Greek Art and Architecture essays

Greek Art and Architecture essays The ancient Greeks created what has become known as classical art. Many of Americas govermental buildings have been designed with classical Greek structures. Greeks are seen by many as the corner stone to the Western traditions of art and ideas. The Ancient Greeks are known for three main items; their sculptures, their temples and their vase paintings. The art work embodies much of what made the Greek civilization great. The Ancient Greeks organized into independent city-states. In these states the ideas of courage, valor and independence where strongly held values. These themes can be seen very clearly in their human depictions. The Greeks idealized humans showing the strong and youthful depiction of men and women. The topics shown in there vases reflect the importance of strength athletic competition and battles. Their temples reflected their Greek life was dominated by religon and so it is not surprising that the temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful. They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer thanksgiving to the patron Question: What changes have been made since early and modern Greece? The importance of Greek art and architecture for the history of Western civilization hardly be overstated, for the Greeks established many of the most enduring themes, attitudes, and forms of western culture. The stories told in Greek art and literature of gods and heroes have been retold ever since and continue to form common ground for the art, literature, and even popular culture of the western world. The Greeks developed three architectual systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and defailing. The Doric style is rather sturdy and its top (the capital) is plain. This style was used in ma ...

5 Steps to a Killer Cover Letter

5 Steps to a Killer Cover Letter Cover letters remain a hugely important part of the job search game- no matter what your friends are telling you. And yes, we know it’s the hard part. We know writing might not be your strong suit. We know the competition is stiff. But still, you usually have to write one, and it should impress. Don’t throw away what could be your best opportunity to charm the hiring manager. Rather than waste your time (and your employer’s time) with a total stinker, laden with clichà ©s, take the time to really showcase everything that’s best about you. Here are five steps to crafting a cover letter that will help you stand out from your peers.1. Wow ‘em from the startGrab them with your opening line, and draw them in. Make it so good that the hiring manager can’t help themselves but read the whole thing- without skimming. Use fresh language. Tell a story. Show your personality (but don’t get too cocky; remember to keep it professional) and set the t one for the rest of the letter.2. Be specificPick 3-5 points you want to highlight that prove you are a perfect match for the job description. Show you’ve listened to what they need, then show them you are it. Tell them specifically what you would bring to the job, and why you’re the only one qualified to do so.3. Be personalBlend the personal and professional so they’re seamlessly woven into one narrative of your competence and sparkle. If there’s something about you that didn’t quite fit in your resume, but which makes you just perfect for this position, emphasize it here. Make sure to tie your sharing into the job itself. A personal story about saving a cat doesn’t make much of an impression for a data entry job.4. Stick the landingYou don’t have to go for the hard close to make the lasting impression. In fact, if you’re too brazen with your insistence of being the candidate of their dreams, you might put off the hiring mana ger. Try instead to emphasize how much you’d love the opportunity to meet with them and display how your skills and experience could be a real asset to their company.5. Get it into the right handsPut your cover letter both in the body of your email and include it as an attachment. Try to find a real live human’s email address, whether an HR manager or a connection-of-a-connection, and craft an informative subject line. Make sure if you’ve been referred by someone in your network to include their name up front.Finally, his  send, sit back, and see whether you succeeded in nailing your cover letter and getting your dream interview.

