Network Forensics in the Cloud Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Network Forensics in the Cloud - Research Paper Example lenges of performing network forensics are presented due to the decentralization nature of data processing and lack of physical servers making the traditional approaches redundant. The examined challenges in network forensics in cloud infrastructures are as below; The expertise required to handle sophisticated cloud forensic crimes is lacking in many institutions since most investigations are conducted by digital forensic experts using conventional tools and procedures applied traditionally. Laws and regulations are slowly evolving with respect to swiftly changing cloud technologies (Peterson, & Shenoi, 2013). The forensic data accessed is dependent on the cloud model that is implemented in every service and deployment model. For instance; Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) clients have a comparatively unrestricted access to the statistics forensic investigators consider sufficient. On the other hand, the clients to software as a service (SaaS) will be provide with limited or no access to such information. This limited access to forensic information means that users of systems have limited knowledge and control of the physical locations of their data. The providers of cloud service omit the terms of use that would assist forensic preparedness of the cloud service (DeFranco, 2013). This limited access to metadata and log files by customers also reduces the ability to carry – out real time monitoring and auditing. The spread of mobile endpoints is a challenge for the collection of evidence and recovery of data and this is due to the impact of a crime, extensive number of resources linked to the cloud, and the workload of an investigation being considerable. The traditional forensics faces the challenge of disparate log formats and this is aggravated by cloud since there is prevalence of proprietary log formats and it holds large volumes of data logs. Since deleted data is sensitive to forensic investigations then remote access is hardly possible when the

Violence in the Ancient World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Violence in the Ancient World - Essay Example As the report declares falling back on Homer’s Odyssey once again, it provides good examples of how violence was used for dominance though; it is being carried out in the name of self-protection and preserving the lives of others. The example this research will use to prove the often times, brutal and violent forms of survival will be directly from the book, â€Å"Odyssey XI† and the primary focus on the battle with the Cyclops. According to the report findings the idea on the prevalence of violence in the Ancient world is so vivid in the battle with this monster of mythology. First, the Cyclops presents a form of early control and power over Odysseus and his crew which is clearly evident in the following verse, â€Å"As thus he spoke, our very souls were crushed within us, dismayed by the heavy voice and by the monsters self; nevertheless I answered thus and said†. Violence begets fear and the Cyclops girth alone was enough for the crew to feel already beaten before the battle. Though Odysseus tried to use tricky talk, in an attempt to persuade the Cyclops to spare killing any of his men, it did not work and a violent scene spewed forth from the books pages. Following was one of the more horrid and brutally descriptive violent acts depicted. This passage details how the Cyclops dashed members of the crew to the ground, ripping and tearing their limbs and crushing their skulls, whilst their brains spi lled to the earth and dampened the grass. This actually makes the reader cringe due to such abundant and grotesque violent behavior.

Factors Causing Changes to the Ecosystem | Experiment

Factors Causing Changes to the Ecosystem | Experiment Madison Chapman Purpose/Hypothesis The purpose of this experiment was to better understand how an ecosystem changes over time by simulating the interaction between the aquatic, terrestrial and decaying parts of an ecosystem. Several variables of an aquatic chamber, terrestrial chamber, and decaying chamber were monitored to provide evidence for the changing of the ecosystems. Dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and turbidity, were some of the things measured and used as evidence to prove that the ecosystem was undergoing change. Obvious aesthetic changes were also noticeable, these were observed and recorded as changes within the environment. Without a complete and complex food chain, and with the small size of the ecosystem, it was not likely that the ecosystem would remain stable for a extended period of time. The lack of a food chain will not allow for larger organisms such as the fish and beetle to remain alive for a long time. The chambers should undergo similar changes that a normal ecosystem would. Methods The setup for the experiment was begun on September 9, 2013. Two liter soda bottles were used as the chambers for each environment type. The bottles were cleaned, cut to appropriate size, and taped together. Openings were cut into both the terrestrial and aquatic environment to allow access for testing. The top chamber was the decomposition environment. Two rotting banana peels, decaying leaves, and†¦ were added to the decomposition column, the top column. Rocks, soil, grass, moss, sticks, three earthworms, and one beetle were inserted into the middle, terrestrial chamber. A long stick was inserted through the decomposition chamber, into the terrestrial chamber to connect the two chambers. The bottom aquatic chamber was filled with local lake water and some aquatic plants. At the beginning of November the dissolved oxygen levels in the water were high and had stabilized, so a fish was added to the chamber. Upon each sampling event several variables were measured in the aquatic a nd terrestrial chambers. In the aquatic chamber turbidity, color, Nitrate, Dissolved Oxygen, alkalinity, pH, and temperature were measured and recorded. In the terrestrial chamber Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, and pH levels were measured and recorded. Also during each sampling event visual observations were made and recorded for both chambers. The sampling events were biweekly for most of the experiment. Throughout the experiment there were six sampling events; these were on September 9, October 1, October 8, October 22, November 5, and December 3. The experiment lasted a total of 75 days, with the last sampling event on December 3, 2013. Results Table 1 The ecosystem appeared to be stable until around the third sampling event. The ecosystem was growing and stabilizing. In the aquatic chamber dissolved oxygen was slowly increasing as well as alkalinity. In the terrestrial chamber potassium increased from an adequate level to a sufficient one. On October 22 the nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous levels in the soil declined significantly from the last sampling event. There were also small fluctuations visible in the aquatic variables we tested. The dramatic depletion of almost all variables observed on the November 5th sampling event was foreshadowed by the turning of the water from clear to yellow. This showed the first signs of changes within the environment. On the November 5th sampling event the water in the aquatic chamber was green, the dissolved oxygen and alkalinity levels dropped considerably. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous levels were all depleted in the soil. Figure 1 With the exception of alkalinity most of the aquatic variables that were measured and recorded stay remotely constant. Turbidity did increase steadily toward the end of the experiment and the dissolved oxygen levels decreased. This was shown by the green water color that was observed. Discussion ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. NUMBER EACH QUESTION. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RETYPE THE QUESTIONS!! Identify two Food Chains or Food Webs in each of your habitats (chambers). Use arrows to illustrate these food chains and food webs; complete sentences are not required. Use extra paper if needed. Aquatic Chamber Decomposition Chamber (top soil chamber) Terrestrial Chamber Identify and briefly discuss the biogeochemical cycles which are taking place/which are present in your EcoColumns. Do not merely state that â€Å"they are all present†; instead, provide more specific information. water cycle nitrogen cycle carbon cycle phosphorous cycle Is your ecosystem column a closed or open system? or is it something in between a closed or open system? Explain how this (closed, open or other) influences the ecosystem column overall. The ecosystem is closed with the exception of when things were added such as the fish or â€Å"rain water.† There are no outside forces working on the ecosystem, such as wind. What kind of niches are available/present for the various organisms in the column? Be specific, descriptive, and use terminology that is pertinent to the topic. The larger organism could hold the role of predator and prey on the smaller organisms. Most of the smaller organisms and the earthworms held the roles of decomposers. Discuss evidence of ecological succession taking place in your column (or in the column of another lab group if you have not observed any signs of succession in your column). One group whose ecocolumn water turned completely black in the first few weeks of testing experienced succession. Eventually the water cleared and the oxygen levels rose. Discuss the stability and sustainability of the ecosystem columns in the lab, including your own. The ecocolumns appeared to show moderate stability throughout the experiment, however, once in deviations in a variable occurred the ecocolumn seemed to change rapidly. The ecocolumns were sustainable until around two to three weeks before the experiment ended. Discuss three trends or patterns which stand out as you think back on the data which you have been recording for 6 weeks. These trends or patterns should apply to the water quality tests or other observations which you have made over this multi-week time period. Briefly discuss these three trends or patterns, providing possible explanations based on environmental science principles. Fluctuation in dissolved oxygen tend to be a precursor to fluctuation in other things. Water color was a good indicator of dissolved oxygen levels. Turbidity and dissolved oxygen are inversely linked. Explain what eutrophication refers to and how this occurs. Apply this explanation to your ecosystem column. How might eutrophication take place in your column? Explain fully. Eutrophication is the excessive increase in nutrients that causes an overgrowth in aquatic plant life, the plants become so dense it causes death in organisms and a loss of oxygen. If a large amount of nutrients drains from the soil of the terrestrial chamber into the aquatic chamber, then eutrophication may occur. Pick another group in your class. How do your data compare to theirs? Brainstorm some causes/reasons for any differences. The group in front of us has several sources of error such as bad lake water, and lack of precision during sampling events. Finally, address any sources of error in this lab. This should be narrated in a â€Å"cause and effect† manner and talk about specific problems. A good example would be â€Å"water did not drain from the terrestrial chamber so †¦Ã¢â‚¬  while a bad example would be â€Å"we messed up the measuring one day.† There was not an adequate amount of rainwater added to the environment as we were not in control of when the ecosystem was watered. The ecosystem was not completely closed because of the holes that had to be cut into the ecosystem for testing purposes, this allowed for unknown outside organisms to enter the environment. Conclusion (~.5 page) Write a brief summary paragraph as your â€Å"conclusion†. Address what did you learned that you did not know prior to the experiment? What were the most important findings of the project and why? The ecocolumn remained fairly stable and function for the first few weeks of the experiment. Not until three weeks before the experiment was concluded were fluctuations in the tested variables observable. Eventually due largely to the small size of the ecosystem and the incomplete food chain within it, the ecosystem broke down and the levels of nutrients began to greatly decline, as well as the dissolved oxygen levels within the aquatic chamber. Prior to this experiment I had never seen eutrophication in person. The opportunity to observe and further study eutrophication will help me later. The most important finding of this experiment was that different parts of an ecosystem (aquatic, terrestrial, decomposing) are all linked together. The variables in each part can easily influence variables in another part. References (on a separate page) You must use at least three (3) sources in your report. Cite them using the correct parenthetical or footnote format as indicated by the APA style guide that was handed out in class. If you do not know how to format the parenthetical citations or the bibliography, please see Mrs. Houston for help before the paper is due! TSA Program. (2013, May 23).Eutrophication. Retrieved from http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/eutrophication.html Ritter, M. E. (2009, October 1). Biochemical cycles. Retrieved from http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/earth_system/biogeochemical_cycles.html Britannica, E. (2007, April 6). Niches. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/topic/414016/history Eco-column Grading Sheet

Invisible Man Essay: The Phases of Invisibility -- Invisible Man Essay

The Phases of Invisibility in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To be invisible is to be unable to be seen by anyone without artificial aid.   The invisible man is more impossible to locate than the proverbial needle in a haystack.   In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, the main character, I., progresses through various phases of symbolic invisibility.      The story begins with I. recounting the various steps and incidents that led him to realize his invisibility.   I.'s grandfather was a meek and humble man, and therefore surprised I. when he told him to "live with your head in the lion's mouth, overcome 'em with yeses, agree 'em to death and destruction."   This statement is the ever-present current that guides I. to his eventual self-discovery.   It haunts him beyond his discovery and even remains after his acceptance of his situation, where the reader realizes that even I. does not fully understand his grandfather's words.   The battle royal serves to open his eyes, although only slightly, only to be re-closed, because I. still gives his acceptance speech to the crowd of prominent white men from the town. These are the same men who were moments ago screaming "let me at that big nigger". Yet he still assumes these men respect him for his intelligence, and are taking him seriously. Upon reflection he realizes that this is whe n he really started running for the white man. He was playing their games, trying to grab the electrified money, not looking at the naked white woman, these men really started him running and taught him their game he was expected to play. The next big shock came after I.'s encounter with Mr. Norton, a prominent white man and huge contributor to the University he was attending. He takes Mr. Norton into the old slave... ...ntinues on to explore his newfound knowledge. There is a hope for those that are invisible, which so many are, that you may be able to come to terms with your transparency.    Works Cited Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Review of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Commentary. June 1952. 1st December 1999<http://www.english.upeen.edu/~afilreis /50s/bellow-on-ellison.html Earl, Gerald. "Decoding Ralph Ellison" Essay obtained from IGC.org Summer '97. 30 November. <http://www.igc.org/dissent/archive/summer97/early.html Howe, Irving. "Black Boys and Native Sons" English Dept. at Univ. Penn. 1 December 1999 <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-blackboys.html. Howe, Irving. "Review of: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" Pub. The Nation. 10 May 1952. 30 November 1999. <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-on-ellison.html.

