Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Enterprise Info Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Enterprise Info Security - Essay Example Buffer overflow/overrun is a form of interference where a program overruns the buffer's boundary and overwrites adjacent memory, while writing data to a buffer. Buffer overflows can be triggered by inputs that are designed to execute code, or alter the way the program operates. This may result in erratic program behavior, including memory access errors, incorrect results, a crash, or a breach of system security. They are thus the basis of many software vulnerabilities and can be maliciously exploited Understanding the difference between data and programs is a very important element of avoiding various overflow attacks. When one understands that data is just computer information while a program is the software screen, he or she can be able to apply new defense systems. It’s easy for someone to understand how to use the modern security features like Data Execution Prevention (DEP) can be applied in modern operating system like Mac OSX, Linus and Microsoft Windows. For example DEP works in two different ways; either its hardware encoded or software encoded. Software-encoded DEP do not protect data pages from execution of codes, but from another type of attack. Knowledge about this security features and operating systems is very important when one is looking for the best defense against overflow attacks.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Food Inc. Essay Example for Free

Food Inc. Essay 1. Incorporation (Inc. ) means to form a legal association of individuals, created by law or under the authority of law, with a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and with powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. Therefore, Food Inc. implies that food system of the modern day has become more of a combination of monopolized businesses, whom only care about their profits, rather than the farmers from the obsolete agricultural system. 2. Walking through a supermarket many food items are plastered with images of farms and pastures creating a facade to the true factory farming that’s occurring in today’s society. These images are creating a pastoral fantasy of the agrarian America of the 1930’s. 3. Using Monsanto’s soy beans for this timeline all seeds begin in a lab. Seeds are genetically altered (GMOs). They are then sold to farmers who have a contract with the Monsanto Company. Then they harvested in large amounts and shipped out to be processed, but some of the beans are used a feed for cattle and other livestock. At the factory they are packaged, and are shipped out to local supermarkets for national consumption. 4. The McDonald brothers revolutionized the fast food industry. They â€Å"brought the factory system to the kitchen. † Increasing profit, while decreasing costs, and with this came an increase in the unhealthiness of food by focusing on the three things humans’ desire most: sugar, fat, and salt. 5. Factory farming is the precise systematic farming of livestock in a factory setting an example being chickens. Today, chickens are often raised in huge metal buildings with no access to light or fresh air, confined together with thousands of birds in one building, and made to grow so quickly that often their bones cannot keep up and they can lose their ability to walk. 6. In Food Inc. the phrase â€Å"growing chickens† creates a negative connotation. It would seem that the process that’s usually referred to as raising chickens has become so systematic that there is no longer a personal connection between the farmer, and his chickens. They become property, which are only used for financial profit. 7. With all the diversity found in the supermarket, one would think there are hundreds of different companies that provide the different foods. Truthfully, about eighty percent of all products in the supermarket are produced, and distributed by four major companies. This creates an illusion of diversity which, unfortunately, most consumers are unaware of. 8. Monsanto Company, Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, and Perdue Farms were all asked to be interviewed for Food Inc. and all declined the opportunity. Declining the opportunity to explain their motives give many a reason for doubt. Showing they have secrets or motives that would not be explainable without legal confrontations. 9. Environmental contamination is a major result of the newly developed farming system. Manure mixed with run-off water can contaminate surrounding vegetable farms causing Salmonella and E. coli contamination in plants such as spinach and lettuce. In South America, a major beef producer, deforestation has become a huge problem which is created by companies trying to make space for factory farms. This deforestation causes the displacement of animals and ecosystems. Smoke produced by factories can lead to smog, and air pollution in concentrated amounts. 10. Not only does the modern food system have a negative effect on the environment it harms humans as well. With animal feed being treated with antibiotics any bacteria present has a chance to become immune. This bacteria can then be acquired by consumption of raw meat, and with it being immune to some antibiotics, it will cause an increase the difficulty of treatment, and may result in death. With the food system being based so highly on the consumption of fat, salt, and sugar, a major concern for humans is heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Type two diabetes, acquired diabetes, used to only be contracted in adulthood, but now its arising as early as age seven. 11. There is a direct relationship between food and health. The major goal of the new industrial agricultural system is to grow everything faster, fatter, and bigger. We’ve grown right along with the companies who own these farms. Michael Pollan evaluates the problem by comparing it to the past: â€Å"Over the course of human history, we were struggling to make sure we had enough food and enough calories for a sizable percentage of the human race. Now the problem is too many calories. † 12. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Companies such as Tyson may use GMOs to produce more efficient and more profitable livestock. GMOs should be clearly labeled when present in food. Although not all GMOs are harmful, a customer should be privileged to know what their food contains. Labeling the presence of a GMO may also prevent a lawsuit against the major corporations if anything was to happen. 13. The documentary Food Inc. , being very factual, used many different sources to acquire all the information needed. Sources such as first-hand accounts on what occur, hidden cameras, accredited websites, other documentaries, classical farmers, award winning authors familiar with the topic, and many well educated informants. 14. Food Inc. is sectioned into chapters. Each chapter pulls the veil away from the consumers eyes on somewhat different, but connected topics: fast food, food contents, food safety, right to healthy food, meat industry, chicken industry, major companies, lives lost, and what consumers can do to change the system. 15. Being a documentary the main purpose of Food Inc.is to educate people on the problems of food production, and to persuade consumers to make healthier food choices. It may also be trying to inspire change in the everyday persons eating habits. 16. Food Inc. is directed towards middle class citizens who shop at the supermarket without really knowing what they are eating. 17. The strategies used throughout Food Inc. covered a wide range of tactics. Rhetorical questions, hidden camera footage, creditable statistics, personal anecdotes, music, religion, and the most heart wrenching strategy used was on location filming of the factory farms. 18. Food Inc. had a very informative, and cautious tone. There were many facts, and just as many warnings. 19. An interesting revelation made in the duration of Food Inc. is how naive people can ben to their surroundings. Maria Gonzalez believed that â€Å"everything was healthy† which justified her family visiting Burger King for almost every meal. It would be understandable to know that she couldn’t afford anything healthier, but to not know that the food she was consuming was unhealthy, it just shows how manipulative large corporations can be.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy In Our Blood Supply :: Mad Cow Disease BSE

The well-being of the blood supply has always been a vital component of human existence. It is common knowledge that the existing blood supply is deficient to the increasing usage of blood and blood products. Ironically, as the topic of blood donation arises in society, fears and doubts as to how sanitary and healthful the blood of blood donors often surface. For instance, there is much criticism over allowing foreign travelers to Great Britain the opportunity to donate their blood. This criticism stems from the belief that the Great Britain endemic of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or "Mad Cow Disease") can be physiologically related to the lethal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Although there is hardly any scientific evidence that supports this allegation, the United States Department of Agriculture and the FDA have introduced strict restrictions concerning the importation of British cattle products and the blood donation of British travelers. Critics, politicians, and the general public often utilize the conjecture of illegitimate facts and myths to shape their opinions concerning BSE. This is fine and great, but I believe a valid opinion on the subject must be backed by significant facts entailing the clinical epidemiology and history of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, its relation to other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), possible transmission to the human species, the causes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and any relationships between BSE and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. My opinion, based on the facts, is what I offer to you.Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a fatal brain disease of cattle. BSE is most common in dairy cattle, but not rare in beef cattle either. Cattle affected by BSE experience a progressive degeneration of the nervous system. Infected animals may show changes in behavior such as nervousness or aggression (hence the term "mad co w disease"), abnormal posture, lack of milk production, anorexia, and excessive licking. All cattle affected with BSE either naturally succumb or are euthanized. BSE is most often found in the Holstein-Fresian of cattle, although all breeds are suseptible. The disease usually is introduced to the cattle near puberty (12-15 months), and the incubation period of the disease is 5 or more years. The period of actual infection to death is frighteningly brief; the animal is usually dead within 4 months of showing symptoms.BSE belongs to a group of animal diseases term Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE). Different forms of TSE diseases can affect felines, rodents, and other ruminant animals.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 19. Burning

