Hume’s Argument for Skepticism

Eryn Croft Professor Chudnoff PHI 101 Honors October 9, 2012 Hume’s argument for skepticism about induction states that we can use induction, like causation, to gain knowledge. We must rely on induction to draw conclusions in everyday life because it is the only resource we have to work with. However, we must realize the limitations of induction. Philosopher Karl Popper successfully undermines Hume’s problem of induction by proving that induction is not needed in science and that Hume’s argument is circular. Karl Popper argued that induction cannot be used in science.He says that induction can never be proven by experimentation. Science instead uses deduction by formulating theories and hypotheses. Science uses the method of conjecture and refutation. Hypotheses can never be proven or verified, but their success can be compared to other hypotheses. The usefulness of a hypothesis can be determined through deduction or predictions. Scientists test theories by makin g completely falsifiable claims. If there is nothing you can to do disprove the claim then the hypothesis is corroborated. A corroborated theory should not be considered true, merely accepted until better theories are discovered.Popper said that a theory can never be confirmed by observation. Where Hume argues that our theory originates from repetition, Popper argues that theory begins before repetition. Therefore, Popper argued that science does not even use induction. Karl Popper also argued that inductive reasoning leads to more inductive reasoning, leading to a circular argument. The problem of induction is that induction is creating the problem and â€Å"begging the question. † In order to avoid begging the question when using inductive reasoning, you might introduce a new inductive principle.By introducing a new inductive principle, you would have to make justification based on experience, leading to even more inductive reasoning. Hume argues that we need to justify ind uction, but Popper says it is not necessary because it leads to more induction and hence a circular argument. Popper also completely denies that induction is an a priori synthetic truth. An a priori truth is necessary and truth preserving, meaning it cannot be false. If induction is a priori, then it would not require justification based upon experience because it is already true.Since Popper rejects the traditional inductive model in science, he had to replace it with his own approach. Popper chose to accept William Whewell’s ‘hypothetico-deductive model. ’ He said that science does not use the inductive model, but instead uses the hypothetico-deductive model. The model begins by formulating a hypothesis that can be falsified by a test on observable data. We can then experiment or make observations to falsify the theory. Now the theory can be falsified or corroborated. If it is corroborated, then it will be accepted and used repeatedly until a better theory prov es better.In Hume’s view, observation comes before theory, whereas Popper’s view is that theory comes before observation. Popper believes that having an observation without first considering a theory is pointless. He argued that theories are only scientific if they are capable of being refuted by tests. As a result, Popper thought that falsifiability and testability were synonymous. One of Popper’s biggest arguments against Hume’s theory of induction is in his explanation of corroboration. A theory can only be corroborated if it does not contradict the basic, accepted statements.Even if a theory is falsified, we can still find many areas of corroboration. If a theory is highly falsified, then it is also highly corroborated. Needless to say, a falsified theory cannot also be considered corroborated. Merely, we can find corroboration through the steps taken to falsify a theory. Popper also acknowledges that corroboration is relative to time. He wanted to en sure that corroboration was not used to determine truth or falsehood. Although Popper successfully undermines Hume’s argument for skepticism of induction, there are also problems with Popper’s argument.Scientists always repeat experiments in order to ensure that the results are accurate and valid. An experiment cannot be proven correct unless other scientists replicate the experiment and achieve the same results. However, Popper argues that scientific knowledge is created by conjecture and criticism; but repeating experiments is not conjecture or criticism, it is induction. You would not repeat experiments for conjecture because it would be repetitive and unnecessary. Repeating experiments is in fact induction because it is allowing for the possibility that the conclusion is false.For example, if all of the Ibis we have ever observed are white, we can induce that all Ibis are white. This observation about Ibis is not conjecture because our past experiences offer suffic ient proof that all Ibis are white. Induction is based off of past experiences and repetitive observations. Therefore, scientists’ repeating an experiment is in fact induction, not conjecture or criticism. Scientific knowledge is an infinite cycle of inductive logic. Inductive logic continuously replaces one theory, with a better more inclusive theory that also relies on inductive logic. In addition, science does have theories that they think are proven.When scientists create a law, it is based on a theory proven through induction. For example, Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when an apple suddenly fell next to him on the ground. Newton used his observation to conclude that gravity was the force that caused the apple to fall to the ground instead of merely floating in the air. Newton, by direct observation and repetition, proved the Universal Law of Gravitation. Popper argued that theories proven corroborated should not be considered true. But gravity can in fact only be proven true through induction, not conjecture.Newton did not attempt to continuously falsify gravity, but instead continuously prove gravity through causal relations. If the apple always falls to the ground and always has in the past, then we can use inductive reasoning to assume that gravity is the cause of the fall. Finally, scientists must use prediction as part of methodology in science. Popper says that theory comes before observation. Prediction is the majority of proposing a theory. We cannot use Popper’s ‘hyptothetico-deductive model’ without the methods of induction because probability is part of induction. Induction allows us to predict the outcome, and thus create a theory.Induction is included in Popper’s own models, which negates his claim that science does not use induction. Hume’s argument for skepticism about induction has many valuable points that allow us to conclude that induction can be a valuable tool in drawing conclus ions; we just have to be skeptical when using induction so we are not misled. Karl Popper successfully undermines Hume’s argument, but there can also be objections to Popper’s argument. As a result, it is best to combine Hume’s argument with Popper’s argument. First, we can accept Popper’s claim that deductive arguments are usually always rationally and logically true.For example, the word bachelor will always be accepted as someone who is unmarried. We can also realize that when using induction, there is always a gap between the premises and the conclusion. We must use probability and past observations to reach a conclusion and close the gap between premises. However, we cannot assume that Popper’s method of falsifying theories and corroborating theories to necessarily be correct. Hume believes that observation comes before theory, while Popper believes that theory comes before observation and is then proven false.Attempting to falsify stat ements is actually using inductive reasoning, so Popper is not absolutely rejecting induction. As a result, we cannot absolutely reject induction either. We must also accept that induction is definitely a priori, definitely truth preserving. It is a known fact. However, an a priori truth is based on probability and enquiring. For example, we cannot say bachelors are not married without enquiring about people we know to be bachelors. Thus, we still use induction and cannot rule it out in the scientific process. As a result, we can argue that science uses both inductive and deductive methods to reach conclusions.

Censorship: Kay Anderson vs. Michael Moore

Is controversial documentary is about our first amendment rights. Although, we as Americans are guaranteed the right to have freedom of speech, Kay Anderson and his allies would like to limit who or what message the town of Orem, Utah is exposed to. Simply because Mister Anderson does not agree with the political views of Michael Moore, he wants to censor what the whole town is allowed to hear. Utah Valley State College (UVSC) is located in Orem where Michael Moore was scheduled to speak.Since the tickets were sold to college age or older persons, one would surmise that those individuals attending would not be easily swayed by what Kay Anderson sees as the evil of Michael Moore’s message. Why should the general public in Orem not enjoy the same liberties that Kay Anderson does in determining who or what message they want to hear? It is as simple as if the person wanted to hear Michael Moore’s message, they bought the ticket to his speaking engagement.Many of the college age students that Mister Anderson was trying to shelter from Michael Moore’s message were made more curious simply because of the uproar caused by Kay Anderson’s shenanigans. Mister Anderson is a bully who was trying to limit the choices of others in Orem. Just because Mister Anderson might not share Michael Moore’s political views, why should the general population of Orem have no say in whom or what they are exposed to? Bringing Sean Hannity to speak at the UVSC campus was just a way to try to placate the Mister Anderson.It did not help the money situation. It actually cost the college a little more money just paying Sean Hannity’s travel expenses than paying Michael Moore’s speaking fee and travel expenses. In the end just because Kay Anderson and a few students disagreed with Jim Bassi and Joe Vogel’s decision to bring a controversial speaker to the UVSC a campus was divided. With the loss of revenue from alumni donations, the college w as the one hurt in the end.

Frankenstein and How to Read Literature Like a Professor Analysis Essay

In Thomas C. Fosters How to Read Literature like a Professor, Foster expresses how every story has a journey that someone or sometimes multiple people go on specific journeys. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, the novel is based on exactly that, a journey. One journey is Victor Frankenstein’s quest for knowledge. Foster says that â€Å"The real reason for a quest is always self knowledge.† Victor Frankenstein is the perfect example of this; Frankenstein sets out on a journey to gain every drop of knowledge that he can when he attends the University of Ingolstadt. Robert Walton is another example of this. He beings his journey in the same hopes that of Frankenstein to gain every bit of knowledge that he can possibly obtain. Chapter 7: In Fosters seventh chapter he talks about literary references to the bible. Fosters says that by using these biblical references in stories helped people and the writer stand on common ground. This idea is what Mary Shelley did in Frankenstein when Victor Frankenstein had created his monster relating it to the creator vs. creation in when God had created Adam and Eve. Another time a biblical reference was made was when the monster had asked Frankenstein to create a mate for him just how Adam had asked God for a mate for him. â€Å"My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create† (Shelley 159). Chapter 9: Foster explains that in this chapter â€Å"It’s all Greek to Me† that the use of mythology is a way for authors to appeal to the reader if they do not believe in biblical approaches. It is in a way a much easier approach to understanding where the author is coming from. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; she uses a more mythological approach to the relationship between Frankenstein and the monster. In mythology Prometheus created man, so in this case Frankenstein is Prometheus and his monster is his creation; â€Å"I ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had so thoughtlessly bestowed†(Shelley 97).

