Should Canada continue its international role as a peacekee essays

Should Canada continue its international role as a peacekee essays Should Canada continue its international role as a peacekeeper? Between 1991 and the end of 1996, 24 new peacekeeping missions were set up under the UNs flag- six more than the total established during the preceding 43 years. At the peak of UN activity in the mid-1990s, there were nearly 80,000 UN peacekeepers deployed around the globe. [Canada and Peace...] The numbers show that since the end of the Cold World, peacekeeping has become more and more important in the complicated international society. Being the most enthusiastic peacekeeping force, Canadian Military has deployed more than 125,000 Canadian military personnel and thousands of civilians. [Canada: the...] However, people have started arguing whether the Canadian Military should keep its reputation or change its military status in the world. Based on Canadian peacekeeping history, fifty years of peacekeeping experience and participation in an overwhelming majority of peacekeeping missions has established an international reputation for Canada. It builds on its established peacekeeping tradition to make strong and significant contributions to international peace and security. [Canada and Peace...] Therefore, in my point of view, the term a peacekeeper has become one of the most famous national identities of Canada, and to keep playing the role as a peacekeeper is the proudest and most proper way to act on the world stage for Canada. Nevertheless, the Canadian Military still needs to have some improvements or changes in its personnel, equipment, and policy to make itself an absolute peacemaker. Firstly, the Canadian Military should be more strict and specific about how personnel are selected. Now the Canadian Government isnt too selective when choosing army personnel, and some people are not competent enough to be peacekeepers. This has resulted in the past with poorly disciplined personnel and embarrassing situations for the ...

Probability of a Large Straight in Yahtzee in One Roll

Probability of a Large Straight in Yahtzee in One Roll Yahtzee is a dice game that uses five standard six-sided dice. On each turn, players are given three rolls to obtain several different objectives. After each roll, a player may decide which of the dice (if any) are to be retained and which are to be rerolled. The objectives include a variety of different kinds of combinations, many of which are taken from poker. Every different kind of combination is worth a different amount of points. Two of the types of combinations that players must roll are called straights: a small straight and a large straight. Like poker straights, these combinations consist of sequential dice. Small straights employ four of the five dice and large straights use all five dice. Due to the randomness of the rolling of dice, probability can be used to analyze how likely it is to roll a large straight in a single roll. Assumptions We assume that the dice used are fair and independent of one another. Thus there is a uniform sample space consisting of all possible rolls of the five dice. Although Yahtzee allows three rolls, for simplicity we will only consider the case that we obtain a large straight in a single roll. Sample Space Since we are working with a uniform sample space, the calculation of our probability becomes a calculation of a couple of counting problems. The probability of a straight is the number of ways to roll a straight, divided by the number of outcomes in the sample space. It is very easy to count the number of outcomes in the sample space. We are rolling five dice and each of these dice can have one of six different outcomes. A basic application of the multiplication principle tells us that the sample space has 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 65 7776 outcomes. This number will be the denominator of all of the fractions that we use for our probabilities. Number of Straights Next, we need to know how many ways there are to roll a large straight. This is more difficult than calculating the size of the sample space. The reason why this is harder is because there is more subtlety in how we count. A large straight is harder to roll than a small straight, but it is easier to count the number of ways of rolling a large straight than the number of ways of rolling a small straight. This type of straight consists of five sequential numbers. Since there are only six different numbers on the dice, there are only two possible large straights: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and {2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. Now we determine the different number of ways to roll a particular set of dice that give us a straight. For a large straight with the dice {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} we can have the dice in any order. So the following are different ways of rolling the same straight: 1, 2, 3, 4, 55, 4, 3, 2, 11, 3, 5, 2, 4 It would be tedious to list all of the possible ways to get a 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Since we only need to know how many ways there are to do this, we can use some basic counting techniques. We note that all that we are doing is permuting the five dice. There are 5! 120 ways of doing this. Since there are two combinations of dice to make a large straight and 120 ways to roll each of these, there are 2 x 120 240 ways to roll a large straight. Probability Now the probability of rolling a large straight is a simple division calculation. Since there are 240 ways to roll a large straight in a single roll and there are 7776 rolls of five dice possible, the probability of rolling a large straight is 240/7776, which is close to 1/32 and 3.1%. Of course, it is more likely than not that the first roll is not a straight. If this is the case, then we are allowed two more rolls making a straight much more likely. The probability of this is much more complicated to determine because of all of the possible situations that would need to be considered.

Significance of effective leadership within the 21st century business Assignment

Significance of effective leadership within the 21st century business context - Assignment Example Significance of effective leadership within the 21st century business context It is in this context that various challenges and shortcomings are witnessed in relation to the strategies developed for effective organizational management which further requires greater degree of rationality among the leaders. An illustration of a practical scenario shall be quite helpful to describe the significance and criticality of effective leadership within the 21st century business context. With this concern, this discussion will intend to describe, analyze and subsequently understand the effectiveness of leadership in Ford Motor Company. Notably, the company had to witness serious obstacles recently before the occurrence of 2008 economic crisis when the strategies implemented by the Corporate Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Alan Mulally proved to be quite helpful in redirecting the organization towards a healthier growth. However, the current situation is also not without any challenges for the company which indicates towards the necessity to reconsider the business strategies practiced by the company. Ford is renowned as one of the leading brands in the international automotive industry which is engaged with manufacturing and distributing a wide range of automobiles and accessories. Ford is universally well-known having its manufacturing and distributing branches located all over the world. There are currently altogether nearly 90 manufacturing and distributing plants located in globally. ... Ford also relates with the financial services industry being associated with rendering loan and vehicle insurance facilities to its customers worldwide. Working in such versatile environment, Ford was able to successfully secure a leadership position within the global automotive industry obtaining sustainable profits over the years. However, it had to witness severe crisis situation during the early decade of the 21st century, incurring a record debt in its history depicting a position of financial instability and limited sustainability. Contextually, to rule the market once again and to regain its sustainability, Ford had to overcome number of challenges over the recent decades. In order to overcome such a crisis situation, Ford had to consider drastic changes in its operations being largely focused on its consumer needs and wants. It was during this period, that the organization witnessed a leadership change, where the then newly recruited Corporate Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Alan Mulally implemented drastic financial and managerial strategies which ultimately assisted the organization to recover from the situation. This particular scenario can be regarded as quite illustrative too reflect upon the significance of organizational leadership to secure competitiveness, sustainability and growth of the company in today’s 21st century context (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). Being a global and hugely diversified organization, Ford has a large number of primary stakeholders which include customers, suppliers, dealers, employees’ communities and investors or shareholders. Ford has been significantly focused on its brand recognition and reputation amid its stakeholders. For instance, the

Employee Performance Appraisal Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Employee Performance Appraisal Systems - Essay Example This essay declares that there are various benefits of these techniques; however, they are not without some limitations. Below, the paper is going to highlight the importance of employee appraisals, the reason why they are important, the benefits and banes of performance appraisals and more importantly, the legal implication of employee appraisals wrapping up the paper with a conclusive statement. This paper makes a conclusion that there are various researches conducted on the subject of employee performance appraisal. The basic concept is that employee appraisal has always been considered the task of the employer rather than considering in the element of a 360 degree evaluation. A 360 degree appraisal has several benefits that can be summed by saying that the evaluation works on all levels and provides a more comprehensive, well rounded approach to performance appraisals. Some researchers propose that self appraisals be made part of the appraisal process to evaluate work performance. Self appraisals however, are also studied to be more lenient, less variable and less discriminant with less halo effect as well. This is probably because the employee knows the amount of work they have done, how much effort they have put in, but leniency arises when employees consider themselves on an easier scale and project themselves positively than normal. However, problem areas of self appra isals become magnified in areas where decision making capability needs to be evaluated, along with identifying training need and applied criteria of elevation in terms of tasks and processes. (Murphy and Margulies, 1980) The research also points out that employee self appraisal is a method that falls in the same category as employer appraisal as it helps develop the employee's motivation and helps him or her participate in management. Murphy

Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] Essay Example for Free

Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] Essay Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] is considered the biggest advancement in supply chain management since the first barcode was scanned in 1971 (Waters). RDIF is based on technology that has been in used since the 1940s and World War II. More recently, RDIF tags have been used to track wildlife and to allow speeding cars with Smart Pass stickers to breeze through toll booths without having   to stop (Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID). Only within the past few years has RFID been considered for supply chain applications (Kirk). RFID tags are already being used on shipping pallets, conveyor bins and totes, and packing cartons (Logimax). RFID tags have been embedded in the ears of pets, livestock, and wildlife (Walton), to track school children (Best), and for vehicle tracking systems (WhereNet). Currently, the most common use of RFID technology is to track assets such as desks, office equipment, and other inventory items. About 73 percent of all RFID chips are currently used to track assets (Logimax). That percentage, however, may eventually change. Kirk noted, Every industry will eventually identify a practical application for RFID, but prices will need to come down in order for many industries to consider the technology for enterprise-wide development. The technology received a big boost towards universal acceptance when it was adopted by Wal-Mart, Inc., the worlds largest company. Wal-Mart will require its major suppliers to include RFID tags on their products beginning January 1, 2005 (Barlas). For the end user, the concept behind RFID is the same as the concept behind the barcode. Information is recorded onto an RFID tag that is either attached to or embedded into an item. The recorded information may then be retrieved when the tag is scanned. For end users, the most significant differences between RFID and barcodes will be ease of scanning and the ability to update information. The workhorse of the RFID system is the small radio transponder, called a tag, that is either embedded in or attached to an object. The tag consists of a microchip attached to an antenna. The RFID tag transmits a low-power radio signal that is picked up by the scanner, which is essentially a radio transceiver. RFID is a new technology of storage of identified information about commodity, cargo, product or, for example, participant of some conference. Information is recorder on a micro scheme and together with miniature antenna is placed at/inside of some material. As a result, some token, label, tag appears, which is able to transfer recorder information for a small distance. It is natural that to read information from RFID-bearer we need reading or, as it is called, interrogatory device. This device has an antenna and can be fixed or portable like scanner for reading of bar-codes. Actually, RFID is a further development of technology of marking with help of code-bars.   The advantage is that radio allows reading information in conditions of absence of direct visibility between devices of reading and transferring of information. It means that reading of information with the help of RFID technology can be automated and to take place without direct participation of people. RFID is integrated with any system of coordination, and read information can be recorder into database. You can place inside of RFID-bearers any data, they can be mediators for transfer (synchronization) of information between different information systems. RFID-bearers can keep in memory the history of origin (genealogy) of the product, what allows using them together with other devices in order to increase automation level of manufacture and to preserve from mistakes in this process. There are several types of RFID-bearers. Before you choose any, you need to compare basic technical characteristics of RFID system and standards, which exist in the government regarding frequency regulation. There are two types of RFID-bearers: active and passive. Active RFID tags contain a small battery that is good for about 20 hours of transmission time. Active tags have a longer transmission range than passive tags. They are used when the tag will only be needed for a limited amount of time and/or there is a limited amount of data to store and pass. Active tags are available in read-only or read-write versions. The main characteristics of active tags are: accumulator power supply; data transfer for distance of 8-30 meters; the cost is approximately $20-70 per each; possibility to find its location in the system of two coordinates; the example of usage are cashier posts in supermarkets. The characteristics of passive RFID-bearers are: power supply from reading device; data transfer for distance from several inches to 7,00 meters; the cost is approximately $1 per each; identification of separate products; the example of usage is system of stock-taking. Passive RFID tags wake up when they are scanned. Because they have no battery to wear out, passive tags will last for the life of the object to which they are attached. Passive tags come with either read/write or read-only capabilities. Mostly all the readers follow the basic architecture as shown below. RFID systems are proposed to be used mainly in frequency ranges which don’t need to get a license, so it helps to decrease the cost for their application. There are several radio ranges like these: 125/134, 2 kHz, 13, 56 MHz, 900 MHz and 2, 4 GHz. The distance to read information from the bearer is mainly determined by area where it is used. Nevertheless, bearers which work at long and short waves, can transfer data at distances from 2,5 till 50 sm; passive bearers in frequency range of 900 MHz, work at distance till 7 meters, and in frequency rages – from 30 sm till 2 meters. The 13.56-MHz tags hold as much as 2,000 bits of data, or roughly 30 times the information of 125-KHz tags (Brewin). There is currently no FCC standard for RFID tag frequencies, although manufacturers are working towards developing standards that could be universally accepted. Sony and Philips have agreed to develop technology operating at 13.56 MHz. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Chinas State Radio Regulatory Commission have agreed to support the 434 MHz radio-frequency band (Spiegel Supply Chain Management Review) We need to take into account that distance of action in many respects depends of material in which RFID-micro scheme is placed. Micro scheme is â€Å"tuned† for a certain material. In case you’ll put micro scheme for car windscreen, working at radio range 900 MHz, in a wooden box, there will be some difficulties to read information. Radio-specialists know also that any radio range correspond to certain antennas. RFID just stared to be used in the modern society, mainly in retail trade and storage service for automatic stock-taking. On every interesting story took place in 2003 with a famous electronic manufacturer Philips Electronics and manufacturer of clothes Benetton. In the end of March one of directors of Philips Semiconductor gave information regarding their plans for the nearest future. Particularly, he told that Philips will supply 15 millions of RFID chips to Italian company Benetton, which, in its turn, will use them in their production, selling in their own trading network consisting of five thousand shops over the world. They told that any kind of clothes which costs more then 15 dollars will have RFID chip, realized on basis of tiny micro scheme Philips I.CODE. Although RFID chips are widely used in manufacture processes of Dell computers or automobile giants like Toyota and Ford, new initiative for fashion industry is the large-scale operation. Many famous firms like Prada, Wal-Mart, Tesco already use RFID technology but in smaller quantities. The micro scheme I.CODE will be pressed into â€Å"smart teg† in the process of clothes manufacture. Benetton wanted to put information about a model type , size, color and destination in order to watch the way of every piece from manufacture and storage till retail. I.CODE chip has 1024 bytes of re-writing information (EEPROM) and works at frequency range 13,56 MHz. One can read information from micro scheme at distance till 1,5 meters (conditions of direct visibility are not obligatory). For the moment of 2003 Philips sold approximately more then half a milliard of such micro chips to different customers. The wholesale price is less then 20 cents per each (Richard W. Boss). Naturally, new initiative of Benetton aroused aversion from people who considered it a violation of privacy. The company agreed that there is not much use from such tags, and tried to find a way to deactivate chip at the moment of commodity sale, in case there will be a lot of protesting customers. For the moment, the only way out to get rid of â€Å"tag at your neck† is to cut it off from the product. What are advantages of using RFID tags? Let’s imagine that such tags will be inside of any product which is in supermarket: you just take the necessary thing and go out – without long queers to cashier and other â€Å"benefits† of modern trading system. When you go out from the shop, there is a device, which makes reading of information regarding the price of your shopping from commodity tag and from tag which is in your credit card or passport, and the bill they will send you directly home. It is very convenient to the seller as well, because it helps to simplify the process of trading. This example is the simplest one. They plan to use RFID tags almost everywhere – starting from books and clothes and finishing with money bills (European Union, 2005). Their usage will help to simplify and automate many routine operations, which we make every day. Besides, RFID tags usage will help to increase effectiveness of many processes. Let’s imagine that the buyer of clothes with such tag will come, wearing these clothes, to another shop of the same company (remember Benetton with its trading network): computer will scan it, read the tag and will get the information from internet from central database regarding what this man have bought last time and what they can offer him in first turn. But, as think numerous members of societies for human rights defense, RFID tags in clothes of human being can be used incorrectly: the government will be able to watch dislocation of people (RFID scanners will be added to places where there are a lot of people such like metro stations, squares, crossroads, etc), as well as hackers, freackers and others can use the tags with bad intentions. Access to databases will allow, without any doubt, to identify personality by tags, and this is loss of privacy. Still, it will take time to make the usage of RFID tags in such a way: nowadays RFID tags and equipment are quite expensive and not so popular. There is possibility to put inside the chip a device or program, which will deactivate tag by customer’s wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚   By information of CNET agency, aviation company Delta Air Line invests 15-25 million dollars in integration of RFID technology in its system of luggage processing, After the system will be installed, operator will be able to control