The pain was bewildering. Exactly that – I was bewildered. I couldn't understand, couldn't make sense of what was happening. My body tried to reject the pain, and I was sucked again and again into a blackness that cut out whole seconds or maybe even minutes of the agony, making it that much harder to keep up with reality. I tried to separate them. Non-reality was black, and it didn't hurt so much. Reality was red, and it felt like I was being sawed in half, hit by a bus, punched by a prize fighter, trampled by bulls, and submerged in acid, all at the same time. Reality was feeling my body twist and flip when I couldn't possibly move because of the pain. Reality was knowing there was something so much more important than all this torture, and not being able to remember what it was. Reality had come on so fast. One moment, everything was as it should have been. Surrounded by people I loved. Smiles. Somehow, unlikely as it was, it seemed like I was about to get everything I'd been fighting for. And then one tiny, inconsequential thing had gone wrong. I'd watched as my cup tilted, dark blood spilling out and staining the perfect white, and I'd lurched toward the accident reflexively. I'd seen the other, faster hands, but my body had continued to reach, to stretch___ Inside me, something had yanked the opposite direction. Ripping. Breaking. Agony. The darkness had taken over, and then washed away to a wave of torture. I couldn't breathe – I had drowned once before, and this was different; it was too hot in my throat. Pieces of me shattering, snapping, slicing apart___ More blackness. Voices, this time, shouting, as the pain came back. ‘The placenta must have detached!† Something sharper than knives ripped through me – the words, making sense in spite of the other tortures. Detached placenta – I knew what that meant. It meant that my baby was dying inside me. â€Å"Get him out!† I screamed to Edward. Why hadn't he done it yet? â€Å"He can't breathe! Do it now!† â€Å"The morphine – â€Å" He wanted to wait, to give me painkillers, while our baby was dying?! â€Å"No! Now – ,† I choked, unable to finish. Black spots covered the light in the room as a cold point of new pain stabbed icily into my stomach. It felt wrong – I struggled automatically to protect my womb, my baby, my little Edward Jacob, but I was weak. My lungs ached, oxygen burned away. The pain faded away again, though I clung to it now. My baby, my baby, dying___ How long had passed? Seconds or minutes? The pain was gone. Numb. I couldn't feel. I still couldn't see, either, but I could hear. There was air in my lungs again, scraping in rough bubbles up and down my throat. â€Å"You stay with me now, Bella! Do you hear me? Stay! You're not leaving me. Keep your heart beating!† Jacob? Jacob, still here, still trying to save me. Of course,I wanted to tell him. Of course I would keep my heart beating. Hadn't I promised them both? I tried to feel my heart, to find it, but I was so lost inside my own body. I couldn't feel the things I should, and nothing felt in the right place. I blinked and I found my eyes. I could see the light. Not what I was looking for, but better than nothing. As my eyes struggled to adjust, Edward whispered, â€Å"Renesmee.† Renesmee? Not the pale and perfect son of my imagination? I felt a moment of shock. And then a flood of warmth. Renesmee. I willed my lips to move, willed the bubbles of air to turn into whispers on my tongue. I forced my numb hands to reach. â€Å"Let me†¦ Give her to me.† The light danced, shattering off Edward's crystal hands. The sparkles were tinged with red, with the blood that covered his skin. And more red in his hands. Something small and struggling, dripping with blood. He touched the warm body to my weak arms, almost like I was holding her. Her wet skin was hot – as hot as Jacob's. My eyes focused; suddenly everything was absolutely clear. Renesmee did not cry, but she breathed in quick, startled pants. Her eyes were open, her expression so shocked it was almost funny. The little, perfectly round head was covered in a thick layer of matted, bloody curls. Her irises were a familiar – but astonishing – chocolate brown. Under the blood, her skin looked pale, a creamy ivory. All besides her cheeks, which flamed with color. Her tiny face was so absolutely perfect that it stunned me. She was even more beautiful than her father. Unbelievable. Impossible. â€Å"Renesmee,† I whispered. â€Å"So†¦ beautiful.† The impossible face suddenly smiled – a wide, deliberate smile. Behind the shell-pink lips was a full complement of snowy milk teeth. She leaned her head down, against my chest, burrowing against the warmth. Her skin was warm and silky, but it didn't give the way mine did. Then there was pain again – just one warm slash of it. I gasped. And she was gone. My angel-faced baby was nowhere. I couldn't see or feel her. No!I wanted to shout. Give her back to me! But the weakness was too much. My arms felt like empty rubber hoses for a moment, and then they felt like nothing at all. I couldn't feel them. I couldn't feel me. The blackness rushed over my eyes more solidly than before. Like a thick blindfold, firm and fast. Covering not just my eyes but also my self with a crushing weight. It was exhausting to push against it. I knew it would be so much easier to give in. To let the blackness push me down, down, down to a place where there was no pain and no weariness and no worry and no fear. If it had only been for myself, I wouldn't have been able to struggle very long. I was only human, with no more than human strength. I'd been trying to keep up with the supernatural for too long, like Jacob had said. But this wasn't just about me. If I did the easy thing now, let the black nothingness erase me, I would hurt them. Edward. Edward. My life and his were twisted into a single strand. Cut one, and you cut both. If he were gone, I would not be able to live through that. If I were gone, he wouldn't live through it, either. And a world without Edward seemed completely pointless. Edward had to exist. Jacob – who'd said goodbye to me over and over but kept coming back when I needed him. Jacob, who I'd wounded so many times it was criminal. Would I hurt him again, the worst way yet? He'd stayed for me, despite everything. Now all he asked was that I stay for him. But it was so dark here that I couldn't see either of their faces. Nothing seemed real. That made it hard not to give up. I kept pushing against the black, though, almost a reflex. I wasn't trying to lift it. I was just resisting. Not allowing it to crush me completely. I wasn't Atlas, and the black felt as heavy as a planet; I couldn't shoulder it. All I could do was not be entirely obliterated. It was sort of the pattern to my life – I'd never been strong enough to deal with the things outside my control, to attack the enemies or outrun them. To avoid the pain. Always human and weak, the only thing I'd ever been able to do was keep going. Endure. Survive. It had been enough up to this point. It would have to be enough today. I would endure this until help came. I knew Edward would be doing everything he could. He would not give up. Neither would I. I held the blackness of nonexistence at bay by inches. It wasn't enough, though – that determination. As the time ground on and on and the darkness gained by tiny eighths and sixteenths of my inches, I needed something more to draw strength from. I couldn't pull even Edward's face into view. Not Jacob's, not Alice's or Rosalie's or Charlie's or Renee's or Carlisle's or Esme's†¦ Nothing. It terrified me, and I wondered if it was too late. I felt myself slipping – there was nothing to hold on to. No!I had to survive this. Edward was depending on me. Jacob. Charlie Alice Rosalie Carlisle Renee Esme†¦ Renesmee. And then, though I still couldn't see anything, suddenly I could feel something. Like phantom limbs, I imagined I could feel my arms again. And in them, something small and hard and very, very warm. My baby. My little nudger. I had done it. Against the odds, I had been strong enough to survive Renesmee, to hold on to her until she was strong enough to live without me. That spot of heat in my phantom arms felt so real. I clutched it closer. It was exactly where my heart should be. Holding tight the warm memory of my daughter, I knew that I would be able to fight the darkness as long as I needed to. The warmth beside my heart got more and more real, warmer and warmer. Hotter. The heat was so real it was hard to believe that I was imagining it. Hotter. Uncomfortable now. Too hot. Much, much too hot. Like grabbing the wrong end of a curling iron – my automatic response was to drop the scorching thing in my arms. But there was nothing in my arms. My arms were not curled to my chest. My arms were dead things lying somewhere at my side. The heat was inside me. The burning grew – rose and peaked and rose again until it surpassed anything I'd ever felt. I felt the pulse behind the fire raging now in my chest and realized that I'd found my heart again, just in time to wish I never had. To wish that I'd embraced the blackness while I'd still had the chance. I wanted to raise my arms and claw my chest open and rip the heart from it – anything to get rid of this torture. But I couldn't feel my arms, couldn't move one vanished finger. James, snapping my leg under his foot. That was nothing. That was a soft place to rest on a feather bed. I'd take that now, a hundred times. A hundred snaps. I'd take it and be grateful. The baby, kicking my ribs apart, breaking her way through me piece by piece. That was nothing. That was floating in a pool of cool water. I'd take it a thousand times. Take it and be grateful. The fire blazed hotter and I wanted to scream. To beg for someone to kill me now, before I lived one more second in this pain. But I couldn't move my lips. The weight was still there, pressing on me. I realized it wasn't the darkness holding me down; it was my body. So heavy. Burying me in the flames that were chewing their way out from my heart now, spreading with impossible pain through my shoulders and stomach, scalding their way up my throat, licking at my face. Why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I scream? This wasn't part of the stories. My mind was unbearably clear – sharpened by the fierce pain – and I saw the answer almost as soon as I could form the questions. The morphine. It seemed like a million deaths ago that we'd discussed it – Edward, Carlisle, and I. Edward and Carlisle had hoped that enough painkillers would help fight the pain of the venom. Carlisle had tried with Emmett, but the venom had burned ahead of the medicine, sealing his veins. There hadn't been time for it to spread. I'd kept my face smooth and nodded and thanked my rarely lucky stars that Edward could not read my mind. Because I'd had morphine and venom together in my system before, and I knew the truth. I knew the numbness of the medicine was completely irrelevant while the venom seared through my veins. But there'd been no way I was going to mention that fact. Nothing that would make him more unwilling to change me. I hadn't guessed that the morphine would have this effect – that it would pin me down and gag me. Hold me paralyzed while I burned. I knew all the stories. I knew that Carlisle had kept quiet enough to avoid discovery while he burned. I knew that, according to Rosalie, it did no good to scream. And I'd hoped that maybe I could be like Carlisle. That I would believe Rosalie's words and keep my mouth shut. Because I knew that every scream that escaped my lips would torment Edward. Now it seemed like a hideous joke that i was getting my wish fulfilled. If I couldn't scream, how could I tell them to kill me? All I wanted was to die. To never have been born. The whole of my existence did not outweigh this pain. Wasn't worth living through it for one more heartbeat. Let me die, let me die, let me die. And, for a never-ending space, that was all there was. Just the fiery torture, and my soundless shrieks, pleading for death to come. Nothing else, not even time. So that made it infinite, with no beginning and no end. One infinite moment of pain. The only change came when suddenly, impossibly, my pain was doubled. The lower half of my body, deadened since before the morphine, was suddenly on fire, too. Some broken connection had been healed – knitted together by the scorching fingers of the flame. The endless burn raqed on. It could have been seconds or days, weeks or years, but, eventually, time came to mean something again. Three things happened together, grew from each other so that I didn't know which came first: time restarted, the morphine's weight faded, and I got stronger. I could feel the control of my body come back to me in increments, and those increments were my first markers of the time passing. I knew it when I was able to twitch my toes and twist my fingers into fists. I knew it, but I did not act on it. Though the fire did not decrease one tiny degree – in fact, I began to develop a new capacity for experiencing it, a new sensitivity to appreciate, separately, each blistering tongue of flame that licked through my veins – I discovered that I could think around it. I could remember why I shouldn't scream. I could remember the reason why I'd committed to enduring this unendurable agony. I could remember that, though it felt impossible now, there was something that might be worth the torture. This happened just in time for me to hold on when the weights left my body. To anyone watching me, there would be no change. But for me, as I struggled to keep the screams and thrashing locked up inside my body, where they couldn't hurt anyone else, it felt like I'd gone from being tied to the stake as I burned, to gripping that stake to hold myself in the fire. I had just enough strength to lie there unmoving while I was charred alive. My hearing got clearer and clearer, and I could count the frantic, pounding beats of my heart to mark the time. I could count the shallow breaths that gasped through my teeth. I could count the low, even breaths that came from somewhere close beside me. These moved slowest, so I concentrated on them. They meant the most time passing. More even than a clock's pendulum, those breaths pulled me through the burning seconds toward the end. I continued to get stronger, my thoughts clearer. When new noises came, I could listen. There were light footsteps, the whisper of air stirred by an opening door. The footsteps gotcloser, and I felt pressure against the inside of my wrist. I couldn't feel the coolness of the fingers. The fire blistered away every memory of cool. â€Å"Still no change?† â€Å"None.† The lightest pressure, breath against my scorched skin. â€Å"There's no scent of the morphine left.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Bella? Can you hear me?† I knew, beyond all doubt, that if I unlocked my teeth I would lose it – I would shriek and screech and writhe and thrash. If I opened my eyes, if I so much as twitched a finger – any change at all would be the end of my control. â€Å"Bella? Bella, love? Can you open your eyes? Can you squeeze my hand?† Pressure on my fingers. It was harder not to answer this voice, but I stayed paralyzed. I knew that the pain in his voice now was nothing compared to what it could be. Right now he only feared that I was suffering. â€Å"Maybe†¦ Carlisle, maybe I was too late.† His voice was muffled; it broke on the word late. My resolve wavered for a second. â€Å"Listen to her heart, Edward. It's stronger than even Emmett's was. I've never heard anything so vital. Shell be perfect.† Yes, I was right to keep quiet. Carlisle would reassure him. He didn't need to suffer with me. â€Å"And her – her spine?† â€Å"Her injuries weren't so much worse than Esme's. The venom will heal her as it did Esme.† â€Å"But she's so still. I must have done something wrong.† â€Å"Or something right, Edward. Son, you did everything I could have and more. I'm not sure I would have had the persistence, the faith it took to save her. Stop berating yourself. Bella is going to be fine.† A broken whisper. â€Å"She must be in agony.† â€Å"We don't know that. She had so much morphine in her system. We don't know the effect that will have on her experience.† Faint pressure inside the crease of my elbow. Another whisper. â€Å"Bella, I love you. Bella, I'm sorry.† I wanted so much to answer him, but I wouldn't make his pain worse. Not while I had the strength to hold myself still. Through all this, the racking fire went right on burning me. But there was so much space in my head now. Room to ponder their conversation, room to remember what had happened, room to look ahead to the future, with still endless room left over to suffer in. Also room to worry. Where was my baby? Why wasn't she here? Why weren't they talking about her? â€Å"No, I'm staying right here,† Edward whispered, answering an unspoken thought. â€Å"They'll sort it out.† â€Å"An interesting situation,† Carlisle responded. â€Å"And I'd thought I'd seen just about everything.† â€Å"I'll deal with it later. We'll deal with it.† Something pressed softly to my blistering palm. â€Å"I'm sure, between the five of us, we can keep it from turning into bloodshed.† Edward sighed. â€Å"I don't know which side to take. I'd love to flog them both. Well, later.† â€Å"I wonder what Bella will think – whose side she'll take,† Carlisle mused. One low, strained chuckle. â€Å"I'm sure she'll surprise me. She always does.† Carlisle's footsteps faded away again, and I was frustrated that there was no further explanation. Were they talking so mysteriously just to annoy me? I went back to counting Edward's breaths to mark the time. Ten thousand, nine hundred forty-three breaths later, a different set of footsteps whispered into the room. Lighter. More†¦ rhythmic. Strange that I could distinguish the minute differences between footsteps that I'd never been able to hear at all before today. â€Å"How much longer?† Edward asked. â€Å"It won't be long now,† Alice told him. â€Å"See how clear she's becoming? I can see her so much better.† She sighed. â€Å"Still feeling a little bitter?† â€Å"Yes, thanks so much for bringing it up,† she grumbled. â€Å"You would be mortified, too, if you realized that you were handcuffed by your own nature. I see vampires best, because I am one; I see humans okay, because I was one. But I can't see these odd half-breeds at all because they're nothing I've experienced. Bah!† â€Å"Focus, Alice.† â€Å"Right. Bella's almost too easy to see now.† There was a long moment of silence, and then Edward sighed. It was a new sound, happier. â€Å"She's really going to be fine,† he breathed. â€Å"Of course she is.† â€Å"You weren't so sanguine two days ago.† â€Å"I couldn't see right two days ago. But now that she's free of all the blind spots, it's a piece of cake.† â€Å"Could you concentrate for me? On the clock – give me an estimate.† Alice sighed. â€Å"So impatient. Fine. Give me a sec – â€Å" Quiet breathing. â€Å"Thank you, Alice.† His voice was brighter. How long?Couldn't they at least say it aloud for me? Was that too much to ask? How many more seconds would I burn? Ten thousand? Twenty? Another day – eighty-six thousand, four hundred? More than that? â€Å"She's going to be dazzling.† Edward growled quietly. â€Å"She always has been.† Alice snorted. â€Å"You know what I mean. Look at her.† Edward didn't answer, but Alice's words gave me hope that maybe I didn't resemble the charcoal briquette I felt like. It seemed as if I must be just a pile of charred bones by now. Every cell in my body had been razed to ash. I heard Alice breeze out of the room. I heard the swish of the fabric she moved, rubbing against itself. I heard the quiet buzz of the light hanging from the ceiling. I heard the faint wind brushing against the outside of the house. I could hear everything. Downstairs, someone was watching a ball game. The Mariners were winning by two runs. â€Å"It's my turn† I heard Rosalie snap at someone, and there was a low snarl in response. â€Å"Hey, now,† Emmett cautioned. Someone hissed. I listened for more, but there was nothing but the game. Baseball was not interesting enough to distract me from the pain, so I listened to Edward's breathing again, counting the seconds. Twenty-one thousand, nine hundred seventeen and a half seconds later, the pain changed. On the good-news side of things, it started to fade from my fingertips and toes. Fading slowly, but at least it was doing something new. This had to be it. The pain was on its way out†¦ And then the bad news. The fire in my throat wasn't the same as before. I wasn't only on fire, but I was now parched, too. Dry as bone. So thirsty. Burning fire, and burning thirst†¦ Also bad news: The fire inside my heart got hotter. How was that possible? My heartbeat, already too fast, picked up – the fire drove its rhythm to a new frantic pace. â€Å"Carlisle,† Edward called. His voice was low but clear. I knew that Carlisle would hear it, if he were in or near the house. The fire retreated from my palms, leaving them blissfully pain-free and cool. But it retreated to my heart, which blazed hot as the sun and beat at a furious new speed. Carlisle entered the room, Alice at his side. Their footsteps were so distinct, I could even tell that Carlisle was on the right, and a foot ahead of Alice. â€Å"Listen,† Edward told them. The loudest sound in the room was my frenzied heart, pounding to the rhythm of the fire. â€Å"Ah,† Carlisle said. â€Å"It's almost over.† My relief at his words was overshadowed by the excruciating pain in my heart. My wrists were free, though, and my ankles. The fire was totally extinguished there. â€Å"Soon,† Alice agreed eagerly. â€Å"I'll get the others. Should I have Rosalie†¦ ?† â€Å"Yes – keep the baby away.† What? No. No! What did he mean, keep my baby away? What was he thinking? My fingers twitched – the irritation breaking through my perfect facade. The room went silent besides the jack-hammering of my heart as they all stopped breathing for a second in response. A hand squeezed my wayward fingers. â€Å"Bella? Bella, love?† Could I answer him without screaming? I considered that for a moment, and then the fire ripped hotter still through my chest, draining in from my elbows and knees. Better not to chance it. ‘Til bring them right up,† Alice said, an urgent edge to her tone, and I heard the swish of wind as she darted away. And then – oh! My heart took off, beating like helicopter blades, the sound almost a single sustained note; it felt like it would grind through my ribs. The fire flared up in the center of my chest, sucking the last remnants of the flames from the rest of my body to fuel the most scorching blaze yet. The pain was enough to stun me, to break through my iron grip on the stake. My back arched, bowed as if the fire was dragging me upward by my heart. I allowed no other piece of my body to break rank as my torso slumped back to the table. It became a battle inside me – my sprinting heart racing against the attacking fire. Both were losing. The fire was doomed, having consumed everything that was combustible; my heart galloped toward its last beat. The fire constricted, concentrating inside that one remaining human organ with a final, unbearable surge. The surge was answered by a deep, hollow-sounding thud. My heart stuttered twice, and then thudded quietly again just once more. There was no sound. No breathing. Not even mine. For a moment, the absence of pain was all I could comprehend. And then I opened my eyes and gazed above me in wonder.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Board of Education

