Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Review - Article Example However, not only were their actions racist, albeit disguised thinly, â€Å"[b]ut the new policies were also deeply embedded in widespread and widely shared assumptions† (Kessler-Harris 2010, 437) that can only be classified as sexist. Those busy in reforming the law made it clear that they were more interested in safeguarding what was, then, classic American way of life, than safeguarding the rights of all. The reforms that were proposed sought to take contributions from all working people, yet it did not give back the money as Social Security to all who had contributed. Families of men, and then too those belonging to certain occupations, were entitled to the money in case of the death of the man. However, what is interesting is that widows who remarried or who did not have young children and had not reached the age of 65 yet were excluded. Moreover, the social security of a widow â€Å"was to be reduced or eliminated if her earnings exceeded fifteen dollars a month† (Kessler-Harris 2010, 439). In order to win over the racists who were still present in Congress, the reformers also kept in hidden clauses that ensured that colored workers will not be entitled to the Social Security money. Fields of employment which were predominantly black, like agricultural workers, were excluded from the entitlement list. The reformers excluded household workers from the list of the entitled class of workers, and with 90% of the household working force being female and 45% of it being black (Kessler-Harris 2010), they not only excluded women, but caused the black women a double jeopardy of sorts, as most of the men in their family were already excluded based on the racist reforms. Of course, this clearly suggests that they thought a woman was to be subservient to a man and it was the duty of the man to provide and for a woman to take care of the home. Therefore, a widow who remarried or who had old children had someone else to look after her and so was not considered entitled.

Marriage Problems Essay Example for Free

Marriage Problems Essay Few of us do like to be told what to do. Hitting each other between the eyes with issues you know you know your partner is insecure about will not help you resolve the issue. The silence or fights that usually follow just perpetuate the cycling of pursuing behavior followed by distancing behavior. Help lead an obstinate partner to make some choices for him\herself. Friends, lovers, and business partners learn what your vulnerabilities and insecurities are just by spending time with you. You can avoid cycling into repetitive arguments by discussing your own fears and areas of vulnerability. Leslie could tell Jim that she worries about being a nag and knows that her request is not nagging just a request for cooperation. The conversation with Jim can continue now. Leslie could further ask what needs to happen first before they attend to chores. Leslie has given Jim room now to make a choice. He might say he wants to pay bills, work out, make love with her, before they clean the house. You want to move toward shared decision making to move away from power struggles. Good friendship, love, and business relationships are built on mutual trust, respect, cooperation and reciprocity. If you are not cooperating with each other, each person must look at themselves and come up with what each willfully says, does or does not say or do that is contributing to the problem. Next, you can discuss what each of you are willing to do to change yourself. All relationships need elasticity to grow over time. Remember that it does take two to tango. A relationship problem is always our problem. Together you create the peacock dances and together problems can be resolved. You show you care about having a healthy relationship when you are willing to rationally and calmly resolve conflicts. Know when to disengage as well as engage in a conversation. When a person is under the influence of substances or too angry to talk, wait for a clear headed time frame to talk. Some behaviors are always unacceptable. Dont fight dirty. No one drives you to drink or strike another person. When behavior is extreme, you are out of touch with yourself and control with yourself. You always have the choice to be extremely aggravated and express that long before you feel like acting out your anger by drowning your feelings or striking out. Debt If you and your spouse jointly apply for a credit card or loan, both your credit scores will be checked to approve the application. If one or both of you have bad credit, there’s a chance your application won’t be approved. Or, if the application’s approved, the interest rate and fees might be higher than if the spouse with the higher credit score applied separately. With joint accounts and accounts on which one spouse is an authorized user, the history of the account is reported on both spouses’ credit reports, even if only one spouse actually uses the account. On joint accounts, both spouses are responsible for making credit card and loan payments. Furthermore, if the account becomes delinquent, the creditor or lender will attempt to collect from both spouses. With authorized user accounts, only the primary account holder is legally responsible for paying the credit card debt.

Equality in School Finance Essay -- essays research papers fc

Equality in School Finance In The Story of the Education Dollar, Odden, Monk, Nakib and Picus describe some basic facts about education spending in the United States to facilitate an understanding of the level and uses of the federal government's policies on education funding. The purpose of the authors' discussion is to argue that public education facilities need to change their focus on the consumption of educational resources to a focus on producing high levels of student achievement. They contend that such a redirection in focus will require large improvements in student achievement, given that only about 10 percent of students currently attain the desired level of achievement across the board in mathematics, science, writing, history, geography and civics. James Traub expands on their discussion to argue for the necessary inclusion of after-care activities for inner-city youth in any successful educational spending program. Odden et al. note that their analysis of spending patterns across the 50 states is supported by the conclusions reached by the Finance Center of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), although the results of their research did diverge in some significant ways. Odden et al. examined spending and staffing patterns at the district and school levels. They also scrutinized staffing patterns of expenditures by function and program and spending across curriculum content areas in California, Florida and New York. Their major conclusion was that while there had been considerable national investment in public education during the 20th century, as a rule the funds were distributed unfairly and used ineffectively. The largest portion of increased spending during the 20th century occurred to hire more teachers to reduce class size and to provide more out-of-classroom services, particularly for special education purposes. However, they argue that neither strategy boosted student achievement very much. Also, although education spending has increased teachers' salaries, it has not been used to improve the quality of the teachers. Notably, Odden et al. found that both low-spending and high-spending school districts fund education spending in the same proportions, meaning that high-spending districts tend to have lower class sizes and higher teacher salaries. The authors argue this discrepancy reflects the "fiscal regulariti... ...otes that while we must, as Odden et al. advocate, approach each reform program as though it could provide unlimited success, we must also take into account the demonstrated limitation of such programs. Significantly, blacks still score about 200 points lower than whites on College Boards and an average 17-year-old black student reads at a 13-year-old level. Thus, Traub argues, schools are not the final arbiter of student achievement. He contends that a child's home life and social culture, which can fail to nurture mental and intellectual stimulation, should be taken into consideration when drafting reform programs. He suggests the inclusion of programs such as Impact, a multi-purpose, social service program that offers year-round day care, adult literacy programs, and health care programs. At the least, the calls for the need for after-school activities that provides an alternative environment for inner-city youth. Bibliography Odden, Allan, Monk, David, Nakib, Yasser and Picus, Lawrence. "The Story of the Education Dollar." Phi Delta Kappan (October, 1995): 161-168. Traub, James. "What No School Can Do." New York Times Magazine (January 16, 2000): 52-91.

