Applied Strategic Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Applied Strategic Management - Case Study Example However, the nature of their work and the type of organization they work for will determine how these common environmental factors are perceived - whether they are seen as positive or negative, threats or opportunities (Yvonne 15). Strategy is the most exciting part of manager's work in an organization because it gives the chance to put all his new skills to work. Strategic thinking involves a comprehensive analysis of a business in relation to its industry, its competitors, and the business environment in both the short- and the long-term. Ultimately, strategy is a company's plan to achieve its goals. Corporate managements often do not know clearly what they want or how they'll get there. Organizational strategy is about the effective processing, interpretation of, and response to, information both inside and outside the organization. Organizational strategy helps in bringing administrative efficiency and inculcate within element of success through several ways. Managers should keep informed about important factors and developments in both their external and internal environments. They can do this by constantly 'scanning' their environment, which is, by establishing and maintaining a network of contacts, maintaining good communication channels, keeping up-to-date in their field and monitoring important issues and activities. This proposal is going to provide a case strategic company analysis on The Body Shop. The focus of the report is to show strategic analysis of the company and the environment around it that influences the organization. An assessment of the organization's existing strategies and impact of the external environment with recommendations to improve will also be included 2. Introduction of selected organization: The Body Shop The Body Shop is an international public limited company and was founded in United Kingdom in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick. The Body Shop is part of the L'Oreal family which is their parent company. Today the company has 2100 stores in 54 countries with a range of over 1200 products all animal cruelty free and many with fairly traded natural ingredients (Thebodyshopinternational.com) 3. Marketing Environment The Body Shop works in a clean environment where they have managed to keep their competitive edge. They work is a diverse environment and they also aim to encourage a healthy environment in the world by working against torture of any kind to humans and animals. Marketing activities are influenced by several factors inside and outside the business firm. These factors or forces influencing marketing decision-making are collectively called marketing environment. It comprises all these factors, which have san impact on market and marketing

Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle Essay Machiavelli in his book â€Å"The Prince† seems to sap the very foundations of morality and stops at nothing short of capsizing the entire edifice of religion. His thoughts resonate with a loathing of true virtue and propagate corrupted politics. Actually, today the term Machiavellianism is used to refer to the use of deceitfulness to advance one’s goals or desires. In ‘The Prince†, Machiavelli breaks from the classical view of virtue as represented by his philosophic predecessors Plato and Aristotle. Whereas his predecessors held virtue in an ideal environment (idealism), Machiavelli defined virtue in a real environment where one is judged by his actions and not by the way his actions ought to be (realism). According to Plato and Aristotle good life only exists in total virtue where a person will be most happy. Plato places emphasis on the extinction of personal desires through love so that one can achieve happiness (Barker, 1959). Aristotle on the other hand believes that an ideal or perfect state brings out the virtue in all men. A person will gain happiness when all their actions and goals are virtuous. This implies that according to Aristotle happiness is a group goal and not an individual goal (Barker, 1959). Plato equally in bringing out the essence of love which must be shared among people suggests that happiness is a group goal. However, virtue in the Machiavellian sense seems to lack a moral tone. By virtue, he alludes to personal qualities needed for the achievement of one’s own ends (Machiavelli, 1998). His view seems to be directed at self interests and not a common goal. In pursuing personal interests, one is not careful about the means by which he does so and therefore is not bound by a moral imperative. In â€Å"The Prince† Machiavelli describes two types of principalities. One is hereditary and the other is acquired. He observes that though no virtue is required to attain a hereditary principality, it takes virtue to acquire and maintain a new principality. The basis of his views does not entirely contradict the classical view on morality, however, he goes on further to illustrate and make allowances for evil, and this is what brings about the contradiction. For example Machiavelli states, â€Å"When a new territory does not share the same language and culture as the prince’s original territory, the prince must have the wisdom and ability to assimilate the new territory† (Machiavelli, 1998). This view wholly concurs with Plato’s on the need for wisdom as a virtue. On ability however, Machiavelli alludes to the use of force or violent means which defies views on classical morality. In the same chapter, he goes on to say that a prince ought to protect his weaker neighbors and prevent the powerful ones from gaining more power. The virtue of courage here echoes the principle virtues as outlined by Plato, courage being one of them. However, Machiavelli encourages the prince not to hesitate in using force to enforce this (Machiavelli, 1998). This goes against the grain of conventional virtue as it encourages people in power to use whatever means, even ruthless, to preserve their power. Machiavelli suggests two ways by which a private citizen can become a prince, either by fortune or by ability. Among those who became princes through ability, Machiavelli cites Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, and Francesco Sforza among others. He gives the example of Borgia who inherited power and later lost it to dissuade princes from depending on fortune but rather to use their abilities to attain success. He makes it clear that virtue or ability is more related to statecraft and less related to morality. In undermining morality, he allows for the use of force to gain and preserve power. He says â€Å"A prince who comes to power by evil means is said to have neither fortune nor ability. Such a prince may gain power, but not glory† (Machiavelli, 1998). By â€Å"evil means,† he refers to the use cruelty in proper and improper ways. He explains that if cruelty is utilized to achieve a necessary goal, then it is proper. However, if it is used to achieve no purpose but to instill f ear into the citizens, it is improper. Consequently, the proper use of force according to Machiavelli is a virtue. This contradicts the virtue of moderation as outlined by Plato which puts restrictions on the use of extreme means such as the use of force to achieve goals. One can infer that Plato would advocate for diplomacy rather than force if a prince aimed at achieving allegiance from his subjects. According to Plato, good life is only attained through perfect love which comes about by a submersion of personal desire. According to Machiavelli, â€Å"a prince does not have to be loved by the people, though still he must not be hated† (Machiavelli, 1998). He goes further to explain that history has revealed that men who were not loved but feared were more effective leaders. A ruler who brings mayhem to his state because of his imprudent kindness should not be considered a good leader. For Machiavelli, the virtue a prince should pursue is â€Å"fear from his subjects and not love (Machiavelli, 1998). Such a prince, he explains, will be able to sustain the morale of his subjects, which takes both wisdom and courage. Therefore according to Machiavelli the prince is better of being feared than loved which contradicts the earlier views of Plato, who placed a great emphasis on the pursuit of love as a major virtue. In chapter eighteen of â€Å"The Prince† Machiavelli argues that total honesty is only practical in an ideal world. However, since the world is characterized by dishonest men, a prince cannot be expected to keep all his pledges. Therefore he should endeavor to use deception to his benefit. Machiavelli uses the analogy of the fox and the lion to encourage the prince to be both cunning and courageous. He explains that whereas â€Å"the fox can recognize snares but cannot drive away wolves, the lion can drive away wolves but cannot recognize snares† (Machiavelli, 1998).In this he means that a prince does not need to possess good qualities but should just appear to possess them, since subjects are only interested in outward appearances if they lead to a favorable end. It is from this view that the term ‘Machiavellianism† has been coined to in today’s usage to mean the use of cunningness to achieve undue advantage over one’s subjects. In comparison to the classical view of virtue, Machiavelli’s view lacks a moral sense. Machiavelli’s work on the prince has received wide criticism from a large front including the Catholic Church. As the devil’s advocate, he seems to break away from the conventional virtues of his predecessors Plato and Aristotle openly deriding the church and its fundamentals. Whereas Plato and Aristotle relate living virtuously to godliness, Machiavelli’s virtue involves lying and subordinating atrocious means to practical ends. Realism, which Machiavelli subscribed to, has been defined as a cynical view to politics devoted to furthering personal interests with no regard to moral or religious structures (Schaub, 1998). This view implies that a prince can be at odds with the moral virtue, a contradiction to the classical concept of virtue postulated by both Plato and Aristotle. At a glance of Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince†, we largely infer that he goes all out to ill advice the prince against the classical virtues of his predecessors. He seems to herald the triumph of evil over good. However, taking a critical look at the work, one cannot help but notice gaps and disjunctions in the text. For example the characters he picks to illustrate his case. In showing the proper and effective use of cruelty in chapter seventeen, he uses Hannibal and compares him to Scipio as compassionate and therefore ineffective. This is violently at odds with the truth and is ironic at the same time because Scipio accused of compassion defeats Hannibal at the battle of Zama (Machiavelli, 1998). Also, Machiavelli writes in Italian and not Latin, the language of the scholars of whom the princes are. This leaves the question as to who exactly was his target audience. Was he really advising the princes who already knew how to be cruel or was it the subjects, and if the subjects then for what purpose. Therefore, just as much as we have illustrated how Machiavelli strays from the classical virtue, it rests upon the attentive reader to ingest and make a personal judgment as to what Machiavelli really intended to put across.

The TV Made Me Do It Essay -- essays research papers

Violence on TV affects how children view themselves, their world, and other people. In fact, experts warn that viewing violence can have lifelong harmful effects on children’s health. By the time children complete school, the average child will witness more than 100,000 acts of violence on TV, including 8,000 murders. The more violence children watch on TV, the more likely they may act in aggressive ways, become less sensitive to other’s pain and suffering, and be more fearful of the world around them. Since we live in a violent society, we’re constantly hearing arguments that seeing TV violence, particularly children, desensitizes us so we accept real violence more easily and maybe it even triggers real violence. The theory behind the TV attacks is always the same: if Bobby commits a crime, he’s not responsible and his parents are not responsible: something else is responsible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem in this society isn’t the easy availability of drugs, or guns, or television, although all are scapegoted. All of these things simply do only what we have them do. All supposedly scientific studies on the subject of TV violence causing real violence are based on a theory of cause-and-effect that goes against humans having the capability of making responsible, moral choices. So is the media causing the nation to stray away from the â€Å"old fashion valuesâ€Å"? We are voluntary beings by nature: we chose what we do and what we make of ourselves. For example, you take...

