Maid Abuse in Malaysia

Maid abuse is no longer a new issue in Malaysia. What is maid abuse? It is known as an assault and coercive behaviour, which mainly includes physical, psychological and at times sexual too, by employer or household members of employer against a person hired as a domestic help. Malaysia is one of wealthiest countries in South East Asia and therefore acts as magnet for migrants fleeing here to work. In Malaysia, majority of the domestic workers are full time workers and most of them come from neighbouring poor countries. There are various factors that lead to maid abuse in Malaysia. The unfortunate thing is that maid abuse does not only cause both mental and physical injuries to the maids, but it also jeopardize our international friendship with countries involved. Hence, there is an urgent need to solve this social issue. One of the major causes of maid abuse over here in Malaysia is the lack of comprehensive national policies for maid protection by our Malaysian Government. As pointed out by D’Cruz (2009), foreign domestic workers here are vulnerable as they lack of legal protection, which subjects them to any kind of working condition an employer sees fit. There is also no specific law in Malaysia on violence against domestic workers (wao. com. my). As stated by Lourdes (2008), maids are stuck in a Catch -22 situation because the second they seek for help from the authorities, their employers or agents will lodge reports against them. The Employment Act provides them the right to redress but the Immigration Acts removes it by making them illegals living here. According to Dass (2008) in Lourdes (2008), the employers will be informed by the agents that maids who misbehave would be given counselling but this counselling turns up to be filled with punishing and abusing. Maids are being told that if they repeat their mistakes, they will be sold into prostitution. Other than that, they are slapped and beaten in beaten in front of others so that the rest will feel threatened. In addition, the maids’ very own attitude too, contributed to the many cases of maid abuse. They are not serious in their work and as an example, according to Ho, his maid washed one bucket of the family’s clothes and hid the other behind the house under a shed below the mango tree. There are maids who also tend to take advantage of their employers by stealing things and using stuff without permission. Based on Ho’s statement, many of his family’s belonging including his underwear have been stolen by his maid before. This is just a real life example of what may lead to why employers lash out all their temper by abusing the maids. The abusive mindsets and attitudes towards maids too, contribute to maid abuse. Many Malaysians have negative perceptions of migrant domestic workers which contributes to the frequency and severity of abuse. They are often viewed as culturally inferior, sometimes â€Å"less than human†, and not considered as deserving of the same respect and consideration given to other human beings (wao. com. my). Adiwara stated that Malaysians have the tendency to look down on Indonesians because of the economic gap between the two neighbouring countries. Employers misjudge the performance of the maids and scold them unnecessarily and this may be due to some shortcomings in the employers themselves. There are certain employers who are concerned that there might be a rift between the child and parent when the children are culturally influenced by the maids (wao. com. my). Another party that should be put to blame for is the involvement of non-professional maid recruitment services, or more generally known as the maid agencies. According to Wong (2008) in Azizan (2009), a lot of money will be charged by the maid agencies and in order to meet the market demand, a few of the agencies will hunt for girls from the village, get them cleaned up and will send them right away to their respective clients without any training. This issue of untrained maids is supported by the Malaysian Association of Foreign Mai Agencies (PAPA) president Alwi Bavutty as he admits that PAPA is hold responsible for the maids. Throughout so many years, there are quite a number of negative effects that are being identified which are caused from maid abuse and many people are reatly affected by all these consequences. One of the major negative effects and is usually published in local newspapers are that the victims suffer both mentally and physically from maid abuse. As stated by D’Cruz (2009), the types of physical abuse are they are beaten, raped or tortured with hot boiling water. To make matters worse, there are several maid abuse cases where babies are born from the result of rape. Besides that, nearly all maid abuse victims have been treated like slaves. According to D’Cruz (2009), they are given only plain rice, several occasions with non-halal food even for those who are Muslims. Lourdes (2008) too, states that permanent working hour, termination benefits, sick leave, rest days, public holidays, overtime and every other benefit that a normal employee is entitled to are not provided to them. To further add on, as mentioned by D’Cruz (2009), the victims are not paid wages for months or even years of tiring work. All of the above clearly violates basic human rights and the employers need to be taken into action legally. Negative effect is also present during the legal process to claim their rights as it is mentally damaging for the victims as stated by D’Cruz (2009). It is hard for them to avoid depression as they are forced to put their lives on hold while reliving the trauma of the abusive days. Referring to Earth Times (2009), the economy and lifestyle of the community will be disturbed due to maid abuse. For example, Malaysia maid agencies are predicted to suffer massive losses due to Indonesian’s indefinite ban on sending maids over. This will somehow affect the productivity of Malaysia’s economy since because a large amount of domestic help comes from Indonesia. Apart from that, lifestyle of the community will be disturbed as tens of thousands of household would face difficulties due to the delay in the arrival of their maids and this would lead to a larger obstacle in the long run as families will have a hard time coping with work and family without any extra hands. Subsequently, relationship between countries involved will be jeopardized. As emphasized by The Star (2009), In Malaysia, when maid abuse became a hot topic among both Indonesians and Malaysians, it resulted in causing Indonesia taking a serious action of threatening to temporarily stop sending heir people to work in Malaysia. This has caused the political relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia to become awkward and it took a lot of effort to restore the friendship between the two countries. The maid abuse cases which were made known internationally have indirectly portray Malaysia as a cruel country. Every problem has its’ own solution and this goes to maid abuse too. This problem can be curbed through the roles of government and community. Both have to perform their roles in order to overcome this issue. The government can tackle issues related to the interest and welfare of maids. For instance, the government may to resort into measures like conducting random checks on homes. Through this, the early signs of mistreatment can be detected which will prevent this issue from getting worse. Referring to Boo (2010), there are no simple solutions in solving the issue of maid abuse. The solutions in the end lead to the importance of education and enforcement. An agency responsible in managing the welfare of maids should be set up as a channel for the maids to know who to contact and how to report against their bosses who abuse their rights. However, education on their rights needs to be supplied to the maids first. Cooperation between Malaysian government and related countries such as Indonesia government is important in curbing this problem. As stated by Malaysian Digest (2010), there are several cases involving the abuse of Indonesian maids had been solved through the close cooperation between Malaysian and Indonesian officer It shows that this issue can be solves peacefully as long as both countries are willing to cooperate. Based on Malaysian Digest, (2010), our government and Indonesian government has taken a smart action by signed a Letter of Intent on the sending of Indonesian maids to Malaysia. This letter requires Malaysian employers to give one day off in a week to their Indonesian workers and their passports be kept by the workers themselves unless agreed upon by both sides that the passport be kept by the employers which occurs in certain cases. This had prevented misunderstanding between the maids and the employers regarding the maids’ day off and passport matters. As suggested by Hariani Azizan (2009), another solution to this problem is through the roles of community. There are quite a number of ways on how the community can help the government to overcome this issue. For example, authorities can organize a weekly meeting among its community and invite the officers who are experts in the field of the maid’s rights to speak to the maids as well as provide check-ups and counselling for the maids without invading people’s privacy. Another alternative solution is to actually build shelter homes for the maid abuse victims. According to Malaysian Digest (2010), â€Å"Rumah Kita†, a shelter home that was launched to provide temporary accommodation and food for Indonesian female migrant workers who are faced with difficulties such as being cheated by employment agencies or abused by their employers. It is more effective when everyone in their respective neighbourhood take on the role of looking out for any abuse in their community and report them to the authorities. To conclude, there is an urgent need for maid abuse to be curbed as it brings negative impacts to many parties, especially to Malaysia as a whole. Therefore, everyone including the maid themselves must come together as a unit and cooperate to demolish this issue.

Characteristics of a Good Friend Essay

The characteristics of a good friend to me is truthfulness , dependability and loyalty. I am going to give details on specific ways of being a good friend that benefit me. I plan to describe my opinions toward block style writing to give you further understanding about my beliefs as a good friend. Basic thoughts about being dependable , loyal , and trustworthy. A good friend is someone who is truthful to me , a person who never lies to me , about anything , whether it be good or bad. A good friend is someone who’s there for you when you going through problems. This is someone who will have your back through good or bad times. This person will be there when you need a helping hand. A good friend never back stab a true friend. This is someone who does not sugarcoat the message that he or she is delivering to me. This person is well brought up in a church and stable environment. As being a true friend he or she can be around my husband and never have to worry about them flirting or making a move towards him , or backstabbing. Someone who , when I ask a question, I need information about something, he or she gives me the real deal. Dependability is a major factor in my characteristics of a good friend. Why is it? Because this person is always there when I need them. I can feel comfortable knowing that when I need this person he or she will try their best to come through for me. Also, he or she is a team player, meaning that one knows when you are in the clutch and can call on them to help you. Then if they cannot help you at that particular time , they will not lie to you or mislead you in the wrong direction. Finally, this person has longevity track record with you. This particular person has been friends with you for a long time. This is someone you have confidence in. Loyalty fits perfectly with my characteristics of a good friend. Telling the truth by far , is one of the most honorable things that I look for in a friend. Being loyal is not about bowing down , but it is a respect that they and I share and understand. Loyalty is like having someone that you feel as though you can express your true feelings with. This type of person you can share secrets with. A friend is someone who loves you , not sexually , but in a friendly way. This individual has never broken the code. This special friend you have known for a very long time. Being loyal to me starts within yourself. A good friend who is loyal will never lie , or deceive you. Not to say that tis person is perfect , but they know the do’s and don’ts in the relationship. Being trustworthy lets me know ; who is for me and who is not for me. Being dependable , when I need this person he or she lets me know that I can trust this person. Also this person is loyal and you never has to worry about. It is a good thing to have someone who meets your expectations. Furthermore , when you sow good seeds , you shall reap good friends as well. This means that a friendship is beautiful , is honest , it is impeccable. A friendship sort of like having Jesus Christ in your life. ‘’He is my best friend.’’