Human Resource Internal Branding Project Virgin Group Essay

Human Resource Internal Branding Project Virgin Group - Essay Example By 2008, the company was evaluated to have a net worth of approximately 5 billion British Pounds (Gifford 2013). The first essence of internal branding within the company emerges from the name â€Å"Virgin†. The Company was branded the name when Richard Branson and other stakeholders invested in their first shop that focused on provision of record services (McLimore 2013). This name was created due to the fact that Richard Branson and other partners considered themselves virgins in the record shop business. That is they felt they were new to such kind of a business hence decided to use the name Virgin. In addition, the other essence of branding is associated with the Company’s Logo, â€Å"V†. Currently, the Logo used was an original sketch that was created on a napkin paper by the then famous graphic designer Key Trevor. Branson believed that the Logo V is a perfect representation and of the company and gives the company an upper hand in regard to its competitive advantage in the current competitive market environment. The Logo is also seem as a seal of approval and quality mark as well as an expressive tick. One of the problems associated with branding that may affect employees is lack of awareness of the company’s brand name or even logo (Ind 2007). The corpus of brand awareness among employees entails a scenario where employees are capable of recognizing and applying the company’s brand to market and undertake duties assigned to them by the company. Moreover, it involves a scenario where employees are able to indentify that the company’s brand is a unifying factor among themselves and that it is a symbol that indicates commonness towards achieving the same goals and objectives. Inappropriate recognition and application of the company’s brand may be the major challenge facing internal branding within employees of the Virgin Company. Inappropriate branding awareness is a challenge

My Leadership Action Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

My Leadership Action Plan - Essay Example Do you love the work you do? Are you driven by your purpose? Is there a connection to your top priorities and your leadership approaches? Do you enjoy your time in helping others be successful? What is your legacy to the world? My main purpose as a Leader: My main purpose as a leader is leading as well as developing the process team at the same time taking total accountability for the quality as well as delivering accomplished by the team. I am also responsible for assisting and guiding development of proposals consisting complex pricing as well as contractual dealings. My last significant role involves liaising and communicating with customers (Poscente, 2004). My areas to strengthen and grow: In need to improve my understanding and knowledge about the organization, I require to improve my skills and my ability to communicate effectively to the team members of the organization. I require improving team work with other people since I cannot work alone. Moreover, I require providing a vision for the organization’s future. I require taking risks in New ideas and be innovative. Lastly, I require valuing others through recognizing and encouraging them (Poscente, 2004).

CASE STUDY-WALMART'S JAPAN STRATEGY Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

-WALMART'S JAPAN STRATEGY - Case Study Example The author goes on to explain the issues faced by the company in its quest for international expansion. The major problem faced in Japan was the cultural diversity that existed between its American and Japanese employees. Another factor is that the company, known for its low prices, did not find favor with the Japanese mentality. Unlike the United States, the Japanese equated low prices with poor quality. In Mexico and the United Kingdom, the company faced stiff from other retailers. In Mexico, three of the prominent retailers formed an operational alliance to get the benefits of large-scale purchases in order to compete with Wal-Mart. The study suggests that the entry of Wal-Mart into Japan was timed perfectly (in a strategic context). The country was just emerging out of a recession and Wal-Mart hoped that low prices would be a hit with cash strapped consumers. But the strategy has not been accepted well by the people because of the reason mentioned above. The next section provides a balance sheet and income statement of the corporation for the years 2000 - 2003. It can be seen that there has been a steady growth over these years in all parameters like assets, income, profits and dividends.

Answer the question Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer the question - Speech or Presentation Example Table 3 below gives the test for pre-deliberation ballot. We clearly see that there is an association between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded in regard to the voting. The p-value is given as 0.017 (a value less than ÃŽ ±=0.05), leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis and thus we conclude that there is significant difference in the voting pattern between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded Table 4 below gives the test for post-deliberation ballot. We again see that there is an association between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded in regard to the voting. The p-value is given as 0.017 (a value less than ÃŽ ±=0.05), leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis and thus we conclude that there is significant difference in the voting pattern between death-qualified jurors and those who would have been excluded The p-value for the Pearson’s Chi-square is 0.256 (a value greater than ÃŽ ±=0.05), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no association between ethnicity and the examination pass rate. The p-value for the Fisher Exact test to test is 0.375 (a value greater than ÃŽ ±=0.05), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no association between ethnicity and the examination pass rate. d. Use the 2-sample Z-test method to test the null hypothesis that the pass rates are equal for Hispanic and other officers. Explain the results, and compare the results from the three tests you performed in B,C,D. From the table we observe the mean for other officers to be 1.78 while that of Hispanic officers is 1.88. The p-value for the 2-sample Z-test is 0.693419 (a value greater than ÃŽ ±=0.05), we thus fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant difference in pass rate between the Hispanic officers and other

A Short Paper on the Inside the Solar System Essay

A Short Paper on the Inside the Solar System - Essay Example It will focus on Karl Tate’s article on the solar system, presented in 2011 at space.com. The solar system comprises of eight planets and five dwarf planets. This is according to a valid astronomers count (Tate, 2011). Some of the terrestrial planets include Mars, Neptune and the inner planets also called the Jovian planets. Dwarf planets are small in size. The sun is the closest planet to planet earth and the largest object in the solar system. The sun is orbited by eight planets. Meteors and meteoroids are strip of lights commonly referred to as falling or shooting stars although they are not stars. They consist of small pieces of rocks or metals that come from space into the sky and move at a remarkably high speed. Comets are larger than meteors. They move at a much lower rate and have tails. Comets consist of mostly ice and rocks. Asteroids are small rocky objects with round or irregular shapes (Tate, 2011). In conclusion, the publication shows the beauty and the science behind what is observed from time to time in the

Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Nursing - Essay Example Nurse salaries are the major problem for some institutions along with benefits and intangible income. Moreover, medical costs and for profit health care have been increasing for the past decade. This accounts for other issues of nursing shortage such as nursing care, level of accident rations, and arguments between organizations and unions based on profits and salary increase. This decreased the nurse-patient ratio, which greatly affected the quality of care.1 The crisis of nursing employment became evident from the 1992-2000 surveys of the National Sample Surveys of Registered Nurses.2 Private and public sectors already contributed their observations regarding this matter. Moreover, some private companies have carried out actions to increase the nursing employment. For instance, Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems have promoted a $20 million Campaign for Nursing Future. This program comprises of television ads, promotional materials among high school students, and a web site that exhibits programs among those aspiring for a nursing career. On the other hand, the public sector also contributed their share in promoting the nursing career such as congressional hearings and federal legislation proposing improvements in basic nursing education.3 Many factors are contributors to nursing shortage. One factor is underemployment. Many nursing graduates spend their career at another field instead of nursing. According to the National Sample Surveys of RN (2000), 71-73 percent of Registered Nurses were not working in the medical field and others have undergone retirement. Usually, these Registered Nurses had their reasons why they chose to work on another field instead of nursing, including better hours, more rewarding work, and of course, better salary.4 A next factor is the employment pattern on nursing. The gender issue presents itself conspicuously, as men who graduated as

Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will Essay

Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will - Essay Example The UK government in its Foresight programme (2007) recorded a rapid rise in the number of overweight and obese people in Britain, and at an average estimate predicted that by 2050 more than 50% of the UK adult population would become overweight or obese (Foresight, 2007, 5). The recent spurt in global obesity has led to the derivation of a number of factors related to environmental determinants of this epidemic, amongst which eating habits driven by food marketing and reduction in physical activities due to technological advancement, are considered the two major causes (the ‘Big Two’). Despite the popularity amongst of these two factors, it is necessary that other causal factors of obesity are also identified, since an overall understanding of all probable factors are necessary, in order to control this global health hazard.   Discussion Mechanisms that control human appetite or regulates feeding pattern For appropriate regulation of body weight, there must be a good coordination between intake of food and energy output. The current global epidemic of overweight and obesity is owing to the fact that energy requirements of a human are very near to his/her BMI, thus, allowing it to be easily crossed, making it necessary to focus on appetite control. This function of controlling feeding or appetite is performed by hypothalamus, located between pituitary and thalamus in the brain (Legg and Booth, 1994). Neuron clusters are present within the hypothalamus and one such cluster (arcuate nucleus), forms to be the appetite centre. The arcuate nucleus controls the hormones and metabolites through the vagus nerve, while regulating metabolism through the coordination of adipose tissue, intestines, kidneys, and liver activities. Hypothalamus, which controls feeding while coordinating it with appropriate amount of energy expenditure by the body is, therefore, indirectly responsible for maintaining body weight, by balancing physical activities with the amount the food to be eaten (Logue, 2004). Appetite centre is comprised of primary neurons (that control hormonal and metabolite levels), and secondary neurons that after receiving information from the primary neurons, regulate body functions. The primary neurons have cells that can stimulate hunger via production of agouti-related peptide or AgRP and neuropeptide or NPY. It is also comprised of cells that can supress hunger by production of proopiomelanocortin or POMC. Therefore, either activation of AgRP or NPY or stopping the production of POMC can bring about a feeling of hunger (Smith, 1998). Various hormones play major roles in control feeding via the appetite centre. One such hormone is ghrelin, which activates NPY/AgRP and stimulates hunger. The arcuate nucleus also reacts to the hormones leptin and insulin, and here it is seen that insulin suppresses appetite by stopping AgRP or NPY producing neurons and by activating POMC producing neurons. Leptin levels respond to the levels of body fat, and observations reveal that there is an increase in circulating levels of leptin within obese individuals (Schwartz and Morton, 2002). Leptin may suppress appetite by activating inhibitory neurons; however, the arcuate nucleus may also become leptin-resistant. Individuals who are overweight or obese are often seen to possess high levels of leptin, but arcuate nucleus often fails to respond to such high levels. Aberration in the

