Careers Essay

Section A- Key Terms Balanced Decision-Making: Making good choices based on a mixture of logic and intuition. This is useful in a number of situations, and when making a good decision, displays discipline and intelligence. For example, if you have work at 9 am the next morning, and you’ve been invited to go out with your friends the night before, your logic may tell you not to, but your intuition wants to. Making the balanced choice depends on which is a higher priority, work or socializing. Credentials: Experiences that make you more qualified for a job. Employers will see these as accomplishments. Credentials are useful as they show that you are able to apply yourself to a task and complete it, which is useful information for employers, as well. They look good on your resume and make for a good alternative if you don’t have any work experience. Transferable Skills: Abilities that you can apply from one situation to another. This is useful because it will make you a candidate for a wider variety of jobs, and once you have a job, you will be able to adjust to different situations, good and bad, that may happen on an average day at work. Network: Connections with other people. Networking is useful when looking and applying for a job. If you have a large network, then you can talk to them about your need for employment, and have a higher chance of getting an interview. When applying for a job it’s useful as you have a wider variety of references to choose from. Reference: A person on your application form who employers can contact if they want someone else’s opinion on you. They will vouch for your experience, credibility and record. References, when chosen well, can be extremely useful. These references may notice things about you that you wouldn’t be able to share or necessarily know while being interviewed. In other words, they have an outsider’s perspective. Section B- Short Answers 3) The best way to contribute to your community is through volunteer work. But, if you’re looking to further your career ambitions at the same time, then you should be mindful to where you volunteer. For example, if you wanted to be an English teacher, volunteer at the library. If you wanted to work in PR, volunteer at Free the Children. Volunteer work is always great on a resume no matter where it’s from, but it’s even better when employers see that you’ve gotten a little taste of what they have to offer. Another way to contribute to your community is to organize a fundraiser. This looks great on a resume as it shows that you have leadership and communication skills, as well as a good heart. If you wanted to work at a hospital, donate all the proceeds to Make a Wish. If you want to work in art, donate the proceeds to sketch. The last and most general way to contribute to your community is to organize a garbage pick-up. This also shows that you have leader ship and communication skills. But, as all jobs and businesses are looking for ways to go green, this shows that you’re in that mindset and can bring it to where ever you work. 4) There are many things you can do to find out what post-secondary option is best for you. The first way I’d acquire knowledge on this subject is talk to family members and older friends. Make sure to get a wide variety in such as university and college graduates, as well as people who only have a high school diploma. Ask them how they feel about their education and qualifications, as well as how they feel about their career or job. Ask them for advice on finding out what’s best for you, and how they found out what was best for them. Another way I’d educate myself is to do research. Look up the employment rates of university, college and high school graduates. Think of careers or jobs that you would like to have in the future and look up what you would need in order to get that profession. Lastly, I’d tour universities and colleges to get a feel of them. I’d ask myself if I enjoyed one more than the other, and if I could see myself being at one. 5) A couple steps you should take when looking for work are: One- update your resume. Two- network. Tell your family, friends and your friends’ family that you’re looking for work. Three- look around. There are many worthwhile and credible jobs that are advertised whether it is online, in the paper or at centres. Four- don’t waste time! Hand out resumes to all the options that you receive. Five- communicate. Call to the places that you handed in resumes. It shows that you’re eager and will give you attention. 6) My first piece of advice to a friend who had a job interview would be to print off extra resumes and to have a separate sheet with a list of references. Also make sure to have all certificates for your credentials in case they want proof. Second, I’d tell them to arrive on time! Or even better, be early. It’ll give you time to relax and think over what you’re going to say. It’s the first impression that they’ll have of you, and being early or on time shows them that you can keep that up if you were to work there. Lastly, I’d tell them to be confident. Smile and give them a good handshake, wear a nice outfit, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Section C- Essay Question 1 To be blunt, the Careers course is too simple. There isn’t much homework, it’s very easy to get by without studying for tests and a lot of it is really just common knowledge. If you really want to get the full experience, the course should be â€Å"beefed up.† People have mentioned adding a co-op element in the course, which is a great idea. It allows students to apply their knowledge from in-class into the workplace, without having the stress of pay cheques or getting fired. If this was added to the curriculum, it would be even better if the work you did could be added to your resume under experience. The only issue would be that a lot of students wouldn’t want to work without getting paid, and would be upset if it weren’t to count for volunteer hours. Many students are probably happy with getting by with the minimal curriculum we have now. Overall, the co-op idea would definitely be a good experience for them whether they liked it or not, and would definitely enrich this course. Although it is believed that the course should be enriched, it should not be bumped up to be taught in grade 12. This is another way people have said that Careers could be enriched, because they would be able to use more complex terms and advanced language. But, the point of the course is not to expand your vocabulary; it’s to get you educated about your future. Also, many schools offer the course in grade 11, so that’s a compromise between grade 10 and 12. Learning the course in grade 10 allows students time to process information, as well as have working experiences such as volunteer work and jobs, and also to consider what they might like to do for a career. If students were to learn the logistics in grade 12, they’ve missed out on valuable information that could have helped them apply and keep high school jobs. In conclusion, Careers is a simple but effective course. It gives you a lot of useful information that you can benefit from for the rest of your life, gets you thinking about your future and tests your common knowledge. There are definitely many adjustments that can be made, though. Co-op would be great so students could test the knowledge that they’ve learnt in class to see if they thoroughly understand. If co-op was added, Careers should become a full course so students can have half the time for learning and preparing, and the other half for experiencing.

Morality and Power Essay

Thucydides’ written history of the Mytilenian Debate and the Melian Dialogue reflects the reality of a period where morality is dependent on the exercise of power and those who possess it. The main theme running through the course of these two debates is that those with the power to act as they wish inherently have the power to dictate morality. The arguments that decide the fate of the Mytilene are made not strictly on the basis of morality but on how their power allows them to exercise the moral course they choose. The Melian dialogue reveals how those in power can dictate morality in terms of self-interest. Both cases also demonstrate how morality is also a function of self-interest. The question of the relationship between power and morality also hinges on the definition of these two vague terms. Morality, in the broader sense of moral order, has been defined as â€Å"a set of rules which define what is right and wrong. † (Outka and Reeder, p. 5) Who decides what is right and wrong often depends, as with Thucydides’ history, on who has the power in a given situation. Power can broadly be defined, as the capacity to achieve what one wants. (Dickerson and Flanagan, p. 24) In the case of these two debates, the Athenians were the party who possessed the power. They had the coercive ability to decide the fates of both the Melians and the Mytilenians. This power was derived strictly from the military might their empire was able to build up. In both cases, power allowed them to dictate morality to the inferior parties. Thucydides’ history of the Mytilenian debate details the discussion of a council deciding on how to punish the citizens of Mytilene for a failed revolt. The two options on the table are to either slaughter all the inhabitants, as had been previously agreed upon, or to leave them without severe punishment. Cleon, the Athenian responsible of initially deciding to slaughter Mytilene, argued that it was necessary to take his brutal course of action for the safety of the empire. He stated succinctly that â€Å"leadership depends on superior strength and not on goodwill. † (Thucydides, p. 213) He believed that killing the Mytilenians was a question of safety for the empire; If you are going to give the same punishment to those who are forced to revolt by your enemies and those who do so of their own accord, can you not see that they will all revolt upon the slightest pretext, when success means freedom and failure brings no very dreadful consequences. (Thucydides, p. 216) In this statement, Cleon argues that Athens has a moral duty to put down this revolt in the harshest way. He makes it a moral argument because it is in the self-interest of Athens, and any state, to protect its citizens. It is their moral duty. The Mytilenians, in their own self-interest, would argue that it is immoral to slaughter a whole population. They are both right. Subsequently, the council decides not to slaughter the inhabitants of Mytilene. They are convinced to â€Å"look for a method by which, employing moderation in our punishments, we can in future secure for ourselves the full use of those cities which bring us important contributions. † (Thucydides, p. 221) They do this not the sake of the Mytilenians, but for one of pure self-interest. Morality, in this situation, is dictated by the party in power. The Melian Dialogue concerns the history of the island of Melos. Melis, a colony of Sparta, had refused to join the Athenian empire and side against Sparta; they instead chose neutrality. Athens had brought a force to the island to take Melos by force. Before the siege, the two sides met to discuss the surrender of the Melians. (Thucydides, p. 401) Athens does not argue the morality of what they intend to do, they say strongly that † the standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel and that in fact the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept. † (Thucydides, p. 402) In this situation, power does not dictate morality; it completely voids it. The Melians ask repeatedly if the Athenians â€Å"would not agree to ? being friends instead of enemies. † The Athenians reply by saying that â€Å"if we were on friendly terms with you, our subjects would regard that as a sign of weakness. † (Thucydides, p. 402) The Melians question the Athenian’s morality by saying that this is not â€Å"fair play† since they have not posed any direct threat to the Empire. Athens responds by saying â€Å"that by conquering you we shall increase not only the size but the security of our empire? this is no fair fight? it is rather a question of saving your lives and not resisting those who are far too strong for you. † (Thucydides, p. 403) In the end, the Melians do not surrender and the Athenian army slaughters them. In Thucydides’ history, those in power decide morality. In both of the aforementioned cases, both sides have had morality on their side. The Mytilenians and Melians believed the moral precept of saving their own lives. The Athenians believed in the morality of preserving their empire. Neither side was right or wrong, neither side acted immorally. They both acted in their own self-interest. What decided the moral outcome was that Athenians had the power to impose their moral right on their powerless, but equally moral opponents. Works Cited Dickerson, Mark and Flanagan, Thomas â€Å"Government and Politics† Scarbourough, Ontario: ITP Nelson, 1998 Outka, Gene and Reeeder, John â€Å"Religion and Morality† New York: Anchor Books ,1973 Thucydides â€Å"History of the Peloponnesian War† Toronto: Penguin Books, 1972Ã'Ž