Swot Poland

SWOT analysis for wine in Poland This module assists exporters and BSOs in developing countries in becoming familiar with the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for a wine exporter planning to target the Polish market. It also helps DC exporters to make a SWOT analysis, specific to their company. A SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis helps you to audit your company in relation to market developments and competitors on selected markets.The SWOT shown below visualises external aspects (opportunities and threats) on the Polish market and internal aspects (strengths and weaknesses) of your company, both affecting your market entry. You are only in control of internal elements. You can adapt and improve their intrinsic quality according to market trends, and the resulting opportunities and threats, in your target markets. In Figure 1 you can find a SWOT analysis for a DC exporter of wine to Poland. Note that this analysis is generalised, and shoul d be used only as an example.The CBI Export Marketing Planner (available at http://www. cbi. eu) offers tools to help you make the SWOT analysis specific to your company and your target market. Firstly, the 5Ms methodology helps you audit your company on the basis of five variables; Men (human resources), Means (resources), Methods (management and process performance), Machines, and Measurables (marketing impact, customer and employee satisfaction, qualitative certifications). Secondly, you can apply the value chain approach to analyse all value-addition activities of your company.Identifying external factors is done through a market audit. The character of all these elements is that they are beyond your control. You cannot influence them. The market dictates the rules of the global play you are about to enter. The key question here is: can you deal with the market trends? Do the trends offer you chances or challenges for export success? Together with the competitor analysis, it wil l determine your decision on final market selection and market entry strategy. CBI modules on your product (group) offer a lot of information on market developments, threats and opportunities.The third tool offered by the Export Marketing Planner is the STEEP methodology. This is a comprehensive method for identifying opportunities and threats related to Socio-cultural factors, Technological factors (barriers), Economic factors, Environmental factors and Political factors related to trade. Source: CBI Market Information Database †¢ URL: www. cbi. eu †¢ Contact: [email  protected] eu †¢ www. cbi. eu/disclaimer SWOT analysis for wine in Poland Figure 1 SWOT analysis for wine to the Poland SWOT: DC EXPORTER OF WINE TO POLAND STRENGTHS †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢Availability of cheap land and raw materials Favourable climate Larger production volume Innovative character of wine compared to Old World wines Competitive price Availability of low-cost hu man resources Unique grape varieties †¢ †¢ WEAKNESSES Transportation costs Lack of (access to) capital (investment/working) and export insurance Lack of access to market intelligence Lack of export/management experience Lack of Quality Assurance Systems Lack of entrepreneurial capacity Lack of tacit knowledge †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ OPPORTUNITIES †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ A new wine market with expanding possibilities and un-established tastes Expanding market share of table wine The domination of cheap wine can make entry for some DC exporters easier Low import tariffs Emergence of small independent importers dealing with small volumes of wine Increased capacity for bulk imports (for producers of large quantities) Local producer networks; sharing of knowledge †¢ THREATS Dominance of semi-dry and sweet wines can limit distributors focusing on dryer varietiesHigh volume requirements by importing hypermarkets, which lay a dominant role in Poland DC s face competition from each other Cultural and language differences EU quality assurance and legislative requirements difficult for DC producers (e. g. adding sugar) Trust in Eastern European brands due to tradition Preference for cheap table wine as a threat to market integration of more premium wines †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ This survey was compiled for CBI by ProFound – Advisers In Development in cooperation with Theo Jansen Disclaimer CBI market information tools: http://www. cbi. eu/disclaimer Source: CBI Market Information Database †¢ URL: www. cbi. eu †¢ Contact: [email  protected] eu †¢ www. cbi. eu/disclaimer

Freeman Stakeholder Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freeman Stakeholder Theory - Essay Example Employees have their jobs and livelihoods at stake and suppliers provide raw materials to the corporation, hence its success is vital to their success. Similarly, managers, customers and the community are other stakeholders in the corporation, all of whom stand to benefit from it. (Freeman, 1984). On this basis, Freeman argues that changes that have occurred in corporations law have resulted in constraints, in that stakeholder interests are being compromised in the interest of promoting the interests of stockholders, which has produced an outcome that is not conducive to the general good. He therefore contends that all stakeholders have the right to benefit equally and need to participate in determining the future direction of the firm. The purpose of the firm cannot be described as merely that of maximizing profits for stockholders (Freeman, 1999). Freeman bases his Doctrine of Fair Contracts on a normative basis, i.e, that fairness dictates that the purpose of the firm and its operations should be such as to ensure that there is a basic equality maintained among all groups of stakeholders. Therefore, the normative basis applies justice and fairness, as outlined in Rawls’ theory, using the device of the social contract. Under the social contract, every person has the right to certain basic liberties, which are equal to that which others have (Rawls, 1971:53). Furthermore, opportunities should be available to everyone without restriction and they must be of the greatest benefit to the least advantaged members of society (Rawls, 1971:303). Applying a normative basis to stakeholder holder theory, the guiding principle is that a firm should be managed in such a way that the benefits are balanced for all stakeholders and this is achieved by the Fair Doctrine principles outlined above. When a firm is managed in such a way that only stockholders benefit, then this may undermine the

Healthcare Industry in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Industry in the USA - Essay Example In comparison with a developing country, the United States is superior in development and well being. These factors are testified by the lower unemployment rate as well as higher income per capita. The United States also has a much longer life expectancy than in the developing countries. The higher life expectancy can be attributed to the better well being of individuals in the US, as well as the medical services. The United States has more physicians per capita and better facilities than the developing countries.Similarities in between the United States and other developed countries include the level of well being is roughly similar. As mentioned above, the differences exist in the access to healthcare and affordability of these services. The developed countries all have a life expectancy above seventy five years. In the United States and the European countries there are low numbers of infant mortality and every child has access to an educational facility. There are also less number s of birth complications in these countries affecting both the mother and the child. The countries also have a higher rate of female employment as compared to the developing countries.The developed and developing countries are diverging and this can be attributed to many factors. Firstly, the life expectancy of the developing countries is low and the majority of individuals die at working age as the life expectancy in these countries is below 60 years. Hence, the countries become less productive due to the diminished labor force.

The Image of Women in News Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Image of Women in News - Research Paper Example There are many existing newspapers and studies that portray women and how such portrays perceive or shape them in public in addition to practices and newspapers. This paper seeks to explain the image of women in media, most specifically in Los Angeles Times, Nov 29, 2011 5.40 PST.Retrieved from: http://www.latimes.com/. It is important to audit and review the representation of women in newspaper, as there is still hope of women being represented and encouraged to enter into the business field, and not only to advertisements and show off their bodies like what the media had portrayed them as earlier on. Question B In Los Angeles Times, Nov 29, 2011, The number of women who appears in new picture in four sections is; News( the front section) is 4,in Sports 3,Business, 4, In lifestyle (Calendar, Arts, Home)11.The number of men in news photo is 14, while the total number of people in news photos is 36. Question C Both men and women play a large role in new stories. Rakow and Kranich arti cle Pg 1, reveals that 21 percent in news media are women, while the remaining 79% are women. After 20 years of transition, women are still underrepresented in the media or news content. To add to this, there are only 25% of women who are newsmakers and it will take some more years to achieve gender equivalence in matters to do with newspaper representation and reporting, (Synder, 2005, Pg 12-14). Newspapers are still trying to diversify their general content, from their sources, readers, story ideas, the bottom point being to attempt to include women as much as possible. Women Institute for Freedom of the Press (1997, Pg 21) also writes that newspapers have come up with a strategy of writing articles and ideas which reflect issues of women narrowly. This issue has become an umbrella that is ambiguous under a category of themes and stories which are gathered. Some of the roles men and women play in news stories are, to start with, readers, journalists, advertise, sports and entertai nment news. This can be well explained by Rakow and Kranich article on â€Å"Woman as sign in Television News†. They write that women appears as subjects and sources in news, where they represent them as feminist voices and role that are ritualized in the mainstream which are designees of females that are homogenous. Women as signs Chart Woman signs categories Men in My Research (14) Women in research (22) Private individuals 20% 10% Authorities 22% 8% Celebrities 8% 20% Political activists 30 % 22% Unidentifiable 10% 30% Feminists 10% 10% In category 1, Women are represented in media as relatives or mothers. Ecompanion states that 32% of women and 24% are represented in this category. If a woman speaks in news, she does so as mother, sister, wife, consumer, neighbor, and a housewife. They speak as witnesses and passive reactors instead of participants in public events. This comprises of 30 %. In this category, men are represented by women, because women speak for them as wiv es, as mothers or sisters. Men represent a 10% of this unidentifiable category. In category 2, women as sources will carry on instead of creating meaning of the stories they appear in. They are used to demonstrate the private consequences of public actions and

Performance Assessment and Gifted Students Essay

Performance Assessment and Gifted Students - Essay Example Study shows that students of these days are almost changing the old education system due to being able to grasp ideas fast and easily. Though not all students are gifted and talented, many of them are able to excel in other different fields at school. With libraries having been incorporated in the learning curriculum, students have made good use of the facilities and have come up with their own research plans and projects. The libraries also encourage students to study ahead of their teachers, where they make use of a variety of materials apart from the normal class notes given by their teachers. Research shows that giftedness can be found in all cultures and can be expressed in different ways. Every individual usually has some hidden potential which, if given a little push could be unleashed. This is because despite having the gifts and talents, some students might just sit on them without taking any step to exploit them. It is thus the reason that teachers, parents and guardians sh ould take note of the gifted students and look out for the untapped hidden ability in them (Sarouphim 277). To start with, one must adopt a broader view of the idea of intelligence, giftedness, and talents that goes beyond the academic performance of an individual and which includes a wide variety of human abilities. Before beginning the process, it is also important to pay attention to the different kinds of giftedness that exist in an individual. These may include; emergent giftedness, potential giftedness or high-potential giftedness (Calero, Belen and Robles 176). The authors also provided that the reasons for having this procedure was because the giftedness or creativity level in a person was also affected by other external factors other than the individual’s own abilities. Such include; the socio-environmental variables, which may either hinder or optimize the abilities. This is mainly due to the fact that the environment with which a person grows up in can to a great e xtent affect how he or she exploits his or her talents. Study shows that individual’s performance could be affected by cultural and environmental factors, especially those in underrepresented communities (Sternberg and Reis 142). The extent to which an individual exploits their abilities is also said to depend on their gender. This is greatly affected by the research results which indicate that men are said to be more competent than women and, thus, their performance it deemed to be also better (Gorman and Kmec 841). This extensively affects the mentality of women and thus, very few of them will be willing to exploit their gifts and talents. Otherwise, others will sit on them and do nothing due to fear. Research also indicates that the performance of women will also be affected by the fact that no one pays attention or cares about their hidden abilities. Performance assessment of verbal and math achievement in students showed that the level of giftedness in students also diff ered in terms of gender. By use of the Internal/External Frame Model, (I/E Model) both males and females were found to be similarly gifted in the way that they formed their verbal and math self-concepts. However, the results of their scores were found to be completely different. Female students were found to be more