In the history of the contemporary United States, there has been no issue that has touched off more debate than the issue of discrimination based on the skin color of an individual. The fact that one skin color is superior to another has been the topic of many a political, social and at one point military struggle in the chronology of the United States. In one of the many Supreme Court cases that have dealt with the race issue, one of them became the benchmark of cases regarding such issues, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education( 347 U. S. 483 (1954) (Find Law).In the deliberations that went on in the High Court, the Warren Court found that the Plessey vs. Ferguson decision (163 U. S. 537 (1896) (The Oyez Project), had no legal ambit under the laws of the United States (Nina Totenberg). The Plessey vs. Ferguson ruling of the Supreme Court (163 U. S. 537 (1896) (The Oyez Project) stipulated that the term of â€Å"separate but equal† as enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Unite d States Constitution was adequately met in the decision (The Oyez Project).In the facts of the case, Homer Plessey was incarcerated for the offense of taking a seat in a tram car designated for white people in 1892 (Lisa Cozzens). Plessey was in fact technically a white person, having only an eighth part of him being black, and the rest white (Cozzens). In the case of Plessey vs. the State of Louisiana (163 U. S. 537(1896) (Cornell University School of Law), which the state argued that Plessey was black under their laws, Homer argued that the law for which he was jailed for was unconstitutional (Cozzens).Plessey further argued that the Separate Car Act was in direct infringement of his rights under the 13th and 14th Amendment rights (Cozzens). In the opinion of Judge Howard Ferguson, the law was constitutionally infirm if the train traveled across state lines (Cozzens). But in the case of Louisiana, Ferguson ruled that the state can regulate the operations of the trains that are in their jurisdiction (Cozzens). When Plessey appealed to the Louisiana State Supreme Court, the court affirmed the ruling made by Ferguson (Cozzens). Arguing before the United States Supreme Court, the Court again found Plessey guilty of the offense (Cozzens).In their decision, with Justice Henry Brown as ponente, the law that separated blacks from whites in the trains in Louisiana did not clash with the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery (Cozzens). In the ruling, the law did not espouse inequality; it just made a separation in the color of the skin of the two parties (Cozzens). But Justice John Harlan, who voiced the lone opposing vote, averred that the United States Constitution, did not classify men according to the color of their skin, and that all individuals were covered equally by the law (Cozzens).Harlan also drew on the decision of the Court on the Dred Scott case and said that the decision will be just as controversial (Cozzens). The Plessey case was at the crux of the matter in the arguments presented in the Brown vs. Board of Education issue (Totenberg). Before the initiation of the Brown legal action, the NAACP was getting favorable rulings with regard to its cases that centered on challenging school policies that segregated or even barred black students from some universities’ schools of law (Totenberg).In the 1950’s, the NAACP turned its legal crosshairs on the issue of segregation in the nation’s primary and secondary education system (Totenberg). With future Supreme Court Chief Justice manning the offensive for the NAACP, the group first tested the waters so to speak in a case filed in Clarendon County, South Carolina (Totenberg). The case however was remanded back to the lower courts (Totenberg). Analysts aver that the decision of the High bench was heavy with political insinuations coming on the heels of the year’s electoral exercise (Totenberg).With the Topeka, Kansas argument, it was joined by several other motions along the same argument (Totenberg). The Chief Justice at the time, Fred Vinson, had just passed away, allowing for the nomination of then California governor Earl Warren to the post (Totenberg). In the decision of the Warren Court, the practice of segregation of white and black children in the schools was unlawful (Find Law). In the decision, the practice of separating black from white children, if only guided by racial concerns, is abrogation of the rights of children of color of equal coverage of the laws as enshrined in the 14th Amendment (Find Law).In the court’s opinion, the â€Å"separate but equal† legal doctrine found in Plessey vs. Ferguson was deemed infirm in law (Find Law). The cases argued together with Brown all centered on the minority children seeking legal relief to their cause of admission into their local schools on a non-segregated mode (Find Law). In the history of the Supreme Court, the Court has ruled on at least six cases all discussing the â€Å"separate but equal† clause in Plessey (Find Law). In the cases of Cumming vs. Board of Education (175 U. S.528), and Gong Lum vs. Rice (275 U. S. 78), the doctrine itself was not argued (Find Law). In some of the more recent cases, the equal rights guarantee was breached in that white students were acquired with better benefits than their African American counterparts (Find Law). Examples of these cases include Sipuel vs. Canada (332 U. S. 631) and Sweatt vs. Painter (339 U. S. 629) (Find Law). In essence, the Court found that the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine found in the Plessey decision was not espousing equality, but inequality (Totenberg).The Supreme Court at the time was fully cognizant of the social and political ramifications of the case in Brown (Library of Congress). The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had staged a calculated attack on the Plessey doctrine (Library). Aware of this scenario, the Supreme Court heard the case in as many years as times it heard the case, a total of three years (Library). In coming out with their decision, the Court had ordered that both sides prepare legal briefs in the case (National Archives).The briefs that the High Bench wanted each side to prepare was to focus on the opinions of the counsels if the Congress had this question in mind, the segregation of students in public schools, when they framed the 14th Amendment (Library). Several cases were in the list of cases cited by counsels in the argument of Brown (Library). The first case was the test case sent up by the NAACP, Briggs vs. Elliot (342 U. S. 350 (1952) (Library). In the particulars of the Elliott case, Harry Briggs claimed that the Clarendon County School Board, led by its President R.W. Elliott, violated their 14th amendment rights for affirming the school segregation policy (Library). In their arguments, they used the theory of noted child psychologist Dr. Kenneth Clark, who said that segreg ation affected the outlook of the child of African American children (Library). In the reargue phase of the deliberations before the court, future Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall concluded that the court can rule against their cause by declaring that African Americans were second class human beings in comparison to Caucasian Americans (Library).After waiting for close to half a year, the Warren Court, on May 17, 1954, rendered a unanimous verdict (Totenberg). It declared that the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine as applied in the area of public education was not sufficiently argued and overturned the Plessey doctrine (Totenberg). With this decision, Thurgood Marshall led the cause to destroy the legal structure that sustained segregation practices in the country (Michael Jay Friedman, p. 1). In the next year, the Supreme Court ordered that the implementation of the decision with all possible speed (Library).The Brown decision proved to be a turning point in the fight agains t segregation (National Archives). With this decision, it rendered the Plessey decision inutile and unconstitutional (National Archives). In the rendering the decision, the Court formally ended close to six decades of legally supported practices of segregation in the public schools systems (National Archives). So is this the final indubitable expression of equality? In the article of Owen Fiss, â€Å"Groups and the Equal Protection Clause†, he argues that there should be a new interpretation of the equal protection clause in the Constitution (Roberto Gargarella).In his interpretation, the individual protection ambit of the Amendment must be replaced with one that takes into consideration of the inequalities of a certain group (Gargarella). In the theory, the wisdom of the justices in the Supreme Court cannot produce the equality that a certain group merits (Gargarella). The contrast is that the framers of the fundamental law had the question in mind; they intended judges that will interpret the law as it applies to certain disadvantaged groups (Gargarella). Marshall contributed to the legal basis for the legal motions to be used by Martin Luther King, Jr.(Civil Rights Digital Library). The Brown decision did prove to be an effective tool for the demolition of segregation, but wasn’t the driver to effect wide scale change in the society (Friedman 5). Marshall helped King, Jr. by being their attorney in the famous Montgomery bus boycott issue (Friedman 8). Both Marshall and King espoused together the peaceful way to end segregation, Marshall in the courts, King through his peaceful non violent marches. Both men stand as vanguards of the freedoms and rights that many African American people enjoy today. Works Cited Civil Rights Digital Library.â€Å"Thurgood Marshall, 1908-1993†. Cornell University Law School. â€Å"Plessey vs. Ferguson†. Cozzens, Liza. â€Å"Plessey vs. Ferguson†. Find Law. â€Å"Brown vs. Board of Educatio n†. Friedman, Michael Jay. â€Å"Justice for all: the legacy of Thurgood Marshall†. Gargarella, Roberto. â€Å"Group rights, judicial review, and personal motives†. Library of Congress. â€Å"Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas†. National Archives. â€Å"Teaching with documents: order of arguments in the case, Brown vs. Board of Education†. Totenberg, Nina. â€Å"The Supreme Court and â€Å"Brown v. Board of Ed. †.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Globalizing Language

