Internet Piracy Essay

Abstract Internet Piracy has drastically affected the music and film industry and by downloading illegally on the Internet, millions of Internet users swap billions of dollars worth of music and movies. With all the sharing of copyrighted materials, the music and film industry is losing millions of dollars. This research looks into the effects of Internet Piracy and current campaigns to deter it. The study shows the effectiveness of existing campaigns and the relationship between the decline of the music and film industry and the rise of Internet Piracy. Exploring the good and bad of campaigns and using the information to propose a documentary to approach the problem. Raising awareness and educate Internet users about Internet Piracy and try to have the numbers under control. 1. Introduction â€Å"Fighting against Internet piracy and infringement is a long-term mission and an uphill journey.† – Yan Xiao Hong, Deputy Director, National Copyright Administration of China (quoted in AFP 2006) The exchange of information is nothing new. Technologies change, cultures change, and people change, but in any point of human history there are people that copy and distribute the work of others in any form. Technologies that help the production and distribution of information heavily influenced the shape of history, especially when it is accessible to larger population of people. From prints to recordable medias, every technology advances us nearer to today’s digital file sharing. Today, Internet pirates operate online stealing billions of dollars worth of digital content every year (Fisk, 2009). By downloading illegally on the Internet, millions of users turned into pirates swapping billions of dollars worth of music and movies and other intellectual property that can be converted to digital format. With all the sharing of copyrighted materials, the music and film industry is losing millions of dollars (Fisk, 2009). Thus, Internet Piracy has drastically affected the music and film industry and Internet users need to be educated via a documentary on how to combat piracy in Singapore. 2. Findings & Analysis 2.1 Background According to a trusted Internet survey, a staggering 70% of Internet users think there is nothing wrong with online piracy (Go-Globe, 2011). In the context of the U.S economy alone, there is $12.5 billion dollars in losses, more than 70,000 lost jobs, and $2 billion in lost wages thus far – Internet Piracy being the main cause. (Siwek, 2007). The niggling issue regarding Internet Piracy is severe. However, after decades and numerous efforts to stop it, the results of the actions taken by the entertainment and other industries have been futile, having no impact in reducing piracy amongst users. On the contrary, the rate of Internet Piracy has increased significantly in recent years, and the figure will only continue its growth (Cones, 2010). 2.2 Survey Through a survey put up by me, the results gathered were not surprising. Eighty-four percent of the online users surveyed have downloaded media in the past month but sixty-two percent do not mind paying for these media. When asked if they know the consequences of downloading copyrighted contents, seventy-three percent knew of the consequences but fifty-four are not afraid of getting caught. This has further cemented the proof that the existing anti-piracy campaigns are not working. Although only thirty-five percent of interviewees are interested in taking part to combat Internet piracy, a slight increment of fourteen percent wants to be educated about piracy and fifty-four percent will watch documentaries about it. 2.3 Existing Campaigns With this established, it is needless to say that existing anti-piracy campaigns and action taken thus far have had little to no effect. An example is of companies taking the issue to court. There are two types of copyright infringement, civil and criminal and in both cases the users must be identified and evidence must be gathered before putting them into the arms of the law. In civil cases, copyright holders handle the process. In criminal cases, law enforcement units utilize different tools and techniques with variable reliability to gather evidence, often causing defragmentation in its accuracy. An example of one such unfortunate incident is the widely publicized lawsuit brought up by the RIAA against a deceased 83-year-old woman. She was accused of sharing over 700 songs under the username â€Å"smittenedkitten†. The case was later dropped by the RIAA after it was confirmed that the woman had never even owned a computer (Fisk, 2011). Another movement to deter piracy was the introduction of the Digital Rights Management (DRM). This technology makes it difficult for users to make copies of content. DMCA also legally protects DRM, making it a criminal offense to remove DRM protection. At present, most media contains some form of DRM (Fisk, 2011). Most DRM schemes, however, only provide protection temporarily. The protection can still be easily cracked by professional pirates and made widely available. One popular movement most Internet users have occurred is the presence of a short video about piracy at the start of movies in cinemas and retail DVDs and VCDs. However, such a movement is to a degree, arbitrary, as the video’s primary target audience is piracy supporters. Ironically, this has, instead of deterring piracy, led to users turning to it in search for more ‘freedom’. The same content could be available online- and without the presence of irritating advertisements that â€Å"block† the movie itself. 2.4 Piracy Campaigns Guerilla campaigning has been more successful amongst the campaigns. In August 21, 2006, an organization dubbed â€Å"The League of Noble Peers† released a documentary in support of Internet Piracy. The documentary â€Å"Steal This Film† was distributed freely on ‘BitTorrent’, a software frequented by Internet pirates to share copyrighted content. The film received wide positive reviews and was screened across film festivals from all around the world (King, 2008). The campaign against Anti-Piracy is much more successful mainly because the pro-piracy organizations made use of the much hated force feeding methods deployed by copyright holders and make it to their benefits. Although misleading and being one-sided, the film is extremely effective and hence, manages to spur a movement against Anti-Piracy – The copyright holder’s plan backfired. 2.5 Good Campaigns The first step to making a good campaign is to study what works and what do not. In this case it is quite obvious that the methods used by the â€Å"The league of Noble Peers† work and the copyright holders methods are not working. Hence, the best way to educate Internet users and combat piracy is to create an effective and different documentary and distribute it for free online. The documentary â€Å"The Cove† is a good example of an effective and good documentary. By challenging the question head on with exclusive footage shot in a unique perspective, it managed to become one of the best and most influential documentaries that caused a movement with the intended and desired effect. A ninety-four percent positive rating from both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB.com proved the huge positive reception for the documentary (Rotten Tomatoes Various Authors, 2009). Thus the model of a good documentary is effective at spreading information and educates people. 3. Conclusion Internet Piracy, despite years of effort to deter it, the existing campaigns’ messages are not strong or effective enough to keep Internet Piracy at bay. Therefore, after studying the good and bad of these existing campaigns, a necessary solution has to be done to control the situation. Thus, after knowing the proven effect of a documentary, there is a need for a good documentary to educate online users about Internet Piracy to have the numbers within control. From the above analysis, making a documentary is one of the best options to try and deter the increase in Internet Piracy. With the documentary, more people will be aware of the issue and understand what the industry is going through with Internet Piracy currently affecting the market. Hence with the proposed documentary, results will be highly positive and have the number of Internet Piracy under control. 4. Recommendations The documentary will be shot as an investigative documentary and the approach will not be a traditional documentary but a new approach similar to â€Å"The Cove†. The documentary will take viewers through the insights of local music and film industry, to introduce the hard work behind the contents they produced over the years. The film will gradually take a stand against Internet Piracy by showing the negativity, cause and effects to the economy due to illegal file sharing over the years. The showing of such effects includes some potential creative firms closing down due to the decline in sales because of the act of downloading illegally. The documentary will take a turn in mood and attempts to go behind the scene to track down Internet pirates and following authorities to prosecute them. The documentary will end off with local musicians and filmmakers having their say against Internet Piracy. The film will be distributed for free over the Internet via torrent, streaming sites and file-sharing forums and hopefully on free-to-air television networks to increase exposure for the film. References Cones, J. (2010). Business plans for filmmakers. Southern Illinois University Press. Fisk, N. (2011). Digital piracy. New York: Chelsea House. Fisk, N. (2009). Understanding online piracy: The truth about illegal file sharing. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Go-Globe. (2011, November 01). Online piracy. Retrieved from http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-piracy King, J. (January 3, 2008). The Future Doesn’t Care About The Bank Balance but the 1/1000 do!. Retrieved from http://www.jamie.com/2008/01/03/the-future-doesnt-care-about-your-bank-balance-but-the-11000-do/ Rotten Tomatoes Various Authors. (2009). The cove. Retrieved from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208882-cove/ Siwek, S. (2007, August 21).The true cost of sound recording piracy to the US economy. Retrieved from http://www.ipi.org/ipi_issues/detail/the-true-cost-of-sound-recording-piracy-to-the-us-economy

Managing Staff

Management for any healthcare facility has many different roles that they must complete. A health care manager must be able to handle running the daily operations, complete any financial duties, and also manage the employees of the facility. When it comes to keeping the facility properly staffed management must be aware of what is needed. To be sure that the facility is properly staffed, a health care manager should utilize a staffing plan. A staffing plan can show where employees are needed to work any hours that the facility needs.Annualizing is also important because if a facility is to be run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week will require many staff members because one employee would not be able to fill all of the positions. In understanding any staffing needs for a facility the manager must take into consideration productive and non-productive time. Productive time means the time spent that is actually worked by an employee. Non-productive time would mean any time the e mployee is not at work; whether it is the weekend, a holiday, sick time, vacation time, or a personal day.When it comes to using a staffing plan it is important for the manager to have this information in place because it will help to show what actual hours need to be covered and how many employees it will take to cover those hours. There are two ways to do a staffing plan; they are either done in the annualized method or by the scheduled-position method. In the annualized method the manager would take the non-productive and productive days of each staff person and account for them in the formula that is used to fill the hours.In the scheduled-position method the non-productive and productive days are accounted for when filling a scheduled shift. This is why recording non-productive and productive days in a staffing plan are necessary because all of the hours of each staff member are accounted for. When it comes to the cost for any healthcare facility they can be tied to the staffin g in a variety of ways. In a staffing plan the costs are attributed to the amount of staff that is needed to cover the hours that are needed to run the facility.It also can be attributed to the pay rates of each individual staff member and also the benefits that each staff member is entitled to. This information can be kept in the books which will help in preparing a budget or a staffing plan. If a health care manager did not have access to this information they would not have the correct information that is needed to properly staff and run the facility on a day-to-day basis. A healthcare facility is run by a staff that must provide care to its patients, provide daily care, and handle administrative duties.Without proper staffing a facility cannot be run properly and the quality of care that the patients receive will suffer which in turn can affect the overall reputation of the facility. To ensure that this does not happen, management must have quality staff members and also to make sure that all of the hours are properly covered. Reference Bureau of Labor Statistics. (January 2012). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved from http://www. bls. gov/oco/ocos014. htm

The Broken Windows Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Broken Windows Theory - Assignment Example Not only are there police who have a regular beat in a community but they also have a rented space by which community members may come in to meet with the police and address their concerns about any criminal acts going on in their neighborhood. 3. The theory is still significant to community-oriented policing in that wherever police have a presence, this will most likely deter crime from happening (Van Zile 2011). It does not mean that more arrests will be made but that offenders will be cautioned first for minor offenses and if those offenses still take place, then offenders will be arrested. After all, they had been initially warned and this is an example of letting offenders know that police know who they are and that they are being watched (Shelden 2003). 4. In Sir Robert Peel’s Principles of Law Enforcement (1829), the first principle is a very strong argument for the â€Å"Broken Windows† theory in that the role and mission of the police is to prevent crime and disorder within a neighborhood as opposed to the military version which represses crime and disorder through force and severe legal punishment (Hunter & Barker 2011). The mere presence of the police may deter crime from happening in the first place. Police presence is a deterrent to crime (Shelden 2003). 5. The most important law enforcement policies derived from the â€Å"Broken Windows† theory is that crime can be deterred through a police presence, although, in reality, this relates more to petty crimes such as graffiti on building walls, window breaking, and other less violent or serious crimes (Shelden 2003). It does not address murders and other violent crimes because it is a different set of circumstances. However, if the police have a good relationship in the community where one of these more violent crimes does occur, the police are more apt to gather information from the neighborhood as to who might have seen what at any