REAT Task 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

REAT Task 11 - Essay Example Pre-testing can be administered at every stage of learning process to cue students to the concepts to be mastered. Instructors use pre-testing to invoke students’expectation, which is an important ingredient in concept learning. Instructors use post-testing to monitor the leaning progress for students. Post-testing is also a useful tool to determine the differences in learning process between students. It reveals fast learners and slow-learners. This helps the instructor to adjust accordingly to accommodate all types of learners, (Kormos, 2008). At administrative level, curriculum developers monitor the effectiveness of their programs using post-testing results. The results also help them adjust their curriculum to improve individual student performance. By adjusting their programs, they can develop model curriculum used to develop other programs. Cognitive Domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy is a sequence of recognition learning process that involves six stages in the order of increasing difficulty. The stages imply that the learning process cannot begin at an advanced stage before the preceding one is mastered. The stages are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and finally evaluation, (Price & Nelson, 2010). At knowledge level, the learner is expected to have the ability to remember and state previously learnt information or data. Other learner’s abilities that characterizes learners at this stage include ability to describe, to define, to identify, to outline, to reproduce, to label, to list and to know. At comprehension stage of learning, a learner is expected to understand and infer problem or concept and to express given information in one’s own terms. The abilities that characterizes learners at this stage include being able to paraphrase, to infer, to interpret, to rewrite differently the same concept, to explain to convert and to predict. The third stage is the application of the concept. It involves the

Association football terminology Essay Example for Free

Association football terminology Essay Soccer also known as football in Europe, It is only known as soccer in the United States and in Canada everywhere else it is known as football. It is a very popular sport and it is played between two teams both with eleven players. Over 250 million players in over 200 countries, making it the world’s most popular sport, played the game. The game is played on a very large rectangular field of grass or it can also be played on artificial turf. There is a goal box in the middle of each of the short ends. The goal of the game is to score by kicking the ball into the opposing goal. Soccer has many nicknames such as â€Å"The beautiful game† and â€Å"The World Game†. The game is played by all ages from children to adults. In general play, the goalies are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands while the field players are to use their feet to kick the ball, sometimes using other parts of their legs, their torso, or their head. Players have different roles in the team. There are forwards who attack and score goals. There are defenders who help to defend the goal. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the game wins. If in the end the game were to end in a tie either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout, depending on type of competition. The World Cup is the most famous soccer championship. It is held every four years. Teams from many countries of the world compete with each other, and millions of people around the world watch the game on television at that time. It is a very competitive kind of sports that is why it is interesting to watch it. Soccer is even in the Olympics Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players not including substitutes, one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. The basic kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and also shin guards. Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment but there are many famous players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the permitted number may vary in other competitions such as friendly games. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or substitutions are used for time wasting at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match. A match is not allowed to continue if there are fewer than seven players in either team. A game is officiated by a referee who has full authority over the entire match and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In soccer there can be consequences for hurting a player. And it is known as a foul, a foul occurs when a player commits an offence while the ball is in play. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are considered as fouls. They are therefore punished by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the foul occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick. The referee may punish a player with a caution also known as yellow card or a dismissal also known as a red card. A player can also receive two yellow cards in the same game which result in the player getting a red card, and therefore to a dismissal. A player given a yellow card also it is called being â€Å"booked†, the referee writes down the players name in his official notebook. If a player has been expelled from the game there can be no substitute that can be brought on in their place. You can receive a card at any time during the game. Soccer has fairly simple rules however it is still a difficult game to play. It is a highly strategic game that requires logical thinking, quick reaction and endurance as it is necessary to run without a rest for a long time.

The Effects Of Social Exclusion

The Effects Of Social Exclusion The Concept of Social exclusion tends to focus on those who experience exclusion and diverts attention from the persistent poverty and increasing inequality which characterize contemporary British society. In order to understand the affect of the concept of social exclusion in relations to persistent poverty and equality we need to first answer 1) what does the concept of social exclusion denote? 2) Does the process of overcoming social exclusion take into account dealing with persistence poverty and inequality or does it overlook these aspects in particular persistent poverty and inequality of children in the context of the contemporary British society? Below, section 1 will outline the provenance of the social exclusion concept, its relations to persistent poverty and inequality in the contemporary British Society particularly children, section 2 outlines the status of children in persistent poverty and equality in the British society. The concept of Social Exclusion and in its relations to persistent poverty and inequality Social exclusion can be referred to industrialized countries (notably France in the 1970) and can be taken back to Weber, who identified exclusion as one form of social closure (Parkin 1979) It has been defined as the process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from the society in which they live. Similar but in different light (Jordan 1996) highlights the continuous exclusion of one group by another group. The term social exclusion where it is believed France it was used to identify those who fell through the web of the social protection/social insurance system and were excluded by the state (Lenoir 1974, Duffy 1997) known as (Le exclus the excluded) in the 1970 included disabled persons, lone parent and the unemployed especially young adults (Evans 1998). Social exclusion is described as a shorthand label for what can happen when individuals or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor h ousing, high crime environment, bad health and family breakdowns (SEU 1997) Also Duffy (1995) suggests that it is the inability to participate effectively in economic, Social, political and cultural life, alienation and distance from the mainstream society, this in a way clarifies the link between persistent poverty and inequality in the society and in particularly the unemployed are both poor and not in the same stature as others in the society and thus placing them in the process/institutions put in place to overcome these problems and help these individuals live within a society even though not equal creates a persistent poverty for the children that rely on the adults benefiting from these processes. At the same time the process or institutions put in place to overcome these social exclusions are not specifically designed to overcome persistent poverty or inequality. Child Poverty and Inequality in the contemporary British society Persistent poverty is defined as occurring when children experienced poverty (severe or non severe) in three out of five years for which they were analyzed i Children experiencing poverty were all more likely to: Have been in no worker household for one year Lived in rented accommodation for five years Had adults in the household who were ill for between three and four years Lived in midlands Received benefits for three to four years and lived in household with an average of three or more children (Adelman et al). Impact of poverty in children includes, deprivation of education, lack of proper health and children below the age of five die each day due to causes that can be prevented. Poverty is related to negative outcomes like ill-health and shorter life expectancy and this is true for relative (average income, lack of materials to fully participate in an accepted daily life) and absolute poverty (absence of enough resources to make complete someone). World Health Organization (2008) reports shocking inequalities within the countries and cities also persist. The life expectancy of child born in Carlton in Glasgow, Scotland is 28 years less than that of a child born few miles away in Lenzi. The 2007 UNICEF report on child wellbeing ranked the UK bottom out of 21 OECD countries. Bradshaw J argues that child poverty is the inevitable consequences of economic restructuring, globalization, demographic transitions. But it s then the consequence of policy-successive Conservative government ignoring rising child poverty, committed as they were to trickle down theories and their aspirations to reduce public expenditure and cut taxation? Levitas (1998) identifies three different discourses of Social Exclusion, First approach is a redistributive Discourse (RED) which derives from critical social policy, and which sees social exclusion as a consequences of poverty, thus Peter Townsend argued that poverty should not be understood in terms of subsistence, but in terms of peoples ability to participate in the customary life of society: individuals, families and groups can be said to be in poverty when their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities(Townsend,1979,p32).the indicator for social exclusion in RED is low income. She adds Social integration Discourse (SID) is participation in paid work, therefore young people of working age should participate in labor market. Unemployment or economic inactivity indicates social exclusion. The third approach is a moral underclass discourse (MUD), which so cial exclusion is used as a substitute not for poverty or non employment, but for the underclass .This discourse presents the socially excluded as the morally distinct from the rest of the society and does not address inequality. Since the election, there has been increasing tendency to talk about poverty and social exclusion, a shift which can only be welcomed, since it puts both firmly back at on the political agenda. But opportunity for all (Blair, 29 January 1996) A reduction in the proportion of children living in workless households, for households of a given size, over the economic cycle. A reduction in the proportion of children in household relatively low incomes A reduction in the proportion of children in households with low incomes in an absolute sense. A reduction in the proportion of children in household with persistently low incomes. Makes no separation between poverty and social exclusion nor does the poverty and social exclusion (National Strategy) Bill, introduced in parliament under the 10- minute Rule on 10th February 1999. Mud posits strong connection between poverty and social exclusion, but sees the causes of poverty as lying in cultural and moral/self exclusion rather than the other way round. (Levitas, 1998) Conclusion Referring back to the concept of social exclusion and its relation to persistent poverty and inequality, I would argue that although the concept of social exclusion concentrates on those excluded it does address the issues that lead to poverty and inequality but has not been designed to directly tackle the issues of persistent poverty and inequality in the contemporary British society and in particular the children. Poverty is not only deprivation of economic or material resources but a violation of human dignity too. The UN provides a broader definition of poverty: a human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. (UN, 2001). The UN definition brings together two important and related themes in contemporary understandings of poverty: the capability approach of Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen and the human rights approach. Inequality is sometimes seen as a form of poverty, and the capability approach to poverty shows us why. By definition, any society with inequality means that some people have less money, resources or power than others do. These people will often be described as relatively poor but there are sometimes questions about whether they are absolutely poor (Barber, 2008; p3)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt :: essays research papers

