. of Oakbrook, Ill. Crandall’s attorney claims that many other students also had access to the computer, and that to single out Crandall in unfair. Hackers are responsible of the huge development in computer and internet technology, but these days we consider them as thieves and intruders who penetrated our own privacy and used the achievements they were behind for their own benefit. Hackers have different opinions and motivations. However, they all share the spirit of challenge and always trying to prove their capabilities of doing what all believe is impossible maybe because they were mistreated, or doubts surrounded their abilities and past achievements. Hackers believe that information should be shared and they fight against information owning. Effects that hacking caused and still causing to the society can’t be ignored. Hacking nowadays is taking new phases and the danger is increasing because we are now living in a society that runs by ICT, and any attack to the ICT especially in advanced countries will cause vital consequences. ICT still lacks a powerful security tools that are capable of tracking, catching hackers, and protecting computer systems from their attacks. My own view is that the best way to protect ICT from hackers is to study their psychology and try to understand their way of thinking, because hackers are human beings, who have two sides; evil and good, and they used to show their good side but suddenly they turned to be evil. The reasons which caused the transformation from good to evil individuals should be studied and given the highest priority in the war against hackers because since we put our hands on the cause, we can fix it to reach for better effects. People can grocery shop, earn degrees, receive bank statements and pay bills from their laptop or PC. The possibilities are endless when it comes to simplifying life with the help of the World Wide Web, but at the same time possibilities are endless hackers to complicate your life with cyber crimes. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hacker as both â€Å"an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer† and â€Å"a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system. † Those three reasons I have stated above were the hackings past present and future. Until technology stops growing the possibility of hackers is limited less.

England During the Reign of Mary Essay

To what extent was England dominated by Spain and the serving of Spanish interests during the reign of Mary? Mary I had widespread popular support throughout England and made a triumphal entry into London once she was made Queen. She was determined to re-impose Catholicism and marry Philip II of Spain, which caused some controversy amongst the public. Philip was Spanish and therefore distrusted, and many in England now had a vested interest in the prosperity of the Protestant church, having received church lands and money after Henry dissolved the monasteries. Marys firm catholic beliefs instilled to her when she was a minor were very strong when she took the throne; however it is questionable how much her marriage alliance with the Spanish Prince affected her policies and decision making, thus allowing Spain to dominate England between 1553-58. At age 37, Mary turned her attention to finding a husband and producing an heir. Her cousin Charles V suggested she marry his only son, Prince Philip of Spain. Philip had a son from a previous marriage, and was heir apparent to vast territories in Continental Europe and the New World. Prince Phillip was Catholic, heir to the Spanish throne and related to Catherine of Aragon, Mary’s mother. Mary wanted to marry him. Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons unsuccessfully petitioned her to consider marrying an Englishman, fearing that England would be relegated to a dependency of the Habsburgs. The Catholic marriage was unpopular with the English; Gardiner and his allies opposed it on the basis of patriotism, while Protestants were motivated by a fear of Catholicism. When Mary insisted on marrying Philip, protests broke out. Thomas Wyatt led a force from Kent to depose Mary in favour of Elizabeth, as part of a wider conspiracy now known as Wyatt’s rebellion. Although the alliance gave way to a relationship with France, it gave Spain a large influence in how the country would be run and Mary’s want for a marriage affected her decision making for England. Gardiner and Paget worked together to limit Philip’s powers in England. Although he was to be given the title of King, he would have no power to appoint Spaniards to English offices, to dictate foreign policy, or to retain any power after Mary’s death. Philip stayed in England for fourteen months. He pursued a role within the English government, but was disliked within the Privy Council. Mary, however, often took advice from outsiders such as Charles V’s ambassador Simon Renard and this tended to reduce the importance of the  Privy Council in policy matters. During this time it became clear that Mary was besotted with Prince Phillip which suggests Spain were becoming increasingly involved in England’s relations. Phillip could influence Mary at any poin t which may have affected her authority as Queen. During Mary’s reign from 1556, Philip tried to overcome the resistance of the Privy Council and involve England in war with France. Philip’s cause was helped by the invasion of Thomas Stafford – a Protestant exile in France. In April 1557, he landed at Scarborough was almost immediately defeated and was executed in May. Once persuaded, Mary sent 7000 troops to assist the French war, who were also Catholic after news they were to depose Mary. Although Henry II of France denied initiating the raid, England declared war on France. The English navy lent Spain important support at sea. Although the troops succeeded in the capture of St. Quentin, the war was regarded as disastrous because in January 1558, England lost Calais; the last English territorial possession in France, held by England since 1347. St. Quentin was handed over to Spain and it became clear there had been no gain for England in supporting Spain which aggravated the Public. However, Mary did not join the War with France until June. It had broken out in January and Mary had originally denied Phillip her help as she saw no threat. It was not until the plot against Mary was established that she got involved in the war, which suggests her marriag e did not dominate her decision in protecting the Monarchy and Catholicism. Moreover, Mary had successfully made improvements to the English Army. She had increased ship building and developed the Militia with the Militia Act which was passed in 1558, the foundation for Elizabeth’s Armies, and national defences were built up. An Arms Act was later introduced in providing weaponry to the Army for any attacks. The English navy was reorganised and re-equipped. The main aim was to help Philip in his war against the French, but the improvements were important in helping Elizabeth to defeat Philip’s own Armada thirty years later. However, In January 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt raised a rebellion in Kent. The rebels marched on London intending to capture Mary and prevent her marrying Philip of Spain. The government discovered the plot, and exiled Courtenay. Wyatt’s plot was strengthened when many of the Government troops led by Thomas Howard deserted to Wyatt. The combined force advanced to Southwark but could go no further because London Bridge was strongly held.  Wyatt and his followers revolted after small fights. About sixty men died in the rebellion and 100 more were executed. The rebellion was a direct cause of Mary’s marriage alliance to Phillip. It had been hugely unpopular and many felt she had allowed Spain to dominate the Country to pursue her want for a Catholic England. Moreover, many believed the marriage led to a decline in the Wool Trade, which increased unemployment and encouraged dislike towards Mary. On the other hand, the marriage treaty was Philip was highly favourable to the English, since it would give the future King of England born to Mary and Philip possession of the Netherlands, even perhaps the whole Spanish Empire. Although Mary was besotted with Philip and her want for an heir, it can be argued her need for a Catholic England and strengthening the English Empire was more important. During her reign, Mary looked to return to a Catholic England, but her Privy Council was divided. William Paget and Mary’s supporters wanted to return to the situation at the death of Henry VIII, a church Catholic in doctrine but independent of Rome. At the cost of her religion, Mary burnt Protestants at the stake, which arguably suggests religion dominates her final decisions throughout her time as queen. Her marriage alliance and the war with France indicate Mary was solely trying to restore Catholicism in England. In conclusion, Mary I was completely in love with Philip II. Her marriage to him allowed the Spain to influence English foreign policy making, in particular the French War which benefitted Spain and cost large amounts of money for England. The public quickly became angry towards the queen because of the unpopular alliance and her want for a Catholic England over the protection of the Empire. Overall, Spain did dominate England in pursing their interests during Mary’s reign as seen by her involvement in the French War which ultimately led to the loss of Calais.

Risk Management (article Critique) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Risk Management (article Critique) - Case Study Example CITS worked towards two different options of achieving the MIS system - procuring a ready to deploy software and in-house development of the MIS software from scratch. After assessment of pros & cons and the cost benefit analysis CITS decided to develop the MIS system in-house. However, this decision caused trouble times due to attrition of key people and lack of specialists. The project was finally completed with the help of final year students and an internal mentor who took the responsibility as part time assignment. The article finally claims that the MIS system was deployed successfully. The fundamental problem in this case study was lack of appropriate Risk Management. The analysis of the two modes of MIS deployment presented on pages 45 & 46 (Rodrigues. and Govinda. 2003. 45-46) is not promising because it doesn't take into account any risk analysis. The decision of developing in-house was taken purely on financial benefits which again may not have considered the enormous hidden costs in the in-house development process. Field & Keller (1998: 117) presented that after the risks are assessed and identified, the actions that can be taken are risk avoidance, risk reduction, risk transference, contingency planning and risk acceptance. The project plan of CITS largely ignored these aspects of risk mitigation and hence faced serious obstructions to the project due to attrition of key people and reluctance of end users in the data entry process. The documentation by CITS doesn't even include the project risk management part of the overall planning (Rodrigues. and Govinda. 2003. 46). Hence, the CITS was greeted with multiple surprises especially due to the people specific issues. The attrition of the system analyst at a time when the decision of developing the MIS in-house was taken recently must have left the CITS with only the high level design documents. At this stage a lecturer was engaged to take the project further who later on utilized his final year students to carry out the coding. The author hereb y argues that it is very unlikely that the low level designs and coding standards were established effectively for the project and hence the students might have used ready to compile codes that are available on the Internet. From the author's perspective, a project managed in this mode might have lived with high risks related to bugs, quality, data security, etc. (although not mentioned specifically in the case study). Hence, the Project Manager might have taken the route of risk acceptance given that he was able to develop & execute a contingency plan that largely worked for him. Comparing with the IS checklist by Cadle & Yeates (2004: 257-261), it appears that many aspects of the checklist were not planned by CITS. For example, the acceptance criteria, developer's skills, architecture aspects, testing methodologies, staffing requirements, etc, were not analyzed effectively in the MIS strategic plan documented by CITS. The entire plan

Essay questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Questions - Essay Example Moreover, instead of telling children not to speak or keep quiet (negative framing), she says â€Å"we are working quietly† supporting her words with gesture. Kids immediately react to her words and become quiet. 2. Positive framing in use is better to observe on examples. The phrase ‘‘We’re not going to have another day like yesterday, are we, Jason?† is absolutely inappropriate because it only motivates the boy to do the bad thing again makes the teacher look weak and suspicious (Lemov). It is better to say â€Å"It is nice to work with you, Jason†. The phrase â€Å"Just a minute, Jane. Absolutely no one is giving you their full attention except Dyonte and Beth.† shows that teacher is irritated with the class. It is better to say â€Å"Your attention is highly appreciated now. We all like when other people listen to us carefully.† ‘‘I need the tapping to stop.’’ is better to substitute with â€Å"Let’s stop writing for a while and have a little quiet break†. Also it is better to say â€Å"Please, sit up straight, Jasmine† instead of ‘‘I’ve asked you twice to stop slouching, Jasmine!’’ to show positive attitude and good