Throughout history, adventurers, generals, merchants, and financiers have constructed an ever-more-global economy. Today, unprecedented changes in communications, transportation, and computer technology have given the process new momentum. As globally mobile capital reorganizes business firms, it sweeps away regulation and undermines local and national politics. Globalization creates new markets and wealth, even as it causes widespread suffering, disorder, and unrest. It is both a source of repression and a catalyst for global movements of social justice and emancipation. Globalization also allows multinational corporations to manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures circulate more freely. As a result, laws, economies, and social movements are forming at the international level. Many politicians, academics, and journalists treat these trends as both inevitable and (on the whole) welcome. But for billions of the world’s people, business-driven globalization means uprooting old ways of life and threatening livelihoods and cultures. Experts disagree about the rate at which languages are disappearing: some say that by the end of the century half will have gone, some say 90%. But whenever a language dies, a bit of the world's culture, history and diversity dies with it. This is slowly coming to be appreciated. The EU declared 2001 to be â€Å"European year of languages†, and it is striking that even France- whose hostility to linguistic competition is betrayed by the constitution's bald statement that â€Å"the language of the Republic is French†- now smiles more compassionately on its seven regional tongues (Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish and Provenà §al). Yet the extinction of most languages is probably unstoppable. Television and radio, bo... Free Essays on Globalizing Language Free Essays on Globalizing Language Throughout history, adventurers, generals, merchants, and financiers have constructed an ever-more-global economy. Today, unprecedented changes in communications, transportation, and computer technology have given the process new momentum. As globally mobile capital reorganizes business firms, it sweeps away regulation and undermines local and national politics. Globalization creates new markets and wealth, even as it causes widespread suffering, disorder, and unrest. It is both a source of repression and a catalyst for global movements of social justice and emancipation. Globalization also allows multinational corporations to manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures circulate more freely. As a result, laws, economies, and social movements are forming at the international level. Many politicians, academics, and journalists treat these trends as both inevitable and (on the whole) welcome. But for billions of the world’s people, business-driven globalization means uprooting old ways of life and threatening livelihoods and cultures. Experts disagree about the rate at which languages are disappearing: some say that by the end of the century half will have gone, some say 90%. But whenever a language dies, a bit of the world's culture, history and diversity dies with it. This is slowly coming to be appreciated. The EU declared 2001 to be â€Å"European year of languages†, and it is striking that even France- whose hostility to linguistic competition is betrayed by the constitution's bald statement that â€Å"the language of the Republic is French†- now smiles more compassionately on its seven regional tongues (Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish and Provenà §al). Yet the extinction of most languages is probably unstoppable. Television and radio, bo...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Speculative Fiction Essays - Fiction, Literature, Culture

Speculative Fiction Essays - Fiction, Literature, Culture Speculative Fiction Fiction considered literary by nature, elements of fantasy and science fiction, focuses on issues of social change. Sub-genres: horror, dystopian, futuristic, utopia, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic. Handmaid's Tale: futuristic, dystopian. Dystopian Fiction Undesirable place, nothing is perfect, plagued with disease and destruction and death. Psychoanalytical Criticism Freudian reading of the story, argues that secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author or protagonist are represented in the writing. Handmaid's Tale: each of the characters acts as a mirror for Offred. Postmodernism Relies on conventions like: fragmentation (flashbacks), paradox, unreliable narrator, unrealistic/impossible plot, games, paradox, paranoia, dark humor (historical note), authorial self-reference (historical note). Absolute meanings are rejected and the possibility of multiple meanings or a lack of meaning within a work is highlighted and celebrated. Ecocriticism Looks at events/aspects/factors concerning the relationships between living organisms in their natural environment as well as their relationships with that environment. Feminist Criticism How women are represented in literature. Informed by feminist theory, or, more broadly, by the politics of feminism. It uses feminist principles and ideology to critique the language of literature. It seeks to analyze and describe the ways in which literature portrays the narrative of male domination by exploring the economic, social, political, and psychological forces embedded within literature.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Helen Pitts Douglass, Wife of Frederick Douglass