Ethical Enviromental Issues

â€Å"Ethics is the study of the choices people make regarding right and wrong† (Ruggiero, 2008). Environmental ethics, it is more of a study about moral relationships of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its nonhuman contents. Humans have been sharing our lives with nature for many of years; we have to make many ethical decisions with respect to the environment everyday. We have been concentrating on finding ways and ideas to make our lives easier. Over time we have forgotten to take in the immoral consideration of what we might be doing to our environment itself. In the past, future and even present, there have been many controversial issues on environmental ethics that need to be answered. There are environmental issues affecting our world today such as deforestation and pollution. These problems have even begun to affect us at a global scale and not only have we put ourselves in grave peril but we have also managed to endanger every other species that exist on earth. As noted by Yamamoto (2001), â€Å"In Buddhism, human life, and other forms of life are regarded as being of the same matter. Therefore, since they are always related to living things, Buddhism regards environmental problems as essentially an issue of ethics. † There are many environmental issues that need to be taken care of as soon as possible. One issue would have to be deforestation. For years we as humans have depended on trees as a resource to our everyday life. We have built homes, paper, and many other products from this precious resource. If the forest provided us with low cost homes and so many good resources, why is it an ethical issue or problem? This is a problem because deforestation destroys not only forests but also reduces the biodiversity, which means a reduction in the amount, as well as variation of, living things which can cause havoc on whole ecosystems. † â€Å"The cutting down of tropical rain forests is particularly detrimental to wildlife and other living things. â€Å" (Yamamoto, 2001) We have been so concern in finding different ways to make our lives easier. Pollut ion is another issue that is affecting our environment. Pollution is killing off our wild life each and everyday. We as humans must take control of this problem very quickly. With so much pollution we are killing plants, animals, polluting our water, and causing the depleting of the Ozone layer. I once had to do a project about the effects of The Morris J. Berman oils spill of the coast of the Escambron beach in the island of Puerto Rico. From the pictures that I saw, I can say that I had never seen a more horrendous sight. This beautiful blue beach whose waters had turned into a murky black and filled with dead fish covered in oil. The damage was vey overwhelming especially. I will never forget the awful pictures of so many animals suffocating with the poisonous oil. Luckily this problem has been dealt with by the government for many years and they have found many solutions to ensure that these disasters do not repeat themselves. This is a great example of how government involves itself in Environmental Ethics. It was evident to every one the damage and the horror that was inflicted on nature by this human mishap. It is a fact that the government had always prioritized the restoration of the ocean that was damaged by the barge when it crashed and destroyed the homes to a vast number of oceanic wildlife. Last year the government of Puerto Rico was compensated with $10 million for damages caused by the oil spill almost 14 years ago. These funds will be used to build an artificial coral reef and a shore line nature reserve (Michael Melia, FoxNews. com, 2007). Our rain forests and the tribes that live in there are being affected by this pollution and deforestation also. â€Å"The Kayapo are an indigenous group of Indians living in the rainforest of Brazil. The dominant ecosystems are tropical rainforest and grassland in which the Kayapo hunt, fish, and practice Sweden agriculture (slash and burn). (Goodale, 2004) Their way of life is being threatened by pollution, land grabs, and dams. There are many environmental ethics at stake. The first problem was the pollution from agricultural runoffs from acres of soybean and cattle just outside the boundaries of the Kayapo Indians. The pollution from the headwaters of the Xingu downriver flowed down to the Kayapo Indians, contaminating water supplies and food resources. The second issue was land invasion. â€Å"Parts of the east bank of the Middle Xingu called Kapotnhinore are being illegally invaded and sold. This is creating a hostile, dangerous environment and also blocking river travel. (Goodale, 2004) The last issue not only affects the Kayapo Indian but also affects the rainforest that they live in. According to Goodale (2004), the Brazilian government has revived plans for several hydroelectric dams along the Xingu River. â€Å"The proposed project would displace Kayapo from their homes, because a loss of sustenance for those living downstream, disturb fish populations, and damage terrestrial ecosystems† (Goodale, 2004). In a situation like this, there are many views from both sides. Some people believe that this is just wrong to disrupt a tribe’s natural way of life. If you take the river that they solely depend this will hurt their way of living. Some people think that proposed plan should go forward. Some believe that the dams will regulate the flow of water which will help prevent flooding and dry seasons and that the creation of the hydroelectric dams will create a clean source of electricity for millions. With an ever growing population, it does not make economic sense to have 28. 4 million acres set aside for only 5,000 people. When thinking about environmental ethics, there are many consequences that humans have to take in account. Some are good and some are bad. Weighing the consequences of the dam project, is it ethically right to proceed with the project? Personally, I do not think it is right. Although the dam can produce electricity for many people, many others are being displaced from their homes without any compensation. I think that there are many other alternatives in creating electricity without displacing the Kayapo Indians. This is not my decision to make. If these issues are not dealt with in time, they could lead to severe consequences such as the extinction of many species of both flora and fauna, and the dilapidated conditions of different habitats. Many people manage to go carefree through life; unconcerned of the harmful changes that are inflicting upon our environment. It is imperative that we come to the understanding that even if humans are the dominant species on the planet; the earth does not solely belong to us but to other life forms. Even though many of our ethical views on Environmental issues are Anthropocentric as mentioned by Andrew Brennan and Yeuk- Sze Lo (Environmental Ethics, January 3, 2008), we as the primary species have a responsibility not only towards the environment but we also have a moral commitment towards every other species that share our world with us. We are the only species capable of reasoning and reflection on ethical matters, thus giving all moral debate a definite â€Å"human-centeredness. † Personally I believe that perhaps it is exclusively up to us humans to deal with these issues immediately. The survival of all other species is imperative; especially when the truth is that we are the causes of many of the planet’s damages. Many of the social and ethical obligations we have towards the planet consist primarily of extending our moral standing beyond human centeredness. Humans must come to terms that we are just a fraction of living beings in this vast world and we must care for our planet and the respect the other living creatures that live on it also. Many people do genuinely feel that it is our moral duty to preserve every aspect of beauty in nature by treating wildlife of all species with a â€Å"Big brother complex. † I also believe that there are many human factors that are helping humans to become more aware of our duties towards helping the environment. We live in a time of great social turmoil and strife between nations. Many recognize an imminent doom to our species bordering a not so distant future. It is only logical that many humans are trying to get back in touch with nature, as if looking for a sense of innocence that one looses as a child. This is an innocence that was lost when man became careless with its potential to create and better his way of life. This mindset is becoming mixed and intertwined with the current growing consciousness that our world is changing and it might be too late to bring it back to the way it was. It is important that humans begin to take action by engaging ethical protocols that concern our environment. In my recent research, I have found that the existence of solid Environmental Ethics is vital for a shift in a social mindset towards awareness on the subject uphold. These rules of conduct and the values they signify must be maintained primarily by the people, the government, and the branches of science that study global and geological issues. Professor Alasdair Cochrane of the London School of Economics and Political Science writes, â€Å"First of all, environmental ethics needs to be and will be informed by changes in the political efforts to ameliorate environmental problems. Environmental ethics concerns formulating our moral obligations regarding the environment. While this enterprise can be, and often is, quite abstract, it is also meant to engage with the real world†¦ However, without the participation of so many large polluters, with the agreed reductions in greenhouse gas emissions so small, and with many countries looking like they may well miss their targets, many commentators already regard it as a failure. Ethicists need to respond not just by castigating those they blame for the failure. Rather they must propose alternative and better means of resolving the problems we face. † (Alasdair Cochrane, Environmental Ethics, 2007) Society of today has forgotten the importance and seriousness on environmental ethics. The consequences of our actions are affecting our future very rapidly. We humans are so consumed and focused on different ways that will make our lives so simple, that we ignore the fact of taking action in finding other methods in utilizing our resources better. Our children will be the ones affected and so will nature itself. Animals will be extinct in our children’s time and the world will gradually lose all its natural resources because we never thought to conserve source of electricity for millions. With an ever growing population, it does not make economic sense to have 28. 4 million acres set aside for only 5,000 people. Social involvement is also vital when addressing these environmental issues. It is important that environmental concerns are discussed in educational institutions as with the inclusion of dynamic exercises that can benefit both the student who is learning to tackle ecological concerns and nature itself. During my elementary school days, my school would organize supervised visits to beaches and other natural locations where we would engage in cleaning and picking up garbage left by campers and beach goers. This was very helpful towards our city. This type of dynamic disciplined helped us in knowing that even if we did not put this garbage there, we definitely have the power to preserve the beauty of this environment. I think that this is a very decent value that should be taught to kids who are currently developing an ability to question why things are as they are. It will not only teach them to preserve our planet, but it will also help them appreciate how very nourishing this world is to us. This may also help mold them into some very sanitary adults. It is very important that the scientific community should be concerned with environmental issues also. Scientific perspectives can not only help us to understand better what is happening to our environment, but it will also permit us to find better solutions to these problems. Professor Alasdair mentions in his work that, â€Å"Environmental ethics will of course be informed by our scientific understanding of the environment. Whether it is changes in our understanding of how ecosystems work, or changes in the evidence concerning the environmental crisis, it is clear that such change will inform and influence those thinkers writing on our environmental obligations. † (Alasdair Cochrane, Environmental Ethics, 2007) I honestly believe that we, as humans, are advancing towards a time of global awakening and consciousness. Due to the fact that we think that there is nothing seriously wrong with our environment due to the cruel treatment we have inflicted on it for the past hundred years. Still, we are not late in focusing on these problems by establishing new lines of thought on our ethical and moral obligation towards the environment. By exploring the options that are needed to prevent future damages to our environment, we will be able to save not only ourselves as a species, but also the many other forms of life that inhabit our fertile earth. It is also very important that we apply ethical and philosophical values to the way we interact with our planet. This is a requirement that men and women who are willing to become advocates of this cause, by thinking and analyzing what is the problem that if being faced, and what is must we resort to as a solution to that problem. Governments have begun to embrace this and so have many other corporate institutions and social groups. We hold the fate of our future in our hands. So it is up to us humans to choose in which direction to steer our fates and the fates of all living creatures on earth. In conclusion, I do believe that ethics plays a major part in the solving our environmental issues. When people are contemplating obligations towards the environment and making judgments on policies and procedures, ethics often come into the picture. When members of society are determining responsibility for future generations, morality is often a factor and ethics could be a component of the process. How do we answer the question; â€Å"What are the guidelines for farmers that use chemicals to fertilize their fields, when that water may eventually make its way to a water source? † Ethics are part of answering this question. Where things have not been solved, more issues are stacking on them day by day. Environmental Ethics is a very important field. It continues to supply humans with valuable information on current environmental issues to which society needs to react swiftly. These reactions will provide critical information to address the issues at hand. Societies need to make good decisions and those decisions will have ethics at their root. Personal thoughts and opinions, and ultimately decisions, will shape the environment for generations to come. We as people can make this world a better place to live.

