First Year Writing Essay

The first year biology majors and accounting major of YU are all asking themselves the same question: â€Å"How is First Year Writing going to help me? † As an accounting major in the Syms School of Business, I was extremely troubled by the university requirement to take first year writing as well. â€Å"How will FYW help me with balance sheets? † I asked myself. How will this class get me an accounting internship this summer that I so desperately need to improve my resume? Seemingly, FYW will not assist me in realizing my professional aspirations. Furthermore, the requirements of a dual curriculum are taxing enough without the added labor an â€Å"extra,† unnecessary requirement. Having finished the course, I believe that First Year Writing should be mandatory for all students for three reasons: FYW raises students’ awareness of critical educational issues, it develops their writing skills, and cultivates intellectual independence. In my First Year Writing class, I was first exposed to articles that dealt with educational issues such as the promotion of online-education and the advancement of math and science at the expense of the Liberal Arts. My professor began a class discussion about the popularization of online education by assigning David Brook’s article â€Å"The Campus Tsunami. † Brooks documents the millions of dollars dedicated by elite colleges such as Harvard and M. I. T. to e-learning the year. Before reflecting upon and researching the issue, I thought of e-learning as a convenient, cheap and efficient form of education. Brooks’s article confirmed my initial feelings. However, in this FYW required readings like an â€Å"An Elite College Education, Online? (which were response letters to Brook’s article) and â€Å"Summa Cum Avaritia† by Nick Brommel that forced me to engage the alternative point of veiw. These two articles argue that online classes should not supplant the class experience because online classes â€Å"reconceive knowledge as information† (Brommel,73). Brommel distinguishes between knowledge and information and argues that online classes can convey only the latter. Students are delivered the facts but are not forced to synthesize the information with the rest of what they know. In the traditional classroom, professors introduce the students to omprehensive knowledge, not simply information. After reading these articles, I concluded that e-learning diminishes the quality of education. Simply put, online education cannot supplement the classroom experience. As a result of FYW’s student discussions and assigned readings, I reconsidered and, ultimately, shifted my view of e-learning. â€Å"But who cares that you changed your view of e-learning? † one might ask. But my view on e-learning has consequences. It might determine who I vote for (candidates disagree about online education) and, perhaps, the future choices I willmake regarding my children’s education. Although I do not have children, I hope to one day. ) In addition to raising my awareness of important educational issues, FYW gave me the opportunity to improve my writing skills. Before submitting my first essay, I went to the writing center for help. After I read over the essay to the professor at the writing center, he put a big X on the paper and recommended that I clearly outline my ideas before beginning the writing process. â€Å"Where is your thesis statement? Why does each one of your paragraphs have three different ideas? † he asked. Quickly realizing that I was a novice writer, the professor gave me some instructive tips. Now, before I start writing an essay, I outline what I want to say in each paragraph. And after much practice, I have a better understanding of how to formulate a clear thesis statement, simply my supporting paragraphs, and avoid general sweeping statements. In short, FYW has made myself and students like me better writers. Nevertheless, a science or business major might question whether writing is always a valuable skill. I maintain that the skill of writing assists is necessary for success as college student and professional, regardless of one’s major or career. In my first semester at YU, I was assigned a term paper in my management course, in which I was expected to clearly answer personal questions like â€Å"what is your vision for your career? † No amount of biology or accounting could provide me with the tools necessary to answer the above question. FYW enabled me to both reflect upon and clearly articulate my professional aspirations. In addition to helping one in the classroom, developed writing skills, assist one in the workplace as well. Again, in my first semester, I asked my accounting professor to push off the exam so that I could finish an essay due that day. As I offered my excuse, I began to ramble about the impracticality of writing for accountants. My professor sighed and then replied, â€Å"When are you kids going to learn that writing is important even in accounting? † He explained that writing skills are necessary in order to communicate financial statements in a coherent manner. Poorly written reports with grammatical errors will lack credibility. Conversely, a well drafted report will be readily understood. My professor’s example reflects Brent Staples’s description of writing as â€Å"a critical strategy [†¦ for] students to prepare them to succeed in the work place† (34). But as Mark Slouka’s article â€Å"Dehumanized† demonstrates, Staples and my accounting professor’s view of writing does not fully capture the importance of writing and the humanities. Most importantly, FYW has forced me to become intellectually independent. As a former soldier in the Israeli Defense forces, I struggled with the adjustment to Yeshiva University life. In the I. D. F. , I lived a life of obedience: I ate when told to eat, slept when told to sleep, and even showered was I was told to shower. Israeli soldiers live by the adage, â€Å"rosh bakir,† which roughly translates to â€Å"don’t think, just do. † In contrast to the IDF, my FYW course styled itself off of Mark Edmunson’s concept of â€Å"democratic thinking,† where each student is encouraged and, in fact, expected to offer his own thoughts. During my year and half long army service, my life choices were made for me. But upon entering YU, my FYW course required that I apply intellectual independence in evaluating the â€Å"Purpose of Liberal Arts,† a difficult task for a soldier whose bathroom breaks were previously timed. Initially, I viewed my professor as commander and myself as soldier. I relied on her exact directions about how to write the essay at hand. Quickly, my professor identified my dependency and challenged me to develop and articulate my own thoughts. But one need not serve in the army in order to fear independence. Like soldiers, students who simply who â€Å"go with the flow† depend heavily on things like social pressure and parental guidance. FYW forces students to exercise their intellectual independence in reflecting on big questions like â€Å"Purpose of Liberal Arts. Throughout this essay, I have argued that that First Year Writing should be mandatory for all students for three basic reasons. First, FYW raises awareness about critical life issues of which online education is but a single example. Second, even accounting majors who may not interested in the humanities can apply the writing skills they acquired from FYW when doing assignments for other classes and, eventually, when drafting financial statements. But most importantly, FYW should be mandatory because it forces students to exercise their intellectual independence.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Psychology)

In Germany, psychiatrists regarded OCD as a disorder of intellect. The German word for â€Å"obsession† is Zwangsvorstellung and was translated as â€Å"obsession† in Great Britain and â€Å"compulsion† in the United States. The term â€Å"obsessive-compulsive disorder† became the compromise term. Over time, the way people view O. C. D. has changed. For example, in the seventeenth century people who suffer from obsessions and compulsions were thought to be religious fanatics or melancholic (Frankel, 2011). It wasn't until the European Renaissance that people first began relinquishing the belief that mental illnesses like OCD were caused by devil or other supernatural forces. Based on this reasoning, treatment involved banishing the â€Å"evil† from the â€Å"possessed† person through exorcism (steward, 2009). OCD can happen to anyone. You could be rich or poor/ black or white. It has happened to people such as Martin Luther (1483-1546) the most important leader of the protestant of reformation in Europe. John Bunyan (1628-1688) the writer and preacher that is famous for his writing Pilgrim's Progress. Dr. Samual Johnson (1709-1784) wrote the first dictionary in the English language. Many people often wonder what causes OCD. Experts don't know what exactly caused OCD, but they suggest that it may be a problem in the way one part of the brain sends information to another. (Peterson, 2001). When your brain doesn't have enough of serotonin (a brain chemical) it causes problems. Experts also believe that problem related to infections, such as: strip throat or scarlet fever can cause or make the disorder worse. Brain scans of people with OCD have shown that they have different patterns of brain activity (Price, 2007). Some cases may even be genetic. OCD isn't caused by family problems or attitudes, but genetics, or stressful events may trigger an episode of the disorder. The symptoms of OCD vary it can be mild to severe and even come and go. The most common symptom of OCD is Anxiety. For example, you feel a sense that something bad is going to happen if a task is left undone, such as check again and again to see whether the flat iron is on. If you fail to check you feel tense or anxious. Obsession symptoms are unwanted thoughts, ideas, and impulses that you have again and again. For example, a fear to hurt yourself or a love one, need to do something perfectly or correctly and a fear of getting dirty or infected (Malik, 2008). Compulsion symptoms are behaviors that you repeat to try to control the obsession. For example: washing, checking, counting, repeating, hoarding and praying. The most common compulsion is washing and checking. Doctors check for OCD by asking about your symptoms and your health past. A physical exam is given to the patient. Mental health assessments are given as well, it is an evaluation of your emotional functioning and your ability to think, reason, and remember. People with OCD live with the condition for years before being diagnosed (Wilkins, 2000). Some people go without treatment because they are embarrassed to talk about their symptoms (Ego). Conditions that co- exist with OCD is Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders (Depression and Bipolar Disorder), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Eating Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders. There are three main questions that a doctor will ask to decide rather you have OCD or not â€Å"Do you have repeated thoughts that cause anxiety and that you cannot get rid of no matter how hard you try? , Do you wash your hands frequently or keep things extremely clean and neat? Do you excessively check things? (Weinstock, 2010). † Also to be diagnosed, the obsessions or compulsions must be time-consuming to the point where it interferes with your daily life. The earlier it is detected the better because there are proper treatments that can improve OCD (Romito, 2007). Treatment for OCD is good, about 50% of patients improve and about 10% recover completely (Abramowitz, 2009). Only 10% get worse in spite of therapy (Abramowitz, 2009). The four R’s you should keep in mind when trying to overcome OCD relabel, reattribute, refocus, and revalue (Segal, 2012). Relabel is Recognize that the intrusive obsessive thoughts and urges are the result of OCD. Reattribute is to Realize that the intensity and intrusiveness of the thought or urge is caused by OCD; remind you that OCD thoughts and urges are not meaningful, but are false messages from the brain. Refocus is when you find ways to work around the OCD thoughts by focusing your attention on something else, at least for a few minutes. Revalue is the key to not take the OCD thought at face value. It is not significant in itself. There are Medication that a doctor can prescribe to you depending on the severity of your symptoms they are known as Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) â€Å"antidepressants† they include Prozac, Luvox & Zoloft (Sadock, 2007). It can take up to twelve weeks before the medicine to take effect after prescribed. Consistency is important for both counseling and medicines. People who don't take their medicines regularly or stop often have their symptoms return (relapse). With therapy, it is important to work with your doctor to find out when, or if, you should stop. Counseling is available as well; cognitive-behavioral therapy called exposure and response prevention is considered the most effective type of counseling for OCD. Your relationship with your therapist is very important. Finding someone who is right for you is critical to your success in overcoming OCD. The therapist for exposure and response prevention counseling would require you to write down all of your obsessions, compulsions, and things you avoid. Doing this you will then rank each of them from highest to lowest. Throughout the sessions you will be exposed to your obsessions, compulsions, and things you avoid in order to help overcome the faulty beliefs (Lewin, 2011). There are home treatments that you can use to reduce overall stress. For example, taking deep breathes, soaking in a warm bath, listening to smooth music, exercise, yoga, etc. In rare cases surgery can be done. Which uses surgically implanted electrodes in the brain, and magnetic stimulation of parts of the brain are done for severe OCD. Deep brain- stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation are possible surgical options that do not require destruction of brain tissue. In one study, 30% of participants benefited significantly from this procedure (Roth, 2010). The procedure only can be performed in a hospital with specialist qualifications. This is done only when you aren't responding to any other treatment or procedure (Williams, 2010). OCD is usually confused with two things Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and an addiction. OCD is ego dystonic, meaning that the disorder is incompatible with the sufferer’s self- concept. While OCPD is ego syntonic, it is the behaviors, values, feelings, which are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, or consistent with one's ideal self-image (Morse, 1998). Addiction can be explained as the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. OCD is different from behaviors such gambling and overeating ddiction. People with these disorders typically experience at least some pleasure from their activity. OCD sufferers do not actively want to perform their compulsive tasks and experience no pleasure from doing so (Marlatt, 2008). Therefore, OCD is a long- term condition that can be improved over years of medication and/or therapy. In the United States, about 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children have OCD. According to the World Health Organization, OCD is one of the top 20 causes of illness-related disability, worldwide, for individuals between 15 and 44 years of age (Smith, 2012).