Lesson plan #1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lesson plan #1 - Assignment Example It therefore acts as guideline through which teachers and students must adhere to. The sample of the lesson plan given can be compared to the ones found on most webs. The major quality this sample has is that it is simple to understand given the choice of Wayne Thiebaud’s paintings for elaboration. The desserts by Wayne Thiebaud meet the national standards for visual art link because of the way he presents his paintings to demonstrate and reflect on ideas and emotions. In his paintings, he uses objects commonly known to students and has colored them as if they were real. Learners are able to easily understand and perhaps draw similar objects and even describe them using various adjectives especially if such children are not physically challenged. The National Standards for Visual Art Link include trying to show relationships between visual arts and other related disciplines, selecting and doing evaluation of symbols and ideas and applying knowledge of structures and functions in teaching (Jody 206). For a kindergarten student, it is advisable to draft a lesson plan that is simple to comprehend and use. The primary aim should be to enable them differentiate various desserts used and use adjectives in their descriptions. Colors used should be obvious. Such colors range from the ones which the children are familiar with to those that are complex. In order to make the lesson more interesting, the teacher should use interesting pictorials for demonstration. This includes drawing pictures of appetizing materials like ice cream. Kindergarten children should be left to color the drawing of the ice cream alone but with some support from the teacher. One reason why items like ice creams are used is because children always like them. They taste nice. The sample of the lesson plan given is a perfect example of what every art teacher should stick to. The cookies provided are convenient for kindergarten students given their

Research Methods in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Research Methods in Criminal Justice - Essay Example ion that making the commander ultimately responsible will serve to ensure that the commander himself/herself is extremely careful as to the fact that all regulations and protocol are followed down to the smallest detail, this also has a weakening effect on the level of change that the commander is able to institute as he/she is perennially concerned with the fact that he/she might be held responsible for one of the employees in their charge (Maxfield, 2011). In the way that the text described, the commander’s efficiency in handling the daily task load he/she is responsible for would likely be decreased by the paranoia that such a policy would necessarily instill. A better manner of responsibility would include a healthy balance of the two. A situation in which the commander has to report for any wrongdoings of his/her officers concurrent with a high level of personal responsibility being instituted for the offending officer would likely be a far superior model. As such, it is the recommendation of this author that the proposed model be balanced in a way that both support ultimate responsibility of management while emphasizing traits of personal responsibility of the offending

Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Communication - Essay Example Finally I analyzed how clearly did the two men speak and what effect their clarity had on the overall speech and the message they were trying to convey. By analyzing the two speeches there were number things that I was able to understand. Analyzing the two speeches required me to utilize my observational skills to assess the type of expressions that president Obama and Lt. General David Morrison portrayed while delivering their respective speeches. A speech has little to do with words and has more to do with the manner in which message of the speech is conducted. The manner in which Morrison delivered his speech was firm, whereas Obama’s manner delivered it in a manner that displayed immense sorrow for individuals that had lost their lives. Such gestures are non-verbal gestures that I learned to quickly pick up. Another thing that I learned from analyzing the two speeches understood the reaction or their emotions from the clarity in their voice and how easily it was for them to speak out words of the speech. While working on the article analysis I worked on was to gather information regarding the current method that has been employed by airline companies regarding communication systems being used in emergencies. I initially obtained information of the internet, which required a great deal of research skills. Using the internet I was able to obtain a great deal of information, however a great deal of this information was either irrelevant or was outdated. I filtered the information that was needed and then organized it in a presentable manner. In order to obtain information in a greater depth I discussed the article with a number of individuals that had experience with the field. Before contacting these individuals I developed a set of questions that was directed at obtaining information in much greater detail. I later compiled the answers I got

Nuremberg Laws against the Jews Essay Example for Free

Nuremberg Laws against the Jews Essay The Nuremberg Laws were aimed at preserving the purity of the German race. One of the intentions of the Nuremberg Laws was to provide for who was considered to be a Jew or what it meant to be a Jew. This paper therefore examines the Nuremberg Laws, with an aim of answering the comparative question of what it meant to be a Jew according to the laws. The Nuremberg Laws stemmed from the Nazi Racial Legislation of 1935, which was aimed at upholding the perceived Germanic racial superiority, and promoting it as such. According to Hoss (2013), the national identity in Nazi Germany was required to hold an extremely more superior race. As Stimson (2013) points out, the German racial superiority was expected to be free from the Jews’ contamination. Hoss (2013) points out that during Nazi Germany, the Germans were considered better than Jews, and so the former was required to act in a manner that annihilated the latter. It is for this reason that Nuremberg Laws were formulated to define the identity of the Jews and minimize their contamination of the perceived German racial superiority, all in the hope of safeguarding the German nation for the entire future and upholding the perceive purity of the German blood (Ward Gainty, 2011). Article 5 of the Nuremberg Laws provided an elaboration of who was to be considered as a Jew. For instance, under Article 5(1) of the Nuremberg Laws, a person was to be considered as a Jew if he or she was a descendant of at least three grandparents who were racially full Jews. Article 5(1) was to be read together with the second sentence of part 2 of Article 2 of the Nuremberg Laws. Article 5(2) of the Nuremberg Laws also provided that a person shall be considered as a Jew if both of his or her parents were full Jews (Ward Gainty, 2012, p. 332). Under the statute of these formed laws (i. e. the Nuremberg Laws), a person was deemed to have descended from two full Jewish parents, if (a) he or she was a member of the Jewish religious community at the time the Nuremberg Laws came to force, or joined the said community after the laws came into force; (b) he or she was in a marriage relationship with a Jew at the time the laws come into force or entered into such a marriage after the laws had come into force; (c) he or she was born to at least a Jewish parent in a manner provided under Section 1, and if the marriage from which he or she is an offspring was constructed consequent to the coming into force of the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor; and (d) he or she was an offspring an extramarital relationship, that involved a Jew, in the sense of Section 1, and was to be born outside wedlock after the 31st day of July, the year 1936 (Ward Gainty, 2012). Section 1 of the Nuremberg Laws prohibited any form of marriage relationship between German nationals or kindred blood and Jew. Such marriages were to be considered illegal and against section 1 of the Nuremberg Laws even if, for purposes of evading the law, they were concluded outside Nazi Germany. An individual who happened to be a Jew as provided under Article 5 of the Nuremberg Laws, and as has been explained highlighted in the previous paragraphs, was prohibited, under Section 1 of the Laws, from contracting any marriage relationship with a German national or kindred blood, whether within Nazi Germany or overseas (Ward Gainty, 2012,). Similarly, Section 2 of the said laws prevented any Jew from entering into any outside marriage with German nationals or kindred blood. According to Hoss (2013) this was aimed at protecting the superiority of the German nation and preserving the purity of the German blood by ensuring that no child of German origin was born outside wedlock, and worse still, with a Jewish parent, since the Jews were not expected to mingle with the German nationals. The Nuremberg Laws did not target the Jews within the context of marriage per se, but also sought to limit the rights of the Jews in terms of free and fair management of their households. For instance, under Section 3 of the Nuremberg Laws, no Jew was allowed to employ a female German national or kindred blood as a domestic worker (Ward Gainty, 2012). This was construed by Hoss (2013) as a way of preventing incidents of master-servant abuses (e. g. sexual abuse of female German national domestic servants by their Jewish masters), and which could, in some cases, lead to the breach of Section 2 of the laws. The Jews were also prohibited from associating with both the Reich and the German national flag. For instance, Section 4 of the Nuremberg Laws prohibited any Jewish person from hosting the Reich and/or national flag as well as hosting the colours of the Reich (Ward Gainty, 2012). The punishments that were to be meted against the Jews who were deemed to have acted in breach of sections 1-4 of the Nuremberg Laws varied in nature, and were provided under Section 5 of the laws. For instance, acting contrary to Section 1 of the laws attracted hard labour as punishment, whereas that who breached Section 2 of the said laws was liable for imprisonment or hard labour (Ward Gainty, 2012). Similarly, Section 5 of the laws provided that whoever (i. e. any Jew) was found to have acted contrary to the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the laws would be liable for imprisonment for a period of not more than 1 year, and with a fine or with one of the penalties provided thereof (Ward Gainty, 2012). In conclusion therefore, the Nuremberg Laws, when viewed from legal and moral perspectives, appear to be both illegal (especially in the context of international humanitarian law) and immoral, as they aimed at legalizing open discrimination against the Jews and denying members of the Jewish community the right to freedom of association and expression of free will. In addition, the supposed punishments for acting in breach of the various Sections of the laws were controversial, and so depended on the mood and attitude of whoever was presiding over as the ‘judge. ’ For instance, Section 5(3) of the laws fell short of defining what constituted a fine as a punishment for acting in breach of Sections 3 and 4 of the laws. The implication thereof is that a ‘judge’ may sometimes impose a fine that is not commensurate with the offence committed. References Hoss, R. (2013). â€Å"Memoirs. † Swerdloff, Howard. The World since 1924. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. Stimson, H. L. (2013). The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb. Swerdloff, Howard. The World since 1914. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. Ward. D. W. , Gainty, D. (2011). Sources of World Societies vol II, since 1450. Second Edition (pp. 1-512). Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. Ward. D. W. , Gainty, D. (2012). The Nuremberg Laws: The Centerpiece of Nazi Racial Legislation (331-333), in Sources of World Societies. Volume 2: Since 1450 (2nd Ed). Boston: Bedford.

The colonisation of Southern Africa Essay Example for Free

The colonisation of Southern Africa Essay To what extent did the colonisation of Southern Africa benefit the indigenous people of these territories? It is arguable as to whether the imperialism was of benefit to the indigenous people. However it would be false to say they gained nothing. The Africans had a culture totally different to the Europeans and less technologically advanced. The Europeans brought with them their culture, values and ideas, yet at the same time oppressed and demolished the original culture of the natives. They considered themselves to be superior and therefore correct. The indigenous people didnt consider themselves to be inadequate. David Livingstone was a more sympathetic missionary and once said The English are the most philanthropic people in the world.-David and Charles Livingstone, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi. They thought themselves better than the Africans so that made it their duty to god to impose their own religious and cultural beliefs. Desire to bring civilisation to the African peoples, by furnishing the native with the means of instruction. The indigenous people benefited from new ideas and technology brought over from Europe such as medicine. Some were even educated in Western ways, learning administration and English, new laws were introduced. Voting and administration were also initiated. The Africans could learn from the Europeans and become more advanced. the most remarkable contribution of colonialism in Africa was in ideas and techniques- the ideas of justice, freedom of speech, worship, travel, the rule of law, and the techniques of voting and administration.-Kofi Busia, a native person. Some indigenous people did benefit from the colonialisation of Africa. Of course it was not all admirable, there were also detriments. The Africans were not treated as equals, they were exploited and were even enslaved to help the foreigners execute their desires. Infrastructure resulted in forced labour. Taxes were introduced, and so the Africans had to work. Railways were built and cities developed, all by the sweat and blood of the Africans. Land was stolen in order for the Europeans to build and mine, like Cecil Rhodes. Borders were rearranged, and so families were split and authority lost. Many died and some were forced to migrate. Only the males were educated and communicated with, the women who once played an important role in society were not equal to males. The white man killed my father; the white man, his hands red with black blood, with lordly voice, turned to me: hey boy, a drink, a napkin, water-David DIOP, A Sengalese poet. The attitude that the natives had was of hate and fear. They were treated terribly worse than animals, as animals dont have beliefs and are allowed to spend the day grazing. Weve become their inferiors from an Arabic poem. This also conveys feelings of animosity. They may have gained but they also lost. In the opinions of most Africans they benefited nothing. Africa did benefit slightly, though when juxtaposed to the impairment, one can conclude that there was more harm than gain. For what they benefited, they lost much more and had no choice in it. The indigenous people pf South Africa had little or no say in what went on. They didnt send for Europeans to come and design railways or tax them.