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE - Essay Example The overdependence on electronic technology makes formal writing an aged proposition. The other good point from your response is the influence on the writing process. I agree with your point that the use of electronics greatly influences the critical th8inking process. For example, I would support your argument by adding that the role of search engines destroys the creative process. This means that students depend too much on the Internet that they miss the essentials of creativity. Academic writing requires that an individual get information through the learning process, meaning that an individual should not rely on information from the Internet and such sources. Despite the heavy criticism of electronic tools and their influence on formal writing, I agree with your point that these tools offer a great source of information. Despite the use of the Internet to spoil reading, its advantage in the availing of information cannot be denied. Therefore, I agree that electronic tools are also good for formal writing, even though the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. I take a middle stand in this question, so I would like to ask for your absolute opinion, do you think electronic tools are good or bad for formal

Economics as a instrument of power to curb Pakistan nuclear weapons Term Paper

Economics as a instrument of power to curb Pakistan nuclear weapons buildup - Term Paper Example Economics as a subject is at the centre of world attention, as it is through it that nations could face problems in their societies, ranging from stock market crash, to disasters, to devaluation of the currency or depression, economics involve the use of limited resources, its management and procuring additional resources. It is the method procurement which often runs debates in the local, as well in the international circles. Locally, the government might agree or disagree to views, and internationally rivals may limit the access to strategic resources (Chun, pp 4-5). The following report explores how economics is an element of national power and how has it helped to curb possible terrorist threats from certain third world countries like Pakistan. Pakistan’s nuclear arms build up Pakistan is a developing country situated in Asia, and suffers from many economics problems. It requires billions of dollars in foreign aid to feed its people, impart education to children and to fig ht insurgents, yet it was in the process of building a fourth nuclear reactor to produce more weapon fuel. Experts suggest that even without a reactor it had manufactured fuel for additional weapons and can soon be the world’s fifth largest arsenal, ahead of India and Britain. Threats include a possible takeover by the terrorists or the extremists by toppling the government of Pakistan and that can lead to a disaster. The biggest threat for Pakistan is not India, but rather the Taliban, and this has to be understood. Policies that can stop this mad race for nuclear arms can be taken by the United States by simply stopping all its financial help, but it can lead a whole lot of complications and destabilize Pakistan. What the US realizes is that stopping it is very difficult as countries such as India and China are also involved in the arms build ups, but slowing it down can be of significant help (Pakistan's Nuclear Folly, 2011). How economics can be used as an element of powe r Most people think of national power related to military power, there actually a lot more to it than the use of military power. A strong economy is that which can allow its leaders to choose some appropriate or desired end. Initially the United States had defined what people used to call an economic power. It had led the war against the Axis powers, fed millions of people around the world in aid and supplied materials wherever required. As times have changed and with the advent of Globalization the United States and other countries have to go beyond shores to get what they need. National leaderships can take various economic approaches to address any impending security concerns, by various economic methods. A country can always persuade or use its influence to change certain policies of other countries, such as reducing a trade import policy can make another nation agree to certain terms. A powerful country like the USA could force to change the behavior of any of its adversaries i f they pose any threat to international security. Lastly, a nation can end certain capabilities of the other nation by defeating them in some aim, such as overproducing something which the rival aims to produce to a certain capacity (Chun, pp.8-9). How the US achieves its goals as an economic power Foreign aid is a major component of the US budget and important for

Organizational Behaviour Team Assessment EssayReport Essay

Organizational Behaviour Team Assessment EssayReport - Essay Example Effective teams need to work together and take collective responsibility to complete significant tasks (Campion, Medsker and Higgs, 1993). So teams are formed around a specific purpose. It provides the team a meaningful purpose which decides the direction, momentum and commitment of the team members. This purpose is a vision and broader than specific goals. In my college, I am one of the team members working to shift and rearrange our library. Setting an objectives and purposes motivates members and increase sense of responsibility and ownership over the work and it make the work more interesting to perform. In my team, the main purpose of the team is to shift the library and arrange the books according to subject index, so that it could be available to each student as soon as possible and it's become easier to search the books immediately. We are the team of 15 self motivated enthusiastic students having zeal to perform the job. This self managed work team is capable of performing highly related or interdependent jobs and ready to take many of the responsibilities. Our team is ready to take the planning and scheduling of work, assigning task to members, collective control over the pace of work making operating decision, taking action on problems. Being the fully self managed team, we have the autonomy to select our team members and ev aluate each other performances objectively. Due to these specific characteristics, team leader position within the team decreases and it is almost vanished. We as a team have liberty to express our views and could set our schedules, which has been decided collectively. We have the choice of selecting new members, and disciplines members who creates problems. As a result our response to job assigned to our team has increased and implementation process becomes fast. Once we selected our team members we have different kind of person's having different abilities. In our team we have four members with technical expertise in library sciences. Another four members are from the computer sciences department who are capable of computerizing the library so that book could be found more easily and be issued to students without any problem. Apart from these members of technical expertise our team has 2 members having excellent problems solving skills. These problems solvers and decision makers a ctually been able to identify problems, generates alternatives, evaluates those alternatives and can make competent choices. The remaining 5 members are from management stream in which one member is form supply and logistic management stream. Apart from being in different streams and backgrounds all the members are good listeners as well as are able to provide objective feedbacks and have the ability of conflict resolution; all the members of my team have good interpersonal skills (Stevens and Campion, 1994). But having members with specific skills also require proper mixture of all the qualities. My team has higher mean levels of conscientiousness. The whole team always tries to maintain higher level of conscientiousness because if a single team members who lacks minimal level of say agreeableness, can negatively affect the whole team's performance so we all members of the team always try to motivate each other and try to create an informal atmosphere within the team. We have a job in our hand i.e., to shift the

Competition between Loblaw and Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Competition between Loblaw and Wal-Mart - Essay Example The Executive Chairman of the company is Galen Weston who at the time of the launching of these stores was just five month into the new position. He succeeded his father W. Galen Weston. The Executive Chairman is in a very demanding place at the moment. He not only has to flip the tables for the company but also has to save the family’s reputation. He supporting executives have let him down very badly with awfully wrong recommendations, now he has taken the reins of the organisational strategy in his own hands. He believes that he can turn the fortune of the company around because according to him the company has been through much more difficult times than this and it has always managed to crawl back up. And there is no reason to believe that the company would not do the same now when it faces a similar crisis situation (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley, and Schaefer, 2007). BARRIERS TO ENTRY: Barriers to entry are placed by an existing business of an industry in the industry to disc ourage other interested entrant from entering the industry (Ferguson and Ferguson, 1994). The existing business can discourage a new entrant in a number of ways, for instance its can fabricate certain situations in the industry which would require a new entrant to put up huge capital investment before entering the industry (Leamer, 2009). The existing business can also put up a show of its strong brand equity in the marketplace, which can also discourage a new entrant from entering (Barthwal, 2000). Michael E. Porter (2008), while analysing the competitive environment of an industry identified six entry barriers: 1. Economies of scale: This occurs when unit price of a product decreases when a certain level of production volume is reached by a business (Mankiw, 2009). When existing players in the industry gain this advantage they force the new entrant to either find a competitive production volume or bear the high unit cost. Other similar cost advantages which the existing player wou ld have on his side include: proprietary information, favourable location, experience, excess to raw material, government subsidies and etc (Arnold, 2008). 2. Product Differentiation: Since existing businesses in an industry have an established brand equity and identity, this fact makes it important for new entrant to come up with a different product. In this regard the new entrant has to invest a lot of resources, which can be very discouraging for him (Wessels, 2000). 3. Capital Requirement: This is a requirement which comes up when new entrant wants to enter an industry. They have to commit huge amount of capital to acquire operational status (Johnson & Scholes 2001). 4. Switching Cost: This cost has to deal with customers, who have to bear this cost when they switch to a different provider of the same product. Certain industries have a very high switching cost which makes it important for the new entrant to offer customers some relief or incentives so that the customers find som e motivation to switch (Borodzicz, 2005). 5. Access to Distribution Channels: In an industry the established players have a dominating position when it comes to influencing the members of distribution channels. Through long standing relationship agreements an established business erects a hurdle for a new entrant, who has to