Conditions under which Exchange Rate may overshoot Even in the Research Paper

Conditions under which Exchange Rate may overshoot Even in the Presence of Rational Expectations - Research Paper Example    John F. Muth of Indiana University coined the theory of rational expectations in the early sixties. He used the term to describe economic situations under which, the outcome depends on peoples' expectations. For example, as discussed by Sargent J. Thomas (Rational Expectations) "The price of an agricultural commodity depends on how many acres farmers plants, which in turn depends on the price that farmers expect to realize when they harvest and sell their crops". The theory greatly applies to the stock markets around the world, as, if investors expect the price of common stock of a particular company to come down they go on a selling spree and the result is obvious, and when they expect it to go up they buy heavily and hence, the prices spirally. To conclude the cornerstone of the theory, we can suggest that, people behave or take decisions in order to maximize the value of an outcome and they keep getting feedback from the transactions, as to what they expected and what they ac tually received. In this way, their expectations over a period of time tend to stabilize because of the result of the past outcomes. In other words, their expectations become rational. To put the theory in mathematical perspective, let us assume that P* is the equilibrium price (a price at which demand equals supply) in a market, then according to the rational expectations theory (Pe) will be the function of P* + e, where (Pe) is the expected price and e is the random error term, which is independent of P*. (Sargent J. Thomas, Rational Expectations). The theory of rational expectations is often put into practice in many economic as well as finance models. One such execution of the model is related to The Efficient Markets Theory of Stock Prices, which states that there are three forms of the efficient-market hypothesis, namely, weak form, semi-strong form, and strong form (Fischer Donald and Jordan Ronald 540). Weak form, which is also known as the Random-walk theory suggests that there is no purpose of examining the charts as the share pieces fully reflect the historical sequences. Semi-strong form, on the other hand, suggests that current market prices not only reflect the historical chart patterns, but also reflect all the publicly available knowledge, so this kind of information is almost always useless for the analysts and the investors. The theory maintains that as soon as the information is made public, the price plays catch-up and soon starts to reflect the new announcement. Finally, strong form suggests that not only pub licly available information is useless, but also all the information concerning the company is useless, as that will have no impact over the stock price.  

How Do Companies Use Global Strategies to Gain Competitive Advantage Essay

How Do Companies Use Global Strategies to Gain Competitive Advantage - Essay Example There are various firms which used to operate on local basis and the performance f such firms used to be pretty subdued. But those companies entered the international market only to gain competitive advantage and became major multinational companies. The present study has been conducted in order to analyze how companies use the global strategy to gain competitive advantage. Also the essential success factors of firms to succeed in the international business have been discussed. Add to that it has also been discussed that how companies can fail in the international market due to lack of planning and vision. The firms at the focal point of discussion happen to be the largest retailer in U.K. and the second largest retailer in the world Tesco (Henry, 2008, p. 89). Thesis How companies can use globalization strategy to gain competitive advantage? Analysis Global strategy can be defined as the strategic guide of a company to globalization. On the other competitive advantage can be defined as various ways via which a company can get the extra edge over the competitors. An ideal global strategy of a company should address issues such as the extent of presence in the global market, different strategies that can be adopted to develop strong global presence, the probable barriers to entry into the global markets, different modes of entry into the global market as well as the probable targeted international markets. Academic research on the global strategies came of age during 1980s. This included various research work done by Christopher Bartlett, Michael Porter and Sumantra Ghoshal (Kolb, 2008, p. 92). There are various factors that influence a firm to go global. However, one of the most important of the factors is the drive to get... This paper makes a conclusion that In the modern day business environment globalization is inevitable. Companies look to go beyond the domestic borders to enter new markets and target new customers. There is very little doubt that entering new foreign markets are extremely risky. But with high risks the company gets the opportunity of high return. One of the main objectives of entering the global markets is to gain competitive advantage overt the competitors. This essay stresses that one classic advantage of this has been Tesco as the firm used to be 2nd best retailer in U.K. But as the company decided to enter global markets, Tesco not only became the largest retailer in U.K. but also the third largest retailer in the world. However, there are some issues that a company should keep in mind while entering a global market. One of the major issues is the choice of market entry strategy. While Tesco went for a joint venture which seemed to be quite fruitful for China; the same company d ecided to go alone and use Greenfield strategy to enter U.S. which unlike China happened to be a matured economy. Also it had presence of Wal-Mart. And unlike china Tesco failed to make the same impact. Although there were other external factors but the major issues for failure was internal. Hence to conclude it can be said that despite of all the benefits of globalization a company should concentrate on developing appropriate strategy and execution of it to gain competitive advantages.

Introduction & Conclusion for implementation of quality application Essay

Introduction & Conclusion for implementation of quality application - Essay Example Many companies have started to shift to service industry in order to earn revenue but many of them face problem to maintain quality in service. Maintaining quality is also an important issue for product marketer because improving quality in production decreases overall cost for product marketer. Valls and Vergueiro (2006) argued that deploying quality applications such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma and Quality Circle etc can decrease error margin in production for manufacturing companies. In such context, Wisniewski (2001) pointed out that there cannot be one definition of quality which can serve the purpose of all the industry. For example, quality concept for manufacturing company is defined by its production efficiency, decrease in error margin in production, decrease in production frequency of faulty products etc while quality concept for hospitality sector is defined by its ability to provide faultless responsive service to customers. Finnish marketing legend Gron roos defined the quality concept in the following manner; The consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceives he has received, i.e. he puts the perceived service against the expected service. The result of this process will be the perceived quality of service. - (Gronroos, 1984, p. 37) Valls and Vergueiro (2006) pointed out that quality applications can cover number of interrelated aspects in the organization such as leadership, customer focus, environmental sustainability, management system, knowledge management, environmental sustainability, process approach and supplier relationship. International quality management body ISO has defined 8 quality criteria and meeting these criteria can help organizations to achieve quality excellence award. These quality criteria or applications can be defined as, 1- Customer focus- Proving service to customers which can meet or exceed the expectation of customers, 2- Leadership- achieving leadership position when it comes to qua lity management and guiding employees to maintain the leadership position, 3- People- proper utilization of human resources to ensure quality in the process, 4- Process- improving process flow to in order to enhance quality of the output, 5- System Approach- controlling interrelated process in order to improve quality of output, 6- Continual Improvement- sharing and managing knowledge within the organization in order to ensure sustainable growth, 7- Factual Decision- taking decision on the basis of facts and data driven manner and 8- Mutually Beneficial Relationship- providing mutual benefits to suppliers and other stakeholders (ISO, 2012). The researcher has already undergone the three case studies such as, 1- implementation of TQM in Florida International University- in this case study, the university has planned to implement TQM in order to improve quality of education and normal learning environment, 2- implementation of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) in Royal College Surgeons in Ireland- the institute has already became member of EFQM in 2010 and the institute has implemented the

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

Diabetes - Essay Example This paper focuses majorly on the bariatric surgery as an intervention for the treatment of diabetes in adults. Bariatric surgery is a consideration for people with type 2 diabetes who have BMI exceeding 35 kg/m ². It involves several surgeries on the gastrointestinal tract. These include the gastric banding or transposing, resecting, or bypassing sections of the small intestine. Interestingly, the gastrointestinal tract surgery had originally been developed for the treatment of morbid obesity. Later on, it was employed as a powerful intervention to ameliorate diabetes in severely obese patients by normalizing blood glucose levels. It reduces or completely avoids necessity for medications alongside being a cost-effective approach for the treatment of the disease. The American Diabetes Association (2014) recommends bariatric surgery consideration especially for adults with BMI 35 kg/m2 and type 2 diabetes. It applies particularly when the diabetes or the associated comorbidities prove to be difficult to manage through lifestyle and pharmacological therapy. An observation has been made that patients who have at a time undergone the bariatric surgery in most cases require lifelong medical monitoring and lifestyle support. Research has provided evidence related to the glycemic benefits of bariatric surgery patients with type 2 diabetes and BMI 30–35 kg/m2. The evidence has played a significant role in the recommendation of the bariatric surgery. However, there has been criticism that in well-designed controlled trials which have optimal medical and therapy as the comparing factor, the longtime benefits, cost-effectiveness and risks of bariatric surgery in individuals with type 2 diabetes should be reconsidered in further studies. In terms of the desired normalization of glycemia, studies have shown that Bariatric surgery achieves very close or complete normalization. Buchwald (2009), in a survey carried out on a population of people with type 2 diabetes,

The High Education and Economic Growth in China Essay

The High Education and Economic Growth in China - Essay Example Add to that the institutions operate can play major role in different contexts and also face certain challenges also. E.g. a university in China built in an urban area would look quite different than one built in a rural area Kolb, 2008, p. 92). There would also be difference in the modus operand. Here it needs to be mentioned that the higher education institutions include various vocational training colleges, technical colleges as well as informal institutions. In the context of the present study development has not been restricted to macroeconomic forces only. The improvement of human condition, quality of living, etc, has also been focused upon. The study has been conducted in order to analyze the major higher education transformation in China since 1999 and the impact of the transformation on the economy of the country. The commitment of the country to achieve continuous growth through major up gradation and production of new ideas has been reflected in the five year last and pre sent ongoing five year plan of the country (Burgemeister, 2003, p. 192). The educational transformation strategy mainly focuses on the commitments towards tertiary education to achieve significant changes in the overall style. The study discusses the amount of changes in the labour force China with reference to the supply of global labour as well as the type of profession. The number of graduate and under graduate students on the country has been growing since 1999 by almost 30% each and every year. Most of the spending made by the government is focused upon the new academic projects and the premier universities to extract the best talents possible. China has also been trying to upgrade the skills and the quality or production by increasing the higher educational reserve inputs.... This paper approves that during the focus group discussion the respondents felt that there is very little doubt over the fact that the educational expansion in China has played a major role in the economic growth of the country. But in between that the country has to face some steep challenges due to the growth of education. This paper makes a conclusion that the education reform in China, which was initiated in the late 70’s, has made vast contributions to the overall economic growth the country. The investments made by the country to develop and promote human capital have helped the country to improve the lifestyle in the urban and rural regions and narrow the gap both economically and socially in the regions. The focus of the government is not just on quantity but on quality as the institutions are focusing on the meeting international standards. However, the educational expansion has created income inequality and increased the rate of unemployment. However, the entry of China in WTO has encouraged investments by several major firms in the country. This has created job opportunities. The experts feel that the government has to focus on the bottom of the pyramid in order to ensure uniform distribution of educational expansion however it is being felt that based on the current success and initiat ives taken by the government that educational reforms would continue to play a major role in the economic reforms and China would continue to emerge as one of the most emerging economies in the world.