Franklin Delano Rooesvelt   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This essay will focus on the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt devoted much of his later years in life to help the needy. As president, Roosevelt passed as many bills, lobbing for as much congressional support as he could get to aid him in his attempts to help the unemployed, starving and poor people that society had forgotten. President Roosevelt has often been called the most beneficial president that America has had in the twentieth century, some may argue that he was the best president since Lincoln. Roosevelt truly dedicated his life to humanitarian efforts worldwide, never stopping to take a break until his unfortunate early death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Never in the history of the United States had there ever been such a terrible, long-lasting, economic depression then the one that began just before President Roosevelt ran for his first presidential election. Thirteen million people were out of work, about one quarter of the working age population and cities - as well as states - were losing money fast, as there were no taxes to be collected. Schools were closed because the states did not have enough money to fund them and people were homeless and starving; living - and dying - on the very streets where just a few years ago America experienced its first economic boom. This sets the stage for the most triumphant presidency this country has ever seen. Triumphant not only over the war that was to follow but also over economic as well as social barriers. It would be nothing short of the truth to say that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his staff saved this country from total economic collapse. President Roosevelt’s heritage traces all the way back to our great nation’s colonial times. Being of Dutch and English ancestry, his ancestor, Klaes Martensen had been a Dutch immigrant, settling in New York in 1645. Almost two hundred years later, on January 30, 1882, Franklin Delano was born. Both of his parents had come from upper-class families. His father, James Roosevelt was the vice president of the Delaware and Hudson Railway Company. Franklin lived a life almost all would envy, growing up about 100 miles north of New York City on his parents’ Hyde Estate. The estate, totaling about 100 acres in size overlooked the Hudson River and had a breathtaking view of the Catskill mountains. He led a good life, going to well-renound private schools then graduating, to attend Harvard and later Colombia Law School.

My Personal Philosophy of Education :: Education Teachers Reflective Writing Essays

Philosophy of Education I believe all students have the potential to think critically and mathematically. However, each student manifests this ability at a different level and pace. Thus, it is the role of the teacher to facilitate learning by providing each student with the opportunity to grasp mathematical concepts. Too often teachers assume that only those who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in the classroom will be able to experience higher-order problem solving situations. Often, problems that require critical thinking are simplified to mere procedures and rules. Instead, I contend that it is precisely the struggle and challenge of these situations that can enhance all students’ understanding in some way. As an educator, it is my responsibility to provide the resources (information, experiences, problem solving strategies, etc.) to enable each student to improve his or her reasoning skills. However, it is often difficult to reach students individually and even more difficult to change the deep-set attitudes towards mathematics, especially among those who struggle. I propose that creating a caring, problem-solving based community is the best way to combat negative attitudes towards mathematics and to help individuals make gains in their critical thinking ability. If I encourage students to be working together as mathematicians in a community, then they can learn from and communicate with each other. In this setup, every student has some insight to bring and each will struggle and learn from problems at their own level. My role in this environment is that of a guide, presenting tools and strategies for the class to discover and reason through mathematics. The more students see that there are different ways of thinking about the same situation, the more they will be able to access resources when they encounter a problem on their own. For instance, in a 7th grade classroom , we used two color counters to introduce integer operations. For the exit exercises, some students still needed the idea of chips while others had established generalizations. Through guided discovery, they took away a level of understanding that best suited them. The students who needed visuals still were not forced to resort to generalized procedures that they did not yet understand. They were able to correctly perform the calculations in a way that made sense to them. I also must guide the establishment of a strong community by encouraging mathematical communication, critical commentary and sensitivity. My Personal Philosophy of Education :: Education Teachers Reflective Writing Essays Philosophy of Education I believe all students have the potential to think critically and mathematically. However, each student manifests this ability at a different level and pace. Thus, it is the role of the teacher to facilitate learning by providing each student with the opportunity to grasp mathematical concepts. Too often teachers assume that only those who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in the classroom will be able to experience higher-order problem solving situations. Often, problems that require critical thinking are simplified to mere procedures and rules. Instead, I contend that it is precisely the struggle and challenge of these situations that can enhance all students’ understanding in some way. As an educator, it is my responsibility to provide the resources (information, experiences, problem solving strategies, etc.) to enable each student to improve his or her reasoning skills. However, it is often difficult to reach students individually and even more difficult to change the deep-set attitudes towards mathematics, especially among those who struggle. I propose that creating a caring, problem-solving based community is the best way to combat negative attitudes towards mathematics and to help individuals make gains in their critical thinking ability. If I encourage students to be working together as mathematicians in a community, then they can learn from and communicate with each other. In this setup, every student has some insight to bring and each will struggle and learn from problems at their own level. My role in this environment is that of a guide, presenting tools and strategies for the class to discover and reason through mathematics. The more students see that there are different ways of thinking about the same situation, the more they will be able to access resources when they encounter a problem on their own. For instance, in a 7th grade classroom , we used two color counters to introduce integer operations. For the exit exercises, some students still needed the idea of chips while others had established generalizations. Through guided discovery, they took away a level of understanding that best suited them. The students who needed visuals still were not forced to resort to generalized procedures that they did not yet understand. They were able to correctly perform the calculations in a way that made sense to them. I also must guide the establishment of a strong community by encouraging mathematical communication, critical commentary and sensitivity.

The Bluest Eye: How Society Took Pecola’s Innocence Essay example -- T

The immoral acts of society raped Pecola Breedlove, took her innocence, and left her to go insane. The Random House Dictionary defines â€Å"rape† as â€Å"an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation.† The Random House definition perfectly describes what happens to Pecola over the course of the novel. From Pecola’s standpoint, society rapes her repeatedly, by their judgmental attitudes towards everything that she is; she is â€Å"ugly,† she is poor, she is black. In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Morrison shines a critical light on society, illumining the immoral acts that it participates in, through the story of how a little girl is thrown by the wayside since she does not embody the societal ideal. Instead of one human antagonist for our protagonist, Pecola, we see most of society as the antagonist. The immoral acts of society destroy Pecola Breedlove from the inside out. One of the first immoral acts that society introduces to Pecola is lust – lust for â€Å"whiteness†, for beauty. She is taught from a young age that beauty is one of the standards that she will be held up to. In addition, society tells her that the key of being beautiful is being white, something Pecola never can be. One of the major quotes in the book shows just how powerful common belief can be. â€Å"†¦they stayed there because they believed they were ugly†¦ No one could have convinced them that they were not relentlessly and aggressively ugly,† [Emphasis added] (Pg. 28). Although, Morrison does not actually say that the Breedloves were physically ugly, she implies that society told them they were ugly, therefore they believed they were ugly. This belief came from society setting a standard that Pecola could never reach. Sadly, this poor little girl did n... ...nd Jane† lifestyle that Morrison introduces us into, we see a poor girl that is put down and society rapes. You may think Pecola was just one horribly unlucky child, that her problems are the cause of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, that is a naà ¯ve way of thinking; the evidence obviously shows that Pecola was tormented because society told everyone that she is an ugly â€Å"little black bitch†, that happened to be raped, making her even less human. Therefore, any negative event that happens to her, small or large, is something she is expected to have and she brought it on to herself. To me, the biggest argument that Morrison makes with her first novel is that society is the most powerful judge in our everyday life. If society deems use to be not worthy of its care or time, we should expect hell from it; and Pecola Breedlove is deemed not to be worthy.