Helen Pitts Douglass, Wife of Frederick Douglass Born Helen Pitts (1838 - 1903), Helen Pitts Douglass was a suffragist and abolitionist in the 19th century. She is best known for marrying politician and abolitionist reformer Frederick Douglass, an interracial marriage considered surprising and scandalous at the time. Fast Facts: Helen Pitts Douglass Full Name:  Helen Pitts DouglassOccupation: Suffragist, reformer, and abolitionistBorn: 1838 in Honeoye, New YorkDied: 1903 in Washington, D.C.Known For: A white woman who married the mixed-race abolition leader Frederick Douglass, Helen Pitts Douglass was an advocate in her own right and pushed for abolition, suffrage, and her husbands legacy.Spouse: Frederick Douglass (m. 1884-1895) Early Life and Work Helen Pitts was born and raised in the small town of Honeoye, New York.  Her parents, Gideon and Jane Pitts, had abolitionist views and participated in anti-slavery work. She was the oldest of five children, and her ancestors included Priscilla Alden and John Alden, who had come to New England on the Mayflower. She was also a distant cousin of President John Adams and of President John Quincy Adams. Helen Pitts attended a female seminary Methodist seminary in nearby Lima, New York.  She then attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, founded by Mary Lyon in 1837, and graduated in 1859. A teacher, she taught at the Hampton Institute in Virginia, a school founded after the Civil War for the education of freedmen.  In poor health, and after a conflict in which she accused some local residents of harassing students, she moved back to the family home at Honeoye. In 1880, Helen Pitts moved to Washington, DC, to live with her uncle.  She worked with Caroline Winslow on The Alpha, a women’s rights publication, and began to be more outspoke in the suffrage movement. Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass, the well-known abolitionist and civil rights leader and ex-slave, had attended and spoke at the 1848 Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention. He was an acquaintance of Helen Pitts’ father, whose home had been part of the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad.  In 1872 Douglass had been nominated – without his knowledge or consent – as the vice presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party, with Victoria Woodhull nominated for president. Less than a month later, his home in Rochester burned down, possibly the result of arson.  Douglass moved his family, including his wife, Anna Murray Washington, from Rochester, NY, to Washington, DC. In 1881, President James A. Garfield appointed Douglass as Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia. Helen Pitts, living next door to Douglass, was hired by Douglass as a clerk in that office. He was often traveling and was also working on his autobiography; Helen Pitts helped him in that work. In August, 1882, Anne Murray Douglass died.  She had been ill for some time.  Douglass fell into a deep depression.  He began to work with Ida B. Wells on anti-lynching activism. Married Life On January 24, 1884, Frederick Douglass and Helen Pitts were married in a small ceremony officiated by the Rev. Francis J. Grimkà ©, at his home. Grimkà ©, a leading black minister of Washington, had also been born into slavery, also with a white father and a black slave mother. His father’s sisters, the famous women’s rights and abolitionist reformers Sarah Grimkà © and Angelina Grimkà ©, had taken in Francis and his brother Archibald when they discovered the existence of these mixed-race nephews, and had seen to their education.  The marriage seems to have taken their friends and families by surprise. The notice in the New York Times (January 25, 1884) highlighted what were likely to be seen as the scandalous details of the marriage: â€Å"Washington, January 24. Frederick Douglass, the colored leader, was married in this city this evening to Miss Helen M. Pitts, a white woman, formerly of Avon, N.Y.  The wedding, which took place at the house of Dr. Grimkà ©, of the Presbyterian church, was private, only two witnesses being present. The first wife of Mr. Douglass, who was a colored woman, died about a year ago. The woman he married to-day is about 35 years of age, and was employed as a copyist in his office. Mr. Douglass himself is about 73 years of age and has daughters as old as his present wife.† Helen’s parents opposed the marriage because of Douglasss mixed-race heritage (he was born to a black mother but a white father), and stopped speaking to her.  Frederick’s children were also opposed, believing it dishonored his marriage to their mother. (Douglass had five children with his first wife; one, Annie, died at age 10 in 1860.) Others, both white and black, expressed opposition and even outrage at the marriage. However, they had support from some corners.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton, longtime friend of Douglass though at a key point a political opponent over the priority of women’s rights and black men’s rights, was among the defenders of the marriage.  Douglass responded with some humor, and was quoted as saying â€Å"This proves I am impartial. My first wife was the color of my mother and the second, the color of my father.†Ã‚  He also wrote, â€Å"People who had remained silent over the unlawful relations of white slave masters with their colored slave women loudly condemned me for marrying a wife a few shades lighter than myself. They would have had no objection to my marrying a person much darker in complexion than myself, but to marry one much lighter, and of the complexion of my father rather than of that of my mother, was, in the popular eye, a shocking offense, and one for which I was to be ostracized by white and black alike.† Helen was not the first relationship Douglass had had aside from his first wife. Beginning in 1857, Douglass had carried out an intimate relationship with Ottilie Assing, a writer who was a German Jewish immigrant. Assing apparently thought he would marry her, especially after the Civil War, and believed that his marriage to Anna was no longer meaningful to him. She left for Europe in 1876, and was disappointed that he never joined her there.  The August after he married Helen Pitts, she, apparently suffering from breast cancer, committed suicide in Paris, leaving money in her will to be delivered to him twice a year as long as he lived. Frederick Douglass’ Later Work and Travels From 1886 to 1887, Helen and Frederick Douglass traveled together to Europe and Egypt.  They returned to Washington, then from 1889 to 1891, Frederick Douglass served as the US minister to Haiti, and Helen lived with him there.  He resigned in 1891, and in 1892 to 1894, he traveled extensively, speaking against lynching.   In 1892, he began to work on establishing housing in Baltimore for black renters. The following year, Douglass was the only African American official (as a commissioner for Haiti) at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  Radical to the end, he was asked in 1895 by a young man of color for advice, and he offered this: â€Å"Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!† Douglass returned to Washington from a lecture tour in February 1895 despite declining health. He attended a meeting of the National Council of Women on February 20, and spoke to a standing ovation. On returning home, he had a stroke and heart attack, and died that day. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the eulogy which Susan B. Anthony delivered. He was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York. Working to Memorialize Frederick Douglass After Douglass died, his will leaving Cedar Hill to Helen was ruled invalid, because it lacked enough witness signatures.  Douglass’ children wished to sell the estate, but Helen wanted it as a memorial to Frederick Douglass.  She worked to raise funds to establish it as a memorial, with the help of African American women including Hallie Quinn Brown. Helen Pitts Douglass lectured her husbands  history to bring in funds and raise public interest.  She was able to buy the house and adjoining acres, though it was heavily mortgaged. She also worked to have a bill passed that would incorporate the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association. The bill, as originally written, would have had Douglass’ remains moved from Mount Hope Cemetery to Cedar Hill. Douglass’ youngest son, Charles R. Douglass, protested, citing his fathers wish to be buried at Mount Hope - and insulting Helen as a mere companion for Douglasss later years as well. Despite this objection, Helen was able to get the bill passed through Congress to establish the memorial association. As a sign of respect, however, Frederick Douglass’ remains were not moved to Cedar Hill; Helen instead was buried at Mount Hope as well in 1903. Helen completed her memorial volume about Frederick Douglass in 1901. Near the end of her life, Helen Douglass became weakened, and was unable to continue her travels and lectures. She enlisted the Rev. Francis Grimkà © in the cause.  He convinced Helen Douglass to agree that if the mortgage had not been paid at her death, the money raised from the property being sold would go to college scholarships in Frederick Douglass’ name. The National Association of Colored Women was able, after Helen Douglass’ death, to purchase the property, and to keep the estate as a memorial, as Helen Douglass had envisioned.  Since 1962, the Frederick Douglass Memorial Home has been under the administration of the National Park Service.  In 1988, it became the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Sources Douglass, Frederick. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. 1881.Douglass, Helen Pitts. In Memoriam: Frederick Douglass. 1901.Harper, Michael S. â€Å"The love letters of Helen Pitts.† TriQuarterly. 1997.Marriage of Frederick Douglass. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 1884. https://www.nytimes.com/1884/01/25/archives/marriage-of-frederick-douglass.html

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Describe and assess the listener's experience of two different Assignment - 2

Describe and assess the listener's experience of two different composition or two performances of the same composition - Assignment Example William’s version waits for the strumming of guitar and then opens with ‘Moon River’ (Williams, 2010). His opening is not sad at all, Sinatra’s opening bears a sad connotation to it. Sinatra’s version does not have the strumming sound that creates a happy mood in William’s performance. There are plucking sounds with the ‘pick’ of the guitar that turn to flamingo style at 17 seconds into the song. The melody of the two performances is different from each other. Sinatra’s song has acoustics and strings to create the melody (Sinatra, 2011). William’s song has acoustics but lighter strings to create the same effect (Williams, 2010). The strumming is constant with the melody while Sinatra’s version has different style of guitar playing, strumming of Spanish guitar is almost absent from it. William’s performance enters into that energetic loud voice at about 40 seconds into the song with the line ‘I’m going your way’ (Williams, 2010). The beginning of the song ‘Moon River’ is different from Sinatra’s version as the first word Moon has a high tone and then a low tone of River to complement the happy strumming of the guitar. Sinatra says out both words out loud but with the sad tone, that gives the feeling of isolation. The performance by Andy William has more harmony than Sinatra’s. There are two occasions when a choir like harmonious backup vocals are added to William’s voice (Williams, 2010). Frank Sinatra sings the whole song alone. The pitch, tone, notes and chords sing in unison, Sinatra’s version has more variation in it, which adds to the mystery of the song. The ‘vertical part’ of the song is evident in William’s version. It is different from the melodic line. On a similar note, the counterpoint is very small to detect and distinguish from the harmony in William’s song. Sinatra’s version does not have the counter point. The musical form of the two songs is almost

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Representation of the People Act 1983 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Representation of the People Act 1983 - Essay Example Prisoners are allowed to vote in Canada, Ukraine, South Africa, Iran and some other nations, whereas other nations like Russia, Finland, some states in the USA ban prisoners from voting . Approximately, 4.5 million prisoners around the world have been disenfranchised . In the US some states allow felons out on parole or probation to vote . In Richardson v Ramirez , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state’s right to ban felons from voting. In Sauvà © v Canada , the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the legislation forbidding federal prisoners from voting. In Hirst v United Kingdom , the European Court of Human Rights, applying the reasoning in the case of Sauvà © v Canada, held the ban on prisoners’ voting rights as invalid. The UK government argued that disenfranchisement prevented crime and punished offenders, serving to enhance the civic responsibility and respect for the rule of the law. It also argued that convicted prisoners due to having breached the social contract had surrendered the right to take part in the civil process for the period of their sentence. The notion of civil death or withdrawal of political, legal and civil rights has its origins in ancient Greek and Roman societies and was adopted by medieval Europe .