Karl Marx- Manifesto of the Communist Party Essay

Karl Marx- Manifesto of the Communist Party - Essay Example ried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary constitute of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes† (Marx). Accordingly, Karl Marx viewed societal structures as comprising effectively two components; namely the â€Å"bourgeoisie and the proletariat† in asserting that â€Å"our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however this distinct feature: it has simplified class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other - bourgeoisie and proletariat† (Communist Manifesto, 1848). To this end, the underlying proposition of the Communist Manifesto is that the social class struggle under the capitalist social paradigm, whilst creating oppression of the â€Å"proletarians†, ultimately lends itself to the demise of capitalism through revolution. Indeed, Linklater posits that â€Å"the structure of world capitalism guaranteed the emergence of the first authentically universal class which would liberate species from the consequences of estrangement between states and nations† (In Devetak et al, 2007 66). Moreover, Larson et al refer to the argument that socialists embraced the task of working class mobilisation and that â€Å"the perspectives which socialist theorists can be divided are revolutionary trade union activity and revolutionary transformation of capitalist society (Larson et al, 38). On the one hand, if we consider this in terms of the contemporary socio-economic framework; continuous evolution of social structures and demise of entrenched class barriers would suggest that Marx’s â€Å"bourgeoisie and proletariat† class model may be redundant and therefore should be viewed as solely contextually in terms of the socio-political backdrop influencing Marx’s theory at the time (Bottomore 23). For example, Bottomore highlights that â€Å"changes in working class politics during

Blake Recalls Innocence and Experience Essay Example for Free

Blake Recalls Innocence and Experience Essay When attempting to penetrate into the deeper themes of William Blakes cycle of poems Songs of Innocence and Experience it can be useful to recognize that the title of the poems, as well as the subsequent division into sections of innocence and experience carries ironic connotations. Blakes intention in this cycle of poems, which he subtitled Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (Ostriker, 1977, p. 104) was to posit the relationship of individual freedom and self-determination as being at one with Divine Will. Therefore, the state of innocence which is referred to in the cycles title as well as in the division of poems itself is meant to suggest not ignorance which leads to innocence but the innocence which is gained (or reclaimed) by the experience of the Divine. In fact the first poem in the innocence cycle, Introduction makes plainly manifest, Blakes ironic use of the titular connotations of innocence and experience. The poems second stanza reads: Pipe a song about a Lamb; So I piped with merry chear, Piper pipe that song again So I piped, he wept to hear (Ostriker, 1977, p. 104) The subtlety of Blakes theme here is so accomplished as to be almost invisible when one reads the lines without carefully probing each word for its connotations. Special attention must be given to each word-choice to extract from the sing-song pleasantness of the poem, the resounding and profound thematic ideas which lay beneath the poems surface. The word Lamb for example is capitalized not only to emphasize the mythic and religious ideas which are an intimate part of Christian symbolism, but to inform the reader that Lamb is, indeed, the theme of the entire poem. The repeating of the word piped is intended to show that the Divine voice is always trying to break through to humanity; the line So I piped, he wept to hear reveals that this song of innocence is, in fact, a song of experience: the knowledge that humanity is blind to, or in this case, deaf to, the Divine voice. While Blake emphasizes a state of idealism in his Songs of Innocence and Experience nowhere does he proffer the idea of passive acceptance of the worlds injustices or pain. In fact, passivity to the worlds suffering is defined not in the poems of innocence but in a poem of experience where Blakes verdict on the lack of empathy in the modern world could be made no more certain or clear. His poem London is a lament for precisely this idea of passive acceptance of world injustice and suffering: In ever cry of every man, In every Infants cry f fear, In very voice; in every ban, The mind-forgd manacles I hear (Ostriker, 1977, 128). In these lines, the capitalized word Infants denotes a connection to the Lamb of th other poems: in Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience the lamb and the child are both symbols of the individuated self, and also of the Divine Will, which Blake, as mentioned, attempts to unify in his poetry. (Ostriker). The phrase mind-forgd manacles is important because it shows how a lack of empathy and compassion or even concern for the worlds troubles is a function of ignorance, of a bad kind of innocence a worldly oblivion, which stands in sharp contrast to Blakes idealized state of Divine innocence which is often frustrated by the materiality of ignorance of the world, but is nevertheless, an inheritance, according to Blake, which is due to every living individual on earth. The attainment of a state of ideal innocence in Blake denotes a state of self-awareness and self-identity which steps outside of the concerns of material wealth and social standing and relies purely upon the human heart as its gauge of success and its proximity to the Divine as a measure of its truth. Reference Ostriker, Alicia. 1977. William Blake: The Complete Poems. Penguin Books, New York.