Discuss About Intravenous Urography Health And Social Care Essay

I would wish to discourse approximately endovenous Urography in this paper. Intravenous Urography or merely known as IVU is a process to analyze the urinary system by utilizing contrast media. It had been start utilizing in twelvemonth 1930 to analyze the upsets of urinary system. It is performed to diagnosed nephritic map and investigates the anatomy of the kidneys, ureters and urinary vesica. The indicants for executing a IVU scrutiny are suspected urinary piece of land pathology, repeated harm, haematuria, injury and probe of hypotension in immature grownup. Urography may besides utilize to execute the pre- or post-therapeutic evalution of rock disease. The urography imaging sequence is design to supply diagnostic. The contrast media is brought to the kidneys through blood circulation, filtered in the glomeruli and concentrated in the nephritic tubules. Then the contrast media will delivered to the pelvic girdle, ureter and vesica where radio-opaque show on X-ray movies. Normally this scrutiny will be performed by the physician to avoid unfortunate incidences. The intent of IVU is the primary probe for urinary disease such as urinary rock, urinary rednesss, urinary injury and obstructor, assorted and contraindications. Some necessary safeguards are taken to avoid the allergic reactions. This safeguards include ask whether patient is allergic to any medical specialty or nutrient, is patient ( adult females ) pregnant or have any opportunity to pregnancy within a hebdomad and any diseases that may do patient to hold anaphylactic daze during scrutiny. Equipments that are needed during Intravenous Urography are exigency cart to the full equipped and handily placed, instrument for injection is arranged on a little, movable tabular array or on a tray, often used unfertile points must be readily available, disposable acerate leafs and panpipes are widely used in this process, nonsterile points such as compression bandage, little waste bin, vomit basin, disposable rub, contrast media that is required, and dressing for puncture site must be required. Besides that, a pillow or folded tower that can be place under patient ‘s cubitus during the injection of contrast media to diminish force per unit area. The equipment for endovenous disposal equipment are 50ml syringe, make fulling needle, skin homework, gluey tape, choice of acerate leafs, straight/'Butterfly ‘ 16,19,21,23 gage and compression bandage or blood force per unit area turnup. Emergency drugs and equipment such as steroid injection, adrenaline injection, antihistami ne injection, endovenous dextrose trickle and O for inspiration must be checked every twenty-four hours and easy to get during IVU scrutiny. Basically, we are utilizing 3 types of contrast media during IVU scrutiny. They are Niopam 300, Omnipaque 350 and Urograffin 370. Doses of contrast media that injected into a 70 kilogram, normal blood urea grownup are 50 milliliters through endovenous. Before injected the contrast media to patient, the contrast media must be warmed to personify temperature. To shoot the contrast media into the vena, a 19 gage acerate leaf must be punctured into the average cubital vena. Then the contrast media that been warmed to about 36-37 grade Celsius will be injected. This process is ever performed by the Radiologists or physician. Then movies are taken at intervals will show whole nephritic system. At the twenty-four hours of scrutiny, patient is necessitating to alter to hospital gown. Make certain patient had emptying the vesica to forestall dilution of contrast media with urine. Patient is placed on the tabular array with supine place in the X-ray room, the MSP of the patient perpendicular to the midplane of the grid. Support patient ‘s articulatio genus by utilizing a pillow to cut down dipped curvature of lumbar spinal column. This can supply a more comfy place to patient. Compression devices must be prepared before the scrutiny, so that it will be ready to application in a specific clip. Obtain a preliminary radiogram of the venters. Then fix for the first post-injection before the contrast medium is injected. A cassette with movie is placed in the bucky tabular array, place the cassette and set on markers on the cassette. Changes are made on focus and exposure factors based on the prelim movie. Contrast media for injection intent is prepared utilizing sterile techn ique. Administration of contrast media into patient ‘s organic structure is normally done by the physician harmonizing to the patient ‘s organic structure size, ages and weight. Several radiogram will be taken at specified intervals get downing from the clip the contrast media is wholly emits into patient ‘s organic structure. In approximately 2 to 8 proceedingss the contrast media will get down to look in the pelvicaliceal system. Patient demand to empty their vesica as the scrutiny is over and a radiogram will be taken to guarantee that contrast media is wholly removed from the organic structure. The typical exposure values for IVU are 65-75kVp, 50-70mAs, 100cm of Film Focusing Distance ( FFD ) , used grid to diminish spread radiation and utilize regular film/screen. 5 X-ray movies will be taken during this scrutiny. The first X ray besides known as preliminary movie is a normal abdomen X ray. The movie should include most of the venters and pelvic girdle ( kidneys, ureters and vesica ) . If the movie is demoing unsatisfactory component such as gases and a tonss of fecal matters inside the patient venters, we might hold to prorogue the scrutiny. This is cause by the patient that did non follow the direction right. This is usually go on on the out-of-door patient. This scrutiny will be go on when patient have achieved proper readying. The 2nd movie ( immediate movie ) is after the patient is injected with the contrast media. The intent of this movie is to show AP nephritic disease by demoing nephrogram, examples the nephritic parenchyma. The 3rd movie or merely known as 5 proceedingss movie is taken to find whether farther dosage of contrast media is required or non. We might use compaction to dilate pelvicalyceal system so that it can clearly sho w make fulling defects in the 3rd movie ( 15 proceedingss movie ) . The Forth movie ( 25 proceedingss movie ) is taken to show the distended vesica. This can be done by concentrating 15 degree caudal angulations and the upper boundary line of the symphysis pubic bone is centered. The last movie ( station urination movie ) will show the emptying success of vesica and the antecedently distend lower terminals of ureters had been returned to normal. There are besides some extra projections required such as inspiratory, expiratory and oblique projection so that relationship of opacities and make fulling defects to the nephritic piece of land is demonstrated. Purpose of imaging is to show lineations nephritic and overcome darkening from the gastro enteric piece of land. An immediate station injection radiogram should show the kidneys addition in denseness because of the contrast within the uriniferous tubules. Different denseness nephrograms may bespeak nephritic nephritic arteria stricture, if this is suspected a series of movies at 1, 2, and 3 proceedingss after injection can convey more accurate visual image. The kidney lineations should be smooth and does non concentrating contrast media. If it is concentrating the medium, it is likely cause by tumours. The calyces, nephritic pelvic girdle and portion of ureter should be seeable in the 5 or 10 proceedingss movie. Both kidneys should hold the same denseness as the nephrogram is reduced. If we see 1 of the kidney denseness is lower, it might be cause by ureteric diseases such as urinary obstructor. To find site of obstructor, a delayed movie is required after 45 to 60 proceedingss after injection. 15 proceedingss movie shall demo the cause of urinary obstructor. Urinary obstructor might be caused by stne, coagulum or tumor near the ureteric opening. If the ureters are dilated, the cause is likely in the vesica or urethra. The intent of taking vesica movie is to name the unnatural size of vesica that might be cause urinary diseases. Examples of the diseases are prostate expansion, urethral obstructor, neurogenic vesica, TB, Schisotosomiasis, rocks, calcification, tumor and gas in the vesica. It is the duty of a Radiographer to use to patient and radiographer to diminish the radiation doses that receive. Guidelines refering radiation protection are using gonad shield to patient if it does non overlap the part of involvement. Collimation need to be applied so that lone part of involvement merely will have radiation. Do non reiterate the scrutiny so that patient will non have external radiation. Male patient shall be shield for all scrutinies. Some patient might shown some symptoms such as sickness, minor urticarial roseolas, on occasion terrible laryngeal hydrops, anaphylactic daze and cardiac apprehension. As the marks of these symptoms appear on patient, injection of contrast media must be stopped instantly. Emergency drugs such as antihistamines and steroids are given to patient. Decision is IVU is a safe scrutiny with all the set up in the X-ray room and it gives detail information to physician for diagnose intent.

Definitions Of Different Types Or Warefare History Essay

Three types of warfare preponderate in civil wars: a ) irregular warfare among unsymmetrically strong officeholders and weak insurrectionists[ 2 ], such as the Algerian civil war and the first stage of the Greek civil war. Contrary to rationally well-founded claims[ 3 ], irregular warfare is non married to inflexibly definite causes ( i.e. radical people ‘s war ) . Asymmetry besides is consistent with another type of force, terrorist act[ 4 ]. B ) regular warfare among symmetrically powerful officeholders and robust insurrectionists[ 5 ], such as the Spanish, American or Greek ( in the 2nd stage ) civil wars. External intercession for the insurrectionists may transform irregular into regular warfare, as in Vietnam war ‘s last stage. degree Celsius ) guerrilla warfare ( symmetric non-conventional[ 6 ]) among symmetrically dynamic officeholders and insurrectionists, such as the Liberian civil war, represented as condemnable or pre-modern type of warfare[ 7 ]. Empirically, frontlines ( e.g. urban roadblocks ) among contending groups distinguish this type of warfare from irregular warfare[ 8 ]. By and large, conventional-type civil wars result preponderantly from putschs d'etat ( i.e. Spanish civil war ) or secessionist motions against federal authoritiess ( i.e. American civil war ) ; irregular-type civil wars originate preponderantly from rural-type insurgences[ 9 ]( i.e. first stage of Chinese civil war ) ; symmetric non-conventional-type civil wars derive from authorities prostration ( i.e. Somali civil war )[ 10 ]. However, these three types of warfare might happen in same civil war in different stages. The heterogeneousness of semantic footings for irregular/guerrilla warfare denotes the repeating predicament for placing a typical class of war[ 11 ]. In fact, guerilla warfare exhibits about 38 nomenclature discrepancies[ 12 ]. No overarchingly precise definition of guerilla warfare has been elaborated in the literature about irregular/guerrilla warfare because this construct is embedded intellectually in a tradition of strategic thought and pattern, non a uniformly thorough definition[ 13 ]. The term â€Å" little war † in the seventeenth century designated civil war[ 14 ], â€Å" la petite guerre † in the eighteenth century denoted particular operations undertaken by particular forces incorporated in regular armed forces-destitute of ideological connotations- whose leaders ‘ names ( â€Å" zealots † ) labelled the groups ‘ members[ 15 ]. During the American Civil War and the Napoleonic Wars, â€Å" partizan warfare † blended crucially with political orientation ; in the Peninsular War, the â€Å" guerilla † signified transformationally non the â€Å" little war † but the Rebels in this â€Å" little war †[ 16 ]. In late nineteenth century, guerrilla/partisan warfare supplemented battles for national release or political revolution, whereas â€Å" little wars † marked the history of colonialism[ 17 ]. The Second World and Cold Wars buttressed a connexion between left-of-center motions and â€Å" radical people ‘s war † owing to communist relief in endeavoring against the Axis and Western colonial powers either for national release or proletarian revolution[ 18 ]. The Cold War ‘s terminal presaged the recession of â€Å" radical people ‘s wars † and the support of â€Å" insurgences † or â€Å" low strength struggles †[ 19 ]. The thorough survey of guerilla warfare is entangled by speculations that need disproval. First, although identified uniformly as the indispensable method of war of the â€Å" weak †[ 20 ], guerilla warfare belongs to the armory of the â€Å" strong † as the interventional usage of Contras against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua by Washington groundss. Second, guerrilla/irregular warfare encompasses non-state dissenters against province suspects, and province against province rivals[ 21 ]as the tactic of the Viet Cong to Hanoi ‘s benefit against Saigon demonstrates. Third, guerrilla/irregular warfare signifies a perennial -yet non paramount- trait of intrastate war[ 22 ]that manifests in guerrilla, conventional and symmetric non-conventional signifiers. Therefore, any antagonist can use guerrilla/irregular warfare in any type of war in chase of political aims[ 23 ]. What is insurgence and counter-insurgency? The U.S. Field Manual 3-24 Counterinsurgency determines insurgence in connexion to pacification as â€Å" †¦ an organized motion aimed at the overthrow of a established authorities through the usage of corruption and armed struggle ( JP 1-02 ) †¦ an insurgence is an organized, protracted politico-military battle designed to weaken the control and legitimacy of an constituted authorities, busying power, or other political authorization while increasing seditious control. Counterinsurgency is military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions taken by a authorities to get the better of insurgence ( JP 1- 02 ) †¦ insurgence and COIN are included within a wide class of struggle known as irregular warfare. Political power is the cardinal issue in insurgences and pacifications ; each side aims to acquire the people to accept its administration or authorization as legitimate †[ 24 ]. Sir Robert Thompson, a British counter-insurgency theoretician and practician, determined the insurgence ‘s correlativity with political aims within a civil war â€Å" †¦ an insurgence, as a type of war, may take to and be portion of a big conventional struggle, revolution, or civil war. Insurgency, as a method of war, implies the effort to utilize force and irregular signifiers of warfare against a peculiar fraction ( s ) for the express intent of political-military addition, which may subsequently take to inclusion with, or the overthrow of, bing governments. †[ 25 ] David Galula, a Gallic counter-insurgency theoretician and practician, enunciated in similar footings that â€Å" An insurgence is a civil war. †[ 26 ] â€Å" The aim being the population itself, the operations designed to win it over ( for the insurrectionist ) or to maintain it submissive ( for the counterinsurgent ) are basically of a political nature†¦ political action remains first throughout the war †[ 27 ].