Bald Soprano Research Paper

A Cycle, A Cycle, A Cycle No one is bald, nor is there a singing soprano. So what is going on in Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano? Ionesco slowly strips his characters of all things that define them: religion, roots, the way in which they communicate and at times, even the functioning of their brains. Thus creating blank humans with no individual character who are useless and absurd. Now these people with no concrete definition to their being are to live in this gigantic world to the best of their ability. Their lives aren’t normal ones.Ionesco brings out the absurdity in his characters by excluding any solid foundation or motivation for living on earth. One very important form of guidance on life’s journey is Time. If there was no concept of time then all chaos would ensue and no one would know when anything is to be done. It is also a key factor to know how to live and work alongside time: to work with it, not against it. Will they be able to live in some sense of no rmality or will they be off on their own supernova to be absurd for evermore.Through the use of symbolism, irony and dialogue, Eugene Ionesco’s, The Bald Soprano conveys the idea that life is a never-ending cycle to express the absurdity of the human condition. The cycle of life is symbolized through the clock to reveal that the characters are stuck in an endless loop of time. The clock seems to take on a life all its own. It seems to decide when it wants to ring and how many times. The clock rings in a way that is quite shocking to the audience. This is because in the real world a clock does not normally ring 17 times. Nor is it normal for it to shoot out random times that don’t even go in order.In only one moment â€Å" The clock strikes seven times. Silence. The clock strikes three times. Silence† (The Bald Soprano 2). There seems to be no set regimen for time to follow. Time in the play is unorganized and almost absent in its common purpose. In no possible w ay could these characters even have the smallest possible chance of some normal routine when they have no constant to guide them through. Yes, Time is present but it is not the way in which we calculate it. There is no repeating pattern in this aspect and yet it still proceeds on which causes an endless loop of lunacy from which they cannot escape.The peculiar thing about it is the characters are not even finding it odd, as this is their notion of normalcy. In the play â€Å"the abnormal is treated as if it were thoroughly normal† (knowlson). And its funny because they don’t even realize that it never rings the same way or goes in a repeating pattern. The clock is random. It intrudes illogically. There is no logic in the Smith’s lives. The concept of reality is being distorted and no ounce of sense remains. The characters are flat, broad and general, which clearly emphasizes the absurdity of the human condition: trying to find a meaning and purpose to life.Even the primary characters last name, which is Smith, is so plain and typical. The plays cyclical structure accentuates repetition of the illogical happenings in the incompatible world in which the Smiths, Martins, the Maid and the Fire Chief live in. The play includes a â€Å"circular trajectory that ends where it began† (Kraus), thus causing the whole disordered cycle to start over and where the characters are involuntarily perplexed for all eternity. The characters live in a world of irony. They are lost in a continuum of memory loss without even realizing that they are losing their minds.Considering they don’t realize, they have no recollection of what has been going on around them and therefore not knowing what their purpose is in being where they are. This constant back and forth concept is for one, ironic because they have no memory of no longer having memory, but it is also mind-boggling. Mrs. Smith says, â€Å"We were expecting them. And we were hungry. Since the y didn't put in an appearance, we were going to start dinner without them. We've had nothing to eat all day† (The Bald Soprano 4). Mrs. Smith said she and Mr. Smith were going to eat but they didn’t.The characters can’t even remember what decisions they made and can’t remember to follow them. There is no stable element to guide them along a steady path. In the real world our memories our like our personal book of stories that hold the events that have happened in our lives. It defines us as a person of who we are in the past as well as who we are now. We as humans also interpret things we experience differently and remember things in different ways. Though we rely on our memory and mind quite heavily, who says it is a reliable resource to begin with?Ionesco is pointing towards the idea that our minds can’t possibly do everything for us as well as remember anything and everything we want it to. Unreliability of the memory is a concept that Ionesco wa nts us to take a look at, and that is a natural human failure that is part of our absurdity. As seen in The Bald Soprano the mind isn’t always a dependable tool that is conducive to everyday living. Our experiences make up our life’s journey and define our being. Ionesco’s characters do not know who they are and their purpose for living. At the end of the play the two couples switch places.The Smiths become the Martins and the Martins the Smiths. This results â€Å"in a da capo conclusion [with] the words that had been spoken by the Smiths at the beginning of the play [are now being spoken by the Martins]† (Knowlson). It’s ironic how they repeat the story but as different people but with the same name, because what is the purpose of having a name and being somebody if anyone can be anyone? Ionesco brings out inconsistency, which is a major factor in the play and possibly a factor in our lives. Without consistency the lives in which we lead would la ck substance and meaning.Ionesco suggests the idea of a normal daily schedule in which a human being can follow and keep order is a necessity. The human condition may seem absurd at times because what really is the point in doing the same thing everyday for as long as we live? The answer is, the consistency in the constant never ending cycle is life, which is why we are living. There may be nonsense in the play but somehow it leads to sense. The ironic statements due to memory loss show the absurdity in which humans possess. Mr. Smith is one who can be categorized as so.Without his memory he puts out ironic phrases without even putting thought to it and this leads to a lack of sentence structure. The play is made up of dialogue that sometimes seems to lack a sense of logic. The language in the play decreases in substance as the play progresses. The â€Å"language flows independently from meaning† (Feal). The words are not communicating what they seem to say but rather the und erlying meaning, which is found in the way the language is used or how really how it is informally used. Language and meaning march to the beat of a different drum.The words are separate entities that work independently yet together to convey Ionesco’s view on language, which is that it is made out to be more than what it is really worth. Language is used as a communicator and the order, or lack of it, in which words are placed, conveys a message of pure insanity. The characters â€Å"actions contradict words, and [their] words contradict [their] actions. Even the title is misleading, since there is no bald soprano in the play† (Esteban). Ionesco writes where there is meaning in no meaning, so he probably intended on writing with meaning all along.The characters talk just to talk and they really have nothing of importance to say. As the play drags on while the structure becomes less and less until dialogue has lost all value and â€Å"made into mere exchange† (K nowlson). The words on the page are out of content and have become particles of matter that are floating in the air. The more they talk, the less they are actually communicating and this is causing the precious tool of language to no longer articulate. Like when Mr. Smith states â€Å"The pope elopes! The pope's got no horoscope.The horoscope's bespoke† (The Bald Soprano 17). The play starts out with sentences that make no sense at all then it breaks down to just words without meaning until finally all that is left is a bunch of frenzied sounds. The characters have gotten quite angry that they lost all ability to communicate that their chatter swells up into mushy sound. They live in a never-ending cycle of insignificant discourse. This is Ionesco pointing out the absurdity of how humans converse. The Bald Soprano is a piece under the genre of the Absurd. It is very easy to see why.In this genre a common aspect is that the characters are rapt in an endlessly repeating cycle. This cycle usually leads nowhere as it is a cycle with no beginning and no end. Ionesco uses this cycle to emulate life. Life is filled with a bunch of meaningless things that fill our everyday lives. Banana. When something is of meaning we know because we have experienced the everyday typical life of a human. Broadway. Dreams. Goals. That’s what we are. Well that’s what we should be. Life is pretty much repeating. Repeating. Repeating. Repeating. We have a set way of doing things and we follow it.We repeat these actions to fill up our lives with substance so that there is at least something there to start with and so that we have the ability to move forward and continue. Think of it as muscles. Muscles give our body substance to stand up and it is what allows us to move as well as other necessary functions. In our world we use a clock to stay in touch with time. Time. Timing. Bad timing. Time is a fundamental concept that guides humans through life, gives structure, a s well as ages and heals. We also say funny things sometimes and we do use a language to communicate. It is how we use all these things that matters.

Dominant Masculinity over Fragile Femininity in Pornography Essay

Dominant Masculinity over Fragile Femininity in Pornography - Essay Example The book Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity by Robert Jensen show predominant humiliation of women through pornography and its mass production.First and foremost, one should agree with Jensen in his argument on the end of masculinity through constant mortification of the female honor. The author is straight-forward in what pornography symbolizes for everybody. It is a mirrored look of how men see women (Jensen 122). In fact, the author gives lots of examples coincided with his personal stories so as to make the whole thing really personal for each reader. The use of gang-bangs and other porn scenes where male dominance is obvious characterizes pornography as a means to make men senseless toward women and become more aggressive instead.Notably, Jensen speaks on the issue of female fragility in a sad tone. In this respect, many episodes from his book reflect on why women are so easy to be subject to men’s obscenity and aggression. Jensen gives his way of reasoni ng on this issue, namely: â€Å"It hurts to know that no matter who you are as a woman, you can be reduced to a thing to be penetrated and that men will buy movies about that† (Jensen 14)†¦ This is a so-called interpretation that a woman’s body has become valuable solely due to its option of being penetrated by means of violent fellatio, double or triple penetrations, etc. Once again, the male dominance goes without saying in this context.It is about time to think of current generations of boys. Porn movies impose a huge desire to be aggressive and senseless toward girls on them so that to call those girls just whores as a result. Needless to say, all porn movies are normally misogynistic. The role of a man is not that important to the audience of viewers, but the way in which a woman oohing and aahing having male genitals in different parts of her body. Thus, the youngest layers of the society inherit the need for being rude and first-class (boys) and the need to comply with such attitudes (girls). As a matter of fact, such behaviors are already included in the social construct. It is a complete model of men-women interaction at every stage of their communication up to some intimate moments, so to speak.