National Education Policy 1986 Essay

* Objectives and features :- The National education policy on education (1986) is known as new education policy (NEP ). The call for the National education policy was first give by Prime Minister of India Shri Rajiv Gandhi in his broadcast to the nation on 5th Jan. 1985. The need for new policy from the fact implementation of 1968 NEP was incomplete a not any National policy on Education was passed by the Loksabha on May 8th and Rajjya sabha on May 13th 1986. This policy contains XII parts and 157 paragraphs on different aspects on education. * Salient Features :- I. Essence and Role of Education :- i. All Round development : It is fundamental to have education for all and all round development, and spiritual. ii. Acculturating role- (Progressive role ): – Independence of mind and spirit. iii. Man power development –Education develops manpower for different level of the economy. It ultimate guarantee of national self-reliance. iv. Investment:- Education is an unique investment in the present and future this coordinal principle is the key to national policy on education II. National system of education: – i. Concept of national system: All student irrespective of cast, creed, location or Sex have right to have access (way ) to education of comparable quality. ii. Common Education Structure :- The national policy on education has a common education structure ie. 10+2+3 structure. This structure has now been kept in all parts of the country. 10 means -6 yrs of primary education 2 yrs of upper primary 2 yrs of high school +2 means -2 yrs of higher secondary +3 means -college of 3 yrs – degree of B. A. iii. National curricular framework: – Contains a common core along with other components that are flexible. iv. Minimum level of learning will be for each stage of education. v. International understanding strengthen peace. vi. Equal opportunity: – For promoting equality it is necessary to provide for equal opportunity. This is possible through core curriculum. vii. Promotion of link of other languages:- Many multi language dictionaries and glossaries will be published to promote link between different languages. viii. Lifelong education: – Opportunities will be provided to the youth, housewife, agricultural and industrial workers & professional to continue the education of their choice at their own place.ix. Institution of National importance: – The institutions which will be strengthened to play an important role in giving shape to the nation system of education will be development. III. Educational for Equality: – The NEP lays emphases for the equality in the following provisions. 1) Educational for women’s equality :- i. Status of women ii. Women’s study iii. Promotion of women’s illiteracy iv. Women’s participation in technical & vocational education. 2) Education of scheduled castes : Equalization of educational development with non-scheduled castes at all levels of education in all areas. 3) Education of scheduled tribes: There are various measures being taken to bring scheduled tribes with others. 4) Other Educationally backward sections and areas: Suitable incentive will be provided to all educationally backward sections of society, particularly in the rural areas. 5) Minorities: Some groups are educationally deprived greater attention will be paid to the education of these groups in the interest of equality and social justice. 6) The handicapped : – The NEP proposes to integrate the physically and mentally handicapped with the general community as equal partners. 7) Adult and continuing Education : – 1) Strengthening the existing programme. 2) Mass literacy programme 3) Programmes of adult and continuing education. IV. Reorganization of education at different stages: – New educational policy has mode valuable provisions for reorganization of education at different stages. i) Early childhood care and education : – This will be given high priority and be suitably integrated with the integrated child development services programme where ever possible. There will be * Child oriented programme. * Integration of child care and pre-primary education ii) Primary Education : – The highest priority will be given to solve the problems of children dropping out of school. a) Education should have Universal enrolment Up to 14 yrs of Age Substantial improvement in quality of education b) Child centered approach and activity based process of learning should be adopted at primary stage. c) Provisions for essential facilities in primary school. d) Non formal education- Programme launched to educate school dropouts, working children, children remain away from school. Facilities to be provided such as – * Modern technology aids. * Talented instructors * Training for instructors. * Need centered curriculum * Leaning material iii) Secondary Education : – Exposes students to understand their constitutional duties and rights as citizens. Vocationalisation through specialized institutions. iv) Vocationsation of Education : – It received a very high priority in the new policy. v) Higher Education : – Must be dynamic vi) Provision for Open University & Distance learning. V. Technical and Management Education:- Technical manpower information system will be developed and strengthen continuing Education covering established as well as emerging technologies will be promoted. Programmes of computer literacy will be organized on wide scale from school stage. Training to it will from past of professional education. VI. Making the system work:- For the progress of nation the policy should work for this purpose, it is essential that all the teachers should teach and all the students should study.

Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instructions Essay

Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instructions - Essay Example Ralph Tyler’s contributions to the rationale came from his experience as a teacher, a maker as well as an evaluator of the curriculum. He was actively involved in designing the methods of measuring changes in learners in relation to efforts by the schools to help learners in developing interests and ensuring their appropriate performance in society. In the manuscript, Tyler formulated questions that he believed that any practitioner in curriculum inquiry should try to answer. Do the questions include what educational purposes the school seeks to attain? What educational experiences are needed for the effective attainment of the purposes? How educational experiences could be effectively organized? And lastly how the determination of whether the purposes are being attained can be effected (Tyler, 2010).  Tyler laid emphasis on educational purposes, on which he meant few targets which are set at high levels of generalizability. Tyler also suggested that the school objectives wo uld be valid enough if their selections are in consideration to information about the learner's contemporary life, psychological interests, and needs, as well as useful aspects of the subject matter in relation to everyone including the discipline specialists. The schools in the selection of the effective and attainable objectives should screen in line with the school's educational philosophy as well as their beliefs about the psychology of learning (McNeil, 2009).  After the formulation of the purposes, highlighting the necessary educational experiences is vital. The learning or educational experiences, according to Tyler, refer to the plan for the provision of learning situations with considerations to both the previous viewpoints and experiences brought to the situation by the learner and the likely response of the learner; emotionally, mentally, and physically in action.  Ordering the goals, objectives or targets to ensure that they share the focus on the same outcome would then be very vital. Tyler was fascinated with how the curriculum could be structured to generate a maximum cumulative effect. This was in line with his efforts to develop a cumulative plan for an organization that would assist students in learning more effectively (McNeil, 2009).

Aviation Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Aviation Law - Case Study Example A brief study of the various kinds of infringements of the rules and the supposed remedial measures or punishments for each help determine which rules Jack has infringed upon and understand the punishment he is liable for the same. Understanding of the severity of the infringements and a closer look at Jack's reasons and situations which have led to the supposed infringements by him help in a more detailed analysis and recommendations to Jack for facing the trial which would sure follow. Although the Jack has managed to avoid any serious accident or damage, it is still a case of serious infringement to a certain extent. Even the psychological conditions have to be taken into consideration as Jack had been awake all night and had been allowed to hire the aircraft without being strict in adherence to the rules before taking off. There exists provisions of the Air Navigation Order (ANO) with Regulations like The Rules of the Air Regulations, The Air Navigation (General) Regulations, the Air Navigation (Cosmic Radiation) (Keeping of Records) Regulations, the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations and a number of permanent Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) Regulations made under the Order. These Regulations are it also contains the provisions of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations. These basic categories of regulations and their ... The organizational bodies and their regulations are considered in detail which helps to identify the list of probable infringements Jack could face. The different regulations by the ANO that are framed are all concerned with each detail of aviation transportation, both civil and military aviation. The basic need for organized way of conducting the activity and ensuring safety of man and machine is kept in mind to formulate these rules. The provisions for flying and the orders or rules for the aircraft include the rule for pilots to comply with Air Navigation Order, Air Navigation General Rules and Rules of the Air. The Rules of the Air Regulations of 1991 specifies the regulations based on the context for interpretation of the same. These are categorized into general, visual flight rules, instrument flight rules, aerodrome flight rules, special and general flight rules, visual and aural signals and lights and signals to be shown by the aircraft (Statutory Instrument, 2000). Further, the authorizations and documents required, emergency drills, local regulations and accident reporting are also laid down (Bowman, 2007). According to Articles 3 to 7 of ANO, an aircraft should be registered by CAA in the United Kingdom and contain the trademark of the aircraft and country. Articles 8 to 24 and 95 of CAA like Certificate of Maintenance Review, Equipment of aircraft, and Radio equipment of aircraft require that any aircraft be checked for flight conditions before and after flying. All pilots are required to comply with all the regulations of the provisions of the ANO. Articles 26 and 28 to 37 lay the rules for validation of licences, personal flying log book, the pilot's