Students Report on Family Values Reduced Essay Example for Free

Students Report on Family Values Reduced Essay Slide 1: Good morning teacher. My name is †¦..I’m come from Viet Nam. I am studying Advance D. My FIN No. is G1139539L. Today I’m going to talk about the decline of family values in society today. Slide 2: Before I start I will show you the outline of my presentation. For the introduction, i will say in general about the decline of family values. After that I will show main points and explain the greed and other reasons which led to family values decrese. Lastly, I will sum up my presentation with summary, prediction and recommendation. Slide 3: Due to globalisation with the growth of materialism, people have high standard of living, the decline of family values become a usual topic these days. Materialism can be defined as a dominating sense of desire to pursue wealth and other tangible things that can provide physical comforts that ignores the importance of spiritual values. Many mourn the loss of joy, the warmth, unity and togetherness in households today. Someone said that this is the period of greed that responsible for this decline but in my opinion, it’s still exist some reasons which make family values decrease. So I will discuss both of it in this presentation. Slide 4: Now moving onto the first part of my presentation which is talk about the impacts of greed to family values include competition within family members, pressure from society to be rich and marriage base on money. Slide 5: Firstly, let me start by an undisputable fact that greed can make intensive competition within family members. For example, we can look at relationship between sibling. Sometimes, second or third children feel inadequate by comparison to a first sibling. They think they work never enough good when compare to their sisters or brothers are exhibit unusual talent. If children are labeled best in a domain, they often do their best to prevent another sibling from encroaching on their domain and gradually become selfish, jealous. Moreover, because of it can make some children have less confident and try to run away from their family. Slide 6: Secondly, I want to mention about pressure from society to be materialistic. To make it clear we can see the characteristics of such materialistic people are greed for money, tendency to become rich quickly even if it involves a lot of risk. It also involves the desire to live in plush houses, wearing highly expensive clothes and jewelry and driving flashy cars. It’s express oneself have high position under look of society and have respect from others. Besides, because of materialism become more popular in society today, the behavior between rich people and poor people also have big diffirence, with this thinking like that, people gradually forget about simple things in a family. Slide 7: In addition, greed in society can led to marriage exist base on money. There is an increase in marital discord and divorces. Nowadays, a lot of people marry for money not for love. That’s why relationship in the family always have conflicts, the greed promotes many other negative feelings as well like lust, selfishness, jealousy, sense of hopelessness. People are forgetting their moral values and often fail to understand the distinction between right choices and the wrong ones. The only thing that matters is good quality life and false comforts. All of this made a family only focus at money and without basic factor to keep a happy family. Slide 8: Now let me turn to the other reasons that are dedication to work, the influence from mass media and social pressure on children to succeed. Slide 9: First of all, dedication to works can become one of the reasons make family values decline. To give an example, busy lives make family member hardly spends time together. Everybody is busy with their own thing. Careers and professions are given priority. Home lives are neglected. Children are lonely and immersed with the computer, T.V. They do not have time to take care of their family even themselves, without discuss problems, holidays together and share difficulties in life. A family without support can not stable. Slide 10: Interestingly, the influence of mass media. With the development of mass media such as: radio, internet, movie, television, newspaper†¦ children who still sensitive are easy to get misconception about family values. Also, now we are living in a open and complex society. Information is get easily with variety of opinions and some of this can take negetive meaning and influence to people surrouding even about family values today. Slide 11: Finally, we look at social pressure on children to succeed. For instance, some parents always put high expectation for their child but they don’t know they are making more stress for children. Pressure to win and be the best. Attending tuition classes. Intense training schedules. In a world of super achievers, children often find themselves at the burnt end of the rope. Parents require their child must to have outstanding results in exam and forget feeling of their child. Some children grow up with lost innocent childhood. Well, that’s all I want to say about reasons whichs led to decline of family values. Slide 12: To sum up, todays lifestyle has changed everything. Many old values are being replaced. Slide 13: Families have never been ideal and flawless nor may they ever be. Ups and downs are part of family lives.spouses should make extra efforts to listen, love and respect each other * INFORMATION: We can still mend our ways and move towards a beautiful world. For this, we have to look for a purpose in our life. Each individual has to make some changes in his outlook. We have to separate ourselves from material world. This will make us happy both with or without the material things that we desire. It will make us feel that if I get that thing its good but if I do not get that its fine with me. Its not very easy for us to get this kind of mental set up but it is not an impossible task too. The rough phase of economy has given us some valuable lessons. That, all the tangible things of the world that we acquire may go some day but still we have the strength within us to survive in tough condition. We are happy that we have not lost ourselves and the support of our family. These things matter more than any other material things of life. We have to give top priority to hard work and not to any shortcut route to achieve success. There is a sense of truth and honesty associated with h ard work which can give us immense satisfaction. We have to increase our knowledge of reality that are non-physical. Lack of knowledge of the non-physical aspects of our life is a major cause of downfall not only of an individual but collectively as a society. Spirituality help us to know our real identity. If we lose our wealth it can be replaced but if we lose our own self then we cannot replace that. The actual solution of the problems, be it economic or otherwise, can be obtained through introspection. We can identify what has caused us face this kind of problem that we are in today. Set yourself free from the material world, recognize the real self that lies within you in dormant condition. In this way you can prevent the influence of materialism from blocking your inner growth. that greed, selfishness and individualism have a negative effect on children families and children need to receive a basic education on the subjects of love and moral responsibility. It is only natural for crime rates to rise and human relations to be impaired in such a society in which affection, compassion and brotherhood are replaced by anger, conflict and feelings of hostility.

Boston beer case Essay Example for Free

Boston beer case Essay Boston Beer Company’s main growth strategy was focused by differentiation. The sources of its competitive advantage can be classified as a company that provides high quality beer with unique flavors, a market driven approach, and a very efficient contract brewing strategy. Unfortunately, by the 1990’s, their initial public offering of $30 went as low as to $8 per share. Since the easy of entry into the microbrewery business is low, that resulted in about 3000 new microbrewers into the market. When there became too many options available for the consumer, Jim Koch should have approached the situation and avoided the risks of the company’s shares from falling, right when they saw stocks going down. He could have also approached having a more aggressive growth approach when the company went IPO. They could have avoided the company from becoming part of the niche market, which is still the case today. If he would have been a little more aggressive when they went IPO, they could have invested money into a brewery where they can meet their demands, not over exuberate the expansion. Also, they could have invested in finding the right marketing campaign like using celebrities or just advertising the beer to capture consumer’s attention. They really needed to create a type of quote or motto people would remember, just like Dos Equis and Coors light. Boston Beer Company has failed to that and for that reason their growth is still at a steady pace where is still not part of the big dogs yet. Since they focus so much on differentiation as their strategy, why couldn’t they capture consumer’s attention quicker and faster? In the 1990’s, Jim Koch should have changed his company from getting into a niche market into a general market, so that today he still does not need to prove or go bar to bar, to ask them to carry their beer. It should be a first option when someone is opening a bar to have Samuel Adams beer because the consumers love it. He failed to do so by not taking advantage in the 1990s and he will still have to do the same beer pitch to bars, because of his mistake.