dislocation and motion of passenger luggage from terminal of company, where they will put a radio tag â€Å"Destination point – (name of airport)†. The only difference of this new technology is that passenger at least, will know where is his luggage. Now the systems is as follows: radio scanners read information from tiny RFID tags, are installed in zone of passport control, along the belt of transporter which moves the luggage to cargo airliner, and finally, near the doors of cargo liner. Preliminary tests made by Delta Airlines by route Atlanta-Jacksonville, have shown that operator is able to follow up the cargo almost all the time, when the cargo is at zone of his responsibility. Quite possible, that in the nearest future this possibility will have passengers as well (Richard W. Boss). Nowadays, Delta Airlines looses four suitcases from every thousand, which costs more then one hundred million dollars per each year, spent for search of suitcases and compensation of lost things. Considering the fact that Delta, like many of American air companies experiences some financial problems, possibility to cancel these expenses from their budget was the main factor for management of company for such innovations. RFID is often used in circumstances, which can be called unusual. For example, not long time ago identification of animals and putting tags at them was considered to be a novelty. Tradition of such â€Å"strange usage† is increasing. In Las Vegas were held tests for electronic management and identification of value in BlackJack games. All chips-stakes in system â€Å"Safe Jack† contain components Hitag from Micron Identification – Austrian company, belonging to Philips. When the player puts tag in the field of stake, they are recognized and the stake is taken. Several chips can be recognized even if they are put into pile. Given cards are recognized automatically, so every game is under control. Increasing of safety and protection from cheating, collection of statistic data as well made a number of casino owners to show interest to such an interesting system. Because â€Å"Safe Jack† doesn’t prevent a usual way of game, players adopted new system and moreover, novice usage of technology in this field added to the game attraction. These RFID tags will help also to avoid false casino dibs. Usually owners of casino used colors luminescent in ultraviolet. Such protection wasn’t effective enough, so from time to time they were forced to change all the casino dibs, and this procedure not only costs a lot of money, but irritates casino players as well. This idea will prevent robberies from side of stuff as well and owners of casino will get opportunity to watch players which squander money and will have a chance to work with them in order to force them spend more money, for example, proposing them a room in hotel or free drink. Nowadays, the researchers develop works, which will allow finding out if this system will be also good for other games (Richard W. Boss). German company Metro Group also starts RFID identification at chain of supply of its production. Twenty suppliers of company will deliver identification tags to their distribution centers. Company declared that will start to use new technologies on computer basis and information technologies of IBM corporation, which will be used in order to provide standard infrastructure of deliveries in process of manufacture and delivery during collecting, analysis and management of information regarding supplies, received with the help of identification tags and reading devices. â€Å"Means of identification will lift up the industry of retail to a new level†, these are words of Gerd Wolfram, manager of project Metro Group Future Store Initiative. Taking into account Metro, this system will provide constant control under the process of delivery in internet, which will allow the sellers to determine exact dislocation of commodity at any stage of delivery process from supplier to distributor storage facilities and centers. The Metro supermarket in Reinberg is full of technical novelties, which make contact of shop with the customers more personalized. The customer can take in the entrance to the shop a small computer, a personal helper. Gerd Wolfram enters code of his loyalty card inside the computer. We can see personified greeting note and proposition of special individual discounts. â€Å"Really, I buy this kind of bread very often, tells Gerd, the technology allows us to give personal promo-offers, which the customers like very much† (Richard W. Boss). The clever court has other functions as well. For example, we can send from home computer a list of products (About 61,3% of customers in Germany prefer make shopping in accordance with a list), and when you’ll authorize your loyalty card, the list will appear at the monitor. The computer will play a role of navigation system then – it will show direction to the noted product. All shelves in supermarket are supplied with electronic prices (there is about 37  000 of prices). Some of them contain two prices: usual and with discount. â€Å"You can refresh information for prices very quickly†, notes Wolfram and goes to information desk. There are 16 such desks in supermarket. Wolfram puts to scanning device of terminal a bottle of wine. The monitor displays information about manufacturer – region, recommended temperature of storage, etc. If we put there meat, monitor displays schematic picture of caw, and the back flashes. The screen offers to look through and to print the recipes. All these 16 RFID terminals give the managers an opportunity to watch all dislocations of people inside the supermarket. People, who took the commodity with RFID chip. It shows how many minutes he spends, how he is going, what is he interested in. Advertising displays react to this customer as well – when he approaches, different advertisings are been played – but they consist of information that interests the customer. RFID helps against thefts as well. â€Å"Within 10 years RFID system will appear on all commodities†, optimistically notes Wolfram. We go to cashiers. You can pay with a help of cashier or scan the commodity by yourself with the help of interactive sensor monitor. The buyer scans commodity and puts it into a plastic bag, which is located on a special device – controller. â€Å"In case somebody forgot to scan a commodity and put it into the bag, the system will remind him. Besides, the process is controlled with help of video cameras, notes Wolfram.    Device takes credit cards and cash. With the help of this system we managed to make process of client servicing faster† (Richard W. Boss). In the middle of November the biggest world trading network Wal-Mart and manufacturer of cosmetics Procter Gamble were in the centre of scandal as a result of high-tech. They put in one of supermarkets in Tals as experiment, a shelf with lipstick Max Factor LipFinity, each package of which had RFID tag. Besides, they put a web-camera, which allowed specialists of company-manufacturer to watch the process of trading. The representative of lipstick manufacturer explained: â€Å"We wanted to understand, if this technology will help to provide availability of our production on shelves. We know tat our clients are irritated when they cannot find necessary product which is absent or isn’t in the right place†. Control of commodity in real time almost without participation of human is able to influence the volumes of trading and concurrent struggle, simultaneously decreasing the manufacturer’s expenses. The customer who bought a lipstick with RFID tag and who has it in her bag, will be noticed during her next visit to the shop. This scandal, possibly, will be an obstacle in the way of usage of RFID technologies in retail networks, but RFID tags are already used where the defenders of private life don’t have access. First of all, RFID technologies are used in non-contact access cards and tickets. Here is used a high principle of high-tech application â€Å"don’t want – don’t use†. Sure, you can refuse from high-tech access card or a ticket, but at the same time you’ll loose work or discounts for travel. The manufacturer of domestic electric appliances company Merloni is ready to supply washing machines with system of support of RFID tags – because tags can contain coded recommendations for washing. Company Goodyear plans to supply with RFID tags tires, which it produces. Here tag should reflect their basic features, as well as height of protector and pressure. Quite probably this will be for tires for commercial transport (trucks). Russian company Luxsoft develops connections between RFID tags and sensor networks (networks of miniature sensors, possessing calculation possibilities, means of wireless connection and number of sensors) – it will allow in perspective to add into tags additional information, for example, about temperature or humidity at separate stages of transporting. The Ministry of Defense of the United States, which is known for its love to new technologies, announced that till year 2005 all suppliers of USA army should put on commodity, except of friable products and big volumes of liquids, by RFID tags. By opinion of military, this approach will allow to improve control for commodity presence and for its supply. Still, don’t forget the fact that spies will have possibility to watch the dislocation of military supplies and separate subdivisions. Basic tasks in library business are to prevent robberies, to make a database for books and cd-s, and search some definite books with certain criteria. All these tasks cannot be fully realized with help of barcodes and usual means of theft prevention. The French company Tagsys offers specialized decision for libraries. RFID tag realizes simultaneously all these functions and allows keeping information regarding definite book or CD, for example, place where it should be kept. The system consists of the following parts: Terminal for reading of barcodes and reading/writing of radio tags. It allows connecting a usual scanner of barcodes and presents convenient and quick transfer of information from barcodes to RFID tags. Scanning of barcode, recording of RFID tag and activation of safety function is made within one second. With the help of terminal we are able to read and program new RFID tags by any kind of data. Terminal for simultaneous reading of several tags (till 16) This is terminal for table of registration. Is has more functions than the previous one. It consists of separate control block and one or two antenna. It allows scanning till 16 RFID tags at the same time, what allows fastening in dozens of time work with clients. System of safety. System of safety in order to prevent theft of books, which don’t have activation of safety in RFID tags. This is an independent device, consisting of two posts, which is able to produce controlling signals to close the doors, recording of camera or give siren signal. It can be put on any surface, which doesn’t conduct current. Barcodes can only hold a relatively small amount of information. RFID tags can hold much more information, including serial numbers, shipping information, name, price, and any other information that might be useful for a specific purpose. Unlike barcodes, which cannot be updated as the product moves from place to place, the information