Do Social Networks Bring the End of Privacy Research Paper

Do Social Networks Bring the End of Privacy - Research Paper Example It is in this backdrop that we must study the issue of privacy in the United States today. As the most advanced nation in the world, the urban spaces in the United States are the nerve centers for global commerce and politics. A loss of privacy in the form of loss of confidential information can have far-reaching negative consequences for individuals/corporations/governments involved. In the last two decades, the issue of privacy has taken a new dimension, with the advent of electronic communication. The growth of the Internet has posed new challenges to administrators of privacy and so far these challenges are not properly met. There is plenty of commercial activity that takes place in the Internet, thereby raising the stakes of proper security measures. An FBI report indicates that phishing scams are occurring more frequently on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Orkut. Viruses, decoy messages and hacked personal accounts are employed to acquire private data of a user, which is later abused for various purposes. For example, â€Å"Messages, which generally masquerade as warnings related to service agreements or other notifications, contain malicious code that covertly installs software on victims PCs, letting thieves steal account names and passwords. The thieves then use the accounts to distribute messages to friends of the victim, requesting large sums of money and spreading the malicious code even further†. (Schiller, 2009) In the light of discovering such scams in the world of social networking, the FBI has notified Internet users to strengthen their privacy settings and also take precautionary measures such as â€Å"disabling options such as photo sharing when possible, and carefully scrutinizing links before deciding to click on them, regardless of their apparent source† (Schiller, 2009). Already, in

Personal statement For Bachelor of Nursing Essay

Personal statement For Bachelor of Nursing - Essay Example I consider myself as a creative, bold, confident, determinant and ambitious individual along with a presentable personality. I have sound nursing and interpersonal skills as I always perform my duty and task with full integrity and devotion. There are some domains in which I possess command and expertise. They are Patient’s behavior analysis, General Physician Consultancy, Medical report analysis, and Performing diagnostic tests. As my academic reports are illustrating my interest in the pious filed of Nursing, so I have decided to continue my dedication and devotion towards it. I have decided to precede my educational and professional experience up to such an extent where I can help humanity at my best. In this era of exclusive technology and inventions, I need to upgrade myself and need to keep pace with the profession, so a scholarship for higher studies will definitely help me to sharpen my skills. I feel that after a scholarship I can serve humanity at my best because â€Å"Serving humanity is to serving

Watsons Caring Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Watsons Caring Model - Essay Example More so, professional nurses need to attend to patients with a positive regard and show them unconditional acceptance. Most importantly, Watson suggests that nurses need to spend time with the patients, which he calls caring moment. Watson believes that competent nurses and how they attend to patients makes the patients to feel secure; therefore, according to Watson’s caring model, nurses caring relationship with patients positively relates with the patients quick recovery, quality life and prolongation of life. Watson’s model argues that caring is the essence of nursing as it helps patients to find hope and meaning in sickness and suffering. This essay explores Watsons caring model focusing on the concepts and sub concepts of the theory, the generality of the theory and how it is applied across the culture, and lastly the impacts and its continuing influence. The key components of Watsons caring model include â€Å"carative factors, a transpersonal caring relationship, and caring moments or occasion† (Lachman, 2012). To begin with, carative factors include showing love, kindness and concern displaying sensitivity to oneself and other people’s. More so, carative factors covers understanding and accepting other people’s emotions, feelings and perceptions and convincing them to share their feelings and views, and also establishing supportive and protective environment for the patients. Furthermore, providing basic human needs, spiritual as well as the existential needs of the patient and effectively use interpersonal communication skills to establish trusting and caring relationships also serve as part of carative (Basford and Slevin, 2003). Watson caring model suggest that patients need to be helped in the creative use of self as part of caring (De and Anderson, 2008). Nevertheless, a transpersonal caring interaction c omes in when both the nurse and patient are looking

The Significance of Womens Organizations Group Activities in Essay

The Significance of Womens Organizations Group Activities in Relationship to Their Opposition to the War in Vietnam - Essay Example As well women worked in the war as journalists, flight attendants, and in various church and humanitarian organizations, and the significance of these activities in relationship to the women's opposition and reaction to the war in Vietnam is an issue which is of incredible importance. The aim of this paper is to not only discuss the different organizations and group activities that women were involved in during the Vietnam War but as well the significance of their participation with them overall considering how against the war most women actually were. By doing this, we will be able to come to a much more informed and knowledgeable understanding on the subject matter at hand overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. The history of women and war is one which has basically been forgotten in comparison to that of man's, however it is important to realize that women have actually always played a part, and in fact, "Between 1962 and 1973, according to Department of Defense statistics, approximately 7,500 women served on active military duty in Vietnam. The Veteran's Administration puts the numbers even higher, at around 11,000. Independent surveys estimate that the number of women, both civilian and non-civilian, working in Vietnam during the war is between 33,000 and 55,000" (Carlson, 2007). However, despite these incredibly large and notable numbers of women in the military, they have had a long and hard road in regards to gaining even remote equality. One of the most notorious organizations that women worked for during the Vietnam War was the Red Cross Organization, and the Red Cross basically maintained three particular and different programs during the Vietnam conflict which were: Service to Military Hospitals (SMH), Service to Military Institutions (SMI), and Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO). "SMH provided recreational and casework services to service personnel who were hospitalized and casework services for service personnel who were employed in military hospitals. Women employed in SMI provided primarily clerical services with some individual assistance for obtaining loans if personnel had to return home for a family emergency. SMH and SMI functioned both in the United States and in foreign countries and both in peace and in war. The Red Cross program which was eventually entitled Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO) originated in World War II specifically to employ civilian women who wished t o make a contribution to the country during periods of war" (Firestone & Robinson, 1996). When it comes to the issue of the reaction that was felt by women towards the Vietnam War, there are many issues that need to be taken into consideration here as well. In comparison to the percentage of men against the Vietnam War, there were almost double the amount of women who felt negatively towards it, however at the same time the war presented many opportunities for women, and so while they still felt disapprovingly towards the war, there were still then obviously reasons that they also were rather positive towards it, as they were benefitting in different

Relflection Paper Essay Example for Free

Relflection Paper Essay When enrolling into a new class, it is normal to have expectations. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I understand that the upcoming semester will provide many challenges I will have to face. I am excited to see how I will grow academically over the course of the semester. I find myself eager about learning new things and refreshing my knowledge on things I have forgotten. It has been a long time since I have studied the growth and development of humans. I have strengths to bring to this class as well as weaknesses that I plan to work on during this class. By the end of this course I expect to be able to apply what I learn in counseling and become a better writer. While this class will be more stimulating than what I have been used to I hope that with the help of my classmates and my professor I can make this class a positive learning experience. During my undergraduate career, I took many psychology classes involving the human development. In one of my undergraduate classes, Lifespan Development, we went through the lifespan of people from birth until death. I took this class online and the class involved a lot of self-teaching. Because the class was online, assignments consisted of mostly online tests. While I learned a lot, I do not feel as if I learned all that I could. I am looking forward to taking this class on a more challenging level and having a deeper understanding in human growth and development. One of my biggest weaknesses is engaging in class discussions and presentations. Although I have an extroverted personality, I am very shy when it comes presentations. It takes time for me to get comfortable speaking in front a group of people. While doing presentations and engaging in class discussions, I get very nervous. In this class, a big part of my grade comes from this. Therefore, in this class I expect to get over my fear of public speaking. I hope that with the help of my professor I gain confidence about speaking in front of groups of people. I want to be able to take what I have learned in this class, apply it to counseling and also have a better understanding of what I have learned. This class will be an introduction of what to look forward to for the next three years. I am not used to writing papers and having to do so much reflective thinking. I believe this experience will help me become a better writer. In order for me to achieve all of my expectations, it is important that my professor help me when I need it, challenge me and give me constructive critism. In addition, if I want to take all that I can from this class it is imperative for me to give this class all that I have and spend time reading and completing my projects. I know that during this semester, there will be challenges but with the instruction of my professor, I plan to grow in my profession.