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 8

A sharp, acrid odor assaulted her nostrils. She had to blink away tears as she held the bottle over the fire and very carefully tipped it. One drop, two drops, three. The fire flared, burning blue. It was ready. The balefire that was the only way to get a spirit from the other side-apart from crossing the veil and fetching it back yourself. Thea took Phoebe's amulet in both hands and snapped it, cracking the clay and breaking the seal. Then, holding the broken amulet over the fire, she said the words of power she'd heard the elders speaking last Samhain. â€Å"May I be given the Power of the Words of Hecate.† Instantly, she found words coming to her, rolling off her tongue. She heard them as if it were somebody else talking. From beyond the veil†¦ I call you back! Through the mist of years†¦ I call you back! From the airy void†¦ I call you back! Through the narrow path†¦ I call you back! To the heart of the flame†¦ I call you back! Come speedily, conveniently, and without delay! She felt a rumbling vibration like an earthquake rock the floor. Above the ordinary fire different flames seemed to burn; cold, ghostly flames that were pale blue and violet and rose to lick at her knuckles. She started to open her hands, to let the amulet fall into the magical flame. But just as she was about to do it, there was a bang. The door to her bedroom swung open, and for the second time in twelve hours she found herself horrified to see Blaise. â€Å"The whole place is shaking-what are you doing?† â€Å"Blaise-just stay back!† Blaise stared. Her jaw dropped and she lunged forward. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"It's almost finished-â€Å" â€Å"You're crazy!† Blaise grabbed at the amulet in Thea's hands, and then, when Thea snatched her hands back, at the silver box. â€Å"Leave it alone!† Thea grabbed the other side of the box. They were struggling with it, each trying to pull it from the other. Fire scorched Thea's hands. â€Å"Let go!† Blaise shouted, trying to twist the box away. â€Å"I'm warning you-â€Å" Thea's fingers were damp with sweat. The box slipped. That was when it happened. The silver box flipped in Blaise's hands, sending a spray of amulets everywhere. Locks of gray hair, black hair, red hair, all flying. Most of them hit the floor-but one landed directly in the balefire. Thea heard a crack as the clay seal broke. For one second she was frozen, then she plunged her hand into the fire. But the clay was already burning-not red hot, but white hot. She couldn't close her fingers around it. For just an instant she seemed to see a symbol etched in blue flames, and then a flash like sheet lightning exploded from the fire. It knocked her into Blaise's bed and Blaise into the wall. The lightning formed a column and something shot out. Thea didn't so much see it as sense it. A wraith shape that tore around the room like a blast of arctic wind. It sent books and articles of clothing flying. When it reached the window, it seemed to pause for an instant, as if gathering itself, and then it shot through as if the glass didn't exist. It was gone. â€Å"Great Mother of life,† Blaise whispered from against the wall. She was staring at the window with huge luminous eyes-and she was scared. Blaise was scared. That was when Thea realized how bad things were. â€Å"What have we done?† she whispered. â€Å"What have we done-what have you done, that's the question,† Blaise snapped, sitting up and looking more like her ordinary self. â€Å"What was that thing?† Defensively, Thea gestured at the scattered amulets. â€Å"What do you think? A witch.† , â€Å"But who?† â€Å"How should I know?† Thea almost yelled, fear giving way to anger. â€Å"This is the one I was going to call back.† She snatched up the â€Å"auburn hair and cracked amulet of Phoebe Garner. â€Å"That one was just whichever one fell out when you grabbed the box.† â€Å"Don't try to make this my fault. You're the one doing forbidden spells. You're the one summoning ancestors. And whatever happens with that one†- Blaise pointed at the window-â€Å"you're the one responsible.† She got up and shook out her hair, standing tall. â€Å"And that's what you get for trying to sic the spirits on me!† She turned and stalked out the door. â€Å"I wasn't trying to sic the spirits on you!† Thea shouted-but the door had already slammed shut. Thea's anger collapsed. Feeling numb, she looked at the overturned silver box, where she had temporarily stored the tissue with Eric's blood. I was just trying to find a protector for him. Somebody who'd help him fend off your spells, who'd understand that he's a person even though he's a human. She looked forlornly around the room. Then, feeling older than Gran, she struggled to her feet and started mechanically cleaning up the mess. When she dumped the ashes out of the bowl she found some sort of residue sticking to the bottom. She couldn't wash it off and she couldn't pry it off with a steak knife. She stashed the entire bowl under her bed. All the while she cleaned, her mind kept churning. Who got out? No way to know. Process of elimination wouldn't help, not with all those unmarked amulets. What to do now? She didn't know that either. If I tell anyone-even Gran-they'll want to know why I was trying to summon the dead. But if they find out the truth, it means death for me and Eric. Around sunset, a limousine pulled up in the back alley. Thea saw it from her window and rushed downstairs in alarm. Grandma was being helped out of the car by two politely expressionless vampires. Servants of Thierry's. â€Å"Gran, what happened?† â€Å"Nothing happened. I had a little weak spell, that's all!† She whacked at one of the vampires with her cane. â€Å"I can help myself, son!† â€Å"Ma'am,† said the vampire-who might have been three or four times Grandma's age. To Thea, he said, â€Å"Your grandmother fainted-she was pretty sick there for a while.† â€Å"And that good-for-nothing apprentice of mine never showed up,† Gran said, making her way to the back door. Thea nodded good-bye to the vampires. â€Å"Gran-it was my fault about Tobias. I let him have the day off.† Her stomach, which had been clenched like a fist all day, seemed to draw even tighter now. â€Å"Are you really sick?† â€Å"I'm good for a few years yet.† She began laboriously working her way up the stairs. â€Å"Vampires just don't understand old age.† â€Å"What did you go there for?† Gran stopped to cough. â€Å"None of your business, but I had to settle some arrangements with Thierry. He's agreed to let the Inner Circle use his land on Samhain.† Upstairs, Thea made some herb tea in the tiny kitchenette. And then, when Gran was in bed with the tea, she gathered her courage. â€Å"Gran, when the elders call up the spirits on Samhain-how do they send them back?† â€Å"Why should you want to know?† Gran said crossly. But when Thea just looked at her, she went on. â€Å"There are certain spells that are used for summoning-and don't you ask me what they are-and you say those backwards to send them back. The witch who calls a spirit has to be the one to dismiss it.† So only I can do it. â€Å"And that's all?† Thea asked. â€Å"Oh, of course not. It's a long process of kindling the fire and strewing the herbs-but if you do it all right, you can draw the spirit down from between the standing stones and send it back where it came from.† Grandma went on muttering, but Thea had snagged on a earlier phrase. â€Å"From between-the standing stones†¦ ?† she got out. â€Å"The standing stones that encircle the spirits. Well, think, Thea! If you didn't have a circle of some kind to hold them in, they'd just-voom.† Gran made a gesture. â€Å"They'd zip out and how would you ever find them again? That's why I went to Thierry today/' she added, taking a noisy sip of tea. â€Å"We need a place where the sandstone forms a natural circle†¦ and naturally it's up to me to arrange everything†¦.† She went on grumbling softly. Thea felt faint. â€Å"You have to be-physically close to them-to send them back?† â€Å"Of course. You have to be within spitting distance, And don't think I don't know why you're asking.† Thea stopped breathing. â€Å"You're planning something for Samhain- and it's probably all Blaise's idea. You two are like Maya and Hellewise. But you can forget about it right now- those spells are for the elders, not for girls.† She stopped to cough. â€Å"I don't understand why you want to be crones before you're done being maidens. You ought to enjoy your youth while you have it†¦.† Thea left her still grumbling. She hadn't cast any kind of a circle before calling the spirit. She hadn't realized she was supposed to. And now†¦ how could she ever get close enough to the spirit to send it back? Well-it'll just have to stay out in the world, she told herself bravely. Too bad†¦ but it's not as if there aren't other spirits floating around out there. Maybe if it doesn't like roaming around, it'll come back. But she was sick with guilt and disheartened. Not to mention worried-if only a little-about Gran's fainting spell. Blaise didn't come to bed. She stayed downstairs and worked on her necklace long into the night. On Monday, everyone at school was talking about Randy Marik and the ruined dance. The girls were annoyed about it and furious with Blaise; the boys were annoyed and furious with Randy. â€Å"Are you okay?† Dani asked Thea after world lit class. â€Å"You look kind of pale.† Thea smiled wanly. â€Å"It was a busy weekend.† â€Å"Really? Did you do something with Eric?† The way she said â€Å"do something† alerted Thea. Dani's heart-shaped face looked as sweet and concerned as ever†¦ but Thea couldn't trust even her. She was a Night Person, a witch, a human-hater. It didn't matter. Thea was so edgy that the words just seemed to burst out. â€Å"Do something like what? Smash his car? Turn him into a toad?† Dani looked shocked, her velvet-dark eyes wide. Thea turned and walked quickly away. Stupid, stupid, she told herself. That was so dumb of you. You may not have to pretend to be playing with Eric in front of Blaise anymore-but in front of the other witches you've got to keep acting. She headed almost blindly for Eric's locker, ignoring the people she passed. I've only been here a week. How can everything in my life have become so awful? I'm at war with Blaise; I've worked a forbidden spell; I don't dare talk to Gran-and I've broken Night World law. â€Å"Thea! I was looking for you.† It was Eric's voice. Warm, eager-everything that Thea wasn't. She turned to see green eyes flecked with dancing gray and an astonishing smile. A smile that drew her in, changing the world. Maybe everything was going to be all right, after all. â€Å"I called you yesterday, but I just kept getting the machine.† Thea hadn't even looked at the answering machine. â€Å"I'm sorry-there was a lot going on.† Eric looked so kind that she groped for something that had been going on that she could tell him about. â€Å"My grandmother's been sick.† He sobered at once. â€Å"That's terrible.† â€Å"Yes.† Thea fished in her backpack for the small herb pillow she'd put there this morning. Then she hesitated. â€Å"Eric†¦ is there somewhere we could go to talk alone? Just for a few minutes? I want to give you something.† He blinked, then waggled his eyebrows. â€Å"Nothing I'd like better. And I know just the place. Come on.† He led her across campus to a large building that stood apart from the rest of the complex. It had a shabby look and the paint on the double doors was blistered. A banner announced in orange and black letters: don't miss the .ultimate Halloween party. â€Å"What is this?† Eric, who was opening the door, put a finger to his lips. He glanced inside, then beckoned to her. â€Å"It's the old gym. They're supposed to be renovating it as a student center, but there isn't enough money.† He snorted. â€Å"Probably because they're spending too much on renovating downtown. Now- what was it you wanted to give me?† â€Å"It†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea stopped dead as she took in her surroundings. All thoughts of the herb pillow vanished. â€Å"Eric-†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stared around her, feeling a slow wave of sickness roil through her stomach. â€Å"Is this†¦ for the Halloween party?†. â€Å"Yeah. They do a couple fund-raisers a semester here. This is kind of a weird one-but they did it last year and it brought in a lot.† Not weird, Thea thought numbly. Weird doesn't begin to describe it. Half the room was empty, just scuffed hardwood floor, a broken basketball backboard, and exposed pipes in the ceiling. But the other half looked like a cross between a medieval dungeon and a casino. She walked slowly toward it, her footsteps echoing. Wooden booths of various sizes were decorated with orange and black crepe paper and fake spider webs. Thea read one banner after another. â€Å"Fortune telling†¦ Drench a Wench†¦ Bobbing for Shrunken Heads?† â€Å"It's bobbing for apples really,† Eric said, seeming embarrassed. â€Å"And the gambling isn't real. You do it all with goblin money and exchange it for prizes.† Thea couldn't stop looking at the booths. Wheel of Torture: a money wheel with a dummy dressed like a witch spreadeagled in the middle. Bloody Blackjack. Devil's Darts†¦ a dart game with a cork witch as a target. And there were witch figures everywhere. Cloth witches on nooses hanging from the overhead pipes. Cardboard witches leering from the tops of booths. Paper witches dancing on the wall. They were fat, skinny, white-haired, gray-haired, cross-eyed, squint-eyed, warty, funny, scary†¦ and ugly. That was the one thing they all had in common. That's what they think of us. Humans. All humans†¦ â€Å"Thea? Are you okay?† Thea whirled. â€Å"No, I am not okay.† She gestured around the room. â€Å"Will you look at this stuff? Do you really think it's funny? Something to party about?† Hardly aware of what she was doing, she spun him around to face The Iron Maiden-a wooden replica with rubber spikes. â€Å"What are people going to do? Pay to step into that? Don't they realize that it used to be real? That real people were put in it, and that when the door closed, those spikes went into them, into their arms and their stomachs and their eyes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She couldn't go on. Eric looked as stricken as Dani had earlier. He'd never seen her like this. â€Å"Thea-look, I'm sorry†¦ I never thought†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Or that.† Thea gestured toward the Wheel of Torture, the words tumbling out. â€Å"Do you know how they really put a witch on the wheel? They broke every bone in her body so they could just thread her arms and legs through the spokes like spaghetti. Then they put the wheel on a pole and left her up there to die†¦.† Eric's face contracted with horror. â€Å"God, Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And these pictures–the witches who got tortured didn't have green skin and evil eyes. They weren't monsters, and they didn't have anything to do with devils. They were people.† Eric reached out for her, but she spun away, staring at a particularly ugly hag on the wall. â€Å"Do you think this place is all right for a party? That this is good fun? That witches look like that?† She flung out an arm, close to being hysterical. â€Å"Well, do you?† In her mind's eye she could see the world: Dani and Blaise and all other witches on the left; Eric and the students here and all other humans on the right, both races hating and despising each other-and herself somewhere in the middle. Eric caught her shoulders. â€Å"No, I don't think it's all right. Thea, will you just listen to me for a second?† He was almost shaking her-but she could see that there were tears forming at the corners of his eyes. â€Å"I feel awful,† he said. â€Å"I never thought about taking this stuff seriously-and that's my own stupid fault, and I know it's not an excuse. But now that you say it, I do see how terrible it is, and I'm sorry. And I never should have brought you here, of all people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea, who had been starting to relax, stiffened again. â€Å"Why me ‘of all people'?† she demanded. He hesitated a moment, then met her eyes and spoke quietly. â€Å"Because of your grandma's store. I mean, I know it's just herbs and positive thinking- but I also, know that in the old days, there would have been somebody out there pointing a finger and calling her a witch.† Thea relaxed again. It was okay for people to think Gran was a witch-if by â€Å"witch† they meant someone who talked to plants and mixed up homemade hair tonic. And she couldn't disbelieve Eric, not under the intensity of those steady green eyes. But she saw an opportunity and seized it. â€Å"Yeah, and they'd probably have burned me for giving you this present,† she said, opening her hand. â€Å"And you'd probably have been scared or superstitious if I asked you to keep it with you all the time: you'd think I was putting some kind of a spell on you-â€Å" â€Å"I wouldn't think anything,† he said firmly, taking the little green pillow from her. It smelled like fresh New Hampshire pine needles, which was what was in it-mainly. She'd also added a few protective herbs and an Ishtar crystal, a golden beryl in a star cut with thirty-three facets, carved with the name of the Babylonian mother goddess. The charm was the best she could do to help him fend off Blaise's spells. â€Å"I would just kiss it and put it my pocket and never let it out of my sight,† Eric went on. And he did, stopping after the kiss to say, â€Å"Mm, smells good.† Thea couldn't help smiling at him. She chanced saying, â€Å"Actually, it's just to remind you of me.† â€Å"It will never leave my pocket,† he said solemnly. Well, that worked out nicely. â€Å"Look, there's probably something we can do about this place,† Eric said, glancing around again. â€Å"The school board doesn't want any bad publicity. Why don't I run and borrow a camera from the journalism class, and we can take some pictures so people will see what we mean when we complain?† Thea glanced at her watch. â€Å"Why not? I think I've already missed French.† He grinned. â€Å"Back in a minute.† When he was gone, Thea wandered slowly among the silent booths, lost in her own thoughts. For a few minutes there, when I was ranting, I almost told him the truth. And then later I thought maybe he'd figured it all out for himself. And would that be so terrible? He's already under sentence of death just because I love him; it doesn't matter if he knows or not. But if he did know†¦ what would he say? Witches may be okay in the abstract-but does he really want one for a girlfriend? The only way to find out was to tell him. She leaned against a ladder and gazed sightlessly at an oilcloth lying beneath a hanging noose. Of course, it was probably all academic anyway. What kind of future could they possibly have†¦ ? Suddenly Thea realized what she was looking at. Underneath that oilcloth was a shoe-and the shoe was connected to something. Subconsciously, she'd been assuming it was another witch dummy†¦ but now she focused. And she felt the hairs on her arms lift and tingle. Why would they dress a witch in black Nike high-tops?