Time management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Time management - Essay Example It never occurred to me that I could just wake up at the same time that she did and thus simplify what had been such a tiring exercise. Time management is a key factor in one’s life and how a person plans their time will determine their success rate at achieving the goals that they have set for themselves (Julie 56). My goals have changed since I was a child and now consist of an impressive academic transcript coupled with a successful job history that will enhance my Curriculum Vitae and last but not least, the development of a strong relationship with my family. In order to achieve these goals, I will need to develop a successful time management strategy as my current scheme leaves much to be desired. However, this can be improved if I put a little effort into the venture. One of the problems I am facing is the management of my study time in relation to upcoming examinations. I find that I either end revising too late for tests thus making it almost impossible to soak in all the information before D-day or I read too early resulting in my forgetting of half of the topics I have studied. Needless to say, this has affected my grades as a result making it harder for me to achieve the rainbow colors I so desperately seek in my transcripts. The solution to this problem I have discovered is quite simple, instead of focusing my study time on one particular time I can simply manage my revision so that I read a little each day instead of trying to cram everything at once. By doing this, I am able to retain the information that I study with greater ease compared to my previous marathon sessions. The combination of a demanding part time job and academic obligations have also made it difficult for me to get to work on time as it involves shifts and I either arrive too early for the start of mine or too late. The manager of course notices whenever I am late, and no doubt that will affect the level of praise he will heap on me with regard to my performance if I ask him to be a referee thus affecting the shining aspect I aiming for in my developing Curriculum Vitae. However, this conundrum can be fixed by a simple change of the means of transport I use to a more stable one. By using a taxi instead of taking the bus to work I am not left at the mercy of the bus drivers’ time schedules which unlike me, they are not as eager on keeping. Though this may be more expensive, it will improve my timing making it worth the extra cost. The complications that have risen in the management of my work and academic obligations have meant that the amount of time that I spend with my family has dwindled over time. Where we were once close with my mother and siblings, I find that I hardly know what goes on in their lives anymore affecting my goal for strong family bonds. Unlike the first two concerns, no simple solution is found for this except the obvious. I will have to give up some of my extra curricular activities such as the time I spend unwinding wit h colleagues and replace it with time spent with the family. I am able to unwind just as well if not better with my family as I am with my friends and this will give me time to catch up with the events that have occurred in their lives. The aim of achieving academic, career and family success lies in my ability to manage the time given to me the best way I can. By doing this, I will be

Ethics Article Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics Article Analysis - Research Paper Example These code of ethics help to ensure that the individuals who control the company’s infrastructure are recognizing their duties when it comes to financial decision making. Moreover these ethics greatly help in helping these individuals to take proper financial decisions in the business. Within a company a code of ethics is developed to which every individual of the company has to abide. However in some situations the code of ethics is not followed by the newer employees and they tend to break the codes. This in turn violates the code of ethics and the financial decisions become distorted. An example can be cited here about the senior financial officers who are already working in the company. These financial officers know that the information of the company should be kept confidential whereas if a new financial officer comes and he is unaware of the fact he might the leak the information out. And because of this leakage the financial decisions now taken would be not that effecti ve. Similarly the code of ethics also mandates it on the employees that they do not use the resources of the company inefficiently. However the company cannot measure all the minute activities of these employees and in order to abide by the code of ethics a company would be forced to involve more finances towards the check and balance of employees. While making financial decisions in compliance with the ethics it is necessary to see that the individuals who are involved do not have any personal or professional relationship with the issue. This can affect the financial decision making as the individuals who would have personal gains would tend to distort important information about the company. Financial Executives International is a company which abides by the code of ethics. `The company involves these ethics in all the financial processes that it implements. The company strictly follows these code of ethics and makes sure that all the positive cash flow is achieved after