Ethics and Corruption at News International Essay

Ethics and Corruption at News International - Essay Example In considering the scandal it’s clear that the practices demonstrated large-scale institutional corruption, yet the breach of ethics outside of regular social legitimacy may not be as dramatic as they seem on the surface. The most overarching concern in terms of corruption at News International is the organizational breaching of ethical conduct. In this context of understanding it’s clear that one of the major contributing factors was organizational leadership. Stakeholder theory is a major conceptual model that investigates notions of organizational leadership. Essentially, stakeholder theory is an approach to business ethics that attempts to investigate what really counts in organizations (Phillips, 2003). While there are varying models in this area of analysis, in terms of News International, one considers the failure of leadership to emphasize ethical responsibility and journalistic integrity. I believe that greatly contributing to the pivotal breakdown that lead to the organizational corruption is the very nature of the subject matter that was covered. Tied in with notions of journalism are notions of contributing to the public good. Indeed, journalism has popularly been referred to as the fourth estate, as it can function almost as another aspect of government (Smith 2011). Following organizational stakeholder theory, ethical responsibility of the fourth estate is such that the ‘why’ of the organization is directly in-line with publically accepted means of information gathering and dissemination. This can be contrasted with many of the News International publications, most notably News of the World, which eschewed traditional journalistic content for an investigation of gossip that can only marginally be argued to constitute news. I believe, following the stakeholder approach to organizational ethics, that in this shift away from operating as the fourth estate, News International also shifted away from any coupling with ethical approaches to information gathering. In these regards, it follows that intrinsic to the very nature of gossip based journalism are organizational propensities towards corruption. One considers then that in addition to banning these forms of information gathering the government should consider banning the forms of gossip reporting that News International produces. Although it is easy and appropriate to fault News International for gross ethical misconduct, I believe the more pressing considerations are those that consider organizational elements that allowed for such practices to occur. One of the most pervasive theoretical models that one considers in relation to the events at News International is institutional theory. Institutional theory is an approach to organizations that argues despite individual backgrounds, including education and ethical tendencies, the force of the institution is such that individuals will tend towards a uniform paradigm (Scott 2004). I believe that in gre at part the most staggering element of the News International scandal is that it wasn’t simply an isolated incident. In these regards, the phone hacking spanned a number of years and involved a wide array of individuals employed by the

The Commodities Under Advertisement And Print Media Essay

The Commodities Under Advertisement And Print Media - Essay Example The magazine focuses on adults that are above the age of 18 but below 25. This group is commonly known as the young adults' group. The reason for stating that this is the most preferred age group for the magazine is because of the explicit content contained in the magazine. When reading the column on the right of the left page one gets to view issues revolving around sex and it is such issues that should not be accessed by young people. In the contemporary environment, there have been different issues that involve young people getting into explicit behavior at a young age and the reason for this is the access to such magazines. It is from this that one understands that adults are the targets of this magazine. Young adults value information regarding new experience in the intimate sector. Many people around this age have little experience in intimacy and from the magazine, the audience value information regarding the subject of the column who discusses her experience when breaking her virginity. One gets to understand the reason why the young adults relate to the magazine The second advertisement is that of the acclaimed clothing line, Gucci. Gucci is an international store that has had the ability to capture the attention of many people from the classy products it has introduced into the market. When looking at the advertisement, one thing to note is the elegant bottle of perfumed displayed on the box. Prior to identifying the bottle, the first thing noticed is the color of the background in the advertisement.

How successful is chinese "soft power" in the west Essay

How successful is chinese "soft power" in the west - Essay Example The China’s soft-power activities in the international world include the use of foreign aids and investment, exchange programs, diplomacy, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance, and multilateral involvement. These vary in application over the western countries as compared to the African and other Asia countries. Nevertheless, the China’s soft-power activities are not successful in the West as evident in other countries, despite experiencing positive outcomes in the economy and reputation. Determining the China’s success in the west would help evaluate the usefulness of the soft-powers towards the western countries. This paper will evaluate the success of Chinese soft-power in the west that will be achieved by analysing the economic and social-cultural gains as well as the limitations to great successes as obtained in other regions. China has used its soft power to grow its trade activities with the western countries and this has borne positive outcomes in the American and European economies. China has attained increased persuasion in the west through use of her economy and rich culture to enter into trade deals as well as increase levels of the exports to the western countries. China has increased favourable trade relationships, notably with the Latin American countries through bilateral agreements (Gill & Huang, 2006 p.20). This has promoted economic activities between the citizens of both regions by attaining apt environment for businesses to thrive. The exports and financial transactions with countries such as Brazil have been on a rise in the recent years. A similar observation is made on the Chinese trade with the United States. China is the largest single exporter in the American market with a range of products such as in the telecommunication and textile industry (Gill & Huang, 2006 p. 24). The increase d exports are

Facility safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Facility safety - Essay Example A visit to the field to assess the safety concerns of the university’s soccer field, various issues were realized. On the positive side, the field lacked pot holes, limiting any possible dangers they present. Secondly, sprinklers used to sprinkle the glass were completely sealed making the field safe for use. Next, every person is limited from using the field unless with authorization a safety measure that is essential in ensuring that the safety condition of the field remains intact (Azusa Pacific, 2015). Goalposts lack sharp corners as well as unsafe rusting indicating the quality of safety of using the goal posts while they equally remain well fastened into the ground. Horseplay limitation around the goal posts also serve in ensuring that the goals remain safe together with removal of nets after games serving as an extra safety measure. On the negative side, there is one significant issue that presents safety concerns in the form of availability of foreign objects in form of grass and papers was evident making the field unsafe for soccer. Safety soccer fields remain a necessity for the game of football (Oklahoma. Dept. of Labor, 2011). Soccer management teams and institutions need to ensure that effective measures are applied to ensure safety of players and that of the spectators. In respect to Cougar soccer field, there is need to ensure that once the grass is cut, the particles are fully removed. Consequently, papers mostly blown by the wind into the field should be removed before soccer games. Shannon,  J.  B. (2012). Sports injuries sourcebook: Basic consumer health information about the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of common sports-related injuries in children and adults ... etc. Detroit, MI:

What were the causes of the Global Financial Crisis which began in Essay

What were the causes of the Global Financial Crisis which began in 2008 - Essay Example Mortgage capital expansion based policy that took upon the local industries such as housing, small to medium scale business activities led to an unprecedented environment and accumulation of artificial bubble. It was early in 2007 when the high risk mortgages saw an unusual trend in the market existence in the form of defaulting initiation to the business activity set the market on negative trends and footings leading on to massive economic strangulation in next year or so. Initial normalcy and relatively lower interest rates were another contributing factor that resulted in the upward pressure on the industry as well as the private lending agencies and entities being forced to increase the rates of interest subject to the external market and negative values by that time towards mid 2008. Mortgage backed security (M.B.S) was another mechanism and aiding element which lead to the stiffening of the market and overall mood. The second factor that contributed to the global recession was the element of securitization of the mortgages. It has been termed as the contributing factor which led to reduced certainty within the market trends and increased trends of risk. Introduction of concepts and policies such as Corporate loan securitization led to an initial let off to the investors and banking sector businesses that were initially indebted in small scale values, yet the long term impacts would show up in times ahead which did so in the most frightening form in span of less than five years from after 2002-2003. The fact that the American government had been following a relatively non consistent trend and pattern of loan handling made the picture relatively further murky. The practices such as collateralized loan obligation(C-L-O), was one similar practice of the United States government and banking policies which lead to increased debt values. The values initially were limited to less than 25 billion dollars, in less than five