ATR-FTIR Analysis for Oil Type Identification

ATR-FTIR Analysis for Oil Type Identification Abstract Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis could greatly help in the identification of oil. By mere inspection of the IR spectra, saturated oils can be easily distinguished from coconut oils. Identification of oils can be enhance by the use of chemometrical techniques such Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Using this technique, subtle differences in the spectra can be used to classify vegetable oils. This study have shown that ATR-FTIR together with PCA can be used to differentiate unsaturated oils from saturated oil and discriminate virgin coconut oil (VCO) from ordinary refined, bleached and deodorized coconut oil (CCO). Introduction Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has a potential to be one of the Philippines’ high-value export products. In the first half of 2005 alone about 350 metric tons of VCO were shipped to foreign markets. Virgin coconut oil is a minimally process or a cold press oil obtained by mechanical means (Philippine National Standard for Virgin Coconut Oil 2005) such as crushing pressing and centrifugation. These procedures result in the retention of the natural flavor and minor components of the oil, which can otherwise be destroyed by chemical process such as refining, deodorizing and bleaching. Cold pressed oils commands a higher price compared to processed oils because these â€Å"natural† procedures deliver lower yield and uses higher quality raw materials to prevent spoilage (Ulberth and Buchgraber 2000). To ensure the quality of VCO in the country, The Philippine National Standard provided a criterion (PNS/BAFPS 22:2004). This standard includes determination of fatty acid composition using gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), iodine value and sensory parameters such as taste, odor and color (Philippine National Standard for Virgin Coconut Oil 2005). However, it is a known fact that the fatty acid profile of oils is species dependent; therefore this classification method cannot distinguish VCO from ordinary refined, bleached and deodorized coconut oil (CCO). Iodine value in the other hand gives information on the degree of unsaturation of the oil and may be use only to distinguish coconut oils from unsaturated oil like corn oil (CO) and soybean oil (SO) but cannot discriminate VCO from CCO. Sensory parameters can easily be manipulated by bleaching and deodorizing the oil or by addition of flavoring agents. In recent years, various spectroscopic methods have been employed to authenticate vegetable oils such as virgin olive oil (VOO) (Aparicio and Luna 2002; Bucci et al. 2002; Dupuy et al. 1996; Lankmayr et al. 2004; Ozen et al. 2003; Tapp et al. 2003; Tay et al. 2002; Vigli et al. 2003; Yang et al. 2005). These techniques have the advantages of minimal sample preparation and rapid analysis time (Ulberth and Buchgraber 2000). In the study conducted by Yang et al (2005), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was found to be the most efficient in classification of oils as compared to Fourier Transform Raman and Fourier Transform Near Infrared spectroscopy. An attenuated total reflectance (ATR) accessory is usually used with the FTIR spectrometer for oil and fat study due to its ability to handle liquid samples easily. The resulting infrared spectrum contains all vibrational information about the entire components of the sample. In order to take full advantage of the spectral infor mation, including subtle features that may not be readily discerned, pattern recognition techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) are commonly used. These techniques can reveal relationships that were not previously suspected, which can lead to interpretations that are not readily apparent by mere visual inspection of IR spectra alone (Beebe et al. 1998; Davies and Fearn 2005). PCA is a mathematical manipulation used to reorganize the high-dimensionality of spectroscopic data into a smaller number of â€Å"Principal Components† or PCs that can account for the majority of the information in the data set. Methodology All samples of edible oils were obtained from reputable supermarkets in Iloilo City. Samples include four brands of VCO [a total of six samples, one brand have a total of three samples, two regular VCO with different manufacturing dates (labeled as VCO2 and VCO3) and one corn flavored VCO (labeled as VCO4) ] , three different brands of coconut oil ( CCO1, CCO2, and CCO3) and one brand each of corn oil (CO), soybean oil (SO), canola oil (CLO), virgin olive oil (VOO) and palm oil (PO). The oils were stored in their original containers until used. Minimal opening of bottles were observed to prevent oxidation of oils. Infrared (IR) spectra of samples were obtained at 4000 – 400 cm-1, 1 cm-1 resolution and 64 scans; using the Avatar 330 Thermo Nicolet FTIR equipped with DTGS (deuterated tri-glycine sulphate) detector and EZ OMNIC software at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas Chemistry Laboratory, Miag-ao, Iloilo. Samples were placed directly on a multi-bounce zinc selenide horizontal ATR crystal. The ATR crystal was totally cleaned using acetone after each run. IR spectral data of different oils from EZ OMNIC software were converted to Microsoft Excel files. Data were arranged in tabular form, different oils in columns and transmittance at different wavelengths in rows. The excel file was then transferred to Unscrambler version 9.6 for Principal Components Analysis. The evaluation version of this software can be downloaded at www.camo.com. Results and Discussion The FTIR spectra of most fats and oils appeared almost visually similar; the slight differences in the spectral features reflect the variations in the fatty acid composition (Figure1 to 6). Every peak in the spectra represents structural and functional group, either of the oil or other minor components. At the high frequency end of the spectrum (4000-3500 cm-1) only a few absorption bands can be observed. The most notable are the absorption bands due to O-H stretching vibration at about 3700 and 3400 cm-1, which may be due to moisture, alcohol or fatty acids. Both alcohols and free fatty acids are degradation product of triglycerides which accumulate during prolong storage and in the presence of moisture. For a clean and dry oil, only the first overtone of the C=O vibration could be seen. The strong band dominating the 3000-2840 cm-1 region is due to C-H stretches of methylene and terminal methyl groups. The =C-H stretch absorbed at slightly higher region, 3095 -3010 cm-1. A strong a bsorption peak in the range of 1750-1735 cm-1 is due to the C=O stretch of an aliphatic ester. If degradation has occurred a shoulder located on the lower frequency side of this will appear due to the C=O stretch of the resulting long chain carboxylic acid (1730-1700 cm-1). A sharp peak at about 1660-1600 cm-1 results from a C=C stretching vibration. The presence of this peak together with a C-H peak at wavenumber greater than 3000 cm-1 is a good indication of unsaturation. The part of the spectrum lower than 1500 cm-1 is called the fingerprint region. The absorption in this area of the spectrum is highly characteristic of the molecule as a whole, and can be used to identify the substance (Pavia et al. 2000; van de Voort et al. 2001). As shown in Figure1-6 its is easy to distinguish unsaturated oils from saturated oils by observing the regions that indicate unsaturation, 3095-3010 cm-1 and 1660-1600 cm-1. For olive, corn, palm, canola and soybean oil sharp peaks are seen in both of these areas but no such peaks can be seen in the IR spectra of either CCO or VCO. Thus, visual examination of the IR spectrum can provide a way to distinguish unsaturated oils from coconut oils. However, visual inspection of the spectra alone is insufficient to differentiate VCO from CCO because their IR spectra are identical to the naked eye. To compare such large data sets like IR spectra, which consist of more than a thousand wavelengths, Principal Component Analysis can be used. This chemometrical technique mathematically models the data into a more manageable data sets (consisting of a few principal components) that can then be interpreted more easily (Brereton 2003). Principal Component Analyses were performed on the spectra of all oils using Unscrambler version 9.6 software. The software generated several important plots. The percent variance plot gives the total variation in the data set that is described by a particular PC. This plot can be used to determine the number of PC that can effectively describe the whole data set. The 2D scatter plot (PCy vs. PCx) represents how the samples are related to each other. The closeness of the samples in the plot is interpreted as chemical similarity(Beebe and others 1998). The percent variance plot (Figure 7) of the oil samples spectra generated by the software shows that the first two principal components represent almost 100% of the variance in the data set. As a general rule the PCs that account for less than 5% of the data variation can be rejected (Beebe and others 1998), therefore the first two PCs are sufficient in making our investigation. The scatter plot of first principal component (PC1) versus the second principal component (PC2) shows that it possible to separate the oils into two separate groups, the unsaturated and coconut oil group (Figure 8). Unsaturated oil group consists of corn oil, soya oil, canola oil, palm oil while that of the coconut oil includes CVO and CCO. Performing the same analysis on CCO and VCO spectra reveals that only the PC1 and the PC2 are highly significant (Figure 9). However, the scatter plot of the two PCs did not successfully separate VCO from CCO (Figure 10). Close inspection of spectra reveal that there are absorption bands at the high frequency region that might indicate the presence of moisture, fatty alcohol or fatty acids in some samples. This observation is confirmed by the Influence Plot (Figure 11) that shows that there is a high residual variance of the 3740 cm-1, a wavenumber corresponding to H-O absorption. This indicates that the moisture content, fatty alcohol or the free fatty acid content of the oil may have greatly controlled the classification process. The other residual in the influence plot may be due to other components of VCO or CCO that are vital in the classification process. To correct for the effect of the O-H absorption band, it was decided to eliminate wavelength above 1800 cm-1 from the spectra of the oil and use only the area encompassing the carbonyl carbon (C=O) and fingerprint region, 1800-400 cm-1. Principal component analysis of this part of the spectra shows that the first two PC can be used to correctly classify VCO and CCO into separate groups (Figure 12 and 13). In conclusion, FTIR identification of oils can be enhance by the use of chemometrical techniques such Principal Component Analysis. Using this technique, subtle differences in the spectra can be used to classify oil. FTIR together with PCA can differentiate unsaturated oils from saturated oil and can discriminate virgin coconut oil from ordinary refined, bleached and deodorized coconut oil (CCO). Acknowledgement The authors are very grateful to the UP System for upgrading the UPV Chemistry Laboratory and for the purchase of the FTIR used this study possible. Literature Cited Aparicio R, Luna G. 2002. Charaterization of Monovarietal Virgin Olive Oils. European Journal of Lipid Science Technology 104:614-627. Beebe KR, Pell RR, Mary BS. 1998. Chemometrics: A Practical Guide. New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc. 348 p. Brereton RG. 2003. Chemometrics Data Analysis for the Laboratory and Chemical Plant. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons Ltd. 489 p. Bucci R, Magri AD, Magri AL, Marini D, Marini F. 2002. Chemical Authentication of extra Virgin Olive Oil Varieties by Supervise Chemometric Procedure. Journal Agricultural Food Chemistry 50:413-418. Davies AMC, Fearn T. 2005 Back to Basics: The Principles of Principal Component Analysis. Spectroscopy Asia:35-38. Dupuy N, Duponchel L, Huvenne J, Sombret B, Legrand P. 1996. Classification of Edible Fats and Oils by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra. Food Chemistry 57(2):245-251. Lankmayr E, Mocak J, Serdt K, Balla B, Wenzl T, Bandoniene D, Gfrerer M, Wagner S. 2004. Chemometrical Classification of Pumpkin Seed OIl using Uv-Vis, NIR and FTIR Spectra. Journal of Biochemical and Biophysical Methods 61(1-2):95-106. Ozen BF, Weiss I, Mauer L. 2003. Dietary Supplement Oil Classification and Detection of Adulteration Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Journal Agricultural Food Chemistry 51:5871-5876. Pavia DL, Lampman GM, Kriz GS. 2000. Introduction to Spectroscopy. New York: Brooks Cole. Philippine National Standard for Virgin Coconut Oil. 2005. PNS/BAFPS 22:2004. Tapp HS, Defernez M, Kemsley K. 2003. FTIR spectroscopy and Multivariate Analysis can Distinguish the Geographic Origin of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Journal Agricultural Food Chemistry 51:6110-6115. Tay A, Singh RK, Krishnan SS, Gore JP. 2002. Authentication of Olive Oil Adulterated with Vegetable Oils Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. LWT-Food Science and Technology 35:99-103. Ulberth F, Buchgraber M. 2000. Authenticity of Fats and OIls. European Journal of Lipid Science Technology 102:687-694. van de Voort F, Sedman J, Russin T. 2001. Lipid Analysis by Vibrational Spectroscopy. European Journal of Lipid Science Technology 103:815-840. Vigli G, Philippidis A, Spyros A, Dais P. 2003. Classification of Edible Oils by Employing 31P and 1H NMR Spectroscopy in Combination with Multivariate Statistical Analysis. A Proposal for the Detection of Seed Oil Adulteration in Virgin Olive Oils. Journal Agricultural Food Chemistry 51:5715-5722. Yang H, Irudayaraj J, Paradkar M. 2005. Discriminant Analysis of Edible Oils and Fats by FTIR, FT-NIR and FT-Raman Spectroscopy. Food Chemistry 93:25-32.

Kant and Moral Values Essay -- Philosophy Essays Papers

Kant says that moral values are ‘good without qualification.’ This assertion and similar remarks of Plato can be understood in terms of a return to moral data themselves in the following ways: 1. Moral values are objectively good and not relative to our judgments; 2. Moral goodness is intrinsic goodness grounded in the nature of acts and independent of our subjective satisfaction; 3. Moral goodness expresses in an essentially new and higher sense of the idea of value as such; 4. Moral Goodness cannot be abused like intellectual, aesthetic, temperamental and other values; 5. Moral values are good in that they never must be sacrificed for any other value, because they are incomparably higher and should absolutely and ‘first’ be sought for; 6. Moral goodness makes the person as such good; 7. All three different modes of participation in moral values are linked to the absolute, most ‘necessary’ and highest good for the person; 8. Moral Values are go ods "in the unrestricted sense" by being pure perfections in the sense that "neither in this world nor outside it" can we find anything that could be called good unqualifiedly except moral goodness which is absolutely better to possess than not to possess. 9. Moral Values are unconditionally good because they are never just ‘means’ towards ends. 10. Moral values imply a new type of ought which elucidates the ‘absolute sense’ in which they are good. Conclusion: These distinctions allow a better grasp of Kant and Plato as well as of a central ethical truth decisive for the moral education of humankind. Kant calls moral values the only values that are ‘good without qualification,’ and thereby states something very profound about morality. Let us read his great text in which he expresses ma... ...1961. S. 58-84. (8) See John Finnis, Fundamentals of Ethics (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983); see also the same author, Natural Law and Natural Rights (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980). (9) See on this Anselm von Canterbury. Monologion, ch. 15. See also Josef Seifert, Essere e persona. Verso una fondazione fenomenologica di una metafisica classica e personalistica. (Milano: Vita e Pensiero, 1989), ch. 5. (10) Also in Anselm the deepest meaning of ‘maius’ is a moral one. Compare my Gott als Gottesbeweis (Heidelberg: Università ¤tsverlag C. Winter, 1996), ch. 11. (11) See on this Ethics, 2nd edn (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1978), ch. 17-18; Josef Seifert, Josef Seifert, Essere e persona, cit., ch. 9. (12) On a sevenfold motivation of moral acts see Josef Seifert, Was ist und was motiviert eine sittliche Handlung? (Salzburg: Univ.Verlag A. Pustet, 1976).

Women in the Work Force- 1960s Essay -- Essays Papers

Women in the Work Force- 1960s The 1960s were a time of social and political identification for American women. Despite the victory of voting rights, women still experienced discrimination in daily life. With the current millenium drawing to a close, women today still express concern of unequal treatment. It is important to glance backwards in history and remember the struggles that our mothers and grandmothers experienced. Thanks to the women of the past, women of the present are able to participate in politics and receive equal pay for equal jobs. The struggle continues, but we conquer more discrimination every year. It has always been a popular misconception that women are the weaker sex.1 This idea leads to the opinion that women can not possibly perform the same job requirements as men. Why should a woman seek further education when she cannot handle a job physically and psychologically in the male work force? A woman who does decide to work out of the home could not expect to earn as much as her male counterpart since she can not do the job nearly as well. History paints the picture of women staying home as homemakers where they belong. We see the ideal woman as June Cleaver from the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver. A feminist author Betty Friedan wrote a best-selling book arguing that magazines, advertisements, educators, and social scientists portray women as happy as housewives.2The Feminine Mystique explained this portrayal of the trapped women into a life of raising children, taking care of the home, and giving no chance labor outside the home. Despite the expectation of women as homemakers, women broke free. They wanted to take more active roles in politics, society, and the work force. One arena of support cam... ... Jovanovich, 1987) p.236. 4 John Winters, Jr., http://nimbus.ocis.temple.edu/~rkarras/winters2.htm, Representation of Women in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. 5 See Robert L. Daniel, p.263. 6 See Robert L. Daniel, p.264. 7 See Robert L. Daniel, p.264. 8 See Robert L. Daniel, p.276. 9 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277. 10 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277. 11 See Robert L. Daniel, p.277. 12 See Robert L. Daniel, p.257. 13 See Robert L. Daniel, p.257. 14 See Robert L. Daniel, p.258. 15 See Robert L. Daniel, p.258. - Gabin, Nancy F. Feminism in the Labor Movement: Women and the United Auto Workers, 1935-1975. London: Cornell University Press, 1990. - Spain, Daphne and Suzanne M. Bianchi. Balancing Act: Motherhood, Marriage, and Employment among American Women. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1996.