Telecommuting Case Study Essay Example for Free

Telecommuting Case Study Essay Telecommuting has been referred to as being the next big information technology (IT) trend. This trend aside from having financial benefits also reaps environmental benefits. The majority of people wanting or deciding to telecommute, wish to do so in order to avoid lengthy commutes by road, rail or otherwise. Telecommuting has the potential to provide significant transportation-related public benefits. (www.cnn.com) â€Å"Telecommuting is now practiced by approximately 2 million workers and could reach 7.5 to 15 million within a decade.† (http://ntl.bts.gov) These 2 million workers, now being removed form the highways, can substantially improve the congestion and air quality. Potential beneficial transportation impacts of telecommuting include reduction in highway congestion and associated lost time, reduced emission of pollutants, savings in energy and petroleum consumption, and fewer highway accidents. Computer and telecommunications advances in recent years, including computer networks and data systems, FAX machines, and electronic mail, have dramatically widened the choice of workplace for information workers and others so they can work wherever these tools are available, including at home. These technological enhancements have provided greater worker flexibility, empowerment of employees, and a reduction I of frustration from the irritation and time loss associated with commuting. â€Å"One result is that a substantial portion of the U.S. labor force, perhaps as much as 30 percent, now works at home at least part of the time.† (http://www.telecommute-now.org/telecommuting) Telecommuting does not necessarily mean that employees work at home. Satellite telework centers near or in residential areas, fully equipped with appropriate telecommunications equipment and services, can serve employees of single or multiple firms. These telework centers are usually developed based on geographical data rather than business functions. In many cases a shared facility provides a more practical and satisfactory location for telecommuting than the home, and a setting less threatening to traditional business management styles. Telecommuting is often practiced as little as one or two days each week, although it can be full-time. Telecommuters are primarily managers or professionals. However, telecommuting is highly popular to most information workers. Traffic congestion can have direct and indirect cost impacts on business activities. The direct costs of congestion that affect production costs include additional labor costs associated with longer trips made by employees during business hours, higher vehicle operating costs, and suboptimal vehicle use. â€Å"The trucking industry is both a contributor to and victim of traffic congestion. According to FHWA officials, the annual cost of truck delays on freeways is between $4.2 and $7.6 billion, based on vehicle operating costs and driver time charges. Time losses on urban streets, docking areas, etc. could range between $19.4 and $22.9 billion (excluding costs to industry such as lost sales opportunities in not having products available on time).† (U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). 2001. Traffic Congestion: Trends, Measures, and Effects.) Indirect costs of traffic congestion include increases in accidents and insurance premiums, reduced or loss of employee productivity, and increases in delivery costs. The removal of telecommuters vehicles from the highways will reduce overall congestion. All vehicles on those now less-congested roads will operate more efficiently, cleanly and safely, and the occupants will suffer less delay.

augustine :: essays research papers

Augustine "I loved the happy life but I feared to find it in Your house and so I ran from it even as I sought after it. I thought that I would be miserable if I were kept from a woman's arms. I did not believe that a cure for this disease lay in Your mercy; I had no experience of such a cure. I believed that continence was within a man's own powers, though I was unaware of such a power within me. I was a fool and did not know - as it is written [in Scripture] - that no man can be continent unless You grant it to him. And this You surely would have given to me if, with inward groanings, I had knocked at your ears and with a firm faith had cast my many cares upon You." (from The Confessions, Book 6, Chapter 11, circa 397-400 A.D.) Augustine was born in A.D. 354 in the town of Thagaste in Algeria. His father was a pagan and his mother was a devout Christian. Augustine was educated as a rhetorician in the former North African cities of Tagaste, Madaura, and Carthage. Augustine died in A.D. 430 identifying himself as the supreme â€Å"doctor of grace.† Augustine is, arguably, the greatest theologian-philosopher of all time. Some elements of Platonism can be seen in Augustine’s teaching. His view of the world is Platonic, there is the outer and the inner world, the lower and the higher, the sensible and the intelligible, and the carnal and the spiritual. To become wise requires a movement of the mind inwards and upwards to God, an opening of the mind to truth which provided the mental vision that has been purified by faith. His theme of the divine in the world and in man is more biblical than Platonic, which allowed him to regard the material world with a reverence that would be impossible for a Platonist. His doctrine of evil as no-thing, a privation, is different from both Platonic thought and Manichaeism. A philosophical question faces Christians, and in fact all theists, that challenges the belief in God. To theists, God is an omnipotent, perfect God. He is good. Theists accept this, and embrace it, for how else can they worship God and give their lives to Him unless He is good? However, in this world, everything is consumed by evil. If God is the author of all things in this world, and he is good, theists must then ask themselves what is evil and where it came from.

