A Land Rembered by Patrick D. Smith Essay -- essays research papers

The novel, A Land Remembered, is the epic saga of three generations of MacIveys. The novel begins with a flash back, from the last generation MacIvey, Sol. Sol was a real estate tycoon in Miami and the surrounding areas. He has chosen to give up his life in Miami to live his last hours in the cabin in Punta Rassa , Florida; the cabin his grandfather had built. Thus, the three generations of MacIveys in Florida ends. The first generation of MacIveys consisted of the father and husband, Tobias, the mother and wife, Emma, and their young son, Zech. The family had decided to escape the pressures of the Civil War in their native Georgia, and move to the scrub of Northern Florida. The MacIveys experience many troubles and learn many new things during their stay in the scrub, such as meeting Indians, that will turn out to influence their life greatly. Other experiences included Tobias being recruited by Marshall Adler to drive cattle to the confederate troops and also being recruited to chop trees to build walls of defense for the confederate forces. During the excursion to chop down trees, confederate deserters raided Emma and Zech and burned down their house. Tobias and Emma made the decision that the war was getting to close to the scrub, and that moving South would be a good idea. The MacIvey clan packed up their wagon and headed south along the St. John’s and Kissimmee rivers and settled in a hammock along the Kissimmee river. In Kissimmee is where Tobias begins his empire that turns the family into one of the wealthiest families in Florida. In the swamps of Florida, wild cows live and Tobias tries his best to capture these cows and make a drive, but without horses and dogs, Tobias makes little headway in his project. In the woods one day, Skillet, a freed slave, was found. Skillet agreed to stay on with the MacIveys and help them start their empire. Dogs and a marshtackie were given to the MacIveys by their Indian friends they helped in the scrub. The MacIveys now popped cows out of the swamp and their first drive to Punta Rassa ended in a disaster with all the cows being lost to a great flood. The determined MacIveys never looked back and gathered another heard and the whole clan drove the cows to Punta Rassa. In Punta Rassa, the cows were sold for fifteen dollars a head and the MacIvey empire begins. Also on this first trip, Hendry, the cattle buyer,... ... they too can experience the life of a Florida Cracker turned millionaire family of Florida. Throughout all three generations of MacIveys, all of the MacIvey men lose a woman who is so close to them and all of them realize once they are gone, that they didn’t do enough for their loved one, when they easily could have. Tobias had three trunks full of Spanish gold, and all he did for Emma was buy her a cook stove. Zech had even more trunks of Spanish gold, and he never took Glenda on the trips to the far away places she wanted to go. Sol had a multimillion acre vegetable business and owned half of Miami, and he never married Bonnie, yet, when he lost her, he missed her like his wife. I believe that Smith is trying to make us realize that you shouldn’t take for granted what you have, when they do so much for you. These lessons are ageless, and can be applied to today’s society as well as to the first ever society. A Land Remembered is a novel that truly is the epitome of a saga, that spans the trials and tribulations of three generations of the MacIvey fami ly as they enter Florida as a family destined to start a better life and die out as one of the wealthiest families in Florida.

The Omega Directive :: essays research papers

I was on my way into the ‘office’ and I saw the secretary; â€Å"Hey Cheryl.† â€Å"Hey Martin. Here, isn’t it the big day today?† she asked â€Å"Yep, she’s finally coming online.† I replied, with a bit of an excited tone in my voice â€Å"Christ! What is it with men always having to call things ‘she’?† Her voice had something of a viscous snap to it. â€Å"Hey, don’t blame me dear. I just work here don’t I?† She giggled. I like it when she giggles. It’s got a sweetness to it that, for some reason, most other women lacked. I smiled at her. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..are you, going to let me in? Or shall I just stand all day looking at you, which I wouldn’t actually mind doing?† I heard a buzz and then a click at the door. â€Å"I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ then, shall I? Or are you just messing with my head?† â€Å"Go on, in, now! Or do I have to smack your rear end to get you in there?† She said. â€Å"Well, come on over here and try it baby!† I said to her with one great big cheesy grin on my face. â€Å"Oh you dirty man, you!† She said, sarcastically. We always were saying stuff like that in our own little way. It was†¦different. I’d never been like this with anyone else. It was always just us two. Then there would be a great booming voice from inside the ‘office’. â€Å"BRYSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS IN HERE, NOW!!!!!!!!!!† â€Å"Oh dear, General Solomon’s calling.† I said with some remorse. â€Å"Don’t you mean ‘great wind-bag of Alcatraz’?† She said. I laughed. That’s the nickname I’d given him when I had started at the Pentagon. He was supposedly an ex guard over on Alcatraz prison island†¦. supposedly. I crossed the threshold into a huge room. Dimly lit, only the centre table was illuminated. I could see the General’s face. â€Å"I told you not to be late. I watched you out there flirting with Cheryl, it’s not on. I’ve told you before to leave my daughter alone!† Everyone turned and looked at me. I couldn’t help but say:- â€Å"Who, me?† I got a warm laugh from everyone in the room. Except of course from Mr. Stern faced – lover’s father – who – hates – me. His emotionless face and piercing stare were enough to make anyone cower for fear of their lives. He always looked like he was going to attack you or something.