The Mayans

[pic] By Chandler Anschutz Standard to be covered by this project: Describe the diverse characteristics of early American Civilizations and societies in North, Central, and South America by comparing and contrasting the major aspects (government, religion, interactions with the environment, economy, and social life) of American Indian civilizations and societies such as the Maya, Aztec, Inca, Pueblo, and/or Eastern Woodland peoples. [pic] Rise and Fall of the Mayans The Maya people lived from 11,000 B. C. to almost 1500 A. D. At 11,000 B. C. he first hunter-gatherers settle into the Maya Highlands. According to Mayans Long Count Calendar the creation of the world takes place in 3114-3113 B. C. In the year 2000 B. C. the Olmec civilization is on the rise, the root of many traditions in the Mayan Culture. 700 B. C. Maya people form a written language of a form of hieroglyphics. The Mayan script is logosyllabic combining about 550 logograms (which represent whole words) and 150 syllabog rams (which represent syllables). There were also about 100 glyphs representing place names and the names of gods.Only about 300 of these glyphs were commonly used. In 300 B. C. the Mayans adopted the idea of a hierarchical society ruled by nobles and kings. The city of Teotihuacan is founded in 100 B. C. and becomes the center of culture, religion and trading in Mesoamerican for centuries. The Mayan people learned to farm the harsh tropical land. As populations grew, they adopted more intensive methods of cultivation including composting, terracing, and irrigation. They filled in swamps to creating fields and used silt and muck from bottomlands to fertilize enclosed gardens.Artificial ponds gave a place to hold fish, and corrals held deer and other game flushed from the forest. Their settlements grew into large city-states and with the city-states came large palaces and temples. They were very artistic; they made ceramics, murals, and sculptures. They understood the concept of zero and formed a very extensive hieroglyphic form of writing. Their year had 365 days to it and they even had made the leap year correction. They predicted solar eclipses, watched the stars, and even had their temples built so that at a certain time of year they’d face the sunrise or sunset exactly.The Mayans were led by Maya Kings, who got their power from the gods. They were both priests, interpreting religion and as leaders in times of peace and war. These kings would perform public rituals giving metaphysical meaning to the movement of the heavens, changing calendars, and even royal succession. Besides the spiritual rituals the Maya cities functioned just as a normal city would trading, fighting, making alliances, and gaining/losing land. Waka, a Maya city had become a large center of trade. Goods like jade, obsidian, and pyrite even made it to the Mayans.Waka also had a tributary to the San Pedro, it was sheltered and had room to lodge large canoes. The Mayans also invented a type of flak jacket. It was a cotton vest, stuffed with rock salt. A guy by the name of Fire is Born led an army toward Waka in means to gain reinforcements. Fire is Born was sent to conquer Tikal. With his new found reinforcements from Waka it took him a week to reach Tikal and conquer them. Fire is Born became the cities new overlord. Following Fire is Born’s take over of Tikal, Tikal itself started to expand. In the year 800 A. D.Cancun was overrun by invaders. These invaders took 31 royal hostages into the court yard, probably members of the royal family, and systematically decapitated every one of them. The king of Cancun was not spared, nor was his wife or children. The invaders took none of the riches or valuable items of the city, instead they defaced all of the monuments and toppled them face down. Almost every city was met by its end in this way or simply faded out of existence. Nobles abandoned palaces; even the homeless who had come to live in the palaces event ually abandoned them.The downfall of the Maya civilization can not be put of one simple yet terrible event. The collapse is due to many possible problems that could have damaged the empire. Resources grew scarce; kings with religious rituals lost their luster, leading instability and desperation to fuel destruction warfare. These problems may have been the cause of the fall of the Mayan civilization. There is not one exact known reason for the end of the Mayans and is for now still a mystery. |  [pic] |[pic]   |  [pic]   [pic] | |  IMIX |  IK' |AK'BAL |K'AN | |ee mesh |eek' |ok bol   |k' on   | |waterlily, world |wind |night-house |maize | |  [pic] |  [pic] |[pic]   |  [pic] | |  CHIKCHAN |  KIMI |MANIK' |LAMAT | |cheek chon |kee me |ma neek' |la mot   | |snake |death |  hand |Venus | |[pic]   |  [pic] |  [pic] |[pic]   | |  MULUK' |OK |  CHUEN |  EB | |mul ok' |ak   |chew in |eb | |water |dog |monkey |tooth | |  [pic] |  [pic] |[p ic]   |  [pic] | |BEN |IX |MEN |KIB | |ben   |eesh   |men   |keeb   | |reed |jaguar |eagle |soul | |  [pic] |  [pic] |  [pic] |[pic]   | |KABAN |ETZ'NAB |KAWAK |AHAW | |kah bon |ehts' nob   |kah wok   |ah how   | |earth   |flint, knife |storm |Lord |These symbols were the symbols the Mayans used to represent the 20 days of their month. With each symbol are their Yucatec names, pronunciation and approximate translation. These are the Mayan words for units of time: Day = Kin (keen) Month of 20 days = Uinal (wee nal) Year of 360 days = Tun (toon) 20 Tuns = K'atun (k' ah toon) 20 K'atuns = Baktun (bock toon) [pic] This is a picture of Hunab Ku. He is the supreme god of the Mayans religion. He is also the creator god. He is the Mayan equivalent for Greeks Zeus. Hunab Ku has power over the other gods. [pic] This is Cizin, the Mayan god of death. He would be a darker equivalent of the Greeks Hades.He requires a brutal sacrifice such of decapitation. Some of the religious rituals Maya Kings performed were sacrifices to this god to keep his wrath at bay. [pic] Kinich Ahau, the Mayan sun god. He brought the sun across the sky. He was an important god to the Mayans; they needed the sun to grow their crops. Sacrifices were also made to this particular god so he’d continue to bring the sun out. [pic] The Mayan god of rain and lightning, Chac, was also very important to the Maya. He brought rain to water the crops. Sacrifices were made to him to continue bringing the rain and to not use lightning against the Mayans. Chac played an important role in the Mayan religion. [pic]This is an ancient Mayan temple in Cancun. From the Mayan Classic Period, 300-900 A. D. this temple was used as a site for religious rituals. These rituals, performed by the king of the city, would have been sacrifices to the gods. Many gods were sacrificed to for the Mayans believed that the gods would be kind to them and help them if they had been sacrificed in return. [pic] This is a map of where the Maya Civilization lived. This part of the world is the southern end of Mexico and Guatemala. The sites shown on the map are locations of Mayan cities and villages. There were many of cities in Central America. [pic] This is a Mayan Ruins site. It’s the site of Tikal, a great city.Fire is Born conquered this city just a week after gaining reinforcements at Waka. This city later went on the offensive and expanded. [pic] These are the ruins of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza was a large city of the Mayans. The temple would have been of great religious importance. Many a sacrifice would have taken place within those walls. [pic] This is a temple from Uxmal, an ancient Mayan city. This temple would have been used as a religious place used for rituals and sacrifices. Mayans sacrificed people to the gods in return for peace and aid with whatever happened to be the problem at the moment. Bibliography †¢ â€Å"The Mayan Civilization Timeline. † Mexconnect. 01 Jan 2008. Web. Jan 2010. . †¢ Criscenzo, Jeeni. â€Å"The Maya. † The Maya. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ Ager, Simon. â€Å"Mayan Scipt. † Omniglot. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ â€Å"The Mayan Calendar. † Web Exhibits. IDEA, Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ â€Å"The Mayas. † Minnesota State University. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ â€Å"The Mayas. † Civilizations in America. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ â€Å"Mayan History Timeline. † One World Journeys. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ â€Å"The Mayan History. † Mayan Indians. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ â€Å"The Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire. † Science at NASA. Web. 8 Jan 2010. . †¢ Gugliotta, Guy. â€Å"Maya Rise and Fall. † National Geographic. 01 Aug 2007. Web. 8 Jan 2010. .