The Eisenstein And Architectural Montage Film Studies Essay

The Eisenstein And Architectural Montage Film Studies Essay From a lump of clay a vessel is made, what makes it useful is space within the vessel, for a room, we make doors and a window, but what makes a room habitable is the empty space, so while theres advantages in the tangible, it is in the intangible that theres use.  [1]   Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, c.550 BC Tzu describes a space which is not empty but which is a gap, a gap which is waiting to be transformed by experience. These spatial gaps are inherent in fragmentation. In his book Actions of Architecture, Jonathan Hill focusses on these spatial gaps and discusses the Chora L. Works by Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman. The book is split into three sections. It doesnt start at the beginning nor does it end at the end. The first and last sections are penetrated by nine holes whilst the middle section has only conceptual holes. Hill states the intention of this was to convey that the absence of a section doesnt mean the absence of meaning. In the book, Eisenmann and Derrida declare that solid and voids are architectural representations of presence and absence. Voids have as much of a presence as solids in the book, as users can fill in missing words with their own meaning. Montage: In Actions of Architecture, Jonathan Hill discusses the use of montage in architecture. He uses Alvar Aaltos Sanatorium and Le Corbusiers 1931 rooftop apartments for Charles de Beistegui as examples of buildings where montage was used as a strategy for architectural composition. In Aaltos Sanatorium, montage is used as a strategy to join two dissimilar aspects of the building which have no connection expect for being adjacent to each other. Aalto achieved this by utilizing two distinct fragments.  [2]   In Le Corbusiers rooftop apartments, the architect departs from his traditionally rational design approach. Various surfaces of the apartment are juxtaposed with elements of the surrounding city. Important fragments of the city are isolated from the rest of the urban context below with the use of high walls surrounding the perimeter of the terrace. By doing this, Le Corbusier twinned the fireplace with the Arc de Triomphe in the far distance. The architect revealed selected views of the city with sliding walls. A periscope in the centre was the only means by which the entire city could be seen as a spectacle.  [3]   Space Between: Hill explains montage as a spatial exercise where fragments are brought from other sites to a new location while maintaining to some extent the essence of the older location. He uses film to explain this. In film, we perceive fragments through the arrangement of components. In Baldessaris artwork, the artist claims the process is as important as the final result. He juxtaposes unrelated components as he opposes the predictability and linearity of film.  [4]   Jose Quetglas suggests that Mies is concerned with the creation of visual perspective that acts as a guide to movement.  [5]  A Miesian plan is primarily concerned with compositional aspects of perspective painting than that of the anti-perspective intentions of the De Stijl. Jonathan Jones, a researcher at the Applied Visual Research Unity in Derby University found that according to his research, it is impossible to comprehend a painting in its entirety at once. A single glance is not sufficient to take in everything. Visual perception is fragmentary in nature. Our visual field is quite small so to focus on objects results in the background becoming blurred. Similarly in a film by a montage director, the world is viewed through a series of glances.  [6]   While designing the Barcelona Pavilion, Mies drew an axial line over and over from which he measured asymmetries against.  [7]  Mies orientated the Pavilion along an East West axis. Through termination of axis and spaces, movement was diverted. Mies used this technique to formulate movement sequences. Zimmerman states movement flows on the outer of planes in contrast to the delimiting floor and ceiling planes.  [8]  Mies contrasts symmetry and asymmetry and slices space with elements of the building which is characteristic of postmodernism.  [9]   In his book Neoclassicism Architecture Rowe analyses the work of Mies. He states the centre is diminished by the international style and emphasis is placed on dispersion along the axis in which Mies creates a composition of balanced symmetry.  [10]  The Pavilion is an example of decomposition of a volume which is deconstructed into individual planes. Through Mies Pavilion we see a focus on multiple viewing positions as opposed to a single perspective of the classic. The positions of internal walls are determined by the use of triangulated lines. Mies aligns corners and end points of planes using this technique.  [11]  His attention was divided between the fragmentation of the space and the integration of visual perception through this method. The image was fragmented by The Cubist Art Movement which created multiple points of view. As discussed, in Mies Pavilion we see a shift from centrality, abstractions of geometries and facades with frontal relations.  [12]  Buildings such as this cannot be experienced or understood from a static position. Cinema Montage is composition and the assembly of movement images. This comprises an image of time.  [13]  These parts succeed each other creating a parallel alternate montage. Eisenstein criticises Griffith for what he see as the juxtaposition of parts and not a unity of production. A cell, which makes its own part by division and differentiation. Eisenstein agrees with Griffiths idea of an organic composition as an assembly of movement images to the transformed situation through the transcendence of opposition.  [14]   Deleuze investigates cinema in terms of movement, the philosophical and the technical. Movement informs our understanding of the formation of worlds in terms of the types of information it selects and generates as new forms. Deleuze discusses cinema in terms of framing the movement image. In a relatively closed system; framing, type of shot and cut are the vital aspects for the films quality creating what he calls a set of values.  [15]  The speed and rhythm of the shots affects the image. Cinema Montage: Dleuze looks at four schools of montage. American, French, German and Soviet. Deleuze situates montage in the relation the movement of time. In the Deleuzian system, montage is the determination of the whole of the image, achieved through the techniques of cutting and creating continuities. Montaged images creates sets of images. Montage creates movement which in turn produces specific modes of time that are not fixed but events that are contextually reproduced over the passage of chronometric time. He regards montage as the coming together of images to create a whole whose final form is in movement. He refers to the work of Bob Dylan as an example of the long preparation for creating work. To him things are made after an encounter with other things, people but also with after encounters with movement, other ideas, events, entities. Cinema is comprised of a number of different kinds of images, Deleuze calls this image- assemblage montage. Through connections as of yet un-thought, un-named, but intuited through things already manifested in forms and the performance of those intuited spaces. Montage makes possibilities take new forms. Eisenstein: Architectural Montage. For Eisenstein, a relentless vertigo is determined from the architectural forms interacting with each other. Eisenstein intention was for architectural representations of space to explode into successive stages of montage from decomposition to recomposition as though it were an array of shots. From this, Eisenstein claimed the principles of montage are embodied by architecture. In Montage and Architecture by Eisenstein, he sets out this theory. Two paths of spatial perspectives are contrasted, where the viewer follows an imaginary line created among a series of objects. Varying positions moving in front of a spectator and the architectural, where, the viewer moves through an array of carefully positioned elements which he has viewed in order with a visual sense. Eisenstein claims that the perspective path of the Acropolis constructed by Auguste Choisy depicts composition of the site.  [16]  He asks the reader to view it with the eye of a film maker. Eisenstein claims there are carefully sequenced perspectives here. He suggests that there is a relationship between the viewers pace of movement and the rhythm of the buildings. To him, Choisy has set up a combination of a film shot effect, producing new impressions from each new emerging shot. This creates according to Eisenstein a montage effect, where effect is gained from sequential juxtaposition of these shots. In the movie street Eisenstein shows his interest of cause and effect as a notion of movement. Shots are decomposed and recomposed. Architectural composition is compared to cinematic montage by Eisenstein in an essay on two Piranesi engravings for the early and late states of the Carceri series. The flux of form which contains the potential to explode into a series of successive states Eisensteins theory of space constructions depicted new ideas of architecture as frozen music. Eisenstein compared the basis of architectural composition, massing and the establishment of rhythmic elements to that of music, painting and cinematic montages. Montage: As Frozen Music In The Culture of Fragments Gianmarco Vergani puts forward a proposition for the unification of interdisciplinary arts to create an original art form. This is an area which offers a depth of experimentation. According to the author, the merging of architecture and music can be achieved through two principles, synchronic and diachronic expression.  [17]  He terms music as a diachronic art form as it is derived from change and continuous transformations in time. Architecture on the other hand, is synchronic, it a fixed medium consisting of structure and volumetric elements. This leads to two methodologies by which to create architecture through music. First, music must be reduced to its architectonic dimensions outside of time. Music is then seen as a synchronic structure in which it can be applied to architecture. In the diachronic approach, architecture unfolds through time. Space is read sequentially in time increments and is experienced through the observers movement.  [18]  This is a reversal of positions as the observer is required to move in order to experience the architectural composition unlike the listening of music where the observer remains static whilst enveloped in music. Relationships are formed between the two elements. The author proposes that in music; tone timbre, pitch, dynamics and duration can be extracted while in architecture; texture, material, light, colour, scale. These can be transposed into architectural spaces. In music the pitch is transposed into colour, tones and timbres are transposed into textures and materials. The dynamics of a piece of music can be read as contradiction and increasing scale.  [19]   However, he does claim some limitations in this methodology. He states the art form is not truly fluid or dynamic as it can only become such through the participation of the observer. Architecture is static; representing time in this medium cannot be fully executed. The author proposes that a truly diachronic visualization of music is needed. Folding In Folding in Architecture Greg Lynn declares the importance of defining compositional complexity in architecture. Gregg seeks a progression from the collage aesthetics of Robert Venturis Complexity Contradiction in Architecture and the spatial collage of Deconstructivist Architecture. Greg terms Intricacy as a fusion of components into a continuity creating a whole in which the various elements form a larger composition.  [20]   According to the author, this intricacy is unlike compartmentalisation or hierarchy. Instead it is the variation of components. He aims for the term to move from an understanding of detail in architecture as an isolated component. What is proposed is an architectural system where there are no details in the traditional sense. Instead the detail is everywhere continuously variegated throughout the whole. As mentioned in previous chapters, the loss of structure to Greg was in favour of an infinitesimal component and displacement of a fragmentary collage.  [21]   The infinitesimal is a fragmentary approach to form. It is based on the slipping between single frames and interconnections. From a distance the form possess similarity and in a coherence of detail between varying elements that compromise the structure. According to the author, the composition of the intricate is organic, in that every component interacts and communicates simultaneously. Every instance is affected by every other instance. The outside is not a fixed limit but a moving matter animated by peristaltic movements, folds and foldings that together make up an inside: they are not something other than the outside, but precisely the inside of the outside. Deleuze Foucault p.96-97 Le Pli, the concept of the fold, is Deleuzes architectural philosophy. In which, the fold is seen as continuous multiplicity of differentiation Thus a continuous labyrinth is not a line dissolving into independent points, as flowing sand might dissolve into grains, but resembles a sheet of paper divided into infinite folds or separated into bending movements, each one determined by the consistent or conspiring surroundingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ A fold is always folded within a fold, like a cavern in a cavern. The unit of matter, the smallest element of the labyrinth, is the fold, not the point which is never a part, but a simple extremity of the line.  [22]   The fold is the integration of elements that are unrelated into a continuous form. Deleuzes philosophy of the fold offers continuity and variation in the development of a form. To him the form is the conclusion and the process. The Inflection as Delezue describes is the point at which a curve begin to form as either convex or concave. Inflection is the ideal genetic element of the variable curve or fold. The essence of a fold is the temporal nature in which it develops from the inflection to its subsequent position. A memory is maintained of its previous position.  [23]   to unfold is to increase, to grow; whereas to fold is to diminish, to reduce, to withdraw into the recesses of a world.  [24]   An example of this can be viewed in Origami. The folds of which shift from enfolding, unfolding to enveloping. After the first fold, the context begins to reduce in size. The form is unpredictable, after each fold the shapes from the previous fold cease to exist. According to the author, in this instance memory can be enacted through unfolding. A variation of this is Kirigami. The continuity of the folds becomes obstructed by cuts in the fold. This demonstrates conflict and contradiction instead of smoothness and continuity. The folds in origami act as bounding agents between other folds, in Kirigami when a conflict arises, the folds deviate from their continuity and exhibit but not resolve the occurring confliction. In this way, Origami is like folding architecture seeking to realize conflict and contradiction whereas Kirigami is similar to Deconstructivist architecture, it exhibits them. According to Deleuze, multiple is not many parts. It is something that has been folded in many ways. This becomes a unity that envelopes a multiplicity.  [25]   As a by-product of the fold, form and context become surfaces with no distinct interiority or exteriority. The continuous nature of the fold implies a dialogue between time and environment. Case Studies: Montage Strategies Rem Koolhaas who had involvement in cinema as a scriptwriter conveys cinematographic image in some of his plans. In his proposal for the City Hall in The Hague, we see a transfer of the Manhattan skyline to the European City. The famous skyline which is seen so many times in film is utilized here as a movie set made into architecture. Koolhaas breaks down the overall volume into various slabs and uses a series of prisms of differing heights. From a distance, the effect appears like a series of skyscrapers compressed on a flattened image, as would be the view from the opposite side of the river in Manhattan. Since the latter decades of the 20thCentury, fragmentation has been a central issue in architecture. The many different guises of architecture today from postmodern, Deconstructivist and to all subsequent trends are based on fragmentation. A transcript of Rem Koolhaas and Sarah Whilings conversation is quite revealing in this aspect. as an entire object from the exterior of a building. That is what seems to unite the biggest project competitions from 1989 (Zeebrugge, ZKM and Bibliotheque). In some of the projects, the architectural language is quite unstable. The facades and the angles of Porto Case de Musica and Seattle are odd structures which no longer possess a unified identity. For the most parts these projects appear more decon now than they did as part of the 1988 Deconstructivist Exhibition.  [26]   For Koolhaas, the characteristic of Deconstructivism was not in the strange forms, but in the fragmentation. According to Koolhaas, each new building insisted on assembly and integration, the construction of a new whole, which may be unstable but which remains a single entity.  [27]  An example of this are the Seattle and Porto projects which have forms that cannot be recognized as regular geometric shapes but they have in their volume a unity of materials on the outside. In terms of metropolitan scale, Koolhaas has said, A city can obtain a coherence in its planned composition through a system of fragments.  [28]   This is evident in his large scale urban projects where he strives to achieve coherence. According to Koolhaas when a building gets beyond a certain size, it becomes a big building. The volume can no longer be articulated by one architectural gesture nor a combination of gestures. It is this which initiates the autonomy of its elements. This is not fragmentation as the elements remain committed to the overall building. To establish links between independent elements, Koolhaas relies on the programmatic hybridizations, frictions, overlaps, proximities and the superimpositions that are possible in a building of large scale. Montage itself was founded to organize relationships between independent elements. As Maholy-Nagy stated in 1929. The technique of montage is present as efficient in many fields of design. It can be found in methodology, in text, writings and in painting through collage.  [29]   In Soviet avant-garde cinema, Lev Kuleshovs idea of montage can be viewed as an analysis, a dissecting into parts, with the aim of reintegration or as he stated, Montage is a two way operation Montage is the basis of cinema. It enables us to fragment and to reconstruct and finally to remake the material.  [30]   Dualities: Koolhaas utilizes these methods of montage in the urban planning and architectural projects his office undertake. A dualism is present in his use of montage. A decomposition and a reintegration. For example, in Lille Congrexpo, there are three independent sections. The zenith, the conference and the expo which are all juxtaposed without any articulation as though the three sections had been cut from one complete form. The CCTV HQ project in Beijing can be viewed as a single skyscraper which has been divided up into six parts which contain functionally different divisions. In these examples the concept was to concentrate all the activity and program into a single system. The Hyper Building in Bangkok is an assemblage of a series of pieces that maintain their independence in the final building. This is both sculptural and architectural. The building was designed by Koolhaas as a veritable city that groups a vast array of programs together giving the essence of a hybrid building on an urban scale. According to Koolhaas, several buildings fuse together into a larger singular whole which brings together the coexistence of real space and cyberspace, of electronics and real facilities. To him the montage consists of material bodies and immaterial flows. Montage as a collision: Urban Complexity Koolhaas compares the work of an architect with the cinematic montage. Im certain the work of a screenwriter and the processes of an architect are methods based on editing, in creating programmatic, cinematographic or spatial sequence  [31]   The complexity of urban life such as infrastructural congestion is the central themes to many of Koolhaas projects. He highlights these elements through the collision of contrasting elements. As with Eisenstein  [32]  , this collision sometimes occurs at several scales in Koolhaas projects, from the urban scale down to the encounter between materials. The Kunsthal in Rotterdam is an example of this issue. The concept was a square with two routes crossing it. The collision between these routes gives rise to the project. These two infrastructures also cross over other collisions, crossing between ramps and staggered planes, and between these and the horizontal planes. A similar instance can be found in The Euraille project. A tower was placed over the TGV station, this solution was the symbol of infrastructural and programmatic congestion that characterized the architectural operation. Similarly with Eisensteins films, through collisions, the visual and mental conflict involved in this montage is what expresses the concept. In The Hague, a service tunnel comprising of a subway with a station at either end and two car parks with pedestrian entrances, was not designed by Koolhaas to resemble a tree like system. Instead it is a hybrid project, building and infrastructure. The different program elements interpenetrate spatially and form an assemblage in which the flow and the visuals are participants an altering but not segregated perception. The strategy utilized here is that of the montage in which collisions between constituent environments and elements give rise to a richer and clearer spatial experience. The Villa Savoye marked a high point in Le Corbusiers promenade architecturale As a critic explains The movement, in one sense, is more virtual than real, to progress through the building you must engage your imagination  [33]  and if entertainment is associated with the displacement of the viewer, then the house becomes the source of that entertainment. It does this by choreography; there is no fixed image but a series of overlapping images. This architectural effect is clearly associated with cinema  [34]   Sequences There are three relations in an architectural sequence. The first deals with the working method. Secondly, external relations where spaces are juxtaposed and thirdly the program. The mode by which architects traditionally draw implies a transformational sequence. Layers of transparent paper are placed on top of each other. Each has a variation around a theme. An open system of sequencing sees transformation through the addition of new elements which are juxtaposed according to criteria such as narrative or programmatic. However, not all architectural sequences are linear and comprised of spatial additions. Fragmented montages produce structure where meaning is found through order of experience rather than the order of the composition. Mies Pavilion as discussed in previous chapters is an example of this fragmentation of space. Its sequence is organised around a thematic structure and variations.