Foodborne Illnesses :: essays research papers

Foodborne Illness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Foodborne Illness? According to a medical dictionary, foodborne illness is an acute gastrointestinal infection caused by consuming food contaminated with pathogenic, bacteria, toxins, viruses, prions or parasites. Such contamination was caused by improper food handling, preparation or storage of food. Contacts between food and pests, especially flies, cockroaches and rodents are a further cause of contamination of food. Foodborne illness can also be caused by adding pesticides or medicine to food or consuming or by accidentally consuming naturally poisonous substances. That is why foodborne illness can also be called food poisoning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Health Canada estimates that about two million Canadian suffers foodborne illness per year and CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates approximately 76 million foodborne illness cases occur in the United States per year. However, many foodborne illness cases are unreported. Some of the most common bacteria and viruses that cause foodborne illness are Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Hepatitis. In the following report, you will read some of the major foodborne illness outbreaks in Canada and United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Health Canada, the number of Canadians who has foodborne illness is estimated to be approximately two million per year. As mentioned in the introduction, many foodborne illness cases are not reported. In Canada, it is estimated that for every one case of foodborne illness that is reported, there are 350 cases that are not reported. The ones that are reported are usually major problems. Canada had some major outbreak of foodborne illness through these many years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One major outbreak was on March and April 1998. The major outbreak was Salmonella Enteritidis associated with the contamination of cheese in a commercial product. This happened in Newfoundland. Nearly 700 cases were reported, most of which were children that got the illness. It was found that the source of the outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis was the cheese in a prepackaged processed lunch packs. The cheese was contaminated when it was being packaged into the lunch packs. It was never found how the cheese got contaminated, but they discover that the cheese was contaminated before it arrived to the place where the products were processed and packaged. They suspect that something must have happen in Parmalat ¡Ã‚ ¦s plant, the company that provides the cheeses for the lunch pack, because it was only the cheese that got contaminated. However, they will not release any information, so the real explanation of how the cheese got contaminated will never be known.

Ethical Considerations Essay

The conduct of the members of any profession must be of very high standards in professional terms. The Australian Computer Society (ACS) requires very high standards in its Code of Conduct for members so as to be able to earn the credibility as well as the prestige IT professionals deserve. The ACS Code of Conduct does not include many detailed rules as it only focuses on the most essential matters and as such it requires a much broader interpretation. It is mandatory for all members of ACS to comply with the Code of Conduct. The code bears relevance in law in terms of legislation. Awareness of the Code’s requirements by IT professionals is crucial as non-adherence by a member in their field may lead to claims of professional negligence by clients. The regulatory regime of the Internet Censorship Body of Australia gives powers to its subsidiary, the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce restriction of Internet Content that is hosted within the country as well as maintaining a black-list of foreign websites by using filtering software. Foreign websites which have or are likely to be refused classification in Australia are target for mandatory filtering in Internet Censorship proposal by the Australian Labor Party-led government since 2008. The import of this proposal is that providers of internet services would be forced to ensure that they block black-listed websites from reaching its customers. Two years later, the policy still awaits enactment as a result of the inexistence of legislation to this effect (Moses 2010). As expected, the proposal for the introduction of mandatory filtering has been met with considerable opposition. Some amount of tension has been generated in Australia. Its opponents have raised various concerns but a few people who are in strong support of the policy welcomed it. In Australia, Internet content is bound by federal as well as state laws on the censorship of internet content. The ACS has an internet filtering body coupled with a taskforce for E-security. The task force provides advice on technical issues and policies concerning internet content and the material that is unsuitable for the viewing by the general society. This provides the basis for the legislation on internet content in Australia. The decision by the Australian government through information minister Senator Stephen Conroy to filter the pages viewed by internet users is consistent with the requirements of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Code of Conduct and Ethics. The ethical code, in section 4. 1, starts by clearly stating its efforts aimed at advancing the dignity, honor a swell as the effectiveness Information Technology as a profession. It states that in observance of its ethical conduct and high competence standards, every member is supposed to be honest in addition to being forthright and impartial. Members are supposed to be loyal in their service to the community (ACS Code of Ethics 1998). It further states that every member has to put all efforts aimed at increasing the profession’s competence as well its prestige. Every member is required to use the special skill and knowledge they possess towards advancing human welfare. The code of conduct is binding in its requirements. Section NR 4. 3 and section N4. 