Ch 2 Solution

CHAPTER 2 Mechanics of Futures Markets Practice Questions Problem 2. 8. The party with a short position in a futures contract sometimes has options as to the precise asset that will be delivered, where delivery will take place, when delivery will take place, and so on. Do these options increase or decrease the futures price? Explain your reasoning. These options make the contract less attractive to the party with the long position and more attractive to the party with the short position. They therefore tend to reduce the futures price. Problem 2. 9. What are the most important aspects of the design of a new futures contract?The most important aspects of the design of a new futures contract are the specification of the underlying asset, the size of the contract, the delivery arrangements, and the delivery months. Problem 2. 10. Explain how margins protect investors against the possibility of default. A margin is a sum of money deposited by an investor with his or her broker. It acts a s a guarantee that the investor can cover any losses on the futures contract. The balance in the margin account is adjusted daily to reflect gains and losses on the futures contract. If losses are above a certain level, the investor is required to deposit a further margin.This system makes it unlikely that the investor will default. A similar system of margins makes it unlikely that the investor’s broker will default on the contract it has with the clearinghouse member and unlikely that the clearinghouse member will default with the clearinghouse. Problem 2. 11. A trader buys two July futures contracts on frozen orange juice. Each contract is for the delivery of 15,000 pounds. The current futures price is 160 cents per pound, the initial margin is $6,000 per contract, and the maintenance margin is $4,500 per contract. What price change would lead to a margin call?Under what circumstances could $2,000 be withdrawn from the margin account? There is a margin call if more than $1 ,500 is lost on one contract. This happens if the futures price of frozen orange juice falls by more than 10 cents to below 150 cents per lb. $2,000 can be withdrawn from the margin account if there is a gain on one contract of $1,000. This will happen if the futures price rises by 6. 67 cents to 166. 67 cents per lb. Problem 2. 12. Show that, if the futures price of a commodity is greater than the spot price during the delivery period, then there is an arbitrage opportunity.Does an arbitrage opportunity exist if the futures price is less than the spot price? Explain your answer. If the futures price is greater than the spot price during the delivery period, an arbitrageur buys the asset, shorts a futures contract, and makes delivery for an immediate profit. If the futures price is less than the spot price during the delivery period, there is no similar perfect arbitrage strategy. An arbitrageur can take a long futures position but cannot force immediate delivery of the asset. The d ecision on when delivery will be made is made by the party with the short position.Nevertheless companies interested in acquiring the asset will find it attractive to enter into a long futures contract and wait for delivery to be made. Problem 2. 13. Explain the difference between a market-if-touched order and a stop order. A market-if-touched order is executed at the best available price after a trade occurs at a specified price or at a price more favorable than the specified price. A stop order is executed at the best available price after there is a bid or offer at the specified price or at a price less favorable than the specified price. Problem 2. 14. Explain what a stop-limit order to sell at 20. 0 with a limit of 20. 10 means. A stop-limit order to sell at 20. 30 with a limit of 20. 10 means that as soon as there is a bid at 20. 30 the contract should be sold providing this can be done at 20. 10 or a higher price. Problem 2. 15. At the end of one day a clearinghouse member is long 100 contracts, and the settlement price is $50,000 per contract. The original margin is $2,000 per contract. On the following day the member becomes responsible for clearing an additional 20 long contracts, entered into at a price of $51,000 per contract. The settlement price at the end of this day is $50,200.How much does the member have to add to its margin account with the exchange clearinghouse? The clearinghouse member is required to provide 20 ? $2, 000 = $40, 000 as initial margin for the new contracts. There is a gain of (50,200 ? 50,000) ? 100 = $20,000 on the existing contracts. There is also a loss of (51, 000 ? 50, 200) ? 20 = $16, 000 on the new contracts. The member must therefore add 40, 000 ? 20, 000 + 16, 000 = $36, 000 to the margin account. Problem 2. 16. On July 1, 2010, a Japanese company enters into a forward contract to buy $1 million with yen on January 1, 2011.On September 1, 2010, it enters into a forward contract to sell $1 million on January 1, 2011 . Describe the profit or loss the company will make in dollars as a function of the forward exchange rates on July 1, 2010 and September 1, 2010. Suppose F1 and F2 are the forward exchange rates for the contracts entered into July 1, 2010 and September 1, 2010, and S is the spot rate on January 1, 2011. (All exchange rates are measured as yen per dollar). The payoff from the first contract is (S ? F1 ) million yen and the payoff from the second contract is (F2 ? S ) million yen.The total payoff is therefore ( S ? F1 ) + ( F2 ? S ) = ( F2 ? F1 ) million yen. Problem 2. 17. The forward price on the Swiss franc for delivery in 45 days is quoted as 1. 1000. The futures price for a contract that will be delivered in 45 days is 0. 9000. Explain these two quotes. Which is more favorable for an investor wanting to sell Swiss francs? The 1. 1000 forward quote is the number of Swiss francs per dollar. The 0. 9000 futures quote is the number of dollars per Swiss franc. When quoted in the same way as the futures price the forward price is 1 / 1. 1000 = 0. 091 . The Swiss franc is therefore more valuable in the forward market than in the futures market. The forward market is therefore more attractive for an investor wanting to sell Swiss francs. Problem 2. 18. Suppose you call your broker and issue instructions to sell one July hogs contract. Describe what happens. Hog futures are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. (See Table 2. 2). The broker will request some initial margin. The order will be relayed by telephone to your broker’s trading desk on the floor of the exchange (or to the trading desk of another broker).It will be sent by messenger to a commission broker who will execute the trade according to your instructions. Confirmation of the trade eventually reaches you. If there are adverse movements in the futures price your broker may contact you to request additional margin. Problem 2. 19. â€Å"Speculation in futures markets is pure gambling. It is n ot in the public interest to allow speculators to trade on a futures exchange. † Discuss this viewpoint. Speculators are important market participants because they add liquidity to the market.However, contracts must be useful for hedging as well as speculation. This is because regulators generally only approve contracts when they are likely to be of interest to hedgers as well as speculators. Problem 2. 20. Identify the three commodities whose futures contracts in Table 2. 2 have the highest open interest. Based on the contract months listed, the answer is crude oil, corn, and sugar (world). Problem 2. 21. What do you think would happen if an exchange started trading a contract in which the quality of the underlying asset was incompletely specified?The contract would not be a success. Parties with short positions would hold their contracts until delivery and then deliver the cheapest form of the asset. This might well be viewed by the party with the long position as garbage! O nce news of the quality problem became widely known no one would be prepared to buy the contract. This shows that futures contracts are feasible only when there are rigorous standards within an industry for defining the quality of the asset. Many futures contracts have in practice failed because of the problem of defining quality.Problem 2. 22. â€Å"When a futures contract is traded on the floor of the exchange, it may be the case that the open interest increases by one, stays the same, or decreases by one. † Explain this statement. If both sides of the transaction are entering into a new contract, the open interest increases by one. If both sides of the transaction are closing out existing positions, the open interest decreases by one. If one party is entering into a new contract while the other party is closing out an existing position, the open interest stays the same. Problem 2. 23.Suppose that on October 24, 2010, you take a short position in an April 2011 live-cattle f utures contract. You close out your position on January 21, 2011. The futures price (per pound) is 91. 20 cents when you enter into the contract, 88. 30 cents when you close out your position, and 88. 80 cents at the end of December 2010. One contract is for the delivery of 40,000 pounds of cattle. What is your total profit? How is it taxed if you are (a) a hedger and (b) a speculator? Assume that you have a December 31 year end. The total profit is 40, 000 ? (0. 9120 ? 0. 8830) = $1,160 If you are a hedger this is all taxed in 2011.If you are a speculator 40, 000 ? (0. 9120 ? 0. 8880) = $960 is taxed in 2010 and 40, 000 ? (0. 8880 ? 0. 8830) = $200 is taxed in 2011. Further Questions Problem 2. 24 Trader A enters into futures contracts to buy 1 million euros for 1. 4 million dollars in three months. Trader B enters in a forward contract to do the same thing. The exchange (dollars per euro) declines sharply during the first two months and then increases for the third month to close at 1. 4300. Ignoring daily settlement, what is the total profit of each trader? When the impact of daily settlement is taken into account, which trader does better?The total profit of each trader in dollars is 0. 03? 1,000,000 = 30,000. Trader B’s profit is realized at the end of the three months. Trader A’s profit is realized day-by-day during the three months. Substantial losses are made during the first two months and profits are made during the final month. It is likely that Trader B has done better because Trader A had to finance its losses during the first two months. Problem 2. 25 Explain what is meant by open interest. Why does the open interest usually decline during the month preceding the delivery month?On a particular day there are 2,000 trades in a particular futures contract. Of the 2,000 traders on the long side of the market, 1,400 were closing out position and 600 were entering into new positions. Of the 2,000 traders on the short side of the market, 1 ,200 were closing out position and 800 were entering into new positions. What is the impact of the day's trading on open interest? Open interest is the number of contract outstanding. Many traders close out their positions just before the delivery month is reached. This is why the open interest declines during the month preceding the delivery month.The open interest went down by 600. We can see this in two ways. First, 1,400 shorts closed out and there were 800 new shorts. Second, 1,200 longs closed out and there were 600 new longs. Problem 2. 26 One orange juice future contract is on 15,000 pounds of frozen concentrate. Suppose that in September 2009 a company sells a March 2011 orange juice futures contract for 120 cents per pound. In December 2009 the futures price is 140 cents. In December 2010 the futures price is 110 cents. In February 2011 the futures price is 125 cents. The company has a December year end.What is the company's profit or loss on the contract? How is it realiz ed? What is the accounting and tax treatment of the transaction is the company is classified as a) a hedger and b) a speculator? The price goes up during the time the company holds the contract from 120 to 125 cents per pound. Overall the company therefore takes a loss of 15,000? 0. 05 = $750. If the company is classified as a hedger this loss is realized in 2011, If it is classified as a speculator it realizes a loss of 15,000? 0. 20 = $3000 in 2009, a gain of 15,000? 0. 30 = $4,500 in 2010 and a loss of 15,000? 0. 5 = $2,250 in 2011. Problem 2. 27. A company enters into a short futures contract to sell 5,000 bushels of wheat for 250 cents per bushel. The initial margin is $3,000 and the maintenance margin is $2,000. What price change would lead to a margin call? Under what circumstances could $1,500 be withdrawn from the margin account? There is a margin call if $1000 is lost on the contract. This will happen if the price of wheat futures rises by 20 cents from 250 cents to 270 ce nts per bushel. $1500 can be withdrawn if the futures price falls by 30 cents to 220 cents per bushel. Problem 2. 28.Suppose that there are no storage costs for crude oil and the interest rate for borrowing or lending is 5% per annum. How could you make money on August 4, 2009 by trading December 2009 and June 2010 contracts on crude oil? Use Table 2. 2. The December 2009 settlement price for oil is $75. 62 per barrel. The June 2010 settlement price for oil is $79. 41 per barrel. You could go long one December 2009 oil contract and short one June 2010 contract. In December 2009 you take delivery of the oil borrowing $75. 62 per barrel at 5% to meet cash outflows. The interest accumulated in six months is about 75. 2? 0. 05? 0. 5 or $1. 89. In December the oil is sold for $79. 41 per barrel which is more than the amount that has to be repaid on the loan. The strategy therefore leads to a profit. Note that this profit is independent of the actual price of oil in June 2010 or December 2009. It will be slightly affected by the daily settlement procedures. Problem 2. 29. What position is equivalent to a long forward contract to buy an asset at K on a certain date and a put option to sell it for K on that date? The equivalent position is a long position in a call with strike price K . Problem 2. 30. Excel file) The author’s Web page (www. rotman. utoronto. ca/~hull/data) contains daily closing prices for the December 2001 crude oil futures contract and the December 2001 gold futures contract. (Both contracts are traded on NYMEX. ) You are required to download the data and answer the following: a) How high do the maintenance margin levels for oil and gold have to be set so that there is a 1% chance that an investor with a balance slightly above the maintenance margin level on a particular day has a negative balance two days later (i. e. one day after a margin call). How high do they have to be for a 0. 1% chance.Assume daily price changes are normally distribu ted with mean zero. b) Imagine an investor who starts with a long position in the oil contract at the beginning of the period covered by the data and keeps the contract for the whole of the period of time covered by the data. Margin balances in excess of the initial margin are withdrawn. Use the maintenance margin you calculated in part (a) for a 1% risk level and assume that the maintenance margin is 75% of the initial margin. Calculate the number of margin calls and the number of times the investor has a negative margin balance and therefore an incentive to walk away.Assume that all margin calls are met in your calculations. Repeat the calculations for an investor who starts with a short position in the gold contract. The data for this problem in the 7th edition is different from that in the 6th edition. a) For gold the standard deviation of daily changes is $15. 184 per ounce or $1518. 4 per contract. For a 1% risk this means that the maintenance margin should be set at 1518 . 4 ? 2 ? 2. 3263 or 4996 when rounded. For a 0. 1% risk the maintenance margin should be set at 1518 . 4 ? 2 ? 3. 0902 or 6636 when rounded. For crude oil the standard deviation of daily changes is $1. 777 per barrel or $1577. 7 per contract. For a 1% risk, this means that the maintenance margin should be set at 1577 . 7 ? 2 ? 2. 3263 or 5191 when rounded. For a 0. 1% chance the maintenance margin should be set at 1577 . 7 ? 2 ? 3. 0902 or 6895 when rounded. NYMEX might be interested in these calculations because they indicate the chance of a trader who is just above the maintenance margin level at the beginning of the period having a negative margin level before funds have to be submitted to the broker. b) For a 1% risk the initial margin is set at 6,921 for on crude oil. This is the maintenance margin of 5,191 divided by 0. 75. ) As the spreadsheet shows, for a long investor in oil there are 157 margin calls and 9 times (out of 1039 days) where the investor is tempted to walk away. F or a 1% risk the initial margin is set at 6,661 for gold. (This is 4,996 divided by 0. 75. ) As the spreadsheet shows, for a short investor in gold there are 81 margin calls and 4 times (out of 459 days) when the investor is tempted to walk away. When the 0. 1% risk level is used there is 1 time when the oil investor might walk away and 2 times when the gold investor might do so.