The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 7. Melody

I had to wait when I got back to school. The final hour wasn't out yet. That was good, because I had things to think about and I needed the alone time. Her scent lingered in the car. I kept the windows up, letting it assault me, trying to get used to the feel of intentionally torching my throat. Attraction. It was a problematic thing to contemplate. So many sides to it, so many different meanings and levels. Not the same thing as love, but tied up in it inextricably. I had no idea if Bella was attracted to me. (Would her mental silence somehow continue to get more and more frustrating until I went mad? Or was there a limit that I would eventually reach?) I tried to compare her physical responses to others, like the secretary and Jessica Stanley, but the comparison was inconclusive. The same markers – changes in heart rate and breathing patterns – could just as easily mean fear or shock or anxiety as they did interest. It seemed unlikely that Bella could be entertaining the same kinds of thoughts that Jessica Stanley used to have. After all, Bella knew very well that there was something wrong with me, even if she didn't know what exactly it was. She had touched my icy skin, and then yanked her hand away from the chill. And yet†¦as I remembered those fantasies that used to repulse me, but remembered them with Bella in Jessica's place†¦ I was breathing more quickly, the fire clawing up and down my throat. What if it had been Bella imagining me with my arms wrapped around her fragile body? Feeling me pull her tightly against my chest and then cupping my hand under her chin? Brushing the heavy curtain of her hair back from her blushing face? Tracing the shape of her full lips with my fingertips? Leaning my face closer to hers, where I could feel the heat of her breath on my mouth? Moving closer still†¦ But then I flinched away from the daydream, knowing, as I had known when Jessica had imagined these things, what would happen if I got that close to her. Attraction was an impossible dilemma, because I was already too attracted to Bella in the worst way. Did I want Bella to be attracted to me, a woman to a man? That was the wrong question. The right question was should I want Bella to be attracted to me that way, and that answer was no. Because I was not a human man, and that wasn't fair to her. With every fiber of my being, I ached to be a normal man, so that I could hold her in my arms without risking her life. So that I could be free to spin my own fantasies, fantasies that didn't end in with her blood on my hands, her blood glowing in my eyes. My pursuit of her was indefensible. What kind of relationship could I offer her, when I couldn't risk touching her? I hung my head in my hands. It was all the more confusing because I had never felt so human in my whole life – not even when I was human, as far as I could recall. When I had been human, my thoughts had all been turned to a soldier's glory. The Great War had raged through most of my adolescence, and I'd been only nine months away from my eighteenth birthday when the influenza had struck†¦ I had just vague impressions of those human years, murky memories that faded more with every passing decade. I remembered my mother most clearly, and felt an ancient ache when I thought of her face. I recalled dimly how much she had hated the future I'd raced eagerly toward, praying every night when she said grace at dinner that the â€Å"horrid war† would end†¦ I had no memories of another kind of yearning. Besides my mother's love, there was no other love that had made me wish to stay†¦ This was entirely new to me. I had no parallels to draw, no comparisons to make. The love I felt for Bella had come purely, but now the waters were muddied. I wanted very much to be able to touch her. Did she feel the same way? That didn't matter, I tried to convince myself. I stared at my white hands, hating their hardness, their coldness, their inhuman strength†¦ I jumped when the passenger door opened. Ha. Caught you by surprise. There's a first, Emmett thought as he slid into the seat. â€Å"I'll bet Mrs. Goff thinks you're on drugs, you've been so erratic lately. Where were you today?† â€Å"I was†¦doing good deeds.† Huh? I chuckled. â€Å"Caring for the sick, that kind of thing.† That confused him more, but then he inhaled and caught the scent in the car. â€Å"Oh. The girl again?† I grimaced. This is getting weird. â€Å"Tell me about it,† I mumbled. He inhaled again. â€Å"Hmm, she does have a quite a flavor, doesn't she?† The snarl broke through my lips before his words had even registered all the way, an automatic response. â€Å"Easy, kid, I'm just sayin.'† The others arrived then. Rosalie noticed the scent at once and glowered at me, still not over her irritation. I wondered what her problem was, but all I could hear from her were insults. I didn't like Jasper's reaction, either. Like Emmett, he noticed Bella's appeal. Not that the scent had, for either of them, a thousandth portion of the draw it had for me. I was still upset me that her blood was sweet to them. Jasper had poor control†¦ Alice skipped to my side of the car and held her hand out for Bella's truck key. â€Å"I only saw that I was,† she said – obscurely, as was her habit. â€Å"You'll have to tell me the whys.† â€Å"This doesn't mean – â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know. I'll wait. It won't be long.† I sighed and gave her the key. I followed her to Bella's house. The rain was pounding down like a million tiny hammers, so loud that maybe Bella's human ears couldn't hear the thunder of the truck's engine. I watched her window, but she didn't come to look out. Maybe she wasn't there. There were no thoughts to hear. It made me sad that I couldn't hear enough even to check on her – to make sure she was happy, or safe, at the least. Alice climbed in the back and we sped home. The roads were empty, and so it only took a few minutes. We trooped into the house, and then went to our various pastimes. Emmett and Jasper were in the middle of an elaborate game of chess, utilizing eight joined boards – spread out along the glass back wall – and their own complicated set of rules. They wouldn't let me play; only Alice would play games with me anymore. Alice went to her computer just around the corner from them and I could hear her monitors sing to life. Alice was working on a fashion design project for Rosalie's wardrobe, but Rosalie did not join her today, to stand behind her and direct cut and color as Alice's hand traced over the touch sensitive screens (Carlisle and I had had to tweak that system a bit, given that most such screens responded to temperature). Instead, today Rosalie sprawled sullenly on the sofa and started flipping through twenty channels a second on the flat screen, never pausing. I could hear her trying to decide whether or not to go out to the garage and tune her BMW again. Esme was upstairs, humming over a new set of blue prints. Alice leaned her head around the wall after a moment and started mouthing Emmett's next moves – Emmett sat on the floor with his back to her – to Jasper, who kept his expression very smooth as he cut off Emmett's favorite knight. And I, for the first time in so long that I felt ashamed, went to sit at the exquisite grand piano stationed just off the entryway. I ran my hand gently up the scales, testing the pitch. The tuning was still perfect. Upstairs, Esme paused what she was doing and cocked her head to the side. I began the first line of the tune that had suggested itself to me in the car today, pleased that it sounded even better than I'd imagined. Edward is playing again, Esme thought joyously, a smile breaking across her face. She got up from her desk, and flitted silently to the head of the stairs. I added a harmonizing line, letting the central melody weave through it. Esme sighed with contentment, sat down on the top step, and leaned her head against the banister. A new song. It's been so long. What a lovely tune. I let the melody lead in a new direction, following it with the bass line. Edward is composing again? Rosalie thought, and her teeth clenched together in fierce resentment. In that moment, she slipped, and I could read all her underlying outrage. I saw why she was in such a poor temper with me. Why killing Isabella Swan had not bothered her conscience at all. With Rosalie, it was always about vanity. The music came to an abrupt halt, and I laughed before I could help myself, a sharp bark of amusement that broke off quickly as I threw my hand over my mouth. Rosalie turned to glare at me, her eyes sparking with chagrined fury. Emmett and Jasper turned to stare, too, and I heard Esme's confusion. Esme was downstairs in a flash, pausing to glance between Rosalie and me. â€Å"Don't stop, Edward,† Esme encouraged after a strained moment. I started playing again, turning my back on Rosalie while trying very hard to control the grin stretching across my face. She got to her feet and stalked out of the room, more angry than embarrassed. But certainly quite embarrassed. If you say anything I will hunt you like a dog. I smothered another laugh. â€Å"What's wrong, Rose?† Emmett called after her. Rosalie didn't turn. She continued, back ramrod straight, to the garage and then squirmed under her car as if she could bury herself there. â€Å"What's that about?† Emmett asked me. â€Å"I don't have the faintest idea,† I lied. Emmett grumbled, frustrated. â€Å"Keep playing,† Esme urged. My hands had paused again. I did as she asked, and she came to stand behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders. The song was compelling, but incomplete. I toyed with a bridge, but it didn't seem right somehow. â€Å"It's charming. Does it have a name?† Esme asked. â€Å"Not yet.† â€Å"Is there a story to it?† she asked, a smile in her voice. This gave her very great pleasure, and I felt guilty for having neglected my music for so long. It had been selfish. â€Å"It's†¦a lullaby, I suppose.† I got the bridge right then. It led easily to the next movement, taking on a life of its own. â€Å"A lullaby,† she repeated to herself. There was a story to this melody, and once I saw that, the pieces fell into place effortlessly. The story was a sleeping girl in a narrow bed, dark hair thick and wild and twisted like seaweed across the pillow†¦ Alice left Jasper to his own devices and came to sit next to me on the bench. In her trilling, wind chime voice, she sketched out a wordless descant two octaves above the melody. â€Å"I like it,† I murmured. â€Å"But how about this?† I added her line to the harmony – my hands were flying across the keys now to work all the pieces together – modifying it a bit, taking it in a new direction†¦ She caught the mood, and sung along. â€Å"Yes. Perfect,† I said. Esme squeezed my shoulder. But I could see the end now, with Alice's voice rising above the tune and taking it to another place. I could see how the song must end, because the sleeping girl was perfect just the way she was, and any change at all would be wrong, a sadness. The song drifted toward that realization, slower and lower now. Alice's voice lowered, too, and became solemn, a tone that belonged under the echoing arches of a candlelit cathedral. I played the last note, and then bowed my head over the keys. Esme stroked my hair. It's going to be fine, Edward. This is going to work out for the best. You deserve happiness, my son. Fate owes you that. â€Å"Thanks,† I whispered, wishing I could believe it. Love doesn't always come in convenient packages. I laughed once without humor. You, out of everyone on this planet, are perhaps best equipped to deal with such a difficult quandary. You are the best and the brightest of us all. I sighed. Every mother thought the same of her son. Esme was still full of joy that my heart had finally been touched after all this time, no matter the potential for tragedy. She'd thought I would always be alone†¦ She'll have to love you back, she thought suddenly, catching me by surprise with the direction of her thoughts. If she's a bright girl. She smiled. But I can't imagine anyone being so slow they wouldn't see the catch you are. â€Å"Stop it, Mom, you're making me blush,† I teased. Her words, though improbable, did cheer me. Alice laughed and picked out the top hand of â€Å"Heart and Soul.† I grinned and completed the simple harmony with her. Then I favored her with a performance of â€Å"Chopsticks.† She giggled, then sighed. â€Å"So I wish you'd tell me what you were laughing at Rose about,† Alice said. â€Å"But I can see that you won't.† â€Å"Nope.† She flicked my ear with her finger. â€Å"Be nice, Alice,† Esme chided. â€Å"Edward is being a gentleman.† â€Å"But I want to know.† I laughed at the whining tone she put on. Then I said, â€Å"Here, Esme,† and began playing her favorite song, an unnamed tribute to the love I'd watched between her and Carlisle for so many years. â€Å"Thank you, dear.† She squeezed my shoulder again. I didn't have to concentrate to play the familiar piece. Instead I thought of Rosalie, still figuratively writhing in mortification in the garage, and I grinned to myself. Having just discovered the potency of jealousy for myself, I had a small amount of pity for her. It was a wretched way to feel. Of course, her jealously was a thousand times more petty than mine. Quite the fox in the manger scenario. I wondered how Rosalie's life and personality would have been different if she had not always been the most beautiful. Would she have been a happier person if beauty hadn't at all times been her strongest selling point? Less egocentric? More compassionate? Well, I supposed it was useless to wonder, because the past was done, and she always had been the most beautiful. Even when human, she had ever lived in the spotlight of her own loveliness. Not that she'd minded. The opposite – she'd loved admiration above almost anything else. That hadn't changed with the loss of her mortality. It was no surprise then, taking this need as a given, that she'd been offended when I had not, from the beginning, worshiped her beauty the way she expected all males to worship. Not that she'd wanted me in any way – far from it. But it had aggravated her that I did not want her, despite that. She was used to being wanted. It was different with Jasper and Carlisle – they were already both in love. I was completely unattached, and yet still remained obstinately unmoved. I'd thought that old resentment was buried. That she was long passed it. And she had been†¦until the day that I finally found someone whose beauty touched me the way hers had not. Rosalie had relied on the belief that if I did not find her beauty worth worshiping, then certainly there was no beauty on earth that would reach me. She'd been furious since the moment I'd saved Bella's life, guessing, with her shrewd female intuition, the interest that I was all but unconscious of myself. Rosalie was mortally offended that I found some insignificant human girl more appealing than her. I suppressed the urge to laugh again. It bothered me some, though, the way she saw Bella. Rosalie actually thought the girl was plain. How could she believe that? It seemed incomprehensible to me. A product of the jealousy, no doubt. â€Å"Oh!† Alice said abruptly. â€Å"Jasper, guess what?† I saw what she'd just seen, and my hands froze on the keys. â€Å"What, Alice?† Jasper asked. â€Å"Peter and Charlotte are coming to visit next week! They're going to be in the neighborhood, isn't that nice?† â€Å"What's wrong, Edward?† Esme asked, feeling the tension in my shoulders. â€Å"Peter and Charlotte are coming to Forks?