Justice in V for Vendetta Essay

James Warren Pike Essay question: How far and in what ways has a writer presented justice as an important concept? Refer in detail to any work of literature you have studied. Justice is one of the fundamental principles upon which builds a nation. V for Vendetta conveys justice as fairness. V for Vendetta is a film based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and David Lloyd in 1982. Through the plot and motifs presented in the film, we gain insights into the idea of justice. Several characters in the story bring the juxtaposing views of V? action, while V sets the conflict between fascism and anarchism. The director, James McTeigue leaves V? s act of justice in the film unjustified, and guides the audience to interpret it themselves. The opening scenes of the film accentuate justice through a voice over, this voiceover not only retells the history of Guy Fawkes, but also sheds light onto the revisionism of V. V as the protagonist in the film, is critical to the representation of justice, because the film portrays the definition of justice through V? s actions. The Guy Fawkes mask depicts the main adumbration of justice in the film. Guy Fawkes was involved in the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The Gunpowder plot was a group of Catholics attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament. V? s impulsion in the film is to destroy the central criminal court, the Old Bailey. V wears a Guy Fawkes mask throughout the film, not only to hide his identity, but also to bequeath the idea of being a superhero to the audience. The Guy Fawkes mask is not a V? s privileged weapon. In the scenes of the Shadow Gallery, the point of view shot of V wearing his mask gives the audience the feeling of wearing the masks themselves. V also shares the masks with the public and invites them to attend the 5th November protest. The mask is a representation of political justice. These scenes suggest to the audience that all people should have the right to fight for political justice. This is also supported through the history allusion of the Gunpowder plot, where Guy Fawkes was brave enough to stand up against the government. The anonymous V attempts to annihilate the Norsefire dictatorship by killing several members of the party. James McTeigue illustrates the British government as fascist through the naming the different bodies of the government. „The Eyes? are referred to the surveillance organizations, â€Å"The Nose? to the detectives, â€Å"The Mouth† to the propaganda and â€Å" The Finger† to the fingermen. V kills â€Å" The voice of London†, Lewis Protherol. Protherol? s rant on V suggests to the public that no on escapes judgement, which is irony to himself getting killed after. On one hand, it was an act of personal justice, because Protherol was a commander in the Larkhill detention camp. On the other hand, Protherol was one the main propaganda creators, a part of â€Å"The Mouth†. The motif of fire strengthens the idea of justice in the scenes of Larkhill. This fire was first introduced in the opening scenes of V. A fiery, sharp blaze swoops across the screen, drawing the letter of „V?. The fire symbolizes destruction, anger, and also passion. The destruction was the violent acts V was going to do, anger was V being tortured in Larkhill, passion was V enjoying the violent acts. V for Vendetta allows audience to justify the morality of V? action and to identify the British government as a functional institution. The story of Larkhill is told to the audience through the quest of unearthing V? s past. Detective Finch investigates Dr. Surridge? s diary and reveals to the audience how V was taught to obey orders through violence. The same way V pursues justice by killing people who were involved in the Larkhill detention camp. Through the voice of V, the speech given by V on British Televison Network further advocates the idea that all people should have the right to fight for political justice. V? s speech is also invigorated through a piece of artwork he had in the shadow gallery – A mirror with carved Latin words „Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici? This not only suits V? s love of words starting with the letter V, but also empowers the power of truth. V? s speech on British Television Network accuses the public of bowing down to the High Chancellor Sutler, allowing fear to be the government? s biggest weapon. V fought for fairness because he though „People should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of their people? V alleged the government of oppressing the people, and justice should be attained through the power of the people. This justice he is suggesting to the people is not violence, but is the power of the truth. V destroys the Old Bailey not only to get attention but also to prove to the public how vulnerable the government may be. Scenes on the roof with Evey, with the background music of parts of the 1812 Tchaiskovsky, suggest to the audience that V was enjoying it and treated it as a musical performance. On the other hand, he broadcasted the music to the public through the public surveillance speakers.

10 Research Essay Topics on Hellenistic Philosophies

10 Research Essay Topics on Hellenistic Philosophies If you are tasked with writing your research essay on Hellenistic philosophies, one of the first steps is picking your topic after which you must find suitable facts to substantiate any claim you make as part of unfolding your topic. That being said, below you will find a multitude of interesting facts on Hellenistic Philosophies some of which might make for suitable evidence in your next writing task: After Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, new philosophical thinking was discouraged by the changing cultural and political climate in Athens. The Greek Empire, founded by Alexander and Philip was conquered by the Romans. Culture of the Hellenistic period is what was left among the Greeks who were still in charge of the centralized state and military. While all people were encouraged to participate in the government as part of the Athenian tradition, individual citizens found that they could no longer contribute to shaping the social structure that led their lives. It is for this reason that Hellenistic philosophers did not spend as much time focused on the ideal state or on how this construction would help people to achieve happiness in life. Instead they were more ethical thinkers who focused on the life of individuals, independent from society. The descriptions put forth focused on the kind of actions and character that would best lead to a life well lived despite the then-current pol itical realities. The Hellenistic philosophers were focused on how people should live when the external circumstances around them are beyond their control. The Hellenistic schools of philosophy did not propose radical changes or solutions to the larger governmental issues of the time, but instead paid attention to personal and individual changes There were two atomists named Democritus and Leucippus who created a systematic description of the world of nature, which was made up of particles, each having mechanical interactions with one another. This accounted for everything happening in the world. Because of such theory, people were paying significant attention to the consequences resulting from their actions. Epicurus was the leading philosopher of the Hellenistic period. He and his followers pointed out that since atoms were indestructible and accounted for the material used by all things in the universe to move and collide this movement was actually beyond the control of people. It was believed that these materials which would never go away, were all being controlled by elements within the larger universe that people could not change and so, even things such as politics were beyond control of people. It is for this reason that human life was a passive thing, and that humans could only experience nature and life but were not capable of changing it in the grand scheme of things. But it was still believed that people could live a good life and in doing so have some control over experiencing pleasant things in life rather than the unpleasant. Epicurus wrote that the goal of human life should be to enjoy mental ease and freedom from any pain. This means that sensual desires are all natural things and that wanting to satisfy them is completely natural too, as satiation is a pleasure in and of itself . However the frustration felt in not satisfying these urges is a form of pain. So to lead a good life free from pain one must satisfy these natural urges. It was also stated that death is the annihilation of personality, and it is not something which can be experienced. Therefore, people should not be afraid of death or bemoan the fact that all lives must end. Epicurus stated that people should relax, they should eat, and drink, and they should live in merriment. Epicurus stated that the most successful life is one in which people attain happiness through personal fulfillment, but in addition to this, people must also seek mental peace which can only come from accepting whatever things happen in life without complaining or struggling. These concepts were rivaled by the Stoics who represented a collection of knowledge put forth by Zeno and Chrysippus. The Stoics believed that there was a naturalistic explanation for people and their behaviors and that each person represented a microcosm of the whole universe. It was Epictetus who promoted that the central component to understanding how few of the occurances in the universe were under people’s control. It was he who stated that people must learn to remain stoic and stern in life, accepting the fates that are given without complaint. He also stated that all things in life, including family and friends, will perish and as such people should never become attached to these things and instead view each thing in life as a temporary blessing or a temporary curse, something that will naturally pass away in time. Skepticism was another school of Hellenistic philosophy which illustrated a keen lack of confidence in life, and it stated that human knowledge was severely limited in its application and scope. It was Pyrrho of Elis who originally taught skepticism and touted that people do not have any genuine knowledge or understanding of how things. Because of this they were encouraged to practice a suspension of judgment. Meaning that people can respond rationally to all situations in which they have no information or understanding. Such course of thinking concluded that people generally should not be acting at all. This is what brings about the essential peace of mind so heavily integrated into skepticism. It was Sextus Empiricus who wrote about a history of the skeptics and in doing so criticized the pretentious thoughts and acts of the other schools. It was this historian who noted that skeptics, who challenged the other popular Hellenistic philosophies of the time, arose from an odd and strict definition of â€Å"knowledge†. He argued that people truly know very little due to the fact that they cannot know something unless absolutely certain and was heavily ignored at the time of the statement release. However, later on it was used when the skeptical philosophy had been revived. These facts on Hellenistic Philosophies should give you enough knowledge to start drafting a new academic paper. Also check our collection of 20 potential topics on this matter with a provided sample and complete guide on writing a research essay on Hellenistic Philosophies. References: Adamson, Peter.  Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds. Print. Algra, Keimpe. Hellenistic Philosophy.  Phronesis  45.1 (2000): 77-86. Web. Inwood, Brad, and Lloyd P Gerson.  Hellenistic Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1988. Print. Irwin, Terence.  Classical Philosophy. New York [u.a.]: Garland Publ, 1995. Print. Kristeller, Paul Oskar.  Greek Philosophers of the Hellenistic Age. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. Print. Long, A. A.  From Epicurus to Epictetus. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006. Print. Winston, David, and Gregory E Sterling.  The Ancestral Philosophy. Providence, RI: Brown Judaic Studies, 2001. Print.