Recruiting in the High Schools Essay

You see them everywhere dressed up head to toe in camouflage and shiny boots, with the image of a super hero. With the recent conflicts in the Middle East, parents across America have protested the military being inside of our children’s schools auctioning off a better life. Let’s face it, who can give a better life to you than your mother? In 2002 the government made a flagship program designed to help underprivileged kids called the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act†. â€Å"Since 2002 the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† has meant that US schools which receive government money must allow the military in to talk to students† (Act of Congress). So this poses a huge problem for the parents that are trying to fight to get the military out of the schools and to put a ban on recruiting from within the confines. The military shouldn’t be able to recruit in high schools for many reasons. The most important reasons why the military shouldn’t recruit inside of high schools is because the mind of a high school student isn’t developed enough to make the right decisions to join; the military gives false hope to kids of financial freedom, and the possibility of death isn’t realistically depicted by the recruiters to the high school students. Why are we recruiting in high schools instead of on college campuses? There could be a lot of reasons behind it, but first and foremost is that seventeen year olds aren’t ready to join. The mind of a seventeen year old isn’t fully developed until their in their twenties. So the judgment of a right and a wrong decision isn’t mindfully thought through. Yes, a seventeen year old only needs a high school diploma and parental consent but, how can they think they are ready for war when they can’t even drink alcohol or vote for their commander and chief? In high schools there are cliques and like any kid they want to be in these so called cliques. Robert Ayers discusses in his book how kids are looking for a clique or group to belong to, â€Å"High school kids are at an age when being a member of an identifiable group with a grand mission and a shared spirit — and never underestimate a distinctive uniform — is of exaggerated importance, something gang recruiters in big cities also note with interest and exploit with skill† (William Ayers). Ayers is depicting to us how easy it is to manipulate, and convince a young mind, seventeen years old, just wants to be part of a group with an image no matter what group it is. All someone has to do is depict an image of greatness and the young people are sold. The fact and bottom line is that our kids look up to a glorified image that the military and their commercials depict from a young age and they shouldn’t be capitalized on nor taken advantage of due to this overwhelming lopsided image. The military is currently under quota of manpower that they need to run a successful defense, so turning to seventeen year olds without the knowledge of military recruiting tactics is the logical and more efficient way to get people to join our depleted military. But this is not a reason to prey on sixteen and seventeen year olds who aren’t even old enough to vote nor drive, but they can make life and death decisions to join the military. But having the undeveloped brain, like we all went through, as they do they are not old enough to cypher through the presentations that the recruiter gives in order to make a valid and rational decision. Why do you see more recruiters in poverty stricken areas contrast to those in areas of good or well financial being? This is because the military is unethically targeting the vulnerable kids in our school system. Recruiters unethically target low income kids while promising them financial aid for school after these students serve in the military. Some of the students are promised is school fully paid for via the â€Å"Post 9/11 bill† and the â€Å"GI Bill†. But if you go www. va. gov website you will see the underlying criteria to actually get 100 percent free tuition. The Veteran Affairs website referenced these criteria’s; Active duty status, months and years served, months retired and a plethora of underlying circumstances. Getting high school students seem to be the plan for high school students, â€Å"The U. S. military’s practice of targeting low-income youth and students of color for recruitment, in combination with exaggerated promises of financial rewards for enlistment, undermines the voluntariness of their enlistment† (Soldiers of Misfortune). So why does the military seem to recruit people of color? Well according to www. census. gov the website tells us a lot about Caucasian children eighteen and under below the poverty line was seventeen percent and the children of the minority races were thirty five percent and higher. So this is actually the ideal place for a recruiter to so called â€Å"fill their quota†. Going back to the argument of recruiters promising false financing of school, this could be an advantage for the recruiters. Promising people who don’t have anything something is unethical and misleading. This is mostly unethical because the recruiters that are usually E-4 to E-6 have no pull to get you in different schooling programs nor give you the position that you could want, in