Criminal justice

ENDANGERED SPECIES essays

ENDANGERED SPECIES essays Endangered species are living things whose population is so reduced that they are threatened with extinction. Thousands of species are included in this category. The International Union for the Conservation of nature and Natural Resources publishes a list of threatened mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and (many people donÕt consider them) plants. Millions of years before humans, extinction of living things was linked to geological and climate, the effects of which were translated into major alternation of the environment. Environmental change is still the primary cause of the extinction of animals, but now the changes are greatly accelerated by humans activity. Clearing land for farms and towns, lumbering, mining, building dams, and draining wetlands all alter the environments so extensively that ecosystems may be completely destroyed. With a burgeoning human population requiring food, shelter, and clothing and constantly demanding more energy-using devices, the temperation to exploit land for human use without regard for consequences is great. Frequently, several forms of environmental change are responsible for the disappearance of species. For example, as tropical forests are cut down, primates have progressively smaller feeding and living spaces. They also become more accessible to hunters, who kill monkeys for food and trap many primates for sale as pets, research animals, and zoo specimens. Some animal species may move into human communities when their own are destroyed. Extermination of marauding monkeys, roaming tigers, or foraging deer is easy to justify by people whose livelihood is threatened. Pollution is another form of environments change. Forty species of birds in the United States, including peregrine hawk, bald eagle, pelicans, and roseate terns, lay thin-shelled as a result of ingesting degradation products of and some other chlorination hydrocarbon insecticides that make ...

Professor Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Professor Interview - Essay Example I am interested in finding out the about the specific strategies that help college students achieve proper management of their time, life and scarce resources. The current task will require me to create a plan to meet the emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of college students. The information from the interview will be beneficial to college students because at the end I will prepare a PowerPoint presentation to teach college students to teach them about time management, self-management, and learning strategies. Concerning time, what do you understand by the phrase â€Å"time management†? Professor : Human beings are required to live in two time dimensions at once; that is, the present and the future (Forsyth, 2010). People need to manage their time effectively if they desire to realize their goals as scheduled. This inevitably creates a conflict between focusing on the pressing demands of the day while creating some space to make strategic plans for future. The conc ept of time management deals with planning time utilization in such a manner as to perform effectively and efficiently all planned activities. Allen (2005) argues that the fundamental objective of time management is to organize strategically a person’s activities in order to increase the possibilities of achieving the intended objectives. Time is money; therefore, time that is not used well translates into wastage of critical resources. Owning a watch does not promise a lasting solution to time management defects; however, people need to understand time management techniques in order to counteract the barriers to time management. Student : What are the primary strategies that college students can apply to ensure proper management of time at their disposal? Professor : Time management techniques that are used frequently include time budgeting, daily planner and time log. I will explain to you what each of them means and show you how students should apply them to ensure they do not waste their time in unnecessary activities. Felton and Sims (2009) defines time budgeting as the setting of standards for spending the available time effectively and efficiently. College students need to budget for their time since it helps to minimize chances of time wastage. Levin (2007) proposed the procedure for accomplishing time budget incorporating dividing the available tasks into unit projects, assigning priorities to project units in order to determine the level of urgency, deciding the amount of time to be spent on each project unit and spreading the available time over specified days required to complete the task. The second strategy of time management is the daily planner. The daily planner enables college students to plan for their daily activities in order of urgency. Time planners should be based on realistic deadlines to avoid unnecessary frustrations. The third strategy is the time log. The time log is a chart that allows a student to keep track of the time sp ent on each activity by connecting both regular and unexpected activities of the day (Felton & Sims, 2009). A review of the time log at the end of the day enables students to trace the loopholes for time wastage and eliminate them accordingly. Time management techniques are foundations for both personal and organizational prosperity. Student : What are the most common barriers to time management that college students need to avoid in order to stop time wastage? Professor : The crucial part of any time management endeavor is identifying potential barriers to