on RFID read/write tags may be updated as the product passes through the supply chain. Updates may include logging the time of receipt, sales order numbers, quality control information, or even data that would allow the tag to serve as a bill of lading for shipping (Logimax). Proponents of RFID point out that the system boosts productivity and is cost-effective, eliminating scanning times required by barcodes and reducing paperwork. RDIF is fast, although not as fast as some may believe. Current RFID readers are reported to read up to 150 tags per second, not thousands (Kirk). Still, scanning 150 tags per second with RFID is much faster than the time required to scan 150 barcoded items. In inventory management alone, Logimax estimates productivity gains in the 5 to 10 percent range. Additional time would also be saved by being able to know exactly where product is along the supply chain: on the shop floor, in the warehouse, or in the store. WhereNet estimates that RFID can reduce the delivery chain by 1 to 3 days. If companies deploy RFID and data synchronization, the total savings on improved information can reach $200 to $400 billion (Spiegel,RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings.). Kirk is more conservative with his estimates, noting that early adopters of RFID technology have seen 3 percent to 5 percent reduction in overall supply chain costs and 2 percent to 7 percent increases in revenue from inventory visibility (Kirk). Kirk lists five ways by which RFID improves productivity and increases profits: Reduced labor in high-volume product identification Reduced labor in lot tracking Increased information accuracy throughout the supply chain Automated proof of delivery Real-time inventory levels The power of RFID could increase exponentially when the tags are linked to the Internet. A article from Sun notes that information on RFID tags could be hyperlinked to additional information, including manufacturing batch and production history, product handling instructions, storage or delivery instructions, expiration dates, and other details. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination. (Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID). Kirk, however, points out what RFID is not capable of doing. RFID can tell the distributor if the product is in the warehouse, what time it arrived, and when it is expected to leave, but it cannot locate an item. RFID is not a Global Positioning System [GPS] (Kirk, emphasis as it appears in the original). RFID may, however, be used along with a GPS system to locate items with an accuracy of 10 feet. RFID radio waves cannot penetrate liquids, may have trouble penetrating metal, and may pick up interference from electric motors and other electromagnetic devices. These potential limitations could affect how RFID will be used in some production facilities and warehouses. The benefits of RFID come at some price. Spiegel reports that suppliers to Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense and their customers will need to spend $3 million to $35 million implementing RFID in 2004 (Spiegel, R. RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings). Per unit costs decrease with volume, which is why Wal-Mart can afford to implement the system. Smaller businesses might not be able to afford the upgrade to RFID. For those who will not be buying literally billions of RFID tags at a time, the low-end cost is about 30 cents per tag, depending on the type of the chip, how it is housed, and the volume purchased. More durable tags that are designed to withstand the harsh environments found in manufacturing applications can cost between $2 -$4 each at volumes of tens of thousands (Kirk). Prices for tags and other RFID technology will no doubt drop over time. Early cell phones and Palm Pilots were much more expensive and did much less than models that are sold today. Eventually, prices for RFID tags and systems will almost certainly drop as use of the technology becomes more widespread. As with any new technology, there are some concerns regarding issues surrounding security and abuse. RFID tags can carry a lot of information, including an items manufacturing and distribution history. Tags could also record credit card information, which presents another potential security risks. In order to be able to meet the demands of industry, RFID tags must transmit indiscriminately to any scanner that is in the area. Tags and scanners could be misused to gain unauthorized information. There are also concerns about privacy. Actually, all rumors regarding unsanctioned usage of RFID tags are a result of ignorance of different things about RFID technology. It is not a secret that practice to implant tags to people in USA and Mexico.   In 2002 company Applied Digital Solutions got right to sell microchips VeryChip, which are implanted to people and containing his identification code. This code can be connected with database, where any kind of information can be contained, as well as any medical data. The matter is that such chip is a possibility to get medical help in time for many families, who have ill people at home, or for example, to find a person until he gets into trouble. From the other side, and this information can be confirmed by any expert in this field,- it is possible to defend from RFID tags. The idea is to make a â€Å"jammer† which will be able to oppose the reading device. Sure, the best way is to make it in the image and likeness of RFID tags. The â€Å"jammer† should present a device, copying work of radio-identifying micro schemes, with the only difference that it should present as a reply for requests of scanners not correct information, but some accidental garbage. Two moments are important in work of such device. First of all, it should understand requests of different scanners. Second of all, the best way is to give as answer for one request a lot of answers simultaneously. This is supposition that in such situation scanner will simply confuse. This idea belongs to company RSA Security, which for the present moment is researching it in its laboratories and plans to make test micro schemes in the nearest future. So, actually, strugglers for freedom can sleep with calm. At least, this not so revolutionary technology will not bereave them of freedom. Rumors about RFID technology being used to track products to the homes of individuals are probably exaggerated. The limited transmission range of the chips and the lack of GPS capabilities rules out any feasible use of RFID as a system for tracking individual items beyond the store or warehouse. Wal-Mart will be using RFID to track pallets and other shipping containers and not to track individual items. Wal-Mart had explored the possibility of using Smart Shelves equipped with RFID to indicate when inventory was running low or to detect the possibility of theft. Gillette announced that it would work with Wal-Mart to develop packaging that was compatible with the Smart Shelf system. However, the project was deferred after concerns over consumer privacy were raised by consumer groups (Gilbert). Organizations that use RFID will save money in the long-term through increased productivity, decreased inventory loss, and more reliable tracking of inventory. However, these long-term benefits will only be reaped by those who can afford the high start up costs of the technology. There is currently no race to the bottom for RFID technology. Although the price of tags may have dropped since the first tags were introduced, these savings are typically realized only by those organizations that are large enough to buy large quantities of tags – literally billions – at a time. Smaller firms will continue to pay higher prices for RFID tags. High cost of implementation combined with the tendency of some organizations to stick with proven technologies until all the kinks are worked out of the latest generation of products means that barcodes will continue to be in use for some time. It is unlikely that the barcode scanner at the supermarket will be replaced with an RDIF scanner in the near future, although RFID could easily be used for that application. It is more likely that the two systems will exist side-by-side for some time to come, with RFID being used for manufacturing, shipping, and other large-scale business purposes and barcodes being used for smaller, more individual applications, such as pricing individual items. So, a short summary for usage of RFID tags will be as follows: By some forecasts, year 2005 will be decisive for RFID technologies: we expect decrease of prices – XEROX announced the new method of jet-print of RFID tags. Till 2007 market of equipment and service for RFID will be more then 4 milliard dollars. This fact proves the concept that RFID technology is very perspective and has numerous variants of usage. Data of RFID tag can be re-writed and added, it can be classified; tags are more long-termed; the location of tag isn’t of any importance for tag reader; the tag is better protected from influence of environment. In case the RFID scanners will be systematized and work in all used frequencies, the usage will be simpler and more effective. So, finally, we can conclude that RFID technology has a great future. Works Cited Barlas, Demir. Wal-Marts RFID Mandate Line56.com June 04, 2003. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=4710 Best, Jo. Schoolchildren to be RFID-chipped Slicon.com 8 July 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,39024663,39122042,00.htm Brewin, B. Radio Frequency Identification Computer World. 16 December 2002. Online 13 August 2004 http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/technology/story/0,10801,76682,00.html Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID. Sun. Online 13 August 2004 http://www.sun.com/br/manufacturing_1120/feature_rfid.html Gilbert, A. Major retailers to test smart shelves' CNET News.com 8 January 2003. Online: 14 August 2004 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-979710.html Kirk, Julie. Pennies a Tag: Making Cents Out of RFID Myths. White paper. Applied Creative Technologies. May 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.appliedcreativetech.com/pdfs/RFIDMyths.pdf Logimax Making Sense of RFID White paper. Online 13 August http://www.e-logimax.com/downloads/l_making_sense_of_rfid.pdf Spiegel, R. RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings. Supply Chain Management Review; 1 May 2004. HighBeam.com Database. 13 August 2004. http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?DOCID=1G1:118850308 Speigel, R. Supply Chain Management Review 8.5.66. ProQuest Database 13 August 13, 2004. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 Walton, Marsha. USDA steps up efforts to track livestock CNN 28 May 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/05/24/animalidentification/index.html Waters, Jennifer. Wal-Marts muscle advancing use of RFIDs Investors Daily 6 July 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=22013065brk=1 WhereNet. WhereNet Automates Vehicle Tracking and Management for Automotive OEMs 10 August 2004. HighBeam.com Database. 13 August 2004 http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?DOCID=1G1:120383879 Richard W. Boss, RFID Technology, Public Library Association (PLA) Tech Notes