terms of career and financing. â€Å"Many possible recruits are promised that they will receive tens of thousands of dollars in education when, in actuality, 57 percent of veterans who have applied for Government Issue (GI) benefits have not received any financial aid, according to the non-profit organization Finding Alternatives to Military Enlistment† (FAME). Promising financial benefits to kids that less than the majority of the military veterans receive is morally and ethically wrong. Also, the recruiters don’t tell you that in some circumstance you can’t attend school while in an â€Å"Active Duty Status†. Reason being is that you could get deployed and be called off to duty at any time and then the government would have to reimburse the institution for the incomplete credits. The recruiters also don’t tell recruits that if you are a reservist you are not eligible for the GI Bill, being in the reserve status it will be impossible to accumulate four years’ worth of active duty. The military also made it so that this could never be reached, it’s like a safe guard they have in place. The U. S. government also targets disadvantaged communities and areas. The philosophy of recruiters seem to be â€Å" The more in poverty a student is, the more likely they will look for a way out and join the ranks†. When the recruiters target these areas their showing that the more fortunate kids lives are more valuable and worth sparing more than others. It just isn’t right to exploit children from these backgrounds and hold their lives to a lesser status than other backgrounds. Why isn’t war realistically depicted to recruits before they join? Because, it’s nothing like what you see on the video games like â€Å"Call of Duty† or movies like â€Å"The Expendables or The ‘A’ Team†, when people shoot a plethora of bullets at you someone or something gets hit. â€Å"War is catastrophic for human beings, and, indeed, for the continuation of life on Earth. With over 120 military bases around the globe and the second largest military force ever assembled, the U. S.  government is engaged in a constant state of war, and American society is necessarily distorted and disfigured around the aims of war† (William Ayers). A good statistic that should be shared while a recruit is debating whether or not to join the military is, â€Å"During the last decade of that spectacular century, two million children were killed, 20 million displaced, six million disabled† (William Ayers). Now this is a statistic that should get shared with recruits along with the good statistics that are put in there to glorify military service. Another good fact that recruits probably don’t know about â€Å"108 million people were slaughtered in wars during the 20th century† (William Ayers). Now the recruiters should tell the recruits to put this into perspective. 108 million people like you and me were killed within 100 years due to war and military conflict. The kids in high school need to understand that those were kids their age and younger, on some continents that were getting killed over things not fully understood. Then when your contract is up and you are honorably discharged from your branch of service people are still left with images of war and relive it every day. â€Å"Vets suffer long-term health consequences including greater risk of depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, sleep disorders, and more. About one-third of Vietnam vets suffered full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder. Another 22% suffered partial post-traumatic stress disorder. This is the nature of the beast. Anyone who’s been there knows† (William Ayers). If kids the age of 18 and lower are allowed to see and experience these things, then when their brains are fully developed they will be brain washed and war could be instilled in them with no turning back. This could also be that kid’s brains are not fully developed so they don’t have a clear concept of death. Recruiting in the high schools is ethically wrong due to the lack of the recruits’ brain development to cypher through and make a decision based on facts instead of the image the recruiters portray of the military. Also, the recruiters promise tens of thousands of dollars to these kids when that is a very farfetched truth. The recruiters need to tell them what you actually have to do to earn and qualify for that money so it can actually be yours’. Military recruiters also don’t depict a clear picture of war and all that is lost during it. People’s sanity, lives and total way of living are altered forever. Recruiting in high schools should be closely monitored in schools if not done away with all together. Kids eighteen and younger just don’t have a grasp on what’s reality and what’s fabricated. Works Cited Ayers, William. â€Å"Hearts and Minds: Military Recruitment and the High School Battlefield. † Www. democraticdialogue. com. N. p. , 07 Apr. 2006. Web. Cave, Damien. â€Å"Growing Problem for Military Recruiters: Parents. † Editorial. New York Times [New York] 3 June 2005: B6. Www. newyorktimes. com. Web. â€Å"Census Bureau Homepage. † Census Bureau Homepage. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. . â€Å"FAME Time Series. † FAME Time Series. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. . Www. gibill. va. gov. N. p. , n. d. Web.