Thinking Blues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thinking Blues - Essay Example This ‘first encounter’ as he calls it and the many that followed brought on the realization that there was a palpable tension between the author and other nighttime pedestrians especially women just because he was black. He became ‘thoroughly familiar’ with ‘the language of fear’ within a year of his coming to Chicago. He learned to expect car-drivers stopped at traffic lights to hurriedly lock their car doors as he crossed in front of their cars on dark, lonely intersections. He learned to deal with pedestrians preferring to cross to other side of the street rather than have to pass him. He suffered ‘unpleasantries’ with people like policemen, bouncers etc whose job it is to keep troublemakers at bay. To keep his peace of mind the author has learned to control his anger at being mistaken for a criminal every now and then. In actual fact he makes it a point to make elaborate gestures of being peaceful and on the right side of the law likening his various ways of assuring his ‘victims’ to the cowbell worn by hikers in bear country. Through his essay the writer brings forth very clearly the dilemma and dangers that are faced in public spaces in urban America by black men who do not conform to the stereotype of being themselves dangerous or outside the law. Black Men and Public Space, by Brent Staples is an essay that illustrates the above thesis very poignantly. His hurt more than indignation at being perceived as dangerous simply because he was big, burly and black is palpable through out the essay. The essay begins with the words, â€Å"My first victim was a woman- white†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (Staples, para1) In actual fact, it is the author himself who was victimized. Soon after he arrived in Chicago as a young graduate who by his own admission was timid, a ‘softy’, a ‘good boy’ and one who ‘doubted the virtues of intimidation’ got wrongly suspected of being a mugger