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Essay Example for Free

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Essay Summarize a situation that required U.S. diplomatic efforts during President Reagan’s time in office.  The situation that required U.S. diplomatic involvement was the Reagan Doctrine. In the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan advocated the elimination of all assistance to the Nicaraguan government. As a candidate, he ran on a platform that condemned the Marxist Sandinista takeover of Nicaragua and pledged support for the efforts of the Nicaraguan people to establish a free and independent government. Once Reagan took over the Presidency, high-ranking policy makers suspended and then canceled economic aid to Nicaragua. The administration began to formulate more coercive measures. President Ronald Reagan took office determined to do something about what he considered a growing tide of Soviet expansionism. To do so, his administration developed a strategy to aid anti-Soviet insurgencies in the Third World in their attempts to overthrow Marxist regimes (Alan Riding, 1980). In February 1981, when Robert McFarlane (then assistant to Secretary of State Alexander Haig) submitted a proposal for a coordinated political, economic, military, and covert approach to the Central American crisis (El Salvador and Nicaragua), the issue reached the White House. Eventually labeled the Reagan Doctrine, the strategy had matured enough by 1985 for the president to assert that the United States must not break faith with those who are risking their liveson every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua to defy Soviet supported aggression. In 1986 President Reagan declared, America will support with moral and material assistance, your right not to fight and die for freedom, but to fight and win freedom in Afghanistan, in Angola, in Cambodia, and in Nicaragua. However, a conflict developed over the application of the Reagan Doctrine to Nicaragua, where rebels known as the contras opposed the Sandinista government, which came to  power in a successful revolution in 1979. This conflict reflected the high priority assigned the issue by the president and the intense scrutiny given the policy by Congress. Since the policy making process extended over several years and included many players, the Nicaragua case makes for a splendid study in the American foreign policy making process (Scott, James M., 1997). Explicate the diplomatic doctrine the president followed, with reference to specific actions or events that occurred. During the Reagan’s first term, the Soviet leadership changed from Leonid Brezhnev to Yuri Andropov to Konstantin Cherenkov. Over that four year period, Reagan maintained his hardline rhetoric about the Soviet Union even referring to it in a Florida speech as an evil empire. He also launched a massive military expansion program, as President John Kennedy had done twenty years earlier, to impress Soviet leaders that he intended to deal with them from a position of strength in Europe, Asia, and Africa, where they had made significant gains in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. He believed he had a clear mandate from the American people to reverse the trend of the previous decade and make America militarily strong and politically decisive in foreign policy. During President Reagans time in office the Reagan doctrine was in affect, which involved military and material support for indigenous resistance movements struggling to overthrow Soviet-sponsored tyrannies. The Reagan administration supported such guerrillas in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Angola and Nicaragua in efforts to â€Å"rollback† the Soviet empire. In addition, President Reagan worked with the Vatican and the international wing of the AFL-CIO to keep alive the Polish trade union solidarity, despite a ruthless crackdown by General Wojciech Jaruzelski’s regime. During this time in 1983 President Reagan ordered American troops to invade Grenada and liberate the island from its ruling Marxist dictator. In 1983 President Reagan also announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a new program to research, and eventually deploy missile defenses that offered the promise, in Reagans words, of making nuclear weapons obsolete. (Luard, Evan. 1987) Describe the effects of these diplomatic efforts for the U.S. and other countries. A primary achievement was reestablishment of a strong relationship with  NATO. When President Reagan came to office, European governments mistrusted the United States because of what they perceived as President Carters indecisiveness in foreign policy and excessive moralizing about human rights. President Reagan reversed those perceptions, even though he shocked many Europeans with his strong anti-Soviet rhetoric. NATO leaders applauded his defense buildup and the forceful way in which he handled the decision to proceed with INF deployments despite intense Soviet pressure against the move and massive demonstrations in Europe by antinuclear groups (J T Rourke, C T Guilford, 1991). President Reagan established a particularly strong relationship with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by supporting her effort to regain control of the Falkland Islands in 1982. He did so in the face of strong opposition by Washingtons Latin American allies, which supported Argentinas seizure of the islands by force, and some opposition within his administration. However the major drawback of President Reagans doctrine was that it antagonized some of the other countries. Assess, in conclusion, the advantages and disadvantages of the particular doctrine that was followed.  In conclusion the advantages of the Reagan doctrine are the relative low cost of supporting guerilla forces compared to the Soviet Union’s expenses in the build up of client states. Another was the lack of direct involvement of American troops, which allowed the U.S. to confront Soviet allies without any casualties. Another was the fact that President Reagan was able to build up our military forces for other countries to take note that we are a force to be reckoned with. However the disadvantages is that policies such as our support of the fighters in Afghanistan created possibilities for blowback as people armed by the United States did not necessarily share the interests of the United States beyond resisting Soviet influence. One might also argue that it perpetuated, even added to, a military-industrial complex that soaks up billions in budget spending. Then, of course, there was the fact that American money and weapons went toward killing people around the world, which scarcely enhanced the image of the country. The major drawback of Reagans doctrine was that it antagonized some of the other countries. Summarize events between the U.S. and at least one (1) of the countries you wrote about in the first paper since the end of the Cold  War. In summary the events that took place between the U.S. and Nicaragua had taken place from 1981-1986. The first event was that the U.S. ended aid to Nicaragua after finding evidence the Nicaragua, Cuba, and the Soviet Union where supplying arms to Salvadorian rebels, The second event was the U.S. House of representatives passed the Boland Amendment which prohibits the U.S. from supplying the Nicaraguan contras with arms for overthrowing the Sandinista government. The third event is when the CIA mines Nicaragua’s harbors in a covert operation. Both U.S. enemies and allies condemn the action. Nicaragua sues the U.S. in the world court, and in June 1986 the court finds the U.S. guilty of violating International law. The fourth event is Daniel Ortega, leader of the FSLN, is â€Å"elected† president of Nicaragua. The fifth event is that the U.S. suspends talks with Nicaragua. U.S. president Ronald Reagan describes the Nicaragua contras as â€Å"Freedom Fighters† and compares them to America’s founding fathers. President Reagan initiates economic sanctions against Nicaragua. The sixth event was the U.S. congress approves humanitarian aid package for the Nicaraguan contras. The seventh event that took place was a plane carrying a U.S. military supply to the contras was shot down and the only American survivor is captured. And finally the U.S. government announces that contrary to the Boland Amendment the U.S. has been providing military aid to the contras. The supplies were purchased with funds diverted from the sales of U.S. arms to Iran. This would come to be known as the Iran-contra affair. Identify and describe the current relationship between the U.S. and one (1) of the cou ntries you wrote about in the first paper. The U.S. Government has clearly stated that the November 2011 elections marked a setback to democracy in Nicaragua and undermined the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government accountable. The United States has promoted national reconciliation, encouraging Nicaraguans to resolve their problems through dialogue and compromise. It recognizes as legitimate all political forces that abide by the democratic process and eschew violence. U.S. assistance is focused on strengthening democratic institutions; stimulating sustainable economic growth; supporting the health and basic education sectors; and increasing the effectiveness of Nicaraguas efforts to combat transnational crimes, including narcotics trafficking, money laundering, illegal alien smuggling, international terrorist and criminal organizations, and trafficking in persons. Key U.S. policy goals for Nicaragua also include improving respect for human rights and resolving outstanding high-profile human rights cases; and developing a free market economy with respect for property and intellectual property rights (U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action, 2011). Select a country you did not write about in the first paper, and describe the current U.S. diplomatic approach to the country. First, the United States simply did not have a diplomatic mission to Iraq that could have taken on public diplomacy responsibilities in 2003 because the United States severed its diplomatic relations with Iraq following that countrys invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990. In the absence of civilian human infrastructure that could have taken on public diplomacy and other civilian tasks, the Bush Administration turned to the US military which possessed a readily available and deployable capability to meet this crucial need. Since the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq, a country that poses the most challenging and important test of American engagement in the region, the American military has led public diplomacy efforts throughout the country. Following the invasion, the US military began conducting many forms of public affairs and public diplomacy (PD) functions throughout Iraq. Military Public Affairs Officers held press conferences, engaged American and foreign journalists, organized cultural events, and highlighted the positive aspects of the United States continued presence in Iraq, among other significant public diplomacy activities. Needless to say, these are not functions normally conducted by the US military (S. E. Duggan, 2012). Contrast and compare the two (2) relationships The relationship between the United States of America and The Republic of Iraq are currently guided by two historic agreements: a Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) that covers our overall political, economic, and security  relationship with Iraq, and a Security Agreement – otherwise known as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) – that implements our security relationship. Both agreements protect U.S. interests in the Middle East, help the Iraqi people stand on their own, and reinforce Iraqi sovereignty. However the relationship between the United States of America and Nicaragua relations, the bilateral relationship, though tense at times, appears to be generally intact. One cause of tension has been President Ortega’s tendency to vacillate between anti-U.S. rhetoric and reassurances that he will respect private property and pursue free-trade policies. The United States provides significant foreign assistance to Nicaragua, and the two countries cooperate on counter narcotics, trade, and security matters. The relationships between the two countries and the U.S. as you can see are different, however the U.S. tends to help anyone and everyone that asks for it. The United States of America has spent billions of dollars helping these two countries get back on their feet. Using the (2) countries as examples summarize how the U.S. has changed the way it relates to other countries in the past 20 years. American political culture has changed considerably in the past twenty years, particularly with regard to American foreign policy and its relationship with the rest of the world. Your text discusses the debates surrounding the issue of â€Å"exporting democracy† to other parts of the world; this debate encompasses the humanitarian, economic, and political ramifications of the spread of democratic regimes. The changes in American political culture over the last twenty years have impacted this debate, and have affected the role that America plays in the world at large. References Alan Riding, Central Americans Split on U.S. Voting, New York Times, 4 August 1980 Scott, James M., Political Science Quarterly, Interbranch rivalry and the Reagan Doctrine in Nicaragua. 00323195, Summer97, Vol. 112, Issue 2 Luard, Evan. International Affairs. Autumn87, Vol. 63 Issue 4, p563. 12p. J T Rourke, International Politics on the World Stage, Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing Group, 1991, pp 295-296, 307-308. U.S. Department of State, Diplomacy in Action, 2011, www.state.gov Duggan, Sean E. Middle East Journal. Winter2012, Vol. 66 Issue 1, p53-78. 26p. Nuechterlein, Donald E., Perspectives on Political Science, The Reagan doctrine in perspective.10457097, Winter90, Vol. 19, Issue 1 McDermott, Rose. Journal of Cold War Studies. Fall2002, Vol. 4 Issue 4, p29-59. 31p. DOI: 10.1162/15203970260209509. Roskin M.G., Berry N.O. The New World Of International Relations. 2010, Pearson Education Company, Ch4, p58-59.