† I hissed at Alice She rolled her eyes at me. â€Å"Calm down, Edward. It's not their first visit.† My teeth clenched together. It was their first visit since Bella had arrived, and her sweet blood didn't appeal just to me. Alice frowned at my expression. â€Å"They never hunt here. You know that.† But Jasper's brother of sorts and the little vampire he loved were not like us; they hunted the usual way. They could not be trusted around Bella. â€Å"When?† I demanded. She pursed her lips unhappily, but told me what I needed to know. Monday morning. No one is going to hurt Bella. â€Å"No,† I agreed, and then turned away from her. â€Å"You ready, Emmett?† â€Å"I thought we were leaving in the morning?† â€Å"We're coming back by midnight Sunday. I guess it's up to you when you want to leave.† â€Å"Okay, fine. Let me say goodbye to Rose first.† â€Å"Sure.† With the mood Rosalie was in, it would be a short goodbye. You really have lost it, Edward, he thought as he headed toward the back door. â€Å"I suppose I have.† â€Å"Play the new song for me, one more time,† Esme asked. â€Å"If you'd like that,† I agreed, though I was a little hesitant to follow the tune to its unavoidable end – the end that had set me aching in unfamiliar ways. I thought for a moment, and then pulled the bottle cap from my pocket and set it on the empty music stand. That helped a bit – my little memento of her yes. I nodded to myself, and started playing. Esme and Alice exchanged a glance, but neither one asked. â€Å"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to play with your food?† I called to Emmett. â€Å"Oh, hey Edward!† he shouted back, grinning and waving at me. The bear took advantage of his distraction to rake its heavy paw across Emmett's chest. The sharp claws shredded through his shirt, and squealed across his skin. The bear bellowed at the high-pitched noise. Aw hell, Rose gave me this shirt! Emmett roared back at the enraged animal. I sighed and sat down on a convenient boulder. This might take awhile. But Emmett was almost done. He let the bear try to take his head off with another swipe of the paw, laughing as the blow bounced off and sent the bear staggering back. The bear roared and Emmett roared again through his laughter. Then he launched himself at the animal, who stood a head taller than him on its hind legs, and their bodies fell to the ground tangled up together, taking a mature spruce tree down with them. The bear's growls cut off with a gurgle. A few minutes later, Emmett jogged over to where I was waiting for him. His shirt was destroyed, torn and bloodied, sticky with sap and covered in fur. His dark curly hair wasn't in much better shape. He had a huge grin on his face. â€Å"That was a strong one. I could almost feel it when he clawed me.† â€Å"You're such a child, Emmett.† He eyed my smooth, clean white button-down. â€Å"Weren't you able to track down that mountain lion, then?† â€Å"Of course I was. I just don't eat like a savage.† Emmett laughed his booming laugh. â€Å"I wish they were stronger. It would be more fun.† â€Å"No one said you had to fight your food.† â€Å"Yeah, but who else am I going to fight with? You and Alice cheat, Rose never wants to get her hair messed up, and Esme gets mad if Jasper and I really go at it.† â€Å"Life is hard all around, isn't it?† Emmett grinned at me, shifting his weight a bit so that he was suddenly poised to take a charge. â€Å"C'mon Edward. Just turn it off for one minute and fight fair.† â€Å"It doesn't turn off,† I reminded him. â€Å"Wonder what that human girl does to keep you out?† Emmett mused. â€Å"Maybe she could give me some pointers.† My good humor vanished. â€Å"Stay away from her,† I growled through my teeth. â€Å"Touchy, touchy.† I sighed. Emmett came to sit beside me on the rock. â€Å"Sorry. I know you're going through a tough spot. I really am trying to not be too much of an insensitive jerk, but, since that's sort of my natural state†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He waited for me to laugh at his joke, and then made a face. So serious all the time. What's bugging you now? â€Å"Thinking about her. Well, worrying, really.† â€Å"What's there to worry about? You are here.† He laughed loudly. I ignored his joke again, but answered his question. â€Å"Have you ever thought about how fragile they all are? How many bad things there are that can happen to a mortal?† â€Å"Not really. I guess I see what you mean, though. I wasn't much match for a bear that first time around, was I?† â€Å"Bears,† I muttered, adding a new fear to the pile. â€Å"That would be just her luck, wouldn't it? Stray bear in town. Of course it would head straight for Bella.† Emmett chuckled. â€Å"You sound like a crazy person, do you know that?† â€Å"Just imagine for one minute that Rosalie was human, Emmett. And she could run into a bear†¦or get hit by a car†¦or lightening†¦or fall down stairs†¦or get sick – get a disease!† The words burst from me stormily. It was a relief to let them out – they'd been festering inside me all weekend. â€Å"Fires and earthquakes and tornados! Ugh! When's the last time you watched the news? Have you seen the kinds of things that happen to them? Burglaries and homicides†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My teeth clenched together, and I was abruptly so infuriated by the idea of another human hurting her that I couldn't breathe. â€Å"Whoa, whoa! Hold up, there, kid. She lives in Forks, remember? So she gets rained on.† He shrugged. â€Å"I think she has some serious bad luck, Emmett, I really do. Look at the evidence. Of all the places in the world she could go, she ends up in a town where vampires make up a significant portion of the population.† â€Å"Yeah, but we're vegetarians. So isn't that good luck, not bad?† â€Å"With the way she smells? Definitely bad. And then, more bad luck, the way she smells to me.† I glowered at my hands, hating them again. â€Å"Except that you have more self-control than just about anyone but Carlisle. Good luck again.† â€Å"The van?† â€Å"That was just an accident.† â€Å"You should have seen it coming for her, Em, again and again. I swear, it was like she had some kind of magnetic pull.† â€Å"But you were there. That was good luck.† â€Å"Was it? Isn't this the worst luck any human could ever possibly have – to have a vampire fall in love with them?† Emmett considered that quietly for a moment. He pictured the girl in his head, and found the image uninteresting. Honestly, I can't really see the draw. â€Å"Well, I can't really see Rosalie's allure, either,† I said rudely. â€Å"Honestly, she seems like more work than any pretty face is worth.† Emmett chuckled. â€Å"I don't suppose you'd tell me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don't know what her problem is, Emmett,† I lied with a sudden, wide grin. I saw his intent in time to brace myself. He tried to shove me off the rock, and there was a loud cracking sound as a fissure opened in the stone between us. â€Å"Cheater,† he muttered. I waited for him to try another time, but his thoughts took a different direction. He was picturing Bella's face again, but imagining it whiter, imagining her eyes bright red†¦ â€Å"No,† I said, my voice strangled. â€Å"It solves your worries about mortality, doesn't it? And then you wouldn't want to kill her, either. Isn't that the best way?† â€Å"For me? Or for her?† â€Å"For you,† he answered easily. His tone added the of course. I laughed humorlessly. â€Å"Wrong answer.† â€Å"I didn't mind so much,† he reminded me. â€Å"Rosalie did.† He sighed. We both knew that Rosalie would do anything, give up anything, if it meant she could be human again. Even Emmett. â€Å"Yeah, Rose did,† he acquiesced quietly. â€Å"I can't†¦ I shouldn't†¦ I'm not going to ruin Bella's life. Wouldn't you feel the same, if it were Rosalie?† Emmett thought about that for a moment. You really†¦love her? â€Å"I can't even describe it, Emmett. All of a sudden, this girl's the whole world to me. I don't see the point of the rest of the world without her anymore.† But you won't change her? She won't last forever, Edward. â€Å"I know that,† I groaned. And, as you've pointed out, she's sort of breakable. â€Å"Trust me – that I know, too.† Emmett was not a tactful person, and delicate discussions were not his forte. He struggled now, wanting very much not to be offensive. Can you even touch her? I mean, if you love her†¦wouldn't you want to, well touch her†¦? Emmett and Rosalie shared an intensely physical love. He had a hard time understanding how one could love, without that aspect. I sighed. â€Å"I can't even think of that, Emmett.† Wow. So what are your options, then? â€Å"I don't know,† I whispered. â€Å"I'm trying to figure out a way to†¦to leave her. I just can't fathom how to make myself stay away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  With a deep sense of gratification, I suddenly realized that it was right for me to stay – at least for now, with Peter and Charlotte on their way. She was safer with me here, temporarily, than she would be if I were gone. For the moment, I could be her unlikely protector. The thought made me anxious; I itched to be back so that I could fill that role for as long as possible. Emmett noticed the change in my expression. What are you thinking about? â€Å"Right now,† I admitted a bit sheepishly, â€Å"I'm dying to run back to Forks and check on her. I don't know if I'll make it till Sunday night.† â€Å"Uh-uh! You are not going home early. Let Rosalie cool down a little bit. Please! For my sake.† â€Å"I'll try to stay,† I said doubtfully. Emmett tapped the phone in my pocket. â€Å"Alice would call if there were any basis for your panic attack. She's as weird about this girl as you are.† I grimaced at that. â€Å"Fine. But I'm not staying past Sunday.† â€Å"There's no point in hurrying back – it's going to be sunny, anyway. Alice said we were free from school until Wednesday.† I shook my head rigidly. â€Å"Peter and Charlotte know how to behave themselves.† â€Å"I really don't care, Emmett. With Bella's luck, she'll go wandering off into the woods at exactly the wrong moment and – † I flinched. â€Å"Peter isn't known for his selfcontrol. I'm going back Sunday.† Emmett sighed. Exactly like a crazy person. Bella was sleeping peacefully when I climbed up to her bedroom window early Monday morning. I'd remembered oil this time, and the window now moved silently out of my way. I could tell by the way her hair lay smooth across the pillow that she'd had a less restless night than the last time I was here. She had her hands folded under her cheek like a small child, and her mouth was slightly open. I could hear her breath moving slowly in and out between her lips. It was an amazing relief to be here, to be able to see her again. I realized that I wasn't truly at ease unless that was the case. Nothing was right when I was away from her. Not that all was right when I was with her, either, though. I sighed, letting the thirst fire rake through my throat. I'd been away from it too long. The time spent without pain and temptation made it all the more forceful now. It was bad enough that I was afraid to go kneel beside her bed so that I could read the titles of her books. I wanted to know the stories in her head, but I was afraid of more than my thirst, afraid that if I let myself get that close to her, I would want to be closer still†¦ Her lips looked very soft and warm. I could imagine touching them with the tip of my finger. Just lightly†¦ That was exactly the kind of mistake that I had to avoid. My eyes ran over her face again and again, examining it for changes. Mortals changed all the time – I was sad at the thought of missing anything†¦ I thought she looked†¦tired. Like she hadn't gotten enough sleep this weekend. Had she gone out? I laughed silently and wryly at how much that upset me. So what if she had? I didn't own her. She wasn't mine. No, she wasn't mine – and I was sad again. One of her hands twitched, and I noticed that there were shallow, barely healed scrapes across the heel of her palm. She'd been hurt? Even though it was obviously not a serious injury, it still disturbed me. I considered the location, and decided she must have tripped. That seemed a reasonable explanation, all things considered. It was comforting to think that I wouldn't have to puzzle over either of these small mysteries forever. We were friends now – or, at least, trying to be friends. I could ask her about her weekend – about the beach, and whatever late night activity had made her look so weary. I could ask what had happened to her hands. And I could laugh a little when she confirmed my theory about them. I smiled gently as I wondered whether or not she had fallen in the ocean. I wondered if she'd had a pleasant time on the outing. I wondered if she'd thought about me at all. If she'd missed me even the tiniest portion of the amount that I'd missed her. I tried to picture her in the sun on the beach. The picture was incomplete, though, because I'd never been to First Beach myself. I only knew how it looked in pictures†¦ I felt a tiny qualm of unease as I thought about the reason why I'd never once been to the pretty beach located just a few minutes run from my home. Bella had spent the day at La Push – a place where I was forbidden, by treaty, to go. A place where a few old men still remembered the stories about the Cullens, remembered and believed them. A place where our secret was known†¦ I shook my head. I had nothing to worry about there. The Quileutes were bound by treaty, too. Even had Bella run into one of those aging sages, they could reveal nothing. And why would the subject ever be broached? Why would Bella think to voice her curiosity there? No – the Quileutes were perhaps the one thing I did not have to worry about. I was angry with the sun when it began to rise. It reminded me that I could not satisfy my curiosity for days to come. Why did it choose to shine now? With a sigh, I ducked out her window before it was light enough for anyone to see me here. I meant to stay in the thick forest by her house and see her off to school, but when I got into the trees, I was surprised to find the trace of her scent lingering on the trail there. I followed it quickly, curiously, becoming more and more worried as it led deeper into the darkness. What had Bella been doing out here? The trail stopped abruptly, in the middle of nowhere in particular. She'd gone just a few steps off the trail, into the ferns, where she'd touched the trunk of a fallen tree. Perhaps sat there†¦ I sat where she had, and looked around. All she would have been able to see was ferns and forest. It had probably been raining – the scent was washed out, having never set deeply into the tree. Why would Bella have come to sit here alone – and she had been alone, no doubt about that – in the middle of the wet, murky forest? It made no sense, and, unlike those other points of curiosity, I could hardly bring this up in casual conversation. So, Bella, I was following your scent through the woods after I left your room where I'd been watching you sleep†¦ Yes, that would be quite the ice breaker. I would never know what she'd been thinking and doing here, and that had my teeth grinding together in frustration. Worse, this was far too much like the scenario I'd imagined for Emmett – Bella wandering alone in the woods, where her scent would call to anyone who had the senses to track it†¦ I groaned. Not only did she have bad luck, but she courted it. Well, for this moment she had a protector. I would watch over her, keep her from harm, for as long as I could justify it. I suddenly found myself wishing that Peter and Charlotte would make an extended stay.