Privacy And Security In The Digital World Essay

Technology can bring great freedom. As the commercials of the 90’s promised, the Internet offers previously unheard of access to information from the comfort of one’s own home. Of course, the amount of information that computer networks allow to be freely-shared isn’t restricted to the card catalogs of major libraries, the lowest-possible prices or e-mails from friends and relatives. As technology has become cheaper, more powerful and nearly-ubiquitous new and, some   have argued, disturbing developments have taken place at the nexus of powerful technology and personal privacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Credit card and debit card transactions can be traced, allowing access to one’s spending habits. On line, shielding such transactions from prying eyes has resulted in a world where ever-stronger forms of encryption are required to keep consumer’s financial information secure. Cameras are stationed nearly everywhere now, and some major cities are considering installing surveillance cameras in public places to monitor the streets, justifying it by alluding to the threat of terrorism. (Honan,  ¶1) Where a case is being made for putting in surveillance cameras, one will usually find the crisis of security vs. privacy tossed aside perhaps more quickly than it should be, with the proponent arguing on the side of security. Whatever their motives, someone is probably watching you in most private establishments, of course.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This raises a new question for society: where is the line between the reasonable expectation of privacy and paranoia in the Information Age?   It’s hard to find someone who likes the idea of their personal information and activities being collected by strangers. Interestingly, people almost universally express negativity toward any technology that monitors their actions but that negativity disappears when they’re asked if other people’s actions should be monitored. (Kleve, De Mulder & Van Noortwijk, 13). Everyone seems to detest motorists who run red lights but nearly everyone detests with equal venom the red light cameras designed to catch them committing the same traffic violation, so to speak.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The debate over security and privacy is hardly new. The nature of the debate, however, has changed in the past ten years. In a 1998 series of three articles, The Washington Post’s Robert O’Harrow Jr. wrote about concerns surrounding â€Å"data mining†. Data mining is an activity that really bloomed   in the last ten years. Because of the amount of electronic records consumers generate, there exists an opportunity for marketers to narrow down their sales pitches to ever-more specific demographics by obtaining and â€Å"mining† that data for particular spending habits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The sheer amount of data that is collected, the consumer’s unawareness of it and the ways in which this data can be sorted, searched and drilled into as well as the lack of control regrading how that data is eventually disseminated and that fact that protecting that data requires constant technological innovation presents challenges to citizens and law-enforcement alike. (Jerry Berman & Deirdre Mulligan, II. B.).   Ã‚   To add to the general anxiety, the US government, following the September 11 terrorist attacks upon New York, began collecting information from telecom companies, without a warrant, which they intended to mine for activity they considered suspect. The program has proved so controversial that, at present, Congress and the White House are unable to agree as to the boundaries of government where monitoring private conversations is concerned (Chaddock). Interestingly, a key point of contention in this debate has been the role of private companies. When O’Harrow wrote about the potential for shady-activity surrounding how much of the information gathered by private data mining firms might be shared with the government, he was being quite prophetic. The telecom companies who cooperated with the government eavesdropping program now face the potential threat of billions of dollars in lawsuits for violating the rights of their clients (Chaddock,  ¶7). Whether or not to pass legislation that would immunize private firms from being sued by their clients for their cooperation with the warantless eavesdropping program has brought the legislation to a halt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Telecoms provide Internet access as well as telephone service. Where the Internet is concerned, perhaps expecting any privacy is unreasonable. As Burman and Mulligan put it: â€Å"Imagine walking through a mall where every store, unbeknownst to you, placed a sign on your back. The signs tell every other store you visit exactly where you have been, what you looked at, and what you purchased. Something very close to this is possible on the Internet.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the growing adoption of the Internet on the part of consumers–who are also, of course, citizens–over the past decade, it would seem that none of our habits, likes and dislikes or political dispositions are immune from being investigated by commercial or government interests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It’s likely that as we become more connected by and dependent upon technology, we’ll have to become more accustomed, and skilled, at living in a world where we must assume that the details of nearly any day of our lives can be reconstructed by an interested party, and probably in great detail at that. Escaping society, or the ever-present electronic eyes thereof, is next to impossible. Most anyone’s location can be revealed to someone with access to the right technology. Any purchase made with a credit or debit card becomes a part of a mosaic that can be used to interpret the nature and habits of its owner. It seems that using any technology that allows networking carries with it a mandatory trade-off where one’s privacy is concerned. Now that the government claims it doesn’t require warrants to gather and make use of this information, it’s hard to see any walls that might obstruct the view of those who would be spies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In today’s world, privacy may not be dead, but it’s certainly not looking so healthy as it once did. The benefits of technology are many and most would agree that many of those benefits are marvelous. A GPS unit on a phone can alert emergency personnel to the location of someone who may not be able to do so themselves. It would be hard to reckon how many convenience store and bank hold ups may have been foiled by obviously placed security cameras.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For better or worse, we may have to adapt to an age where privacy is only to be had in the most remote wilderness. Unless, of course, you have a Global Positioning System in your car†¦or your cell phone, which you probably do whether you know it or not. Sources Cited Chaddock, Gail Russel. â€Å"House Set to Let Warrantless   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Evesdropping Law Lapse†. The Christian Science Monitor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15, Feb, 2008. Retrieved From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Honan, Edith. â€Å"Blomberg Defends City Surveillance Camera   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Plan†. Reuters. Retrieved From: Jerry Berman & Deirdre Mulligan. â€Å"Privacy in the Digital Age:   Ã‚  Ã‚   Work in Progress† Nova Law Review, Volume 23, Number 2,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Winter 1999. The Internet and Law. Retrieved From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kleve, Pieter, De   Mulder Richard, V., Van Norrtwijk, Kees   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Surveillance technology and law: the social impact† Int.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   J. Intercultural Information Management Vol 1 No 1. 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved From: O’Harrow, Robert Jr. â€Å"Are Data Firms Getting Too Personal?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Washington Post Sunday, March 8, 1998; Page A1