Impact of technology on communication Essay

The ways new technologies of communication affect my interactions. Since the existence of electronic communication I have made friends who are far from where I live. Although not everyone I have met on the internet becomes my friends, some are business associates, others have become my employer and still many have become my friends. My very common means of electronic communication is through live chats such as yahoo messenger and skype. This is where I get immediate feedback as long as the person I am chatting with is online. It requires that both of us have the account which is free of charge. New technology will show me if the person is away, unavailable, online or offline. I also use the email technology and this has helped me cover many distances in terms of education and socializing. I have bought books that I feel I need to read through the internet and the payment I have done through wire transfer. Surprisingly I have not lost any money or got conned as I hear people complaining that the net is full of fraud. I have also got a free lance job with the essay writers and I wrote my application through an email. After a while I got a feedback from them through email and started working for them. I get all my orders through browsing through the list of orders supplied and I work on the orders and then send them to customers through the internet. My questions if any about the orders are direct to the customers as a message that gets addressed within 24 hours. My pay for the work done is through electronic wire transfer. However I lack the face to face opportunity of interacting with these people I work for and although this does not much affect my work I tend to think that maybe if the meeting in face to face was there maybe we would not bond well and maybe wouldn’t work together. Sometimes this happens as some people who I meet face to face can never become my friends, my partners in business or my employer. They are those people who are hard to deal with, people who are not straight, who will look for war always. This I can only judge once I get to interact with a person face to face. Although one can get a vivid idea of some one’s character through their way of writing – that is the language they use, I believe some characteristics can be hidden and not seen through writing but will expose out rightly on face to face basis. I look at the people on television and associate the characteristics of the individuals here with the background they come from. An example movie from Mexico portrays Mexicans as very beautiful people, very hardworking. This is my personal opinion of the Mexicans and although it might not be perfect, I have come to this conclusion through watching television. Television has always shown Africa to be the land of jungle, wild animals moving freely. When I went for a tour in these places I saw exactly this. The last interesting thing that I have got from the net is a fiance. I met this man through skype and after chatting for quite some time we exchanged snaps. In the snap I saw that his physical appearance is what I would want. We did a lot of communication and said what each of us value, our dislikes and likes. When he finally flew to come and see me, I was not surprised for I just saw the very person I have learnt to love and respect on skype. He spoke the same way, looked just as the snap had shown. After a few months we got engaged and we are now looking forward to our wedding!