A Brief History of Terrorism in The United States

A Brief History of Terrorism in The United States Ever since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 several new words have been created by or assimilated into everyday dialect. "Jihad", "Anthrax", and "Taliban" are now words which are part of every American's dialect, however, no word has reemerged more often than the one which describes all of the events of that day; "terrorism". While not a new word, it was not one thrown around all that commonly before 9/11, and as no word could better describe the actions of that day, it was the most popular word chosen by the media and the people for the acts of violence. The definition of terrorism is not a clearly described one however. The term terrorism comes from the French word "terrorisme", which is based on the Latin verb "terrere" (to frighten). The first use of the word dates to 1792, when the Jacobins came to power in France and initiated what we call the Reign of Terror and what the French call simply "La Terreur".English: I took photo at National Portrait Gallery...One of the first writers to use the word "terrorist" in English was Edmund Burke, an opponent of the French Revolution, who in 1795 described the revolutionaries with "those hell-hounds called terrorists are let loose on the people". Since then the term has been far generalized. Webster's Dictionary describes terrorism as "The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons". Throughout the course of United States history several acts of terrorism have been used to make political stands, inflict fear into people, one even considered to be a domino in the chain leading to the declaration of independence showing that one person's act of...

Eve of Waterloo by Lord Byron Essay Example

Eve of Waterloo by Lord Byron Essay Example Eve of Waterloo by Lord Byron Paper Eve of Waterloo by Lord Byron Paper This is a part of one of Byrons finest poems, Childe Harold. It relates the events of the night before the battle of Quatre Bras, which was fought near Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on June 16, 1815, and was the preliminary of the great battle of Waterloo, fought two days later. Three nights before the battle of Waterloo the English Duchess of Richmond gave a ball in Brussels, and invited many of the officers of the allied English and Prussian armies, which were at war with the French. The Duke of Wellington, commander-in-chief of the English army, was said to have been one of the guests.While the ball was at its height a messenger brought word to Wellington that the French under Napoleon were advancing towards the city. He did not wish to alarm the people, and so kept the information secret, but he sent the officers one by one to their regiments, and finally left for the field himself. In the poem, however, the dancers at the ball heard a distant booming. At first they paid little heed to it, and went on with the dancing; but presently the sound grew louder and clearer, and they recognized it as the roar of cannon.The first to hear it was Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, whose father had been killed in battle. He left for the front at once, and was killed the next day, June 16th, in the battle of Quatre Bras. The officers said farewell to the ladies, and hurried from the ball to mount and ride against the French; while the frightened citizens crowded the streets, fearing that Napoleon was about to enter Brussels. Waterloo was a great victory for the English and Prussian armies. It was the real end of Napoleons all-conquering career, and led to his capture and banishment to the island of St. Helena.

Best Value Procurement Bids in Council Services

Best Value Procurement Bids in Council Services Empirical Work This paper is an empirical study on the strategic significance that Best Value (BV) Procurement adds to Birmingham City Council. The aim of the proposed research is to quantify the strategic link between the BV and the contemporary strategic Procurement. Then to create a model which will evaluate the contribution of the strategy when applied to Birmingham City Council. Best Value was introduced into the public sector in 1998, announced through the government’s white paper â€Å"Modern Local Government in Touch with the People†. This paper introduced extensive reform of local government, including the new initiative of BV. Within this BV is the e-Government, Community Planning, Strategic Partnerships and new political management structures (White Paper 1998). The theory of Best Value was aimed at improving local government services; this was introduced in the Local Government Act 1999. BV replaced the old system of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT), and required local authorities to review over a period of five years, the method in which they conduct all their functions. This would take the form of consultation with the local community to deliver the most effective, economic and efficient services (Local Government Act 1999). The Governments intention to reform local government continued and in 2001 they published a further white paper entitled â€Å"Strong Local Leadership, Quality Public Services†. Addressed within this paper were issues that included strong community leadership, continuous improvement, comprehensive performance assessment, financial freedom and modernisation of finance systems (White Paper 2001). The report in 2001 Delivering Better Services for Citizens, a review of local government procurement in England was published as a consultation paper. The report included the following recommendation; there should be clear political responsibility for procurement, with elected members taking a strategic role in securing outcomes. Best Value is about breaking down the boundaries between the public and private sectors in local service delivery. (The Byatt Report 2001) This research paper is based on the government white papers and reports which initially defined BV in procurement and established Strategic Management tools used to identify strategic choice within local authorities. The conceptual analysis is based on identifying the congruence of strategic links between the BV definition and chosen Strategic Management tools. The focus of the paper is Birmingham City Council’s BV practices, and this will be measured against the resulting model. The output of this research is to measure the strategic worth of Best Value and the strategic worth of Birmingham City Council’s delivery of Best Value. The paper will evaluate the relative merits of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.    Methodology The rationale of this chapter is to compare and discuss the researc h methods that could be used for this empirical research paper. When researching any paper there are numerous methods for collecting data, they do not always produce workable data that is easy to analysis. Therefore it is vital to review and plan the methods that will be employed. Before beginning any of the research a time scale will be composed, this will plan and set targets for the research. This plan is flexible, to allow for any considerable changes to the project due to unexpected research findings. Theoretically, the proposal should draw attention to any difficulties with the research question and the access to the data.

Writer's choice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Writer's choice - Research Paper Example Business opportunities in UAE are not just for people within Middle East, but also to overseas investors. Foreign investors in Middle East nations are encouraged since their foreign business is a great boost to the economy. There are numerous free trade areas, particularly in Dubai, and that is the reason why trade and commerce is at peak in those countries. People come from many countries to shop in UAE because they get cheap and quality goods there. Additionally, introducing a business in the UAE is very straightforward and easy. UAE encourages investors to invest in the oil and gas –rich country. Another reasons why investors are attracted in investing in UAE is because the taxation mostly non-existence or minimal. The Middle East governments have a long- run strategy that concentrate heavily on the growth of upcoming businesses. They have business policies that are truly favorable to all investors. The tax-free atmosphere is encouraging for new and emerging enterprises (Sp raggon, 2014). This paper will discuss a type of small business opportunity that can be capitalized in United Arabs Emirates. Additionally, the paper will discuss the business significance and its benefits to the society. This paper also discusses how the small business can help the economy and business sectors at large. Because of the many large-scale businesses in UAE, there is a huge demand for experts who offer financial services like bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing. Persons with solid backgrounds in any of these financial fields will make a lot of profit by opening a business that will provide financial services to other businesses in UAE. The UAE financing sector is adequately resourced to cope up with domestic and global stress situations and has dealt with the current global financial chaos comparatively well. Looking at future, a report indicated that UAE finance sector would continue to indicate a

Narrative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Narrative - Assignment Example gold was brought from the Cherry creek placers after an advent to Omaha form the Rocky Mountains, whereby the precious metal was in goose quills (Morton, 2). Approximately 100,000 gold seekers had set out for Colorado in 1859, though less than a half of that number reached the pike’s Pike region. On the other hand, the invasion of the prospectors, merchants and promoters settled in Denver, which they considered a significant regional center. Therefore, this made the city a substantial destination point for immigrants and stage routers, since around nineteen guidebooks for immigrants were published during the period between 1858 and 1859. Bob Womack was the prospector who discovered the rich gold ore, which touched the off Cripples Creek Gold Rush, and this reached the country at the western slopes of Pike Peak that became the settlement area for other prospectus. After the discovery of gold in Colorado, there were substantial prospects of gold trading as an appearing business venture, other than the food and pack animals. In this case, people took a shovel, a gold pan, and they required to be determined in order to get in to the gold business. In this case, numerous gold seekers set out for St Louis, which was a bus trading and supply center at the meeting point of Missouri and Mississippi river. In conclusion, the paper has offered an overview of various accounts relating to the discovery of gold in Colorado, which relates to the location of the gold fields and the migration of miners searching for gold. Moreover, the story points out that discovery of gold in Colorado were a relief for the miners who were unsuccessful in their gold exploration, in California. Therefore, the story has covered all the significant events that relate to the discovery of gold in Colorado. Morton Sterling.  "The Discovery of Gold in Colorado".  Transactions and Reports, Nebraska State Historical Society. Available

Mabo Vs Queensland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mabo Vs Queensland - Essay Example As such, the successive governments had made no endeavour to establish a system of national land rights. This undesirable situation was rectified by the Australian High Court, which relied upon its constitutional authority to declare land rights (Keon-Cohen, 2000: 893). The decision in Mabo (No 1) in conjunction with international commitments to racial equality and the just terms protection under the Australian Constitution, and the national bill for compulsory acquisition of native title, engendered new property rights. The Mabo (No 2) decision provided various opportunities to the government to ensure land justice (Keon-Cohen, 2000: 893). However, these opportunities were squandered by the government. A political solution to this issue was made available in the federal, State, and Territory statutory schemes relating to land rights (Keon-Cohen, 2000: 893). However, these schemes have effectively distorted the judgement in Mabo (No 2); and served to distance it from the common law. The extant political solutions for this long standing national issue are irrational, and it is in this depressing environment that the High Court’s judgement proves to be welcome. Moreover, the legislative solutions, in respect of this predicament have proved to be defective; and there are serious administrative lapses in the implementation of the legislative solution (Keon-Cohen, 2000: 893). The scheme provides more opportunities to Crown grantees rather than the indigenous people; and makes no attempt to reconcile the differences between the affected parties. The Mabo decision served to rescind the principle of terra nullius. This doctrine enabled the Crown to appropriate property that was uninhabited. However, this principle was extended by the common law to apply to the lands of the indigenous peoples. This unjust act was sought to be justified by the falsely claiming that the Aboriginals were uncivilised barbarians, and that there was nothing amoral in