Families need fathers Essay

The debate, â€Å"Families need fathers† is one in which there are many issues that need to be considered when looking at the question. Family poverty, domestic violence, the effect on children and family stereotypes by society all need to be considered in the debate. Recent surveys have shown that fathers also need families and therefore making the matter more complicated. Fathers still remain important in our society because family poverty is still largely prevented by the existence of a male, full time worker’s wage in a household. Due to the patriarchal nature of our society, women find it difficult to obtain appropriate work to fit in with custody of children. In a Social Trends survey the rise in mothers working part time form 49 percent in 1973 to 64 percent in 1994. This often means working in low paid, part time jobs with little chance that mothers’ earnings alone will be able to cover the cost of subsistence for themselves, never mind there children. Those who do work full time do not necessarily escape from economic dependence, choosing to work and pay for childcare may well prove uneconomic for large numbers of the working class. There is very little publicly provided care which fits the needs of working mothers: most pre school care is part time and infused with the ideology of education, rather then care and education. A large proportion of their income is spent on childcare and as childcare in Britain is the most expensive in Europe, lack of affordable childcare prevents the lone mother entering the labour market emphasising the need for fathers, or a male wage in the family. â€Å"Married men work harder, earn more and are more likely to have a job then other men†, according to Rowthorn and Ormerod, therefore preventing family poverty, although the modern woman is striking back. Nowadays it is easier to be a single mother. Welfare benefits, job opportunities, and the support of nurseries, playgroups and schools make it easier for single mothers to provide for their families alone. The Family Futures Report conducted by Graeme Leach predicts that by the year 2020 women will have become the main earners in at least half of all households. The feminisation of the work place will force companies to create a â€Å"mother-track† career as many companies will prefer the work of women to men meaning that affordable childcare will become available and the 20 percent pay gap will have disappeared. Even now, women’s contributions through earnings are important in reducing the family’s vulnerability to poverty. Families with 1 or 2 children were at the greatest risk of poverty without the earnings of the wife. In 1990, for example, people in households where the husband worked but the wife did not, had a 4 to 6 times higher risk of being in the bottom income quintile then those where both parents were working. Gittins (1993) states that more divorced men remarry showing that women have more independence and less need for a relationship, the family does not need a father or male figure to survive. The effect on children growing up without a father is one of the main focuses on the debate as there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that this has an enormous impact on the emotional and physical health of the child. Dennis and Erdos (1993) argued that research into the effect of fatherless families showed that † unless a child is brought up in the constant atmosphere of human beings negotiating, co-operating, controlling their anger, affecting reconciliation’s, he (sic) cannot learn what it is to be an effective member of a social group†¦ for this he needs the presence of two adults in close interaction constantly in his immediate environment. † Fatherless families are seen as contributing to the rise of educational failure, welfare dependency, and involvement in crime and drug abuse among young people, especially young boys from council estates. Indeed, only a quarter of persistent young offenders lived with two parents and that included step parents and mother’s boyfriends, 4 out of 5 children going into care have lone parents and on American and British council estates it was found that the higher the percentage of lone parent households, the higher the percentage of crime and burglary. These statistics show that it is not just families that need fathers; society also needs them as well. The concern for the effect of divorce on children is being researched more and more as divorce rates are becoming higher, one in three marriages now end in divorce and the effect on children is being examined closely. Rowthorn and Ormerod state that â€Å"on every measure of achievement and emotional condition, children living with their married parents usually do better then other children† although it is often hard to distinguish between the effects of marriage and divorce and other factors such as poverty and racism. Nevertheless, divorce often means poor exam results, damaged health and stress and four times the risk of needing psychiatric help as a child. Dr Richards took 17,000 children from the National Child Development Survey and monitored their lives at intervals until they were 35. He discovered that children, whose parents had divorced before they were 16, were on average less emotionally stable, left home earlier, and divorced or separated more frequently. However, this study was concerned with children of the middle class in 1958, and from then till now, social attitudes have changed as divorce is much more acceptable then it was in the fifties and therefore children are less affected by it, but most studies show the more involved the father; the better developed the child intellectually and socially. This view that children are affected by the absence of a father in the family is one to be contested. The latest research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that the absence of one or other parent figure from a household is not the aspect of separation which most effects the child’s development. Children are not necessarily harmed by divorce providing the parents split in an amicable fashion and good regular contact with the absent father can reduce some of the ill effects of divorce.

Discuss one Biological and one Psychological Explanation of Aggression Essay

Some biological psychologists point to the role of neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression. Hormones have already been implicated in a number of other psychological disorders, e.g., depression and eating disorders.  Studies have found a strong, positive correlation between levels of testosterone and aggression. This applies to both men (Olweus et al 1988) and women (Ehlers et al, 1980). Clare (2000) noted that girls with the condition congenital adrenal hyperplasia – which is implicated in high levels of aggression – engaged in more ‘rough and tumble play’. Testosterone appears to be most influential at two stages of life – a few days after birth i.e. ‘the critical time period’ when sensitisation of neural circuits happens and in adulthood when testosterone modulates neurotransmitter pathways. Hormones are definitely at least linked to behaviour – although a problem exists in trying to establish cause and effect, which will be discussed later. Much human and non-human research points to a link between the two. For example, when levels of testosterone peak at the time of puberty in young human males, aggression also peaks.  Many non-human animal studies support the idea that aggression is somehow caused or linked with testosterone. One such method of testing this is to castrate various animals. This always leads to a marked decrease in aggression. Furthermore, when testosterone is replaced by hormone therapy in the castrated animals, the aggression of the animal returns to its pre-castration level (Simpson, 2001). This seems to support a causation effect or at least a link between the two. A similar study on cockerels by Berhold found the same effect. More specifically, it seems that androgen stimulation in the early days after birth (up to ten days) causes changes in the neuronal system, which affects the level of aggression of a person through into adulthood. Women are typically less aggressive because their brains contain beta blockers which block most of the effect of the testosterone in the brain. Male mice who are castrated straight after birth throughout their whole life – even if they are given hormone therapy, i.e. huge doses of testosterone, later on in life. If the castration occurs 10 days after birth, the difference in aggression levels is much less obvious. This is supposed to be because of the androgen stimulation in the neural circuits during the early days after birth (Motelica-Heino et al 1993). The usual explanation for the link between testosterone levels and aggression is that testosterone interacts with androgen or oestrogen receptors. During the critical time period, testosterone sensitises certain neural circuits in the brain. This allows for the effects that testerone have which last into adulthood. Testosterone can affect the effect of neurotransmitters, e.g. how fast they move and the amount of neurotransmitter released. It appears to act upon serotonergic synapses, lowering the amount of serotonin available for synaptic transmission. The significance of this is that serotonin inhibits aggression, so less serotonin means more aggression. To prove this, Simpson (2001) carried out an experiment on rhesus monkeys where he gave them serotonin reuptake inhibitors, leading to a marked decrease in aggression. This has been implicated on humans also and has the same effect (Simpson, 2001). Sapolsky has argued that although there is clearly some kind of link between levels of testosterone and aggression, this tells us nothing about individual differences in how people are affected by testosterone, why men are exceptionally more aggressive than women and does not explain why sometimes the highest levels of aggression are found in those with not an exceptionally large amount of testosterone. The relationship between testosterone and aggression is not straightforward. Does testosterone cause aggression? Does aggression increase testosterone secretion? Does neither have an effect on the other (i.e. a third variable is involved)? Bernhardt et al (1998) has shown that merely watching participants win or lose in sports competitions increases testosterone secretion in those who are interested in the game. Indeed, Bernhardt did an experiment where he measured participants’ testosterone levels before and after sports events. Men who watched their team lose had a decrease of testosterone levels by 20% and those whose team won showed a 20% increase in testosterone levels. Clearly, testosterone does not always cause behaviour/emotion, but rather the opposite can occur too. This somewhat dents the argument that hormones explicitly cause aggression.