John Sirica and The Ammidown Murder Essay examples -- Law

When I discovered that my English class had to do a Research Paper, I became horrified. I thought students only did this when they were finishing graduate school not when they were starting their first year in college. All I knew about research papers was that there is an overwhelming amount of research to do. In my efforts to complete this obstacle and not bore myself to sleep with researching, I wanted to do an interesting topic, but I had no idea where to begin. I spent hours going through a great number of subjects and people, but once I found topic remotely interesting, I could not find much information on the Library of Congress website. Therefore, I decided to choose one word that would hopefully lead me to an interesting topic. I set my search limits to manuscripts and searched the word murder. There, the first name at the top of the page was Sirica, John . John J. Sirica spent his younger years at Georgetown University studying law. He worked in a small law firm as an attorney, but became active in Republican Party politics. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated him, as the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for D.C. Being chief judge; Sirica did not use traditional methods in the courts, but instead used his own technique of getting to the bottom of the truth. He played a famous role in the Watergate Scandal and in the murder trial of Robert Louis Ammidown. Finally, I found an interesting topic that was worth sticking with. The court case United States v. Ammidown was fascinating to me, so I immersed myself into finding sources to support my research topic. I was able to find secondary sources on the Montgomery College Catalog and through Google News. The Free Lance-Star pertaining to the case ... ...tp://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19711022&id=GfRNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=14oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3630,6511498 (accessed April 19, 2012). The police were on a search for Tony Lee who was accused of murder in the death of Linda Ammidown. The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg), "Tony Lee Convicted of Murder." May 25, 1972. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4NpNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2YoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2403,4982008&dq=tony+lee+convicted&hl=en (accessed April 4, 2012). This contains an article on the conviction of Tony Lee by the chief Judge John Sirica. The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg), "Two Brothers Charged in Ammidown Murder." March 16, 1972. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19720316&id=iqlWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0ucDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7421,2169052 (accessed April 11, 2012). Richard Lee and Ralph Lee were arrested and charged for the murder of Linda Ammidown.