How Do We Create a Set of Priorities in Relation to Population and Assignment

How Do We Create a Set of Priorities in Relation to Population and Environment - Assignment Example It has got to do with the anticipated returns, the risk that becomes potentially faced and the timing of the returns (McMullin-Messier 34). To be able to create a set of priorities, one must have the ability to see what tasks are more vital at each moment and give such tasks more of their energy, time and attention. When one focuses his or her efforts on those top value activities, one can have meaningful and significant, long term consequences. Provision of healthcare should become a priority for all nations worldwide. This is because a great percentage of loss of life is as a result of either lack of or poor health care. This issue also gets surrounded by many political, institutional and environmental constraints. This influences decision making in the health care section because, during the process, there are numerous interest groups and weaknesses in democratic voting mechanisms. If health care does not become a priority, then many parties manipulate the decisions that pertain to the provision of health care and vary the quality of care distributed among the population. This may be extremely risky for a nation because if the population is not healthy then there is a reduction in production. Prioritizing healthcare will lead to better care, affordable care, and healthy people. This will improve health outcomes and increase the effectiveness of care for all populations (McMullin-Messier 89). More resources should be alloc ated to the healthcare sector in terms of money, manpower, machines, and researchers. More opportunities should also get provided for those that are interested to study medicine in order to avail more manpower for this sector. Environmental movements worldwide should also be prioritized because the key goal of such organizations improves the environment and maintain what is still good. They tackle environmental issues worldwide that deal with climate change, air pollution, water pollution, human encroachment, and deforestation.

Aspects of Japanese uniqueness (history, culture, economics, etc) Essay

Aspects of Japanese uniqueness (history, culture, economics, etc) - Essay Example The major changes include the increased participation of women in paid work, the reduction of family size and the replacement of rural with urban lifestyles. The prosperity of Japan covers the discrimination and the unequal wealth distribution, which is channeled at some Groups. This paper will explore the uniqueness of Japan, including its culture, historical events and the country’s economics. One aspect of Japan’s unique history and economics can be traced to the introduction of many reforms, primarily by the Americans. One of the crucial areas of the reform agenda was that of women’s rights, where men and women were declared equals, followed by the women suffrage of 1946 and the promotion of education for women.2 Examples of the changes emanating from the reforms included the formation of 26 women’s universities, as well as the employment of 2,000 female police officials. In 1947, there was the passage of the equal pay policy. These policy changes and the reforms that emanated from them made the reconstruction of the Japanese economy and its production facilities faster than those of other countries that were left behind in the area.3 For example, instead of depending on the labor input of men to rebuild its infrastructure and to grow the national economy, Japan relied on the input of its male and female populations: the huge laborforce enabled it t o advance faster than other national economies. The unique historical changes of Japan and its economy can also be traced to the reduction of family size, which became evident during the 1950s, following a change of attitudes towards the family system and marriage.4 The changes included getting into marriage late, working prior to marriage, and giving birth to fewer children, so that they can remain actively involved in employment among other lines of productivity. The reduction in the size of the family – where many of the marriages are arranged and the women are

Mustafa Kemal Atatrk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Mustafa Kemal Atatrk - Essay Example Along with his wife, the couple lived a rather non-descript life. Ali Riza had spent a brief career in the military before assuming role as a customs broker. Prior to Mustafa Kemal's birth the couple had had three other children who all died. In effect, according to Itzkowitz et. al., Ataturk was a "replacement" child (10). Mustafa Kemal attended school during his childhood in Salonika, which according to Sansal is now Thessaloniki in modern Greece, at the school of Semsi Efendi. However, when Mustafa Kemal was eight years old his father died and unable to support herself and her two small children, Zubeyde was forced to have Kemal leave school and the two moved into the countryside to reside with Kemal's uncle. Kemal worked alongside his mother at the farm for several years, but her growing concern for her son's education led Zubeyde to make the difficult decision to send Kemal back to Salonika to live with her sister. There she knew Kemal would be able to attend school there. Kemal attended middle school and in 1895 graduated from there. However, Kemal had a growing fascination for the military and his enthrallment with the military uniform and allure of the military life propelled Kemal, without the knowledge or consent of his mother, to take the placement test for the Military Academy. He was accep ted and enrolled in Askeri Idadis Military High School in Manastir after Zubeyde reluctantly gave her consent. This was the beginning of a military education for Kemal which lasted for 13 years ("Presidency"). Upon graduation from high school in 1899, Kemal moved to Istanbul where on March 13th of that year he enrolled in the War College in the infantryman division. It was during this time that Kemal began to show the development and refinement of his political ideology. He was, according to the Republic of Turkey Presidency Website, "deeply inspired by liberal-nationalist literature, in particular by Namk Kemal, known at the time as 'the poet of liberty'" (1). In 1902 Kemal entered the General Staff College after his successful completion of the Military Academy War College and graduated January 11, 1905 as a Captain (Sansal). During his military education Kemal was an intense student excelling in his studies. He was distinguished academically among his peers. Kemal read extensively and to the then current standards was far advanced when compared to his contemporaries. He was deeply affected through his readings with the precepts of the French revolutionary ideology and "would prove to b e more consistently inclined to this nationalist, libertarian and essentially secular experience than most of his contemporaries in the years to come" ("Presidency" 1). During his first military assignment in 1906 Kemal was stationed in Damascu

Aspects of Japanese uniqueness (history, culture, economics, etc) Essay

Aspects of Japanese uniqueness (history, culture, economics, etc) - Essay Example The major changes include the increased participation of women in paid work, the reduction of family size and the replacement of rural with urban lifestyles. The prosperity of Japan covers the discrimination and the unequal wealth distribution, which is channeled at some Groups. This paper will explore the uniqueness of Japan, including its culture, historical events and the country’s economics. One aspect of Japan’s unique history and economics can be traced to the introduction of many reforms, primarily by the Americans. One of the crucial areas of the reform agenda was that of women’s rights, where men and women were declared equals, followed by the women suffrage of 1946 and the promotion of education for women.2 Examples of the changes emanating from the reforms included the formation of 26 women’s universities, as well as the employment of 2,000 female police officials. In 1947, there was the passage of the equal pay policy. These policy changes and the reforms that emanated from them made the reconstruction of the Japanese economy and its production facilities faster than those of other countries that were left behind in the area.3 For example, instead of depending on the labor input of men to rebuild its infrastructure and to grow the national economy, Japan relied on the input of its male and female populations: the huge laborforce enabled it t o advance faster than other national economies. The unique historical changes of Japan and its economy can also be traced to the reduction of family size, which became evident during the 1950s, following a change of attitudes towards the family system and marriage.4 The changes included getting into marriage late, working prior to marriage, and giving birth to fewer children, so that they can remain actively involved in employment among other lines of productivity. The reduction in the size of the family – where many of the marriages are arranged and the women are

My Favorite Hobby Is Writing Essay Example for Free

My Favorite Hobby Is Writing Essay My love of writing began in elementary school. English classes were great, but creative writing assignments made them better! I was more content with creative writing, rather than learning basic grammar rules. As I grew older, I didnt write much. It seems like I lost interest temporarily. All of that changed when I lost my grandfather in seventh grade, only to have my friend move after eighth. It was then I began writing again. Poetry was my friend. I wrote poems to help cope with emotional overload. I would like to write short stories. I have been unsuccessful at my attempts. This will not stop my efforts to do so. Ill just have to keep on trying. Im still writing creatively thirteen years later (in 2004). Although I havent many writings, I hope to have a professional writing career in the future. You never know, I might become famous one day. Im working at it! I cant imagine my life without writing. When I write, I lose myself. The world could knock on my door, and I would be deaf to the thunderous banging’s. In a world where its not hard to get hurt, writing is a comforting arm across my shoulder. I never knew Id come to love writing as much as I do. Writing is like a best friend. Friends that will never turn his/her back on me in troublesome times. My writing comforts me when Im upset, ; excites me when I think about certain people whom I cherish. When I get bad reviews or ratings? Its easy to sit cry. I may be disappointed, but not beaten. It just makes me want to write more. I know Im not the most perfect writer, and no one ever is. It takes time, but its worth the trials triumphs. I can write just as good as the next. Writing is my gift. The gift I received from the Divine Mother Father. I almost lost it, but they encouraged me to keep going. Once again, my passion for writing has overwhelmed my life. I do not regret it either. Im thankful that my Lord and Lady gave me another chance at writing. My gift is one I can honestly say Im proud of.