4 categorically states that the code binds all members with regard to their professional conduct. The implication of this requirement is that once the legislation for the filtering scheme is enacted, all members will have no option other than to oblige. It will automatically take effect because it is backed by both the federal and the state government. This is good news to many parents and school teachers who have always battled delinquent behavior in learners without success. Foreign and unacceptable behaviors on some web pages have been accessed and acquired by minors who are otherwise not supposed to view them and as a result the parents and teachers have been unable to control them (Computerworld Australia 2008). Learning is seriously compromised by the content of these offending websites and filtering them is the only effective solution to ensure that it does not reach the school children. The are some specific internet contents which the government has already outlawed and indeed does filtering. These are the contents that have to do with political parties, euthanasia, video games and racism. On the ethical side of consideration on the government’s decision to filter the content that the public should be allowed to view, this is actually a move in the right direction because left uncontrolled, the public can view anything, just about everything. This automatically leads to moral rot. The advent of the internet has led to a sudden decline in morals in many societies globally and the Australian government is justified in suggesting an ambitious plan to ensure that internet content that is hosted within the country is restricted. It is upon the realization of the dangers posed by overseas websites, more than anything else, that the proposals read out by the information minister were made. It will be of no benefit for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce a restriction on internet content that is hosted from within the country and leave content from outside unchecked as people can always view the pages that thrill them from the foreign websites (The Sydney Morning Herald 2009. It is not surprising that the proposal for mandatory filtering of all internet content whether local or from overseas has been met with mixed reactions (ABC News 2007). The proponents of the filtering of internet content are genuinely concerned that the benefits that these internet pages have are by far outweighed by the harm they bring upon the community, not only in Australia, but in all other countries in the world. The minister was justified in bringing the filtering proposals in his genuine concern to rid the society of the moral rot that, courtesy of unrestricted internet access, has been spreading like the country’s infamous bush fires. The opponents of the proposed legislation on mandatory filtering of both locally hosted and overseas internet pages are on their part justified to object to these requirements in such loud voices as they have. Their objection to this legislation is by a very big percentage motivated by their selfish interest to continue being in the market for all the wrong reasons. Any person or a group of people in business are motivated by the sole interest of making as much profit as they can and as such what they give to their viewers does not matter as much as the profit they stand to get out of it. It gets even worse because they are prepared to go out of their way to give their viewers anything that they view most, bad as it may be (The Digital Liberty Coalition 2008). The ACS code of conduct and ethics in 4. 3 stipulates the values and ideals expected of the members. Members are expected to be professionally responsible and display integrity in their actions. They are supposed to deal with clients and the community, students and employees in a responsible way and with integrity. This requirement is good in terms of ethics and it can minimize the number of obscene and violent web content if adhered to by all internet providers. The general society needs to be protected from some pages whose influence is negative to the society. Section 4. 3. 4 further binds the members of ACS by ensuring social responsibility in their work to the society. It states that all members should make it their duty to ensure that they uplift and improve their clients’ quality of life. This is a big calling but it must be adherered to in order to preserve and improve the lives of all the people they work for. It is unethical for any IT specialist to upload a morally corrupting page on the internet to be viewed by others who would otherwise do a lot better without it. The proposal by the information minister borrows mainly from the ACS code of conduct as it spells out clearly all the rules that IT professionals should follow so that they can preserve the prestige and dignity the profession is supposed to have. This is in section 4. 3. 5 under Information Technology Profession in which every member is expected to promote the integrity of their profession. The members must do their work in respect of the profession and for one another. Section 4. 5. 1 of the ethics code makes it mandatory for all members to preserve continuity in the services of information technology as well as to put information flow in their care. This clearly means that all members are bound by the requirement to strive to ensure that the consumers of their services get only what they are supposed to get. They must give only the useful information to the general public which constitutes their client base. Material that has been refused classification by the regulatory authority should not be uploaded because of the dangers it portents (Electronic Frontiers Australia 2008). The IT profession is a beneficiary of such a move as proposed by the information minister as it would regain its name as a respectable profession and people would have more respect for IT professionals which has of late been declining due to the actions of some unscrupulous IT specialists who have made it their habit to posting pages whose content can not do any good to the society (ABC News 2007). The general society as a whole will be the overall winners from this legislation to the detriment of those who have made it their business by sending to the innocent viewers corruptible web content. The hands of the IT professionals who may harbor ill motives are tied by clause number 4. 6. 5 which clearly states that all members of ACS must bear the responsibility of their work. If any of them posts a page that is in the opinion of the ACS disciplinary board; immoral or unsuitable for viewing by the general public, then their conduct shall be found to be unethical and the appropriate disciplinary action will be carried out on them.