Multipath Fading Channels And Transmitted Signals Computer Science Essay

Multipath Fading Channels And Transmitted Signals Computer Science Essay Multipath fading is a phenomenon of fading of transmitted signals due to refraction, reflection and diffraction from objects or obstacles present in the line or way of transmission. In this article, we have be realized an example of multipath fading channels such as in case of Rayleigh fading channels using MATLAB and would be analysing the variations incurred after varying system parameters such as samples per second and Doppler shift of the respective blocks of the Rayleigh fading system. Also, here screen shots of the respective variations have been provided for clear understanding of induced variations. 1. Introduction As mentioned earlier as well, multipath fading is the occurrence of fading of transmitted signals by refraction, reflection and diffraction due to obstacles present in the line or path of transmission and channels affected due to this type of fading are called multipath fading channels. Rayleigh fading is nothing but the statistical model that communication engineers use to study the characteristics propagation of radio signals, in case of wireless propagation channels. In general, Rayleigh fading model is used for studying ionospheric and tropospheric signals propagation and such that the signals are transmitted in a widespread manner i.e. they are transmitted in form of concentric rings throughout the atmosphere. Thus, these are not used to study the fading that occurs in line of sight propagation (for that Rician is preferred over it). The Rayleigh fading channel can be used to study fading characteristics such as in cases of densely populated cities with a large number of skyscrapers (such as Central London and NYC). The central limit theorem limits this concept such that the amount of scatter can be considered as a function of irrespective of individual function of Gaussian distribution. The impulse response can be modelled a random function varying from 0 to 2pie [1]. The probability distribution function R(of Rayleigh fading) can be given as; Where, ÃŽÂ © =  E(R2). [1] As mentioned in abstract that we would be varying the Doppler shift in case of Rayleigh fading and will be explaining the observed variations in the generated output, its better to have an understanding of what Doppler shift actually means as well for better understanding of concepts. Doppler effect (or Doppler shift) can be described as the increase or decrease in Doppler frequency in case of a moving object (for e.g. the Doppler frequency increases when the object is moving towards the stationary or moving object and vice versa for moving away from the desired moving or stationary object). The mathematical expression for Doppler frequency can be given as; f = left( frac{v + v_r}{v + v_{s}} right) f_0 , Where Vr is the velocity of receiver relative to the medium and Vs is the velocity of source relative to the medium and V is the velocity of waves in the medium [2]. Also, Doppler power spectral density which is also an important parameter of Rayleigh fading is the measure of spectral broadening caused in the waveform characteristics of the transmitted signal (such that the received signals appears to be faded and broadened as compared to the actual signal sent). The mathematical expression for Doppler power spectral density can be shown as [3]; S(nu) = frac{1}{pi f_d sqrt{1 left(frac{nu}{f_d}right)^2}} Realization of Rayleigh fading using MATLAB A sample program of Rayleigh fading can be accessed in MATLAB 2010a by typing the command doc_qpsk_rayleigh_derotated in the command window. The MATLAB operator gives us a block diagram of the Rayleigh fading. It consists of a Bernoulli binary sequence generator, two QPSKs, one error rate calculator, one Rayleigh fading block (where adjustments regarding Doppler shift can be made), one phase removal of path gain block and in the end an AWGN block for simulation of faded signal (4). The screenshot of block diagram for Rayleigh fading had been shown below; Figure 1. MATLAB screenshot of the block diagram for simulating the Rayleigh fading 2.1 Simulation with basic values of Doppler shift and sample rate The simulation results into three possible outputs. These are transmitter output, Rayleigh channel output with no phase component and Rayleigh noisy channel output with no phase component. These outputs for sample simulation with bit sample rate/sec of 100logbase2 (M) and maximum Doppler shift of 1000 hertz is shown below. The screenshots of respective output of QPSK modulator output, Rayleigh channel output and noisy Rayleigh channel output has been shown below; Figure 2.screenshot of MATLAB simulated QPSK modulator output for Rayleigh fading Figure 3.screenshot of Rayleigh channel output for Rayleigh fading (simulated using MATLAB) Figure 4.screenshot of the noisy Rayleigh channel output for Rayleigh fading (simulated using MATLAB) 2.2. Simulation with changed values of Doppler shift and sample rate In the second simulation i have changed the values in Doppler shift and sample rate per second. The Doppler shift can be changed by changing masking parameters in the Rayleigh fading channel. Here, in this simulation I have kept the Doppler shift to 10000Hz while in previous case it was 1000Hz. Also, in Bernoulli bit sequence generator the value of samples per second had been changed to 1000logbase2 (M). The observed variations have been shown below. Figure 5. QPSK modulator output of the Rayleigh fading (simulated using MATLAB) Figure 6. Rayleigh channel output for the Rayleigh fading (simulated using MATLAB). Figure 7. Noisy Rayleigh channel output for Rayleigh fading (simulation using MATLAB) 2.3. Explanation of the observed variations It can be seen that in first case the outputs (amplitude) of QPSK modulator lies in the range of -1 to 0 and 0 to +1 while it varies from -2 to 0 and 0 to +2 which obviously should be observable as the samples per second gets increased from 1000 to 10000 samples per second. However, as the Doppler shift is increased the fading becomes more visible in case of the Rayleigh fading and noisy Rayleigh fading channels. The explanation can be given using Jakes model which relates the Doppler shift and Rayleigh fading. Jakes model relates the Rayleigh fading for kth wave to Doppler shift in following manner; R(t,k) = 2sqrt{2}left[sum_{n=1}^{M}left(cos{beta_n} + jsin{beta_n}right)cos{left(2 pi f_n t + theta_{n,k}right)} + frac{1}{sqrt{2}}left(cos{alpha} + jsin{alpha}right)cos{2 pi f_d t}right] Also, fn=fd(cosa) [5] Hence, it can be said that the amount of Rayleigh fading is directly proportional to the cosine of Doppler shift experienced by the transmitted wave. Also, worth mentioning over here is that is cosine decreases from 0 to increasing values of angle. It can be also seen that from expression mentioned above for power spectral density for Doppler shift that if the Doppler shift is increased the corresponding power spectral density is also increased. Thus, the results shown in the screenshots are explained and justified and it can be said that with the increase of Doppler shift the transmitted waves the Rayleigh fading is increased and so is the power spectral density related to it. Conclusion Rayleigh fading is an important phenomenon used to explain multipath fading in case of the dense populated areas. Rayleigh fading affects a transmitted signal by making broadened and faded in nature and it also does effects its power spectral density in a big way. Also, with increase in Doppler shift the Rayleigh is increased as well. In this setup, channel distortion parameters such as gain and phase are defined as a complex number consisting of real and imaginary parts. Thus, Rayleigh fading can be said to be composed of two paths (real and imaginary) and can be considered as independent paths which can be added in order to get net magnitude of Rayleigh fading occurred in the transmission [6]. To counter the effects of Rayleigh fading a number of techniques were used in the past but the most common one used these days is using a White Gaussian simulator for maintaining bearable effects of Rayleigh fading. This had been shown in the block diagram shown above. References Proakis John. G (1995).  Digital Communications  (3rd Ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Book Co. pp.  767-768.  ISBN  0-07-113814-5 Rosen, Joe; Gothard, Quinn Lisa (2009). Encyclopedia of Physical Science. Infobase Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 0-816-07011-3., available on page 155 Clarke.H.R. (July-August 1968). A Statistical Theory of Mobile Radio Reception. Bell Systems Technical Journal, page number 957-1000 Arsal. A, Ozen. S(2008), A Rayleigh fading  ¬Ã‚ lter design for multipath Rayleigh fading simulation and comparisons to other simulators Jakes. C. Williams, Editor (February 1, 1975). Microwave Mobile Communications. New York: John Wiley Sons Inc. ISBN 0-471-43720-4. Proakis John. G (1995).  Digital Communications  (3rd Ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Book Co. pp.  767-768.  ISBN  0-07-113814-5 Spread Spectrum Models Abstract Spread spectrum is a statistical modulation technique that is been used for increasing the available channel bandwidth. In this article we have focussed on the one the spread spectrum models i.e. two users real spreading with BPSK modulation using MATLAB. Also, a brief study of variations and the explanation of such observations are made in this article. Here, Ill be varying the SNR value of the AWGN block in the given block diagram for the spread spectrum model and would be observing and explaining the variations occurred. 1. Introduction Spread spectrum modulation is a type of modulation in which we intentionally increase the available bandwidth in frequency domain i.e. we stretch the available bandwidth. This leads to a broadened or widened signal for with increased bandwidth. This is generally done to increase bandwidth for signals that require more bandwidth for transmission (it has an effect similar to aliasing but the difference we take anti-aliasing measures against the later). The system models that use such spread spectrum techniques are called spread spectrum models. Two user model for real spreading with BPSK modulation basically utilizes two different orthogonal codes for spreading of the codes. The process of spreading is independent in nature i.e. a different pn sequence for each of the two users. This model uses the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access technology (OFDM) for communication between the two users simultaneously. In this scheme, there are a large number of orthogonal sub carriers separated by a very small distance. The data is then divided into small but same sized chunks and then are loaded (modulated) on these orthogonal sub carriers through multiple paths [1]. The subcarriers then can use any of the conventional technologies for modulating these data packets (such as QAM or PSK) for transmission over the channel. Also, the symbol rates for individual data packets are maintained such that those comparable to its conventional counterparts. However, OFDM is more popular with wireless systems. 2.1. Realization of spread spectrum model using MATLAB Two user orthogonal real fading with BPSK can be realized in MATALAB by typing commspreading_orthobpsk2u in the MATLAB command video. The result shown on the MATLAB simulation window is a block diagram of two user real spreading with BPSK. The screenshot of this has been shown below; Figure 1- Two-user orthogonal real spreading with BPSK modulation (simulated in MATLAB) As shown in the block diagram here the system setup can be broadly classified into three sections. These are transmitter section, the channel and then receiver section. Receiver section is further extended into one more section known as error calculation section. Let us have a brief look into each of the sections mentioned above. 2.1.1 Transmitter section The transmitter section is responsible for transmitting signals to receiver section via channel section of the system setup. Transmitter section is basically made up 5 major components, these are Random integer (signal generator), real BPSK modulator, Hadamard code generator, normalized gain and spreader blocks. Random integer block is used for the generation of signals that could be used for sending over the channel. These signals are then BPSK modulated where it is also mixed with the actual user signals and sent to spreader section. The sequence generated is of 64 bits length. Then on the lower side of the transmitter contains Hadamard code generator which generates unique Hadamard codes for the signals encryption and security to protect it from hacking and noise addition over the channel. The gain of the Hadamard code is then normalized and mixed with the BPSK modulated signal in the spreader section. The spreader is responsible for the deliberate spreading of signals in the frequency domain to increase the bandwidth of transmitted signal. 2.1.2. Channel section Channel section here refers to actual channel or medium through which transmission is done. But here its not wireless as it is an experimental setup. This section here contains AWGN correction blocks. These are responsible for deciding SNR values for the transmitted signals as to gain knowledge about the actual signal transmission through wireless medium. Here, a person can set values of SNR such that to determine the low and high noise environment and the results of these variations of the error rate at receiver section. 2.1.3. Receiver section The receiver section is responsible for the reception, decryption, de-spreading and calculation of error rate in the received signals after travelling through the physical medium. The process carried out here is just opposite as of transmitter section of the setup. The received signal is first sent to de-spreader for removing the spreading done in transmitter section. The integrator and dump section is used to detect or separate out RZ and NRZ parts of bit sequence [3]. Then the sequence is sent to demodulating BPSK section and then to error rate determination section for error rate estimation. 2.2. Effects of Variations in SNR on the Error rate The effects of variations of SNR on the error rate have been summarized below. The table below shows the variations in values of SNR and the corresponding changes in error rate i.e. eRx/Rx (number of erroneous bits transferred /total bits received [2]) with de-spreading. Also, worth mentioning here is that the time period for which the simulation is carried by the system is set to 0.125 seconds in this sample spread spectrum modulation. The table is as under; Figure 2. Table above depicts the effect of variation of SNR on the error rate of the system setup explained above (all values are realized in MATLAB and written down in the table) The table above shows that with increasing values of signal to noise ratio the value of bit error rate is reduced. But it is different in first two readings for receiver1 and receiver2 while it ends out to be zero for SNR value 100 dB for all of the values simulated in a time defined range of 0.125 seconds. This pretty understandable that the dispreading used is here is of ideal nature thus the value of erroneous bits goes down as value of SNR increases. The difference in the error rates between the first two readings of receiver1 and receiver2 is pretty understandable as the two different signals have different error rates when they are transmitted through two different Hadamard codes (i.e. initial seed for first receiver was set to 37 and for second it was set 631). 3. Conclusion Two user orthogonal real fading with BPSK modulation is used as an experimental to study the characteristics of spread spectrum. The OFDMA as we know splits the large data into small equally sized fragments and transmits it through multiple paths thus is also affected by multipath fading. This particularly affects wireless channels even makes is even more difficult to maintain SNR and low error rates. To counter the effects AWGN simulator is used such that the effects of multipath fading are neutralized. The observations made with this system setup prove that value of SNR affects the error rate percentage in the transmission. As the value of SNR is increased the value of error rate goes down and vice versa for a lower value of SNR. References 1. Robertson. P; Kaiser .S; The effects of Doppler spreads in OFDM(A) mobile radio systems, Vehicular Technology Conference, 1999. VTC 1999 Fall. IEEE VTS 2. Shah .Gaurav ; Molina. Andres ; Blaze. Matt (2006); Keyboards and Covert Channels 3. Sadr, R.; Hurd, W. J.; The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report, page 158-173 (ISBN N88-12679 04-32) 4. Aurthur. Ross (1997); CA Patent 2228131; data available on http://www.mathworks.com/products/commblockset/demos.html?file=/products/demos/shipping/commblks/commspreading_m.html#1 5. MATLAB code available at http://www.mathworks.com/products/commblockset/demos.html?file=/products/demos/shipping/commblks/commspreading_m.html#1 IEEE 802.11 WLAN Abstract IEEE 802.11 is the standard adopted by IEEE for design of wireless network systems. Here, in this article a sample simulation of 802.11 standard is done using MATLAB and Simulink. Also, a brief description of operation and functional characteristics of blocks (i.e. components) used for attaining and maintaining wireless networks have been made. Also, certain parameters of WLAN system setup are varied to make a brief study of changes that incur in the system due to these variations. 1. Introduction Secure, dependable and fast wireless systems have become a need of current growing world that touches everyone ranging from individuals to large organizations. Wireless networks are needed for small private area networks such as Bluetooth and Ad Hoc and large networks for wider network coverage such as 3G and 4G networks are currently being employed for providing internet and communication services to people with mobility. The WLAN 802.11 standard is used for wireless communication networks in 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands [1]. There is a complete family of 802.11 which uses a number of over the air modulation techniques for transmission and reception of signals. There a number of versions launched by IEEE under the name of 802.11, this includes 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. The most frequently employed among these are 802.11b and 802.11g. The data to be transmitted is first broken in small and equally sized packets and then modulated and transmitted on multiple channels (through different paths) to the destination. Thus, it uses OFDMA access for setting up communication. 802.11 standard has a complete frame stack for secure and dependable communication. These include certain frames for controlling and maintaining the wireless connection among wirelessly connected hosts. These are Protocol version, Type, Sub type, ToDS and FromDS, More fragment, Retry, Power management, More data and WEP [2]. All these play important part in setting, maintaining, controlling and releasing the wireless connection among a number of wirelessly connected hosts on 802.11 system. Below is shown a sample example of how 802.11 WLAN standard system looks like. Figure 1. The Linksys WRT54G contains an 802.11b/g radio with two antennas [3]. 2.1. Realization of IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard in MATLAB A sample MATLAB program for IEEE 802.11 WLAN can be realized in MATLAB by typing the same in help command box of the MATLAB. The output shows an experimental setup containing block diagram of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN system. This has been shown below. Figure 2- The screenshot above shows the block diagram of the sample IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard simulated in MATLAB The block diagram broadly contains variable-rate data source, BPSK modulator and demodulator, OFDM symbol generation block and disassemble OFDM frame block, multipath channel and a packet error calculation block. Also, the signal visualization block for opening the signal characteristics of such setup. These signals characteristics are shown below. Figure 3-The signals transmission and receiver characteristics of the 802.11 system setup using sample settings (simulated in MATLAB) 2.2. Operations and working of the Block diagram The signal characteristics can be visualized in the above screenshot. The transmitted data consists of a binary stream of data send with OFDMA modulation. In this model shown above the variable rate data source is used to generate a binary string of variable data rates which could be considered as similar to the real life scenario as data rates vary with time and need of the users. This binary string is then BPSK modulated using BPSK modulator which is the case with OFDMA as it uses any other general modulation technique for the modulation of signals and then OFDMA codes are added to it. The signals are now undergo a number of alterations before reaching the multipath channels. These include adding a cyclic code to the signals and going through IFFT which is inverse fast Fourier transform to the signal. The signals are then sent through multiple paths which is the case with the OFDMA. This completes transmitter section. After all these processes the signal enters the receiver section of the WLAN. The signals go through cyclic code removal block and then FFT or fast Fourier transform block to anti the effects of IFFT. Then signals are equalised in frequency domain as these get disturbed in frequency domain as shown in the figure 2 signal equalization. The disassemble OFDM block takes off the OFDM codes from the signals and then the signals is demodulated using a BPSK demodulator after which the signal output is sent to the error collection block where the original and received signals are compared to get error rate in the transmission. Also, one more output wire goes to adaptive modulation control block where the degree of modulation is controlled according to the bit error rate achieved by the system. Also, the value of SNR is varied according to the values entered in the stack. This also changes the adaptive modulation control. 2.3. Effects of variations in certain parameters of IEEE 802.11 WLAN setup The effects of inducing variations in certain parameters such as SNR or hysteresis are visible in the transmission characteristics of the block diagram shown below. These values are achieved after changing the value of hysteresis value for adaptive modulation to 10dB from 3dB and lower SNR threshold values to [10 11 14 18 22 24 26 32] decibels from earlier value of [10 11 14 18 24 26] decibels. It can be seen from the two figures 3 and 4 that the unequalized signal spreads out more. Also, the per i.e. packet error rate is increased from 6% to 12%. This due to increased hysteresis for adaptive modulation control. Conclusion The IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless LAN is used as a standard for setting up the wireless network for communication of multiple numbers of hosts. Also, in this sample simulation we concluded that with varying values of SNR and hysteresis the BER and PER also changes. Thus, it can be also concluded that data rates and packet loss rates are also variable at variable places in the parts of networks. This due to different distances, landscapes and congestion is different for different areas as the signal transmission follows multiple paths for transmission and every single path has a different type of obstacles available. Also, the system is greatly affected by noise present in free space. The reception quality always decreases with increase in distance between the service provider and host.