Conservative Views on Immigration Reform

Conservative Views on Immigration Reform In 2006, liberal documentarian Morgan Spurlock devoted a segment of his show 30 Days Latest Developments His resolve may seem surprising, considering how close he became with the Gonzalez family, but his position was vilified in 2009 as a rash of kidnappings occurred in Arizona as a direct result of illegal immigration. Members of Mexican drug cartels, in the US illegally, would kidnap American citizens for ransom, and send the money across the border, where its value was inflated. While the kidnap victims were often the relative of a drug-trafficker, they were just as often the relative of an immigrant smuggler. Phoenix became the kidnap capitol of the US in 2009, with more incidents than any city in the world except for Mexico City.Immigrant smuggling has become more popular in US states bordering Mexico because a load of 30 immigrants can net the smuggler anywhere from $45,000 to $75,000.Very often, conservatives favoring immigration reform will couch the issue in terms of national security. Illegal immigration goes well beyond the US/Mexico border, and kidnapping isnt the only prob lem. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it was revealed that all 19 hijackers entered the US with valid documents. Some, however, had committed fraud to obtain them. The fraud was easily perpetrated thanks to glaring and easy-to-fix loopholes in the US visa system. Background The issue of illegal immigration is very different from the issue of immigration itself. While most conservatives have no problem with immigrants, there are conflicting opinions about illegal aliens. Conservative opinions are as complex as the issue itself.So-called law and order conservatives favor tightening the US border and deporting illegal aliens back to their countries of origin wherever they may be. Reflecting the growing dependency on illegal labor in the US, so-called business interest conservatives favor easing immigration restrictions and acknowledging the economic importance of immigrant workers. Americans willing to work hard should be able to make a decent living. President Barack Obama to One of the major contributing factors to illegal immigration is the fact that the employment rate in Mexico, which has never been especially sturdy, is reaching alarming lows. Solutions Resolving illegal immigration isnt easy.For example, most people, even immigration reform advocates, would agree that denying anyone emergency medical care is morally wrong. Yet, they would also agree that access to American medical care shouldnt be a perk for illegal immigrants and yet it is. Illegal laborers injured during the course of a menial job are treated by topnotch American physicians.Separating families is also morally wrong, yet when two illegal aliens have a child in America, the child becomes a US citizen, which means deporting the parents creates an American orphan. Heres an example of illegal aliens accessing US medical facilities, and also creating an avenue to permanent US residency without the necessity of becoming an American citizen.Americans consider things like medical care and family unity basic human rights, but for many immigrants who arent afforded the same rights in their countries of origin, these rights are often seen as rewards for making it to America . While rewarding people who come to America illegally only encourages more people to come illegally, the solution is not to deny them their basic human rights.If the giant moat we call the Atlantic Ocean isnt enough to deter illegal immigration, building bigger and stronger fences at the US/Mexico border wont be either. As conservative humorist PJ ORourke observed, Fence the border and give a huge boost to the Mexican ladder industry.About the only viable solution to the problem of illegal immigration is removing the incentive to emigrate to America. If people have no reason to leave home, they wont. Poverty, persecution and opportunity are the main reasons people flee their country of origin. Better foreign aid and a more engaged foreign policy may be the only options to stem the tide of illegal immigration. The Trouble With Amnesty From USAmnesty.org: An amnesty for illegal aliens forgives their acts of illegal immigration and implicitly forgives other related illegal acts such as driving and working with false documents. The result of an amnesty is that large numbers of foreigners who illegally gained entry into the United States are rewarded with legal status (Green Card) for breaking immigration laws. Where It Stands Liberals claim that resident illegals do pay taxes, albeit indirectly. When they pay rent, their landlord uses that money to pay property taxes. When they buy groceries, clothing or other household items, they pay sales tax. This, the liberals say, supports the economy.What they do not realize, however, is how much illegal immigration costs as a result of the taxes illegal immigrants do not pay.For example, when children are brought into the country illegally and use the American educational system, their parents are not paying the local municipal taxes that provide for their childrens education. The problems are more than financial, however. As weve shown, American citizens in the employment sector are denied opportunities every day thanks to illegal immigration. Opportunities are also blocked in the academic community, as well. A college mandated to meet a racial quota may reject an American citizen or a legal immigrant in favor of an illegal immigrant with the appropriate cultural background. Despite the urgent need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, President Barack Obama recently announced his administration will do nothing to address the problem this year. Somehow Obama believes the trouble with the economy and the trouble with immigration are mutually exclusive.Dont expect to see much from the Obama administration on immigration reform at all, unless it is to ease the way for illegals. There are rumors that Obama will make some sort of policy statement regarding illegal immigration in May.Its important to remember that in 2006, Obamas support for a national amnesty movement was apparent as he marched down the streets of Chicago arm-in-arm with illegal immigrants. Then, last year, he promised Latinos that he would develop a plan to make legal status possible for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. If the rumors are true, conservatives should brace themselves for a proposal from the administration along these lines.

How to Disinfect Rainwater for Drinking

How to Disinfect Rainwater for Drinking You can usually drink rain straight from the sky, but if youre collecting and storing it, youll want to disinfect rainwater for drinking and cleaning. Fortunately, there are simple disinfection methods to use, whether you have power or not. This is handy information to know in case youre stuck after a storm without water or youre out camping. The same techniques can be used to prepare snow for drinking, too. Quick Methods to Disinfect Water Boiling - Reduce pathogens by boiling water for 1 minute at a rolling boil or 3 minutes if youre at an altitude greater than 2,000 meters (6,562 feet). The longer boiling time at high altitude is because water boils at a lower temperature. The recommended duration comes from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). If you store freshly boiled water in sterile containers (which can be boiled) and seal them, the water will remain safe indefinitely. Bleach - For disinfection, add 2.3 fluid ounces of household bleach (sodium hypochlorite in water)  per 1,000 gallons of water (in other words, for a small volume of water, a splash of bleach is  more than sufficient). Allow 30 minutes for the chemicals to react.  It may seem obvious, but use unscented bleach since the scented sort includes perfumes and other undesirable chemicals.  Bleach dosage is not a hard-and-fast rule because its effectiveness depends on the temperature of the water and pH. Also, be aware that bleach may react with chemicals in the water to produce toxic gases (mostly a concern with turbid or cloudy water). Its not ideal to add bleach to water and immediately seal it in containers - its better to wait for any fumes to dissipate. Although drinking straight bleach is dangerous, the small concentration used to disinfect water isnt likely to cause problems.  Bleach dissipates within 24 hours.   Why Would You Disinfect Rainwater? The point of disinfection is to remove disease-causing microbes, which include bacteria, algae, and fungi. Rain generally doesnt contain any more microbes than any other drinking water (its often cleaner than groundwater or surface water), so its usually fine to drink or use for other purposes. If the water falls into a clean cistern or bucket, its still fine. In fact, most people who collect rainwater use it without applying any treatment. Microbial contamination of rain is less of a threat than toxins that might be in the water from surfaces it touched. However, those toxins require filtration or special treatment. What were talking about here is pure rain. Technically, you dont have to disinfect it, but most public agencies recommend taking the extra precaution to prevent illness. Ways to Disinfect Water There are four broad categories of disinfection methods: heat, filtration, irradiation, and chemical methods. Boiling water is an excellent method, but obviously, it only helps if you have a heat source. Boiling water can kill some pathogens, but it does not remove heavy metals, nitrate, pesticides, or other chemical contamination.Chlorine, iodine, and ozone are most often used for chemical disinfection. Chlorination can leave potentially toxic by-products, plus it doesnt kill all cysts or viruses. Iodination is effective, but leaves an unpleasant taste. Use of iodine is not recommended when preparing water for pregnant women or people with thyroid problems.  Adding ozone is effective, but not widely available.Irradiation is accomplished using an ultraviolet light or exposure to strong sunlight. UV light kills bacteria and viruses, but doesnt kill all the algae or cysts of pathogenic organisms. Sunlight is effective if the water is sufficiently clear, the light is bright enough, and the water is exposed to light long enough. There are too many variables to give firm recommendations on use of this method. Microfiltration effectiveness depends on the pore size of the filter. The smaller the pore size, the better the filtration, but its also slower. This technique removes all pathogens. Other techniques are becoming more widespread, including electrolysis, nano-alumina filtration, and LED irradiation.

As a Sales Manager in today's difficult retail environment, what steps PowerPoint Presentation

As a Sales Manager in today's difficult retail environment, what steps do you take to ensure your team members achieve their sa - PowerPoint Presentation Example The Australian retail sales manager has to focus on the four major marketing strategy steps to succeed in the Australian retail market segment. First, the Australian retail sales manager has to focus on the product and service step of the company’s marketing strategy. According to Ritz (2007), the Australian retail company must implement some marketing changes to increase the clients’ demand for its products. The company must add additional shoe styles. The stores must offer the best service and sell high quality food, and other retail products based on the latest Australian retail market segment trends. The company must increase the store displays of the highly salable products in the food, grocery, and other retail products. The company must conduct a feasibility study to determine the current Australian retail product trends to determine what products to sell in the retail outlets. Second, the Australian retail sales manager has to focus on the price step of the Aust ralian retail company’s marketing strategy. Czinkota (2007) insists that the company must institute reasonable prices to increase its client base. The reasonable price is not the same as the lowest price.

Management International and Comparative HRM Essay

Management International and Comparative HRM - Essay Example Globalization widens the gap between rich and poor. The implications of globalization are required to be incorporated by the governments in its policies and the companies are required to cope with it in order to survive in the industry. The public in many countries become anxious as it may affect the culture and values negatively or it may displace jobs. There are both losers and gainers in the process of globalization. There is a fear regarding globalization that it may widen the gulf between have and have not’s, strong and weak, traditional and modern (Poole, 1999, p.75). In one side, it enrich the people or countries to take the advantage or lead the process while on the other side, it will leave behind many others who will be worse or marginalized. The cultural and economic globalization is growing through many countries. The persistence of poverty, growing inequities among and within countries and the link between phenomenon’s is very strong. The external envir onment has been more significant in influencing the level of available resources and the way they are used. The thesis of strong globalization argues that the growing pervasiveness of multinational enterprises is creating a borderless world where the economic and political interventions undertaken by nation states are becoming increasingly meaningless (Briscoe, Schuler and Tarique, 2012, pp.56-57). In other words, the public policies implemented by national legislatures for regulating the activities of multinational companies are increasingly becoming ineffective. Globalization need not necessarily be bad. But it can have more negative effects on the countries that are not prepared to adapt globalization. There has been a return to... This paper stresses that the success of international human resource management in future depends on the ability of companies in developing the executives of international human resource with a broad global perspective having a global mindset, strong strategic and technical business skills and international experience. The function of international human resource management is faced with many challenges in the hyper-competitive and chaotic global market place of today. The multinational enterprises are required to confront with these issues now and in future. The vocational training is not offered there in companies and there exist few relations of union. The market is mainly based on competition. Germany has a typical structure of governance which is based on the insider forms like bank loans. There, the relations of employee are assumed for longer term and in the training process of companies, vocational training is normally offered. The market is based mainly on collaborative netw orks. The trade unions commonly exist in industry. This report makes a conclusion that the international human resource departments are required to provide and develop the support services at international level. The continuing globalization or internationalization of human resource management parallels the continuing globalization or internationalization of business. The firms are required to make its development and increase the professionalization of international human resource management to be called global human resource management.