The Theory of Social Contracts

The period of Enlightenment ushered in an age of intellectual development as well as theoretical formations on the concept of society. English political thinker Thomas Hobbes and French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau posit political treatises on the formation of social contracts as a necessity of man and eventually leads to the establishment of an ideal government. The paper will discuss first the concept of man’s nature according to both philosophers in order to determine the reason behind the formation of such contracts which will subsequently lead to the conception of governments and sovereignty. Hobbes proposes that man is essentially at war with other men, motivated by personal desire and fear of death that inhibits the formation of a peaceful society. Rousseau however, contradicts Hobbes argument of man as naturally at war but looks into a different state wherein man possesses compassion which enables the formation of ideal relationships and eventually, social contracts. We look into Hobbes’s viewpoint in his treatise Leviathan and compare and contrast several arguments with Rousseau’s On The Origin of Inequality and Social Contracts. Hobbes’ Natural Man and Covenants Hobbes’ political theory in Leviathan stipulates the formation of covenants as the final end of man’s actions, transgressing from his natural state wherein man is in constant war with himself and with others. First, we define Hobbes’ argument on the natural state of man that provides the basis of conflict. In comparison with Rousseau’s viewpoint, the nature of social contracts is reversed, wherein Rousseau’s notion of social conventions is negative compared to Hobbes’ notion of contracts as a deviation from the erring state of human nature. Hobbes argues: â€Å"For every man look that his companion should value him at the same rate he sets upon himself, and upon all signs of contempt or undervaluing naturally endeavor to extort a greater value from his condemners. So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory (Hobbes 84). The primitive state of man is bordered on Hobbes’ statement â€Å"where every man is enemy to every man† (Hobbes 85). Each individual is focused on the aspiration for personal gain, thus creating conflict or an unharmonious relationship because of completion (gain), diffidence (safety, self-preservation), and glory (reputation). The chaotic context provided in Hobbes argument consequently inhibits the concept of justice in a particular social setting. Since man is motivated by personal gain, the fear of death through self-preservation, and personal glory, there is no concept of right and wrong or even justice. Where there is no common power, there is no law; where no law, no injustice† (Hobbes 85). Thus, we see Hobbes attempt to present his first law on man’s natural state: that man, motivated by personal gain, sets himself in conflict with other men who pursue the same object. He then narrates â€Å"the passions that incline men to peace are: fear of death; desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living; and a hope by their industry to obtain them† (Hobbes 86). According to Hobbes, the natural law governing social relationships is motivated by the passions; specifically, man’s fear of death. Thus, the first natural law, in context with the natural state, is that every man has innate rights or liberty to will himself to self-preservation and that one can do anything to his body, even to another person. As long as this natural law exists, there can be no harmonious buildup of society. The second law then obligates man to create peace or to achieve peace through any means necessary and from here, man is then obligated to set such rule to all and that every right of man is necessary to be withdrawn or transferred in order to build peace; since to maintain the second rule, man will be constantly at war. The renouncement of rights is essentially good in itself because it aspires for the majority rather than the self, governed by selfish passions. However, such rights are not to be taken away by force or for an individual to force himself of withdrawing his own, since â€Å"he cannot be understood to aim thereby at any good to himself† (Hobbes 91). Renouncement of rights should be voluntary and by choice, in order to determine the goodness which will benefit the majority. Thus, social contracts or covenants are formed. Hobbes argues that for a man to achieve peace, it is necessary to break away, through the tenets of reason, from the natural state wherein every individual is motivated by personal gain and fear of death. This fear motivates the individual, in relation to self-preservation, to create contracts with other men in order to achieve peace, wherein the value of life becomes the unifying factor for all; thus creating peace and harmony. Covenants are then considered to be the agreements that will benefit two parties aspiring for different objects. Justice then presents itself in the presence of covenants, for justice occurs when an individual performs or acts upon the agreement or covenant while injustice is the failure to establish covenants which inadvertently places the individual in his former natural state. Hobbes definition of the natural state and the natural law focuses on the importance of self-preservation or the fear of the death in relation to the individual. In contrast with Rousseau, the formation of contract is that of beneficial to man rather than Rousseau’s argument that society itself that provides inequality and conflict. Contracts, through reason, necessitate a societal framework that is governed by the inexpressible right of every man to survival and preservation of life. The Commonwealth. For Hobbes, the ideal form of government is the formation of the commonwealth which acts as the â€Å"final cause, end or design of men (who naturally love liberty and dominion over others) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, in which we see them live in Commonwealths, is the foresight of their own preservation, and of a more contented life thereby† (Hobbes 116). The formation of covenants, which represent a duty-bound notion to aspire for peaceful societal conditions, inevitably leads to its conception wherein the withdrawal of individual rights is penultimate toward its formation. Conventions serve the function as a mean toward the aspiration of the common power or will of the majority. Common power acts as a protection against external attack or injuries that an individual may cause upon the other and is formed through the transcendence of personal right to a man or an assembly: â€Å"Confer all their power and strength upon one man, or upon one assembly of men, that may reduce all their will, by plurality of their voice, unto one will: which is as much to say, to appoint one man, or assembly of men, to bear their person† (Hobbes 118). Every man should then willingly state: â€Å"I authorize and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition; that thou give up thy right to him and authorize all his action in like manner† (Hobbes 118). We take into context a mix between a democracy (representation of the few) and monarchy (rule by a sovereign). However, Hobbes’ monarchy is not entirely absolute, ruled by the elite or loyalty; rather Hobbes’ conception of monarchy focuses on the rule of a sovereign where powers are granted by the conventions of the majority. From such, the sovereign is then obligated to perform the powers bestowed upon the social covenants; the sovereign itself being a representation of the general will of the people. The Commonwealth The sovereign, either instituted in one man or an assembly of men, is bestowed power of the withheld rights by society or subjects. As sovereign, its responsibility lies on any action or authorization to ensure the presence of duration of