Basics Of Mutual Funds :: essays research papers

In this report I decided to take advantage of an opportunity to get information on how best to invest money for my daughter’s college fund. The choices are between Mutual funds or an IRA. Thanks to the research I did for this I have made up my mind how best to invest my money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My main research I did on the IRA is on the Internet through AOL. Through them I found out in a Traditional IRA’s you can contribute up to $2,000 per person per year tax free. In other words the $2,000 invested is deducted off your total income for that year. Yet when you retire and receive the money it is then taxed. Also in a Traditional IRA you cannot remove the money prior to retirement without being heavily penalized. In a Roth IRA you pay taxes on it the year that you invest the money. Though the Roth IRA does bring some benefits such as you can retrieve your money without being penalized as long as you opened your account over five years prior to withdrawal and your are at least 59.5 years old at time of withdrawal. Some exceptions are death, disability or first time purchase of a home. There is also an Educational IRA which you can contribute a maximum of $500 per year per child. This obviously is only good enough for a college education if you plan to invest in other places. On the AOL site I used it had a page where you enter in your date of birth and how much money you wish to contribute. I entered in both DOB-7/9/79 (approximately 46 years until retirement) and that I wish to contribute $2,000 a year. It then stated that with a Roth IRA I would have $1,058,685 and with a Traditional IRA I would have $1,036,239 (which I would have to still pay taxes on). Out of the two the obvious choice is the Roth IRA you pay taxes when you are working and have the extra money and it also has a higher turn over rate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I then researched mutual funds. Mutual funds are a group of stocks together. It tends to be more stable then stocks since there is only one stock if it falls you’re out money, with a Mutual fund if one drops then the others generally tend to balance the loss out so you still tend to make money.