International Federation of Accountants Code of Ethics

International Federation of Accountants Code of Ethics Code of Ethics is essential for both accountants and auditors as they hold positions of expectation that the community rely on them and the capability. The Code of Ethics is regulated by International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) at international level. Due to the company failures such as Enron and Equitable life, ethical behavior and independence has become more important. The Enron case clearly demonstrates the value work of IFAC. (ACCA, 2002) Therefore, IFACs Code of Ethic is broadly defined as code of conduct based on a set of moral principles or values that indicates how an individual should behave. (Velayutham, 2003) Through this, if an auditor is incompetent, the parties to the contract will place little or no value on the service provided. (Messier et al., 2007).Furthermore, auditors are required to be independence to apply unbiased judgment and objective consideration to establish facts in giving an opinion. It is essential because the users expect the auditor to have an unbiased viewpoint when forming opinion on the true and fairness of the financial statement. If the auditors are not independence, then the value of audit is lost. (Gomes, 2010) [Online].It is vital to provide assurance services as it can increase confidence of users of the information and to avoid conflicts of interests that may occur towards the auditor. 2.0 Main report 2.1 Critically evaluate of the role of IFACs Code of Ethics for professional accountants in strengthening independence of auditors. Over these years, IFAC has been revising a newer Code of Ethics to clarify requirements for all professional accountants and to enhance the independence of auditor. (IFAC, 2009) [Online].This Code of Ethics are follow up and practiced by its members until it becomes a system in the organization.(Ravendran,2006) [Online]. Principles-based approach is remained in the revised Code of Ethic and it establishes a conceptual framework for professional accountants and external auditor to follow. This is to make sure they are compliance with fundamental principles of professional ethics. It is important for fundamental of principle to remain the same, as it would be more flexible for all professional accountants and the external auditors. (Ward, 2006) [Online] The IFAC Code of Ethic has constantly revised to meet the changing needs of the profession and the expectations of stakeholders in Malaysia. (MIA, 2006) [Online].Therefore IFAC Code of Ethic is set as a good example to follow because of its holistic approach that considers many aspects of the issue. (Gomes, 2009) [Online].External auditors to find out possible threats and evaluate how it could affect the audit are using conceptual framework. They have to apple safeguards on the identified threats to reduce them to an acceptable level. (MIA, 2006) [Online] Furthermore, auditors play an important role to provide a high-quality financial statement because any loss in carrying out their work will give a bad impact on investor protection and confidence. For example, many auditors failed to give their opinion leading to compromising the shareholders of public listed companies. (Izma, 2009) [Online] .As a result, independence of auditors is affected. In solving this kind of situation, auditors will need to follow the fundamental of principles to reduce this threat. (MIA, 2005) [Online] By applying a principle-based approach, it can also help to standardize the IFACs Code of Ethic globally. Through standardizing the international standards, the auditors will have high quality standards in auditing the financial statement. (Ward, 2006) [Online].If each country standardized the preparation of financial statements, making it flexible for cross-border securities listing globally. This will enable the company for a better flow of resources, using it systematically. (Kumar, Porwal, 2003) [Online] .Therefore opinion form by auditors will be more credible and reliable in ensuring auditors to be more independence. On the other hand, the behavior of a human cannot be justified by just following the IFACs Code of Ethic. This is because personal behavior cannot be control and it depends on how they want to behave. (MIA, 2006) [Online].For example lack of ethical code, especially one client may jeopardized another clients business due to the financial difficultly they faced.(Gomes, 2009) [Online] The reasons why auditors cannot control themselves, probably due to the characteristic of the auditors are self-centered, greedy and unprincipled, thus this will create a self- interest threat for the auditors.( Jackling et al., 2007) As such, it is not good to understand the principle only, the knowledge of ethical code need to be apply. (Gomes, 2010) [Online].If not independence of auditor will be influence and then nobody would be able to trust them just like Arthur Anderson. Due to the cases like Enron or WorldCom, which ended up as a fraud, IFACs has revised stronger ethical code and stringent rules that a company must follow. However, the revised IFACs Code of Ethic cannot be perfect all the time. Somehow, loopholes can be found, as it may not fully capture the culture, belief and practice the code and it will make auditors to be unable to enhance independence. (ACCA, 2009) and external auditors may not adapt to this standards as there are changes to the ethical code. It can also make mistakes as the environment is changing, so does the culture and the personality of the auditor as well. Therefore, without a proper guidance, certain parts of the organization may interpret the code differently and IFACs Code of Ethic cannot promise that very country or auditor may process the ethical code. For example as the culture in the world is changing so as the behavior of an auditor and for that auditor may do what they want, as the Code of Ethic is not included in the law system. In general, by maintaining the same code is not possible, as it has to change consistently. (Pflugrath et al., 2007) 2.2 Evaluate the important of maintaining principle-based approach in the Code of Ethics. Many corporation failures has shows the need of principle- based approach is essential. The suggested ways for IFACs Code of Ethic to strengthen the independence of auditors are by having a principle-based approach, as it is flexible and easy for the auditors and accountants to adapt. With a strong principle-based, this will enhance the auditor to perform a high quality standards of auditing in making decisions and the public would have more trust towards them (IFAC, 2009) [Online]. By having a principles- based approach, problems it maintaining will be reducibly and there are ways of resolving it. (MIA, 2008) [Online] Furthermore, the IFACs body has agreed that principle-based are better compared to rules-based approach as threats and safeguards better serves the public interest, which cannot provide for all circumstances. (Bagshaw, 2006) [Online].As such, the Code of Ethic has been revised in principles- based approach primarily to encourage auditors to make a high quality judgment(MIA, 2006) [Online]. Therefore, assurance is critical in making sure that their judgments are ethical enough as the auditors and accountants holds these responsibilities. (Haron.H et al., 2010) Other than that, a principles- based approach can adapt to the changes of the environment. This is because every country has a different culture and this culture will generally affect the behavior of that person. Therefore, with principle-based, it can minimize standards behavior for each auditor and accountant globally. (ACCA, 2009) and therefore it is important to maintain a principles-based in the IFACs Code of Ethic. Moreover, with the high quality of ethical code, auditors can make a good judgment and this will avoid them from having a financial scandal. (Ismail et al., 2010) Somehow, some aspects that may considered as a threat towards a principle-based approach. External auditors and professional accountants that are use to comply with rules- based in Code of Ethics find themselves in a difficulty to switch to principles- based. The most important concern is whether a purely principle-based approach is strong enough to deal with a complicated transactions.(Yong, 2004) [Online].Due to the different culture in every country International codes such as the IFACs Code cannot fully comply with basic principles and practice. (ACCA, 2009) The fact is that auditors and accountants will need to apply judgments according to the principles, which is impossible because Code of Ethic cannot include all situation and dilemmas and by applying judgments blindly, auditors independence are affected. (Gomes, 2009) [Online] Despite that, every now and then judgment are use to manipulate financial outcomes so a strong ethical behavior and commitment is required for the auditors to avoid temptations from resist client pressuring. (Yong, 2004)[Online] Besides that, the lack of clarity in principle-based approach as ethical code can perceive to be to technical jargon. As such auditors will have a difficult time to understand certain parts especially when the ethical code is translated, auditors finds themselves that the meaning become weaker thus auditors will find it hard to revise the Code of Ethics and because of this ethical code may not be widely used all over the world. (MIA, 2005) [Online] (ICAEW, 2006) [Online].Therefore every country needs to adjust to have a simpler Code of Ethics. 2.3 Recommendation In general, all companies differs from one and another in terms of functional operations, its legal systems, institutional base works and cultures, therefore it is critical that every organization must have good corporate governance for survival. Hence corporate governance is another way to enhance the independence of auditors besides having Code of Ethics. The objectives are to make sure that companys management is organized care and certain requirements that auditors and accountants must comply. Other than that, corporate governance systems are to make sure that threats to independence do not happen. (ICAEW, 2001) [Online] As audit committee are parts of the corporate governance, it is important for them to monitor the external auditors work by checking the financial report. By doing so, external auditors assurance will be improved. Besides this, audit committee can give some opinions to external auditor especially when problems occur. (ACCA, 2009).Therefore, with the help of audit committee, financial report would be more reliable. Moreover, audit committee can also review the timing and nature of reports as well as the findings of the external auditors. (ACCA, 2009) Hence, this will be able to enhance the independence of auditors Besides this, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is another good substitute besides Code of Ethics. This program is great to ensure auditors and accountants are updated with the market developments and changes affecting the accountancy profession and the auditors. Further, it helps the auditors to maintain and raise standards to professional judgments thus this will give auditors to be more up to date in the Guide of Professional Ethics. Through CPD, auditors will have the advantage to improve the capacity to exercise the highest standards of professional judgement. (ICAEW, 2010) [Online] CPD also provides information, support and guidance towards the auditor thus auditors are more confident in making a good decision without affecting the financial report. (ICAEW, 2010) [Online] By adopting this new approach, auditors will be able to follow up with current issue, which can affect their professional works, and to be committed in the job as they are responsible to the clients, stakeholders and the employers. (MIA, 2006) [Online].Finally, CPD will help them to be more knowledgeable and will enhance them to develop higher level of quality standards (MIA, 2007) [Online] 3.0 Conclusion Overall, it is important that IFACs Code of Ethics is revised every few years to make auditors and accountants are able to adapt with the changes made in the Code of Ethic. Ethical code is needed for the auditors and accountants as the public rely on them to perform the audit work efficient and effectively. Due to this, maintaining a principle-based is in need for every auditors and accountants as it is more flexible and thus it is globally used. However, there are still some negative aspects of ethical code, which auditor finds it difficult to comply with but somehow they manage to resolve it. As such, it is important that auditor and accountants knows when to apply the ethical code and not just understanding the principle only. Nevertheless, by having a good judgment, auditors will be able to make a good decision without getting influence. Therefore, with a strong ethical behaviour, auditors will be able to give a reliable and credible financial report and as a result, independence of auditors can be enhanced.Apart from this, it is essential, that every country will be able to adopt the IFACs Code of Ethics, as it will give high quality standards in the financial statement. Ethical Code cannot guarantee ethical behavior or resolve all dispute ethical behavior should result from a personal commitment to engage in ethical practice. Audit committee and CPD can also help to enhance the independence of auditors. Lastly, Ethical Code is an essential element of the surroundings in which auditors work and it is important that proper guidance to be given to them.

Can We Stop School Violence? Essay -- Mass School Shootings Essays

Violence in American schools is escalating faster than a speeding bullet. Society demands that schools be safe for our children, yet recent events indicate we need to escalate our efforts to prevent violence in schools at the same time address violence in the larger community. Crises involving sudden violence in schools are traumatic in large measure because they are unexpected. The shrapnel from bullets fired on school grounds have a way of touching the life's of many. In the wake of such a crisis, members of the school community are asked-and ask themselves-what could have been done to prevent it. Coordinated school efforts can help. But the solution does not just rest in the schools. Together we must develop solutions that are community-wide and coordinated, that include schools, families, courts, law enforcement, community agencies, representatives of the faith community, business, and the broader community. Wilmer Cody, Kentucky Commissioner of Education (Dwyer et. al.) To make our schools safer, everyone can and must pitch in-- teachers, parents, students, policy makers, law enforcement officers, business managers, faith leaders, civic leaders, youth workers, and other concerned community residents. Everyone who cares about children cares about ending violence. It is time to break the silence that too often characterizes even the most well-meaning school communities. Research and expert-based information is available for school communities to use in developing and strengthening programs that can prevent crises. School safety is everyone's job. Each of us can do something to help solve the problem. It's a problem we all must work together to solve. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice warns... ... Ph.D., Parachini A., Hernandez F., Ph.D., Cody M., Ph.D., Davis D. "From Words to Weapons, the Violence Surrounding our Schools." American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. 22 April 2001 <http://www.aclu-sc.org/school.html> Dwyer, K., Osher, D., and Warger, C. (1998). "Early warning, timely response: A guide to safe schools." Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. 22 April 2001 <http://www.cecp.air.org/guide/guidetext.htm> Kaufman P., Chen X., Choy S.P., Chandler K.A., Chapman C.D., Rand M.R., and Ringel C. NCES 99-251/NCJ-1 72215 "1999 Annual Report on School Safety." Washington, DC: 1998 U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. 21 April 2001 <http://www.ed.gov/offices/oese/sdfs/news.html> National Crime Prevention Council. Washington, DC "Stopping School Violence."Â   20 April 2001 http://www.ncpc.org/2schvio.htm

Hamlet Essay: Comparison of Gertrude and Ophelia -- comparison compare

Hamlet – a Comparison of Gertrude and Ophelia      Ã‚  Ã‚   Even though at opposite ends of the courtly society in the halls of Elsinore, the characters of Gertrude and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet have much in common. This essay intends to explore that commonality.    Howard Felperin in his essay â€Å"O’erdoing Termagant† illustrates one point of similarity between these two female characters – they are both recipients of Hamlet’s ill-will. Here he describes Hamlet’s verbal attack on Gertrude in the closet scene:    Even Gertrude vaguely perceives that Hamlet’s speech is inspired more by ancient texts than by any immediate situation: â€Å"Ay me, what act, / That roars so loud and thunders in the index?† (III.iv.51-52) Here, as in so much of the play, we are confronted not with the ravings of a disordered personality but with the heroic frenzy of the prophet’s role. Moreover, Gertrude’s terms are theatrical as well as bookish. They recall Hamlet’s own caveats to t he players about mouthing lines, tearing a passion to tatters, and splitting the ears of the groundlings. Surely at this moment Hamlet o’erdoes Termagant and out-herods Herod, o’ersteps the modesty of nature, and violates his own neoclassical doctrines of decorum in speech and action as flagrantly as the most unreformed ham among the tragedians of the city. In sum, Hamlet turns the stage during the closet scene into something closely akin to the older theatrum mundi of Termagant and Herod, as he recasts the experience of the play into a straightforward morality drama in which everyone has a clear-cut and conventional role [. . .]. (103)    Other critics agree that both women are recipients of Hamlet’s ill-will. In the Introduction to Twentieth Century I... ...ntieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet. Ed. David Bevington. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Rpt. from An Approach to Hamlet. Stanford, CT: Stanford University Press, 1961.       Pennington, Michael. â€Å"Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Wilson, John Dover. What Happens in Hamlet. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.   