Retirement Issues Essays

Retirement Issues Essays Retirement Issues Essay Retirement Issues Essay One year ago, the U. S. had the 10th best retirement-income system in the world. One year later, that hasnt changed, according to the third annual study of the pension systems of 16 countries by Mercer and the Australian Centre for Financial Studies. In its study, Mercer and ACFS measured the overall pension benefits that are being provided to the citizens of 16 countries, the likelihood that those systems will be able to provide benefits in the future, and the integrity of private retirement plans. Same as last year, the U. S. didnt get such high marks. In fact, the U. S. earned a C grade for its pension-plan system according to the 2011 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, the same grade awarded to Poland and Brazil. Read the Global Pension report here. The Netherlands and Australia earned the highest grades, a B+, for their respective retirement-income systems. Read my column from last year on the Melbourne Mercer index. By its own admission, Mercer and ACFS said comparing diverse retirement-income systems around the world is not easy. Retirement-income systems are diverse and often a number of different programs, according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in March 2011. Classifying pension systems and different retirement-income schemes is consequentially difficult. At the moment, no country has a gold-standard pension system according to the Melbourne Mercer index. To receive a best-in-class grade, the researchers said a system would have to provide adequate retirement benefits, be sustainable over the longer term and be trusted due to its strong and robust governing structures. For his part, Nevin Adams, the director of education and external relations at the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the co-director of EBRIs Center for Research on Retirement Income, suggested that Americans should view the rankings with a large grain of salt.