Assessing the VAT Administration in Ethiopia

Assessing the VAT Administration in Ethiopia Upon its assumption of power in May 1991, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came to grips with the deficiencies that featured as the hallmarks of the public service. Dictated by the demands of the structural adjustment program (SAP) and the zeal to usher in new government machinery arrangements in accordance with its drives and preferences; the EPRDF introduced a wide range public sector reform program . Public expenditure management and control including the revenue sector has been one of the areas of critical focus under this broad reform program/package/. On the top of this reform agenda, one of the new visions of Ethiopian government among other things is to bring rapid and sustainable development in the country. Hence the government recognized, that, the achievement of this rapid and sustainable development requires mainly sustained and dependable domestic revenue mobilization which otherwise be a dream to realize such a vision depending only on external finance source which is subject to uncertainty. In order to realize domestic revenue mobilization objectives, it is considered that the role of taxation is of vital importance. To this end, the government of Ethiopia has been making considerable efforts to reform its tax system that cover all the areas of direct and indirect taxes. Under the indirect taxation system, the major outcome of the reform was the introduction of VAT. Ethiopia introduced VAT through proclamation No. 282/2002 which has been ratified or July 2002 and come in to force on January 1/2003 .The adoption of VAT into its tax system by replacing the former sales tax was with the objective in which VAT is considered to be important to enhance saving and investment, minimize the damage that may be caused by tax evasion and avoidance, stimulate economic growth and improve the relationship between gross domestic product and government revenue in the country. In addition, some of the inherent deficiencies of the former sales tax system which contribute to the replacement by the VAT also include: The former sales tax being a single stage collection system led to a greater loss of revenue as the base was much narrower than VAT. It is in short that it leads to cascading effect. As the VAT system requires strict use of invoices and allows input credit, it is expected to better mitigate evasion than the former sales tax. VAT is a broad based tax on the consumption of goods and services with standard rate of 15% in Ethiopia. It is collected at all stages in the production and distribution process beginning with the importers and producers of raw materials and ending with the retailers. Unlike the sales tax system where by relief is granted only to raw materials used directly in the production of goods; the tax structure under VAT system take credit invoice method which allows the business to offset the tax paid on capital goods and purchase of inputs against the collected tax on sales of goods and services. Destination principle is the base in which only imports are subject to tax and exports are zero rated. Removing the tax content from exported goods is aimed at making the goods more competitive in international markets. The threshold for compulsory registration is annual turnover exceeding Ethiopian birr 500,000 (approximately $ US 30,414). Business establishments below this threshold are exempted. Basic goods (especially food items) and services are also exempt from VAT. VAT is the youngest tax regime in Ethiopia with the age of only 7 years. As Eduart G. by his article on Albanian Tax Administration stated much IMF experience suggests that first years are not nearly long enough to have a good VAT system up and running well. Ten years is perhaps closer to reality (Eduart G. 2009, pp1). This notion tends to be relevant to the Ethiopian context in which due to this and some other factors, the VAT administration process is perceived to have various problems that range from filing returns, through processing refunds, and to enforcement and facilitation problems. Under this short report paper, attempt is made to discuss the major problems in VAT administrative process in Ethiopia and to recommend some solutions deemed relevant to solve the problems and improve the VAT administration and compliance. Thus, section one is introduction and deals with the overall picture of the VAT system in Ethiopia. The VAT administrative process and associated problems and risks are discussed under section two. And finally, section three deals with concluding remarks by summarizing the major problems and compliance risks of the VAT administration in Ethiopia. VAT administrative process 2.1. Basic principles governing VAT Administration a. Voluntary compliance Voluntary compliance is considered to be the primary objective of revenue authorities. Like any other revenue authorities, ERCA has several tax laws and regulations upon which it operates with a spectrum of needed compliance instruments. The instruments that are in place to leverage compliance range from education to sanction. Sensitization and awareness creation on tax obligations is pursued as a primary avenue to bring about the desired compliance behavior following which penalties are to be considered. Severe penalties may even be exercised awhile depending on the nature and magnitude of the violations. The preferred option of ERCA though, is one of adopting an administrative approach that encourages voluntary compliance with in a co-operative and participative regulatory environment. Thus, voluntary compliance by tax payers is the basic approach of the authority also with regard to VAT administration. Although this approach can be viewed as the strength of the VAT administration, the practical observation is far apart from this wish. Voluntary compliance can be better achieved through intensive tax payer education and delivery of quality service and information. Tax payers should need to know their rights and obligations to comply with .Delivery of quality service and information is also equally important to attract them to do so. However, due to the low coverage and poor performance of these matters and some other cultural and administrative problems, voluntary compliance is hardly attained objective in Ethiopia. b. Self Assessment VAT is self assessed tax in Ethiopia and this can be viewed as its strength that, one of the important features of modern tax administrations is the provision for self assessment. The responsibility for the correct calculation and timely payment of VAT rests on the taxpayer himself. In fact there are variety of circumstances in which the authority may issue an additional assessment such as in the case, where a person fails to furnish a return as require by law, and if the authority is not satisfied for any reason of perceived risks. One of the basic reasons to employ self assessed VAT system is administrative feasibility the fact that revenue authorities can not afford to knock every ones door to reasonably assess and collect tax liabilities. Rather, they need to focus on and direct much of their efforts and resources to those tax payers that are considered to be high risk traders. As indicated by the Indian Government Department of Revenue report on international best practice in VAT administration, in order for such a self assessment system to be effective, the apparent freedom granted to tax payers must be backed up with a supportive legislative framework and a comprehensive and integrated set of administrative processà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ most importantly, as further indicated, the modern tax management therefore relies heavily upon risk assessment tools to determine which tax payers matters must be examined very closely, not merely at the audit level, but at all stages of the tax process from registration to collection (Indian Government Department of revenue 2006). When we look at in to Ethiopian situation in light of this view; the risk assessment practice is in its infant age. ERCA has passed all its age with out formal compliance risk management policy and strategy. Currently, however, ERCA has this policy and strategy which is endorsed on June 2010. Although it is too early to evaluate its impact with in 5 months of its endorsement, it is believed that it will bring a significant improvement on the compliance management efforts of the authority. 2.2. VAT Registration The VAT legislation in Ethiopia provides for two types of registration which are obligatory and voluntary. The threshold for obligatory registration is the annual taxable turnover that exceeds Ethiopian Birr 500,000.The primary intention to limit the registration threshold was consideration to administrative feasibility. However with this threshold limit even, the registration performance tends to be unsatisfactory. Regarding voluntary registration, a person, who carried on taxable activity and is not subject to mandatory registration, may voluntarily apply to the authority for such registration, if he regularly supplies at least 75% of his taxable goods and services to VAT registered person. In line with the threshold limit for obligatory registration, the government set turnover tax as equalizing factor to enhance fairness in commercial relations and make complete the coverage of the tax system at the same time reaching those tax payers below the threshold value. However due to the low enforcement capacity and some other reasons it tends to be less performed and viewed by registered taxpayers as ill addressed area. For example the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association in its release on National Business Agenda stated the following: A VAT registrant has to charge consumers an indirect tax of 15% of the value of goods or services sold. A non- registrant, however, pays a turnover tax (TOT) of 2% on goods sold and 2-10% on services rendered. Given these rates VAT registrants could not compete in the market. More over the tax Authority has limited capacity to enforce compliance. Knowing the authoritys limitations, many business enterprises who are required to register for VAT do not comply. This situation has created a distorted market, where those registered for VAT are subjected to unfair competition (Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce Sectoral Association 2007-2008 pp8) As we can understand from these statements, their argument refers to the wider gap between the VAT rate of 15% and the 2% rate for turn over tax which led to market distortion (unfair competition) together with the limited administrative capacity of the authority to enforce and facilitate the proper management of the turnover tax and the registration to VAT. Due to low compliance culture, low audit coverage, weak administrative capacity to detect and register potential unregistered tax payers; non registration is one of the most critical challenges in Ethiopian VAT administration system. The study by Tewodros Zewdie, also supplements this and the above view as he stated the business community contends that taxes are disproportionately collected from a few formal sector enterprises, while large sums remain out side tax system due to evasion, ineffective tax administration and inconsistent registration (Tewodros Zewedie 2010, PP1) . Further more as the study by Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the UK indicates , only approximately 434,000 registered tax payers under all tax regimes out of population of 80 million- is biggest risk unregistered trading in Ethiopia (HMRC, Mission Summary report 2009 , pp 55) . As the study further assumes in fact it may be crude to take all the 80, million populations as a potential. Let us consider that 85% of the population being agricultural society is not required to register. This drops down the figure to 15 million (15% of the population). Also assume that unemployed work force including children possibly reduce this to 10 million. So that we still have at least 9.5 million people unregistered. The same trend holds true of VAT registration. Really this is greatest risk for Ethiopian tax administration. 2.3. Filing Returns and Payment of Tax VAT return is a form filled by a VAT registered person and filed with the tax authority at the end of each VAT accounting period showing if there is VAT payable or refundable. According to the VAT proclamation, every registered person is required to file the VAT return with the tax authority for each accounting period, whether or not tax is payable in respect of that period, no later than the last day of the calendar month following VAT accounting period. The payment of the tax liability is also expected at the point of declaration. Non declaration or frequently declaration of Nil are among the significant risks currently identified by ERCA. On the other hand the business community is complaining that a one month period for declaration and payment of VAT is very short. In fact, this is also evidenced by the study conducted by Wollea Abhodie as she stated this is a problem especially for tax payers conducting business at several locations since gathering documents from different offices takes time. Further according to the survey respondents, the shortness of the reporting period puts substantial pressure on employees and disrupts the normal operation of businesses (Yesgat WA 2008 pp151). The other problem is that every person registered for VAT is needed to go to tax offices in person to file and pay tax returns each month through out the year. No other option is provided and this may require the tax payer even to travel several kilometers in some instances. In addition the payment of tax liability exceeding Ethiopian birr 1000 is required to be effected through Ethiopian Commercial Bank and after paying the money the tax payer is required to submit the bank advice to the revenue authority. Hence he is forced to go to the bank as well as to the revenue authority to pay and report the same amount of money. This imposes some cost of service charge and time on the tax payer. VAT Invoicing VAT invoice is the central feature of VAT accounting. Under Ethiopian VAT law, the registered person is required to issue VAT invoice to the purchaser of goods and services upon the supply or rendering, but not later than 5 days after the transaction. A person who is not registered for VAT doesnt have the right to issue a tax invoice. It should be noted that only VAT registered person have to issue a VAT invoice if the total consideration for the entire supply does exceed Ethiopian Birr 10. In principle, as Eng L. Ming stated one key feature of the VAT system is the requirement to issue tax invoice that provides audit trail and the mechanism for the self- policing nature of the tax. In the light of the importance of the tax invoice, the material aspects relating to the use and form of the document are regulated (Eng L Ming 2004, pp2). However, if this is to work, all actors in the system should comply as per the law. Apart from this view, the VAT invoicing practice is serving much below than the expectation. In Ethiopia the problem is two sided. On the one hand the suppliers tend to use any opportunity to avoid the issuance of VAT invoice which may include negotiation with purchaser. On the other hand, most of the purchasers perhaps all citizens, unless they need it as evidence for claiming VAT refund or some other reason such as for accounts settlement with their organizations (employers) ; no one as civilized citizen, worries about demanding invoices. The other problem with VAT invoices is the use of fake or duplicated invoices. VAT sales invoices are printed by each tax payer with the provision of standard format and permission by the tax authority. However there is no criteria or procedure issued to select printing presses (firms) and it is up to the tax payer to select and negotiate with the printing firm nea rby. This gives rise to the printing of fake and duplicated invoices. This issues are further evidenced by the study conducted by Yesgat WA as she stated these problems include the difficulty of getting invoices on purchases and details of customers for the preparation of sales invoices, the problem of supplying with out invoices (by giving the option of buying with or without invoices to customers) and using duplicated invoices (Yesgat WA 2008 pp 153). VAT Refund VAT refund is the net VAT that a registered person expects from the tax authority when input VAT exceeds output VAT. At the end of a VAT accounting period, if output VAT exceeds input VAT, the difference is the amount of VAT payable to the tax Authority. On the other hand, if input tax exceeds output tax, the supplier may be allowed to carry the credit forward and a refund is made after five months if input VAT still exceeds out put tax. VAT refunds in Ethiopia are financed out of consolidated VAT collections and there is no specific expenditure appropriation for VAT refunds in the annual budget. This is one of the reasons to delay in VAT refunds when cash shortage occurs. As Indian government department of revenue indicated experience with VAT implementation in many countries shows that refund of credits has been the Achilles heel of the VAT. It has been a source of tension between tax authorities and the business sector and in some countries has led to complex administrative measures that have significantly undermined the functioning of the VAT system à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦as further indicated the prevalence of fraudulent claims is often cited by tax officials as a major reason for delaying payment of refunds. Often less advanced tax administrations pursue time consuming and labor intensive processes to verify claims before approving refunds, resulting in backlogs of refund requests and considerable disquiet among business tax payers who have been deprived of their working capital. In contrast, the most effective and efficient tax administrations tackle refund related fraud as part of a broader VAT compliance strategy based on risk management principles and generally limit pre-refund verification checks to perceived high risk claims (Indian Government, Department of Revenue 2006). The view holds true in our context in which risk based compliance management practice is not matured and refund requests are subject to pre-refund verifications in most cases. The refund period is also relatively longer than those of advanced economies with a period of on month. By the side of the taxpayers, VAT refund is one of the areas with significant risk under ERCAS current list of risk records. A common risk in this regard is that, goods declared for export and consequently declared as zero- rate on future declarations are diverted in to domestic consumption. The case of a declared export of sugar across the Kenyan border and its consequent identification of domestic consumption (which is repeatedly detected) is one of the specific examples. VAT Audit Tax audit is one of the most important tools of treating compliance risk by tax administrators. However, it is also considered to be one of the capacity challenges to many administrations. For example, as the Indian Government Revenue Department study indicates, it has generally been observed that audit is most often the weakest component of VAT administration, early in the implementation phase. This is because a completely new law is introduced, and both the departments staff and the dealers are in- experienced with it (Indian government department of revenue 2006, pp 61). The current audit status in Ethiopia shows this reality. As the study by HMRC of UK indicated, EARCAS current capacity through its large tax payers office for eg, is limited to only 20 audits per month, each one requiring between 10 and 20 staff days to complete. At least 5000 (all category A) tax payers are expected to be subject to this audit and there fore it may take nearly 21 years to visit all the large taxpayer population to ERCA and they would not be selected at all if they continue to make payment declarations (HMRC mission summary report 2009 pp 54). It worth, more attention would have been given to the VAT audit, the fact that the overall value of VAT share is considerably significant of all revenue income (about 85% )as the same study indicated. For audit to be efficient and effective, it should be supplemented by sound risk management /selectivity practices. The lack of sound risk management practice is one of the most contributing factors for the insignificant impact of audit on VAT compliance efforts. In other words, audit efforts are considered to be only a futile attempt in some instances, which result in less benefit than its cost. Penalties/Enforcement and Recognition. In this regard, the legislative base is not the source of problem. It sets out the rights and obligations of the tax officers as well as the tax payers. There are clearly stated provisions about the powers and penalties available to the tax authorities including the administrative settlement of tax offences and other related issues. However, this strong side is dominated by the low enforcement capacity of the authority and the law is not serving up to the expectation. In fact, within the sphere of the limited capacity, enforcement actions to leverage compliance range from education to appropriate sanctions. Thus the current trend differentiate between violations leading to customer education or warning and deliberate non- compliance leading to penalties i.e. those who are willing to be compliant but dont understand (making mistakes) are tackled through simplification of procedures, guidance and taxpayer education. And those who deliberately violate are treated through ranges of appropriate enforcement actions and penalties. Similarly, the current system some how recognizes for good compliance in which such firms are subject to lower intervention and provided with increased self assessment. Given its low capacity to enforce the rules, these approaches can be considered as the strength of the current VAT system. As in the case of all other issues, the low level of risk management practice and the low coverage and quality of audit are some of the fac tors that contribute to the low achievement of the law enforcement efforts. Concluding Remarks The VAT administration in Ethiopia is tending to follow approaches that are common to those modern tax administrations such as more reliance on self assessment and voluntary compliance. The fresh start of compliance risk management policy and strategy is also the current hope of the Authority for the better achievement of its law enforcement and compliance objectives. However, the low level of awareness by the tax payers, low compliance culture, the limited administrative capacity of the authority (institutional as well as man power capacity), lack of sound risk management practice to supplement the tax audit and law enforcement efforts etc. are some of the most critical challenges to ERCA to face currently. There fore; Adequate and continuous taxpayer education together with the provision of quality service and information is on the top of the solutions to bring voluntary compliance and better achieve its objectives. This may include, providing additional explanatory materials on tax laws, free training and taxpayer education programs, using community radios, establishing permanent contact and help centers, free phone lines (information desks), and wider use of public media etc. Further more, the service delivery arrangements should also need to consider such aspects as special treatment of large tax payers through large tax payer units (LTU), establishment of special tax courts, one stop shopping and different options to file and pay return by the tax payer such as through post office, electronic mail etc as appropriate are some of the important elements that add some value to the current situation. The approaches for self assessment and voluntary compliance by the tax payers should be followed by strong law enforcement through sound risk analysis and deterring measures focusing on high risk tax payers of non-complaints. Enhancing risk aware management culture, properly implementing the risk analysis output to supplement and direct the audit and the law enforcement efforts is very crucial to economic deployment of scarce resources and achieve its objectives of control and facilitation in much better effective and efficient way. More specifically, other comments include the following; The VAT administration fail not only to detect and register the potential non- registrants; but it equally fail to properly enforce and manage the registered tax payers as well. This situation may call for upgrading the current threshold to a reasonably manageable level inline with strengthing its capacity to effectively cop-up with the situation. Much focus is also required to the administration and control of turnover tax (TOT) to minimize the current market distortion and unfair competition between the VAT registered and non registered businesses. Building the capacity of VAT officers and auditors through intensive skill development trainings and education programs to up grade their skill an knowledge level is very crucial area that need due attention . Increasing the number of VAT auditors with adequate skill and hence widening the current level of insignificant coverage of audit to meaningful level is also another area that need fast action. To promote better compliance culture and the use of VAT invoices, by both the taxpayer and the consumer, in addition to the above taxpayer education mass sensitization and civic awareness creation is very important. Further, to motivate individual consumers (purchasers) to claim receipts for the purchase (consumption) they made and the amount paid it will be helpful for the VAT invoices to bear some incentive in the form of lottery or like. To eliminate the delay in VAT refunds due to cash shortage, specific expenditure appropriation for this purpose in the annual budget will be valuable. Similarly the VAT refund period also may need adjustments based on international best practice benchmarking such as to one month period. As non- registration is one of the biggest risks; it is an area that requires much effort and enforcement. The current approach that mainly focus on the visit of the tax payers premises once through- out the year by local inspectors should be supplemented by permanent tax messenger that frequently visit the tax payers business and related affairs and report to the authority to decide on the registration or deregistration of the tax payer . Finally, as the overall value of VAT share is considerably significant of all revenue income, much attention should be granted and there fore need to assure that income stream is protected. Resources should be directed to maximize the revenue income from the major taxes rather than trying to assure equally across all regimes that could, potentially, expose larger taxes to attack by customers.