Juvenile Justice System in California Essay

Does the Time Fit the Crime? This is a call to action, how much do we actually know about the California Juvenile Justice system? Have we given up on today’s youth? There are more than 2,500 juvenile offender’s states wide that have been sentenced to life in prison or life without parole. They are sent to adult court in which they were convicted for their crimes. This is costing California tax payers 2. 5 million dollars a year to house each offender, and approximately 252,000 a year per youth in the CYA (Krinsky, Pierce, Woodford,p1;Kita,p1). How does this affect their psychological development? Of the different races which is most effected? Is it teaching them to be better individuals or better criminals? What effects does it have on the youth’s family? Is justice being served? As of today there are 300 youth juveniles incarcerated in the state of California that have been given life or life without parole. Does race, social, and environmental factors play a role in the sentencing phase? Does the time fit the crime? Is it appropriate for juveniles to be sentenced as adults? The Juvenile Justice Court System was designed and dedicated to the adjudication of crimes committed by juvenile youth offenders. To be over seen by the Los Angeles Superior Court Division of Juvenile Courts (Shouselaw). Their sole purpose and goal is the rehabilitation of youth offenders. In 1943 the state of California opened CYA as a reform school; but today it functions similar to the adult prisons today (Kita, p1). Youth that are prosecuted in adult court are moved out of CYA at 18 and sent to adult prison to serve the reminder of their time (Kita, p1). Fewer juvenile offenders are being committed to CYA, and more are being sent directly to adult prison. â€Å" Despite declines in juvenile confinement over the last decade, California still has the 10th highest rate of juvenile incarceration in the nation (271 per 100,000) and the fifth highest White-Black racial disparity: Black children are incarcerated at 8. 5 times the rate of White children† (Children Defense Fund). â€Å" There are many factors and statistics used in the arguments for and against juvenile sentences of life without parole (LWOP), however the statistics involving he much higher percentage, of blacks serving life sentences than whites are very rarely mentioned† (Bell,p. 2). This is further data that supports the argument that black youth has the highest ratio of incarceration. The legislature is considering bill SB399 which would allow a second chance opportunity, this shows that the state of California Juvenile System is in need of reform and structuring. Without SB399 there isn’t any way to revisit these sentences. (Krinsky, Pierce, Woodford, p. 2). What immediate changes need to take place today to reduce the number of youths, being incarceration? According to the group Reforming the Juvenile Justice System, the United States is the only country in the world that sentences young people to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were teenagers (RJJS). In California approximately 300 youth have been given this sentence – a sentence to die in prison for mistakes they made during adolescence. According to â€Å"Human Rights Watch estimates, a majority of these young people (59 percent) were first time offenders, and almost half (45 percent) were convicted of murder but were not the ones who actually committed the murder† (RJJS). What can we do as a society and community to help carve the problem within our communities to ensure our youth are being treated fairly in the juvenile system? There are several problems and issues that the juvenile justice systems face today. Allegations of mistreatment, abuse, excessive force, 23 hour confinement in their cells, locking juveniles in cages at school, not providing adequate medical and mental health services, and perpetuation of gang related violence among the youth offenders. (Shouselaw,p.? ). We as a society have to raise the question? How have these problems and issues gone unaddressed for so long? Who do we hold accountable for these allegations? Therefore, asking how this effects their psychological development and how much of it impacts their social interactions and behavior. Youth advocates have argued that juvenile youth offenders’ brains are not mature enough to fully understand the seriousness of their crimes they’ve been accused of. The organization CDFCA has stated that: â€Å"Adolescent brain development research has helped us understand the ways that youth are fundamentally different from adults. With the prefrontal lobe of the brain still developing throughout the teenage years, adolescents have more difficulty processing information, making logical in-the-moment decisions, weighing long-term consequences, and avoiding peer pressure. Given this research in adolescent brain development, policymakers and even the Supreme Court have recognized that youth are less culpable than adults for their actions and more likely to be rehabilitated. The Children’s Defense Fund – CA believes strongly that policies around incarceration and sentencing should reflect these developmental differences, and that youth should be kept out of the adult criminal justice system and given the opportunity for rehabilitation† (RJJS,p. 1). Subsequently, providing the evidence of how broken the juvenile system truly is, Richard A. Mendel wrote, â€Å"We now have overwhelming evidence showing that wholesale incarceration of juvenile offenders is a counterproductive public policy† (Mendel, p. 1) Stating that the current juvenile justice system. Which relies heavily on mass incarceration of teen offenders, is badly broken? The violence and abuse within youth facilities is bad enough, but these institutions also fail to rehabilitate the youth within them. (Mendel, p. 1) Adding reinforcement that something must be done immediately to save our youth; leaving us to wonder how these effects will ultimately shape their lives for the better or the worst. There is a sense of hopelessness and despair that illuminates over these juveniles. Are the sentences handed down in these cases justified? Has justice being served in these cases? Supports of juvenile reform has provided data and research that back their claims that black youth are being sentence to much long terms than any of other race. The Human Rights Watch organization conducted research in California and found that there is discrimination when sentencing black youth offenders: † The state’s application of the law is also unjust. Eighty-five percent of youth sentenced to life without parole are people of color, with 75 percent of all cases in California being African American or Hispanic youth. African American youth are sentenced to life without parole at a rate that is 18. 3 times the rate for whites. Hispanic youth in California are sentenced to life without parole at a rate that is five times the rate of white youth in the state California has the worst record in the country for racially disproportionate sentencing. In California, African American youth are sentenced to life without parole at rates that suggest unequal treatment before sentencing courts. This unequal treatment by sentencing courts cannot be explained only by white and African American youths’ differential involvement in crime† (HRWO,p. 1). In addition to discrimination they also found that â€Å"In California alone, more than half of the youth sentenced are first time offenders with no previous criminal record. The Human Rights Watch survey of these inmates also found that many had not actually committed the murder and that their adult codefendants actually received a lesser sentence† (HRWO,p1). Therefore, pointing out that these youth offenders did not have adequate representation. The organization Human Rights Watch wrote: â€Å"Poor legal representation often compromises a just outcome in juvenile life without parole cases. Sending Approximately 227 youth have been sentenced to die in California’s prisons. They have not been sentenced to death: the death penalty was found unconstitutional for juveniles by the United States Supreme Court in 2005. Instead, these young people have been sentenced to prison for the rest of their lives, with no opportunity for parole and no chance for release. Forty-five percent of youth reported that they were held legally responsible for a murder committed by someone else. In California, the vast majority of those 17 years old and younger sentenced to life without the possibility of parole was convicted of murder. Showing that nationally 59 percent of youth sentenced to life without paroles are first-time offenders, without single juvenile court adjudication on their records† (HRWO, p1-3. ). Furthermore, this research support their claims that race, social, and environment factors play a major role in sentencing. Providing addition evidence that black and Latino juveniles are treated unfairly and justice is not being served. In conclusion, the California Juvenile Justice System is in dire need of reform. In January of this year Govern Jerry Brown, proposed is plan to end the juvenile justice division by March 2015(sfgate. com). Thus answering the questions posed there are a great deal, of problems and issues that must be addressed immediately. Like the mass incarceration of youth juveniles and mishandling of sentencing in these cases. And the harsh unfair life sentences or life without parole, which will have long term effects on their psychological development, which will impact their social and behavior interactions. This will limit their chance of ever being release. And give them an opportunity to start over with a clean slide. Furthermore, leaven a profound impact on the lives of their families. Shedding light on a decade of unfair inappropriate actions on behave of the courts. In which justice was not served in any of the cases.