peace and to create any means necessary to protect individuals from others as well as to protect attacks from other societies. According to Hobbes, there are only three kinds of commonwealth and nothing else; a democracy, monarchy, or aristocracy. Hobbes does not believe that no man aspires for a turbulent and rocky society. However, Hobbes is partial toward a monarchial government, which, according to him, generally embodies the conventions made by man, and in essence, the nature of a commonwealth: â€Å"The riches power and honor of a monarch arise only from the riches, strength, and reputation of his subject. For no king can be rich nor glorious, nor secure, whose subjects are either poor, or contemptible, or too weak through want, or dissension† (Hobbes 130). Amor Propre and Civil Society On the other hand, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work Discourse on Inequality and Social Contract primarily present arguments against Hobbes’ definition on the natural state of man in contrast with social systems and conventions. Rousseau argues on the condition of the human soul as it progresses from its distinct natural form up until the pure state of man is transformed through social relationships or systems. First, he argues the physical differences of man, which in essence, does not ultimately provide a firm basis of inequality: I conceive that there are two kinds of inequality among the human species; one which I call natural or physical, because it is established by nature, and consists in a difference of age, health, bodily strength, and the qualities of the mind or the soul; and another, which may be called moral or political inequality, because it depends on a kind of convention. (Rousseau 1) Apart from physical differences, inequality falls under the moral or political sense. In the context of social structure, inequality lies on the ladder of power and wealth, wherein the notion of civil society is created by the rich in order to suppress the poor of wealth and maintain power among the elite few. In contrast with Hobbes, Rousseau presents a different view of man’s natural state wherein man is savage in nature wherein ideas are generated by sense experience. But in opposition to regular animals, man has reason that establishes himself apart from common animals. The natural behavior of man is similar to that of Hobbes’ viewpoint but differs in motivation. According to Rousseau, the basic instinct of man is self-preservation, free will and compassion; the last being the most important part in man’s natural state wherein Hobbes contends to man’s natural war with the other. He contends Hobbes’ view of man’s nature which compels him with the fear of death. However, Rousseau argues: â€Å"the knowledge of death and its terrors being one of the first acquisitions made by man in departing from an animal state† (Rousseau 17). In contrast, Hobbes’ provides death as a motivator for withdrawing personal rights in order to achieve peace while Rousseau presents reason as a way of fighting the irrational passions that push him out of his natural state. In addition, compassion is the important natural virtue that contradicts selfish impulses or vices which come from the passions or irrational tendencies of man. Rousseau narrates that Hobbes’ definition of man does not provide himself with an idea of goodness, that man may be considered as evil. Rousseau’s view presents man, in his primitive state, as essentially good, and possesses virtue. â€Å"so many writers have hastily concluded that man is naturally cruel, and requires civil institutions to make him more mild; whereas nothing is more gentle than man in his primitive state, as he is placed by nature at an equal distance from the stupidity of brutes† (Rousseau 47). Compassion is the most important aspect of man, along with innate desires of preservation, reason and free will. It is this compassion that hurries us without reflection to the relief of those who are in distress: it is this which in a state of nature supplies the place of laws, morals, and virtue, with the advantage that none are tempted to disobey its gentle voice† (Rousseau 31). Compassion generates interaction with other men and the natural instinct of self-preservation, as times continue to progress, enables the individual to improve living conditions. Thus, the combination of compass ion, reason, self-preservation enables the individual to form conventions with other men. However, the problem lies with the development of amour propre, the subsequent regularity of conventions where man’s reason is garbled to a false sense of dependency on the individuals through improvement of self-perception and acquiring favor. The natural, non-invasive self-love is transformed to a more self-centered and jealous love of others. â€Å"Man must now, therefore, have been perpetually employed in getting others to interest themselves in his lot and in making them, apparently at least, if not really, find their advantage in promoting his own† (Rousseau 51). This corrosive notion of self-love produces competition, comparison with others, hatred, and the continuous search of ambition and power: â€Å"In a word, there arose rivalry and competition on the one hand and conflicting interests on the other, together with a secret desire on both profiting at the expense of others† (Rousseau 51). The Social Contract Thus, Rousseau defines man’s state of nature as it develops amour propre. To deviate from the natural state, the formation of social contract is evident in order to rid of the evils pertaining civil society. According to Rousseau, the conception of social contracts delimits the individual from inequality and therefore frees himself from the trappings of social classification. The purpose of the contract is to establish a body that will inadvertently defend the rights of the individual and the right of society as a while. Similar to that of Hobbes’ notion, social contracts are meant to deviate the condition of human nature from its amoral/evil sense in order to create society focused on peace. The social contract, in Rousseau’s perspective, is founded on the presence of the general will: â€Å"Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will, and in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole† (Rousseau Social Contract, 59). The general will is the summation of all opinions of the majority, which in turn acts as an abstract form that aims toward the good of all. Rousseau also posits the idea of a sovereign which acts a representative of the people. The people however, in Rousseau’s form of government, are not represented by senators or magistrates but represent themselves as a symbol of the general will. Sovereign Similarities Both philosophers argue on the importance of social contracts in establishing relationships with people in order to construct an acceptable and peaceful social framework. Both stress the importance of the ‘natural’ law of man to deviate himself from his primary state and is obligated to create a world without indifference and conflict through commonality of opinions and desire. The difference lies on both philosophers account of man’s nature, wherein Hobbes argues that man is essentially evil and it is through civil relationship that man refines himself and achieves peace. Rousseau contradicts Hobbes’ arguments that he had failed to include compassion as a virtue in man’s natural state. Rousseau opines negatively toward civil societies, that conventions itself ruin man’s natural state through social classification and levels of power. Instead, Rousseau posits man as a docile creature until society corrupts his natural state. On the subject of contracts, both thinkers apply the same rule for the formation of social agreement as majority of society transfers its rights toward a sovereign that which governs and protects them. However, Hobbes is partial toward a monarchial government wherein it is suited with the embodiment of his covenants while Rousseau proposes the same powers for a sovereign but also adds the presence of the government to mitigate the function of the sovereign who acts as the representation of the general will while the government attends to particular or private wills. Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments Economic theorist Adam Smith proposes on his treatise Theory of Moral Sentiments the formation of a consciousness in the perspective of a leader, or in Rousseau’s/Hobbes’ context, a sovereign, in order to determine, apart from proper behavior, the rules and regulations that one must impose upon the subjects of society. Smith narrates: â€Å"We suppose ourselves the spectators of our own behavior, and to endeavor to imagine what effect it would, in this light produce upon us† (Smith 112). In context of a sovereign, it is essential, according to Smith, to examine actions and decisions through a detached position wherein the leader supposes himself to be a common citizen that according to theory, provides the power and responsibility of governance. Thus, rules imposed upon the subjects of sovereignty should be taken into proper consideration by the sovereign, so as to measure the worth and value of behavior reflection upon society, according to Smith. For example, a ruler’s ethical behavior is dependent on the laws in which he imposes over the ruled. Harsh policies that generally disfavor society imply that the ruler may be arrogant and selfish and therefore does not suit the position. Lenient policies on the other hand may imply a carefree attitude with the lack of seriousness that a good leader must possess. Thus, rules and impositions should situate itself in the middle rather than the extreme and through Smith’s propositions, the leader must then view rules as an ordinary citizen. In relation to Hobbes’ and Rousseau’s social theories, the concept of the sovereign is created by the people and represents the general will. Therefore, there is an implication of a natural balance of power between the governed and the sovereign. In Hobbes view, the sovereign’s duty is dictated or authored by the subjects and therefore cannot harm the governed whether through abuse or dereliction of duty; rather, the formation of laws and policies are in relation toward the fulfillment of the commonwealth’s purpose – that is, the preservation of peace. However, Hobbes monarchial standpoint does not entirely agree with Smith’s proposition since the monarch, utilizing the commonwealth’s purpose, has the power of censorship on speech, publication or any other form of expression that may disturb the peaceful status quo. Thus, Smith’s proposal cannot be applied with Hobbes’s notion of government. However, Rousseau takes into consideration the general will of the populace that also gives right and power to the sovereign. But Rousseau does not imply the purpose of peace in his government; rather, he focuses on the general will as given power. The sovereign has then the duty to make sure that laws do not violate the freedom of every individual for it is they who had created power in the first place.

Effectiveness of Dibels

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Validity and its Relationship with Reading Comprehension Introduction to Research Reading fluency is considered an integral component of the reading process and it has a big presence in the classroom. Its importance became evident since the National Reading Panel (2000) pronounced fluency instruction and assessment an essential and was thus incorporated into the reading First guidelines of No Child Left Behind in 2002 (Shelton, Altwerger, &Jordan, 2009).Reading fluency has been defined in many ways; an outcome of decoding and comprehension, a contributor to both decoding and comprehension, the ability to recognize words rapidly and accurately, the connections readers make between the natural phrasing when speaking and the phrasal segmentation when orally reading, among others (Abadiano &Turner, 2005).Nevertheless, Roehrig, Petscher, Nettles, Hudson and Torgesen (2008) state that perhaps fluency is best defined as having three main components, word recognition accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. Reading with accuracy is the student’s ability to read with few or no errors. Reading with automaticity is the students’ ability to recognize words quickly with little effort; quantifying the students’ reading rate. Prosody is the students’ ability to read with expression such as suing intonation, stress patterns, and phrasing.Due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Reading First program, which requires that validated standardized reading fluency assessments be used to progress monitor and identify any readers that might not be making sufficient progress to be at grade level, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is one of the few empirically validated assessments to progress monitor fluency (Roehring et al, 2008). The purpose of this literature review is to explore the validity of DIBELS and its relationship with reading comprehension.Students who demonstrate prer eading skill deficits often fall even further behind in later elementary years. Alternately, students who master essential reading skills in primary grades are able to maintain progress in later educational years. According to Goffreda, James, and Pedersen (2009) this is known as the Matthew Effect, in which the â€Å"rich get richer, while the poor get poorer†. They furthermore state that not only does illiteracy imit school success throughout the life span but that it is also associated with social problems such as school dropout, incarceration, and homelessness (Gofreda, James, & Pederson, 2009). It is this realization, along with the National Reading Panel’s recommendations, that led to the focus on early identification and precursors, such as DIBELS, in order to identify early literacy interventions. The National Institute for Literacy recommended DIBELS as a scientifically researched based assessment and thus DIBELS was adopted in many states (Shelton, Altwerger, & Jordan, 2009).Furthermore, early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIs) are also being put in place for pre-kindergarten children in some states (McCormick & Haack, 2011). Geofrada, James, and Pederson (2009) state that first grade has been identified as a particular critical period since the probability (88 percent) of poor readers remain so until fourth grade or higher grades. They found DIBELS indicators scores were predictive of district and state standardized exams.Gonzales, Vannest, and Reid (2008) conducted a study to discriminate the usefulness of first grade DIBELS to populations other than the general population, more specifically to students identified or at risk for emotional and behavior disorders. The researchers in this study found that DIBELS are efficient and effective for identification of at-risk students for populations other than general education students. In concurrence with these studies, Scheffel, Lefly, and Houser (2012) found t hat DIBELS is an effective tool in identifying English Language Learners (ELLs) who may be at risk for underachieving in reading.Combined, these studies affirm the validity of DIBELS for all students, including ELLs and students identified as having emotional and behavior disorders. However, In a more complex study, Yesil-Dagli (2009) found that on average, ELL students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch compared to those not eligible for free or reduced lunch, Hispanic ELL students compared to White ELL students, and male ELL students compared to female ELL students, read fewer words at the beginning of first grade and demonstrate a slower growth rate.This directly impacts their fluency rate