The Current Position of Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Current Position of Starbucks - Essay Example Though profit maximization, sales maximization makes the backbone of every company’s objective, Starbucks have over insisted on this and failed to maximize its quality management and customer needs. The replacement of comfy seats with stands, stylish coffee cups with general cups, stuffy environments and supply of sandwiches whose smell overpowered the sweet scent of brewed coffee is also another strategy that led to the drastic decline of the company’s sales. This shows a complete diversion of the company’s mission and goal. Waitresses and waiters have also been overburdened; they no longer appreciate their work. They feel that the goal they were working hard to achieve and sustain has suddenly changed (Mulcaster, 2009). Brewing of coffee was the major idea behind Starbucks formation. However this idea has changed to automatic making of coffee that customers complain about. The quality of coffee is not felt anymore and so is the social effect of the stores. The employees’ attachment with the customers has reduced due to the tall coffee making machines that destruct the customers view when coffee is made (Mintzberg et al., 2003). ...ategy to help them cope up with the food crisis problems, such as decreasing its prices, or even changing the type of cups to small ones that were affordable just like its competitors deed. Nonetheless, this company did not take into concern efforts made by its competitors. Many stores came up with new strategies to combat Starbuck’s increased sales. The strategy then employed by this company was to open even more stores in the US. However they failed to carry along their distinctive character with them, such as brewing coffee, presence of comfy seats, and ensuring that the sweet aroma of coffee was still intact. As a result the decline of its shares in the stock exchange was inevitable. This is because there is no one who would like to be associated with a declining firm which translates to low di vidends due to the low profits and sales realized. Though Starbucks Company still has the capabilities and resources that can help it to still lead in the coffee world, the environment in which it is running its business is too tight. First the economy has changed. Food prices have hiked, meaning that the disposable income of the consumers is low. They will therefore not opt to take expensive coffee. In addition, its competitors are doing all they can to make sure that they also increase their sales and also penetrate the market just as Starbucks is doing. They are thus growing at the same level. The company’s employees are also getting tired of the introduction of new products. Not that it is wrong, but because their opinion is not taken into concern. They feel that they are not part of the company anymore. However, Starbuck Company can be able to reinstate itself once more and be on the lead in coffee roasting and retailing.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Civil Rights for Murderers with Intellectual Disability Essay

Civil Rights for Murderers with Intellectual Disability - Essay Example Intellectually disabled people start to have this problem at the age of around eighteen years and usually have an IQ of below 65. Therefore, it becomes challenging to determine the motive of the murder for such cases (Perske 470). Capital punishment can be exercised through various forms. For example in United States of America, a criminal can be killed by lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, gas or electrocution. There are several reasons for and against capital punishment. Some reasons for capital punishment are listed below. Firstly, it is the only punishment that can makes sure that justice is met for the person murdered. Since murder entails taking away the life of a person, then to have justice equally served for a murdered person is to have the guilt person sentenced to death (Blume, Johnson and Seeds 89) . Another purpose of capital punishment is that it offers relieve and closure for the family, relatives and close friends. It is always a human behavior to get satisfied when a murderer is killed too. This is most evidenced by angry mob that severally either beat the murderers to death or burn them alive. However if murderers are taken to court, people especially those close to the murdered person can only feel contented if the murderer is handed a death warrant. On top of that, another purpose of death warrant in our criminal justice system is to issue a warning to those people committing murder but most important to those who want to start it. Considering that everyone fears death, criminals will fear committing murder. The would-be criminals even when they want to rob, will try as much as possible not to kill anyone because of fear of capital punishment Therefore, death warrant serves as the best cautionary not only to murder cases but also all other crimes that can be committed (Strescino 57). Before execution of death penalty, the criminals spent many years in prison where they are secluded not only from

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

Summary and response - Essay Example In her own words she notes, â€Å"I am strongly opposed to young children playing tackle football.† In another instance, she notes that, by children taking part in competitive sports, they will be deprived of their ability to develop competitive aspects. In conclusion, Statsky affirms her position by noting that competitive sports only stresses on the aspects of competition and winning. By only using such credible information, she is able to relay the intended message which is plainly illustrated in her statement in which she strongly develops the image that competitive sports may be harmful to children. In her opinion, children should just be allowed to play sports that are appropriate to them and suits their abilities and needs. By these statements, it is clearly and strongly evident how Statsky has developed her arguments against such plays among children, and the recommendations she gives as alternatives for such children. Looking at the arguments set forth in the essay, I would categorically state that I agree with Statsky’s position regarding competitive sports for young children, although to a partial degree. This is because; I also value the essence of competitive theory, which forms the basis of competitive growth even in sports. However, I am mesmerized by the manner in which the author organizes and presents her arguments on the topic. In this response, I would specifically concentrate on the points that seemingly make her essay to be very effective and how she manages to build on such credibility. Particularly, she appears to be consistent in her reasoning considering that her opinions are well-supported in the essay thus, allowing readers to be convinced by it. I think that the success achieved in conveying the message across is one main achievement that is made possible and feasible by the engagement of various kinds of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Civil Rights for Murderers with Intellectual Disability Essay

Civil Rights for Murderers with Intellectual Disability - Essay Example Intellectually disabled people start to have this problem at the age of around eighteen years and usually have an IQ of below 65. Therefore, it becomes challenging to determine the motive of the murder for such cases (Perske 470). Capital punishment can be exercised through various forms. For example in United States of America, a criminal can be killed by lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, gas or electrocution. There are several reasons for and against capital punishment. Some reasons for capital punishment are listed below. Firstly, it is the only punishment that can makes sure that justice is met for the person murdered. Since murder entails taking away the life of a person, then to have justice equally served for a murdered person is to have the guilt person sentenced to death (Blume, Johnson and Seeds 89) . Another purpose of capital punishment is that it offers relieve and closure for the family, relatives and close friends. It is always a human behavior to get satisfied when a murderer is killed too. This is most evidenced by angry mob that severally either beat the murderers to death or burn them alive. However if murderers are taken to court, people especially those close to the murdered person can only feel contented if the murderer is handed a death warrant. On top of that, another purpose of death warrant in our criminal justice system is to issue a warning to those people committing murder but most important to those who want to start it. Considering that everyone fears death, criminals will fear committing murder. The would-be criminals even when they want to rob, will try as much as possible not to kill anyone because of fear of capital punishment Therefore, death warrant serves as the best cautionary not only to murder cases but also all other crimes that can be committed (Strescino 57). Before execution of death penalty, the criminals spent many years in prison where they are secluded not only from

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Company profit calculation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Company profit calculation - Assignment Example Q = (accepted), (rejected) At Q = , ATC’’ becomes 9.61 while at Q = , ATC’’ becomes 0.381. Since Q > 0 and since ATC’’ > 0 at Q = , so it can be surmised that Q = when ATC is minimised. Part (g) Firms will neither exit nor enter in the longer run in an industry because already operating firms are creating normal profit. Since there are no incentives to either leave or enter the market in the longer run, so there will be no entry or exit in the longer run. Part (h) Question Two As market demand levels vary, the firm’s profits in any industry will tend to vary. As long as some form of economic profit is available, new firms will enter the market. Similarly, any kinds of economic loss will force firms to leave the market. When economic profit is available, the supply curve tends to shift to the right in order to reduce price. As price falls, so does economic profit and thus the incentive to enter the market. Conversely, if economic loss o ccurs, the supply curve shifts to the left in order to increase price. Bigger price tags tend to reduce the economic loss being faced. Market adjustments continue to occur until firms come to a point where the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost which in turn equals the price. Also, the short run average cost and the long term average cost meet the equilibrium levels to produce total market equilibrium in the longer run. Question Three A shock in demand leads to a sudden rise in demand. This in turn disrupts the market equilibrium and the supply curve tends to shift to the right while the demand curve tends to shift to the right as well. In addition, it is typical to find that the price for any product experiencing demand shock tends to increase as well. Larger quantities required are dealt with by firms operating under perfect competition. For constant cost industries, when the industry expands in reaction to demand shocks, there are no changes in the production costs or in t he prices of resources. The basic contention of the constant cost industry is that as new firms enter the market, the long run average cost curve does not get affected. Hence, as the efficiency of production does not change due to demand shocks, the supply curve in the longer run becomes horizontal. Question Four Certain industries require long term economic profits in order to survive in the market. These industries may require continuous new inputs in the form of research and development (R&D). The pharmaceutical industry for example requires that research be carried out into new medicine. This may become necessary for example as one generation of antibiotics are unable to deal with the next generation of germs. The R&D process in turn requires the investment of economic profit which in turn can be labelled as a cost. The reinvested economic profit from the operation of such industries can be seen as a cost although it is not necessary that the amount of such an investment would e quate to the economic profit generated. For example, the pharmaceutical industry invests in the development of a medicine that it will continue to produce constantly for decades which indicates that the economic prof