The effectiveness of dispute resolution techniques as used in hong kong

The effectiveness of dispute resolution techniques as used in hong kong Construction in the past Years ago a construction project was a relatively simple arrangement. The owner retained an architect or engineer to develop the design and prepare the specifications for the desired project. The owner and architect or engineer then engaged the general contractor to perform the physical construction of the work leaving the methods of performance to him or her. Contractors and subcontractors were relatively straight forward, simple agreements without extensive exculpatory clauses. At that time, contracts were completed with appropriate time extensions with liquidated damages or pay for delay are depending of who was responsible for delay. Usually the work was of excellent quality because all parties of the team were working together. Nowadays, everything among the construction industry become complex and likewise resulted in a complex dispute resolution whether for a settlement of minor issue. Construction Claims In many construction projects, the argument always arisen among the parties, i.e., in between the contractor, consultant, material supplier and employer and in relation to the conditions of contracts, construction design, buildability, construction methodology and construction standard and etc. Likewise the argument will gradually step into a claim as the parties are intents to preserve their rights, interest and responsibilities as the argument of the works will always result delay and disruption to the construction progress and consequently incurred in an additional time and cost to the project under several particular circumstances. Nowadays, the construction projects are becoming more and more complex due to the innovation, evolution and technology development in the industry, the understanding and interpretation of the project requirement may differs among the parties (Malak and Saadi and Zeid 2002). In the meantime, the increased complexity of construction project, the construction processes, specification, documents and conditions of contracts has been contribution to higher possibilities of conflict that results a higher frequency of claims issue. There are many different types of construction claims are into categories relative to terms and generally defined in a contract. The parties are required to process the claim in accordance with the requirement specified in the main contract. Normally the claims are raised by the contractor as they were the first party acknowledge the construction progress is delay or disrupted by some kinds of event and responsible to identify the circumstances for reporting to the employer. The employer will then require assessing the claim issue. However, the basis of the identification of claims issue is often not exhaust enough by the contractor and therefore the employer will have a difficulty during the assessment process that results an adverse desire to the claimant, which is the contractor. Consequently, the claims cannot satisfy the claimant by extension of time or additional money during the construction period and become a higher degree of dispute that is requires further dispute resoluti on. All claims have the potential to be time consuming and expensive once the claims has different understanding among the employer and contractor (Barnard 2005). To reduce the potential time cost and expensive, usually the associated parties in the claims will proposed to a dispute resolution, i.e., Litigation, Mediation, Conciliation, Adjudication, Arbitration and etc. for minimize the unnecessary cost. Though these dispute resolutions are very common, the effectiveness is questioned by the industry due to the higher cost and time are still required for processing these resolutions. Research Aim, Objective(s), Hypotheses AIM The aim of this research paper is to investigate the effectiveness of dispute resolution techniques as used in Hong Kong. And, the investigation is concentrate on the review and quantifying the process and outcome effectiveness of one of the common use dispute resolution Mediation. OBJECTIVES * To conduct a critical review of literature relating to the definition and process of Mediation. * To conduct a critical review of literature relating to the history of dispute resolution of Mediation in Hong Kong. To review and investigate existing common use of dispute resolutions in Hong Kong. * To research and detail the actual processes, the difference in between these dispute resolutions, analyse the advantage and disadvantage of these dispute resolutions and summerise the general conclusion of these resolutions. * To collect data by face to face interview through the professional body that has experience involves in construction claims and mediation process. * To summerise and analyse the effectiveness of mediation which in the basis of time cost and reflection by the disputants. * To draw conclusion on the quantified effectiveness of mediation to testify the recognition by the construction industry and evaluate the future development of the applicable of mediation. Literature Review How claims propagate to a dispute A claim may be defines as a request, demand, application for payment of notification of presumed entitlement to which the (claimant), rightly or wrongly at this stage, considers himself entitled and in respect of which an agreement has not yet been reached (Barber and Hughes, 1992). For protect their own interest, the claimant will promptly reserves his rights to claim and presents a detailed account of the claims only a the need of the project where they can take advantage of any losses and delays and incorporate them into a claims. Therefore, the prevalence of the reservation of rights approach a construction claims. Normally, the contractor is the host and navigate the claims as the change to the project is always request by their employer, owner, consultant, employer or employers representative and the proof of contractor is breach the contract by the employer is often a difficult task (Hassanein and Nemr 2007). The change orders were the most prevalent causes of claims. The frequent appearance of a change order on a project is due to the engineer do a less thorough job in the design and planning stage and thereafter, the employer try to minimum the costs by not planning the project as real-time since initial planning. As a result the employer is put in a position where they are less likely to anticipate adverse conditions before they arise and are less capable of dealing with the variable. Accordingly, numerous cases had been reported about the contractor was received direct inductions from the employers representative or consultants due to their poor management in the pre-contract phase and outdate realization of the project. The consequence was additional incurred expenses. The increasing scope of work and poorly coordinated designs result change order and easier to propagate a construction claims. In addition, the differing site conditions, defective construction documents, suspensions of the work at the direction of the employer or consultant, wrongful delays in handling shop drawings, late deliveries of owner-furnished equipment and materials, interference by other prime contractors, lack of site access and etc. are easier to constitute a contractor claims once the poor management practice occurs in the employers team. The construction project is often delayed by the change and a claim may arise on account of a delay disruption. The nature of the construction claims leads to adversarial relationships regarding impacts and changes and often results in disputes. Background of Mediation The settlement of disputes arising from construction industry by methods other than litigation is common practice. The main reason for this is, where the substantial questions of the dispute are matters of fact rather than of law, a final and conclusive decision can be obtained in a manner which is quicker and cheaper than the formal legal. Construction disputes have used mediation since 1985 (Phillips, 1997). Compared to litigation, mediation has proved to be a faster, less expensive, more confidential, and more satisfactory way to resolve disputes. There is a national trend in favor of alternative methods of dispute resolution and away from the trench warfare style of litigation which has become so costly in recent decades. Mediation reflects a shift in the balance of power between employers and their lawyers. In scorched earth litigation the dispute is in the hands of litigators whose strength lies in motion practice and mammoth discover regimens. Mediation cuts through the posturing and tactics of litigation to get the merits of the dispute, where the employer is more of an authority, and to get to settlement negotiations, where the employer controls decision making (Fisher 1994). In fact, Mediation is a popular mode of dispute resolution in the United States (Bush and Folger 1994). As it is a non binding, consensual process of resolving conflicts through settlement conferences expedited by an impartial third party who facilitates negotiations (stories and their interpretation) between the disputants (Gillie et al. 1991;Rondeno and Rumbaugh 1999). Mediation may be considered a form of distributive justice, even though the contending parties control the discussion of the conflict and is ultimate resolution. It can be entered into voluntarily or as a result of a court order, and it does not bind the parties in any way other than by mutual agreement. Obviously, the mediation has been introduced and widely applied as a settlement method of dispute to construction industry for more than twenty years. As mediation describes a voluntary process which either side may abandon at any time without prejudice, whereby each side to a dispute is brought together before a neutral mediator, whose function is to assist the parties to arrive at common position by joint open session and private caucus (Hills 1995). During this process the mediator acts only as catalyst, not expressing his or her own opinion and not disclosing confidential information imparted by one of the parties, to the other. Through this process the parties move closer together until they reach a common position when settlement is reached. Because the mediation process itself is non binding and entirely without prejudice, it is necessary to record the agreement, in contract form, if it is to have legal effect. Although mediation is not regulated process, some rules do exist and are published by a few organizations that is applicable to Hong Kong construction industry. For example, the Construction Industry Mediation Rules published by the National Arbitration Committee in the United States, and the Hong Kong Government Mediation Rules published by the Government of Hong Kong. Mediation Process The Mediation is begins with the agreement of disputants that intents to settle certain amount of money and employ a mutually agreed mediator to commence mediated meeting to define issues and confirm each sides commitment. Agreement to mediate in the event of a dispute is either through terms of the contract (such as a mediation clause), or by mutual consent when the dispute arises. More commonly, one party approaches the mediation company to begin mediation proceeding. A representative then contracts the other side inviting them to cooperate in a mediation and consequence assists the disputants in negotiating a settlement. This is a form of collective decision making in which the mediator facilitates voluntary agreements between the parties in dispute. During this decision making process, the mediator compiles information, evaluates alternatives, and makes suggestions to the disputants aiming for a consensual agreement. The mediator will meet each party in turn to assist them to exa mine and highlight the respective strengths, and weaknesses of their case and, if he is so authorized, carry offers from one side to the other until the parties reach a common position, as a result, the mediator helps in breaking barriers and pulling communalities. In these contexts, mediation is regarded as nonthreatening, and effective in suppressing or even settling construction dispute. Thus, mediation is used because of the prospect of achieving settlements that are mutually satisfying, win-win situation, cost effective, flexible, speedy, confidential, and voluntary. At this point a settlement is usually agreed and, if the parties so wish, a contract will be drawn up to make the terms of the settlement legally binding (Hills 1995). Why Mediation This method is aimed to employ an independent third party for assist to agreed certain specified desires from the disputants in a short time and most likely they will satisfy the mediation result as the lightly litigation is applied and cost saving in comparing with other dispute resolutions. And, mediation can restart the usual course of construction claim resolution by carving out one or more of the simpler claims for early agreement. Even if the parties cannot agree that those compromises will be paid right away, at least they can stipulate that they will be paid as part of any arbitration award or court judgment. The real value of such partial settlements is that they improve the atmosphere. They demonstrate to each side that the other is acting on good faith and deserves some credibility. A good mediation advocate helps identify the clients real interests and needs, so that it is possible for the parties to reach a bargain. For example, a contractor may be less interested in mon ey than in having additional time to complete the job, or in obtaining future work, while the owner wants the project completed as quickly and as economically as possible. Because the parties craft their own settlement, they are more likely to honor their agreement voluntarily. Mediation also provides a forum wherein the aggrieved party can present its position or defense directly to the opposing party rather than through an attorney (Trantina 2001), thereby giving the aggrieved party voice or recognition of being heard. Also, mediation can preserve the partys relationship (Lederman 1997). Mediation display of commercial acumen and far from being soft, it is a continuous process of structured, condensed, guided and intense negotiation requiring quickness of mind, flexibility and imaginative thinking. And mediation can be used at the same time as litigation or arbitration procedures or can replace litigation. So it is possible to litigate or arbitrate to show serious intentions but t o negotiate with mediation to get a better result. Even the mediation fails, it has more benefits than risks. Mediation can be tried fast and at little extra cost. Parties are free to leave the process if it is unproductive (Harmon 2003). At the same time, using mediation helps clarify the issues, helps with preparation for trial or further negotiations and encourages a realistic assessment of the case more rapidly than the adversarial process. Conclusion The principle finding of this paper is aimed to have a brief review of an understanding of mediation in construction industry. An investigation is also held for realised the consequential effect is resulted by construction claims to the industry. Nevertheless, the outcome of initial finding on the literature review is not ideal as original thought. The construction claims detailed in many literature papers are mainly focusing on the claims effect how delay and disrupt the project that very limited reports are specified, i.e., the outcome effect of mediation, the problematic occurs during the mediation. For the research aim regarding dispute resolution in this report is assess the effectiveness of the mediation. As this report is only focusing the dispute resolution on Mediation, quite a lot of literature reports actually already have concluded the effectiveness of this resolution methods. Unfortunately the concluded result is limited to list out the advantage and disadvantage of this resolution and leads to have a personal (author) bias which seems not neutrally enough(Yiu Cheung Mok 2006). Furthermore, it is not difficult to have the knowledge of the process of dispute resolution but the key information or real mediated case is hard to obtain. Most likely the reason is mediation is not open to public. As a result, the critical information of real case for consolidates substantiation to this report is relatively very limited. In summary, the topic actually has a greatly development space as the gap of the above said research objective do exist in the industry. The general description on the outcome effect of mediation by limited reference to real dispute case is the key finding during this investigation of literature review. And as above mentioned the papers are only listed out the particulars of the mediation without any consolidated data, i.e., amount to settle, time consumed and cost of mediation. Accordingly, the mediation application has not been clear identified for which scale or what kind of disputes. The difficulty of data collection is recognised and foreseeable. Thus, the further development of the final report will be initially focusing on the real case data collection and the development of quantify effectiveness of mediation. Methodology Based on the concerning to the objectives of this research paper, the research methodology is considerate to choose combining a case study and face to face interview with associated professional body in the construction industry who has similar experience that involves in the construction claims and mediation process. The presentation of a case study can reflected the cause and consequence of a claims event as a full story broad and accordingly indicate how the claims falls into a dispute. From the review of the claims process by a case study method, we can easier to understand the fundamental reason why the claims event is arisen and defining the claims type or determining the validity of claims by the point of view as an external third party. Thereafter, based on the stances of the relevant parties on the claims can evaluate the necessarily of the dispute as the claims somehow is without any contractual ground backup but become as a dispute shortly. For the method of face to face interview that is an effectiveness and straight forward path to obtain the result. The professional bodies who has experience on a claims and mediation process are able to tell what the consequence and subsequence of a construction claims and how the dispute resolution process. Moreover, the method for assess the effectiveness of the dispute resolution is by quantified the time cost by these peoples contributed on each case. The case study will select the construction project that has a dispute for detail analysis and illustrate the disputes among the construction industry in Hong Kong. The case study will be considered a recent completed bridge project in Hong Kong. This project is one of the longest cable stayed bridges in the world. The bridge was just completed recently and has 2 years delay from the originally planning. Mediation has had been carried out for settle the claims dispute in early construction stage. For the face to face interviewer selection, it is very depend on the availability of those personnel. Nevertheless, the target interviewer is decide to meet minimum 4 professional body involved in this project, assuming the key data can be obtained among these professional body. Restraints/Limitations In this research paper, it can be foreseeable the difficulty to systemize and identify the dispute nature among the construction industry. Initially, to collect the claims issue event from the as-built real construction project is time consuming and require lots of contacts to meet this objective but the outcome may not be satisfied to achieve the original idea as the industry always keep the claims as a confidential issue and not open to irrelative parties. Eventhough the claims was settled completely and not necessary proceed to kinds of litigation or arbitration, the information regarding the settlement definitely involves a sum of monies that the industry still inclined not to release the details as a reference for any further similar claims. Whilst the peoples who involves in the claims process of a construction project are very limited to Claims consultancy, Q.S. or senior manager. These peoples are always difficult to reach and as the industry norms, the fact of the claims event may not present thorough. It means the realistic of claims event may be questionable due to the limitation of the sources. Nevertheless, for simplify the evaluation of the effectiveness of the dispute resolutions is quantifying the time cost and feedback from the disputants, further measure the applicable frequency of this resolution. Research Programme Please refer to Appendix A Ethics and Safety Approval Please refer to Appendix B REFERENCES: Fisher, T. (1994) Construction Mediation. Dispute Resolution Journa, March 1994, pp.8-16. Harmon, K. (2003) Resolution of Construction Disputes:A Review of Current methodologies. Leadership and management in Engineering, October 2003, pp.187-197. Flake, R. and Perin, S. (2003) Mediating Construction Disputes:What Works and What Doesnt. Construction, May/July 2003, pp.24-34 Hassanein, A. and Nemr, W. (2007) Construction Claims in Egypt:Contrasts and Similarities With Published Literature. AACE International Transactions, INT.04, pp.1-5 Mcdonald, P. (1984) Construction claims costing for owners and contractors. Construction management and Economics, 2, pp.1-12. Baki, M. (1999) Delay Claims management in Construction A Step-by-Step Approach. Cost Engineering, 41(10), pp.36-48. Chester, M. and Hendrickson, C. (2005) Cost Impacts, Scheduling Impacts, and the Claims Process during Construction. Journal of construction engineering and management, January 2005, pp.102-107. McDuff, C. And Ray, M. (2002) Total Cost Construction Claims Tactics. AACE International Transactions, CDR 11, pp.1-3. Goyal, B. (1996) Consturciton Claims and Disputes:Causes and Cost/Time overruns. Journal of construction engineering and management, June 1996, pp.197-198. Brooker, P. And Lavers, A. (1997) Perceptions of alternative dispute resolution as constraints upon its use in the UK construction industry. Construction management and Economics,15, pp.519-526. Thompson, M. and Vorster, m. and Groton, J. (2000) Innovations to Mange Disputes:DRB and NEC. Journal of construction engineering and management, October 2000, pp.51-59. Cheung, SO. and Yiu, TW. and Yeung, SF. (2006) A study of Styles and outcomes in Construction dispute Negotiation. Journal of construction engineering and management, August 2006, pp.805-813. Treacy, T. (1995) Use of alternative dispute resolution in the construction industry. Journal of construction engineering and management, January 1995, pp.58-63. Mcgreevy, S. (2005) Arbitration, mediation, ligtigation:Whats best?. Mcgreevy on Law. Joyce, W. (2008) Returning Arbitration to an effective process in construction contracts. Dispute resolution journal, July 2008, pp.15-18. Shapiro, J. (2002) using Mediation and Arbitration to Resolve Construction Disputes. Business Credit, November 2002, pp.59-61. Kuzma, S. and Hoffman, D. and Bradley, L. (2002) The Impact of Daubert on Expert Testimony in Construction Disputes. Construction Law and Business, 3(1), pp.19-23. Gransberg, D. and Joplin, A. (2000) Developing Construction Claims for Arbitration:Two Arbitrators Viewpoint. Cost Engineering, 42(7), pp.29-31. Yiu, TW. and Cheung, SO. and Mok, FM. (2006) Logistic Likelihood analysis of mediation outcomes. Journal of construction engineering and management, October 2006, pp.1026-1036. Spalj, G. (2005) Construction Disputes. Construction Bulletin, 14 October 2005, pp.3-6. Hills, M. (1995) Building Contract procedures in Hong Kong. 3rd ed., Hong Kong:Longman.