Case Analysis: The Annual Report Essay

1. The basic factors of communication that must be considered in the presentation of the Annual Report are compliance with accounting principles and regulations, accuracy of the information presented, and how much information you are going to disclose. The management has a lot of control over what and how much information it wants to disclose to the users of their financial report. Users can be shareholders, investors, customers, or if you want it or not, competitors. Therefore management doesn’t want to disclose too much strategic details about their future plans. However, it also has to attract prospective investors and therefore needs to give them enough information about the companies’ health. 2. One part of the Annual Report that is very interesting for investors is the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section. It gives the user of the financial report more specific details about how the company has done that year and contains information that cannot be found in the financial data. This section can include coverage over any favorable or unfavorable trends and any significant events or uncertainties in the areas of liquidity, capital resources, and results of operations (Ormiston, 2013). Another section of the Annual Report is the Proxy Statement. It is required by the SEC and solicits shareholder votes as many shareholders don’t attend shareholder meetings. This section also contains voting procedures, background information about nominated directors, executive compensation, etc. This information helps investors and creditors by providing information about the longevity and compensation of the companies’ top management as well as corporate governance (Ormiston, 2013). 3. One advantage of stating well-defined corporate strategies in the Annual Report is to attract investors. Prospective investors in your company want to see that your company is healthy and that you are generating cash flows from operations. They want to know if you are going to be able to pay out dividends. Therefore stating a well-defined strategy for the future can possible attract more investors. Another advantage of stating your strategy is that current investors remain investing in your company when they see that your company has a bright future. Investors like to plan ahead and therefore want to know your corporate strategy in advance. A disadvantage of stating well-defined strategies in the Annual Report is that you also disclose  critical information to your competitors. By doing so, your competitors know what your plans are and can try to position them better to compete with you. Another disadvantage of stating your corporate strategy in the Annual Report is that your customers might not like a change in your strategy and switch to your competitors. An example for this might be deciding to outsource all manufacturing to China. This corporate strategy might outrage your customers and lead them away from your company. 4. The effectiveness of annual reports in fulfilling the information needs for current and potential shareholders is usually good because management tailors the Annual Report as much as possible to the needs of investors in order to attract more investment into its company. Items like the MD&A or Pandora, which includes additional material to attract current and prospective investors, are specifica lly designed to attract more investment while giving the shareholder enough useful information to make a decision. Creditors of the company find the cash flow from operations statement useful because it provides them with information about how much money the company is making to determine their ability to pay their debt back to you. For most employees of the company the Annual Report is probably hard to read and understand because of the complexity and volume of information that it contains. They would most likely suffer from information overload and therefore the Annual Report is in my opinion not very effective in fulfilling their information needs. Most customers of a company are not going to be much interested in reading the financial statements of the company where they buy products. However, if important information about the company’s practices leaks to the public, the customers may switch to a competitor if they strongly disagree with said practice or strategy. Financial Analysts are probably going to find the information disclosed in the Annual Report very effective because they are used to reading these reports and know where to find useful information. However, because management has some control over what information to disclose or not to disclose, there is also some hard-to-find or missing information for Financial Analysts. This information can be employer relations with management, morale and efficiency of employees, or the firm’s prestige in the community. 5. Management knows when creating the Annual Report that competitors are going to analyze their strategy as well as shareholders and other users. Therefore it needs to be careful about  what information they want to disclose. The dilemma here is that you want to disclose enough information in order to attract investments, but cannot disclose too much information because otherwise your competitors are going to position themselves against you. This dilemma affects the decision about what information managers provide in their annual reports. 6. The sustainability report gives information about the environmental, social, and governance performance of a company and is a non-financial report. Many companies utilize this report to create a better image of their company in the public. This report is intended to show the companies’ performance and compliance with environmental standards and ratings. Sustainability reporting started in the 1980s by companies in the chemical industry who had image problems because of their negative impact on the environment. Nowadays, many companies use sustainability reports to improve internal processes, persuade investors, and improve their image in the public. This information can be helpful to investors because it portrays transparency and accountability and assures the investor of a good public image of the company. References Ormiston, A., & Fraser, L. M. (2013). Financial Statements. Understanding financial statements (10th ed., p. 12). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

Theory of Knowledge for the IB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Theory of Knowledge for the IB - Essay Example The second definition goes beyond the original reason for the invention of machines. Instead of just aiding us in our daily tasks by being "extensions" of our bodies in performing their tasks, machines, especially since the time when a machine called computers are invented, become performers of tasks independently of its user. As long as its actions are programmed in such a way that it can now perform tasks without the presence or the real-time control of humans. They have become very sophisticated that they can surpass what we can do. Mechanical cranes can lift manifold times the maximum weight that the strongest living human can. Assembly line robots can accomplish a task way beyond a team of fastest human workers of that particular job. And, in 1997, a supercomputer named Deep Blue defeated the then world chess champion, Garry Kasparov. The power of machines exponentially increases our capacity to produce goods and services. It is understandable that they can outshine our mechanical abilities. But in terms of our mental faculties, machines such as Deep Blue has been programmed to outsmart our rational faculties. This presents a question that we are to resolve in this paper. Can a machine know Before going further, we must first define what the verb "to know" means. In English this word has several definitions. In the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Fourth Edition) " know" has eight definitions: "1. To perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty. 2. To regard as true beyond doubt. 3. To have a practical understanding of, as through experience; be skilled in 4. To have fixed in the mind: 5. To have experience of: 6a. To perceive as familiar; recognize: b. To be acquainted with: 7. To be able to distinguish; recognize as distinct: knows right from wrong. 8. To discern the character or nature of:" The definitions above give us different aspects of the word "know." By these we can say that "knowing" something starts when we perceive a thing by our senses, processing this acquired information to a point that we become acquainted with those things and ends up with the capability of the "knowing" person to distinctly distinguish or recognize that thing from others. The emergence of the Information Age has introduced machines that can "think" independently. They, such as supercomputers, can grasp and process data at astounding speeds. In a fraction of a second, they can perform mathematical operations that a human can do in hours or even years. With this capacity, they can really perform rational activities, at least to a certain extent. But can we say that this supercomputer's ability to process data is already an act of knowing given the definition of "know" above For me, I believe that machines cannot fully know. They may perform mental tasks of humans with rapidity and precision way above that of humans. But still they cannot totally know things as per defined by dictionaries. If we use the definitions above, they fall short of thoroughly knowing something. To prove this, let us consider the first definition "To perceive directly, grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty." Computers are designed to perceive and grasp data to help us in our tasks. Word processing programs, for example, are created for us to write a letters and other documents in a precise and neat manner. It can receive data coming

UAE AND GCC SOCIETY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UAE AND GCC SOCIETY - Essay Example Government of several countries is developing various environmental policies in order to reduce the threat of global warming through the reduction of carbon emission level. Moreover, the governments are motivating the organizations to conduct sustainable business practices. Gulf countries are trying to introduce non-carbon energy sources in order to control the level of carbon emission. The study will focus on the alternative energy sources of oil and sustainable development of Gulf countries in future. Discussion GCC countries are the incremental suppliers of oil and gas for entire globe. First of all, day-by-day the price of oil and gas are increasing dramatically. Secondly, higher consumption of fossil fuels is increasing the level of carbon emission. Therefore, government of all the developed and developing countries is motivating industries and communities to reduce the consumption of oil and gas. Moreover, people are trying to use substitute of oil and gas as their energy resou rces. These substitutes are solar energy, wind energy and electric energy. Looking into these factors, GCC countries are trying to develop several environmental policies to reduce the consumption of oil and gas. ... Rapid energy demand growth can be attributed to three several affiliated causes. Due to several demographic changes, industrialization and low price level are motivating people to consume electricity as major energy resources. The GCC countries are manufacturing and distribution oil as the form of a cartel the name of this cartel is OPEC. They are maintaining the price of oil in global countries. Moreover, due to total control over oil and gas, OPEC is increasing the price of oil and gas on regular basis. In addition, burning of fossil fuel is increasing the level of carbon emission that is resulting rapid global climate change. Looking into these factors, several organizations and industries within all the GCC countries are trying to reduce the consumption of oil and gas. They are trying to implement substitute energy resources of oil and gas in their business process. Demand for solar energy and electrical energy is significantly increasing in UAE. It is true that, people now-a-day s are trying to avoid the consumption of fossil fuel cars. Petrol or diesel vehicles are more costly comparing to other substitute vehicles. Leading organizations around the globe are trying to capitalize on the opportunities that have been developed due to globalization and advanced technologies. Several vehicle manufacturing organizations are trying to provide energy efficient cars and electric cars to reduce the consumption of oil and gas. These organizations are making profit through this strategy and this strategy is bringing sustainability in the economy, environment and society of a country. Wind, solar and water energy are considered as the renewable energy sources. Economic growth of a country highly depends on the