Importance and Impact of Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Importance and Impact of Communication - Essay Example The management is more often caught in improving the quality of healthcare provided and the recruitment and scheduling of staff to invest in the optimal resource utilization of the existing staff. In its annual survey of top issues confronting hospital CEOs, the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) identified communication between the medical staff and the management as the third most important issue of concern in 2007. It is interesting to note that physician – hospital relations held the second spot in the previous year but has since been overtaken by concerns over medical insurance. The above table gives the percentage wise importance assigned to various specific issues within the general personnel – management communication spectrum that required attention. The issues can in most cases be extended to include other members of the healthcare systems. The staff in most hospitals represent a vast talent pool but they are never expected to undertake any activity that is beyond their assigned roles. Recently, efforts have been undertaken by many institutions to develop leadership abilities in their employees. While best practices in strategic diversity leadership and cultural competence in patient care have been identified through evidence-based research, the linkages between best practices and organizational and patient outcomes have not. This knowledge gap is consequential not only because of changing demographics, but because of the unique diversity imperatives in healthcare: the under-representation of women and minorities in leadership and professional p ositions; persistent racial disparities in health and healthcare; and overall quality issues that increase the cost of healthcare and risk patients lives. To summarize, there exists a growing need for the management to be more supportive and understanding to the personal requirements of the personnel and to assist

The existence of botnets is the most serious threat to the information Essay

The existence of botnets is the most serious threat to the information security today - Essay Example In other words, when one downloads bot software embedded in an email using a computer, the computer gets infected with the bot software and becomes part of the botnet. For a botnet to qualify as a botnet, it must always take action on a client machine through IRC channels, without the intervention of a bot herder. This means that the hacker (or group of hackers) need not personally log onto the client’s computer. Botnets usually are host to several threats as one package. Typically, the botnet is made up of the bot server and at least one botclients. History of Botnets The origin of bots is associated with positive objectives, mainly to automate activities, the first real botnet being established in 1993. Botnets for example were used to run activities such as internet games, protect channels and perform conversions (Hudak, nd). Over time, the positive attributes evolved and started to be exploited for malicious purposes. Today, the negative activities carried out by botnets i nclude sending of spam, controlling of client PCs against their wishes and to propagate viruses and worms. Botnets first existed with DoS and DDoS with hackers creating better ways of managing the bots over time. From the traditional Command and Control (C&C) mechanism, botnets became transmitted signals based on P2P, IRC and HTTP according to Hudak (nd). The potential of botnets today cannot be understated. It is not uncommon for example for one botnet to consist of over 10,000 computers. It is also not rare to find a botnet consisting of over 400000 computers.The potential of having so many bots interconnected makes the potential of any botnet go beyond common imagination. In fact, it is this potential that is normally harnessed by botmasters (whether with positive or negative intentions) to achieve their goals or accomplish goals fast and efficiently. How Botnets Work and What they are used for The establishment of a botnet depends on the existence of a hacker, a server and clien t computers. The hacker creates and transmits commands to a computer through a server. The server performs this function repeatedly thereby creating an army of bots that lie in the control of the botmaster. Botnets having been created may be used for a myriad of activities including spamming, phishing, executing click fraud, transmitting Ad-ware as well as for Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) among pother purposes. In 1988 for example, a person by the name of Morris infected over 6,000 computers with Worm worm which represented about 10 percent of Fi (Schiller, 2007). The loss associated with this infection was approximated at between 10 and 100 million USD. Impact of Botnets on Information Security Those in favor of the establishment of botnets argue that botnets make work easier and is a creative way of making cash just like any other job (Schiller, 2007). In consideration of the fact stated above, botnets have been used before to make mega kills by persons with malicious inte ntions as they seek financial motivation or publicity. It has, for example, been reported that Jeanson James in 2006 earned over 60,000 US dollars using a botnet of 400,000 computers that transmitted ad-ware. The amount of publicity that botnets draw to their creators is usually amazing when they are discovered. Apart from the economic benefits of botnets to their creators, a lot of harm is associated with their existence especially considering that a lot of important information is stored by individuals and

Deer Valley Lodge Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Deer Valley Lodge - Research Paper Example In making a decision of an investment, value of NPV is critical in deciding if an investment is good or not. A positive value means that an investment is good, but a negative value means that the investment is not worth it. In this case, the value is positive; therefore, I would advise the management to go ahead and invest in the project (Megginson et al. 252). The net income from the investment annually is $560,000. The tax rate on income is 40% leaving us with 60%. 40% of $560,000 is $224,000, meaning that the after-tax net income is $336,000. The rate of return due to taxation consideration is expected to drop down to 8%, therefore, the MACRS recovery period is 10 years in order to save on tax costs. The new NPV will mean $336,000 is multiplied by the factor 9.818. This will with NPV of $3,298,848. Here, there is a new twist as the investment is to be depreciated within 10 years. Some money will be saved on taxes by this move. To find the tax savings, the initial investment ($3,300,000) is multiplied by the tax rate to get $1,320,000. The tax savings are then multiplied by the 8% discount rate for ten years resulting in $931,788, tax savings NPV. $931,788 is then added to $3,298,848 to get $4,230,636. Compared to the $3,300,000, the initial investment we get a resulting figure of $930,636. This is a very big investment as it earns bette r results than the first scenario with the kind of returns it gives. The scenarios painted in the two parts above are just estimates on paper that are hoped will be the case. The figures are assumed that they will remain consistent, but in reality many things could change that might affect the envisioned income streams from the investment. Deer Valley is a resort that depends on the choice of tourists to flock and use the facilities. Many factors can change the situation including weather conditions like heavy rainfall, delayed snowfall which will come at the supposed peak season or any other natural calamity/disaster

The existence of botnets is the most serious threat to the information Essay

The existence of botnets is the most serious threat to the information security today - Essay Example In other words, when one downloads bot software embedded in an email using a computer, the computer gets infected with the bot software and becomes part of the botnet. For a botnet to qualify as a botnet, it must always take action on a client machine through IRC channels, without the intervention of a bot herder. This means that the hacker (or group of hackers) need not personally log onto the client’s computer. Botnets usually are host to several threats as one package. Typically, the botnet is made up of the bot server and at least one botclients. History of Botnets The origin of bots is associated with positive objectives, mainly to automate activities, the first real botnet being established in 1993. Botnets for example were used to run activities such as internet games, protect channels and perform conversions (Hudak, nd). Over time, the positive attributes evolved and started to be exploited for malicious purposes. Today, the negative activities carried out by botnets i nclude sending of spam, controlling of client PCs against their wishes and to propagate viruses and worms. Botnets first existed with DoS and DDoS with hackers creating better ways of managing the bots over time. From the traditional Command and Control (C&C) mechanism, botnets became transmitted signals based on P2P, IRC and HTTP according to Hudak (nd). The potential of botnets today cannot be understated. It is not uncommon for example for one botnet to consist of over 10,000 computers. It is also not rare to find a botnet consisting of over 400000 computers.The potential of having so many bots interconnected makes the potential of any botnet go beyond common imagination. In fact, it is this potential that is normally harnessed by botmasters (whether with positive or negative intentions) to achieve their goals or accomplish goals fast and efficiently. How Botnets Work and What they are used for The establishment of a botnet depends on the existence of a hacker, a server and clien t computers. The hacker creates and transmits commands to a computer through a server. The server performs this function repeatedly thereby creating an army of bots that lie in the control of the botmaster. Botnets having been created may be used for a myriad of activities including spamming, phishing, executing click fraud, transmitting Ad-ware as well as for Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) among pother purposes. In 1988 for example, a person by the name of Morris infected over 6,000 computers with Worm worm which represented about 10 percent of Fi (Schiller, 2007). The loss associated with this infection was approximated at between 10 and 100 million USD. Impact of Botnets on Information Security Those in favor of the establishment of botnets argue that botnets make work easier and is a creative way of making cash just like any other job (Schiller, 2007). In consideration of the fact stated above, botnets have been used before to make mega kills by persons with malicious inte ntions as they seek financial motivation or publicity. It has, for example, been reported that Jeanson James in 2006 earned over 60,000 US dollars using a botnet of 400,000 computers that transmitted ad-ware. The amount of publicity that botnets draw to their creators is usually amazing when they are discovered. Apart from the economic benefits of botnets to their creators, a lot of harm is associated with their existence especially considering that a lot of important information is stored by individuals and

Making business decisions and ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Making business decisions and ethics - Essay Example Ethics involves making decisions between right and wrong. Following all the rules and regulations is a good thing for a business enterprise, but it does not mean that a person is being ethical. Ethics are subjective and its application depends on the circumstance. For example a company in order to maximize shareholders wealth decides to fire 1000 employees. The move might be a wise business move, but some people might consider it unethical because the firm put out of work people that needed those jobs. Ethical standards vary depending on the culture. In many Asian countries paying off bribes to governmental officials is viewed by many as a standard business practice. In the United States paying off a bribe is considered an unethical act. 2 In the normal course of making business decisions, there are many instances where determining the exact opportunity cost for a project or opportunity is not possible. The best sometimes one can hope for is being able to calculate a reasonable estim ate for specific opportunity based on known parameters and assuming certain outcomes. For example one might decide six months ago that a specific process improvement project for a product line is better than investing in the development of a new improved product line, but after finishing the process improvements unexpected changes in technology significantly lower the demand for the product making it obsolete. There is a high level of uncertainty in business and factors such as changes in the economic, social or business environment can have a detrimental effect on previous assumptions .3. Rising interest rates can have a detrimental effect in the ability of a firm to obtain new financing since overall financing costs will increase. If the businesses current and long term liabilities are under a variable interest the firm is fully exposed to interest rate risks, unless interest rate hedging is incorporated in the company's financial structure. If the firm has a fixed rate for their liabilities, an increase in the interest rates will raise the market value since it would trade at a discount but would not affect the book value of the liability unless financing terms are modified or the liability is refinanced. 4. A few years ago I worked at an organization in which there was absolutely a complete lack of ethics by the administration. The firm did not believe in treating the employees with respect. Every pay cycle the company would steal hours worked from different employees in order to pay them less. The payment of payroll was always late. Sometimes the payroll would be late as much as two to three weeks. The company promised paying production incentives and then it decided not to pay them. This place was a breeding ground for unethical behavior. 5. To me one of the biggest ethical scandals in the last few decades is the Nike Corporation fiasco. Nike Corporation is a firm that generates billions of dollars in sales annually. At the end of the 1990’s Nike was involved in the utilization of sweetshops to manufacture its products. Imagine a company that charges on many of its shoe models between $100 and $150 paying its workers a few cents per hour. It is abusive and inhumane. The workers in these sweetshops were exposed to horrible working conditions. 6. Possibly the biggest accounting scandal in the history of business is the Enron case. This case involved a company that violated all ethical standards you can think of. The managerial staff of the company was composed of a bunch of gangsters. Prior to the price of the stock losing all its value the executives sold off their shares using insider information. The pension fund was horribly administered since the company invested the majority of the pension fund on Enron stocks. 7. To truly know whether a business decision is the best alternative available one must consider opportunity costs. Take for example a person that decides to give up his job in order to open a hot dog stand. The e ntrepreneur is generating $2000 a month from the hot dog business. The person is making a