Second Grade Map Project Ideas

Second Grade Map Project Ideas Here you will find a variety of map project ideas to correlate with your map skills lesson plans. Mapping My World This mapping activity helps children understand where they fit in, in the world. To begin read the story Me on the Map by Joan Sweeny. This will help students become familiar with maps. Then have students cut out eight different colored circles, each circle should progressively get bigger than the first. Attach all circles together with a keychain circle holder, or use a hole punch and a piece of string to attach all of the circles together. Use the following directions to complete the rest of this activity. On the first smallest circle - A picture of the studentOn the second, next biggest circle - A picture of the students house (or bedroom)On the third circle - A picture of the students streetOn the fourth circle - A picture of the townOn the fifth circle - A picture of the stateOn the sixth circle - A picture of the countryOn the seventh circle - A picture of the continentOn the eight circle - A picture of the world. Another way to show students how they fit into the world is to take the concept above and use clay. Each layer of clay represents something in their world. Salt Dough Map Have students create a salt map of their state. To begin first print out the state map. Yourchildlearnsmaps is a great site to use for this, you might have to tape the map together though. Next, tape the map to cardboard then trace the outline of the map. Remove the paper and create the salt mixture and place on the cardboard. For an extension activity, students can paint specific landforms on their maps and draw a map key. Body Map A fun way to reinforce cardinal directions is for students to create a body map. Partner students together and have each person take turns tracing the body of their partner. Once students have traced each other then they must place the correct cardinal directions on their own body maps. Students can color and add details to their body maps as they wish. Discovering a New Island This activity is a great way for students to practice mapping skills. Ask students to imagine that they have just discovered an island and they are the first person to have ever seen this place. Their job is to draw a map of this place. Use the following directions to complete this activity. Create an imaginary island. If you like hockey create a Sabre Island if you like Kittens create a Kitty Island. Be creative. Your map should include: A map key with symbolsA compass rose3 man made features ( a house, building, etc)3 natural landscape features ( a mountain, water, volcano, ect.)A title on the top of the page Land-form Dinosaur This activity is perfect to review or assess landforms. To begin have students draw a dinosaur with three humps, a tail, and a head. Plus, a sun and grass. Or, you can provide them with an outline and just have them fill in the words. To see a picture of what this looks like visit this Pinterest page. Next, have students find and label the following things: islandplainlakerivermountainvalleybaypeninsula Students can then color the rest of the picture after it is labeled. Mapping Symbols This cute mapping project was found on Pinterest to help reinforce mapping skills. It is called Barefoot Island. Students draw a foot with the five circles for the toes, and label the foot 10-15 symbols that would typically be found on a map. Symbols such as, school, post office, pond, ect. Students must also complete a map key and compass rose to accompany their island. For more mapping project ideas visit my Pinterest page, and to view a few mapping activities read this thematic unit in mapping skills.

How to Remove Ball Point Pen Ink

How to Remove Ball Point Pen Ink Ballpoint pen ink is not something that you can usually remove with simple soap and water, but there is an easy and inexpensive way to remove pen ink from surfaces or clothing. Materials You Will Need to Remove Pen Ink You can use any of a number of common household chemicals to lift away ink. The best of these is alcohol, because it dissolves pigments that are soluble in both water and organic solvents and because its gentle enough that it wont discolor or damage most fabrics. Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol)Shaving cream (if the alcohol doesnt remove the ink)Hairspray (if neither the alcohol nor shaving cream works)Non-flammable dry cleaning fluid (another option) Ink Removal Instructions Dab rubbing alcohol onto the ink.Allow a couple of minutes for the alcohol to penetrate the surface and react with the ink.Blot the ink stain using layers of white paper towels or a cloth that has been dampened in either alcohol or water.If the alcohol is ineffective, try using foaming shaving cream.If the shaving cream doesnt work, hairspray usually will remove ink, but it should only be used as a last resort because hairspray damages some surfaces and fabrics.A non-flammable dry cleaning fluid may remove certain inks. If you use dry cleaning fluid to remove a stain, rinse the area with water afterward. Gel ink pens use an ink that is made to be permanent. Alcohol will not remove gel ink, nor will acid. Sometimes it is possible to wear away gel ink using an eraser. Ink stains in wood usually involve gouges in the wood, which makes it harder to get to the ink. Be sure to remove all traces of alcohol from the wood after the ink has been removed, rinse the affected area with water, and condition the wood to help reverse the drying effects of the alcohol. Why Ballpoint Ink is So Hard to Remove The reason ballpoint pen ink is so tricky to remove is its chemical composition. Ballpoint pens and felt-tip markers consist of pigments and dyes suspended in water and organic solvents, which may include toluene, glyco-ethers, propylene glycol, and propyl alcohol. Other ingredients may be added to help the ink flow or stick to the page, such as resins, wetting agents, and preservatives. Basically, removing the ink requires a solvent that works with both polar (water) and nonpolar (organic) molecules. Because of the nature of the ink, its important to remove the stain before dry cleaning, because the solvents used in the process can release the stain and spread it to other parts of the fabric.

The Global Impacts of the Black Death

The Global Impacts of the Black Death The Black Death was one of the worst pandemics in human history. In the 14th century, at least 75 million people on three continents perished due to the painful, highly contagious disease. Originating from fleas on rodents in China, the â€Å"Great Pestilence† spread westward and spared few regions. In Europe’s cities, hundreds died daily and their bodies were usually thrown into mass graves. The plague devastated towns, rural communities, families, and religious institutions. Following centuries of a rise in population, the world’s population experienced a catastrophic reduction and would not be replenished for more than one hundred years. Origins and Path of the Black Death Silk Road Science of the Black Death Types and Symptoms of the Plague Death Toll Estimates of the Black Death Unexpected Economic Benefit of the Black Death Cultural and Social Beliefs and Changes of the Black Death Jews Protestantism Scourge Spread Across the World The Black Death of the 14th century was a tremendous interrupter of worldwide population growth. The bubonic plague still exists, although it can now be treated with antibiotics. Fleas and their unknowing human carriers traveled across a hemisphere and infected one person after another. Survivors of this swift menace seized the opportunities that arose from altered social and economic structures. Although humanity will never know the exact death toll, researchers will continue to study the epidemiology and history of the plague to ensure that this horror never happens again.

Shale gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Shale gas - Essay Example the middle of crisis; an economy struggling with a huge debt problems in the wake of a deadly financial meltdown as well as the damages caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to the U.S. Gulf natural gas supply infrastructure adding fodder to the skyrocketing crude oil prices in the world market. That although the recession that began with the global financial crisis, fine-tuned by the catastrophic events mentioned, had their effects in lowering the demand for natural gas, the supply of shale gas production, which increased tenfold between 2005 and 2010, tremendously slashed the natural gas prices, in effect boosting/repairing demand in almost all sectors damaged by the unfortunate events above. To be specific, the wellhead prices for US natural gas currently trading at approximately 4 USD/Mbtu was as high as 8 USD/Mbtu and above prior to 2008; a tremendous improvement of the affordability of the commodity irrespective of the final consumer (Spencer, et al. 16). More generally, shale gas has displaced the more expensive and costly sources of energy such as coal, in effect, spurring investments in energy intensive sectors of the economy. Accordingly, hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created either directly or indirectly by â€Å"reshoring† plants established abroad due to escalating costs on the same and substantially lowering the cost of capital and/or operational costs for fresh businesses; the ready availability of a cheap energy source, massively reducing the US net imports of oil and gas, has more than assured investments of a steady flow of energy with stable prices, thus, ensuring a steady rebounding of employments levels that suffered heavy blows after the events already mentioned (Spencer, et al. 16-17). There are currently more than 20 major facilities for the production of shale gas either under construction or on their final planning phases, all in efforts to use natural gas as fuel; a fact that has boosted inve stors confidence to the effect

Personal Musical Soundscape and Its Role in my Life Essay

Personal Musical Soundscape and Its Role in my Life - Essay Example It is said that music is sometimes food for the soul. It soothes the heart and gives the mind a line for meditation. This is because it sometimes triggers a string of thoughts and reflections about different aspects of an individual’s life. This is no exception for me when I listen to shidaiqu music. I was born and raised in China, therefore I am Chinese. I was born in Daqing, which is located in the North Eastern part of China. Known for its large petroleum deposits and high production of petroleum, Daqing is highly cosmopolitan and hosts very many tourists during peak tourism seasons of the year. This is because of some its tourist attractions such as Lianhuanhu area and Linhua Lake. This has caused some of the tourists to settle in the area and thus make it cosmopolitan and brought significant western influences. I attended school in Daqing area and went to Daqing Tieren High School. The system of education here allowed students to study art subjects and thus I decided to s tudy music. Here, I was exposed to different other types of music and was able to understand the history and development of my favorite music.

Surveillance and Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Surveillance and Democracy - Essay Example As seen in s8(2) there has been built into the statute several exceptions which leaves the law somewhat open to interpretation. Firstly, as held in Malone v UK (1984) 7 EHRR 14, the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence is not to be infringed upon unless there is statute to the contrary to which the citizens are aware. As stated in Taylor (2002) the EU court has been especially stringent with regard to personal communications (see Kopp v Switzerland (1999) 27 EHRR 91). In this case, the court held that state infringement upon private communications of the citizens displayed a serious breach against their right to a private life. The EU Convention of Human Rights has maintained that if there is to be a breach of citizen's right to private life it must be for a specific legal purpose, that is to say supported by legal statute. The last area to consider within the framework of the EU Convention of Human Rights is to ascertain the balance of individual citizens' rights against that of the greater good. In short, according to Taylor (2002) this balance requires a test of proportions, essentially measuring the pros and cons. In short, it is imperative that the state within the legal framework on a case by case basis weigh the facts and determine if the great good will outweigh the individual infringement upon an individual citizen. As stated previous the EU as found in the Human Rights Act and as discussed previous has upheld that any infringement must be legitimized by state statute. This was upheld with regard to the tapping of personal phones in the UK. In Malone v Metropolitan Police Commissioner No.2 [1979] 2 WLR 700 the court held that the police had used a wiretap to obtain information regarding the defendant's criminal activity. As the UK had no statute on the books legitimizing the wiretap and therefore infringement on the defendant's right to privacy with respect to personal communications the conviction was overturned upon appeal to the EU. Even though there had been prior precedent for wiretapping as established by the government without a binding legal framework, the EU found the legitimate exception rule had not been met. In an attempt to reactivity the lack of statute the UK passed the Interception of Communications Act 1985. However this act provide ineffective in providing the legal framework necessary to obtain little more than wiretaps for public telephones. In case and after case specific modes of communication were found to be exceptions to this law (i.e. cordless telephones, private networks etc). The statute was tested even further when the police used a listening device to obtain a confession and eventual conviction of a heroine smuggler. On appeal within the UK in (R v Khan [1996] 3 WLR 162, the court found that even if the confession were to be determined later to be in breach of s(8) the court could not justify overturning the verdict. The defendant did appeal to the EU and the court found t