Monday, October 14, 2019

Gender segregated schools Essay Example for Free

Gender segregated schools Essay The Benefits and Disadvantages of Single-Sex Education Schools in early 17th century America were fist modeled after English learning institutions after Puritans immigrated over to the English colonies. Originally only rich white males were allowed to attend school to learn how to read and write. In many cases, most parents placed their boys into the nine month long curriculum to keep them out of mischief. For the other three months of the year, students would be released from school during the summer months to lend a hand on their familys arms to help cultivate the land and raise animals. During the summer months, wealthy white girls attended these same schools often taught by a female instructor to learn to read and write. Of the girls who could attend the schools, many were kept at home to be taught the essentials for their future such as cooking, sewing, and the caretaking of babies and toddlers (A Short History). Fast forward one hundred years and the first coeducational schools can be found appearing in the American colonies, primarily the New England area. In these schools the major focus was to teach children how to read, specifically for religious purposes. The likely cause of the integration of boys and girls in schools is thought to be stemmed from growing numbers of female church numbers and the practical requirements of finding enough children to support schools in sparsely populated regions making schools more practical to spread religion (A Short History). After the revolutionary war, American citizens saw that womens education was important and was needed to promote good citizens and great leaders in society. With this state of mind, many private schools opened their doors to coeducation and allowed both boys and girls to attend school together. Until the late 1840s, only rich white boys and girls were allowed to attend schools because there was no government funded schools. That changed when reformers Horance Mann and Henry Barnard succeeded with their efforts to promote a free public school system. This finally allowed all white children to attend schools together for free. The only exception to gender-integrated schools where catholic families who objected the practice of coeducation on moral and religious grounds and that males and females had profoundly different purposes to fulfill (A Short History). Because of this many catholic schools remained segregated y gender. In the early 1900s many schools created classes specifically to prepare boys and girls for their future. Girls were taught home economics and traditionally feminine labor skills, such as secretarial work and or garment-making while boys were educated in industrial arts, bookkeeping, and commercial geography (A Short History). These classes were introduced for the importance of the growing labor market of the time period. In todays society, some parents are faced with placing their children in gender- segregated schools or in public schools to better benefit their children. The problem brains of the two genders learn different subjects at different ages. So, with this, boys or girls have an advantage over each other. The same happens when puberty becomes a factor in adolescence as well as in high school with distractions. On the other side, there are also benefits to public schools such as socialization with the opposite sex and better preparation for the real world. Then there are gender segregated schools that better accommodate teaching methods and times for specific sexes as well as better grades, less competition, and fewer distractions. Again there re bad sides to this too, such as less socializing and less competition to prepare someone for their future Job. With all of these factors, any parent faced with a decision like this will have a hard time figuring out what type of education their child should receive. One of the major arguments people make supporting gender-segregated schools is the fact that boys and girls brains differ in many different aspects. Whether it is an emotional difference or the structure of the brain, one gender will do better in class than the other. In 2007, a team of neuroscientists from the National Institute of Mental Health conducted a study on subjects ranging in age from three to twenty- seven years old both male and female. Their results showed that the occipital lobe of the brain where visual processing is mostly associated with is developed much more rapidly in six to ten year old girls, as opposed to the male brain where this lobe does the majority of its development after fourteen years of age (Novotney). Another major brain difference between the girls and boys is that a girls corpus callosum is twenty- five percent larger than a boys, making girls better at multitasking. A girls prefrontal ortex also develops earlier and larger than that of a boy, making girls better at abstract thinking and thought analysis as well as making better choices between right and wrong (McBride). Meanwhile, the cerebral cortex where mechanical and spatial thinking is conducted is used much more in boys. This results in boys having an easier time learning with movement and pictures as opposed to girls. With these different developed sections of the brain, girls gain an upper hand in classrooms over boys by ways of better listening, sensory memory, and especially reading and writing. However, boys gain an upper hand over girls in math as Leonard Sax a Ph. D. in psychology and author of Why Gender Matters explains: [the] fact that many middle-school boys seem to learn algebra better when you start with numbers, whereas many same-age girls seem to be more engaged if you start with a word problem. For example, if you are teaching equations in multiple variables, the typical 7th-grade boy will do better if you begin by asking If x + 2y = 60, and 2x + y = 90, how do we solve for x and y? But the typical 7th-grade girl will be more engaged if you begin by asking If a sweater and two blouses cost $60, and two sweaters and a louse cost $90, how much does each blouse and each sweater cost? (Sax 15). By splitting boys and girls in school, a teacher can adjust a test to where the two genders of students both benefit from word or equation only math problems. According to Lisa Damour, Co-director of the Center for Research on Girls at Laurel school, a girls day school claims that the benefit of single-sex schools is that they offer the dynamic of having only one sex in the classroom at a time, creating girls class that would not work as effectively in a boys class and vice versa (Novotney). That way boys and girls are taught the same subject at different times in a better gender specified manner. Many studies have statistically shown support towards gender-segregated schools as being better for students in both education and even personality. A study was conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania studying schools in Seoul South Korea that randomly assigned students to either attend a coed or gender-segregated school. In these schools, all students were from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The results of this study found that girls in gender- egregated schools were more likely to attend college after graduation as compared to girls at coeducational schools; the same appeared in boys of both types of schools. Both boys and girls in these gender-segregated schools made higher test scores than coed schools in the same city. In another study conducted by Betta Hannover and her colleague Ursula Kessels found that American girls in girl only schools were more comfortable with physics. The National Foundation for Educational Research in England also supports that boys and girls do better on test scores and overall grades as compared to coed students regardless of background factors. The study also backs up the Hannover and Kessels study by finding that girls at single-sex schools were more likely to take non-traditional courses courses which run against gender stereotypes (Single-Sex). Student grades at single-sex schools could be better than expected by both boys and girls because boys and girls in the single sex schools are more comfortable enrolling in contradicting gender-stereotypical classes, like girls interested in computer science, and boys in art. These classes could seem a bit more difficult for some students bringing their overall grade down a bit even if it is in egard to students in different nations or here in America. Researcher for the Australian Council for Educational Research Cornelius Riordan found that most boys and girls who attend single-sex catholic schools were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, yet these students obtained better grades than coed students (Single- Sex). This backs the study done by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, that socioeconomic background does not play a major role on a students grades as thought by many people who oppose single-sex schools. Riordan also found that students in these catholic schools view learning in a more positive manner which ould be another reason as to why students in single-sex schools do much better than coed students. In another study conducted in Jamaica by Marlene Hamilton found that students attending single-sex schools out preformed students in coed schools in almost every subject tested which confirmed the research done in Australia, South Korea, England, and America (Single-Sex). With many studies on students all over the world being consistent, it proves that single-sex schools are better for a students education. Not only do single-sex schools benefit a students education, but their overall focus and character as well. At Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Seattle, principle Benjamin Wright led the movement of the schools traditional coed classroom setting to single-sex classrooms. Before this transition he would address over thirty misbehaving children a day, eighty percent of which were boys. In regard to the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the single-sex classrooms, there were on average one or two students sent to the office for misbehavior a day. The boys reading average rose to sixty-six percent while their writing average also went up to fifty-three percent (Single-Sex). All of this was done under the same teachers for boys and girls. At an inner-city high school in Montr ©al who underwent the same type of transition also saw positive results. The number of students skipping class dropped by thirteen percent to Just seven percent. Fifteen percent more of students passed their final exams as opposed to before where sixty- five passed. Finally, the rate of students continuing their education in college doubled what it used to be before the switch. With these consistent positive results, many schools will turn to the idea of following these footsteps and transition to single-sex schools or classrooms to benefit all students in their education and haracter. Although segregating students by gender has its positive results, it also has negative results in students psychologically and socially. New York Times writer Tamar Lewin stresses the strongest argument against single-sex education is that it reduces boys and girls opportunities to work together, and reinforces sex stereotypes (Lewinl). By splitting the two genders apart, students will not know how to properly work together or even communicate with one another. According to the American Psychological Association, school is preparation for the adult life and how oys and girls learn to interact will dictate relationships formed in the workplace (Saunders). As students are separated by gender, they miss vital chances to work with one another and build important social skills. By segregating students, they are missing out on learning those very skills needed outside of school such as an engineering firm where thoughts from multiple engineers take place. A female engineer who spent her entire school life including college in single-sex classes may feel a bit more uncomfortable speaking out her ideas to the male engineers. Not only oes this affect people in the work place, it affects their personal relationships as well, for example, a male trying to meet women to date, becomes much more difficult. If he has spent little or no time communicating with the opposite sex, he may feel shy or awkward. Elizabeth Danish explains: Part of the idea of going to school is to prepare your child for real life when they leave. There is no doubt that the real world is mixed gender rather than single sex and so that means that the best way to do this would be to emulate that in school. Further, learning to talk to members of he opposite sex is a very important skill and one that can leave you at a significant disadvantage if youve never had a chance to practice. By experimenting with relationships now when things are less serious, your child will be better at managing and finding them when they leave (Danish). She also believes that in coed schools students become more understanding of each other and are more open minded of new conditions. Danish then suggests that building a feminine side to men could help them better understand girls and reduce the changes of sexism in schools. The problem with some single-sex schools is that he ideas of men are better than girls or in some cases women are better than men begins to circulate and lowers the self-confidence and self-esteem of some students. Another problem facing single-sex classrooms is lack of trained teachers to What could be done to better benefit students in single-sex schools is to have the two genders attend the same school in different buildings. With this, students could be integrated during lunch hours and for elementary schools even recess. This way the two genders can socialize with one another and not be completely segregated throughout all twelve years of school. This socialization can help prepare boys and girls for life outside and after high school in both work life and relationships with one another. In regards to single-sex classrooms, studies show how boys are encouraged or more engaged in learning subjects can be implemented in teaching methods for specifically boys and vice versa for girls. With this, teachers can know what method of teaching works better so they can use it only for boys and only for girls. The numbers of single-sex schools have been on the rise in the past fifteen years and will continue to go up because they are proving to better benefit students education and personality. However, many advocates believe that the psychological and sociological downsides to this form of education are harmful to students and outweigh the positives.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Customer Satisfaction in Shopping Centre