Decision Making by Criminals Essay -- Rational Choice Criminology Essa

Decision Making by Criminals The issue of whether decision making by criminals is a rational process is a heated topic of discussion when one asserts that crime is the role of choice. Before the classical school of criminology, crime was thought to be the product of the paranormal occurrence of demons, witches, ghouls, and other creatures. The time prior to the classical school of criminology, called the preclassical era, is divided in two parts. Before the time of state intervention into private matters, each individual dealt with violations of their rights. This was a problem because of the continuous cycle of violence being perpetuated. Soon the State (and even the Church) took on the task of dispensing law and order to the masses of the Middle Ages. This led to a period called the Holy Inquisition which lasted from the twelfth century to the eighteenth century. During the Holy Inquisition, punishment that was harsh and capricious was the norm. Also, there was no protection against bogus allegations, meaning , the burden of proof was on the accused to prove his/her innocence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The classical school of criminology was a response to the harsh times of the Holy Inquisition. It was a product of the Enlightenment, seeking to replace the notions of the divine rights of royalty and clergy with rationalism, intellectualism, and humanitarianism. The two chief ambassadors of the classical school of criminology are Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) and Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). Beccaria is widely recognized as the father of the classical school of criminology. In his essay Dei deliti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishment), Beccaria asserted that humans are rational, have free will, and are hedonistic. He also claimed that crime can be prevented by convincing warnings of punishments. To succeed in preventing crime, certainty, severity, and celerity of punishment must be present. Jeremy Bentham embraced the utilitarian philosophy of replacing harsh and capricious punishments with humane punishments and protection against bogus allegations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The classical school of criminology was the foundation of the modern criminal justice system in the Western world. Criminal law and criminal procedure now assume that people are rational actors, thanks to the classical school of criminology. In addition, penalties for crime became more humane and policing turned to ... ...minology: Explaining Crime and Its Context 5th ed. Cincinnati, OH: Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., 2004 Exum, M. Lyn. ?The Application and Robustness of the Rational Choice Perspective in the Study of Intoxicated and Angry Intentions to Aggress.? Criminology. Nov. 2002. Vol. 40 Issue 4, p933. Frank, Robert H. ?Commitment Problems in the Theory of Rational Choice.? Texas Law Review. Jun. 2003. Vol. 81 Issue 7, p1789. McCarthy, Bill. ?New Economics of Sociological Criminology.? Annual Review of Sociology. 2002. Vol. 28 Issue 1, p417. Mendes, Silvia M. ?Certainty, Severity, and Their Relative Deterrent Effects: Questioning the Implications of the Role of Risk in Criminal Deterrence Policy.? Policy Studies Journal. 2004. Vol. 32 Issue 1, p59. Nagin, Daniel S. and Raymond Pasternoster. ?Personal Capital and Social Control: The Deterrence Implications of a Theory of Individual Differences in Criminal Offending.? Criminology. Nov. 1994. Vol. 32, Issue 4, p. 581. Wood, Peter B. and David C. May. ?Racial Differences in Perceptions of the Severity of Sanctions: A comparison of Prison with Alternatives.? Justice Quarterly. Sep. 2003. Vol. 20, Issue 3, p. 605

The Life of William Carlos Williams Essay -- English Literature Essays

The Life of William Carlos Williams â€Å"Nothing whips my blood like verse.† These are the famous words of the great poet, William Carlos Williams. Williams was born on September 17, 1883 in Rutherford, New Jersey. He spent most of his life in Rutherford, so today he is a local hero. Williams’ mother was Puerto Rican and almost had pure Spanish blood. His father was American. As a child, Williams’ dad was a salesman and was often away from home. Thus, they didn’t see each other very much. When Williams was four, he attended school in Switzerland and France for three years. Then his family moved back to Rutherford. Williams started writing poetry at Horace Mann High School, in New York City. His parents loved literature and the visual arts, so Williams had a large vocabulary and a gift for writing poetry. Even though Williams’ parents were all for literature, they wanted him to become a doctor. So in high school, Williams decided he would go to medical school but continue to write poe try. Williams soon was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and went off to college. At the University of Pennsylvania, he stuck to his word, practicing medicine and writing poetry. His parents really influenced him to study to become a doctor so Williams worked extremely hard. In college, Williams was befriended by poet Ezra Pound. He was the main person who encouraged him to continue writing poetry. Williams would come to his dormitory every night and Ezra would help him. Slowly, Ezra developed him into a great poet. After Williams completed his studies, he had his heart set on both writing poetry and a medical career. Three years later (in 1909) Williams’ first poems were published. A year after that Williams began a private medical practice in Rutherford, something which lasted for over 40 years. Every day he’d practice medicine, and then come home around one o’clock in the morning and write poetry. By 1912, his medical practice had given Williams the financial freedom to write what he wished. Williams started writing poetry all day. Many of these poems got published, and during the 1920’s-1950’s, he was venerated by other poets because he rejected formalism. Over this period of time Williams received many awards and published many other poems. Williams also married Florence Herman in 1912. Sadly, Williams Carlos Williams died on March 4, 1963. He may... ...or answer. Even though back when Williams’ published his first poems they seemed different and strange, they caught on and were loved. Today, many poets use Williams’ techniques. There were dozens of poets to choose from for the ORP, but out of all of them I chose William Carlos Williams. The main reason I chose Williams as my poet was because he’s my dad’s all-time favorite poet. He had many of his poetry books and information about him, so if I had any questions my dad knew all the answers. When I first started reading Williams’ poems, I thought they were rather strange. But as my dad explained how he wrote and what some of the poems meant, I started really understanding his poetry and now he is my favorite poet. From reading Williams’ poetry, I have learned one extremely special and important thing about writing poetry. That you don’t always have to write about things that have a message to have a great poem, you can write about random objects and still have a wonderful poem. I would recommend Williams to more advanced readers who really understand poetry and already know a little bit about his past, because knowing Willi ams’ background really helped me understand his poetry. The Life of William Carlos Williams Essay -- English Literature Essays The Life of William Carlos Williams â€Å"Nothing whips my blood like verse.† These are the famous words of the great poet, William Carlos Williams. Williams was born on September 17, 1883 in Rutherford, New Jersey. He spent most of his life in Rutherford, so today he is a local hero. Williams’ mother was Puerto Rican and almost had pure Spanish blood. His father was American. As a child, Williams’ dad was a salesman and was often away from home. Thus, they didn’t see each other very much. When Williams was four, he attended school in Switzerland and France for three years. Then his family moved back to Rutherford. Williams started writing poetry at Horace Mann High School, in New York City. His parents loved literature and the visual arts, so Williams had a large vocabulary and a gift for writing poetry. Even though Williams’ parents were all for literature, they wanted him to become a doctor. So in high school, Williams decided he would go to medical school but continue to write poe try. Williams soon was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and went off to college. At the University of Pennsylvania, he stuck to his word, practicing medicine and writing poetry. His parents really influenced him to study to become a doctor so Williams worked extremely hard. In college, Williams was befriended by poet Ezra Pound. He was the main person who encouraged him to continue writing poetry. Williams would come to his dormitory every night and Ezra would help him. Slowly, Ezra developed him into a great poet. After Williams completed his studies, he had his heart set on both writing poetry and a medical career. Three years later (in 1909) Williams’ first poems were published. A year after that Williams began a private medical practice in Rutherford, something which lasted for over 40 years. Every day he’d practice medicine, and then come home around one o’clock in the morning and write poetry. By 1912, his medical practice had given Williams the financial freedom to write what he wished. Williams started writing poetry all day. Many of these poems got published, and during the 1920’s-1950’s, he was venerated by other poets because he rejected formalism. Over this period of time Williams received many awards and published many other poems. Williams also married Florence Herman in 1912. Sadly, Williams Carlos Williams died on March 4, 1963. He may... ...or answer. Even though back when Williams’ published his first poems they seemed different and strange, they caught on and were loved. Today, many poets use Williams’ techniques. There were dozens of poets to choose from for the ORP, but out of all of them I chose William Carlos Williams. The main reason I chose Williams as my poet was because he’s my dad’s all-time favorite poet. He had many of his poetry books and information about him, so if I had any questions my dad knew all the answers. When I first started reading Williams’ poems, I thought they were rather strange. But as my dad explained how he wrote and what some of the poems meant, I started really understanding his poetry and now he is my favorite poet. From reading Williams’ poetry, I have learned one extremely special and important thing about writing poetry. That you don’t always have to write about things that have a message to have a great poem, you can write about random objects and still have a wonderful poem. I would recommend Williams to more advanced readers who really understand poetry and already know a little bit about his past, because knowing Willi ams’ background really helped me understand his poetry.

Can We Know When to Trust Our Emotions in the Pursuit?