Piety and Impiety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Piety and Impiety - Essay Example Eve was created from Adams ribs. She was persuasive because finally she made Adam took the forbidden fruit. Secondly, another women depicted in the bible was Ruth. Ruth was Orpah’s sister, and she was her sister in law. Both were the daughters of king Eglon of Moab. Ruth was a member of a royal family. The Hebrews scripture shows Ruth as a loyal woman towards Naomi in her charitable work. She was a modesty woman. Ruth followed each instruction she got from Naomi. When she joined the people of Israel, she was working in the field of Boaz. â€Å"When he saw that she was pleasing and her actions were pleasing, he began to ask about her† 1(Ruth Rabbah 4:9), Boaz took note of her deeds as clearly shown in the bible. Ruth is generally someone who is has an exemplary figure in all traditions aspects. Someone who accepted the Jews religion in her own will due to her belief but not merely out of loyalty to her mother in law. Ruth’s character is based on commitment that sh e makes to Naomi. Ruth also acted like a man in some point to hide her identity â€Å"she girded her loins as a man† (Ruth Rabbah 7:2). According to the bible, Job’s wife cursed and left him when job was in need but that was not the end of the story. Could it be possible that love conquered all? Jobs wife always gets little grace and mercy when she advises Job to curse God. She was struggling in her faith having just lost ten children and all their property. â€Å"The odyssey† by homer is an epic poem is talking about Odysseus’ going back to his wife and son in Ithica after Trojan War. Women play a big role in this epic poem. Odysseus son, Telemachus tries to gain power in the presence of suitors but he did not succeed. He then goes his own way under the guidance of Athena. Throughout the epic poem women are depicted as people who are mothers, servants, seductresses, some have combined character. The cultural role of women stands out in the role of female characters of Athena and Penelope together rejecting the bad characters of Calypso and Circe, as in the odyssey in the Homer. As shown in bible some women like Ruth, Eve and Jobs wife were also having the same characters. These women seemed to have control over their men. Mothers were portrayed in this poem are seen as people who had pity and sorrow because they were not true supporters of their sons and husbands during the time of war. Actually, these women needed support from males whether they were their husbands and sons. Telemachus removed Penelope from the room, so that he can show his suitors of his intention to ask for his father’s throne. In addition, Anticlea, Odysseus’ mother committed suicide because she missed Odysseus and thought was death clearly shows how these women needed support from male. Mothers always needed to protect their sons and husbands, look after them, and nurture them. Like Hebrew Scriptures, the entire structure of Greek always boasts i ts men to have more superior roles than women. They believed that good women were to be faithfully do work for their husbands and support them totally. Women were not to astray from these essential behaviors. For example Athena is a very strong character in the book, as tried to help Odysseus to go back home to Ithaca. However, Telemechus was to become more of a man. Therefore, Athena goes to visit Telemachus, disguised as a male mentor. This shows how men advice was more accepted that of women counsel.

Existentialism in European Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Existentialism in European Art - Essay Example This art is still relevant today for all practical purposes and will be demonstrated as such. Europe had been left ravaged by Hitler and the Nazis. There was a great deal of despair in the region over the fact that for six years (1939-1945), basically Europe had been Hitler's stomping grounds. In 1938, Austria fell; in 1939, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia; also in 1939, Poland fell; Belgium, France, and the Netherlands surrendered in 1940; and Luxembourg fell in 1940 and was annexed to Germany.1 Then, also in 1940, Denmark and Norway were invaded, and Romania surrendered to Germany; Germany entered the Soviet Union in 1941 and lost; and then Yugoslavia, Greece, and Estonia all surrendered to Germany in 1941.2 By the end of the war, the U.S.S.R. (the United Soviet Socialist Republic) controlled a majority of Europe. In most countries, the U.S.S.R. put communist factions in control. Also, a few Baltic nations were annexed to the U.S.S.R. Germany was required to make reparations to several countries, notwithstanding. Much of these accoutrements had to be made in order to pacify the Allies' thirst for power in a declining German economy. In many ways, this was payback for the Nazism that had ravaged Europe. Germany was reduced to being in a bad situation financially, about where it had been before the start of World War II economically. At the end of World War II, people were ... Also, a few Baltic nations were annexed to the U.S.S.R. Germany was perhaps affected in the worst way in some senses of the word. There was an economic depression of sorts, and the country had to be entirely rid of Nazi policy and symbolism. Several German and Polish people were banished from their countries of origin due to the way Europe was divided based on post-war treaties. Germany was required to make reparations to several countries, notwithstanding. Much of these accoutrements had to be made in order to pacify the Allies' thirst for power in a declining German economy. In many ways, this was payback for the Nazism that had ravaged Europe. Germany was reduced to being in a bad situation financially, about where it had been before the start of World War II economically. At the end of World War II, people were seeking answers about existence and selfhood. After having lived through the concentration camps and the occupations, Europe was ready for a paradigm shift in the way people connected to one another (themselves) as well as other people. People were seeking more out of life. They wanted to know answers to the questions "Who am I" and "Why am I here" Post-World War II, many people were left wondering what to do with themselves. Now that they were free, people had the time on their hands to finally navel-gaze and be disaffected observers. For now, they were not the ones being interrogated. It was their turn to interrogate others and ask of life all of the questions that filled their souls with longing. People were struggling not to be bored (when they weren't in dire need of worrying about surviving, of course). And, surviving was an entirely different topic altogether that needed to be addressed. Many survivors of World War II

Reformation and the Arts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Reformation and the Arts - Assignment Example In an attempt to keep the followers in the church, the Catholic religion undertook their own self-reformation, which came to be known as the Counter-Reformation. One aspect of their disagreement was over the portrayal of their visual art. The resulting factions created different artistic styles, though their outcome would be counterproductive to their original intent. The church had fallen under negative scrutiny during the fourteenth century and was marked by material excesses by church leaders while oppressing the lower clergy. Humanism and the Renaissance ideas were cultivated in Rome and their perceived abuses became the target of newly empowered city-states. The decline of papal power and material corruption of the church during the 14th and 15th centuries set the stage for the first severe blow to the church, the papal schism in 1378 (Kirsch 1911). However, the most popular symbolic blow came when Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in 1517 (Bates 1999, Luther 1915). The Theses called for a dramatic overhaul of the church and began the Reformation. The Counter-Reformation is the period of "Catholic revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the Thirty Years War, 1648" (Pollen 1908). During this period the church tried to rebuke the Lutherans and Protestants for their stand on the subservience of Church to State, the marriage of the clergy, and doctrinal error (Pollen 1908). However, the church underwent little fundamental change, did not alter the State constitutions, or generate any great enthusiasm by its members. One noticeable change the church underwent was the portrayal of its visual arts. The church had moved away from art dominated by religious figures and had begun to portray man as the center of spiritualism as in Michelangelo's Creation of Adam circa 1500. Reformers believed this elevated man to a state of spiritual arrogance and wanted art to represent only religious figure s. The church did do some movement back toward commissioning strictly religious art during the Counter-Reformation (Nosotro 2005).

Existentialism in European Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Existentialism in European Art - Essay Example This art is still relevant today for all practical purposes and will be demonstrated as such. Europe had been left ravaged by Hitler and the Nazis. There was a great deal of despair in the region over the fact that for six years (1939-1945), basically Europe had been Hitler's stomping grounds. In 1938, Austria fell; in 1939, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia; also in 1939, Poland fell; Belgium, France, and the Netherlands surrendered in 1940; and Luxembourg fell in 1940 and was annexed to Germany.1 Then, also in 1940, Denmark and Norway were invaded, and Romania surrendered to Germany; Germany entered the Soviet Union in 1941 and lost; and then Yugoslavia, Greece, and Estonia all surrendered to Germany in 1941.2 By the end of the war, the U.S.S.R. (the United Soviet Socialist Republic) controlled a majority of Europe. In most countries, the U.S.S.R. put communist factions in control. Also, a few Baltic nations were annexed to the U.S.S.R. Germany was required to make reparations to several countries, notwithstanding. Much of these accoutrements had to be made in order to pacify the Allies' thirst for power in a declining German economy. In many ways, this was payback for the Nazism that had ravaged Europe. Germany was reduced to being in a bad situation financially, about where it had been before the start of World War II economically. At the end of World War II, people were ... Also, a few Baltic nations were annexed to the U.S.S.R. Germany was perhaps affected in the worst way in some senses of the word. There was an economic depression of sorts, and the country had to be entirely rid of Nazi policy and symbolism. Several German and Polish people were banished from their countries of origin due to the way Europe was divided based on post-war treaties. Germany was required to make reparations to several countries, notwithstanding. Much of these accoutrements had to be made in order to pacify the Allies' thirst for power in a declining German economy. In many ways, this was payback for the Nazism that had ravaged Europe. Germany was reduced to being in a bad situation financially, about where it had been before the start of World War II economically. At the end of World War II, people were seeking answers about existence and selfhood. After having lived through the concentration camps and the occupations, Europe was ready for a paradigm shift in the way people connected to one another (themselves) as well as other people. People were seeking more out of life. They wanted to know answers to the questions "Who am I" and "Why am I here" Post-World War II, many people were left wondering what to do with themselves. Now that they were free, people had the time on their hands to finally navel-gaze and be disaffected observers. For now, they were not the ones being interrogated. It was their turn to interrogate others and ask of life all of the questions that filled their souls with longing. People were struggling not to be bored (when they weren't in dire need of worrying about surviving, of course). And, surviving was an entirely different topic altogether that needed to be addressed. Many survivors of World War II

Public Administration and Apply Behaviorist Theory to a Work Issue Essay

Public Administration and Apply Behaviorist Theory to a Work Issue - Essay Example Each of these concepts describes the change in a person’s behavior and the reason for such changes. The conditioned response relates to an activity that results due to a different incident. The next concept of behaviorist theory is aversive behavior. (Plaud, 1998). A person might exhibit a certain kind of behavior in response to a particular situation. This might be due to the disinterest towards the situation. Reinforcement aims at controlling the negative consequences of a behavior which helps in improving a person’s behavior. Consequences are one among the most important concepts of the behaviorist theory. A consequence generally arises from a particular decision or an action. Consequences generally turn out to be positive or negative depending on the behavior of the person. (Dewey, 1999). The situation too plays a major role in deciding the consequence of an action. These key concepts are generally applied to almost all the problems in varied areas. But these concep ts would perfectly suit an organization that deals with more number of problems and issues related to every single department of its. When comparing the other problems, the issue relating to the company’s production. The most common issue is the decline in the quality of the product a company manufactures.