Do We Have True Separation of Powers in Trinidad and Tobago? Essay

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely! (Lord Acton, 1834-1902). This phrase aptly demonstrates the reason for the separation of powers, which is meant to prevent abuse of power in a democracy and preserve each and every citizen’s rights through the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches, averting one branch from gaining absolute power or abusing the power they are given. The intent is to avoid the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances. Though it can be traced as far back as ancient Greece, the first modern interpretation of the separation of powers was introduced by the French enlightenment writer Charles Montesquieu in De L’Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws) in 1748. He believed that for liberty and freedom to be maintained a safeguard against centralisation of power in one person should be provided. Montesquieu wrote that a nation’s freedom depended on the three powers of governance â⠂¬â€œ legislative, executive and judicial – and that these three powers must be separate and act independently to effectively promote liberty. This principle has been widely used in the development of many democracies since that time. The question is asked though: ‘Is the separation of powers truly separate?’ This essay would be focussing on the separation of powers in Trinidad and Tobago and the question of whether there exists true separation of powers in this country. For this purpose we will also examine the differences of the Unitary and Federal State and will be using the USA as an example of a Federal State. Trinidad and Tobago is a Unitary State governed by a democratic system. Unitary States exists in homogenous societies; there is one central government and all taxes goes back to the central government; one law making body and the laws made applies to the entire State. It is a single state. Federal states consists of a heterogeneous society, it is a combination of states and each state has the authority to make certain laws which may differ from state to state but Federal laws can override State laws; power is shared; and there is a State and Federal tax system. The USA is a Federal State. These two countries are governed under a democratic system which abides by the separation of powers and whose governmental systems both  consist of an executive, judicial and legislative branch. The legislative branch is responsible for the making and changing of laws. Trinidad and Tobago has a Bicameral Parliament, which means there are two houses, the Upper House or Senate and the Lower House or the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of 31 members: 16 government senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 appointed senators on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, and 9 independent senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of society. They are all appointed by the President. The ratio in the Senate is always fixed because that is what is allowed in the Constitution. The number of members in the House of Representatives is not a fixed ratio because it all depends on the voting process during elections, which are supposed to be free and fair and free from fear, meaning that you can choose to vote for whoever you want without any victimisation or force to do otherwise. Whoever wins the seat will be appointed a Member of Parl iament, by the President, and allowed to sit in the House of Representatives. Currently the House of Representatives, in Trinidad and Tobago consists of: 27 People Partnership seats, 1 ILP seat and 13 People National Movement seats. The party who wins the majority of seats would form the Government for the next 5 years. The United States Congress is also a bicameral legislature consisting of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both representatives and senators are chosen through direct election. Members are affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party and only rarely to a third-party or as independents. Congress has 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The Vice President is also the President of the Senate.The Congress debates on and approves bills concerning various matters and approves all treaties and all nominations to key foreign policy postings. The most important authority given to Congress overall is the power to declare war. But there has always been a tension between this and the president’s constitutional role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, Ch 5 (74) and (75), Executive authority is vested in the President and, subject to the Constitution, may be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him. Supreme command of the armed forces is also vested in the President and the exercise of this power shall be regulated by law. Under Ch 5 (80) 1, â€Å"In the exercise of his functions under the Constitution or any other law, the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet†. The Cabinet falls under the Executive arm and have the general direction and control of the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and is collectively responsible to Parliament. The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President. The leader of the political party that won the majority of seats via the voting system in a general election usually becomes the next Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is responsible for the allocation of function among Government Ministries. Other members of the Cabinet include the Attorney General and other Ministers of government appointed by the Prime Minister. Apart from the Prime Minister the Attorney General is the only member of the Cabinet specifically mentioned in the constitution relating to the executive branch of government, which is why they must be present for this arm to function. The constitution also provides that in exercising his powers, the Attorney General shall not be subjected to the direction or control of any other person or authority. Also, the Prime Minister can remove any member of Cabinet or a Government Senator because they are chosen by the Prime Minister, but not a member of the House of Representatives because they were voted into office by the peop le. The functions of Cabinet include the initiating and deciding on policies, the supreme control of the government and the coordination of government departments. According to the Constitution Ch 5 (77) 1, where the House of Representatives passes a resolution, supported by the votes of a majority of all the members of the House, declaring that it has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister does not within seven days of the passing of such a resolution either resign or advise the President to dissolve Parliament, the President shall revoke the appointment of the Prime Minister from office by members of the legislature on a vote of no confidence, but this is unheard of since the members of both arms share the same political agenda. They may  also vacate office by replacement or by ceasing to be a member of the house to which they belong. Apart from being the leader of the Cabinet which has effective control of the nation’s affairs, it is most certain that by the power vested in this arm of government it is easy for intimidation to occur, contradicting the very back bone of Montesquieu’s theory on the hallmark of democracy with regards to the separation of powers, with his main argument being for liberty and freedom to be maintained the three arms of government should be separated and apart – entrusted to different people. In a Federal State the President is the head of the executive branch of government. The Cabinet also consist of the vice president and fifteen executive departments – the Secretaries of agriculture, commerce, defence, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, labour, state, transport, treasury, veterans affairs and the Attorney General. The purpose of the cabinet is to advise the president on matters relating to the duties of their respective offices. These members of cabinet are appointed by the president and must be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate. They cannot be a member of congress or hold any other elected office. They can be dismissed at any time by the President, without the approval of Cabinet.The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by congress. The main duties of the executive are making sure that the laws of the States are obeyed. They deliver programs and services to the population within the framework of laws, expenditures and tax measures approved by legislature. The Judiciary is known as the third arm of government in a unitary or federal state. The Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago is headed by the Chief Justice, and in a democratic country as this, the Judiciary is established by the Constitution to operate independently from the executive arm. They interpret and enforce the laws, and acts as a forum for the resolution of legal disputes among citizens of the State. The hierarchical order of the courts is as follows; magistrate, supreme, appeal and Privy Council which is the last and highest level located in England. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Under the constitution the judicial and legal  services commission (JLSC) which is made up by the Chairman of the Public Services Commission, one person who was a Judge, two persons with legal qualifications and the Chief Justice, is charged with the tasks of appointing Justices of Appeal, High Court Judges, Masters of the High Court, Magistrates, Registrars of the Supreme Court and the Administrative Secretary to the Chief Justice, all of whom are judicial officers. Although the law clearly protects the Judiciary from political interference, the Judiciary is economically dependent on the executive arm of government for the allocation of funds causing them to not be as independent as proposed. The Attorney General, who is the second in command in Cabinet under the Executive, is the Minister responsible for the administration of legal affairs. There were complaints made by the Chief Justice in 1999, about the Attorney General’s plans to make the Judiciary a department under his Ministry, requiring the Chief Justice and his staff to report to him on matters concerning the operation of the courts in general. A detailed report by the Attorney General to the Parliament argued that a dispute did exist concerning his role in relation to the administration of justice, and he asserted his right of control over administrative matters not pertaining to the judicial function. He saw it fit that he should superintend the administrative affairs of the J udiciary. Another issue facing the judiciary is the national awards. The Chief Justice heads the committee which receives recommendations of citizens deserving of the award, this is then passed to the Prime Minister who has the power to insert and delete nominees. This has caused major concern in the real independence of the Judiciary as it pertains to the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary and some may see this as being politically motivated. In the past an inquiry into the interference by the other arms of government in the Judiciary was investigated by one of the Lords at the Privy Council. His findings gave no comfort to the allegations made, instead he noted that the real issue was the lack of co-operation by the Executive and the Judiciary arm of government and stressed that they should work together for the good of the country. In a federal judicial system such as the USA more than 600 judges sit on district courts, almost 200 judges sit on courts of appeals, and 9 justices make up the Supreme Court. Federal judges have life terms, therefore, no single president will make all of these appointments.The Supreme Court is the highest court and consists of the Chief Justice and 8 other associates. The Constitution provides broad parameters for the judicial nomination process giving the responsibility for nominating federal judges and justices to the President, who relies on many sources to recommend appropriate nominees for judicial posts.Recommendations are received from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of Congress, sitting judges and justices, and the American Bar Association. Some judicial hopefuls even nominate themselves. Nominations are also required to be confirmed by the Senate. A special, very powerful tradition for recommending district judges is called senatorial courtesy. This practice allows senators from the state in which there is a vacancy, and who is also of the same political party as the President, to send a nomination to the President, who almost always follows the recommendation. To ignore it would be a great affront to the senator, as well as an invitation for conflict between the President and the Senate. The Constitution guarantees that judges would be protected by any reduction in salaries and removal from office. This concept is the backbone of the judicial independence which was establish by Brittan. The judiciary arm of government in a federal state may serve different purposes. Their functions can range from judicial to non-judicial with its main function being the administration of laws, interpretation of laws, guardianship of the constitution, advisory jurisdiction, protector of the fundamental rights and supervisory to smaller courts. Whilst stressing on the independence of the judiciary in the separation of powers external threats arise from the powers that the Constitution leaves to congress and the president to control the judiciary’s resources. In both the Unitary State which is Trinidad and Tobago and the Federal State which is the USA there exist a system in place for the separation of powers but in Trinidad and Tobago there is an overlapping in the system. The Parliament and the Cabinet has some of the same people, for example the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Government Ministers form the Cabinet  but they are also members of the Parliament. This means that there is no true separation of powers between the Parliament and the Executive because according to Montesquieu to ensure that liberty and freedom is maintained the three arms of government should be entrusted to different people and this has not happened with these two branches. The only one that remains totally separate is the Judiciary. In an article from the Guardian Newspaper, Tony Fraser wrote on the Separation of Powers, he said: â€Å"Having an operational separation of powers is important to achieve democratic and quality governance. It is absolute ly dangerous for the Government/Cabinet and the Prime Minister to have full control of the passage of legislation, to be in a position to implement policies and programmes, the vast majority of which have a base in the laws passed, and to then have control of the judiciary whose responsibility is to interpret the laws. Imagine the power of a prime minister as CEO who could pass legislation which does not require a special majority, have a majority to alter the Constitution to take away the right to free expression, have total control of all major appointments to state office — including the President of the Republic and the Chief Justice, the Commissioner of Police, the operations of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, the Service Commissions — and appoint independent senators and on and on. Imagine, too, a Prime Minister having full control of the operations of the judiciary so that judges and magistrates would have to make judgements based on the desires of the CEO. Effectively, this would mean that the PM could determine who among the political opponents of the Government should â€Å"make a jail† and who among the supporters of the ruling party could engage in corrupt activity â€Å"la blash,† free sheet without fear of prosecution. If the doctrine of the separa tion of powers does not function effectively, the Prime Minister would have total legislative power and power too over the judiciary, and all of this in addition to being in total control of the establishment and functioning of the Cabinet including, for instance, deciding which minister should be fired, who should be protected, and what policies and programmes are to be implemented without a continuing check on the power.† This article clearly illustrates the importance of the separation of powers, and the corruption that could ensue without it. In Trinidad and Tobago the separation of powers does not truly exist because too much power is centralised in one person – the Prime Minister. In a federal state there is true separation of powers because each branch is entrusted to different people. The only exception is that the Vice President is also the President of the Senate, which can lead to abuse of power, such as in the case of Senators who gives recommendations to the President, forcing the President to choose the person they recommended or face conflict in the Senate. Lord Acton could not have said it any better, power truly corrupts but he also said that â€Å"Great men are almost always bad men.† If no one else believed what his words conveyed then a need for the separation of powers would never have been realised. Checks and balances are not just needed for Government officials but also in everyone else’s daily lives. Businesses has managers, supervisors and labourers and they all have different degrees of power which helps to keep staff in check and ensure that everything is running efficiently, if they all had the same status then there would not be an incentive to keep others in check and chaos would reign supreme. There must always be a mechanism to help maintain order/good governance and even though it may not be a perfect system, some abusers of the laws have been brought to justice, more so in the federal system. We do, however, look forward to the day that it works efficiently in a Unitary State. BIBLIOGRAPHY Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Act 4 of 1976. http://www.ag.gov.tt/Portals/0/Documents/TT%20Constitution.pdf Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved from http://rgd.legalaffairs.gov.tt/laws2/alphabetical_list/lawspdfs/1.01.pdf Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Contributors, Gaurav Shukla, Grace Young, Separation of Powers, The Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/topic/473411/contributors http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/az.htm Martin Kelly, Separation of Powers, About.com American History http://americanhistory.about.com/od/usconstitution/g/sep_of_powers.htm NCSL, Separation of Powers – an Overview. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/separation-of-powers-an-overview.aspx Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved from http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=25 The Phase Finder: Retrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely.html Tony Fraser, Separation of Powers, Guardian Newspaper Article. Retrieved from https://guardian.co.tt/columnist/2012-12-19/separation-powers Wikipedia: The United States Congress, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress

Reading Response Essay

The September Sisters, by Jillian Cantor, is a story about two sisters, Abigail, the oldest and Becky the youngest. They both fight a lot and make each other’s life miserable, that’s all they do, then Becky disappears in the middle of the night, Abby struggles to cope with her own feeling of guilt and loss. Aby meets a new neighbor, Tommy, who with time, discover that love can bloom, even when it’s surrounded by thorns. This is shown by the author with tone, imagery and similes. Abigail feels a sense of guilt through the disappearance of Becky, they would always fight for no reason or for stupid reasons and now that she realizes that she’s gone. She struggles with this deep feeling of sorrow. â€Å"I felt this sudden surge of guilt, as if I should’ve heard everything, should’ve heard Becky get out of bed,† page 13. Throughout the book whole book, the tone is always said as guilt and grief. â€Å"Every time I got in the swimming pool or I looked at the inner tube, I thought about Becky swimming toward me, wanting the pink one so bad, I’d feel so guilty, and I’d think, why didn’t I just let her have it? What was the big deal anyway? She could’ve had this one thing; it wouldn’t have been so much to give,† page 296. Jillian Cantor gives us a very strong feeling of sorrow and grief to capture, which tells us the theme throughout the story. There’s also a big amount of similes used to show the theme. â€Å"Our house is like a prison, something that sometimes feels like it’s keeping me in, locked away, not keeping other people out,† page 17. Abigail feels trapped with all this situation of her sister missing, rather than feeling protected, its vice-versa. Another example is, â€Å"The kiss was short, and when he pulled back, I could see his breath, like frosting, lighting up the air,† page 189. When Aby uses â€Å"frosting,† it’s sweet and good, so Aby describes his presence as sweet air, making her happy, which goes with the theme of innocence of young love. The way Jillian Cantor captures images about what is going on is by giving imagery. â€Å"Becky’s hair was straight, dirty blond, and just past her shoulders. She had green eyes and pinkish sunburned skin in the summer. She had dimples. She had some freckles on her nose. She had two-inch scar just above her right elbow, from the time she fell off her bike. She was four feet eight inches tall, and she weighted seventy-three pounds. She was ten years old,† page 28. The author uses vivid amount of sentences to imagine how Becky looked before she went missing. â€Å" I felt his lips moving over mine, his tongue pushing slowly into my mouth, and it all felt perfectly and warm and so nice,† page 315. Abigail is comfortable with his presence when she’s with him and feels warmth by his side. I certainly picture this scene as it goes. The warmth of love and innocence is captured in this quote. Jillian Cantor really gives out the theme by expressing himself with tone, imagery and similes; even though there’s hard times in life, love always makes its way through, it will be there, through thick and thin. This innocent young love was told in this story with Tommy and Abigail. Abigail struggled with the disappearance of her younger sister but the love that Tommy and her gave each other made love bloom, through this hard situation of her family and her.

muslim fundamentalists essays

muslim fundamentalists essays Muslim Fundamentalists in Pakistan In the country of Pakistan, the major religion is that of the Muslim faith. But not all of 130 million citizens of Pakistan that are Muslim are considered fundamentalists, in fact, a small number of Muslims in Pakistan are fundamentalists. According to the Pakistan government, 77% are Sunni Muslim, 20% are Shia Muslim, 1.5% are Christian, and the remaining 1.5% are Ahmadi, Hindus, Zirkis, followers of other faiths, or people that follow no organized or recognized religion. But the Muslim faith was not that of the original Pakistani culture. Moreover, the Muslim fundamentalists who follow the Quran, tend to carry many conflicts between their literal beliefs, and what the Quran literally says. In second and third millennium B.C., India and Pakistan were the home of the Indus Valley civilization, a kingdom with wealth. Then, in about 1500 B.C., the entire civilization was obliterated by the Aryans. The constantly changing chain of command begins here. The Aryans were overtaken by the Persians, the Persians were overtaken by Alexander the Great, Alexander was followed by the Selucids, the Selucids were overtaken by the Mauryas, the Mauryas were overtaken by the Bactrians, the Bactrians were conquered by the Scythians, the Scythians were conquered by the Parthians, the Parthians were removed by the Kushans, the Kushans were overtaken by Muslim Arabs, the Arabs were conquered by the Turks, the Turks were eventually ousted by the British, the British were ousted by the Persians, the Persians were conquered by the Afghans, and the Afghans were ousted by the Sikhs. From this history of constantly changing rule from all over the world, any native culture that ever existed in Pa kistan has been long since wiped out. Pakistan's primary distinction for the last 3,500 years or so has been the frequency and viciousness of the wars fought over it. After the Sikhs claimed rule, the modern history of t...