in DIBELS. Paleologos and Brabham (2011) found that DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) is effective for predicting the performance of high-income students in overall reading standardized tests but not low-income students. According to their research, high-income students demonstra te higher abilities in reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in comparison to low-income students although both groups had achieved â€Å"benchmark† proficient scores in DIBELS.Furthermore, Shelton, Altwerger, and Jardon (2009) analyzed the relationship between DIBELS (DORF) and authentic reading and found that students employ different reading approaches when reading for a DIBELS test and when reading for authentic literature. That is, when students read a passage in a DIBELS test, they do so in a quick manner to achieve a high rate, but when reading authentic literature the reader slows down to read for comprehension.They found that readers in their study read almost half as many words when reading literature than they did as they read for fluency assessments (Shelton, Altwerger, & Jardon, 2009). This in turn does not reflect the true reading rate when testing for DIBELS. To conclude their study, the authors of this study state that their data showed no con nection between DORF scores and student’s comprehension when reading authentic literature. There have been both strong positive and strong negative research studies regarding the validity of DIBELS and its relationship with reading comprehension.Furthermore, a study conducted by Martin and Shapiro (2011) found that teacher’s judgments, although having strong correlations to student performance, was consistently and significantly overestimated when compared to students actual DIBELS performance. Not only that, but another study conducted by Hoffman, Jenkins, and Dunlap (2009) found that educators were not clear about how DIBELS data should inform and guide their instruction or were not even sure that DIBELS aligned with state-mandated testing.Future research is needed in this area. Nevertheless, in states that have DIBELS in place as an assessment to comply with the No Child Left Behind stipulations, DIBELS is present for teachers and their students. It is important the n, that teachers recognize the vast variables in research regarding the validity and relationship to reading comprehension, and as with any assessment, not use DIBELS as the sole criterion when determining student achievement.It should be kept in mind that fluency is only a part of the reading process. However, due to the fact that DIBELS is in place in many states, perhaps an area of concern that arises in the literature is how DIBELS data-drives instruction. That is, how do schools use DIBELS data to drive instruction? This is especially important since this literature review discussed the study by Hoffman, Jenkins, and Dunlap (2009) who found that teachers are not clear as to how DIBELS data should guide their instruction.If this writer were to draft a tentative research design pertaining to this literature review, the research question would be: In terms of qualitative data, how do teachers in Crane School District#13 and Yuma District #1 use their DIBELS data to drive teacher i nstruction? The purpose of the research would be to find effective ways schools use DIBELS data to drive teacher instruction. The data would be collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations methods.This type of analysis in known as qualitative study however, quantitative data will also be used when analyzing and reporting information from the surveys and questionnaires. This is also known as a multiple or mixed method. According to the learning in introduction to research, the best studies include both qualitative and quantitative data. The participants in the study would be administrators, coaches, and teachers. The responses they give will provide triangulation to the study, that is, validate that all participants know exactly how the data is driving the instruction taking place in the classroom.The exact amount of participants is not known since the study is not being conducted yet and forms have not been signed. However, it would be random sampling at each school to ensure that survey results can be statistically representative of the schools. The instrumentation that would be used for the study would be DIBELS data, surveys, and questionnaires. Observations would also be used to triangulate the information from the surveys and questionnaires. The research time line would be approximately two to three months.One month to gather participants and administer the questionnaires and surveys, another month to observe the actual data driven instruction in the classroom, and another month to analyze the data. The survey would include the following tentative questions: 1. What steps are taken to analyze DIBELS data? 2. Once the data is analyzed, how are the results used to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"at-risk†? 3. Once the data is analyzed, how are the results used to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"some-risk†? 4.Once the data is analyzed, how are the results us ed to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"low risk†? References Abadiano, H. R. (2005). Reading fluency: The road to developing efficient and effective readers. The New England Reading Association Journal, 41(1), 50-56. Goffreda C. T, Diperna J. C. , & Pedersen, J. A. (2009). Preventive screening of early readers: Predictive validity of the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS). Psychology in the Schools, 46(6), 539-552. doi: 10. 1002/pits. 20396 Gonzales, J.E. , Vannest K. J. , & Reid, R. (2008). Early classification of reading performance in children identified or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: A discriminant analysis using the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS). Journal of At-Risk Issues, 14(1), 33-40. Hoffman A. R. , Jenkins J. E. , & Dunlap S. K. (2009). Using DIBELS: A survey of purposes and practices. Reading Psychology, 30, 1-16. Martin S. D. , & Shapiro E. S. (2011). Examini ng the accuracy of teachers’ judgments of DIBELS performance.Psychology in the Schools, 48(4), 343-356. McCormick, C. E. , & Haack R. (2011). Early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIS) as predictors of reading skills in kindergarten through second grade. International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach / Tarptautinis psichologijos zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis poziuris, 7, 29-40. National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read, an evidence-based assessmnet of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction.Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Paleologos T. M. , & Brabham E. G. (2011). The effectiveness of DIBELS oral reading fluency for predicting reading comprehension of high-and-low income students. Reading Psychology, 32, 54-74. Roehrig A. D. , Petscher, Y. , Nettles S. M. , Hudson, R. , & Torgesen J. K. (2008). Accuracy of the DIBELS oral re ading fluency measure for predicting third grade reading comprehension outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 343-366. Scheffel, D. , Lefly D. , & Houser, J. (2012).The predictive utility of DIBELS reading assessment of reading comprehension among third grade English language learners and English speaking children. Reading Improvement, 49(3), 75-95. Shelton, N. R. , Altwerger, B. , & Jordan, N. (2009). Does DIBELS put reading first? Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(2), 137-148. Yesil-Dagli, U. (2009). Predicting ELL students’ beginning first grade English oral reading fluency from initial kindergarten vocabulary, letter naming, and phonological awareness skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 15-29.