Customer Satisfaction in Shopping Centre In the previous chapter, secondary data such as books, journals and online journals are used to conduct the literature review. In this chapter, primary data is collected through the case study. This chapter will cover the research framework consists of research purpose, research method, sampling method, research instrument and information collected from the case study. The analysis of the data is discussed in the next chapter. This case study is conducted for the purpose of investigating the level of customer satisfaction of the local customers towards the performance of a shopping centre. Mid valley megamall is chosen as the subject in case study. The time frame for the whole research is 1 month. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK: First of all, the measurement objectives must be specified in order to simplify the research process. Basically, there are four types of customer satisfaction survey which is based on the measurement objectives of the research (Vavra, 2002). Since this research is used to investigate the level of performance of a shopping centre from the customers satisfaction in general, thus, it is known as overall status survey. According to Vavra, overall status survey is emphasized more on the general issues, overall performance, and overall customers satisfaction. (2002). RESEARCH METHOD AND PURPOSE: This research is conducted using quantitative research method. From the customer satisfaction survey, the research information collected from the sample is the primary data. The aim of this study is to investigate the level of customers satisfaction in a shopping centre, to identify the actual need of customers through the distribution of questionnaires to the sample and to clarify whether the performance meet the customers expectations. POPULATION AND SAMPLING METHOD: Sampling method is a method of choosing a group of peoples from the entire target population in order to obtain the required information. Basically, there are two types of sampling designs: probability and non-probability. This research has adopted non probability sampling technique which is most suitable for a widely dispersed population such as the customers of Mid Valley Megamall. It is impossible to use the probability sampling method for this research due to the difficulty in identifies the target populations as it is too large for research. The sample is selected to estimate the gross results because less cost and time required and the sample is easily obtained while compared with the probability sampling technique. The target populations for this research are the Malaysian customers of Mid Valley Megamall and the sample is limited to adult from 18 to 50 years old. This sample is chosen because these groups of person visit the shopping mall more frequently than other demographic profile. The sample size of 100 customers ranged from 18 to 50 years old is considered as representative of Malaysian customers of Mid Valley Megamall. DESIGN OF QUESTIONNAIRE: Questionnaire is used as research instrument for this study. The questionnaires are prepared according to the objectives which set up at the beginning. In order to obtain better response from the sample, the questionnaires are designed to be simple and easy to be understood. If the length of the questionnaires is too long, it will affect the rate of response. According to Vavra, there are four types of question can be collected, namely facts, attitudes, prediction behavior and demographics. (2002). Diversified types of question are more interesting for the customers. The questionnaire consists of three sections. The first section is about the demographic profile of the respondent. The objective is to know the respondents background. The second section is about the general information regarding the relationship between the respondents and the shopping mall. Besides, it is used to identify the actual need of the customers. The third section is about the investigation on the level of satisfaction of the customers from the sample chosen towards the location, product performance, staff, building layout, infrastructure and facilities provided in the shopping mall. This section is important in determine whether the shopping mall meet the requirements of the customers. Furthermore, it includes the recommendations from the customers in order to help the shopping mall to enhance their performance in the future. SCALE: For the questionnaire, every question has its own response options such as open-ended response and close-ended response. Open-ended questions require the opinions of the customers regarding the overall performance of the shopping mall. Close-ended questions are more efficient and quantifiable because it consists of numeric scales which used by the customers to express their feelings in a simple way. The scale is known as Likert Scale. The 5-point numerical scale is adopted which ranging from 1 to 5, 1 represents not satisfied, 2 represents somewhat dissatisfied, 3 represents neither satisfied or dissatisfied, 4 represents somewhat satisfied and 5 represents strongly satisfied. The scale help the respondents to make a clear decision based on their level of satisfaction. DISTRIBUTION METHOD: Distribution method also known as field method and it defined as the way used by the interviewer to distribute the questionnaires to the sample. The questionnaires in research are distributed to the customers personally at the Mid Valley Megamall and at the same time they return the questionnaires. CASE STUDY: MID VALLEY MEGAMALL: BACKGROUND: Mid Valley Megamall is one of the Malaysias largest urban development projects in the world. It was one of the projects inside the Mid Valley City. Mid Valley City desires to be the most modern and integrated mixed-use developments in the world. The construction starts in year 1995. At present, it comprises Mid Valley Megamall, Cititel Hotel, Menara IGB, Boulevard Offices, Boulevard Hotel, Northpoint Mid Valley City, Centrepoint North and South Towers, The Gardens Retail Gallery, The Gardens Hotel, The Gardens Residences and two landmark office towers. IGB Corporation Berhad, a property and investment holding company listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad is the developer of Mid Valley City while the Mid Valley Megamall is owned and operated by Kris Assets Holdings Berhad, a listed IGB subsidiary company. A two dimension master plan of Mid Valley City is enclosed in appendix. DESCRIPTIONS OF MID VALLEY MEGAMALL: Mid Valley Megamall is selected for the case study. Mid Valley Megamall is launched in year 1995 and it was opened in November 1999. Mid Valley Megamall is a complex consists of a shopping mall, an office tower block, 30 signature offices and two hotels. It is the first shopping mall comprises four successful anchor tenants, namely Jaya Jusco, Metrojaya, Carrefour and Golden Screen Cinemas. Besides, it comprises 13 junior and mini anchors and 403 specialty shops. Mid Valley Megamall has a gross floor area of 4.5 million square feet and net lettable area exceeds 1.7 million square feet. Mid Valley City is planned and developed as a City in a CityMid Valley Megamall is a key part of Mid Valley City. It was awarded the Best Shopping Complex Award 2000 by Tourism Malaysia and Best Retail Development Award 2001 by FIABCI Malaysia (International Real Estate Federation). Mid Valley Megamall is a good choice for the local residents and foreign tourists. MISSION AND VISION: Mid Valley Megamall is aimed to fulfilling everyones needs. In order to achieve the mission, the highly energetic and talented professionals are appointed in departments. In fact, Mid Valley Megamall emphasizes on their service standard and it wishes to create a modern and stylish shopping paradise for their customers. As long as the customers are in the Mid Valley Megamall, they will make sure everyone enjoy the services and products provided. Besides, Mid Valley Megamall aims to maintain the growth of the shopping mall in the competitive retail industry. FACTORS INFLUENCE THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY: Mid Valley Megamall is strategically located between Kuala Lumpur Central Business District and Petaling Jaya. It is located in a convenient location that can be easily accessible from all corners on the Klang Valley. Besides it is surrounded by Petaling Jaya, Bangsar and Damansara. There is a KTM Komuter train-stop and a LRT Station nearby while taxis are available at the entrances of Centre, North and South Courts. The KTM commuter station can be accessed through a covered pedestrian bridge to the Megamall. Its believed to bring an average of 10,000 passengers each day. The station is disable-friendly, and facilities comprise toilets, lifts, covered platforms, ticket and information counters and ticket vending machines. Furthermore, Mid Valley has offers free complimentary shutter bus services (Trinton Bus) at an interval of 30 minutes to 1 hour that travel between Bangsar LRT Station and Mid Valley South Court. Other option of transportation is the public transport available. Mid Valley Megamall can be accessed through five major highways and two railway lines. In the future, the improvement of road and public transportation will be done. It includes a designated monorail station, a link bridge to the Putra LRT Station and the upgrading of internal traffic flow. Being located in between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, an amount of RM250 million was invested in constructing a flyover and enhance the network of road for the purpose to connect the Federal Highway and all the major catchment and residential suburbs or businesses premises within Klang Valley to Mid Valley Megamall. The location plan is enclosed in appendix X. Meanwhile, the location of the department stores is also very important for the convenient of the customers. NFRASTRUCTURES AND FACILITIES: Mid Valley consists of four entrances located at the direction of east, south, north and west respectively. Information Counters are available in Centre, North and South Court at ground floor. They are willing to assist those customers by showing a helpful attitude. In terms of car parking, Mid Valley is provided 4000 car parks in order to cater the need of high crowd during peak hours. Effective from 5 May 2008, the basement car parks of Mid Valley Megamall The Gardens Mall were separated where the car parks for Mid Valley Megamall are zones A and C. The exact location of the parking area is shown in the plan enclosed in appendix. Besides, Mid Valley Megamall also provides washrooms and baby changing facilities. The washrooms provided for the benefit of all the customers while the baby changing facilities are provided for the benefit of a mother. In addition, Mid Valley Megamall is comprises five lifts which enable the customers to travel from floor to floor. Escalators also available at East, South and North Court and there are two travelators that connecting the lower ground floor with basement which is very convenient for the customers. A proper floor plan is enclosed in appendix for further clarification of the exact location for the facilities and infrastructures. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: Mid Valley consists of five floors where each floor is specifying for certain products and services. Lower ground floor is for daily essentials such as hypermarket, supermarket, pharmacies and money-changers. Besides, this floor is providing a numerous fast food outlet and local delights. Ground floor is mainly for the adults which include the apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty care, health care, bookstore and others essential items that fulfill the desires of an adult. First floor is the paradise for a kid, which include the fashion for kids, beauty and hair saloons for the adults. Second floor is specialized for those who wish to decorate their house. Besides, IT Centre is also available in this floor to cater the need of young generation in the ever changing technology of the world. Third floor is for entertainment such as Golden Screen Cinemas, Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Pets Wonderland, Cosmic Bowl, Megakidz and a food court. Besides the products, the proper display area also being taken into consideration in order to be easily accessible by the customer. Mid valley is able to stimulate customers to spend more time and money in Mid Valley through the visual display merchandising. The store directory: PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: Anchors. Accessories. Apparel. Discounters. Entertainment. Exhibition/ Property Showroom. Food and Beverage. Health/ Personal Care. Houseware and Furnishings. Information Technology. Jewellery. Leisure. Luggage. Shoes and Bags. Sporting Goods and Apparel. Sundry and Services. Tailoring. Textile. Watches and Pens. PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: Mid Valley Megamall also provides certain services for the convenience of the customers. The services provided: PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: ATMs. Banks. Cobbler. Laundrette. Money Changers. Post Office. Alteration Shop. Clinic. Dentist. Locksmith. Newstands. Print Shop. PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: STAFF: In addition, Mid Valley Megamall is continually investing in a comprehensive staff training and skills development programme which aimed at improving both the soft and hard skills of the staff and enable them to perform their responsibilities in a right manner. The quality and attitude of the staffs will be indirectly affecting the level of customer satisfaction towards Mid Valley Megamall. The important qualities of the staffs are friendliness, helpfulness, communication skill and responsiveness. BUILDING LAYOUT: Challenge of the management team of Mid Valley Megamall is to ensure the customers willing to visit Mid Valley Megamall repeatedly. Mid Valley Megamall is a customer-centric shopping centre which offers best and wide range of services. It is operated by an experienced team of industry experts to ensure the innovative marketing and leasing initiatives. Besides, Mid Valley Megamall was invested over millions in comprehensive store renovation and upgrading activities in order to improve and enhance the malls environment. In terms of marketing, Mid Valley Megamall has planned the promotion aggressively with the mission to provide the delightful shopping experience to the shoppers. In order to bring excitement and hour of enjoyment to the shoppers, visual merchandising are used in creating a unique atmosphere for the public and enhance the competitiveness of Mid Valley Megamall. The marketing and promotional activities are supported by themed and strong-concept in-house events throughout the mall such as Mid Valley Megamall Fashion Week 2009 which introduce the hottest spring or summer collections through the fabulous design and chic runway shows. This show is designated for the fashion lover. During different festivals such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Merry Christmas celebration, Mid Valley Megamall will decorate the centre court into atmosphere with unique and attractive theme. Mid Valley Megamall was the only shopping mall in Asia that achieved international recognition in MAXI Awards ceremony held in Hollywood last year. This award is organized by International Council of Shopping Centres. For the Hari Raya celebration 2008, Mid Valley Megamall themed as Cherish The Good Old Days in a Brand New Way that create a harmony atmosphere. This unique theme help Mid Valley Megamall won in the Visual Merchandising category of the MAXI Award. SUMMARY: This chapter has discussed about the research process which include the research framework, research method and purpose, population of questionnaire, the scale for the questions and distributing method. A case study in Mid Valley Megamall has been discussed in this chapter; it includes the background, description, mission and vision of Mid Valley Megamall. Furthermore, the factors that influences the customer satisfaction being discussed for the case study of Mid Valley Megamall. The factors are location and accessibility, infrastructure and facilities, product and services, staff and building layout.