Creation of the CIA Essay Example for Free

Creation of the CIA Essay Despite the popular perceptions generated by Tom Clancy novels and James Bond movies, American intelligence gathering was not a Cold War invention: it has existed since the Republics founding. George Washington organized his own intelligence unit during the Revolutionary War, sending spies behind enemy lines and overseeing counterespionage operations. In 1790, just three years after the Constitutional Convention, Congress acknowledged executive prerogative to conduct intelligence operations and gave then-President Washington a secret unvouchered fund for spies, if the gentleman so pleases. [1] Intelligence has been a component of American foreign policy ever since. More important for our purposes, Americas growing involvement in world affairs during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to the establishment of several permanent intelligence organizations. In 1882, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was created and charged with collecting technical data about foreign navy ships and weapons. Three years later, the Department of War established its own intelligence unit the Military Intelligence Division (MID). In 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened its doors. By the 1930s, the FBI had become the nations preeminent counterespionage agency and had branched into running intelligence activities in Latin America.[2] The State Department, meanwhile, had developed an expertise and a mission, which focused on overt information collection. Finally, several critical events sparked the creation of a new wartime central intelligence agency under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which collected information, analyzed raw intelligence, and carried out a range of covert, subversive operations abroad — from propaganda, to sabotage, to paramilitary operations. By the end of World War II, these five bureaucratic actors were vying for their own place in the postwar intelligence arena.[3] This was hardly the same straightforward War versus Navy Department environment that gave rise to the National Security Council system or the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is frequently cited that former President Truman never thought that when he created the CIA it would ever be involved in peacetime covert operations. In 1964 Allen Dulles, one of the most influential Directors of Central Intelligence in CIA history, challenged Trumans remarks, saying that although Truman did not care for dirty Gestapo tactics, the CIA had certainly performed them during his presidency.[4] This paper will chronicle the transformation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) into the Central Intelligence Agency. It also will examine how and why the peacetime Central Intelligence Agency came to possess many of the same powers as its wartime predecessor.   In particular this paper will focus on the OSS legacy of covert operations and how the CIA inherited that legacy. The Creation of CIA During World War II, the OSS wielded broad powers, including clandestine intelligence gathering and covert political warfare. William Donovan, Director of the OSS, exhorted the United States to maintain the OSS or a close facsimile of it in the post-war period. The end of the war and the reminder of another secret organization that waged covert political warfare, the Nazi Gestapo, influenced President Truman to dissolve the OSS. However, as the United States gradually entered the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the necessity of a peacetime intelligence agency became apparent. To meet the need, Truman created the Central Intelligence Group (CIG) in 1946.[5] In 1947 Congress transformed the CIG into the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The powers of the CIA increased dramatically as U.S. policymakers began to perceive an increasing threat of Soviet-Communists bent on world domination. By 1952 the CIA closely resembled the wartime OSS, having the same authority and capabilities. At the same time the War Crimes Trials were being conducted at Nuremberg, American intelligence officers were secretly interviewing high-ranking German officers to determine their potential usefulness in supplying intelligence on the Soviet Union. Three critical events were significant influences on the Truman Administration officials who founded and built the CIA. The first was the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which demonstrated that the United States was unprepared, not for want of information, but because no apparatus existed to filter and analyze the large volume of available information in a way that could produce accurate intelligence. This infamous intelligence failure clearly demonstrated that the security of the United States would be greatly compromised until it developed a peacetime centralized intelligence agency.[6] The second significant event was Stalins seizure of political and military control of most of Eastern Europe in violation of his wartime understanding with the Allied Powers. The fighting in Europe had only recently ended when American and foreign reports on Soviet activities in the occupied territories began to distress leaders in Washington, London, and other capitals. The third event concerned the sponsorship by Soviet and Chinese Communists of the North Korean invasion of South Korea. This sponsorship heightened Cold War tensions and strengthened the conviction of policy makers to buttress the CIAs power to fight communism. Pearl Harbor illustrated the need for a peacetime central intelligence service and the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union galvanized the Truman Administration to create a peacetime intelligence organization with quasi-wartime powers. During World War II, the United States created the first American centralized intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). On June 13, 1942, a Military Order issued by President Roosevelt created the OSS and granted it broad powers that included intelligence analysis, clandestine collection, and paramilitary, psychological and political warfare.[7] The agency operated under the authority of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was devoted to the business of sabotage, espionage, counterespionage, and covert action, hallmarks that would be passed on to its successor, the CIA. The OSS was involved in both intelligence gathering and clandestine political warfare. To combine both of these capabilities in one agency, Donovan assigned different functions to separate branches of the OSS. Three of the main branches of the OSS were Special Operations (SO), Secret Intelligence (SI), and Counterintelligence (X-2).[8] The OSS was extremely successful in carrying out covert operations. The first important OSS covert operation was conducted in North Africa. Several assassinations, allegedly including that of Vichy French Admiral Darlan, were carried out by the Morale and Special Operation departments of the Psychological Warfare Division of the OSS. The success of the operation earned the burgeoning agency great respect and notoriety, especially in regards to covert action.  Ã‚   The CIA would soon inherit the OSSs wartime experience and assassination methods.[9]   The OSS was also remarkably successful in setting up and maintaining clandestine agents in Thailand. The OSS established a solid foundation for future CIA activities in the Southeast Asia.[10] Even early in World War II, paramilitary and political covert operations gained support of high-level figures, such as Roosevelt and Eisenhower, and began to eclipse the accomplishments of intelligence collection.  Ã‚   The OSS emphasis on covert paramilitary operations would be one of the primary legacies passed on to the CIA As historian John Ranelagh noted, The benefits of covert paramilitary action in peacetime tended to be favorably regarded on the basis of a romantic recollection of these wartime experiences of the OSS.[11]   Perhaps the most important legacy the OSS bestowed upon the CIA was that of former OSS personnel who filled the ranks of the fledgling CIA with experienced intelligence officers. Four OSS veterans, Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey, went on to become Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency. Throughout the war, the OSS proved to be invaluable in both intelligence collection and covert operations, clearly illustrating the advantages of combining these two capabilities in one agency. In 1944 President Franklin Roosevelt requested a secret memorandum on the subject of a postwar intelligence service from General Donovan, OSS chief. Donovan exhorted President Roosevelt to create a permanent, worldwide intelligence service after the wars end. Donovan anticipated the Cold War struggle: When our enemies are defeated the demand will be equally pressing for information that will aid us in solving the problems of peace.[12]   Donovan went on to argue that the OSS had the trained and specialized personnel needed for the task. This talent should not be dispersed.[13] Donovans proposal was foiled by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted the FBI to have the exclusive right to collect and analyze intelligence on a global level. Hoover obtained a copy of Donovans proposal for a postwar intelligence service and leaked the top-secret document to the Chicago Tribune. The newspaper printed a number of inflammatory stories about Donovans plan to create a super-spy network. Congressional uproar, no doubt spurred by the bad press, caused the peacetime central intelligence agency proposal to be shelved.[14] The cautious Roosevelt was optimistic about Donovans plan, but offered no guarantees. After Roosevelts death and the close of the war, President Truman stated in a letter to Donovan that said he would liquidate those wartime activities of the Office of Strategic Services which will not be needed in time of peace.[15] Truman feared Donovans proposed centralized peacetime intelligence agency might one day be used to spy on Americans.[16] However, the reminders of Pearl Harbor and the intensifying Soviet aggressions made Truman realize that the United States could no longer deny its role as a world leader and, as such, it would require a formidable centralized intelligence agency. Even before Truman abolished the OSS, he recognized the necessity and requested proposals for the creation of an organization to collate and coordinate intelligence.[17] Upon learning of Trumans plan to disband the OSS and transfer functions to separate agencies, Donovan sent a memorandum to President Truman, on September 13, 1945, pleading that in the national interest, and in your own interest as the Chief Executive, that you will not permit this to be done.[18] President Truman, ignoring Donovans objections, issued Executive Order 9621 on September 20, 1945, titled Termination of the Office of Strategic Services and Disposition of Its Functions.[19] According to the Order, the State Department took over the OSS Research and Analysis Branch, while the War Department adopted the remnants of the OSS clandestine collection and counterintelligence branches, which it named the Strategic Services Unit (SSU). The capability that the wartime OSS had developed to perform subversive operations abroad was officially abandoned.[20] In December 1945 Truman deliberated proposals from both the State Department and the Joint Chiefs for a new centralized intelligence agency. Truman ultimately opted for a diluted version of the more simplistic and workable Joint Chiefs proposal.[21] The result was the creation of the Central Intelligence Group (CIG) on January 22, 1946. Naval Reserve Rear Admiral Sidney Souers was selected to be the first Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). President Truman invited Souers to the White House two days after creating the CIG to award him a black cloak and dagger as symbols of his new office.[22] The CIG was drastically understaffed, consisting primarily of officers borrowed from the State Department and the military services. The new agency was only a shadow of the wartime OSS. The CIG had no authorization to collect clandestine foreign information from agents in the field or to form a consensus based on information gathered from other intelligence agencies. The primary function of the agency was to coordinate the flow of intelligence to policymakers. Truman attempted to keep covert action, a prominent part of the OSS, out of this peacetime agency.[23] In reference to the directive creating the CIG, Truman stated, No police, law enforcement or internal security functions shall be exercised under this directive.[24] Compromises in the Joint Chiefs plan to appease the State Department and the Bureau of the Budget had made the CIG an interdepartmental body that lacked its own budget and personnel.[25] However, President Truman greatly appreciated the Daily Summary produced by the CIG. The Daily Summary was prepared according to Trumans own specifications, and when complete satisfied his requirements, it saved him the time of having to search through the hundreds of intelligence reports that normally flooded into the White House.[26] Rear Admiral Sidney Souers, after five months as DCI, was replaced with U.S. Army Air Forces Lieutenant General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. DCI Vandenberg had an impressive military record and had the clout and ambition necessary to build the CIG into an agency that wielded great power. In just one year as Director, Vandenberg broadened the CIGs power to incorporate an independent budget and work force and won the authority to collect and analyze, as well as collate, intelligence. The CIG expanded in importance as the United States attempted to contain the Soviet Union in Europe.[27] At this point, all sides thought the intelligence battle was over. Donovan and OSS were out of the picture, the State Department had come back into the fold, and the president had created a Central Intelligence Group, which left each department to run its own intelligence affairs. As Truman and his warring military services now turned to drafting a compromise military unification bill, the intelligence consensus was clear: any legislation should include provisions codifying the presidents CIG directive. Doing so would freeze the existing intelligence system into law, insulating it from the whims or desires of future political players. On this much, at least, the War and Navy departments agreed.[28] The Central Intelligence Group did not. Ink on the CIG directive had hardly dried before the agency began taking on a life — and agenda of its own. CIGs problems were apparent from the start. During the early months of 1946, departmental intelligence services readily bypassed the central agency, sending their information and taking their case directly to the president They provided CIG with a small budget and a meager, mediocre staff. They refused to share raw intelligence and ignored the agencys efforts to reconcile or synthesize conflicting information. As Anne Karalekas writes, the intelligence units jealously guarded both their information and what they believed were their prerogatives in providing policy guidance to the President, making CIGs primary mission an exercise in futility.