Astronomy 101 - Early History of Astronomy

Astronomy 101 - Early History of Astronomy Astronomy is humanitys oldest science. People have been looking up, trying to explain what they see in the sky probably since the first human-like cave dwellers existed. Theres a famous scene in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, where a hominid named Moonwatcher surveys the sky, taking in the sights and pondering what he sees. Its likely that such beings really did exist, trying to make some sense of the cosmos as they saw it. Prehistoric Astronomy Fast forward about 10,000 years to the time of the first civilizations, and the earliest astronomers who already figured out how to use the sky. In some cultures, they were priests, priestesses, and other elites who studied the movement of celestial bodies to determine rituals, celebrations, and planting cycles. With their ability to observe and even forecast celestial events, these people held great power among their societies. This is because the sky remained a mystery to most people, and in many cases, cultures put their deities in the sky. Anyone who could figure out the mysteries of the sky (and the sacred) had to be pretty important.   However, their observations were not exactly scientific. They were more practical, although somewhat used for ritual purposes. In some civilizations, people assumed that that celestial objects and their motions could foretell their own futures. That belief led to the now-discounted practice of astrology, which is more of an entertainment than anything scientific.   The Greeks Lead the Way The ancient Greeks were among the first to start developing theories about what they saw in the sky. Theres much evidence that early Asian societies also relied on the heavens as a sort of calendar. Certainly, navigators and travelers used the positions of the Sun, Moon, and stars to find their way around the planet.   Observations of the Moon suggested that Earth, too, was round. People also believed that Earth was the center of all creation. When coupled with the philosopher Plato’s assertion that the sphere was the perfect geometrical shape, the Earth-centered view of the universe seemed like a natural fit.   Many other early observers believed the heavens were really a giant crystalline bowl arching over Earth. That view gave way to another idea, expounded by astronomer Eudoxus and philosopher Aristotle in the 4th century BCE. They said the Sun, Moon, and planets hung on a set of nesting, concentric spheres surrounding Earth. Nobody could see them, but something was holding up the celestial objects, and invisible nesting balls were as good an explanation as anything else. Although helpful to ancient people trying to make sense of an unknown universe, this model did not help in properly tracking the motions planets, the Moon, or stars as seen from Earths surface. Still, with few refinements, it remained the predominant scientific view of the universe for another six hundred years. The Ptolemaic Revolution in Astronomy In the Second Century BCE, Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), a Roman astronomer working in Egypt, added a curious invention of his own to the geocentric model of nesting crystalline balls.   He said that the planets moved in perfect circles made of something, attached to those perfect spheres. All that stuff   rotated around Earth. He called these little circles epicycles and they were an important (if erroneous) assumption. While it was wrong, his theory could, at least, predict the paths of the planets fairly well. Ptolemys view remained the preferred explanation for another fourteen centuries! The Copernican Revolution That all changed in the 16th century, when  Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer tiring of the cumbersome and imprecise nature of the Ptolemaic model, began working on a theory of his own. He thought there had to be a better way to explain the perceived motions of planets and the Moon in the sky. He theorized that the Sun was at the center of the universe and Earth and other planets revolved around it. Seems simple enough, and very logical. However, this idea conflicted with the Holy Roman churchs idea (which was largely based on the perfection of Ptolemys theory). In fact, his idea caused him some trouble. Thats because, in the Churchs view, humanity and its planet were always and only to be considered the center of all things. The Copernican idea demoted Earth to something the Church didnt want to think about. Since it was the Church and had assumed power over all knowledge, it threw its weight around to get his idea discredited.   But, Copernicus persisted. His model of the universe, while still incorrect, did three main things. It explained the prograde and retrograde motions of the planets. It took Earth out of its spot as the center of the universe. And, it expanded the size of the universe. In a geocentric model, the size of the universe is limited so that it can revolve once every 24 hours, or else the stars would get slung off due to centrifugal force. So, maybe the Church did fear more than a demotion of our place in the universe since a deeper understanding of the universe was changing with Copernicuss ideas.   While it was a major step in the right direction, Copernicus’ theories were still quite cumbersome and imprecise. Yet, he paved the way for further scientific understanding. His book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, which was published as he lay on his deathbed, was a key element in the beginning of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. In those centuries, the scientific nature of astronomy became incredibly important, along with the construction of telescopes to observe the heavens. Those scientists contributed to the rise of astronomy as a specialized science that we know and rely upon today.  Edited by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

China's foreign policy. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Essay

China's foreign policy. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping - Essay Example It is clear that all the significant changes distinguish the International Course of China after the reforms of the late 70's and early 80’s from the political line, held during the â€Å"cultural revolution" (1966-1975). The current foreign policy of the PRC continues its updating, although it is still based on the development of conceptual approaches of the eighties. It is remarkable that even before the collapse of socialistic system and disintegration of USSR, the Chinese government had already worked out quite productive paradigm of relations between China and other countries, which justified itself under the dramatic circumstances of the 90’s. The process of modernization of China's foreign policy during the 90’s was a gradual process, which was also typical for Chinese reforms. It was the completion of the construction, consisting of time-tested components and elements. The essential distinctive feature of China’s foreign policy is a constant search for non-forcible, quite economical and still effective solutions, which do not exclude using tough methods and focusing on individually developed relations with particular states. Consequently, a great deal of analytical work, when preparing for any diplomatic movement, is devoted to assessing the world’s most poignant contradictions and possibility to use them in the country’s interests. China almost never takes any major international initiatives. As usual, China does not hurry to assess any events, happening in different parts of the world, it often takes expectant or neutral positions. The evolution of Chinese foreign policy of the last two decades can be schematically represented in the form of several ongoing transformations and changing relations, meaning the substantial difference between so-called "static" foreign policy, ensuring the national independence, and its "dynamics " that is strictly oriented towards supporting the socio-economic development of the country. On the first of October, 1949, the formation of a new republic, Chinese People's Republic (CPR), was proclaimed by Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Square, in Peking. Then diplomatic relations with lots of European and Asian countries were established. In December of 1949 Mao Zedong paid a visit to the USSR. Thus, on the 14th of February, the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed between the USSR and China. As for the Occident, it did not recognize the newly formed state, and its place in the UN was taken by the representatives of Kuomintang. In 1950 all the continental part of China, except Tibet, was free from the troops of Chiang Kai-Sheik; they were evacuated to the island of Taiwan under the USA protection and to Burma. It was the beginning of China’s splitting into two states, which chose different ways of further economic, social and ideological developmen t. Since 1953 China took a course towards industrialization and nationalization of private property that ended by the late 1955. The first Five-Year plan was fulfilled successfully (1953-1957). Considerable assistance to CPR was