Advocates of the American Constitution Essay Example for Free

Advocates of the American Constitution Essay Obtained a strategic advantage over those who opposed it by taking up the name Federalist for themselves and by identifying the adversaries Anti-Federalists. Federalists supported state rule and disagreed with a central national government. By holding the title Federalist, Hamilton and other authors got an additional advantage for their position and got around an extreme conflict over the issue of state versus national power. They emerged as advocates of states rights and this idea was clearly explained in The Federalist Papers, yet they were also evidently advocating for a strong national government. The essays were signed â€Å"Publius† after Publius Valerius who was the state builder and who rebuild the Roman republic following the removing from power Romes last king called Tarquin. Plutarch measured Publius favorably against Solon who was Greeces law giver. And at that instant a modern Publius would have helped erect the new American republic. By opting for a name like Publius, the authors of the Federalist were following a practice which was common among the eighteenth-century writers. The writers used to publish a combined work under a fictitious name instead of a byline. If Hamilton, Madison, and Jay had revealed their identity in The Federalist Papers then they would have been known as advocates of specific positions instead of being recognized by their arguments, and also this would have become a part of the argument over the Constitution. Further more; choosing secrecy was also because of the enmity between Hamilton and George Clinton the New York Governor. Interestingly Hamilton was the single New York ambassador who signed the Constitution. On the contrary, Clinton was an Anti-Federalist who was heading a state where people opposing the new Constitution were in majority. Therefore, opting for Publius was somewhat an effort to shift the discussion away from the personal bitterness between Hamilton and Clinton. As the need of unification has been signified, and the Articles of Confederation had arrears, it was explained by the Publius that a strong republican government was shaped by the Constitution, yet checks and balances controlled it. This type of government, which was strong and had checks, would maintain freedom and assets, and bring back respect for America overseas. Although an un-amended Constitution was opposed by two thirds of the nominated representatives at the New York conventions, the provision of other political writers was done by the Publius. At the same time as replying to explicit Anti-federalist arguments, The Federalist presented an integrated theory of the philosophies upon which the new Constitution was based. History, experience, and reason were the bases of this philosophical foundation, and the long existence of the republican government was verified by this foundation in relation with the examples of failed governments in the past, which were unable to survive. Countering the belief, which is often ascribed to Montesquieu, that republics could stay alive only in small areas taken by identical inhabitants, Madison in The Federalist no. 10 argued that republics could flourish best in large areas where different groups constantly competed with each other. During the constant struggles of these groups the independence of both majorities and minorities would be preserved. This republic would provide better leadership by expanding the group of qualified persons from which delegates would be selected. The Federalist no. 10 by Madison, as mentioned before, was very influential in U. S. political history and philosophy. The separation of the three branches of the federal government had to be done, as the role of a check upon the other was played by each branch in the government Although these three branches were not completely separate the practicality of each division was assured by assigning it enough power to protect itself against the actions of the other division. Furthermore, if any branch exceeded its role as defined in the Constitution then the other branches could proceed by checking on the misuse of power. Moreover, it was also stated by the Publius that freedom was protected by the new Constitution by the provision of power to the central, as well as, state governments. Specific areas of power and simultaneous powers were determined by this new federalism. It was mentioned by the Publius that a central government with restricted powers was created by the Constitution. In this regard, identification of the Congress’s, as well as, President’s powers was also done. The people and the states were left with all the remaining powers completely. If the legislative body dishonored their power and authority bestowed on them then the people could substitute them during the regular elections ensured by the Constitution. On the other hand, if the President or the judiciary breached the confidence of the people, Congress could prosecute them and if convicted Congress could remove them from their designation and from their office. The debate that was going on was based on vocabulary that is circling around the gist of the thoughts constitutive of republican dialogue. They are liberty, tyranny, virtue, corruption, representation, and even republic. It has been said before, along with rationalizations, that the new created American republic was the combined efforts of Federalists and Anti-federalists. A new political system was created not by ordains of a single lawmaker but instead was fought to bring it to life and was constructed jointly by having a powerful discussion between supporters of different political affiliations and theoretical standpoints. â€Å"The ratification debate produced an enormous outpouring of newspaper articles, pamphlets, sermons, and tracts, both for and against the new design. Of the former The Federalist is by far the most famous and certainly the most widely read in our day. The Anti-federalist case against the Constitution, by contrast, is today rarely read or even remembered. Once described (and dismissed) as mere nay-Sayers and men of little faith, the Anti-federalists are now more often regarded as the other founders. †