[29] The problem was simple: CIGs success hinged on the generosity of those who wanted it to fail. Trumans directive appeared to be working too well. Frustrated with their agencys impotence, CIG officials soon began pressing for substantial changes. In their capacity as National Intelligence Authority members, the Secretaries of War, Navy and State granted some significant concessions. But these were not enough. In July of 1946, CIG General Counsel Lawrence R. Houston sent a draft Bill for the Establishment of a Central Intelligence Agency to the White House which sought to transform CIG from a small planning staff to a legally established, fairly sizable, operating agency.[30] This move came as an alarming surprise to the White House, which was now deeply embroiled in the unification conflict. As Troy writes, In this perspective, where the White House had the difficult problem of getting generals and admirals to agree on a fundamental reorganization of their services, the legislative problem of the CIG must have seemedan unwelcome detail.[31] As the War and Navy Departments moved towards compromise, the president and his legislative drafting team hardened toward CIG. By January, when the military finally agreed to a comprehensive unification bill, the White House was in no mood to humor CIGs demands that the legislation specifically outline CIA functions, make the Director of Central Intelligence a statutory nonvoting member of the NSC, provide procurement authorities, or grant the CIA power to coordinate foreign intelligence activities and operate centrally where appropriate. Such controversial measures threatened to reignite military opposition and reope n the entire unification conflict.[32] Thus, as CIG pressed for more, the White House responded with less. On 26 February, the President submitted his draft National Security Act to Congress. It included only the barest mention of the CIA — enough to transform the CIG directive into statutory law, and nothing more. In just 30 lines, the CIA section established the agency, placed it under the National Security Council, gave it a director appointed from civilian or military life by the president (with the Senates consent), and authorized it to inherit the functions, personnel, property, and records of the Central Intelligence Group.[33] On March 12, 1947, President Truman announced the Truman Doctrine, which was instrumental in determining the eventual shape of the CIA. Historian Harry Ransom stated, So, while Pearl Harbor may be considered the father of the CIA, the Truman Doctrine certainly was the mother; the OSS was the hero model.[34] Britain had announced that it would withdraw from Greece, allowing it to fall to the Communists. Truman decided that the United States would take on the role of a world policeman to protect all people from communist insurgency. In Trumans famous statement to Congress, he said, The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. He went on to state, I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.[35] These words would later justify the creation of a permanent intelligence agency with the powe r to wage political warfare in a time of peace. CIA provisions of the National Security Act went relatively unnoticed and unaltered in Congress. Instead, legislators concentrated on the more hotly contested aspects of merging the two military departments — issues like the power of the new Secretary of Defense and the protection of the Navys Marine Corps and aviation units. In the Senate, Armed Services Committee deliberations resulted in only two relatively minor changes to the proposed CIA, neither of which dealt with CIA functions or jurisdiction.[36] In fact, the committees final report specifically noted that the Agency would continue to perform the duties outlined in Trumans CIG directive until Congress could pass permanent legislation at a later date.[37] The CIA which arose from the National Security Act of 1947 closely resembled its CIG predecessor. Like CIG, the CIA was supposed to correlate, evaluate and disseminate intelligence from other services, but was given no specific authority to collect intelligence on its own or to engage in any covert subversive operations. Like CIG, the CIA operated under the watchful eyes of other intelligence producers; where CIG reported to a National Intelligence Authority, the CIA operated under the National Security Council — a committee including the Secretaries of War, Navy, State, Defense and the President. Mimicking the CIG directive, The National Security Act protected existing intelligence components with explicit guarantees. In deference to the FBI, the law barred the CIA from exercising any police, subpoena [sic], law-enforcement powers, or internal-security functions. It also provided that the departments and other agencies of the Government shall continue to collect, evaluate, co rrelate, and disseminate departmental intelligence.[38] Finally, the Act borrowed two broad clauses from Trumans directive, which were to have a profound impact on the CIAs subsequent development.   The new agency was charged with conducting such additional services of common concern as the National Security Council determines and with performing such other functions and duties related to intelligence affecting the national security as the National Security Council may from time to time direct.[39] Taken together, these CIA provisions created an agency, which suited War and Navy department interests to a tee. If CIG were any guide, the CIA would pose no threat to departmental intelligence agencies. Conclusions Here, too, it appears that a major national security agency was forged without much Congressional input and without much consideration of broad national concerns. Like the National Security Council system and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Central Intelligence Agency took shape almost exclusively within the executive branch, where bureaucratic players cared first and foremost about their own institutional interests. The CIA was clearly a product of executive branch discussions and decisions. All three rounds of the postwar intelligence battle were fought among bureaucratic actors and were ultimately decided by the president. Round one, which pitted OSS chief Donovan against the State/Justice/Navy/War department coalition, ended with an executive order disbanding OSS and transferring its functions to the Departments of State and War. Round two featured internecine warfare between top State Department officials and the military. It, too, ended with unilateral presidential action: an executive directive which implemented the militarys recommendations for a weak Central Intelligence Group. In round three, it was CIG against the White House. With the entire unification bill hanging in the balance, and with military preferences about postwar intelligence well known, Truman and his legislative drafting team took decisive action. Rebuffing CIGs advances, they introduced a National Security Act bill which included brief, vague CIA provisions. Their aim was to continue CIG under new, statutory authority while generating as little controversy as possible.[40] Truman succeeded, thanks in large part to Congressional indifference. Legislators in both chambers accepted CIA provisions with little comment or debate. Though a few Members raised alarms about the Agencys potential police power and broad jurisdiction, these voices were whispers against the wind. Average legislators had little incentive to probe deeply into CIA design, while national security intellectuals had bigger fish to fry in the unification bill. Tellingly, even those who pressed for a more specific CIA mandate ended up simply copying from Trumans CIG directive of 1946. It seems that even here, legislators were content to defer to the executive. The QA which emerged bore an uncanny resemblance to the Central Intelligence Group. Truman himself writes that the National Security Act succeeded in renaming the Central Intelligence Group — implying the Act made no substantive changes to CIGs design or operations at all.[41] There can also be little doubt that the Central Intelligence Agency was forged out of parochial, rather than national, interests. Creating any kind of postwar central intelligence apparatus inevitably benefited some bureaucratic actors and threatened others. While OSS and CIG had much to gain by a strongly centralized system, the Departments of State, Justice, War and Navy all stood to lose. For these big four departments, promoting U.S. national security was never a paramount concern. Instead, these departments sought a central intelligence system which, above all, insulated their own intelligence services from outside interference. Paradoxically, their vision of an effective central intelligence agency was one without strong central control or coordination. The ideal CIA was a weak CIA. But why did these departments succeed? Why did the president so readily accept their vision of postwar intelligence organization? The short answer is that Harry Truman needed the military services more than they needed him. Propelled by national interest, the president had placed military consolidation at the top of his political agenda. To him, no issue was more vital to American postwar security than unifying the War and Navy Departments into a single Department of Defense, and no price was too great to achieve success. In this context, Donovans vision of a powerful statutory CIA never had a chance. From day one, War and Navy leaders strenuously opposed such a scheme. With no political capital to spare, the president went along. His executive actions and legislative recommendations all sought to create a central intelligence apparatus, which protected departmental intelligence units, rather than ensuring the new central agency would function well. Bibliography Ambrose, Stephen E. Ikes Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment. New York: Doubleday, 1981. Andrew, Christopher. For the presidents eyes only: Secret intelligence and the American presidency from Washington to Bush. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. Cline, Ray S. The CIA Under Reagan, Bush, and Casey: The Evolution of the Agency from Roosevelt to Reagan. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books, 1981. Caraley, Demetrios. The politics of military unification: A study of conflict and the policy process. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966. Dunlop, Richard. Donovan: Americas Master Spy. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1982. Lowenthal, Mark. U.S. Intelligence: Evolution and anatomy. 2d ed. Westport: Praeger,   1992. Donovan, Robert. Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman 1945-1948. New York: Norton, 1977. Karalekas, Anne. History of the Central Intelligence Agency. In The Central Intelligence Agency: History and documents, edited by William M. Leary. University, A.L.: University of Alabama Press, 1984. Ransom, Harry Howe. The Intelligence Establishment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970. Sayle, Edward F. 1986. The historical underpinning of the U.S. intelligence community. International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 1, no. 1. Smith, R. Harris. OSS: The Secret History of America. First Central Intelligence Agency. Berkeley. University of California Press, 1972. Truman, Harry S. Memoirs: Years of Trial and Hope. New York: Doubleday, 1956. Troy, Thomas F. Donovan and the CIA: A History of the Establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency. Washington, D.C: Central Intelligence Agency, 1981. [1]   Andrew, Christopher. For the presidents eyes only: Secret intelligence and the American presidency from Washington to Bush. (New York: HarperCollins, 1995),   11 [2]   Sayle, Edward F. The historical underpinning of the U.S. intelligence community. International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 1, no. 1. 1986. [3]   Andrew [4]   Stephen E. Ambrose, Ikes Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment (New York: Doubleday, 1981), 178. [5]   John Ranelagh, The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIA (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986), 28-30. [6]   Ibid., 33-5 [7]   Ray S. Cline, The CM Under Reagan, Bush and Casey: The Evolution of the Agency from Roosevelt to Reagan (Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books, 1981), 71. [8]   Ibid. [9]   Ranelagh, 88 [10]   Ibid., 94. [11]   Ibid., 96. [12]   Quoted in R. Harris Smith, OSS: The Secret History of Americas First Central Intelligence Agency (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972), 383. [13]   Ibid. [14]   Ambrose, 162-64. [15]   Truman to Donovan, 20 September 1945, United States, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA Cold War Records: The CIA under Harry Truman, (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), 15. Here on cited as CIA Cold War Records. [16]   Richard Dunlop, Donovan: Americas Master Spy (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1982), 467-68. [17]   Harry S. Truman, Memoirs: Years of Trial and Hope (New York: Doubleday, 1956), 73-76. [18]   William J. Donovan, Memorandum for the President, 13 September 1945, CIA Cold War Records, 3 [19]   Ranelagh, 99 [20]   Cline [21]   Sidney W. Souers, Memorandum for Commander Clifford, 27 December 1945, CIA Cold War Records, 17-19. [22]   Ambrose, 127. [23]   Cline [24]   CIA Cold War Records, 30. [25]   Thomas F. Troy, Donovan and the CIA: A History of the Establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency (Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1981), 346. [26]   Ibid. [27]   Ibid. [28]   Mark Lowenthal, U.S. intelligence: Evolution and anatomy. 2d ed. (Westport: Praeger, 1992), 167-9 [29]   Anne Karalekas, History of the Central Intelligence Agency. In The Central Intelligence Agency: History and documents, edited by William M. Leary.   (University, A.L.: University of Alabama Press, 1984). 24 [30]   Elsey, George M, Papers. Harry S. Truman Library. Quoted in Demetrios Caraley, The politics of military unification: A study of conflict and the policy process (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966), 56. [31]   Troy, 371 [32]   Ibid, 378-9 [33]   Lowenthal, 191-5. [34]   Harry Ransom, The Intelligence Establishment (Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard University Press, 1970), 83. [35]   Quoted in Robert J. Donovan, Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman 1945-1948 (New York: Norton, 1977), 284. [36]   First, the committee voted to make the president a statutory National Security Council member. Since the CIA reported to the NSC, this move theoretically gave the CIA greater presidential access than originally planned. However, it still fell far short of granting the agency a private channel to the president, especially since the president was not required to attend NSC meetings. Second, the Committee made clear that civilians, as well as military, were eligible for appointment as Director of Central Intelligence; the presidents bill did not rule out civilian appointments, but did not specifically mention them (Troy 1981: 380-90). [37]   Troy, 395 [38]   Cold War Records, 131-5. [39]   CIA Cold War Records, 177-8. [40]   Lowenthal, 176 [41]   Truman, 56-7