What is actual definition of emotion? There is no actual definition even though the Oxford Dictionary defines it as: â€Å"The part of a person’s character that consists of feeling†. Emotions are one part of the Ways of Knowing. Primary emotions are: * Happiness * Sadness * Fear * Anger * Surprise * Disgust those emotions are not learnt, they are inborn, because even born blind or deaf people show these emotions. So how did emotions help us in getting knowledge during the history? I think, that the best example of this will be war, as it’s always full of emotions, such as fear, pain, hope, sorrow, loss and others.All of them makes people’s minds unclear and spoiled so they can’t perceive the reality properly. For example, there is a story about the Second World War. One German soldier was in a special group of people who was walking through the villages gathering supplies. Once they have been ambushed by Russian partisans, they split. After some tim e passed, this soldier saw a house burning and a woman who was crying inside. He ran into house and saved her, but on the way back to safe place he has been shot by a Russian soldier. The great misunderstanding happened that day.The heroism of the German soldier was understood as an attempt to kill a woman but not to safe. It happened because Russian soldier was over full with the feeling of hatred and anger to a German and couldn’t think clearly. The other example of the influence of emotions on our knowledge and its gaining is art and what we feel about it. Mainly those feelings which we experience, for example, in front of a painting or while reading a book. In my opinion, a good attempt to explain this would be an example from real life situation. Once I was in the art gallery, and it was a modern art exhibition there.The pictures were pretty weird (that’s what I thought) and I couldn’t understand what they showed. I was thinking about the meaning for a few hours but didn’t get it. So when my parents asked me about how was it I answered them that I didn’t like it. Next time I was there with my father and it was the art exhibition of the scenery paintings. I liked them and I understood the exact meaning of them. I felt warmth of the sunny day, cold of the windy winter and sadness of the autumn just because of the emotions they incident to me.Compare to the modern art exhibition where I didn’t understand anything because paintings didn’t incident any feelings in me that one was much better and it is only because of the feelings inside me – emotions. In conclusion, I would say that even though emotions make our minds unclear and make it much more difficult to understand the reality properly, they also help us to understand the unknown things such as paintings or music due to the emotions they are keeping inside them. What is actual definition of emotion?There is no actual definition even though the Oxfor d Dictionary defines it as: â€Å"The part of a person’s character that consists of feeling†. Emotions are one part of the Ways of Knowing. Primary emotions are: * Happiness * Sadness * Fear * Anger * Surprise * Disgust those emotions are not learnt, they are inborn, because even born blind or deaf people show these emotions. So how did emotions help us in getting knowledge during the history? I think, that the best example of this will be war, as it’s always full of emotions, such as fear, pain, hope, sorrow, loss and others.All of them makes people’s minds unclear and spoiled so they can’t perceive the reality properly. For example, there is a story about the Second World War. One German soldier was in a special group of people who was walking through the villages gathering supplies. Once they have been ambushed by Russian partisans, they split. After some time passed, this soldier saw a house burning and a woman who was crying inside. He ran int o house and saved her, but on the way back to safe place he has been shot by a Russian soldier. The great misunderstanding happened that day.The heroism of the German soldier was understood as an attempt to kill a woman but not to safe. It happened because Russian soldier was over full with the feeling of hatred and anger to a German and couldn’t think clearly. The other example of the influence of emotions on our knowledge and its gaining is art and what we feel about it. Mainly those feelings which we experience, for example, in front of a painting or while reading a book. In my opinion, a good attempt to explain this would be an example from real life situation. Once I was in the art gallery, and it was a modern art exhibition there.The pictures were pretty weird (that’s what I thought) and I couldn’t understand what they showed. I was thinking about the meaning for a few hours but didn’t get it. So when my parents asked me about how was it I answered them that I didn’t like it. Next time I was there with my father and it was the art exhibition of the scenery paintings. I liked them and I understood the exact meaning of them. I felt warmth of the sunny day, cold of the windy winter and sadness of the autumn just because of the emotions they incident to me.Compare to the modern art exhibition where I didn’t understand anything because paintings didn’t incident any feelings in me that one was much better and it is only because of the feelings inside me – emotions. In conclusion, I would say that even though emotions make our minds unclear and make it much more difficult to understand the reality properly, they also help us to understand the unknown things such as paintings or music due to the emotions they are keeping inside them.

Book Critique on Sharing Jesus Without Fear

Liberty Theological Seminary Book Critique Sharing Jesus without Fear A Paper Submitted to Dr. Gregory Hammond In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Course Contemporary Evangelism Evan 565 Bibliographical Information Fay, William and Linda Evans Shepherd, â€Å"Sharing Jesus Without Fear†, B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999. Author Information William Fay, author of Sharing Jesus without fear, shares his testimony in the beginning of his book. Fay was once president and CEO of a large company. This was not all that he dabbled in as he had ties to illegal activities such as racketeering, bookmaking, gambling, and even ran a house of prostitution. (Fay,1) According to Fay, he felt at this time in his life he had everything that life could offer. The expensive watches, money, multiple marriages, but this trend in his life did not continue. Fay, eventually came to Jesus Christ and went to Denver Seminary, and now is an evangelist that travels throughout the U. S. Content Summary Fay states at the very beginning what the purpose of his work. He states that it’s objective is to provide liberty and to build the believer so he can present the Gospel and not fail. (Fay, Preface) The book is broken down into 11 chapters each dealing with aspects when presenting the Gospel. Fay starts with establishing the fact that just because you present the Gospel and someone does not respond it does not mean that you failed. Success when it comes to the Gospel is presenting the Gospel and living out the Gospel. Fay points to the fact that it boils down to obedience. The next couple of chapters, Fay address the issue of not sharing the Gospel and common objections and fears that Christians have when presenting the Gospel. In Chapter 2, the author states that we must repent of the sin of silence. Christians, who never discuss the Gospel, instead talk about unsaved world, but does nothing about it. In this same chapter the author tries to instill in the believer to see the vision that Jesus Christ has for the world and for us to share this same message with the world that can change their life. Fay advocates there are some Christians that will tell people they will pray for them and perform other nice gestures, but never share the Gospel at all. Fay stress that believers need to escape from this philosophy and see the need to reach people in their need. The next chapter in Fay work addresses common objections or fears that Christians have when it comes to witness. Fay in Chapter 3 present the question is it the Christian responsibility to share the Gospel if so then why are we not doing so. He goes through several reasons why we might not share the Gospel. Some of the objections are as follows: afraid of rejection, what friends might think, and not knowing enough scripture knowledge to highlight some. Fay advocates that it is time for the Christian to drop the excuses. He also states in this chapter if the Christian wants to see true joy in his life then the Christian needs to start sharing his faith with others. (Fay,28) The rest of his book is dedicated to explaining his philosophy and approach when it comes to sharing the Christian faith. Fay takes the next several chapters in particular 4-6 sharing the format which he uses and encourages believers to follow as well. He starts off in Chapter 4 how to lead a conversation to discuss spiritual matters. He shares several icebreakers that can be used to lead a conversation to spiritual matters. He also shares in this chapter that 5 simple questions can be asked that will open the conversation towards the topic of Jesus Christ. The difference is that the believer is not to argue or defend right away, but to simply listen. The next chapter deals with the power of the Gospel and as one are engaged in a spiritual conversation to introduce scripture, but have the person read it for themselves and not explain it. Let scripture speak for itself and let the Holy Spirit do the work of convicting. His last chapter in regards to presenting the Gospel is to bring the discussion to a decision and asking several more questions about making a decision. The questions are as follows: are you a sinner, do you want forgiveness of sins, do you believe Jesus died on the cross for your and rose again, are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ, and are you ready to invite Jesus into your life and into your heart. (Fay, 62-63) At this point in the conversation Fay charges the believer to be quiet and not say anything and let God work. In the final several chapters of Fay book, he addresses common objections raised by those who chose not to receive Christ and how to address those objections. He list 36 common objections as the ones that are the most prominent. Fay also states that when addressing objections to make sure that one asks the question why. If we are quick to defend we might not get the right answer, but rather asking why usually reveals the reason and we can try to address it. The last two chapters of his book deal with having a mixture of Christian and non-Christian friends and how our lives around our non-Christian friends can make an impact. As well, he does cover how to pray for the lost and follow a simple plan to follow to pray for them using a seven day model. His last chapter deals with more of an exhortation to go and start sharing our faith with the lost. His last question he poses before closing the chapter is does the believer talk to the lost or about them which was his main question in the beginning of his work. Evaluation In examining, â€Å"Sharing Jesus without Fear† one should have some heighten confident in regards to sharing the Gospel. The author’s original intend for this book is freedom and confidence when presenting the Gospel. The author takes the approach in his work to start when Christian are at, and charges them to break from silence. Author does relieve the Christians of undue pressure that a belief might feel in regards to witness. He states that we are just obeying Jesus Christ my sharing the message that He left for us. It is not about how many we can stuff into a church or put on a badge of honor like we accomplished the work ourselves. The question is will the believer respond to the call of Jesus Christ. He states that a lot Christians are not following the command of Jesus Christ and a lot of Christians are afraid. The author does not cite any surveys to proof this, but giving the condition of society today, it is probably an accurate statement. He does address the common objections or reasons why Christians do not go out and share the Gospel with several scripture passages that address each reason why believers do not share their faith like they should. He also explains that God promises the believer that he will be with us when the believer shares his faith. To site another problem that believers have when presenting the Gospel, is how to introduce the topic without being to obtrusive. He gave some examples of icebreakers or ways to lead a conversation to the desire result of sharing the Gospel. What is unique about the author approach to the topic is his simple, but direct approach to the Gospel. The states the five questions he asked acts as guide to get to the heart of the matter which would be sharing the Gospel. He says by asking these questions people are more open then we realize and willing to share their personal beliefs. The comforting point he makes is that Christians are to share and live out the Gospel. The book takes on more of a practical tone. Basically, the whole of idea is that sharing the Gospel does not have to be so complex and overwhelming as it seems as it is made out to be. The author teaches the believer that sharing the Gospel will bring joy that is sometimes missing from the believer life. The believer can share the message of the cross quietly easily without fear knowing that God is there to support the believer and success of the presentation is not depended on the fact that the person comes to Christ or not. Success for the believer is that fact that he we went out and obeyed Christ and if it results in a person coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ then that is a blessing. A couple of items worth highlighting showing some elements that are quite good. The redefining of what success is in terms of witness. The second is the how approach to witness by asking the five questions and just listen and not interrupting which is the hardest thing to do. Another element of his presentation is the use of scripture. Have the person read it for themselves and discover the meaning of the passage by having the Holy Spirit illuminate their minds to the truth of the Gospel. Finally, the common objections that often that do come up are worth taking the time to read, and see if the responds are really helpful when a believer is in a conversation with an unbeliever. Some negative aspects of the book are as follows. First, there were very few references to other materials to support some of his claims. For example, the most common reason believers do not share their faith. He never indicated that he took a poll. Secondly, the author makes an assumption that a Christian can not experience joy unless he shares the Gospel. (p. 27) The author makes this statement, but does not support this statement with other believers’ testimonies nor with Scripture. The demographic of the person who should read this book is a believer wanting to share their faith, but does not know how. This resource offers innovate way in expressing what has changed the believers heart. This could also be taught to an entire church on how to start an evangelism program. This philosophy can be implemented right away into an every day conversation. A person would probably need to read through the work possibly twice to fully understand the concepts being presented and to see how to implement them into their daily lives. It would have to become part of them. This book helps clarify a simple way to share the faith. There are a multiple of programs, methods, and marketing technique that are available to sharing the Gospel these days. However, the approach that was examined in â€Å"Sharing Jesus without Fear† alleviates the pressure that some might feel to follow a system. This system is heavily dependent on the scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit to do the convicting. It really does help me to understand that the Gospel can be shared virtually anywhere without being so in the face of people. This is opening a door to ask someone to share what they believe with the believer and in return showing the true. Instead of saying out from the beginning, you are going to hell. It does take evangelism in a different direction and his emphasis on living out the Gospel. To having a powerful impact in regards to the Gospel one must be living it and this is so important. Having the balance is what will make the difference.