Belief in Black Magic and Witchcraft

The sources of magic are to be found in passion and ignorance – which make up the greater part of man. Desire, ever reborn, never capable of being sated in the ordinary conditions of life, inspires in the mind the dream of an irresistible power whereby every appetite may be satisfied; and ignorance of the inflexible laws which govern nature suffers one to believe that she can be mastered and modified in conformity with that dream, which, when it has reached a certain degree of intensity, tends spontaneously to transform itself into action.Love, hatred, the desire for health, for riches, for power, for knowledge itself, are the causes which produce magic, and they are its perpetual incentives; whence it comes that we see magic practiced wherever men are found; in the most remote antiquity, during the Middle Ages, and at the present time; not only among barbarian or savage peoples, but also among those races which call themselves civilized. Magic is, therefore, a social phenomen on. This work will show what place black magic and witchcraft holds among the other social phenomena, for example religion.The ideas related to a concept of the sacred, as the basis of magic and witchcraft, will be considered. Why do people believe in the powers of black magic and the fearful power of Satan in black magic? How are these practices performed? Here is nothing else that can give so adequate answer as does the history of the witches and black magic and their place in Holy Mother Church. Witchcraft is a complex subject, and has evoked complex responses from many disciplines (Glucklich 391).There are theological, historical, philosophical, anthropological, legal, literary, pharmacological, and psychological theories of witchcraft, to name some of the major ones. That is the reason why few people today can agree on what witchcraft really is, or was, or what witches really did, or what they do. During the height of the witchcraft scare in Europe, the sixteenth and seventeent h centuries, almost anything strange and fearful was attributed to witchcraft. A good example is the phenomenon called the poltergeist.Witchcraft would seem to be a European term of opprobrium which has been used in scattergun fashion for all sorts of threatening manifestations, whether at home or abroad. It is appropriate, and inevitable, that our inquiry should have brought us to the Bible. For while it is false to say, as some writers have, that the witch persecutions were carried on solely by the church, it is nevertheless undeniable that historical witchcraft received its definition from the church. In a sense it may be said that witchcraft as a system was created by the church.Convenience may be cited: it was convenient for the church to lump its own heresies, rival systems of faith, inexplicable spiritual phenomena – in fact, almost all the threats to its own primacy – into a single opposition, which in the slow course of many centuries took on the shape of a ho stile conspiracy and the name of witchcraft. The church had, after all, ready to hand the Supreme Enemy of Man, Satan, acknowledged as the father of all error, the prince of the world's vanities, and arch rebel against God (Butler 96). There was no fault of logic involved in placing him at the source of trouble.This is the classical definition of witchcraft: a literally diabolic plot against mankind. For long ages it was almost universally accepted. Running concurrently with it was what we may identify as the skeptical position: that the whole thing was nonsense, and an outrageous calumny on the loving nature of the Deity. This is an honorable and attractive position, and one which is still dominant today. It can trace its origins to a tiny handful of brave men during the Renaissance, men like Reginald Scot and Johan Weyer, who were in considerable danger for their beliefs.These ideas however gradually won out, by the eighteenth century, and were elevated almost beyond argument by t he busy and progressive nineteenth. Today they are coming under renewed question. There are then at present at least seven major schools of witchcraft thought, some of them frankly hostile to the others: the orthodox, skeptical, anthropological, psychological, pharmacological, transcendental, and occultist. The image is to the object as the part is to the whole.In other words, a simple object, outside all direct contact and all communication, is able to represent the whole. This is the formula which is apparently used in black magic. The image, the doll or the drawing is a very schematic representation, a poorly executed ideogram. Any resemblance is purely theoretical or abstract. Black magic is essentially an individualistic affair. It finds regular and constant use by men and women who work deliberately, by means of the spells they utter, the charms they manipulate, and the rites they perform, to bring misfortunes upon their fellows.So used it may be licit, reputable, and even pra iseworthy, for instance, if the same magical arts that have slain a man are resorted to by an avenger of blood against the slayer. As a rule, however, sorcery is carried on more or less secretly, in defiance of public opinion, and those who practice it are objects of constant suspicion, fear, and enmity. In spite of this radical monotheism, Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, makes allusions to other supernatural entities.In the case of Islam, these entities are known as jinns and angels (Glucklich 136). Satan also plays an important role in Islam, but is counted among the angels, albeit the most disobedient. The jinns, according to the Qur'an, are not quite angels, but a form of consciousness between human and angels that are also especially prone to disobedience. Given that a basic idea of Islam is â€Å"submission† or â€Å"obedience† to God, the very act of disobedience is taken very seriously in Muslim teaching as a major form of bad, even sacrilegious, behavior (Brain 241).The jinn are genii, made out of fire; unlike the angels, they eat, drink, copulate, and die; some are good, and listen to the Koran; most are bad, and spend their time getting human beings into mischief. The leader of the evil jinn is Iblis, who was once a great angel, but was condemned for refusing to pay homage to Adam. The success of Islam in propagating itself, particularly in its Sufic and maraboutic versions, in regions where a direct assault by conquest was impracticable was largely due to its truly catholic recognition of the multiplicity of mystical power.In the voluminous Quranic store-house of angels, jinns and devils, whose number is legion, many of these traditional powers find a hospitable home; and passages from the Quran are cited to justify their existence as real phenomena. So long as Allah's lofty pre-eminence was not compromised, many local cults could be accommodated within the realm of alghaib, the ‘unseen' or ‘hidden' world (Brain 258) . The supreme deities which exist in many pagan traditions could be assimilated to Allah. Lesser local deities could be Islamicized or explained away as vernacular terms for God's attributes, or as the jinns or spirits of Quranic folklore.Orders of devils are spoken of in the so-called Book of Enoch, which antedates Christianity; and they are spoken of, later, in the New Testament. Saint Thomas makes express mention of higher and of lower devils, and of systematically established ranks among them; without, however, entering into details on the subject (Waite 356). But such reserve, though it might well become theologians in general, did not at all suit those who were especially classed as demonographers or those who gave attention to the study and practice of magic.For all these, it was of the utmost importance to become thoroughly acquainted with the diabolic hierarchy and, at the same time, with the condition and the activities of each rank included therein, – nay, as far a s might be possible, with those of each individual demon. Furthermore, the principles of their organization were not understood in the same way by all; and while some of the Fathers thought that their rank was determined according to the various kinds of sins that the demons fostered, others believed that this was done according to their degree of power and method of action.Those who made pacts with the Devil very often did so in order to be able to practice the forbidden arts of magic; but the pact did not always imply this power and the power might be exercised without a pact. There were cases where the Devil voluntarily obligated himself to do whatever the magician should demand of him, on condition that the latter give him his soul in exchange; there were also cases where the magician by virtue of his own art forced the Devil to do what the fiend, of himself, would have been neither obliged nor willing to do.There were then, as we see, two kinds of magic, which have not been suf ficiently distinguished by writers on the subject, but which in their origins, if not in their effects, were entirely distinct; the one produced by a voluntary subjection of the diabolic power to the will of a human being, the other springing from an actual mastery acquired over that power by the human being, and acquired not through divine permission, but through a science and an art which had their own canons, which were learned through a sort of apprenticeship, and which could be more or less fully possessed – the science and the art of black magic.The theologians and the doctors declare, it is true, that the inventor of this wicked and deceptive science, of this pernicious art, was none other than Satan himself, who was wont to make use of them for the attainment of his own ends; but we begin to suspect that there is some error in this opinion of theirs, when we see this science and this art employed against their supposed inventor in such fashion that he cannot keep from obeying any one who commands him through them (Stave 196).A great part of magic presupposes the existence in nature, and the knowledge on the part of man, of hidden forces which have power to move the demons and to bind them. But in whatever way the magician had acquired his formidable power, the exercise of it was sinful and unlawful and brought the transgressors in the end to Hell. Speaking generally, and observing the results they produced, we may consider magicians and witches as allies and coadjutors of Satan.The first of the magical operations, which opens the way for all the others, is evocation, whereby Satan or one of his subordinate devils is compelled to appear – not a difficult operation if one understood the method, but dangerous to any who undertook it carelessly and without having observed all due precautions. This operation is more commonly performed at night, at the exact hour of midnight; but it could also be performed at high noon, this being the hour at w hich the noonday demon possesses the greatest vigor.It takes place where two, three, or four roads meet; in the depths of gloomy forests; on deserted heaths; amid ancient ruins. The evocator seat himself inside a circle (or, for greater safety, three circles) traced on the ground with the point of a sword; and he has to exercise the greatest care not to let the slightest portion of himself project beyond this limit and not to agree to any bargain the Devil might seek to make with him. Many and strange are the formulas of evocation, some very lengthy; some more, some less efficacious; nor are all of them addressed to all the devils.The slightest omission might suffice to render them entirely ineffective if the demon happened to be tired or in a bad humor. An observation is not out of place here. The Devil presents himself willingly and without much importuning, even to one who summons him informally and in every-day language, and that he often presents himself when one has not even t hought of calling him. Magicians and witches are not all of equal cleverness or equal might; as in every other condition of men, in theirs also there existed disparities of power and of rank (Dickie 325).Notwithstanding this, there is no sorceress so insignificant, no wizard so discredited, that with the aid of their art they could not accomplish marvelous things, of a sort far beyond all human power and all human knowledge. Should one care to make a list of all the varied operations of the magic art, he would need to produce a volume; and even then he would not succeed in telling everything, for by this art could almost anything be done that might suggest itself to the imagination or become an object of desire.With potent philters or by employing the aid of clever demons, the magician could awaken love, transform love into hatred, snatch the loved one from her lover, or cause her to fly by night through the air to her lover's arms. He avenged himself on his enemies, or on such as b etook themselves to him for help, causing fire to consume their houses, bringing down the storm-wind on their fields, sinking their ships in the sea; or he brought about their death, by thrusting into waxen figures made to resemble them a needle.Now we turn to the last portion of our study, the new witchcraft cult. Two characteristics seem to identify modern British witches: their love of ceremony and their inherent schismatic tendencies. Both points hold true for witches in America and elsewhere. There seem to be hundreds of contending cults, most of which sooner or later make their professions in print, under such titles as The Real Witchcraft, The Truth About Witchcraft, and Witchcraft From the Inside. Indeed, witches, deprived of the unifying force of persecution, are fighting among themselves as never before.Meanwhile there are as many different kinds of witchcraft in this country, apparently, as there are covens. All these groups publish industriously. One of the partisans of the modern witchcraft cult is Hans Holzer, the well-known psychic investigator. His book The Truth About Witchcraft was brought forward with much din of publicity. And certainly he has penetrated to the heart of the contemporary cult; he has eye-witnesses' accounts of initiation ceremonies, rites, celebrations, dress, incantations, and every other detail of witchcraft as it is presently practiced, especially in England and the United States.With the growth and strengthening of the belief in Satan, magic was destined to acquire new credit and new vigor. Everything that was known or thought to be known about the Devil, about his habits and his purposes, naturally tended to produce this result. He was the ever-living, ever-restless force that surrounded and penetrated all things; the prince of this world; the dominator of perverted nature; he was in every place; he had under his orders an innumerable host, always ready for any undertaking.With the help of his power, there was no task s o hard that it could not be accomplished, no miracle that could not be performed; and this help he rendered without excessive solicitation. It was a well known fact that he would cheerfully join forces with a human being in order to reach more easily the fulfillment of his own designs. The majority became wizards or witches merely by entering his flock and enjoying those benefits and powers in which he was willing to make them sharers. Beside this lower magic, the result of a kind of delegation of power, the