Plasic Surgery Essay -- essays research papers

Nature of Plastic Surgery A nip here, a tuck there and now science is making it easier to change the appearance of one’s self. It’s called plastic surgery and now more than ever people are taking part in these risky surgical producers. Not only are there obvious risks taken on one’s self when the decision is made but risks are also taken when it comes to the impact on family, friends, and the doctors performing these dangerous acts. The risks associated with plastic surgery makes this procedure a bad decision. When a patient decides to go through with the procedure him/her is notified of the shocking and even deadly risks associated with the surgery. Plastic surgery complications can range from scarring to fatalities and the effects of surgery can sometimes be traumatizing to patients both physically and psychologically. The recovery alone from any sort of surgery can be several weeks if not months. The pain and aftermath of the whole experience can be traumatizing and can leave patients in a state of doubt and regret, not to mention with a whole in their wallet. Plastic surgery can range anywhere from $1600 to $7800. The money spent on the cosmetic procedure alone, without mentioning the lose of money from work due to recovery period, are just the beginning of extreme measures that people are willing to go through and involve themselves in the horrific experience of plastic surgery. One of the reasons that many choose to go through with plastic surgery is because they want...

Turing: Concept of Computation :: Computers Computational Systems Papers

Turing: Concept of Computation Turing's analysis of the concept of computation is indisputably the foundation of computationalism, which is, in turn, the foundation of cognitive science. What is disputed is whether computationalism is explanatorily bankrupt. For Turing, all computers are digital computers and something becomes a (digital) computer just in case its 'behavior' is interpreted as implementing, executing, or satisfying some (mathematical) function 'f'. As 'computer' names a nonnatural kind, almost everyone agrees that a computational interpretation of this sort is necessary for something to be a computer. But because everything in the universe satisfies at least one (mathematical) function, it is the sufficiency of such interpretations that is the problem. If, as anticomputationalists are fond of pointing out, computationalists are wedded to the view that a computational interpretation is sufficient for something to be a computer, then everything becomes a digital computer. This not only renders comput er-talk vacuous, it strips computationalism of any empirical or explanatory import. My aim is to defend computationalism against charges that it is explanatorily bankrupt. I reexamine several fundamental questions about computers. One effect of this computation-related soul-searching will be a framework within which 'Is the brain a computer?' will be meaningful. Another effect will be a fracture in the supposed link between computationalism and symbolic-digital processing. If the standard by which to measure the explanatory value of a view were its revolutionary character, then Turing's (1936) analysis of the concept of computation would be highly valued indeed. Whereas the science of mind was once dominated by behaviorists, today it is dominated by computationalists. For computationalists, the mind/brain is a computer. As computationalists came to shoulder the burden for explaining how the mind/brain works, Turing's analysis of what counts as a computer became the standard by which to justify empirical claims about whether something is a computer. According to Turing, all computers are digital computers and something becomes a (digital) computer just in case its "behavior" is interpreted as implementing, executing, or satisfying some (mathematical) function 'f'. Because Turing's analysis is considered the foundation of computationalism, which, in turn, is the foundation of cognitive science, there can be no doubt that Turing's analysis has revolutioni zed the scientific study of the mind/brain. That much is not in dispute. What is, rather, is whether computationalism is explanatorily bankrupt. Although attacks against computationalism come in a variety of flavors, what bridles Searle (1990) and other anticomputationalists the most is the sufficiency of Turing's analysis of what counts as a computer.

Cultivating an Equal Opportunity Society

Question: Do you think cultivating an equal opportunity society has helped countries such as South Africa and America to move forward? In a carefully worded essay, show why this is the case or why it is not. The equity act was implemented after apartheid in South Africa and America in order to force businesses to hire disadvantaged groups in order to amend the imbalance apartheid created in the economy. The equity act is very much needed in a country where racism led to a minority group being developed.In my opinion the equity act has a very important role in reinstating a sense of believe in a better future. There is no point in telling a minority group they are free to do anything but then not force the majority group to allow this. The majority group could go on refusing to hire minority groups, still harbouring a racist view. You cannot expect people to instantly change their long standing views of discrimination and overnight start hiring different races and genders.It is a slow process and education, trust and forgiveness are not easily acquired. Here the equity act aims to force people to accept the change and move forward letting go of discrimination. Now in South Africa I believe the equity act has allowed our country to move away from formal apartheid and into a time where the focus on race and gender has become bigger than ever. Today when you apply for an education, bursary or job your race and gender is a major deciding factor for the recruiter or employer.By law in South Africa if you have a business that employs more than 50 people you have to comply with the regulations and rules set out in Employment Equity act, this is also known as Black Economic Empowerment(BEE) and should you not achieve the desired level of BEE status your business can be fined. The higher your BEE status the more likely you are to win government contracts ensuring higher paid jobs for your business. Because of the need for a BEE status, employers’ criteria for hiri ng staff have shifted from capabilities and merit to race and gender.An employer will much rather hire a staff member that will ensure the business a hire BEE status than hire a staff member that will not increase his status or even worse lead to him to being fined. Even though the latter staff member may be more qualified than the first staff member the employer will gain more funs with a less capable employee than with a highly skilled employee of the wrong race or gender. Because the employer is now forced to hire less skilled workers his more skilled workers have to work harder to make up for the employees who cannot perform the duties.This leads to feeling of hatred and discrimination among employees. Companies may also struggle to find people of a certain group that is qualified to perform a task and so leave the company under staffed and not capable of providing a service or product. This situation leads to not only a drop in quality of services and products but these busines ses also receive more work as winning a contract is purely based on what race and gender works for you. Companies have moved from wanting to provide top quality services and products to wanting the correct race and gender to work for them.Your standard of work is no longer important, just what you look like. How is that a move forward from focusing on skin colour? Disadvantage groups now have more opportunities available to them now but your race, gender, family tradition and religion greatly influence your worldview and interests. For this reason many economic sectors lack the people required to meet BEE status. I interviewed a director of a security company in my home town and he had this to say about the equity act. Mr Smith runs a private security company in Cape Town and employs 150 security guards.He only has a level 2 BEE status. Mr Smith explained to me that due to the nature of the tasks required in his company, male employees are more attracted to the job. In order to comp ly with the employment equity act he has to hire a certain percentage of people from previously disadvantaged groups. Unfortunately these people lack the funds required to be educated as security guards. Mr Smith has to pay for these people to be educated costing his company a large amount every year and he can also only afford to educate a certain amount of people of the required race, leaving his company understaffed.For example say he has to employ 20 Indians but can only afford to educate 10 Indians. He is not allowed to hire 10 staff members from another group and thus leaving his company understaffed by 10 people. He also has problems finding females to hire as security is not viewed as a job suited for females. For this reason his BEE status is very low and he has almost no chance in acquiring large government contracts needed to grow his business not even mentioning being under staffed. If he doesn’t comply with BEE he will be fined and in order to comply with BEE he has to pay to educate the proper race.It is a vicious cycle and is created from an act looking at empowering our country. In this situation all the act is doing is decreasing job opportunities as implementing this act becomes too costly for small businesses. Trough BEE many disadvantaged groups have been receiving job positions they are not qualified for. Under skilled people are being made directors of companies purely to increase BEE status and thus increase contracts for the company. These directors often still harbour a feeling of oppression and revenge.Many disadvantaged people believe the â€Å"whites† owe them everything after apartheid and when these people are then put in power they ignore the regulation of the equity act. They want revenge for their suffering and will only favour their race or gender. Due to the lack of monitoring the implementation of the equity act, many companies are never fined for not complying with the act. There are companies playing by the r ules and suffering and there are companies ignoring the rules, favouring their â€Å"own† in the job market and bribing their way to the top.We are now seeing companies with a majority of one race being born creating more hatred among groups. This goes for previously disadvantaged groups and advantaged groups. When your race and gender becomes a criterion for employment victimization will always be a factor. Before the equity act you where hired based on merit, sure disadvantaged groups didn’t even stand a chance as their access to education where restricted but being hired based on your label is fuelling blame and discrimination now more than ever.Not only is the act exaggerating the very problem it seeks to solve it is now giving people a valid criteria and reason for discrimination. People will always seek to blame and point out differences among themselves, this act just allows the differences among people to be taken more seriously. I have heard many times people say,† he was only hired because they need more black people,† or â€Å"She only won because she is a women and they need to have a female win so they can keep their government sponsorship. It is a really sad situation to be in when you no longer have to do your best to achieve success but can achieve success by purely applying to a company or university that is short on filling their BEE criteria. Not only is this a bad thing for skilled people who are losing jobs based on race but it is detrimental to skilled people being hired in suitable positions all while there, they are being frowned upon. I can definitely see the equity act as necessary in our country. It is vital for educating the majority about the minority and vice versa. It is important for empowering en providing confidence in oppressed groups.It can eliminate the stereotypes of a white man’s job or a black ladies’ job. Society can grow so much from being pushed to integrate our relationships w ith other groups and us as a country can rectify our differences but unfortunately this act has illuminated our differences and used it as its very criteria for success. We are moving backwards and our standard of service and quality of products are dropping. Businesses are suffering and the people who do strive for excellence are stepping back in order to favour an attitude of â€Å"the world owes me everything†.The people are not ready for such an act. Our focus on difference and our â€Å"revenge† attitudes are over shadowing our goal of working as one. I don’t expect people to forget about apartheid, its effects will still be felt for many years, but I do believe if we can realise that we all do have a chance at an equal opportunity for success, we can create an economy fuelled by one goal, a brighter future for all. Unfortunately right now we are slipping into reverse creating a world worse than before.