Ps I Love You Film Review Essay

â€Å"Finding someone you love and who loves you back is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. But finding a true soul mate is an even better feeling. A soul mate is someone who understands you like no other, loves you like no other, will be there for you forever, no matter what. They say that nothing lasts forever, but I am a firm believer in the fact that for some, love lives on even after we’re gone.† This quotation comes from book â€Å"PS I love you†, written by Cecelia Ahern, and perfectly describes the novel. This book is definitely for women, when you read this you can find yourself laughing and crying all at once. Holly and Gerry had a perfect life. They are happily married, they lived in Dublin closed to their friends and family, the world lies at their feet. When Gerry dies, Holly is devastated. At the day of her 30th birthday, the man who was her soul mate, her lover, has left her. The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. But before he died, Gerry wrote a series of letters, some kind of guide includes a mission for Holly to get her life back on track. Over the years which they were together Garry has always been the organized one and long before he became sick he joked with Holy that if he died before her, he would leave her a special list of things to do to assure her life ran smoothly without him. And he kept his promise. Holly discovers that her mother has a large envelope for her. One for each of the remaining months of the year. Letters are delivered in surprising ways, each contained a new adventure or challenges and each signing of in the same way: â€Å"P.S. I Love You†. It’s a bittersweet tale that not only focuses on death but also celebrates life and the joy that is found in living. And although Holly eventually finds peace through the letters that Gerry has left behind, it’s her family and friends that play the biggest part in helping her to let go and move on from grief. Holly’s mother and best friends begin to worry that Gerry’s letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but in fact, each letter is pushing her further into a new future. Gerry’s first instructions are not only to Holly, but also to her best friends, to get out and celebrate Holly’s birthday together. Denise and Sharon seem to represent two aspects of life, Sharon is married and is on her way to building a family, while Denise is still single. She is looking for the right guy, but she does not want to waste time, so she has her checklist. She is definitely not shy but the most importantly, she is a good friend. Holly’s friend Sharon is married to John, who, as often happens with couples, was Gerry’s best friend. John is in a bit of a strange position because he loved Gerry, too, and maybe he is feeling a little left out. John thinks he will never have another friend like Gerry. The next character is The new bartender in Patricia’s pub, Daniel meets and forms an instant attraction to Holly at, of all places, Gerry’s wake. Is interesting, and spontaneous and he says things that are unpredictable, and does not feel the need to apologize if people are taken aback. He becomes a shoulder for Holly to lean on because he is the one person among her friends who didn’t know Gerry so there’s no reason for him to tread lightly or walk on eggshells when his name comes up, which she finds refreshing. Daniel is brave enough to speak his mind, and I think that is helpful to Holly in dealing with her loss. With Gerry’s words as her guide, Holly embarks on a journey of rediscovery in a story about marriage, friendship and how a love so strong can turn the finality of death into a new beginning for life. The tasks range was different, from getting a new job to singing karaoke in front of a nightclub audience. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly aversely embraces each of the tasks and discovers along the way that she has more inner strength than she could ever have imagined. She also struggle with feelings of guilt when she meets a handsome man who is clearly attracted to her. The love story is told in a unique way. The main character must started to live without her husband. He was the earth she lived, the ground she stepped and air she breathes. She did not have a proper job, she was not ambitious, she did not have any hobbies. Everything she did in her life revolved around Gerry. They were talking about how unpredictable life could be as one didn’t always get what one expected. No matter how many times you read this book, it will always brings you a smile on your lips with tears in your eyes. This is one of those books that make you cry from the time it starts, then later on lifts you up with some comedy, proceeds with an aura of hope and some heart-warming flash-backs. Cecelia Ahern has written this book brilliantly, she describes the emotions and struggle of life. Author also has taught me a valuable lesson about the true meaning of living and the divide between life and death, and gave the lesson about what it takes to lead meaningful and purposeful life. I really enjoyed it book. It is a romance, but it explores a hard issue. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good dramatic, and funny fiction story. Of the front of the book you can find a quote: â€Å"Everyone needs a guardian angel† and I hope we all do.