The technology of ultra thin televisions Research Paper

The technology of ultra thin televisions - Research Paper Example The main reason behind this transition is the fact that all of the competing electronics companies are struggling to provide the best HD experience to their customers, and this competitiveness has led to a great deal of innovation. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TV's have set the standard for the technology to evolve and conform to consumer tastes. Most television manufacturers only concentrate on this technology and strive to make it even better. LED (Light Emitting Diode) TV's are gaining popularity over the conventional CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light) LCD's. The LED-LCD Technology uses LED lights to enhance picture quality such as brightness and contrast, despite keeping the TV extremely thin, i.e. less than 0.9 inches (Bartels). Background Information The Television we have in our homes today has come a long way. From a gigantic box to a delicate wall-hanging devise, the struggle has been long and laborious. A chronological study of how TVs have evolved provides us with a bet ter understanding of the evolution of their technology2. At the beginning of TV technology, a debate lingered over whether electronic television systems worked better than mechanical systems. However, with research it was decided that electronic TV provided better results than mechanic. Electronic television is based on the technology of the cathode ray tube, which is the picture tube that is found in modern TV sets. German scientist Karl Braun was the one who invented the cathode ray tube oscilloscope in 1897 (Bellis). The very first prototype for plasma display TV was invented in 1964 by Donald Blitzer, Gene Slottow, and Robert Wilson. In 1996 the world was introduced for the first time to the Light Emitting Polymer devices and in 1997 a flexible flat panel display was also created. In October 2007 Sony Electronics launched the XEL-1, the first ever OLED TV (11inches). Although the prototypes of color flexible displays and ultra thin televisions are demonstrated by several compani es throughout the world, the television of today is still evolving. Applications The most remarkable benefit of a flat screen set is its lightness and portability. A flat screen TV is extremely compact and it is convenient to move it anywhere in the house. It gives us a large number of options for placing it at around as it is light enough to be mounted from the ceiling, or to be hung on a wall. The flat-screen ultra thin televisions also come in a wide variety of sizes. The biggest size mostly manufactured for the set is 84 inches. Other, more common models go from 20 up to 42 inches, and within this range the most popular sizes are the 26-, 32- and 42-inch sets. The smallest plasma set on the market is 42 inches. A very important benefit of thin LCD screens is that they can serve as monitors for personal computers, aside from functioning as a TV at home. Plasma sets also offer the best quality in video. They are great for watching high definition programming, offering incredible d etail and color. Both types of sets have a lifespan of at least 30,000 hours, which equals about 15 years.3 Plasma sets are consistent when it comes to video display, while LCDs are a bit unreliable in terms of transmitting satellite and cable programming. Another very important be

Business Through The Eyes of Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Through The Eyes of Faith - Essay Example This is a company formed in 1987, which has over time provided critical technological services to markets, administrations, institutions, and more (Business: Is There A Christian Perspective p. 15). Management team at the company is largely Christians and in equal measure pursues Christian principles in their activities. The expression made in this case is that, business is part of Christian activity that cannot be separated from the wider role and duty of Christians. Business is a social activity and the essence for it to act morally and ethically is inevitable. Christians and the larger human body that have direct or indirect involvement in business have a duty to honor God by pursuing ethical and moral business practices at all times. People can honor and remain obedient to God when they shoe ethical and moral value of their business activities. When one honors God’s creation (the people) then the person in same measure is able to honor God. Ethics and morals are seen to be fundamental principles that define success or failure of any particular given business, although, it has to be known that an individual or a corporation can have strong ethical values and morals but still fail to achieve its objectives when it ignores multi-dimensional perspective of the business. The author of this chapter introduces the concept of ‘Law of Nature’ which he subsequently transforms into an argument based on moral laws. The author contends that Law of Nature is a creation of a human who in one way or the other tries to control or manipulates the behavior of the other human being (The Law of Human Nature 1). Laws of Nature are intended to define what is right and what is wrong, thereby categorizing the appropriate behaviors, which society can accept or not (The Law of Human Nature p.1). Although Laws of Nature provide these guidelines for appropriate behavior, they

International Management Ethics and Values Case Study

International Management Ethics and Values - Case Study Example Thus, it will allow the revealing of the variations or mutations that would lead to genetic disorders. This ethical theory will help in guiding the employees to take the test ethically and then help in delegating the task accordingly. (b) From the above statement the author of the study is trying to make a statement that people suffering from generic disorders cannot change their jobs or the employer cannot change the business environment. The changing of business environment because of certain employees who are more susceptible to the disease would be irrational because it would require the changing of entire business procedure. The above statement resembles the Descriptive theory which emphasize on the â€Å"What If† behaviour of the company and an individual (Dimitriou et. al., 2011). (c) The passing of several legislature laws to curb down the effects of the generic testing has been effective to a certain extent only. The generic testing itself is an intrusive behaviour an d the legal law imposes certain restrictions on it for the welfare of the common people. Thus, it can be observed that the entire process resemble the Normative ethical principles. It is a systematic process to justify the morality of the society. Answer 2 (a) Moral and Ethics are used interchangeably and is useful to make certain distinctions like morality would be used to distinguish between right and wrong. It would be served as a guide to make right decisions though moral conduct. Ethical values are nothing but the subject of the morality. The moral theories of right are basically structured set of statements which lays emphasis on how individuals conduct actions and then determine the right and wrong between them. The morality of an action is determined and there is a sharp divide between the applied ethics and moral theories. The morality of the decision will be evaluated and the correct decision will be taken only after evaluation of various alternative actions. In this case it is observed that Genetic testing would involve the testing of gene mutation of the individuals and it is a systematic procedure which involves the assistance from the employers (Pollock, 2011). (b) Utilitarianism is a concept which has been derived from the Normative Ethics and helps in the maximization of the utility process which helps in reducing suffering and increasing welfare of the people. It can be regarded as a reduction approach which works for the welfare of the people. However, it can be regarded as a technique which that determines the moral value of action. It helps us in understanding whether our actions conducted in the past are having an effect in the present or not. The theory would be only utilitarianism if it can helps in distinguishing between right and wrong and provide provides goodness to a majority of the people. The generic screening test provided by the employers of an organization would not only help them in selecting candidates who are less susceptibl e to the disease. The screening test would not only be helpful in selecting the most appropriate candidate but would also enable the candidate to come in terms with their reality. The screening test would be done keeping in mind the benefits of an entire mass (George, 2011). (c) The justice of fairness developed by John Rawls is regarded as one of the classical ethical theories which help in evaluation of moral and ethical values (Wofford College, 2000). As per this theory each individual

How to build a deck Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

How to build a deck - Assignment Example Building a deck is one of the best improvements you can make for your house. Depending on the material you use, a deck can be an inviting warm place to host parties, outdoor cooking, watch your kids as they play or just a good resting place for your pets. Many real estate agents will tell you that clients value houses that have well placed decks. Having a deck does not require high technology or expertise. Many people are able to do this by following simple instructions. You can actually design, plan and do the masonry and carpentry and see your house turn into something new. Having a good deck actually raises the value of your house. Before doing any modification to your house, it is usually safer to check with the local building inspectors to find out if you need a building permit for this. Doing this will save you embarrassment and money if you have to demolish the deck just because you did not adhere to the rules of your area. It is advisable to visit their offices to get details of what is expected and if there are any inspections that will be done by the officials. Since this deck will be a permanent structure that will hold human life, the government has a right to ensure that it is rightly done and that is why the building inspectors are there. The inspectors may have specified rules in terms of size, design, materials and even how deep you can dig the foundation. It is therefore important to get these permits and the inspectors to approve your intended construction. The inspectors will probably ask you for a deck plan, so you need to be ready for this. There are places where permits are not really required. If you do not need the permit, then do not go looking for one. However, you will need to be aware of the building codes in your area to ensure you are adhering to them. This manual discusses decks and incorporates images and illustrations for easier understanding. The procedures will be discussed as follows: Deck Plan Deck layout Selecting materials - what materials are available and how to choose the best Fittings and Fasteners Construction- laying and deck-step by step procedure Railing and finishing Common problems in building decks The Deck Plan A deck plan consists of the design of the deck with scale drawings of the size of it. Start out by determining where you want the deck to be. Take the measurements of the area putting into consideration permanent structures or plants that cannot be removed. For example, if you have a big palm tree in front of your house that you do not want to remove, you will be forced to adjust your measurements and design to accommodate the tree and at the same time ensure safety. Have a sketch of the design you want. Also, have enough space to accommodate that design. Now, when you have the space and the design, it is time to put the design on paper. Using your sketch, do the ground measurements. At this point, just record them as you measure. You will determine the scale once all the measuremen ts have been done. When you have all the sections measured, work out a scale. An example is