Phoenician Society: Seafaring and Maritime Knowledge

Phoenician Society: Seafaring and Maritime Knowledge Discuss the role of seafaring and maritime knowledge within Phoenician society and its expansion. Introduction As a people the Phoenicians endured for some three thousand years and were already flourishing by 3,000 B.C. but it was not until about 1100 B.C., with the demise of the existing dominant peoples in the area, that the Phoenicians came to the fore as a significant force. From this time, until around 600 B.C., they dominated the Mediterranean by trading and establishing colonies one of the most important being Carthage. The success of their culture seems mainly to have been due to the proximity of the Mediterranean that encouraged dependence on seafaring and trade. Indeed, as Holst[1] indicates, international trade formed part of the guiding principles on which the Phoenician civilization was founded that also included a commitment to resilient partnerships, peaceful settlement of disputes, equality, privacy, religious freedom and respect of women. Although the majority of Phoenician trade was initially land based, a significant amount began to take place by sea[2] testified by the we alth of Tyre that, along with Byblos, Sidon, Arados and Simyra, were the main home-based Phoenician sea ports. Initially, Phoenician sea trade was mainly with the Greeks involving glass, slaves and Tyrian purple dye made from a sea shell called Murex and textiles coloured with such dyes formed one of the main Phoenician exports. Most of the major Mediterranean countries were involved in trade with the Phoenicians that included such commodities as cotton, timber, wool, precious stones, embroidery, wine, corn and various other foodstuff including spices whereas countries as far away as Spain traded metals such as tin, iron and lead.[3] The Importance of Trade Trade and colonisation originally centred on bartering indigenous timber as well as fishing skills, the latter of which is thought to have provided the competence for later seafaring abilities.[4] The far reaching sea trade of the Phoenicians took two forms – with existing Phoenician colonies and countries in navigable reach. The colonies provided a means by which the home country could be assured of supplies of goods deemed essential. In this respect, Cyprus became a colony to ensure the supply of wood and copper, Sardinia and Spain for useful metals. In return for such goods, Phoenicia supplied such finished items as cotton and linen, pottery, ornaments, weapons, and glass. It was not, however, just with the Mediterranean that trade occurred but also with the Propontis and ports within the Black Sea.[5] The dominance of Phoenicians in seafaring has not gone without criticism however as early reports of such supremacy in Homer’s Odyssey, and also by Herodotus, has been viewed by some modern commentators as erroneous.[6] The extent of Phoenician preeminence in this respect seems to have been settled by Bass’s underwater excavations of the Cape Gelidonya wreck that highlights the extent of Phoenician trade.[7] The archaeological evidence from this excavation seems therefore to support the dominance of Phoenician seafaring from 1200 B.C. onwards. The recent discovery of two exceptionally large Phoenician merchant ships adds further substance to this view.[8] It is probable that the Phoenician maritime empire was preceded by trade with various outposts throughout the Mediterranean or otherwise began as safe anchorage points along the coast.[9] It was only later that these places became colonies set up to protect Phoenician interests that required ships of war which, unlike merchant vessels were employed all year round,[10] to protect both colonies and trade routes. The Phoenician character of many of these ports was lost due to the rise and dominance of other powers such as the Greeks and Romans that has masked the extent of Phoenician influence. Importantly, trade by sea was linked to specialist product areas that otherwise would not have come together that allowed the Phoenicians to establish a rate of exchange to their advantage.[11] Transportation of various metals available in the western Mediterranean by sea, such as Spanish silver, thus allowed the Phoenicians to link the demand in the east, from countries like Assyria etc., to the raw material centres of the west. The Phoenicians also took advantage of turning the raw materials transported from the west into quality refined goods to be later exported. These products, because they tended to be more refined and better quality than what most other countries could supply, were therefore much sought after and such goods have been found in western ports such as Carthage.[12] Moreover, the direct sea route through the Mediterranean provided the best means of direct and efficient transport of materials and products and the extent of this trade along the Mediterranean is confirmed by the fact that Phoenician coins came to be manufactured in Tyre from the fifth century B.C. onwards.[13] The Extent of Phoenician Trade Links It is thought that the growth in Assyrian power and pressure on the coastal cities first led the Phoenicians to turn to seafaring.[14] In this respect, Assyrian power is thought to have blocked access to resources to the east to the extent that the Phoenicians were obliged to turn west towards the Mediterranean for raw materials.[15] Others, however, contend that it was the growth in Assyrian wealth and power that stimulated Phoenician interest in Mediterranean seafaring because of the increased demands for products.[16] This could have likewise been hastened by the economic growth and increased demand of Tyre and other Phoenician ports for raw materials. It is likely, however, that rather than one factor there was a set of interrelated events involving political, historical, economic criteria that led to the Pheonician exploitation of the Mediterranean. Indeed, Tyre and associated ports were ideally situated to act as a conduit through which the products and resources of the Mediter ranean and countries to the east could be exchanged.[17] Moreover, a massive investment in time and resources would have been required to mount expeditions throughout the Mediterranean by sea that suggests Tyre was economically and politically secure. The exploits of the Phoenicians in the Mediterranean should not be viewed as exploration as most of the main sea routes had been charted during the Bronze Age. Rather the Phoenicians were able to use and improve their maritime skills to become the dominant force in the Mediterranean for six hundred years. Yet, there are reports that they ventured much further afield which suggest exploration was part of a general outlook. For example, Herodotus reports that they sailed down the Red Sea to circumnavigate Africa returning via the Straits of Gibraltar.[18] Some even propose that they may have voyaged as far as southern Britain to acquire Cornish tin but this was probably based on indirect rather than direct trade.[19] In this respect, reports of a tin ingot discovered in a Cornish harbour similar to those of ancient Crete remain controversial.[20] The Veneti of Brittany may also have actually been Phoenicians who controlled the trade route to Britain and were thought to be adept seafare rs. The control of trade routes seems to have been a characteristic of Phoenician dominance in that this allowed more exclusive access to resources around and outside the Mediterranean that helped to reinforce Phoenician power. The interest in regions outside the Mediterranean is supported by the notion that some coastal ports such as the present Portuguese port known as Peniche is claimed to derive from the Greek for Phoenicia.[21] Moreover, there are many Phoenician remains to be found along the Portuguese coast.[22] Such exploits beyond the Mediterranean may have partially been encouraged by the fact that the Greeks had prevented Carthage from gaining access to the home ports.[23] Indeed, it may have been the rise in Greek power that led to Carthage becoming such an important city port for the Phoenicians in the central Mediterranean and could have been a factor leading, in the 8th century B.C., to Carthage succeeding Tyre as the main Phoenician city. There is also some evidence that the Phoenicians may have even reached some of the Atlantic islands such as the Azores and Canaries.[24] Ultimately, it was the rise in Greek power in the east, the barrier of the Atlantic in the west and the rise of Rome that bought an end to Phoenician power.[25] In sum, the Phoenician influence along the Mediterranean coastline appears to be both a consequence of great initiative and impressive seafaring skills that was instigated by the promise of trade and pressures from the rise in other Mediterranean powers to the east. Types of Boats The initial attempts in seafaring by Phoenicians are thought to have been quite crude based on travel between islands by means of rafts followed by more sophisticated but still crude sailing vessels inspired by the need to fish.[26] The first boats seemed to have consisted of a keel, a rounded hull and a raised platform for the steersman with the oars intersecting the bulwark.[27] This formed a template for a subsequent craft where four upright rowers operated curved oars in a boat that lacked a rudder with a mast held aloft by two ropes secured at the front and rear of the vessel. The mast, however, seems not to have been used for a sail, but to support a viewing structure from which an archer or other attacker was able to launch missiles. From this, a larger vessel evolved with a low bow and raised stern with a rudder with a pointed prow and oars on each side of about fifteen to twenty in number that the Greeks referred to as triaconters and penteconters that are represented on coi ns but were shown without a mast so must have been a type of refined rowing boat. Around 700 B.C. further advances occurred in ship construction in that, instead of being situated on one level, rowers were now placed on two levels thus doubling the number of oarsmen. These vessels were known as â€Å"biremes† by the Greeks and incorporated two steering oars issuing from the stern some with a mast and yardarm to support a sail that came in two forms one designed for war, the â€Å"long ship†, and another, with a more rounded prow used for the purpose of trade.[28] Inspired by the Greek example, the Phoenicians also went on to develop their own version of the trireme with three levels of rowers.[29] The size of these vessels can be gauged by the fact that the top level consisted of 31 rowers.[30] The Phoenicians have also been credited with inventing both the keel and ram as well as the caulking of planks with bitumen though some believe that the ram or beaked prow is said to have been adopted by the Phoenicians from the Mycenaeans It was the use of an adjustable sail, more oarsmen and a double steering oar that led to increased speed and manoeuvrability allowing the furthest points of the Mediterranean to be reached and it was the round-shaped merchant ships called â€Å"gaulos† that was mainly relied on in this respect.[31] Such innovations to ship construction illustrate the commitment of the Phoenicians to seafaring and their seafaring skills were so renowned throughout the ancient world that Phoenician ships and sailors were often co-opted into foreign war fleets.[32] Navigation The Phoenicians are thought to have invented the art of navigation. They used oars when there was little or no wind and large square sails at other times. Although they obviously practiced coastal navigation, the distribution of ports indicates that more long distance open sea voyages were also undertaken.[33] The fact that the Phoenicians had important centres at Sardinia, Sicily and Ibiza suggests that they often sailed the high seas. This would have involved extended periods at sea essential for the effective transportation of goods. They would probably, however, have employed short coastal journeys to travel from one port to the next but relied on deep sea navigation for longer voyages[34] and in places like the Aegean, with the many islands and dangerous currents, oars would have been used rather than sails. It is thought that the Phoenicians were also able to sail at night and used the Pole star and knowledge of astronomy for navigation. This knowledge along with the fact that , given favourable viewing conditions, land is nearly always visible anywhere in the Mediterranean -allowed the Phoenicians to use their seafaring skills to good effect. Conclusion The Phoenicians obviously depended on seafaring skills in order to extend trade links and their influence throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. This seems to have gone hand in hand with a need to develop more sea worthy vessels and navigational abilities to venture further into the open seas. Evidence from historical documents, such as found in Herodotus and others, indicate the extent of Phoenician maritime skills that evolved in tandem with the foundation of ever distant colonies and trading outposts. These skills seem to have been further encouraged by the advantages that came from the home ports being located where raw material from the west, which were in demand by countries in the Levant, could be traded for finished products. The Phoenicians were able to exploit this further by producing high quality manufactured goods that were exported to all areas thus increasing their economic power and wealth that allowed more sophisticated ships to be built for longer voyages. This te ndency is reflected in the progressive growth in Phoenician influence and colonisation from east to west from about 12,000 B.C. onwards. Trade went first, however, with colonisation following when the opportunity arose. Ultimately, however, Phoenician influence may have declined in the Mediterranean due to an over-reliance on seafaring that was unable to compete with more land based powers. In other words, their greatest strength eventually became their greatest weakness. Bibliography Aubert, M. E. (2001) The Phoenicians and the West – Politics, Colonies and Trade. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Boardman, J. Edwards, I. E. S., Hammond N. G. L. (1991) ‘Preface’ in, The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries B.C. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Basch, L. (1969) Phoenician Oared Ships. The Mariner’s Mirror. 55, pp. 139-162. Barnett, R.D. (1958) Early Shipping in the Near East. Antiquity 32 (128): pp. 220-230. Bass, G. F. (1972) A History of Seafaring based on Under-water Archaeology. Walker Company: London. Boucher-Colozier, E. 1953. Cahiers de Byrsa III, 11. Casson, L. (1971) Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Princeton University Press: Princeton. Culican, W. (1991) ‘Phoenicia and Phoenician colonization.’ In The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries. B.C. J. Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, N. G. L Hammond, editors. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge) pp. 461-545. de Sà ©lincourt, A. (1959) The Histories (Herodotus). Penguin: Harmonsworth. Diodorus Siculus. (1935) Library of History. C. H. Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA. Frankenstein, S. 1979 ‘The Phoenicians in the Far West: a function of Neo-Assyrian imperialism. In, Power and Propoganda. A Symposium on Ancient Empires. M. T. Larsen, editor. (Akademisk Forlag: Copenhagen) pp. 263-294. Guthrie, J. 1970. Bizzare Ships of the Nineteenth Century. Hutchinson: London. Grayson, A. K. (1991) Boardman, J. Edwards, I. E. S., Hammond N. G. L. (1991) ‘Assyrian Civilization’. In The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries B.C. J. Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, N. G. L Hammond, editors. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. pp. 194-228. Greenberg, M. (1997) Ezekiel 21-37: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible, Vol 22A. Doubleday: New York. Harden, D. (1948) The Phoenician on the West Coast of Africa. Antiquity. 22: p. 147. Harden, D. (1962) The Phoenicians. Thames and Hudson: London. Harrison, R. J. (1988) Spain at the Dawn of History: Iberian, Phoenicians and Greeks. Thames and Hudson: London. Hencken, O’Neil. H. (1932) The Archaeology of Cornwall and Scilly. Methuen: London. Hill, G. F. (1910) Greek Coins of Phoenicia. British Museum. Holst, S. (2005) Phoenicians: Lebanon’s Epic Heritage. Cambridge and Boston Press: Los Angeles. Moscati, S. and Grassi, P. (2001) The Phoenicians. I.B. Tauris: London. Perrot G. and Chipiez, C. (1893) Histoire de lArt dans lAntiquità ©. Hachette: Paris. Rawlinson, G. (2004) History of Phoenicia. Kessinger:Montana Tilley, A. (2004) Seafaring on the Ancient Mediterranean. BAR International Series. 1268. Archaeopress/J. and E. Hedges: Oxford. 1 Footnotes [1] Holst, 2005 [2] See, for example, Judgement of Ezekiel 26-1– â€Å"Judgement on Tyre† in Greenberg, 1997 [3] Perrot and Chipiez, 1893 [4] Culican, 1991 [5] Tilley 2004 p. 76 [6] Tilley, 2004; p. 77 [7] Bass, 1972 [8] Tilley, 2004; p. 78 [9] Harden, 1962; p. 158. [10] Moscati and Grassi, 2001; p.85. [11] Harrison 1988; p. 42 [12] See, for example, Boucher-Colozier, 1953 [13] Hill, 1910 [14] Frankenstein, 1979 [15] Aubert, 2001; p. 70 [16] Culican 1991; p. 486 [17] Harrison, 1988 [18] see de Sà ©lincourt, 1959 [19] Harden, 1962; p. 171 [20] Hencken, 1932. [21] Guthrie, 1970; p. 103 [22] Tilley, 2004; p. 80 [23] Harden, 1962; p.171 [24] See, for example, Diodorus Siculus 1935 v. 20; Harden, 1948 [25] Boardman et al. 1991; p. xvi. [26] Rawlinson,; 2004 p. 122. [27] Ibid. [28] Perrot and Chipiez, 1893; p. 34 [29] Basch, 1969 [30] Casson, 1971 p. 95 [31] Barnett, 1958 [32] Grayson,1991; p. 220 [33] Aubert, 2001; p. 167 [34] Moscati and Grassi (2001); p. 84