On Becoming a Great Early Childhood Educator Essay

One of the best professions that an individual could ever have is that of being an early childhood educator. The said profession goes far more than teaching theories and knowledge within the four walls of the classroom. It actually includes molding and shaping the future of the country through the youth. Many people are trying to become an educator of children in the community but only few of have the authentic qualifications that fulfill the requirements of becoming a great teacher. This is considered as a fact since many people view teaching as a mere process of transferring of knowledge to the students. Nevertheless, the role of a teacher is not actually bounded on these expectations. As William Arthur Ward puts it, â€Å"a mediocre teacher tells, a good teacher explains, a superior teacher demonstrates, but a great teacher inspires† (Thinkexist. com, 2010). Educators nowadays should not be limited to transferring knowledge to the students. They should serve as the catalysts of change and development of the students. The paper tackles my personal vision of myself as an early childhood educator. It discusses the factors that are considered to be essential in becoming a great teacher, which include the required training for the educator, the very definition of an early education, the model classroom, the materials and equipments for the classroom, and many others which are based on my personal point of view. On becoming a professional early childhood educator To become a professional early childhood educator is not an easy task since one needs to conform to the professional qualities that a great teacher should have. Among the professional qualities which are essential in becoming a great educator is the knowledge of the teacher regarding the subject matter that he or she will teach. It is not enough for a teacher to know his or her subject well. Rather, it is also important that he or she possesses the in-depth understanding of the discipline or lesson that he or she is teaching. Likewise, a teacher is to be considered great if he or she has the ability to relate and integrate other branches of knowledge to the lesson, subject or discipline that he or she is teaching. This means that the teacher should not be only limited to the topic that he or she is required to lecture during a particular day. For example, it is indeed advantageous to teach writing skills while at the same time teaching the values of preserving and conserving the environment. In this situation, the teacher is able to hit two birds with one shot. The teacher trains students on writing, which is one of the standards in the English subject, while he or she also integrates preserving the nature, which is a very good topic in Biology. Along with the mastery of the subject matter is the good facility of the teacher to lesson plan making. Since it is considered to be the backbone and soul of the class, the lesson plan is indeed important to assure that everything will go smoothly in the teaching and learning process. Hence, a teacher must always have a lesson plan in order to assure the success of the teaching-learning process. As equally important as the understanding of the teacher to the subject matter of the class, a great educator should also have the in-depth understanding to the most important factor in the teaching-learning paradigm – the learners. If a teacher does not have the full understanding on the growth and development of the learners, he or she will most likely fail in the teaching-learning process. For instance, to be able to become successful in educating the children, the teacher should know the different learning styles and habits of the students. Some students may learn easily with the use of visual aids; some may adapt quickly with the aid of real objects and models; and some may enjoy listening to sounds and music. It is important for the teacher to have the ability to classify the students according to their learning styles and habits since some of them maybe visual, realistic, auditory and the like. Furthermore, the teacher should have the needed knowledge regarding the different teaching methodologies and strategies to satisfy the unique needs of every learner in the classroom. Since different learning styles require different learning needs and strategies, a great teacher should have a full grasp of the different methodologies in teaching a lesson (Cole, 2008). For instance, visual learners learn best through the use of visual aid, realistic learners learn through the use of models and real objects, and auditory learners learn through the sense of hearing. In this case, the teacher should have the perfect timing and proper usage of the different methodologies and strategies on teaching the learners. A flash card, for example, is best for drill, mastery and memorization. Smartboard, on the other hand, is intended for interactive participation of the learners (Promethean, n. d. ). In relation, the Socratic Method is deemed best for initiating critical thinking among the students. Modeling, however, is ideal in assisting the students in the classroom activities like in the application and evaluation parts (Fathman & Crowther, 2006). Indeed, there are a variety of methods that a teacher can use inside the classroom. The teacher should only have the knowledge on the proper use and timing of these methodologies to assure the success of the teaching-learning process (Killen, 2006). Aside from the mastery of the subject matter and the knowledge on the learning styles and teaching strategies, a teacher should also have his or her own educational philosophy in order for him or her to understand the whole educational paradigm. It is important for a teacher to know the guiding principles that make up his or her total personality. Based on the different educational philosophies, a teacher may be considered as a realist, idealist, existentialist, and the like. A realist teacher uses real objects to transfer knowledge to the students. An idealist teacher, on the other hand, uses thought-provoking questions to initiate critical thinking among the students. An existentialist or constructivist, moreover, believes that practical application is the very essence of learning (Steffe & Gale, 1995). If a teacher has the knowledge regarding his or her own educational philosophy, he or she will be guided accordingly on his or her teaching methodologies and strategies while considering the learners’ various learning styles and habits. Lastly, to be able to become a great educator, a teacher must also be knowledgeable regarding the current events and advances that the modern world has to offer. Since education is described to be flexible, a teacher should know the latest trends that could help improve the teaching and learning system in the classroom. For instance, because of the technological advances that science has brought to us, most of the classrooms nowadays are using the Smartboard instead of the typical chalkboard or whiteboard. Since this technology brings comfort to the teacher and learners, it is advantageous if the teacher will use it as one of the teaching devices inside the classroom. Another example is the use of computer, LCD projector, PowerPoint and other media presentation, video, speech laboratory, Internet and many others. With the use of these technological advances, the classroom could serve as a comfort zone for both teacher and learners. Hence, on my perspectives, I need to possess the above professional qualifications in order for me to become a great early childhood educator. I must be trained on the mastery of particular subject matters, understand my students’ various learning styles and habits, understand the different teaching methodologies and strategies, know my personal educational philosophy, and discover the different technological advances in the field of education. My vision of what an early childhood education ought to be Aside from knowing the various students’ learning styles and habits and the different teaching methodologies and strategies, early childhood education for me also means knowing the very definition of Howard Gardner’s Theories on Multiple Intelligences (MI). Early childhood is considered to be the most critical stage in the life of every individual since it is said to be formative in nature. It is the stage where an individual learns everything in his or her life. Hence, it is very important that the teacher should know how to guide and assist the learners carefully and properly. It is not really enough that the teacher knows how to teach the learners to count, read, speak and write. The teacher must also know how to maximize the development of the learners into its fullest. One of the best ways to maximize the full development of every child in this generation is the consideration of the Theory of Multiple Intelligence. This theory states that every individual has his or her own intelligence based on their abilities and capacities. Based on this theory, learners may be categorized as visual-spatial, linguistics, bodily-kinesthetic, mathematical-logical, musical, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Prior to the discovery of the MI theory, students’ intelligence is being measured by their mastery on reading and counting. Nevertheless, in the current educational set up of our country, intelligence is measured through the different dimensions of the skills and capacities of the students. For instance, a student who knows how to play a musical instrument skillfully may be considered as a genius in music. Likewise, a student who has an incomparable skill on word formation and sentence composition may be regarded as linguistically-gifted. Moreover, a student who draws or paints incredibly may be considered to be visually-intelligent. I do believe that this concept is indeed important in the early childhood education since it will help me in maximizing the skills and capacity of my students. As a great educator, I must let my students develop and progress all the aspects in their individuality in order for them to attain maximum early childhood education development. This practical application of the MI theory, furthermore, should be coupled with the different teaching strategies that will enhance each student’s intelligence. For instance, I could allow the linguistically-gifted students to play with word formation or word puzzle games in order to satisfy their needs as linguistics learners. More so, I could also let those who are mathematically-intelligent to solve problems and equations as part of their motivation or application and evaluation activities. The interpersonal-intelligent students, on the other hand, can have debates, group discussion and other activities which entail speaking and communication. Indeed, early childhood education is not an easy task in comparison to other levels of education. The teacher in this level, aside from serving as the â€Å"loco parentis† of the learners, should be intelligent, careful and wise in choosing the proper teaching methodologies to suit the various learning styles and multiple intelligences of the learners.

The Summary of Professional Development 1, Chapter 5 – 7

To make sure the best solution will be generated once the problem is defined, guidance of idea generation techniques is significantly important in breaking down the barriers to generating. Mental blocks are mainly the hindrance on the progress toward a solution. Mental blocks can be divided into seven blocks, which are conceptual, perceptual, emotional, cultural, environmental, intellectual and expressive blocks. Goman’s blockbusters can be used to overcome these blocks. For example, Goman's Blockbusters Block| Blockbuster| 1. Negative Attitude| 1. Attitude Adjustment| 2. Fear of Failure| 2. Risk Taking| 3.Following the Rules| 3. Breaking the Rules| 4. Over-reliance on Logic| 4. Creative Internal Climate| 5. Belief That You Aren't Creative| 5. Creative Beliefs| After that, use brainstorming to generate solutions to the problem. Process of generating solutions is started with free association – that is, writing down all available suggestions without judgment of the feasi bility. Free association can be used to generate the initial set of ideas. When the flow of suggestions becomes low, triggers can be used to rejuvenate the rate of suggestions, which are vertical thinking, lateral thinking, TRIZ, cross-fertilization, and futuring.Vertical thinking can be used to build on previous ideas and generate new ideas. One of the vertical thinking techniques is Osborn’s checklist, to adapt, modify, magnify, minify, substitute, rearrange and combine. Lateral thinking is to use random stimulation and other people’s views when in a rut. Futuring is a blockbusting technique to remove all technical blocks to envision a solution in the future. The rules for futuring are relatively simple, try to imagine the ideal solution without regard to whether it is technically feasible.The fishbone diagram can be used in organizing brainstorming ideas. It can be very helpful in visualizing all the ideas which have been generated. Analogies and cross-fertilization are to bring ideas, phenomena, and knowledge from other disciplines to bear on the problem and lastly, TRIZ is to resolve contradictions. Once the real problems have been defined and some potential solutions have been generated, decision on which problem to address first and which actions should be taken to address this problem should be made.After that, the best solution from the possible alternatives should be selected. Lastly, decision on how to avoid additional problems as implementing the chosen solution would also be made. An organized process for making these decisions is the Kepner – Tregoe (K. T. ) approach. One of the unique features of each of the K. T. strategies is the way of displaying the data. In each case, situation appraisal problem analysis, decision analysis, and potential problem analysis would be used and lastly, analyzing the date listed in each table will help to reach a decision.Situation Appraisal Problems| Timing(H,M,L)| Trend(H,M,L)| Impact(H,M,L) | Next Process(PA,DA,PPA)| 1. 2. 3. | | | | | Problem Analysis | Is| Is Not| Distinction| Problem Cause| What| | | | | Where| | | | | When| | | | | Extent| | | | | Decision Analysis Potential Problems| Possible Causes| Preventive Actions| Contingent Plan| A. | 1. 2. | | | B. | 1. 2. | | | K. T. situation appraisal can be helpful when multiple problems are faced at the same time. Deciding the priority, evaluating criteria and deciding which action to take are to be done during situation appraisal.Each problem is measured against the criteria of timing, trend, and impact. These criteria are rated as warranting degree of concern, which are high (H), moderate (M), or low (L). Once the problem is known, decision analysis (DA) can be used. In the DA technique, the cause of the problem has been found and the decision at the present time is how to correct the problem. Once the decision is made, problem potential analysis (PPA) will ensure the success of the decision.