Security information and event management

Security information and event management Introduction: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) automates incident identification and resolution based on built in business rules to help improve compliance and alert staff to critical intrusions. IT audits, standards and regulatory requirements have now become an important part of most enterprises day-to-day responsibilities. As part of that burden, organizations are spending significant time and energy scrutinizing their security and event logs to track which systems have been accessed, by whom, what activity took place and whether it was appropriate. Organizations are increasingly looking towards data-driven automation to help ease the burden. As a result, the SIEM has taken form and has provided focused solutions to the problem. The security information and event management market is driven by an extremely increasing need for customers to meet compliance requirements as well as continued need for real-time awareness of external and internal threats. Customers need to analyze sec urity event data in real time (for threat management) and to analyze and report on log data and primarily this has made security information and event management market more demanding. The market remains fragmented, with no dominant vendor. This report entitled Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Solutions gives a clear view of the SIEM solutions and whether they can help to improve intrusion detection and response. Following this introduction is the background section which deeply analyzes the evolution of the SIEM, its architecture, its relationship with the log management and the need for SIEM products. In the analysis section, I have analyzed the SIEM functions in detail along with real world examples. Finally the conclusion section summarizes the paper. Background: What is SIEM? Security Information and Event Management solutions are a combination of two different products namely, SIM (security information management) and SEM (security event management). SIEM technology provides real-time analysis of security alerts generated by network hardware and applications. The objective of SIEM is to help companies respond to attacks faster and to organize mountains of log data. SIEM solutions come as software, appliances or managed services. Increasingly, SIEM solutions are being used to log security data and generate reports for compliance purposes. Though Security Information and Event Management and log management tools have been complementary for years, the technologies are expected to merge. Evolution of SIEM: SIEM emerged as companies found themselves spending a lot of money on intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS). These systems were helpful in detecting external attacks, but because of the reliance on signature-based engines, a large number of false positives were generated. The first-generation SIEM technology was designed to reduce this signal-to-noise ratio and helped to capture the most critical external threats. Using rule-based correlation, SIEM helped IT detect real attacks by focusing on a subset of firewall and IDS/IPS events that were in violation of policy. Traditionally, SIEM solutions have been expensive and time-intensive to maintain and tweak, but they solve the big headache of sorting through excessive false alerts and they effectively protect companies from external threats. While that was a step in the right direction, the world got more complicated when new regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard follo wed much stricter internal IT controls and assessment. To satisfy these requirements, organizations are required to collect, analyze, report on and archive all logs to monitor activities inside their IT infrastructures. The idea is not only to detect external threats, but also to provide periodic reports of user activities and create forensics reports surrounding a given incident. Though SIEM technologies collect logs, they process only a subset of data related to security breaches. They werent designed to handle the sheer volume of log data generated from all IT components, such as applications, switches, routers, databases, firewalls, operating systems, IDS/IPS and Web proxies. With an idea to monitor user activities rather than external threats, log management entered the market as a technology with architecture to handle much larger volumes of data and with the ability to extend to meet the demands of the largest enterprises. Companies implement log management and SIEM solutions to satisfy different business requirements, and they have also find out that the two technologies work well together. Log management tools are designed to collect report and archive a large volume and breadth of log data , whereas SIEM solutions are designed to correlate a subset of log data to point out the most critical security events. On looking at an enterprise IT arsenal, it is likely to see both log management and SIEM. Log management tools often assume the role of a log data warehouse that filters and forwards the necessary log data to SIEM solutions for correlation. This combination helps in optimizing the return on investment while also reducing the cost for implementing SIEM. In these tough economic times it is likely to see IT trying to stretch its logging technologies to solve even more problems. It will expect its log management and SIEM technologies to work closer together and reduce overlapping functionalities. Relation between SIEM and log management: Like many things in the IT industry, theres a lot of market positioning and buzz coming around regarding how the original term of SIM (Security Information Management), the subsequent marketing term SEM (Security Event Management), the newer combined term of SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) relate to the long standing process of log management. The basics of log management are not new. Operating systems, devices and applications all generate logs of some sort that contain system-specific events and notifications. The information in logs may vary in overall usefulness, but before one can derive much value out of them, they first need to be enabled, then transported and eventually stored. Therefore the way that one does gather this data from an often distributed range of systems and get it into a centralized (or at least semi-centralized) location is the first challenge of log management that counts. There are varying techniques to accomplish centralization, ranging from standardizing on the syslog mechanism and then deploying centralized syslog servers, to using commercial products to address the log data acquisition, transport and storage issues. Some of the other issues in log management include working around network bottlenecks, establishing reliable event transport (such as syslog over UDP), setting requirements around encryption, and managing the raw data storage issues. So the first steps in this process are figuring out what type of log and event information is in need to gather, how to transport it, and where to store it. But that leads to another major consideration about what should one person want to do with all those data. It is at this point where the basic log management ends and the higher-level functions associated with SIEM begins. SIEM products typically provide many of the features that remain essential for log management but add event-reduction, alerting and real-time analysis capabilities. They provide the layer of technology that allows one to say with confidence that not only are logs being gathered but they are also being reviewed. SIEM also allows for the importation of data that isnt necessarily even t-driven (such as vulnerability scanning reports) and it is known as the Information portion of SIEM. SIEM architecture: Long term log management and forensic queries need a database built for capacity, with file management and compression tools. Short term threat analysis and correlation need real time data, CPU and RAM. The solution for this is as follows: >Split the feeds to two concurrent engines. >Optimize one for real time and storage up to 30 days of data. (100-300GB) >Optimize the second for log compression, retention, and query functions. (1TB+) The block diagram showing the architecture of the SIEM is as follows: [Source: Reference 2] A collector is a process that gathers data. Collectors are produced in many shapes and sizes from agents that run on the monitored device, to centralized logging devices with pre-processors to split stream the data. These can be simple REGEX file parsing applications, or complex agents for OPSEC, LEA, for .Net/WMI, SDEE/RDEP, or ODBC/SQL queries. Not all security devices are kind enough to forward data, and multiple input methods, including active pull capabilities, are very essential. Also, since SYSLOG data is not encrypted, it may need a collector to provide encrypted transport. A threat analysis engine will need to run in real time, continuously processing and correlating events of interest passed to it by the collector, and reporting to a console or presentation layer application about the threats found. Typically reporting events that has happened for 30 days are sufficient for operational considerations. A log manager will need to store a great deal of data, and may take either raw logs or filtered events of interest, and need to compress store and index the data for long term forensic analysis and compliance reporting. Capacity for 18 months or more of data is likely to be required. Year end closing of books and the arrival of the auditors often necessitate the need for 12 months of historic data plus padding of several months while books are finalized and an audit to be completed. At the presentation layer a console will present the events to the security staff and managers. This is the primary interface to the system for day to day operations, and should efficiently prioritize and present the events with a full history and correlation rationale. SIEM functions: With some subtle differences, there are four major functions of SIEM solutions. They are as follows: 1. Log Consolidation centralized logging to a server 2. Threat Correlation the artificial intelligence used to sort through multiple logs and log entries to identify attackers 3. Incident Management workflow What happens once a threat is identified? (link from identification to containment and eradication). Notification email, pagers, informs to enterprise managers (MOM, HP Openview) Trouble Ticket Creation Automated responses execution of scripts (instrumentation) Response and Remediation logging 4. Reporting Operational Efficiency/Effectiveness Compliance / SOX, HIPPA, FISMA. Ad Hoc / Forensic Investigations Coming to the business case for SIEM, all engineers are perpetually drawn to new technology, but purchasing decisions should by necessity be based on need and practicality. Even though the functions provided by SIEM are impressive they must be chosen only if they fit an enterprises needs. Why use a SIEM? There are two branches on the SIEM tree namely, operational efficiency and effectiveness, and log management/compliance. Both are achievable with a good SIEM tool. However since there is a large body of work on log management, and compliance has multiple branches, this coursework will focus only on using a SIEM tool effectively to point out the real attackers, and the worst threats to improve security operations efficiency and effectiveness. It can be believed that the most compelling reason for a SIEM tool from an operational perspective is to reduce the number of security events on any given day to a manageable, actionable list, and to automate analysis such that real attacks and intruders can be discerned. As a whole, the number of IT professionals, and security focused individuals at any given company has decreased relative to the complexity and capabilities demanded by an increasingly inter networked web. While one solution may have dozens of highly skilled security engineers on staff pouring through individual event logs to identify threats, SIEM attempts to automate that process and can achieve a legitimate reduction of 99.9+% of security event data while it actually increases the effective detection over traditional human driven monitoring. This is why SIEM is preferred by most of the companies. Reasons to use a SIEM: To know the need for a SIEM tool in an organization is very important. A defense in depth strategy (industry best practice) utilizes multiple devices: Firewalls, IDS, AV, AAA, VPN, User Events LDAP/NDS/NIS/X.500, Operating System Logs which can easily generate hundreds of thousands of events per day, in some cases, even millions. No matter how good a security engineer is, about 1,000 events per day is a practical maximum that a security engineer is about to deal with. So if the security team is to remain small they will need to be equipped with a good SIEM tool. No matter how good an individual device is, if not monitored and correlated, each device can be bypassed individually, and the total security capabilities of a system will not exceed its weakest link. When monitored as a whole, with cross device correlation, each device will signal an alert as it is attacked raising awareness and threat indications at each point allowing for additional defences to be brought into play, and i ncident response proportional to the total threat. Even some of the small and medium businesses with just a few devices are seeing over 100,000 events per day. This has become usual in most of the companies says the internet. Real world examples: Below are event and threat alert numbers from two different sites currently running with 99.xx% correlation efficiency on over 100,000 events per day, among which one industry expert referred to as amateur level, stating that 99.99 or 99.999+% efficiency on well in excess of 1,000,000 events per day is more common. Manufacturing Company Central USA 24 hour average, un-tuned SIEM day of deployment Alarms Generated 3722 Correlation Efficiency 99.06% Critical / Major Level Alerts 170 Effective Efficiency 99.96% [Source: Reference 2] In this case, using a SIEM allows the companys security team (2 people in an IT staff of 5), to respond to 170 critical and major alerts per day (likely to decrease as the worst offenders are firewalled out, and the worst offenses dealt with), rather than nearly 400,000. Financial Services Organization 94,600 events 153 actionable alerts 99.83% reduction. [Source: Reference 2] The company above deals with a very large volume of financial transactions, and a missed threat can mean real monetary losses. With respect to the Business Case, a good SIEM tool can provide the analytics, and the knowledge of a good security engineer can be automated and repeated against a mountain of events from a range of devices. Instead of 1,000 events per day, an engineer with a SIEM tool can handle 100,000 events per day (or more). And a SIEM does not leave at night, find another job, take a break or take vacations. It will be working always. SIEM Selection Criteria: The first thing one should look at is the goal. (i.e.) what should the SIEM do for them. If you just need log management then make the vendor can import data from ALL of the available log sources. Not all events are sent via SYSLOG. Some may be sent through: Checkpoint LEA Cisco IDS RDEP/SDEE encryption Vulnerability Scanner Databases Nessus, Eeye, ISS AS/400 Mainframes flat files Databases ODBC/SQL queries Microsoft .Net/WMI Consider a product that has a defined data collection process that can pull data (queries, retrieve files, WMI api calls), as well as accept input sent to it. And it is essential to be aware that logs, standards, and formats change, several (but not all), vendors can adapt by parsing files with REGEX and importing if one can get them a file. However log management itself is not usually an end goal. It matters about for what purpose these logs are used for. They may be used for threat identification, compliance reporting or forensics. It is also essential to know whether the data captured is in real-time. If threat identification is the primary goal, 99+% correlation/consolidation/aggregation is easily achievable, and when properly tuned, 99.99+% efficiency is within reach (1-10 actionable threat alerts / 100,000 events). If compliance reporting is the primary goal, then consider what regulations one is subject to. Frequently a company is subject to multiple compliance requirements. Consider a fortune 500 company like General Electrics. As a publicly traded company GE is subject to SOX, as a vendor of medical equipment and software they are subject to HIPPA, as a vendor to the Department of Defense, they are subject to FISMA. In point of fact, GE must produce compliance reports for at least one corporate division for nearly each and every regulation. Two brief notes on compliance, and one should look at architecture: Beware of vendors with canned reports. While they may be very appealing, and sound like a solution, valid compliance and auditing is about matching output to ones stated policies, and must be customized to match each companys published policies. Any SIEM that can collect all of the required data, meet ISO 177999, and provide timely monitoring can be used to aid in compliance. Compliance i s a complex issue with many management, and financial process requirements, it is not just a function or report IT can provide. Advanced SIEM Topics: Risk Based Correlation / Risk Profiling Correlation based on risk can dramatically reduce the number of rules required for effective threat identification. The threat and target profiles do most of the work. If the attacks are risk profiled, three relatively simple correlation rules can identify 99%+ of the attacks. They are as follows: IP Attacker repeat offenders IP Target repeat targets Vulnerability Scan + IDS Signature match Single Packet of Doom Risk Based Threat Identification is one of the more effective and interesting correlation methods, but has several requirements: >A Metabase of Signatures Cisco calls the attack X, ISS calls it Y, Snort calls it Z Cross Reference the data >Requires automated method to keep up to date. >Threats must be compiled and threat weightings applied to each signature/event. Reconnaissance events are low weighting but aggregate and report on the persistent (low and slow) attacker Finger Printing a bit more specific, a bit higher weighting Failed User Login events a medium weighting, could be an unauthorized attempt to access a resource, or a forgotten password. Buffer Overflows, Worms and Viruses -high weighting -potentially destructive events one need to respond to unless one has already patched/protected the system. >The ability to learn or adjust to ones network Input or auto-discover which systems, are business critical vs. which are peripherals, desktops, and non-essential >Risk Profiling: Proper application of trust weightings to reporting devices (NIST 800-42 best practice), can also help to lower cry wolf issues with current security management Next-generation SIEM and log management: One area where the tools can provide the most needed help is in compliance. Corporations increasingly face the challenge of staying accountable to customers, employees and shareholders, and that means protecting IT infrastructure, customer and corporate data, and complying with rules and regulations as defined by the government and industry. Regulatory compliance is here to stay, and under the Obama administration, corporate accountability requirements are likely to grow. Log management and SIEM correlation technologies can work together to provide more comprehensive views to help companies satisfy their regulatory compliance requirements, make their IT and business processes more efficient and reduce management and technology costs in the process. IT organizations also will expect log management and intelligence technologies to provide more value to business activity monitoring and business intelligence. Though SIEM will continue to capture security-related data, its correlation engine can be re-appropriated to correlate business processes and monitor internal events related to performance, uptime, capability utilization and service-level management. We will see the combined solutions provide deeper insight into not just IT operations but also business processes. For example, we can monitor business processes from step A to Z and, if a step gets missed, well see where and when. In short, by integrating SIEM and log management, it is easy to see how companies can save by de-duplicating efforts and functionality. The functions of collecting, archiving, indexing and correlating log data can be collapsed. That will also lead to savings in the resources required and in the maintenance of the tools. CONCLUSION: SIEM is a complex technology, and the market segment remains in flux. SIEM solutions require a high level of technical expertise and SIEM vendors require extensive partner training and certification. SIEM gets more exciting when one can apply log-based activity data and security-event-inspired correlation to other business problems. Regulatory compliance, business activity monitoring and business intelligence are just the tip of the iceberg. Leading-edge customers are already using the tools to increase visibility and the security of composite Web 2.0 applications, cloud-based services and mobile devices. The key is to start with a central record of user and system activity and build an open architecture that lets different business users access the information to solve different business problems. So there is no doubt in SIEM solutions helping the intrusion detection and response to improve. References: 1. Nicolett.M., Williams.A.T., Proctor.P.E. (2006) Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management, 1H06 RA3 1192006. 2. Swift.D. (2006) A Practical Application of SIM/SEM/SIEM Automating Threat Identification 3. SIEM: A Market Snapshot (2007) from http://www.crn.com/security/197002909;jsessionid=BVQXTH11HH14JQE1GHPSKH4ATMY32JVN [Date Accessed: 20th November,2009]. 4. WHAT IS SIEM (2008) from http://www.exploresiem.com/resource-center.html [Date Accessed: 24th November, 2009]. 5. Securing and Managing Your Enterprise: An Integrated Approach (2008) from http://www.exploresiem.com/images/WP-Securing-and-Managing-Your-Enterprise.pdf [Date Accessed: 25th November, 2009]. 6. Shipley .G.(2008) Are SIEM and log management the same thing? from http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2008/063008-test-siem-log-integration.html [Date Accessed: 26th November, 2009] 7. Levin.D. (2009) The convergence of SIEM and log management from http://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2009/031909-tech-update.html [Date Accessed: 26th November, 2009]