Death memoir of Emperor Constantine the great Essay

Death memoir of Emperor Constantine the great Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I was born on February 22nd 272 in a place known as Naissus in Serbia. My father was the Roman Emperor by then but he later died. I was not the one who was supposed to take the position of the Emperor because there was a well- established system of succession but my soldiers declared me as their leader and I had no option but to take the seat of the Roman Emperor in 306. I ruled for many years where I have many achievements and failures. My time has come to leave this world and the leadership of this world to other people but I found it important to write this memoir for those who do not know me well and the generation to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Political field was my area of dominance for the years that have been in this world, I have many achievements in this field of politics which have helped the Roman Empire to be in the position it is currently. When I took the seat of the Emperor of Roman, there were many Emperors that were ruling different parts of Roman territory and thus it was not easy to administer the area well (Hartley, 2006). I decided to conquer all those empires and I united Roman Empire as one territory. This brought stability to the whole territory because all the operations of the Empire were controlled from the capital of the empire which was Rome. My second step in my leadership role was the introduction of a new capital of the Roman Empire. I was a bright leader and I knew how to focus on the future, this is why I figured out that Rome was not strategically advantaged especially in the time of war and that is why I decided to build Constantinople city which became the capital of Roman Empire. When the war arose between Rome and Italy I was able to defend the territory through the new capital because it was strategically positioned and thus is was easy to defend. My political leadership helped Roman Empire to experience the best time of stability ever in its history   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides being a political leader, I also put my concern to major issues in the society like art and architecture. My predecessors Emperors did not consider this issue with a lot of seriousness and as a result of that, during my time the art and architecture of the territory had decreased at a very high rate. I decided to revive the art of the Empire and that is where I went to the city of Greece and robed them all their finest art. I took the finest work of art to the artist who had remained and the one who were coming up in my Empire. This became source of inspiration to many artists and thus the work of art was revived again. The city of Constantinople was one of the cities at that time which had the highest level of architecture; this was as a result of my work of bringing architecture from the town of Greece to help in the building of the city. The arch of Constantine is also one of the greatest works that shows the level I took archit ecture during my reign (Kousoulas, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If I am not wrong, people will remember me because of the role I did in religion more than the one I played in politics. Worship of idol gods was the most common type of religion in the Empire but I overcame all the pressure of those religions and I introduced Christianity which I believe in near future will be the largest religion in the world. I also brought order in Christianity where I came with Sunday as the official day of worship instead of Saturday which was there before. I brought the idea of pope in the church and the respect of priest and bishops. I did a lot of work to harmonize Christianity and politics and it was also one of the reasons why the Empire was very peaceful during my time. I had put Christianity ahead of my army because I knew very well that Gods protection was more than millions of soldier’s protection and that is why I introduced the revenue collection initiative in order to support the Christianity espec ially the clergy. However, despite all the good things I deed during my time, I am sorry to say that there are some things that history will judge me harshly for. I introduced Christianity in the Roman Empire because of my political gain but not because of the love of God. I measured the progress of other Emperors who ruled a head of me and a saw that the only way I could survive in the leadership position is by introducing Christianity in the territory (Holloway, 2007). Many people will judge me not because of introducing Christianity but because of my intentions. I persecuted many Protestants who were against the idea of Catholics and that will also be the harshest judgment I will receive. As I leave this world, I would like to advise my successor to continue with my achievements and to rectify my failures. References Hartley, E., Hawkes, J., Henig, M., & Yorkshire Museum. (2006). Constantine the Great: York’s Roman emperor. York: York Museums and Gallery Trust. Kousoulas, D. G. (2007). The life and times of Constantine the Great: The first Christian emperor. S.l.: Booksurge?. Holloway, R. (2007). R. Ross Holloway. Review of â€Å"Constantine the Great: York’s Roman Emperor† by Elizabeth Hartley, Jane Hawkes, and Martin Henig. Caa.Reviews. doi:10.3202/caa.reviews.2007.46 Source document

Modernity/Post-modernity: has is brought more harm than good on institutions like the family?