Educatio During The Victorian :: essays research papers

Education During the Victorian Period   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education during the Victorian Period progressed due to several acts and codes over the years. Voluntary schools, which the Church provided, were founded by the Anglican National Society after the grant of 1833 was proposed. The grant went to religious bodies, which were used to build schools. It was the first acceptance by the government to provide the poor with an education. The grant increased to 30,000 pounds in 1839 and then to 100,000 pounds in 1846. These voluntary schools were paid for by private subscription and were spread out over the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gladstone’s Bill of 1870 was the work of W.E. Forster, who was an ardent churchman of Quaker origin. The bill doubled the State Grant to church schools and to Roman Catholic schools so they could become a permanent part of the new educational system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were seven elite boarding schools that were defined as â€Å"Public Schools† in the 1860’s by the educational Clarendon commission. They were Eton, Harrow, Westminster, Rugby, Winchester, Charterhouse, and Shrewsbury. They were maintained by private funding and received no profits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Code of 1890 made it possible to maintain evening continuation schools, which we think are night schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new schools were known as Board Schools and they were paid for by local rates, or by the local school boards. Church teaching continued in all national schools. Before this, all the churches had to provide the education. The Roman Catholics and the Anglicans wouldn’t let their children go to these schools, though. They felt that these schools did not adequately teach their religious ideas. Board schools were introduced and the Roman Catholics and the Anglicans agreed that these schools satisfied all their educational needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The acts of 1876 and 1880 made attendance in schools necessary. During the first few years of Queen Victoria’s reign, 30-50% of the children went to school. The most common schools were Sunday schools. They went there if they weren’t working and while there they learned how to â€Å"read† the Bible. Its primary function was to fit people for their place in the social order. From 1870-1890 the average school attendance rose from 1.25 million to 4.5 million and the money spent on each child was doubled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the New County Council was established, an effective step towards a system of secondary education was taken Only 8% of male children received any secondary education.

A New Vision of Science :: Science Scientific Papers

A New Vision of Science ABSTRACT: Traditional convictions regarding science (such as universalism, necessity and eternal validity) are currently in doubt. Relativism seems to destroy scientific claims to rationality. This paper shows a way to keep the traditional convictions of scientific knowledge while acknowledging relativism. With reference to the practicing scientist, we replace descriptivism with constructivism; we modify relative validity with the claim to understanding; and, we offer methodological strategies for acquiring understanding. These strategies we call strangification, which means taking a scientific proposition system out of its context and putting it in another context. We can thus see the implicit presuppositions of the given proposition system by means of the problems arising out of the application of this procedure. Such a change in the understanding of science holds important consequences. There is a personal background for the new understanding of science I am proposing in this article. These ideas that are now comprised within the notion Constructive Realism have been developed over the last twenty years during interactions and in cooperatio with other scientists. Now I am giving them my voice for a couple of short arguments why this new understanding isneeded today. It should be mentioned that the dialogue with my former friends from the Vienna Circle hs, to some extent, been important in this process. The Vienna Circle was so complex and encompassed so many different ideas that some traces of what I am argueing can be found there. Presently, however, my own understanding of sciencehas departed crucially from what is usually considered as the Vienna Circle's stance toward science. Without being aware of it, the Vienna Circle was the last great attempt for a rational metaphysics of science. It was trying to establish a correspondence of purified human mind with the w orld. Probably, this is why they argued so sharply against traditional, i.e. irrational metaphysics. Contrary to the declared position of most of the Vienna Circle's members, however, Constructive Realism does not struggle against metaphysics. I appreciated very much the example of Erwin Schrà ¶dinger because it has wonderfully shown in which degree a scientist is influenced by his metaphysical background. Checking the bckgound of scientific doing one is getting a lot of impressions about metaphysical world.comcepts, metaphysical concepts of knowledge etc. If we lay aside our apprehension to touch metaphysics, science can even bepushed forward by it. In fact we should have many metaphysics. They are offereing unusual perspectives and this is exactly what science needs to progress.