The Moonstone Essay :: essays research papers

The Moonstone Essay The Moonstone, written in 1868 by Wilkie Collins is a mystery novel about a gem called "The Moonstone". The moonstone is somewhat a symbol of what everyone strives for, beauty and power. In the book, justice plays a huge role in terms of doing what is fair and morally right through action and attitude. Although the moonstone is overbearingly beautiful and breathtaking, like all beautiful things, it has a history "..that crime brings its own fatality with it" (Ch. IV). With such great beauty, the moonstone almost takes power and control over people, making them act out in such ways just to get their hands on it. The Moonstone does not come from England. Herncastle, the uncle of Rachel Verinder steals the gem while in battle. Before Herncastle takes possession of the Moonstone, the stone has already passed through the hands of a number posseors. During the first narrative, the gem is explained as a symbol of wealth and power that no man should ever possess, even though so many wish to get their hands on it. And with such demands for people to stay away from it, lures all to want it crave even more. In a way, the moonstone symbolized the conquering that Herncastle did while in India, allowing the moonstone to almost become a trophy of his doings. This is not just at all, it was known that the invasion on India was to make them less barbaric, when in reality, what the English were doing to India was forcing their beliefs and culture on them, in an obviously not mannerable way. "... "the shrine of Hindoo pilgrimage, and the wonder of the eastern world" (Ch. II of the prologue ). The moonstone was rightfully a part of India that was stolen after Herncastle kills many people, a trophy for murder has to carry some consequences with it, and so; it did. After his death, Herncastle leaves the moonstone,aware of the seriousness of the stone, to his niece Rachel Verinder to get back at the family that excluded him. He puts it in the hands of Mr.Franklin Blake to deliver the stone to Rachel. When Mr. Blake arrives at the Verinder house, there were words about Indiains that were disguising themselves as jugglers and magicians in order to try and get information on the whereabouts of the moonstone in hopes of getting it back and returning it to it's rightfully owners, the Indians themselves.

The Advantages Of Being Legal :: essays research papers

The Advantages of Being Legal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many arguments on the question of whether or not to legalize marijuana. The benefits of legalizing marijuana include its medicinal value and its many uses to produce commercial products like paper, rope, oil, textiles, and canvas. Another good reason to legalize marijuana is that hundreds of thousands of non-violent drug offenders are overpopulating prisons, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. Legalization would also put marijuana dealers out of business and it would bring revenue to the government like alcohol and tobacco does. Some opposition to legalizing marijuana is that traffic fatalities would increase, and that more people like school teachers and bus drivers would be smoking legally purchased marijuana. They also believe that more young people would smoke more marijuana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana is medicine and has been used as medicine for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ailments. It is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. Marijuana is often useful in the treatment of cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and chronic pain. For cancer patients, marijuana alleviates the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by chemotherapy treatment. It does the same for people with AIDS. By reducing intraocular pressure, marijuana helps slow or halt the gradual increasing eye pressure suffered by glaucoma patients. Marijuana reduces the muscle pain and spastically caused by multiple sclerosis. It also helps some patients control their bladders. With some epileptic patients, marijuana prevents seizures. Marijuana is also a very effective pain reliever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemp, a plant mainly grown for its use as a fiber source, is from the same plant that produces marijuana. It is different because industrial hemp is grown with minute amounts of delta-9 and tetrahydrocannibinol, abbreviated as THC, which is the element in marijuana that gives the ‘high sensation'. Industrial hemp is one of nature's strongest and most versatile agricultural crops. It can be used to produce various things such as textiles, paper, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, food stuffs, insulation, and animal feed. Hemp seeds can be used to make high protein foods and the oil can be used to produce non-toxic paint, varnish, detergent, diesel fuel, ink, and lubricating oil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One acre of hemp produces as much fiber as two to three acres of cotton and one acre also produces as much paper as two to four acres of trees. The advantage of using paper products produced by hemp is that hemp's growing cycle is around one hundred days, while it takes trees years to grow to produce the same amount of paper. Hemp was cultivated in the U. S. until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act outlawed marijuana. The Advantages Of Being Legal :: essays research papers The Advantages of Being Legal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many arguments on the question of whether or not to legalize marijuana. The benefits of legalizing marijuana include its medicinal value and its many uses to produce commercial products like paper, rope, oil, textiles, and canvas. Another good reason to legalize marijuana is that hundreds of thousands of non-violent drug offenders are overpopulating prisons, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. Legalization would also put marijuana dealers out of business and it would bring revenue to the government like alcohol and tobacco does. Some opposition to legalizing marijuana is that traffic fatalities would increase, and that more people like school teachers and bus drivers would be smoking legally purchased marijuana. They also believe that more young people would smoke more marijuana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana is medicine and has been used as medicine for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ailments. It is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. Marijuana is often useful in the treatment of cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and chronic pain. For cancer patients, marijuana alleviates the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by chemotherapy treatment. It does the same for people with AIDS. By reducing intraocular pressure, marijuana helps slow or halt the gradual increasing eye pressure suffered by glaucoma patients. Marijuana reduces the muscle pain and spastically caused by multiple sclerosis. It also helps some patients control their bladders. With some epileptic patients, marijuana prevents seizures. Marijuana is also a very effective pain reliever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemp, a plant mainly grown for its use as a fiber source, is from the same plant that produces marijuana. It is different because industrial hemp is grown with minute amounts of delta-9 and tetrahydrocannibinol, abbreviated as THC, which is the element in marijuana that gives the ‘high sensation'. Industrial hemp is one of nature's strongest and most versatile agricultural crops. It can be used to produce various things such as textiles, paper, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, food stuffs, insulation, and animal feed. Hemp seeds can be used to make high protein foods and the oil can be used to produce non-toxic paint, varnish, detergent, diesel fuel, ink, and lubricating oil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One acre of hemp produces as much fiber as two to three acres of cotton and one acre also produces as much paper as two to four acres of trees. The advantage of using paper products produced by hemp is that hemp's growing cycle is around one hundred days, while it takes trees years to grow to produce the same amount of paper. Hemp was cultivated in the U. S. until 1937, when the Marijuana Tax Act outlawed marijuana.