Prohibition: The So-Called war on drugs Essay

†¢ Nick Possum: In the thrall of the monster drug barons It is also obvious that so much of the government propaganda regarding those fine sacred herbs Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa is just bullshit. †¢ Alcohol worse than ecstasy on shock new drug list The position of ecstasy near the bottom of the list was defended by Prof Nutt, who said that apart from some tragic isolated cases ecstasy is relatively safe. Despite about a third of young people having tried the drug and around half a million users every weekend, it causes fewer than 10 deaths a year. One person a day is killed by acute alcohol poisoning and thousands more from chronic use. †¢ Marijuana Delivery Services Flourish In NYC †¢ Scientific American: Large Study Finds No Link between Marijuana and Lung Cancer †¢ Nathan Guttman: Israelis at center of ecstasy drug trade †¢ Law Enforcement Against Prohibition After nearly four decades of fueling the U. S. policy of a war on drugs with over half-a-trillion tax dollars and increasingly punitive policies, our confined population has quadrupled over a 20 years period making building prisons this nation’s fastest growing industry. More than 2. 2 million of our citizens are currently incarcerated and every year we arrest an additional 1. 6 million for nonviolent drug offenses — more per capita than any country in the world. The United States has 4. 6 percent of the population of the world but 22. 5 percent of the world’s prisoners. Every year we choose to continue this war will cost U. S. taxpayers another 69 billion dollars. Despite all the lives we have destroyed and all the money so ill spent, today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent, and far easier to get than they were 35 years ago at the beginning of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, people continue dying in our streets while drug barons and terrorists continue to grow richer than ever before. We would suggest that this scenario must be the very definition of a failed public policy. This madness must cease! †¢ Inquiry into drug trial that became a nightmare †¢ Sheryl Jackson-Sczbecki: Marijuana — Through The Haze †¢ Peter Dale Scott: o The Global Drug Meta-Group: Drugs, Managed Violence, and the Russian 9/11 o A Ballad of Drugs and 9/11 †¢ 15 Ways the Auto Industry Would Change if it Operated Like Drug Companies. Just say No to drugs — from Pfizer, Merck, Roche and the other major drug pushers. †¢ Marcia Angell, M. D: The Truth About the Drug Companies In 2002 †¦ the combined profits for the ten drug companies in the Fortune 500 ($35. 9 billion) were more than the profits for all the other 490 businesses put together ($33. 7 billion). †¢ Chris Largen’s satirical novel JUNK is â€Å"a riotous exploration of prohibition. † †¢ The Narco News Bulletin †¢ Oscar Heck: Chavez Frias not losing much sleep over the USA’s intent to â€Å"punish† Venezuela (Also here.) I believe that the DEA and other US-based organizations such as USAID, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs are fronts for the CIA †¦ and that a part of the CIA’s job is to assure that 1) drug exports to the USA are not halted 2) that this drug trade is controlled by the US government. †¢ 2005-07-31: Oregon Anti-Meth Bill Aimed at Cold Meds. The Senate on Saturday approved a plan to make Oregon the first state in the nation to require a prescription for many cold and allergy medicines, an attempt by lawmakers to shut down methamphetamine labs. †¦ The legislation would require prescriptions by mid-2006 for medicines containing pseudoephedrine and two similar substances, which are used in such popular medicines as Sudafed, Claritin and Theraflu. †¢ Jeanne Lenzer and Nicholas Pyke: Woman Commits Suicide While Testing New Antidepressant. Was Traci Johnson Driven To Suicide By Antidepressants? That’s A Trade Secret, Say US Officials †¢ Jennifer Moody, Albany Democrat-Herald, 2005-06-21: Retired DEA agent will run for sheriff Carl F. Worden, Liaison Officer for the Southern Oregon Militia comments: Please get this out to anyone you know in Linn County Oregon: You’ve got a guy running for Sheriff in Linn County by the name of Michael Spasaro, a former DEA Agent. Don’t vote for this guy unless you want a Sheriff who has no use for the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. I know of this guy, and I know some of the federal drug cases he worked on. He is NOT a guy you want as Sheriff. The Sheriff of a county is the only constitutionally elected official who has the power to curtail illegal federal actions in a given county. With his record, you can throw the Constitution right out the door if he becomes your Sheriff. †¢ 2005-06-23: Federal agents fan out to bust medicinal marijuana providers †¢ America’s War on Cannabis: PostModern Witch Burning †¢ You’ve Been Drafted: Uncle Sam Wants You for the War on Drugs. According to US Congressman Sensenbrenner’s draconian mandatory minimum sentencing bill: If you â€Å"witness† certain drug offenses taking place or â€Å"learn† that they took place you would have to report the offense to law enforcement within 24 hours and provide â€Å"full assistance† in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of the people involved. Failure to do so would be a crime punishable by a mandatory two year prison sentence. †¢ 2005-05-27: Bali court sentences Corby to 20 years in jail Prosecutors had demanded life in jail for Corby, who has argued the 4. 1 kg (9 lb) of drugs found by Bali airport officials in her unlocked bag last year were planted. †¢ Sydney Morning Herald, 2005-05-15: PM has left [Schapelle] Corby out to dry: Democrats [Registration required. ] Party leader Lyn Allison said the Government’s letter outlining drug-trafficking allegations among Australian airport baggage handlers should have been sent much earlier. †¢ Nate Blakeslee: The People Left Behind: Elaine Bartlett & Life on the Outside †¢ The Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. Major studies of drugs and drug policy, information on the â€Å"War on Drugs†, charts and graphs of Drug War statistics, US government publications related to drug policy, historical research on drugs and drug policy, the drug legalization debate, and much more. †¢ 2005-04-20: MS Victims to Get Cannabis Drug in Canada A cannabis-based medicine formulated by a UK company to help sufferers of multiple sclerosis has been approved for use for the first time — in Canada. †¢ BBC, 2005-04-18: US church’s illegal tea faces ban The Supreme Court is to consider whether a US branch of a Brazilian religion can import an hallucinogenic tea used as a sacrament. †¢ Kerre Woodham, 2005-04-17: Stakes high in Corby saga You can’t help but feel sympathy for Schapelle Corby, the 27-year-old Australian woman at the centre of a drugs trial in Bali. Surely she cannot have been so stupid as to try to smuggle 4kg of marijuana into Bali, where it would sell for less than it does on the streets of Australia. †¢ R. William Davis: The Elkhorn Manifesto †¦ Marijuana Prohibition was created in 1937, not to protect society from the â€Å"evils of the drug Marijuana,† as the Federal government claimed, but as an act of deliberate economic and industrial sabotage against the re-emerging Industrial Hemp Industry. †¢ Peter Dale Scott: A Post-Election Wrap-Up: Iraq, 9/11, Drugs, Cheney, and Watergate Two †¢ Four Alberta RCMP officers killed during raid Four RCMP officers were shot and killed after conducting a raid on a marijuana grow operation northwest of Edmonton on Thursday [2005-03-03]. †¢ David Adam, The Guardian, UK: Ecstasy trials for combat stress American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares. †¦ Several studies in the US are planned or are under way to investigate whether MDMA, LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can treat conditions ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to anxiety in terminal cancer patients. †¢ Court allows drug-sniffing dogs during traffic stops The Supreme Court yesterday expanded police power to conduct searches, ruling that an officer who stops a motorist for a routine traffic violation can use a drug-sniffing dog to detect narcotics in the vehicle, even if the officer had no reason to suspect the car would contain drugs. The decision, in an Illinois case, gives law enforcement the authority to use drug-detecting dogs in the course of any minor traffic stop. †¢ J. Orlin Grabbe: The Function of the Drug War The function of the Drug War is to create the Drug Crisis. The Drug Crisis involves billions of dollars in hidden cash flow. Addicted to this flow of money are law enforcement agencies, drug producers and distributors, covert agencies who use it as a source of black funding, and politicians and bankers who are hired to protect the drug revenues. Addiction to drug revenues requires that the drug war be fought so as to be lost. Failure thus becomes the criterion of success. †¢ UK Guardian, 2004-10-13: MPs back legalisation ‘road map’ MPs, peers and former police officers are to back the publication today of the first ever report outlining a â€Å"detailed road map† to the legalisation of drugs in Britain. †¦ Transform’s director, Danny Kushlick, predicted that drugs would be legalised in the not-too-distant future because prohibition had been a catastrophe of startling proportions †¦ †¢ Pot Blocks Cancer-causing Herpes. Ingredient responsible for marijuana’s high could be the basis for new antiviral drugs †¢ Huge Ecstasy Bust Do Israelis control most of the world trade in MDMA? †¢ A Brief History of the Regulation of Controlled Drugs in Britain — Chapter 3 of the Fourth Report of the Shipman Enquiry (2001-2004). †¢ Colin Brown: Opium trade booms in ‘basket-case’ Afghanistan [This] will prove highly embarrassing for Tony Blair, who cited cutting the supply of heroin as one of the main reasons for the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 †¦ †¢ Doctors’ strike in Israel good for health. According to the American Medical Association, adverse reactions to prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals are a leading cause of death and injury in the United States. †¦ As of this writing, there is a doctors strike in Israel. The death rate has fallen so sharply during the strike that the Israeli funeral parlors and burial associations are complaining. †¢ Glen Yeadon: Ambassador of Death, Right-Wing Death Squads, Drug Smuggling: George Bush’s Plan for Iraq †¢ Christopher Largen: A History of Medical Marijuana †¢ ‘DRUG’ OR SACRAMENT? YOUR RIGHT TO DECIDE About the 1999 police raid on the Dutch Santo Daime Church. †¢ Drug report barred by FDA — Scientist links antidepressants to suicide in kids It seems that the â€Å"war on drugs† does not apply to drugs which are making millions for the pharmaceutical companies. †¢ Xymphora: More on George and Drugs †¢ Cannabis online: click now and it’s with you in 24 hours On Thursday [2004-01-29] British drug law underwent its most radical shakeup for decades when cannabis was downgraded to class C. Although simple possession is unlikely to lead to prosecution in most cases, the drug remains illegal and dealing or possession with intent to supply will carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence. But a Guardian investigation has established that at least five large-scale online cannabis vendors are operating in this country, in competition with more established Dutch sites. As a result, the drug has never been so easy to buy online. A copy of (almost) the entire Serendipity website is available on CD-ROM. Details here. Prohibition: The So-Called War on Drugs Page One Page Three A Drug War Reading List Civil Asset Forfeiture Serendipity Home Page http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/17/AR2007081701716. html.