Symbols and Motifs in Literature

Symbols and Motifs in Literature When you read a book, you might notice recurring themes within the text, which usually influence the storyline and provide clues into the plot or conflict occurring. In order to build and explain the theme, the author will use symbols and motifs. Many readers fully understand what a symbol is, but not everyone is as familiar with motifs. While they are similar and both serve to help us understand the material at hand, these two types of language arent the same. Both are crucial parts of creating a strong storyline that will draw in the reader and hold his attention. What is a symbol? A symbol is an object that represents something else, and in fact, are a part of your daily life, not just a piece of literature. You may not realize it, but you  encounter millions of symbols in your everyday life, such as: Traffic lights: Red light means stop, green means go, and yellow means cautionThe arrow means this wayA cross represents religion, or more specifically, ChristianityLight bulb means new ideaNumerals 1 and 0, put together, mean tenA heart means loveLogos represent brands, like the Nike swoosh or Macs AppleEven our names are symbols that represent us as individual humans Symbols can hold unexpected meaning, but upon further investigation, can make a lot of sense. For example, if you read a scene that involves a skunk lurking in the background, you might wonder what that animal could signify. But, if  theres something that foul in the works of your story, like a breakup or a bit of bad luck, the skunk begins to bring up imagery of something that is less than pleasant to experience. Thus, the symbolism.   To better understand symbolism, you might  ask yourself to consider what a variety of everyday objects might stand for if they were used in a piece of literation. For example, think about emotions or thoughts that come to mind when you see the following: Flowers (represent nature, birth, growth, femininity, beauty)Lightening bolt  (represents speed, strength, power, electricity)  Spider web (represents entanglement, entrapment, mystery) What is a motif? While a symbol might occur once in literature to signify an idea or an emotion, a motif can be an element or idea that repeats throughout that piece of literature. It is closely related to a theme but is more of a supporting role to the theme than a theme itself. It is within the pattern of repetition that the power and impact of a motif are found. A motif could, in fact, be expressed by a collection of related symbols. How do symbols and motifs work together? Since multiple symbols can be used to explain a motif, lets break down a few examples. Lets say we have a story about a family struggling to stay together, parents considering divorce. We might encounter a motif of fragmentation that could come from several symbols that appear in a book: Shattered glassA runaway (pet, teen, car)An explosionA scattered puzzle Sometimes a motif can also be a study on contrast, like the theme of good versus evil, or light and dark. A series of symbols that could represent this motif might be: Moon shadows (shades of darkness)A candle (a light in the darkness)Storm clouds (temporary darkness)A ray of sunshine (emerging from darkness)A tunnel (through the darkness) The symbols and motifs you discover in your reading will lead to the understanding of an overall theme of your book. To find the theme of a book, you should look for an overall message or lesson. If you do encounter the motif of light and dark in a book, you should think about a message that the author is trying to send about life. The light and dark of a story might tell us: Love survives deathLife renews itselfKnowledge conquers fear Tip: if you see a series of symbols or a collection of motifs, but you cant come up with a theme, try inserting a verb to describe the object.  If you see a lot of references to fire, for example, you can ask yourself what action we might associate with fire. Fire burnsFire destroysFire warms Consider which of these behaviors make sense in the context of the novel or story you are reading.

Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Poetry - Essay Example This includes the season which is just as night starts in autumn, which is when the season of death, winter, starts. The short lines also make it seem as if there is not much left to waiting. The longest line is the first one, but its broken by the hard ‘b’ sounds. The other lines are very short, only three syllables each, and the last line is only two words. This makes it look like it’s coming to an end. 3(a) I think the meaning of the poem is that death waits for us all. A bird that usually symbolizes death is seen on a bare branch at the end of the living seasons and at the end of the day. I think this is how most people would interpret the poem. 3(b) The meaning of this poem is brought out through the poet’s use of literary devices such as alliteration, imagery and meter. Alliteration conveys the idea that something is about to stop and something else is about to happen. In the first line, the alliteration works on the repeated sound of the letter ‘b’ as in â€Å"bare branch.† This sound makes us come to a hard stop at the beginning of each word and makes us think of endings. This is reinforced by the imagery of the bare branch itself, which indicates life has stopped because all the leaves are gone. It is also reinforced by the meter of the poem because the line is so short. Alliteration is used in the second line to indicate that motion is about to start again with its rolling ‘r’ sounds as in â€Å"rook roosts.† Although the imagery includes a small bird finding a place to rest for the night, it also introduces a living animal into the scene which introduces motion, even if it is just the motion of breathing. This works with the meter to suggest the type of motion to be expected. The line is a full word and a syllable shorter than the first line, suggesting things slowing down. The bird roosts, which is to say that he is doing something. The bird is beginning to