Domestication of maize in mesoamerica

Corn: The Domestication of Maize in MesoamericaOne of the most basic demands of a human being is that of nutrient. We most eat and imbibe to last. Subsistence is a natural idea which consumes every modern worlds twenty-four hours. What will I eat for breakfast? What will I take for tiffin or will I eat out? Should I take something out for dinner or choice something up on the manner place? All of these inquiries seem at times rather complicated, nevertheless are without a uncertainty, much simpler than what may hold crossed the heads of prehistoric worlds. Merely as it is today subsistence was the centre of each civilizations universe. Whether you were mobile or sedentary each group of hunter-gatherers had to eat. It is the endurance of these societies which allows us as archeologists a extremum into the yesteryear. The procedure of garnering adequate nutrient in which to obtain a sufficient sum of Calories was foremost and first in mundane life. The procedure of domestication of cert ain workss finally led to more nucleated colonies. Let us maintain in head Morgan ‘s theory of civilization, if this is right, that cultural patterned advance is lineal ; than it is safe to presume that the lone natural patterned advance for prehistoric worlds was to passage from the huntsman gather phase of obtaining subsistence to a more agricultural life manner. One cultigen in specific was â€Å" corn † , now referred to as â€Å" maize † . In this paper an effort will do to decently explicate what corn is, how maize became a major basic in prehistoric people ‘s diet, and in conclusion how has maize been detected in Mesoamerica through grounds in the archeological record. What is maize? It is a big species of American grass of the genus Zea ( Z. Mays ) widely cultivated as a eatage and nutrient works ; known as Indian maize ( hypertext transfer protocol: //archaeology.about.com ) . Maize is a cultigen ; this is a harvest that can non propagate in the natural state without human intercession. Plant domestication can be defined as the human creative activity of a new signifier of works, dependant on human intercession, reaping and seting for endurance. Maize has a distinguishable planting season, turning season, and reaping season. There is a world-wide importance placed on â€Å" maize † . In the Western Hemisphere it is by far the most of import human nutrient harvest ( Beadle, 615 ) . It is still the most of import harvest in all of Latin America. On a world-wide footing it is the 3rd most of import human nutrient harvest, with an one-year production of some two hundred metric dozenss ( Beadle, 615 ) . When Columbus arrived from the Old World and stumbled upon this unusual harvest on the island of Cuba, basically all major races of maize-some two to three hundred- were already in cultivation and had been disseminated from its topographic point of beginning, likely southern Mexico ( which will be explained further in the paper ) , to mid-Chile in the South and to the oral cavity of the St. Lawrence River in the North. The transition below from a scientific discipline magazine will foster aid explicate the definition of corn. Corn, besides known as corn ( from the Spanish maiz ) was foremost domesticated about 10,000 old ages ago from teosinte, a wild grass that looked rather different from our modern harvest. Teosinte grew in Mexico and Central America as a bushy works with many spikes, the precursor to our familiar ear of maize. The little teosinte spikes had merely two rows of about uneatable meats, or seeds, each enclosed by a difficult covering. These seeds separated separately at adulthood and were dispersed widely. In likely less than a thousand old ages, the bantam spikes of hereditary teosinte transformed into larger ears with comestible meats that remained on the hazelnut for easy crop. How these dramatic alterations occurred has been a mystifier for over a century. Geneticists are now positive that worlds populating in the Balsas River part of Mexico were scrounging teosinte seeds when they noticed rare aberrations-likely caused by random mutations-that increased spike size dramatically. Seeds were propagated from these bigger spikes, and therefore the singular events of domestication began. By analyzing the corn genome, research workers have now confirmed that mutants in individual cistrons, such as Teosinte glume architectural ( Tgal ) . Alter meat and works construction and that alterations in many cistrons influence complex developmental traits, such as the clip to blooming. As human populations migrated throughout the Americas, new assortments of corn were selected to turn in local environments. Some assortments were maintained as alleged landraces, each turning in ecological niches in Mexico and South America. Now, these assortments and landraces hold a wealth of familial diverseness, which is being tapped for both basic research and as traits for harvest genteelness ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sciencemag.org/products/posters/maize_poster ) How did maize go a major basic in prehistoric people ‘s diet? Where there other utilizations or maize other than subsistence? New research shows that there is unambiguously four major independent centres of works domestication ; the Near East, China, Eastern North America and Mesoamerica. ( Smith 1989: 1566 ) The America ‘s is believed to supply the clearest record there is of agribusiness beginnings anyplace in the universe, supplying new apprehension of the procedure involved in this cardinal transmutation in human history. However, the procedure is believed to hold started in Mesoamerica. Maize has many utilizations ; nutrient, provender for unrecorded stock and energy for industries. As a nutrient, the whole grain, either mature or immature, may be used ; or the corn may be processed by dry milling techniques to give a comparatively big figure of intermediary merchandises, such as maize grits of different atom size, maize repast, maize flour and flaking grits. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //fao.org ) These stuffs have a important figure of applications in a big assortment of nutrients. Maize grown in subsistence agribusiness continues to be used as a basic nutrient harvest. In developed states more than 60 per centum of the production is used in compounded provenders for domestic fowl, hogs and ruminant animate beings. In recent old ages, even in developing states in which corn is a staple nutrient, more of it has been used as an carnal provender ingredient. â€Å" High wet † corn has been paid much attending late as an animate being provender because of its lower cost and its capacity to better efficiency in provender transition. The byproducts of dry milling include the source and the seed-coat. The former is used as a beginning of comestible oil of high quality. The seed-coat or seed vessel is used chiefly as a provender, although in recent old ages involvement has developed in it as a beginning of dietetic fibre ( Earl et al. , 1988 ; Burge and Duensing, 1989 ) . Wet milling is a procedure applicable chiefly in the industrial usage of corn, although the alkalic cookery procedure used in fabricating tortillas ( the thin, level staff of life of Mexico and other Cardinal American states ) is besides a wet milling operation that removes merely the seed vessel ( Bressani, 1972 ) . Wet milling outputs maize amylum and byproducts such as corns gluten, used as a provender ingredient. It is this level staff of life or tortilla that is speculated to hold been used in pre-historic times. This is non the tortilla that we think of today, nevertheless, the basic construct is fundamental and could hold been used even 10,000 old ages ago. George W. Beadle ‘s research shows that the chance of corn being likewise used as what we refer to as â€Å" popcorn † is high. This high chance points to the usage of teosinte, which has been argued among bookmans as an un-usable merchandise, hence non an ascendant of corn. Beadle ‘s research has proven that even the triangular meat of teosinte could hold been heated on het sand, hot stone or fire and would hold popped. There is guess that in prehistoric clip, maize had a spiritual and ceremonial intent. It is written that in the tallness of the Incan imperium corn was used in ritual and ceremonial assemblages in the signifier of beer. ( Fernandez-Arnesto ; 243 ) There is n't anything to bespeak any different anyplace else that corn has turned up within the archeological record. With a better apprehension of corn and its possible maps, allow ‘s reference where corn originated. Blake, Clark, Chisholm, and Mudar consider the passage to agribusiness in the Formative period of coastal Mesoamerica ( from about 1500 B.C. to the birth of Christ ) , specifically along the Pacific seashore of Chiapas, Mexico. These bookmans review the grounds from this country in footings of two viing hypotheses: the competitory banqueting theoretical account of Hayden ( 1990 ) and the interaction of workss and worlds as described by Rindos ( 1984 ) and Flannery ( 1986 ) . MacNeish ‘s work in the Tehuacan Valley has shown that the beginnings of corn and its integrating into a system of agricultural production that included a assortment of workss began every bit early as 7000 B.C. The earliest people to utilize and cultivate these workss were non sedentary, alternatively, they were mobile foragers who incorporated these domesticates into a complex seasonal form of hunting and collection ( MacNeish 1967, 1972 ; Flannery 1968 ; Flannery 1986 ) . It has been believed that from Formative times frontward that corn is typically seen as the chief basic harvest in Mesoamerican prehistoric culture. Agricultural promotion has long been thought of as the basis of early sedentary small town life and one of necessary conditions for the development of complex society ( MacNeish 1972 ) . Maize yields a high sum of thermal consumption which is necessary in the procedure of prolonging the degree of activity that prehistoric people in Mesoamerica needed to last. A recent re-analysis by Farnsworth et Al ( 1985 ) of archeological informations from the Tehuacan Valley, including a stable C and nitrogen analysis of the human skeletal remains, suggests that a heavy dependance on grains, including corn began every bit early as the Coxcatlan stage ( ca. 5000-3000 B.C. ) . In Oaxaca, excavated macrobotanical remains show that domesticates, including corn, beans, squash, and avocados, were in usage and consumed both before and after the visual aspect of the first sedentary small towns ( Flannery 1976, 1986 ) . Kirkby ‘s ( 1973 ) survey of agricultural production suggests that the chief basic, corn, was cultivated and relied upon from the Early Formative Tierras Largas stage ( 1400-1150 B.C. ) onwards. She suggests, nevertheless, that corn did non make a threshold of productiveness, until about 100B.C. when larger assortments allowed greater outputs per cultivated hectares of land. The premise is that as corn hazelnut size grew, and the works be came more productive, so early villagers came progressively to trust on it as a subsistence basic. Both the Tehuacan and the Oaxaca information suggest that after agricultural merchandises, peculiarly corn, became of import in the subsistence system by the Late Archaic period, the tendency towards increasing trust on these workss continued through clip. The motion of a comparatively little sum of corn from established agro-ecology over long distances into a new environment is tantamount to an evolutionary constriction or a laminitis event ( King, 1987 ; Mayr, 1963 ) . Because merely a little part of the population is represented after one of these events, trying mistake will ensue in, among other things, changed cistron frequences, dislocation of co-adapted cistron composites, and sometimes increased linear familial variableness ( Cheverud and Routman, 1996 ) . The above mentioned on page 2 and 3 of this paper attempted to explicate the procedure of genetic sciences when involved in the procedure of promotion of a works. We can mention to this as agricultural development. Farming in modern twenty-four hours seems to be, from an foreigner looking in ; â€Å" difficult work † , â€Å" dirty work † , and â€Å" humdrum work † . If with modern equipment agriculture is hard what would it hold been like in prehistoric Mesoamerica? Why farm at all? We look at runing game now in present twenty-four hours society as romantic and sportsman like. There is a challenge to the â€Å" game † . There is fancy equipment purchased and good maintain. Hunters tell narratives that are passed on from coevals to coevals, runing narratives in prehistoric culture had to be merely as exciting and the material of which myths were made. So, once more why farm at all? Many bookmans have argued that without agribusiness societies would non hold existed. Merely agribusiness, with its form of population growing, urbanisation, and economic excesss has produced civilisations ( Reed, 5 ) . Therefore assisting to explicate why agribusiness led to complex soci eties. Changing conditions such as height, rainfall, dirt, and seasonal temperature rand and latitudinal differences in the length of twenty-four hours during turning seasons led to the eventual diffusion of maize northward into North America, nevertheless for the interest of this paper the focal point will stay on Mesoamerica. The research indicates that the grounds in the archeological record states that the coastal countries show maize before any other country. Coe and Flannery until the 1980 ‘s were the lone two research workers to describe domesticates at Early Formative metropoliss along the Pacific Coast of either Chiapas or Guatemala. Other than these few incidences comparatively few sites have produced macrobotanical grounds of cultigens among their subsistence remains. Richard â€Å" Scotty † MacNeish conducts what he called â€Å" the great maize Hunt † in 1958. MacNeish believed by tracking pre-ceramic caves in the southern portion of Mesoamerica, viz. , in the caves of Copan and the Comeagua Valley of Honduras he would hold a better opportunity of tracking the maize ( MacNeish 1962 ) . His hunt extended to Zacapa Valley of Guatemala in 1959, every bit good holding brief visits in Oaxaca and the Rio Balsas Valley of Guerrero. In 1961 MacNeish and his squad started the Tehuacan undertaking which yielded to be a great incredible success. Among many inquiry with this undertaking MacNeish and his co-workers were able to work out the job of the beginnings of maize and were able to assail the how and the why of many other domesticated workss in upland Mesoamerica. Harmonizing to MacNeish the sum of artefacts ( 50,000 lithics, more than 100,000 works remains, over 10,000 castanetss and some 250 human fecal matters ) found in the 454 sites gave the squad a clip span that approximately stretched from 20,000 to 2000 B.C. Since MacNieshs ‘ research and diggings at that place have been over 1000 sites found and more archeological grounds to back up his original findings. In decision, the subject of â€Å" corn † is one that has intrigued and puzzled archeologists for many old ages. The domestication and development of corn in and of itself causes much argument. It is because of great archeologists like MacNeish and his firm wonder of the â€Å" great maize Hunt † as to why we have the information that we have today. The mere grounds of 454 sites going 1000 in a affair of old ages speaks for itself. The fact remains that there are 4 major independent centres of works domestication, the Near East, China, North America, and Mesoamerica. It is the purpose of this paper to hold clearly introduced even the novitiate of individual ‘s to what precisely is the definition of corn, how maize became a major basic in prehistoric people ‘s diet, and how corn has been detected in Mesoamerica through grounds in the archeological record.