Symbols and Symbolism in Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - The Symbol of Pearl :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Symbol of Pearl In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is the human symbol of the sin of adultery in the fact that she leads her mother, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale to accept and admit to their sin. Pearl is the beautiful daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. She is the living symbol of the scarlet letter and has unique traits that make her sometimes appear as a demon. Her love for nature and freedom, her spirit, her wildness, her loneliness and separation from the world, her curiosity, and her innocent but symbolic comments reveal her distinct personality. Pearl senses and knows things she should not, making her a symbol. Pearl is also the living symbol of Hester and Dimmesdale's connection, as displayed in the following passage. "In her was visible the tie that united them. She had been offered to the world, these seven years past, as the living hieroglyphic, in which was revealed the secret they so darkly sought to hide, -- all written in this symbol, -- all plainly manifest, -- had there been a prophet or magician skilled to read the character of flame! And Pearl was the oneness of their being"(Hawthorne 141). Pearl is a beautiful, misbehaved child. The first thing that Pearl ever notices is her mother's 'A' across her chest. As a child, Pearl throws rocks at the scarlet letter, making a game out it. Growing up, Pearl is not accepted by anyone. She screams at other children, knowing that they do not accept her. Not knowing what a true friend is, she makes imaginary enemies to fight with. In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is referred to as "one of those naughty elfs or fairies or...a little bird of scarlet plumage" (Hawthorne 97). The comparison of Pearl to an elf or fairies adds a sense of alienation and myster y to her personality. When she is compared to a red bird, the emphasis of color increases the visual sense of Pearl's character, and the comparison to a bird indicates that she is full of wild energy. (Chiquita) Initially Pearl symbolizes the shame of Hester's public punishment for adultery. Then as Pearl grew older, she symbolizes the wreck of Hester's life and mental state by harassing her mother over the scarlet 'A' which is embroidered on her dress (Yang). Pearl is a symbol for Hester's scarlet letter.

Edward R. Murrow & Socrates Essay

Indestructible courage, persistence and public service drove both Socrates and Murrow to live their lives with unwavering commitment for truth, critical thinking and unbendable integrity. With these values, Socrates and Murrow made their own lives as vivid examples of truth and veracity. They set the standards for all subsequent Western philosophy and the ideal broadcast journalism respectively. Nevertheless, their enduring courage may have brought them also to make half of themselves as merely ego maniacs or perhaps, self-centered intellectuals. Socrates’ pursuit of virtue and his strict adherence to truth clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society. During his time, Socrates appears to have been a critic of democracy wherein some scholars had interpreted his trial as an expression of political infighting. He boldly face the charges made by the jury as seen in Plato’s â€Å"Apology,† an account of Socrates’s (unsuccessful) speech in his own defense before the Athenian jury. Socrates’s speech includes a detailed description of the motives and goals of philosophical activity as he practiced it, together with a passionate declaration of its value for life. I was really struck when Socrates purposefully gave a defiant defense to the jury because â€Å"he believed he would be better off dead. † With this statement, we can say that Socrates really happens to be a man of truth and valor similar to his modern counterpart, Edward Murrow. According to Wadleigh, â€Å"†¦ Murrow, at every juncture, did what he thought was right. He took risks that at the time seemed outrageous†¦ and he was not afraid of anything. † Furthermore, his exceptional courage is seen when he let Senator McCarthy hang himself with his open criticism program- but without any â€Å"expose† (Wershba & Hottlelet). It was found out that Socrates’s works are often philosophical or dramatic texts rather than straightforward histories. Parallel to Murrow, â€Å"†¦ his voice made the words catch fire! The way he could add drama to the simplest looking text made him amazing! † (Wershba & Kalb). Murrow offered himself to public service analogous to the teaching life of Socrates. Socrates pointedly declined to accept payment for his work with students whereas Murrow fearlessly did his job as a broadcaster. â€Å"†¦ He was a driven reporter – truly driven to tell people what was going on. He do it with intensity! † (Hottlelet) Plato refers to Socrates as the â€Å"gadfly† of the state (as the gadfly stings the horse into action, so Socrates stung Athens), insofar as he irritated the establishment with considerations of justice and the pursuit of goodness. If Socrates stung Athens, then Murrow stung America: â€Å"†¦ using his charisma, integrity and personal standards† (Wershba). It is Socrates and Murrow’s critical thinking that made themselves â€Å"men of worth. † Socrates showed this (critical thinking) through his philosophical works while Murrow made this appear through his jobs as a writer and broadcaster. These two men were really exceptional by committing themselves in pursuit of truth. However, their deep thinking and boldness has somehow conflicted their commitment to truth thus making half of themselves as merely ego maniacs or self-centered intellectuals. It was supported by the reasons why Murrow left his job at CBS: â€Å"Then there was the other side of Murrow, the driven news reporter. Murrow made Harvest of Shame and showed the rotten spots of American life. [CBS Chairman William] Paley didn’t like that. It scared away sponsors. Paley wanted it tame. Murrow wanted it real. † (Hottlelet) Another statement was from Hewitt telling that â€Å"†¦ Murrow would talk with his Person to Person guests beforehand†¦ Murrow felt that for entertainment some discussion to prepare the subjects was legitimate. Paley disagreed, so Murrow left. † He has that hidden pride in his self. Like what I’ve said earlier, he did what he thought was right†¦ which is to leave CBS. Another thing I noticed about Murrow is his sense of egoism or perhaps, self-importance. It was stated in one of the interviews that â€Å"Murrow selected very good people, who, in his presence, got better. Those around him never wanted to disappoint or embarrass Ed—so they pushed themselves to their outer limits†¦ He set the pace; he was the example. † (Kalb) This statement was further supported by Hottlelet – â€Å"He never gave instructions. He knew his worth. I think he just expected the trained reporters he hired to follow his example. † The life of Socrates appears to be really parallel to the life of Edward Murrow. By following what they thought was right and by pursuing the truth, they made half of themselves as the greatest and the most defiant men in history but half as conceited and egoistic individuals of all times.