Triumph Of The Will Film Studies Essay

Triumph Of The Will Film Studies Essay There are many contrasting opinions on the subject. Some believe that the movie is a piece of Nazi propaganda meant to promote the Nazi image and discourage its enemies. Others believe it is a factual presentation of an event, without possessing any intentional propaganda. Whichever the answer, it is well known that Leni Riefenstahls career has been haunted by Triumph of the Will to this day. To properly judge whether Triumph of the Will was a documentary or propaganda, an accurate definition must be stated. The word propaganda derives from the name of an organization set up in 1622 by the Roman Catholic Church to carry on missionary work, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Congregations de Propaganda Fide). Today propaganda is seen as the systematic effort to manipulate other peoples beliefs, attitudes or actions. The propagandist has a specified goal or set of goals and to achieve these he deliberately selects facts, arguments, images, etc. to present them in the ways he believes will have the most persuasive effect. A documentary is defined as a work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration. Originating from official documentation released for various reasons, it has since become the standard name of non-fiction programmers which attempt to present their subject matter based on fact. In 1934 Hitler commissioned Leni Riefenstahl; the only director whom he believed came close to rivaling the work of Eisenstein, to produce an artistic film about the Party convention at Nuremberg, Triumph of the Will. In her book on the film, Riefenstahl notes that The preparations for the Party convention were made in concert with the preparations for the camera work. In reality however, the rally was intended from the outset to be the stage for a spectacular piece of film propaganda glorifying Nazism. Although Triumph of the Will was indeed about the Nuremberg Party Congress, preparations for the rally were carefully constructed around the preparations for the film. The Third Reichs architect, Albert Speer, carefully constructed the groundwork for the event, with grandiose building arrangements and precise plans for marches. The city of Nuremberg became a stage-set for Riefenstahls film, with a sea of swastika banners, bonfires and torches. Riefenstahls cinematic technique creates a sense of feverish movement and a seemingly endless array of banners and people. Leni Riefenstahl has always claimed, however, that she knew nothing of the objectives of the Nuremberg Rally. When she described the conception of the film she said, Shortly after he came to power Hitler called me to see him and explained that he wanted a film about a Party Congress, and wanted me to make it. My first reaction was to say that I did not know anything about the way such a thing worked or the organization of the Party, so that I would obviously photograph all the wrong things and please nobody even supposing supposing that I could make a documentary, which I had never yet done. Hitler said that this was exactly why he wanted me to do it: because anyone who knew all about the relative importance of the various people and groups and so on, might make a film that would be pedantically accurate, but this was not what he wanted. He wanted a film showing the congress through a non-expert eye, selecting just what was most artistically satisfying in terms of spectacle, I supp ose you might say. He wanted a film which would move, appeal to, and impress an audience which was not necessarily interested in politics. In an interview in 1964, reprinted in A Biographical Dictionary of the Cinema by David Thomson, Riefenstahl made clear that she felt Triumph of the Will was a recording of an event, not a propaganda film, said, If you see this film again today you ascertain that it doesnt contain a single reconstructed scene. Everything in it is true. And it contains no tendentious commentary at all. It is history. A pure historical film it is film-verity. It reflects the truth that was then in 1934, history. It is therefore a documentary. Not a propaganda film. Oh! I know very well what propaganda is. That consists of recreating events in order to illustrate a thesis, or, in the face of certain events, to let one thing go in order to accentuate another. I found myself, me, at the heart of an event which was the reality of a certain time and a certain place. My film is composed of what stemmed from that. It cannot be denied that Triumph of the Will is a record of an event. It is a film of an actuality and happened when and where the film says it did. In an account of the making of the film, Riefenstahl writes that she was involved in the Rallys planning and conceived the event with filming in mind. As Susan Sontag (a revered novelist and director) reiterates in her article entitled Fascinating Fascism: The Rally was planned not only as a spectacular mass meeting, but as a spectacular propaganda film. However, by 1993 in The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, Riefenstahl claimed that she was not involved in the design of the Rally I just observed and tried to film it well. The idea that I helped to plan it is downright absurd. The film was financed by the Nazi Government, commissioned by Hitler himself, completed with the full cooperation of all involved, with huge resources at her disposal an unlimited budget, crew of 120 and between 30 and 40 cameras. It stands as a powerful artistic representation of the ideas in Hitlers book Mien Kemp work, extreme nationalism, and belief in corporative state socialism, a private army, a youth cult, and the use of propaganda and the submission of all decisions to the supreme leader, i.e. himself. The film, however, reached and influenced far more people than the book ever could. Riefenstahl claimed in The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl that it was Not a documentary but a work of art, [there was] no commentary in the normal sense of the word. Theres no commentator to explain everything. Thats the way it differs from a documentary or a propaganda film. If it were propaganda, as many say, theyd be a commentator to explain the significance and value of the occasion. This wasnt the case. In contrast, Susan Sontag in Fascinating Fascism claims that it is the most successful, most purely propagandistic film ever made, whose very conception negates the possibility of the film-makers having an aesthetic or visual concept independent of propaganda. Just as there are critics who argue that Triumph of the Will is the filming of an actual event and, as such, is a documentary, there are others who speak of the sensationalist and propagandist techniques used to promote the event in the film. Images such as the opening scenes, where Hitlers plane is flying through the clouds, giving a sense of divinity and being above it all, and the clever filming of the crowds watching Hitlers procession on the streets which give the impression that every street Hitler drove on was packed with adoring people illustrate the use of these techniques and indicate more suspicious aspirations from the director. Of course, there are critics who choose a point of neutrality, favoring each side of the argument equally. They argue that propaganda is a part of all film. Paul Rotha (a famous writer and director of Riefenstahls time) said, In one form or another, directly or indirectly, all films are propagandist. The general public is influenced by every film it sees. The dual physic-psychological appeal of pictorial movement and sound is so strong that if it is made with imagination and skill, the film can stir the emotions of any audience. Or as Robert Flaherty (often proclaimed as one of the founding fathers of documentary film) so eloquently declared, Sometimes you have to lie. One often has to distort a thing to catch its true spirit. Many can argue the different options regarding Triumph of the Will, saying it is a documentary, it is propaganda, or it became propaganda unintentionally. However, three points which cannot be refuted indicate that Leni Riefenstahl intentionally made the film propaganda. The fact that she was chosen and funded by Hitler to make the event appeal to the masses would immediately let her know that she needed to produce a film which gave the people the impression Hitler wanted. The angles of Hitler above the adoring crowd as he speaks and the scenes of his plane coming out of the clouds are obvious propagandist techniques to elevate and deify Hitler. Finally, the camera angle manipulation in the film, which made the crowds seem even larger than they were, would not be present in a true documentary which sought to produce the facts. This is obvious evidence of conscious propaganda on the part of Riefenstahl. As such, it is safe to conclude that Triumph of the Will was an intentional piece of propaganda meant to persuade the people to follow certain values.