Student English Text

6 1 A SHORT HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTING Art is influenced by the customs and faith of a people. Styles in Western art have changed many times. As there are so many different styles of Western art, it would be impossible to describe all of them in such a short text. Consequently, this text will describe only the most important ones, starting from the sixth century AD. The Middle Ages (5th to the 15th century AD) During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was to represent religious themes. A conventional artist of this period was not interested in showing nature and people as they really were.A typical picture at this time was full of religious symbols, which created feeling of respect and love for God. But it was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century when painters like Giotto di Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic way. The Renaissance (15th to 16th century) During the Renaissance, new ideas and values graduallv replaced those held in the M iddle Ages. People began to concentrate less on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude to life. At the same time painters returned to classical Roman and Greek ideas about art. They tried to paint people and nature as they really were.Rich people wanted to possess their own paintings, so they could decorate their superb palaces and great houses. They paid famous artists to paint pictures of themselves, their houses and possessions as well as their activities and achievements. One of the most important discoveries during this period was how to draw things in perspective. This technique was first used by Masaccio in 1428. When people first saw his paintings, they were convinced that they were looking through a hole in a wall at a real scene. If the roles of perspective had not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures.By coincidence, oil paints were also developed at this time, which made the colours used in paintings look richer and deeper. Without the new paints and the new technique, we would not be able to see the many great masterpieces for which this period is famous. Impressionism (late 19th to early 20th century) In the late 19th century, Europe changed a great deal. from a mostly agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. Many people moved from the countryside to the new cities. There were many new inventions and social changes. Naturally, these changes also led to new painting styles.Among the painters who broke away from the traditional style of painting were the Impressionists, who lived and worked in Paris. The Impressionists were the first painters to work outdoors. They were eager to show how light and shadow fell on objects at different times of day. However, because natural light changes so quickly, the Impressionists had to paint quickly. Their paintings were not as detailed as those of earlier painters. At first, many people disliked this style of painting and became very angr about it. They said that the painters were careless and their paintings were ridiculous. Modern Art (20th century to today)At the time they were created, the Impressionist paintings were controversial, but today they are accepted as the beginning of what we call â€Å"modem art†. This is because the Impressionists encouraged artists to look at their environment in new ways. There are scores of modern art styles, but without the Impressionists, many of these painting styles might not exist. On the one hand, some modem art is abstract; that is, the painter does not attempt to paint objects as we see them with our eyes, but instead concentrates on certain qualities of the object, using colour, line and shape to represent them.On the other hand, some paintings of modern art are so realistic that they look like photographs. These styles are so different. Who can predict what painting styles there will be in the future? Unit 3 A healthy life-Reading ADVICE FROM GRANDAD Dear James, It is a be autiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden. I have just returned from a long bike ride to an old castle. It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometres in an afternoon. It's my birthday in two weeks time and I'll be 82 years old!I think my long and active life must be due to the healthy life I live. This brings me to the real reason for my letter, my dear grandson. Your mother tells me that you started smoking some time ago and now you are finding it difficult to give it up. Believe me, I know how easy it is to begin smoking and how tough it is to stop. You see, during adolescence I also smoked and became addicted to cigarettes. By the way, did you know that this is because you become addicted in three different ways? First, you can become physically addicted to nicotine, which is one of the hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes.This means that after a while your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine in it. So when the drug leaves your body, you get withdrawal symptoms. I remember feeling bad-tempered and sometimes even in pain. Secondly, you become addicted through habit. As you know, if you do the same thing over and over again, you begin to do it automatically. Lastly, you can become mentally addicted. I believed I was happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette, so I began to think that I could only feel good when I smoked. I was addicted in all three ways, so it was very difficult to quit.But I did finally manage. When I was young, I didn't know much about the harmful effects of smoking. I didn't know, for example, that it could do terrible damage to your heart and lungs or that it was more difficult for smoking couples to become pregnant. I certainly didn't know their babies may have a smaller birth weight or even be abnormal in some way. Neither did I know that my cigarette smoke could affect the health of non-smokers. However, what I did know was that my girlfriend thought I smel t terrible. She said my breath and clothes smelt, and that the ends of my fingers were turning yellow.She told me that she wouldn't go out with me again unless I stopped! I also noticed that I became breathless quickly, and that I wasn't enjoying sport as much. When I was taken off the school football team because I was unfit, I knew it was time to quit smoking. I am sending you some advice I found on the Internet. It might help you to stop and strengthen your resolve. I do hope so because I want you to live as long and healthy a life as I have. Love from Grandad Unit 5 The power of nature-Reading AN EXCITING JOB I have the greatest job in the world.I travel to unusual places and work alongside people from all over the world. Sometimes working outdoors, sometimes in an office, sometimes using scientific equipment and sometimes meeting local people and tourists, I am never bored. Although my job is occasionally dangerous, I don't mind because danger excites me and makes me feel alive . However, the most important thing about my job is that I help protect ordinary people from one of the most powerful forces on earth – the volcano. I was appointed as a volcanologist working for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) twenty years ago.My job is collecting information for a database about Mount Kilauea, which is one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii. Having collected and evaluated the information, I help other scientists to predict where lava from the volcano will flow next and how fast. Our work has saved many lives because people in the path of the lava can be warned to leave their houses. Unfortunately, we cannot move their homes out of the way, and many houses have been covered with lava or burned to the ground. When boiling rock erupts from a volcano and crashes back to earth, it causes less damage than you might imagine.This is because no one lives near the top of Mount Kilauea, where the rocks fall. The lava that flows slowly like a wave down the m ountain causes far more damage because it buries everything in its path under the molten rock. However, the eruption itself is really exciting to watch and I shall never forget my first sight of one. It was in the second week after I arrived in Hawaii. Having worked hard all day, I went to bed early. I was fast asleep when suddenly my bed began shaking and I heard a strange sound, like a railway train passing my window. Having experienced quite a few earthquakes in Hawaii already, I didn't take much notice.I was about to go back to sleep when suddenly my bedroom became as bright as day. I ran out of the house into the back garden where I could see Mount Kilauea in the distance. There had been an eruption from the side of the mountain and red hot lava was fountaining hundreds of metres into the air. It was an absolutely fantastic sight. The day after this eruption I was lucky enough to have a much closer look at it. Two other scientists and I were driven up the mountain and dropped a s close as possible to the crater that had been formed during the eruption.Having earlier collected special clothes from the observatory, we put them on before we went any closer. All three of us looked like spacemen. We had white protective suits that covered our whole body, helmets, big boots and special gloves. It was not easy to walk in these suits, but we slowly made our way to the edge of the crater and looked down into the red, boiling centre. The other two climbed down into the crater to collect some lava for later study, but this being my first experience, I stayed at the top and watched them. Today, I am just as enthusiastic about my job as the day I first started.Having studied volcanoes now for many years, I am still amazed at their beauty as well as their potential to cause great damage. THE BEST OF MANHATTAN’S ART GALLERIES The Frick Collection (5th Avenue and E. 70th Street) Many art lovers would rather visit this small art gallery than any other in New York. H enry Clay Frick, a rich New Yorker, died in 1919, leaving his house, furniture and art collection to the American people. Frick had a preference for pre-twentieth century Western paintings, and these are well-represented in this excellent collection.You can also explore Frick's beautiful home and garden which are well worth a Visit. Guggenheim Museum(5th Avenue and 88th Street) This museum owns 5,000 superb modern paintings, sculptures and drawings. These art works are not all displayed at the same time. The exhibition is always changing. It will appeal to those who love Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The Guggenheim Museum building is also world-famous. When you walk into gallery, you feel as if you were inside a fragile, white seashell. The best way to see the paintings is to start from the top floor and walk down to the bottom.There are no stairs just a circular path. The museum also has an excellent restaurant. Metropolitan Museum of Art (5th Avenue and 82nd Stre et) The reputation of this museum lies in the variety of its art collection. This covers more than 5,000 years of civilization from many parts of the world, including America, Europe, China, Egypt, other African countries and South America. The museum displays more than just the visual delights of art. It introduces you to ancient ways of living. You can visit an Egyptian temple, a fragrant Ming garden, a typical room in an 18th century French house and many other special exhibitions.Museum of Modern Art (53rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues) It is amazing that so many great works of art from the late 19th century to the 21st century are housed in the same museum. The collection of Western art includes paintings by such famous artists as Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse. A few words of warning: the admission price is not cheap and the museum is often very crowded. Whitney Museum of American Art (945 Madison Avenue, near 75th Street) The Whitney holds an excellent collection of contemporary American painting and sculpture.There are no permanent displays in this museum and exhibitions change all the time. Every two years, the Whitney holds a special exhibition of new art by living artists. The museum also shows videos and films by contemporary video artists. Suppose you were the president of a high school council and you received the letter below. It is from a group of students who would like to make their school more attractive. Read the letter and then use the outline on the next page to make notes for a report about the letter to the school council. Class 2A Seaforth High School Ramsay Rd Seaforth Mrs L Kroll President, Seaforth High School CouncilPO Box 235, Seaforth 12 May Dear Mrs Kroll, Lately our class has become worried about the environment at the back of the school, and we would like to do something to make it more attractive. We have done some research and have come up with a plan. With the help of our parents, we can do most of the work ours elves, but we will need a small amount of money for equipment, plants-and paint. I am writing to ask the council for permission to do this work and to ask if the school council could donate $500 towards our project. We would like to turn the empty land at the back of the school into a nature garden.We would plant trees and grasses, make paths through the garden and dig a small pond. We think this would provide a peaceful place for students and teachers to walk in. It would also attract birds, insects and small animals which students could then study in science classes. We would also like to paint the back wall of the school that faces the new garden. Some of our art classes could then paint a huge picture on it. It might be possible to paint over the wall each year so the next classes can make a new picture. Lastly, we would like to paint all the rubbish bins. At the moment they look old and the paint is coming off.If we paint them in bright, attractive colours, students might be mo re likely to use them. We think our plan would greatly improve the back of the school and everyone in the school would benefit. We have already asked our parents and they have promised to donate one weekend of their time to help us complete the project. We hope you will give us permission for this worthwhile project and will be able to donate the $500 we need. When we have finished the work, we hope the council will join us in a celebration morning tea so that the whole school can thank you. Yours sincerely, Jo Ryan (Class president)Reading and discussing Before you read the poster below, discuss what you know about HIV/AIDS with your classmates. Make a list