According to Marshall Berman, modernity is a mode of vital experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life's possibilities and perils-that is shared by men and women all over the world today. To be modern, he suggests is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world-and, at the same time, that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are. Modern environments and experiences cut across all boundaries of geography and ethnicity, of class and nationality, of religion and ideology: in this sense, modernity can be said to unite all mankind. But it is a paradoxical unity, a unity of disunity: it pours us all into a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration and renewal, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish. To be modern is to be part of a universe in which, as Marx said, â€Å"all that is solid melts into air.† ( Marshall Berman, www†¦) Modern life has been characterised with great discoveries in the physical sciences, changing our images of the universe and our place in it; the industrialization of production, which transforms scientific knowledge into technology, creates new human environments and destroys old ones, generates new forms of corporate power and class struggle; (Marshall Berman, www†¦) According to Giddens, modernity refers to modes of social life or organisation which emerged in Europe from about the 17th century onwards. It is an era distinguished by discontinuities which separate modern social institution from traditional order. The characteristics of this era are; – the pace of change- rapid change in modernity i.e. technology – the scope of change – particular institutional forms (e.g. capitalism, nation state and the differences in the nature of institutions between modern and traditional ones. According to Giddens, the modes of life have moved us away from all traditional types of social order. This is because they have served to establish forms of social interconnection and they have come to alter some of the most intimate and personal features of our day-to-day existence, (reading). As we can gather, modernity is about change from traditional ways to modern ways of doing things. In this discussion, I discuss the impact of modernity on institutions most especially the family. Has modernity brought more harm than good? Traditionally as most of us believe, life at the very beginning evolved very much around Christianity and belief in God. This shaped people's lifestyles, ways of living and thus the society. Christianity and the belief in God is the tradition that has been abandoned as a result of modernity, as put by Kirk Thomas, â€Å"†¦the tradition which promised to become fruitful some 350 years ago proposed that the best hope for authentic human flourishing would come through diligent attention being given to two sources of truth; the word and the world of God. Human beings would understand their true destiny and be able to enjoy it to the full only as they read and lived on the basis of two books; the bible as both the record of both God's action within and the interpretation of the whole reality and nature as a source of human nourishment and pleasure, (K.T, www†¦). This tradition Kirk continues was ‘sabotaged from within and distorted from without'- from within, the tradition was vandalised by a ‘will to power' due to conflict between forces of the reformation and the counter reformation and from without, the tradition was deformed by the ‘will to independence', (K, Thomas). As time progressed, the word was not seen as the only source of knowledge or truth. Slowly there was the realisation that reasoning could occur without having to depend on faith- thus there was the development of scientific knowledge in the attempt by humans to separate truth from falsehood, reason from unreason and fact from fiction. This was seen as the way to examine causes of human problems and analyse them. As a result, human's dreams of the future dominated their imaginations- the dream of a society of social harmony free from oppression and ignorance. By contrasting such a bright future and the past- the dark ages to be overcome, it seemed development was irreversible, there was no turning back, (Catrell). Human's desire for reason made it become the sole action in society, then it became an autonomous power which carried other oppressive powers within its bosom- capitalism, colonialism, technology and state bureaucracy- this was the birth ob modernity. The book of the word was shut and the world became more important. Transition is ongoing, humans are striving to achieve more and more. What are the effects of this on modern society, institutions and the individual? Modern era exacerbates the changes triggered by the industrial revolution that mainly affect economic life, culture and the family. Postmodern life is characterised according to Peter Berg as; a) suffering from time- famine- this is because the requirements of capitalism are too demanding and occur at other spheres of life, i.e. leisure, spiritual life and the family b) because the other spheres of life become less important to man, he becomes hyper- individualistic where individual self- fulfilment is the life long quest and priority. Family therefore becomes less important than it was before ‘modernisation. As a result, it becomes more single headed as unwed parenthood becomes normal, where as during the pre- modern era, family was very crucial to people's livelihoods as they depended highly on each other. The community was much more important than the individual. People held close bonds in the beliefs they shared and the norms that they were careful not to break. Modernity therefore has been a complex cultural and social movement that has/is changing the shape of the society today. Let us look closely at the effects of modernity on the family. There is the dissolving of the nuclear family showing that people are not as highly dependent on each other as they were before modernisation. Today is mostly every man for himself, looking after mainly his immediate family because of the high demands the society has on the individual, the push it has for making the individual strive to better himself at all cost. Today there is an increase in the use of birth control and abortion. In the past, a young woman that fell pregnant had to be hidden from the society or chased from her home because she was seen as such a disgrace, but nonetheless, people, valued life so much that abortion even in the most difficult circumstances was not an option. Today in modern times, it is legal. Could it be because modernity has resulted into us putting such little value on children and family than our ancestors? The move from tradition to scientific has given a licence to man to play God. For example, there is the issue of cloning and an increasingly permissive attitude towards euthanasia. Whether these are ‘harms or good' brought by modernity, one has to decide. Modernity has provided us with a lot of choices that our ancestors didn't have. As put by Marshall Berman, â€Å"the promised land into which we have crossed flowing with rapid technological progress and endless consumer goods seems like a splendid world indeed- but is there an underside to the bewildering options before us? Does too much choice become unhealthy? Does choice ever become dangerous'. Our fundamental identities as men and women he writes are matters of choice and construction. He states that in our age, we have moved from fate or destiny to choice. Simply put, we have choices to make where our ancestors did not. We choose our education, our profession, our spouses and our places to live. ‘Modernity has made us turn our children into acquisitions. Modern technology has made a reality what the pre modern mind could only imagine as an utter oxymoron: planned parenthood and genetic engineering will soon manufacture for us the blonde- haired, blue- eyed designer child that we order. Modernity has seduced us into exploiting the institution of work and family to fuel the appetites of the self, but that appetite is impossible to satisfy'. The question therefore is, is it good or bad that the individual is slowly and rapidly achieving the perfection he strives for? He has so many alternatives than did our ancestors. It is clear that the family is one of the institutions that has been greatly affected my modernity. According to Gordon Anderson, in the modern era, four behavioural factors undermine the traditional family; * the distinction between primary and secondary groups- the former is the small intimate, effective group exemplified by the family and dominant in the pre- industrial society- the latter is the large scale, depersonalised, rational organisation illustrated by the modern corporation and modern state. Modernisation is essentially the progressive rationalisation of society and the gradual eclipse of primary by secondary relationships. Modern societies he states are planned economies. Bourgeois, capitalism and socialism are dominated by secondary groups and relations and in these case the family is less important. Family in modern times is characterised with low birth rates, high rate of divorce and abortion and weak family institution. * In the bourgeois society, family is also undermined because there is a drive to move private issues over to the realm of the public policy- that is deviant behaviour, personal relationships, family life and other areas of life that were private become objects of state concerns and involvement. * Anderson states that the weakening of the family in modern society stems from the growth of individualism- rather than group- centeredness * As a result of medical technology, demographic trends and the materialistic value of the system of modern society, sexual behaviour becomes less of a procreation activity and more of a recreation. For example, single women or gay people may choose to have children even without the attachment of marriage. Sex has become like taking a cup of coffee. Children today can start having sex as early as 12 years old whereas in pre modern times, courtship was the only thing to do before couples got married, ( Anderson) The causes of family change in postmodern era Technology and the economy- The family is changing because of the electronic transformation of the post modern era where information and misinformation are transmitted with increasing speed to increasing numbers of people thus also changing the nature of human communication. There is no need for families to stay together when they can easily communicate in a short time via emails telephone etc. Giddens also saw this in his characterisation of modernity under what he called the separation of time and space. He stresses on the difference between space and place. Place he says, refers to the physical setting of social activity as situated geographically and that unlike pre-modern societies where place and space coincide, the advent of modernity he suggests tears space away from place by fostering relations between absent others. In other words, modernity compresses everything; communication as a result is fast in reaching those people that one is not living with. Giddens also talks about time and space under the characteristic of modernity called, disembedding- this he says is the lifting out of social relations from local contents of interaction and their restructuring across indefinite spans of time and space. This he states occurs in two ways, through the creation of symbolic tokens and the development of expert systems. By symbolic tokens he means, the media interchange which can be passed around without regard to those that handle them. Expert systems, he states are systems of technical accomplishments or professional expertise that recognise large areas of test material and social environments in which we live today. All these only show us that the family will keep on changing due to modernity because the individual has other ways of getting by, i.e. through the use of symbolic tokens such as money, or through putting trust in expert systems. Another cause of family change is demographic, for example the decline in population of some countries I.e., Japan, Germany, Italy, etc. Even those countries that are over populated are also trying to reduce population by changing the structure of the family. Another cause in family change. In the realm of values the following transformations occur, these are; > The cultural and ideological elite of the postmodern world from old-fashioned economic politics to new identity politics. Social movements pursue psychological and cultural objectives such as gay pride and politically correct language. Feminism's goals increasingly combine economic equality and cultural equality > The search for self-fulfilment now assumes the forms of new age religious, environments and communal movements. All these transformations in society have resulted into changes in the family. Another cause is the reversal of home life and priorities. Due to the fact that in this era people are ‘time bind'- demands of work and parenting clash- the home becomes the arena for stress and work haven to which parents escape to socialise with friends and colleagues. As we can see, work which was once historically a survival necessity is turned into a good. In agricultural societies, work occurs at home on the farm, industrialisation and the rise of the factory pulls work out of the home thus causing a physical separation between home/family life and work/economic life, ( Anderson). Feminism in this era has also made the modern woman to see a job as not something to put up with, but something desired, a mark of liberation, a source of identity, meaning and self -esteem. Staying at home with babies and diapers is viewed as torture and oppression. Does this show the victory of corporate capitalism which seems to have taken over the working class and has triumphed finally over the family, the home and the private sphere? What are the consequences for the individual and society? When reality changes, humans have no choice but to redefine it, i.e. when the original concept family declines, other concepts are formed, i.e. families of gay parents and single parents redefine the family. The issue of whether or not changes of the family are good or bad is debatable. On one hand, one may say, pre industrial families in fact suffered from more severe pathologies that does modern evolving family including domestic violence, child abuse and marital rape- the patriarchy family was not kind to all its members, on the other hand to day, there is a lot of emphasis on individual freedom of choice. Consequences for children- less primary socialisation in the home as there is a lot of single parenting in the modern era and there is also a high emphasis on the importance of work and the increase in day care. Mothers also suffer as divorce causes them a decline in income and bad physical and mental health. What are the consequences of these for the society? The rise of mass society- where a society is polarised between a mass of atomised and alienated individuals on the one hand and an overbearing state on the other. In mass societies individuals pay allegiance to themselves and to their nation- nothing in between The rise of the nanny state- with high divorce rates, single parenthood and childlessness and increased freedom of choice, a substitute father emerges- the nanny. Decline of civility- Kirk suggests that the absence of effective socialisation agents will produce a stunted self, thus leading to a decline in civility because he states that the quality of an individual self depends on his/her socialization. The result of an increase in dysfunctional families is an increase in children with criminal activities and hobbies. Dysfunctional families he says produce stunted selves because they fail to do their job, (Kirk Thomas) Modernity and post modernity have brought a lot of changes to the family and the society as a whole. The major causes of family decline are deeply rooted in major social, cultural, economic and technological trends that have been underway for several centuries. However, whether the changes brought forward are positive or negative is up to the individual to decide.