Robert Jordans Wheel of Time :: Robert Jordan Wheel of Time

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time â€Å"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.† (Jordan, 1). In the world of Robert Jordan’s bestselling fantasy series, "The Wheel of Time", the life of the ordinary people has been undergoing some extraordinary changes. The legendary Dragon has been Reborn, and the Last Battle to decide the fate of humanity draws nigh. Meanwhile, outside of this world sit millions of readers, from all reaches of life, waiting anxiously for the next chapter in the story to be told. They debate what has happened, what it means in the context of the story, what it means for the future of the Wheel, as well as how it impacts their lives’. The Wheel of Time is a world where absolute good battles absolute evil, and yet shades of grey cloud the landscape. A world of hope and despair, a world of peace and war. From this world a following has grown. People from different cultures, different languages, and different political ideologies gravitate together forming a cohesive group that helps to spread the word about the work of Robert Jordan. In much the same manner that J.R.R. Tolkien created a myth for the modern ages with his saga "The Lord of the Rings" and George Lucas has done with his "Star Wars" series of movies, so has Robert Jordan entered into the realm of mythology with his work "The Wheel of Time". And this myth, like those which have come recently, and those from antiquity, has created a community of followers around it. They are drawn together initially because of a personal interest, and they stay not only for that interest, but because of the community that grows as a result of engaging themselves with this story. The world of the Wheel is one that is beginning to see turmoil when it is first introduced to the readers. Winter is holding on much longer than it should, and there is fear in the air (Jordan Eye 11). Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time :: Robert Jordan Wheel of Time Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time â€Å"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.† (Jordan, 1). In the world of Robert Jordan’s bestselling fantasy series, "The Wheel of Time", the life of the ordinary people has been undergoing some extraordinary changes. The legendary Dragon has been Reborn, and the Last Battle to decide the fate of humanity draws nigh. Meanwhile, outside of this world sit millions of readers, from all reaches of life, waiting anxiously for the next chapter in the story to be told. They debate what has happened, what it means in the context of the story, what it means for the future of the Wheel, as well as how it impacts their lives’. The Wheel of Time is a world where absolute good battles absolute evil, and yet shades of grey cloud the landscape. A world of hope and despair, a world of peace and war. From this world a following has grown. People from different cultures, different languages, and different political ideologies gravitate together forming a cohesive group that helps to spread the word about the work of Robert Jordan. In much the same manner that J.R.R. Tolkien created a myth for the modern ages with his saga "The Lord of the Rings" and George Lucas has done with his "Star Wars" series of movies, so has Robert Jordan entered into the realm of mythology with his work "The Wheel of Time". And this myth, like those which have come recently, and those from antiquity, has created a community of followers around it. They are drawn together initially because of a personal interest, and they stay not only for that interest, but because of the community that grows as a result of engaging themselves with this story. The world of the Wheel is one that is beginning to see turmoil when it is first introduced to the readers. Winter is holding on much longer than it should, and there is fear in the air (Jordan Eye 11).

Voltaire’s Views of Religion and State Expressed In Candide Essay

Voltaire’s Views of Religion and State Expressed In Candide  Ã‚  Ã‚      Throughout Candide, Voltaire uses satire as a tool to reveal his controversial views regarding religion and State. He reveals the corruption, hypocrisy and immorality present in the way in which government and religion operated during his lifetime. Most particularly, he criticizes violent government behaviour (ie; war) and the behaviour of members of the aristocracy, who constituted the bulk of high ranking government and religious leaders. Through satirical comments made in Candide, Voltaire exposes the corruption and greed rife in the government. He also reveals his displeasure with the manner in which the parliamentary system operated, expressing the ineffectiveness and ineptness of power hungry politicians who refused to agree or compromise. â€Å"Let us work without arguing, that is the only way to make life endurable.† (Voltaire: 1947). Voltaire also makes a poi... ...ugh powerful, intelligent use of satire, Voltaire makes his personal views clear and encourages the reader to challenge the way in which religion and the State operate. Bibliography Andrews, Wayne. Voltaire. New York: New Directions Pub. 1981 Gay, Peter.   Voltaire's Politics.   New York: Random House,1965 Weitz, Morris. Philosophy in literature. Detroit: Wayne State Univ. Press.1963 Volatire, Francois-Marie,   Candide, Penguin Publishers, New York, 1947.

Business & Ethics of Becton Dickinson and the Safety Syringe Controversy Author

Becton Dickinson has been in the middle of the controversy regarding the manufacturing, sale and monopoly of safety syringes used by hospitals, clinics, and doctor and dentist offices.   When the epidemic of AIDS and other lethal and infectious diseases spread across the nation, healthcare workers were still using a conceptualization of the original type of syringe created over 150 years ago (Holding and Carlsen, 1998; Holding and Carlsen, 1998).The healthcare workers realized that they were no longer safe and fought to get safer standards and equipment for use in the work place.By 1998, the federal patent office has given patents to over 1000 designs for safety syringes.   However, only a few were on the market and their initial cost was exorbitant. Even with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enactment of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard in 1991, and the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act little has been truly done to protect the healthcare wor kers (Holding & Carlsen, 1998; Holding and Carlsen, 1998, Armstrong, 1991; Vadgama, 2002; Workers at risk, 2002).A prime example was in 2002 when it was approximated that 1600 healthcare workers could contract HIV through needle sticks in that year (Vadgama, 2002),   with a rough estimate cost of $255,000 for the direct and indirect costs associated with that one needle stick (Armstrong, 1991).The fact that Becton Dickinson purchased a number of the patents for safer syringes, they only offered on size when they finally started to manufacture the syringe.   The 3cc was fine for a few tasks in hospitals and clinics, but the 5cc and 10cc were used more often.Becton Dickinson did not offer the shielded syringes in this size, and by buying patents and negotiating with medical supply companies they did not need to make any other size.They continued to sell their original syringes (Holding & Carlson, 1998; Holding & Carlsen, 1998).   These actions defined by the utilitarian approach shows that the company was doing what was good for the company.   In essence, Becton Dickinson was basing their decisions on the corporate population rather than the public.After court battles and settlements the Becton Dickinson Company has finally begun to manufacture all types of safety syringes.   While they are not recommended, they are made and sold .The fact is that while Becton Dickinson was fighting to keep the new safety syringes from the public, Retractable Technologies, Inc created a better and safer syringe with top recommendations for safety and ease of use (Holding, 1991; Holding & Carlsen, 1998).   If Becton Dickinson would have acted ethically and manufactured and researched safety syringes, they would be at the top of the industry. References Armstrong, S. E. (1991, November/December). The Cost of Needle-Stick Injuries: The Impact of Safer Medical Devices.   Nursing Economics. 9(6).   pp. 426-433. Retrieved January 8, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.co m/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hch&AN=12182254&site=ehost-liveHolding, R.  (April 14, 1998).  Safety Designs Proposed — But Not Produced.  Ã‚  San Francisco Chronicle.  ,  p.A7.  Retrieved  January 10, 2009,  from  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center  via  Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPSHolding, R.,  &  Carlsen, W.  (April 13, 1998).  Epidemic Ravages Caregivers / Thousands die from diseases contracted through needle sticks.  Ã‚  San Francisco Chronicle.  ,  p.A1.  Retrieved  January 10, 2009,  from  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center  via  Gale:

Organizational Culture of Starbucks

Appendages Research Paper Project title: Management 1 & 2 Program: BAA Faculty responsible: Walter Improvise Due date: Wee k 8 Weighting: 30% of the final grade for the subject. 70% on written material and 30% on presentation. All presentations will occur on the last adz of class. Content: A word document including between 3,000 and 4,000 words non including a literature review of at least 4 sources with at least half not from internet. All materials must come from academic sources. Project Overview: To enable students demonstrate their understanding of Managing Culture and how do they adapt it within an international atmosphere.Overall Aim: 1 . To enable students demonstrate their understanding of MGM and to learn from contemporary issues that will help them become more effective managers. 2. To enable students demonstrate their understanding of methodology in writing and to learn from the specific issues of writing a paper. Learning Outcomes: Demonstrate a basic understanding of us ing research methods within organizations. Understand how research approach are going to be effective on business issues. Begin forming research methodology skills specially those that can be applied in the business environment.A Company with a strong organizational culture and how it's Implemented and maintained Topic: Analyze the competitive issue and it's effects on the international business environment, . Purpose: Organizational culture is a term used more and today's business world. The focus of your paper and presentation should be: What specific actions ; practices could be used in business to acquire high levels of performance? How do these actions ; practices reflect or not reflect the customers behaviors, concepts ; models studied in this class.Tasks: The following major areas M in the written and the oral reservation: Description of the background, traits ; skills of the issue. Description of influences on an international context What can we learn from this issue; guide lines for effective strategies derived from the analysis? Your presentations should be clear ; reflect application of the material covered in this course. To enhance your presentation, visual aids, specific examples ; class involvement techniques are encouraged. Attendance is required of all students during all presentations.Each presentation will have a total of 7 minutes for each project and an additional 3 minutes will be allotted for questions and discussion. The written material used for your presentation should be handed to the lecturer one week before your scheduled presentation for screening. This presentation will count for 10% of your final subject average. Remission of documents During the last day, depending of your class, the following material shall be handed in: List of references including at least 1 Journals and 2 internet sources which will be used for the project.A literature review of the information sources used for this project. All tardiness will be counted in the same manner as explained at the end of the section for the main project. The following material should be handed to the lecturer on the date of presentation. These should include: 1 electronic file with all your resources used for the creation of your project ( articles, book references, interviews, field search, etc. ) Your power point presentation The word document.I Purpose or controlling idea is established initially, but inconsistently attended to. Paper shows some unity of purpose, though some material may not be well aligned. I Establishes strong sense of purpose, either explicitly or implicitly. Controlling purpose governs development and organization of the text. Attends to purpose as paper unfolds. | 2. Engagement with the text I Does not connect well to the source textures not show evidence of having understood the reading(s) that should inform the paper.Repeats or summarizes source text without analyzing or critiquing. I Shows evidence that materials were read and t hat those texts have shaped the student's writing. Shows basic understanding and ability to engage the substance of the text(s). Goes beyond repetition or summary of source text(s). I Shows clearly that the student read and understood the source text(s) that inform the paper. Summarizes key points or issues in the source text and then critically analyzes or synthesizes those ideas with the student's own ideas.Extends the ideas of the source text in interesting ways. | 3. Use of source material I It is often not clear whether information comes from the text vs.. The student. Len-text citations and end-of-text references are not formatted according to an appropriate style sheet. I Source materials are cited, though not always consistently. Let is generally clear when information comes from source text(s). Most in-text citations have appropriately formatted end-of-text references. I Source materials are introduced, conceptualized, and made relevant to the purpose of the paper. T is alw ays clear when information, opinions, or facts come from a source as opposed to coming from the student. Source materials are conventionally documented according to academic style (PAP, Category I Low Scores 1 or 2 | Average Score 31 High Scores 4 or 5 | 4. Organization I end. Paragraphs unpredictably structured. I Some evidence of organization, with appropriate moves in the introduction and conclusion and some partitioning in the body. Most paragraphs have topic sentences with supporting details.I Establishes clear pattern of development, so the paper feels organized and orderly from beginning to end. Uses effective generalization/ support patterning. Strong paragraphing. | 5. Support I Moves from idea to idea without substantial development; lacks depth. Lacks support for arguments or claims. I Achieves some depth and specificity of discussion. Provides specific detail in some places. I Develops specific ideas in depth with strong and appropriate supporting examples, data, experie nces. | 6. Style I Lacks control over sentence structure; difficult to follow.Little control over sentence patterns of subordination and coordination. Requires the reader to backtrack to make sense. Uses wrong words and awkward phrasing. I Style is competent, though not engaging or inventive. Shows reasonable command over phrasing and word choice. Some useful connections from sentence to sentence. I Student clearly controls the pace, rhythm, and variety of sentences. Sentence style is smooth and efficient, with good use of subordination and coordination. Words are well chosen and phrasing is apt and precise.Sentences move smoothly from one to the next, with clear moves that open, develop, and close topics. | 7. Command of sentence-level conventions Many errors of punctuation, spelling, capitalization (mechanics). Many grammatical errors (agreement, tense, case, number, pronoun use). I Some typical errors are in evidence, but overall, the writing is correct. I Few, if any, errors of punctuation, spelling, capitalization (mechanics). Few if any grammatical errors (agreement, tense, case, number, pronoun use). I

Web Server Attacks

Web Server Attacks Aaron G. Flaugh Strayer University Dr. Patricia White April 15, 2013 Web services are the most frequently attacked services of the modern network. There are three common attack types. They are all mitigated in different ways, this paper will discuss the means of protecting against them. The most effective attacks are call Denial of Services or DoS attacks. No organization is save from a denial of service attack even the federal government has been successfully attacked. How corporations can reduce the risk of these attacks will also be discussed.Web Application Vulnerabilities Web services have become one of the most frequently used technologies in business today, therefore it is no surprise, which are among the most frequently targeted applications. There are five common types of attacks for web services: SQL injection, remote file inclusion, local file inclusion, directory traversal and cross site scripting. Those were just the technical type attacks there are al so two other business layer attacks, they are email extraction and comment spamming.According to a survey group iMPERVA; cross-site scripting (XSS) accounts for twenty-nine percent of sampled attacks, directory transversal (DT) accounted for twenty-two percent, local file inclusion was fifteen percent of the attacks, SQL injections were fourteen percent of the malicious traffic, business logic attacks accounted for another fourteen percent and finally remote file inclusion only accounted for six percent of the traffic. The business logic attacks were split as follows email extraction was nine percent and comments spamming accounted for five percent of the section. Cross-Site ScriptingIn this attack type the attacker attempts to hijack a user session then steal the information that they need to log on to the site. Sometimes they hijacker inserts hostile content or redirect the user to a malicious site to steal information. The final flaw that is used is not properly validating and es caping that content. Directory Traversal Directory traversal is attacking parts of a web site that are not typically exposed to the public viewers. This an exploit of the security of the web server. It is also possible to use this attack by not properly removing user-supplied file names to the file API’s.SQL Injection Attacks against the background database server is called SQL injection attacks. Using this type of attack the attacker is able to steal the data contained on the page or site. This attack is most viable when user input is either incorrectly filtered for escaped characters in the SQL statements or the user input is not typed appropriately. Combating Web Server Attacks There are several things that users can do to protect themselves from web server attacks. First they can patch their operating systems up-to-date. Second, install a personal firewall, anti-virus and anti-malware tools.Use complex usernames and passwords, and change passwords regularly. Finally, turn off client-side scripting such as JavaScript or ActiveX. On the web server side, there are some suggested fixes. First of all implement SSL connections however, it used to be that 128-bit encryptions was sufficient according to Saumil Shah from Net Square. Now it is not uncommon to utilize 1024-bit RSA encryption on SSL certificates. Second, run a best practices analyzer or threat analyzer and implement security fixes. Another, security method to protect internal resources through the use of reverse proxy servers.The final solution to these web attacks is the human element, verify code written by developers and correct any errors discovered. Denial of Service Attacks The most feared attacks on a network is denial of service attack or a distributed denial of service attack. In both attacks the objective is very simple as the name implies it is to disrupt the flow of information into a network, generally the objective is not to steal data or release confidential information. Denial o f service attacks are performed usually by a single attack thus, are much easier to defend against.Distributed denial of service attacks are much more difficult to detect and thus much more difficult to defend against. They are generally coordinated amongst many individuals or through automation using botnet malware. Defending and halting denial of service type attacks can be very easy to stop since they are from one threat. The first defense against this type of attack is the use of access control lists on either the firewall or on the border router. Cisco uses the following syntax in its IOS enabled devices: permit tcp eq .Within Cisco’s firewall products the PIX or the current Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) the syntax is similar to that of the IOS devices. Cisco’s ASA platform has a much more diverse set of features to block attacks at the border of the network. The ASA con also be configured to detect and block ICMP flood attacks. The more sophisticated web se rvers can be configured the block http attacks. Cisco also offers products that are designed to detect and block single origin attackers. Most operating systems have firewall functions that are built into them.Third party security companies such as Symantec, Sophos, McAfee, and Zone Alarm offer personal firewalls to potentially block an incoming threat. This is the best alternative if a person or group doesn’t have control of their border devices. There are two other means by which a single attacker can be stopped. They are interrupting the communication between a hacked machine through the use null routes on a pc or device its, however this is sometimes very difficult to accomplish and only works on some Operating Systems.The final means by which to slow an attacker down is to enable web server security to block connections from the particular ip address. In a distributed denial of service attack there is generally no clear indication of which ip addresses are causing the ev ent. This make the DDoS attack extremely difficult to detect and defend against. Most the time DDoS traffic looks like ordinary network traffic, which makes detection difficult if not impossible in some cases. DDoS attack can be used against many different protocols used in network including TCP, UDP, ICMP and DNS, using flooding techniques to overwhelm a victim’s network.One of the best ways to prevent http or https flooding attacks is the incorporation of reverse proxy servers into the mix. The proxy server sits outside of the network and acts like a traffic cop in many ways. It doesn’t allow packets through that it deems at threat. It also breaks up or fragments the requests from the outside world. Department of Justice attacks Many organization has fallen victim to web server attacks. In October 2002, a DDoS attack was used to cripple the internet in the United States.This was done by simultaneously attacking eight of the thirteen root DNS servers. The Federal Gove rnment has fallen victim to DDoS a number of times, the Department of Justice has been attacked twice in the last eighteen months. In the last two notable events in January of 2012 and just this past January, the hacker group Anonymous has claim responsibility for the attacks. They were targeted in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and most recently in support of Aaron Swartz who had recently committed suicide.The only possible way that DDoS attacks could be carried out against the government’s servers is either enlisting thousands of people to assist by flooding the webservers with http requests or by the use of malware and the use of botnets. In either case the, it would take a lot of time to detect the attack and even more time to stop the attack. DDoS attacks on the Federal Government would need to be extremely complex and would take a long time to plan and carry out. I do not believe that they are as easy to carry out as some make it out to be.In order to mitigate at tacks in the future the Government needs to do several things. Implement reverse proxy server in front of the web servers. Make sure that all security fixes are up-to-date on all servers. Implement policies and procedures tracking changes to the web server security settings. Verify all user supplied information through the use of security images or the use of services like capture. Use of web services are common these days. Corporations, users and Government all need to take steps to protect themselves from web server attacks.This can be done in a variety of ways and is the responsibility of the information services to help management understand and prevent these attacks. References Geiger, William (2001). SANS Security Essentials GSEC Practical Assignment 1. 2f Practively Guarding Against Unknown Web Server Attacks Murphy, David (26 January, 2013). Pro-Swartz Hackers Attack U. S. Department of Justice Website retrieved from http://www. pcmag. com O’Keefe, Ed (20 January, 201 2). How was the Justice Department Website Attacked? Retrieved from: http://www. washingtonpost. com Romm, Tony (19 January, 2013).After Anonymous claims hack, DOJ site back. Retrieved from: http://www. politico. com Shah, Saumil (2002). Top Ten Web Attacks Presentation at BlackHat Asia Thatcher, Greg. How to Stop a Denial of Service Attack? Retrieved from: http://www. gregthatcher. com Weiss, Aaron 02 July, 2012). How to Prevent DoS Attacks Retrieved from: http://www. esecurityplanet. com Cisco Systems (2004). Defeating DDOS Attacks White Paper Citrix Systems Protecting Web Applications from Attack and Misuse Imperva (2012). Imperva’s Web Application Attack Report Government of Hong Kong (2008). Web Attacks and Countermeasures