of words that you might come across in this poster. HIV/AIDS:ARE YOU AT RISK? HIV is a virus. A virus is a very small living thing that causes disease. There are many different viruses, for example, the flu virus or the SARS virus. HIV weakens a person's immune system; that is, the part of the body that fights disease. You can h ave HIV in your blood for a long time, but eventually HIV will damage your immune system so much that you body can no longer fight disease.This stage of the illness is called AIDS. If you develop AIDS, your chances of survival are very small. HIV is spread through blood or the fluid that the body makes during sex. For a person to become infected, blood or sexual fluid that carries the virus, has to get inside the body through broken skin or by injection. One day scientists will find a cure for HIV/AIDS. Until that happens, you need to protect yourself. Here are some things you can do to make sure you stay safe. If you inject drugs: do not share your needle with anyone else. Blood from another person can stay on or in the needle.If a person has HIV and you use the same needle, you could inject the virus into your own blood. do not share anything else that a person has used while injecting drugs. Blood could have spilt on it. If you have sex with a male or a female: use a condom. This will prevent sexual fluid passing from one person to another. The following statements are NOT true. A person cannot get HIV the first time they have sex. WRONG. If one sexual partner has HIV, the other partner could become infected. You can tell by looking at someone whether or not they have HIV. WRONG. Many people carrying HIV look perfectly healthy.It is only when the disease has progressed to AIDS that a person begins to look sick. Only homosexuals get AIDS. WRONG. Anyone who has sex with a person infected with H1V/AIDS risks getting the virus. Women are slightly more likely to become infected than men. If you hug, touch or kiss someone with AIDS or visit them in their home, you will get HIV/AIDS. WRONG. You can only get the disease from blood or sexual fluid. Unfortunately, people with HIV sometimes lose their friends because of prejudice. Many people are afraid that they will get HIV/AIDS from those infected with HIV!AIDS. For the same reason, some AIDS patients cannot find a nyone to look after them when they are sick. You can get HIV/AIDS from mosquitoes. WRONG. There is no evidence of this. Before you read Tom's essay on environmental problems, glance at the title and pictures and predict the main idea of the essay. CLEAN UP YOUR BUTTS AND BAGS All sorts of items become litter, but two of the most common and most dangerous are cigarette butts and plastic bags. Litter is a big problem for our environment, but it is a problem that individuals can easily do something about.Not littering at all or cleaning up litter, such as cigarette butts and plastic bags, greatly improves the quality of our environment. Although cigarette butts are small, they are bad for the environment. Over 1,600 billion cigarettes are smoked each year in China and large quantities of the butts are thrown away. Worldwide, about 4. 5 trillion butts are littered every year. Apart from the fact that butts spoil the beauty of the environment, they contain some very toxic chemicals. Thes e find their way into the water supply where they decrease the quality of the water and endanger plants and animals that live there.Because there are so many butts and because they can take up to 5 years to break down, the toxic chemicals add up to a large amount. So, if people have to smoke, they should not throw away the butts but put them in the rubbish bin instead. Plastic bags are another common form of litter that is a danger to the environment. There are several reasons for this. They are made from oil and gas, which are non-renewable resources, ff they are not recycled, these resources are lost to us. In China, 2 billion plastic bags are used every day. An enormous number of these become litter.This is a huge problem because they last from 20 to 1,000 years in the environment. They float easily in air and water and travel long distances. They find their way to rivers, parks, beaches and oceans. Plastic bags kill up to one million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless f ish each year worldwide. When the animal dies and breaks down, the plastic bag can become free again to kill another animal. It is up to people not to let plastic bags become litter. It would be better if they used fewer and recycled them. Cleaning up your cigarette butts and plastic bags would improve the environment.The earth would be a better place because it would be less polluted. And we would know that we were doing something to look after our planet. However, I believe the best solution would be not to smoke or use plastic bags at all. THE EARTH IS BECOMING WARMER-BUT DOES IT MATTER? During the 20th century the temperature of the earth rose about one degree Fahrenheit. That probably does not seem much to you or me, but it is a rapid increase when compared to other natural changes. So how has this come about and does it matter? Earth Care’s Sophie Armstrong explores these questions.There is no doubt that the earth is becoming warmer (see Graph 1) and that it is human ac tivity that has caused this global warming rather than a random but natural phenomenon. All scientists subscribe to the view that the increase in the earth's temperature is due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil to produce energy. Some byproducts of this process are called â€Å"greenhouse† gases, the most important one of which is carbon dioxide. Dr Janice Foster explains: â€Å"There is a natural phenomenon that scientists call the ‘greenhouse effect'.This is when small amounts of gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour, trap heat from the sun and therefore warm the earth. Without the ‘greenhouse effect', the earth would be about thirty-three degrees Celsius cooler than it is. So, we need those gases. The problem begins when we add huge quantities of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It means that more heat energy tends to be trapped in the atmosphere causing the global temperature to go up. â₠¬  We know that the levels of carbon dioxide have increased greatly over the last 100 to 150 years.It was a scientist called Charles Keeling, who made accurate measurements of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 1957 to 1997. He found that between these years the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere went up from around 315 parts to around 370 parts per million (see Graph 2). All scientists accept this data. They also agree that it is the burning of more and more fossil fuels that has resulted in this increase in carbon dioxide. So how high will the temperature increase go? Dr Janice Foster says that over the next 100 years the amount of warming could be as low as 1 to 1. degrees Celsius, but it could be as high as 5 degrees. However, the attitude of scientists towards this rise is completely different. On the one hand, Dr Foster thinks that the trend which increases the temperature by 5 degrees would be a catastrophe. She says, â€Å"We can't predict the climate well e nough to know what to expect, but it could be very serious. † Others who agree with her think there may be a rise of several metres in the sea level, or predict severe storms, floods, droughts, famines, the spread of diseases and the disappearance of species.On the other hand, there are those, like George Hambley, who are opposed to this view, believe that we should not worry about high levels of carbon dioxide in the air. They predict that any warming will be mild with few bad environmental consequences. In fact, Hambley states, â€Å"More carbon dioxide is actually a positive thing. It will make plants grow quicker; crops will produce more; it will encourage a greater range of animals – all of which will make life for human beings better. † Greenhouse gases continue to build up in the atmosphere.Even if we start reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the climate is going to keep on warming for decades or centuries. No one knows the ef fects of global warming. Does that mean we should do nothing? Or, are the risks too great? WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? Dear Earth Care, I am doing a project on behalf of my school about global warming. Sometimes I feel that individuals can have little effect on such huge environmental problems. However, 1 still think people should advocate improvements in the way we use energy today.As I'm not sure where to start with my project, I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thank you! Ouyang Guang Dear Ouyang Guang, There are many people who have a commitment like yours, but they do not believe they have the power to do anything to improve our environment. That is not true. Together, individuals can make a difference. We do not have to put up with pollution. The growth of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide in the air actually comes as a result of many things we do every day. Here are a few suggestions on how to reduce it. They should get you started with your project. W e use a lot of energy in our houses. It is OK to leave an electrical appliance on so long as you are using it – if not, turn it off! Do not be casual about this. So if you are not using the lights, the TV, the computer, and so on, turn them off. If you are cold, put on more clothes instead of turning up the heat. 2 Motor vehicles use a lot of energy- so walk or ride a bike if you can. 3 Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags and newspapers if circumstances allow you to. It takes a lot of energy to make things from new materials, so, if you can, buy things made from recycled materials. Get your parents to buy things that are economical with energy – this includes cars as well as smaller things like fridges and microwaves. 5 Plant trees in your garden or your school yard, as they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and refresh your spirit when you look at them. 6 Finally and most importantly, be an educator. Talk with your family and friends about global warming and tell the m what you have learned. Remember – your contribution counts! Earth Care THE LRKE OF HERVEN Changbaishan is in Jilin Province, Northeast China. Much of this beautiful, mountainous area is thick forest .Changbaishan is China's largest nature reserve and it is kept in its natural state for the people of China and visitors from all over the world to enjoy. The height of the land varies from 700 metres above sea level to over 2,000 metres and is home to a great diversity of rare plants and animals. Among the rare animals are cranes, black bears, leopards and tigers. Many people come to Changbaishan to study its unique plants and animals. Others come to walk in the mountains, to see the spectacular waterfalls or to bathe in the hot water pools.However, the attraction that arouses the greatest appreciation in the reserve is Tianchi or the Lake of Heaven. Tianchi is a deep lake that has formed in the crater of a dead volcano on top of the mountain. The lake is 2,194 metres above sea level, and more than 200 metres deep. In winter the surface freezes over. It takes about an hour to climb from the end of the road to the top of the mountain. When you arrive you are rewarded not only with the sight of its clear waters, but also by the view of the other sixteen mountain peaks that surround Tianchi. There are many stories told about Tianchi.The most well-known concerns three young women from heaven. They were bathing in Tainchi when a bird flew above them and dropped a small fruit onto the dress of the youngest girl. When she picked up the fruit to smell it, it flew into her mouth. Having swallowed the fruit, the girl became pregnant and later gave birth to a handsome boy. It is said that this boy, who had a great gift for languages and persuasion, is the father of the Manchu people. If you are lucky enough to visit the Lake of Heaven with your loved one, don't forget to drop a coin into the clear blue water to guarantee your love will be as deep and lasting as the lake itself.Look at the title of the story and the picture below. Can you predict what the story is about? Then read the story quickly and see if you were right. TRAPPED BY THE FLOOD â€Å"It's not looking too good, darling. I think you'd better pack a few things and go to your mother's place. And you'd better take Rosie and Monty with you. † Putting down the phone, Sara sighed. Tomorrow was her husband Tony's birthday. She had planned to cook him a nice meal and then surprise him with the new mountain bike she'd bought for him. If she went to her mother's house, Tony wouldn't get his present for days.However, her mother's house was the best place to be right now. Being on higher land, it would be safe from the floods. It had been raining heavily for almost two weeks and the river near Sara and Tony's house was rising higher and higher all the time. Tony and others from the village had spent the last two days putting sandbags along the side of the river to stop it overflowing . Now they feared that their hard work had been useless and soon the whole valley would be flooded. Sara dressed baby James in warm clothes and collected the things she would need for him over the next few days.She put the lead on the dog and went in search of Monty, the cat. It took her a long time, but eventually she found him safe and warm under the covers on her bed. She placed him in his cat basket and took him into the kitchen where James and the dog, Rosie, waited. Just as she was reaching for the car keys, Sara heard a sound like the noise bath water makes when you pull out the plug. She looked at the back door. Water was flowing in underneath. Turning around she saw dirty brown water fountaining out of the drain and filling the sink. Quickly she put James into her backpack and pulled it onto her back.Calling to Rosie, she picked up the cat basket and ran to the front of the house and out into the front garden. The water was already up to her knees. Rosie was swimming beside her. Knowing the water would soon be much deeper, Sara ran to the car and opened the doors. She threw the cat basket onto the roof of the car and pushed Rosie up beside it. Using the car seat as a step she climbed first onto the front of the car and then onto the roof. James, sately attached to her back, made no sound at all. Sara stared down at the water which was rushing past the car. It was already half way up the doors, and still rising.