History of furniture Essay Example for Free

History of furniture Essay The meaning of domesticity in The Middle Ages took on a variety of interpretations. It typically encompasses anything from the family unit, their dwelling house and their friends and neighbors to rulers and their castles. The home, as the axis of domesticity could be viewed as a structure together with its contents and lay out. Naturally the growth and development of furniture runs parallel to the growth and development of domesticity throughout The Middle Ages. Nomadic culture was prevalent during The Middle Ages and domestic furniture was constructed to reflect the demands of transient lifestyles. Wealthy landowners together with nobility rarely remained in one place for an extended period as they often traveled between their domains. Heavy, bulky furniture was entirely undesirable in the circumstances. Therefore the furniture was designed for mobility and easy disassembly. The chest was perhaps the most common item of household furniture and reflected the nomadic culture of The Middle Ages more effectively than any other item of furniture. The chest proved to be a diverse item of domestic furniture. It was ideal for storing and transferring goods from one destination to another. Upon arrival at a destination the chest could be used as a table or a mantle. The Middle Ages which stretched over a period of about one thousand years commencing with the fall of Rome in 476 A. D and ending with the conquest of the Turk’s Constantinople in 1453 B. C. ‘It was the age of monasteries and convents, of religious persecutions and of heroic struggles of the Christian Church. ’ (Litchfield. 2004) The period was also marked by a progression of feudalism and war as well as chivalry. However, ‘towards the close, a time of comparative civilization and progress, of darkness giving way to the light which followed; the night of the Middle Ages preceding the dawn of the Renaissance. ’ (Litchfield. 2004) Constantinople, the capital city of the Eastern Empire began to grow in popularity and as a result the migration to the capital city, of families of respectable means grew. When they left their homes for Constantinople they carried with them all of their valuable possessions. The wealth homeowners gravitated toward more ornamental household furnishings and fittings. This represented a departure from the early Classic Greek to a more Byzantine style. (Rowling. 1973 p 17) The dictates of a prevalent Christianity significantly influenced the role of women in The Middle Ages. Ladies were permitted ‘to be seen in chariots and open carriages, the designs of which, therefore, improved and became more varied. ’(Litchfield. 2004) And there was a cessation of the old tradition of ‘reclining at meals’ (Litchfield 2004) was replaced by having guests occupying benches. Until the turn of the fourteenth century the ordinary dwelling house was simplistic in its furnishing, reflecting a slow growth in domesticity with the emergence of the well off merchant mentality. In France, for instance, the main room in a given home contained a ‘bedstead and a prie dieu chair, a table with plain slab supported on shaped standards. ’(Litchfield 2004) The rest of the furniture featured in the main room would typically be comprised of the signature Middle Age’s chest which would have been carved from oak or chestnut with a series of benches or stools. A basic table resembling a supported and elevated slab of wood also formed a typical part of the furniture arrangement in an ordinary dwelling house of The Middle Ages. It was around thirty inches in diameter permitting guests to sit on one side while the other side was reserved for the issuing of the meal. While there would be no family discussions across the table, family members and guests would be in a position to rub elbows, so to speak. This is indicative of socialization and explains the origins of the social term ‘rubbing elbows’. The period spanning the 11th -13th centuries was the hallmark of civilization in The Middle Ages. Religious reform fortified the pope’s position in the church and Medieval society but conflict between the pope and the emperor was unavoidable. Towns and farms witnessed a population explosion with the resulting merchant or middle classes. An unmistakable growth and development in culture and economics prevailed. By the thirteenth century Gothic architecture reflecting the religious culture and a shift toward education and the university had reached its peak. The Medieval peasant however was slow in domesticity although he formed a large part of the noble lord’s domestic make-up. The peasant population, primarily made up of farmers comprised about nine-tenths of the Medieval population and were serfs and villeins. ( Nurmiainen 1998) A typical peasant village was comprised of anywhere from ten to sixty families. (Morrison. 1970 p. 57) Their accommodations were dreary and rather dank in appearance, to say the very least. Their dwelling houses were usually consisted of a ‘dark, dank hut made of wood or wicker daubed with mud and thatched with straw or rushes. ’(Litchfield 2004) Sharing their homes with livestock such as pigs and chicken, the straw/reed layered floors were often defiled by livestock droppings. Dried leaves and straw represented a typical bed and animal skins were utilized as blankets. The stove was merely a fire made of wood and sometimes peat which burned continuously on a dirt patch which was cleared out on the floor of a hut. The stagnant domesticity among the peasants reflected resonantly in the typical furnishing of the village huts. It was a simple ‘plank table on trestles, a few stools, perhaps a chest, and probably a loom for the women to make their own cloth. ’ (Litchfeild 2004) If peasants did anything for the growth of domesticity throughout The Middle Ages, they did it for the nobility. They existed for the sole purpose of supporting their lord and master who in turn illustrated a steady growth toward domesticity as evidenced by the unwavering commitment of the peasant. ‘They gave about half their time to work in his fields, cut timber, haul water, spin and weave, repair his buildings, and wait upon his household. In war, the men had to fight at his side. ’ (Litchfield 2004) The idea and values of domesticity are saliently present in the development and retention of the domestic servant. In this vein, the peasantry can be viewed as a founder of the latter day domestic servant. Arguably, the dictates of the master/servant mentality takes its roots back to the feudalism system that reached its peak in The Middle Ages. (Keen. 2006) Demonstrative of domesticity was the ever present table. It was a shrine to refuge and an escape from the abrasive outside world. The table represented a coming together of family and friends at the end of a day primarily dedicated to bringing meals home. The Anglo-Saxons were no exception. Often a hall which was usually dimensionally off balance because its height was disproportionate to its width and length was occupied by a long table made of oak. The table was ‘formed of planks rough hewn from the forest, and which had scarcely received any polish—stood ready prepared for the evening meal. ’(Litchfield 2004) A typical Anglo-Saxon apartment had walls adorned with war relics, a representation of triumph and defeat as well as a desire to be reminded of those events within the snug confines of a domestic setting. The Anglo-Saxon decorum was simple with a floor made up of a earth and lime concoction not unlike today’s barn floorings. It might even be viewed by modern standards as harsh and crude. Be that as it may, it was the Anglo-Saxon taste and they obviously saw it differently. The Anglo-Saxon dwelling house contained a floor which had a raised step about a quarter of the length of the apartment. This dais was reserved for important visitors and family members and represented the hub of domestic activity. Typical of Medieval domestic leaning, ‘a table richly covered with scarlet cloth was placed transversely across the platform, from the middle of which ran the longer and lower board, at which the domestics and inferior persons fed, down towards the bottom of the hall. (Litchfield 2004) The entire setting of the Anglo-Saxon apartment was reflective of an escape from the outside world. It represented a warm and dry refuge and the T shaped table reflected domestic harmony and socialization in the home. The dais functioned to harvest a coming together, a calming of the minds and an escape from toil. Huge chairs occupied the dais and a cloth canopy hung over the collection of chairs and tables as a means of protection from leaks as rain often escaped the poorly built roof tops. (See figure 2) The dais was domesticity personified. At the upper level of the hall, the walls were shrouded by curtains and the floor was covered by carpet of some embroidery or tapestry, although the color was rather harsh on the eyes. This color choice by no means operated to keep occupants out of the home. It was merely a matter of the fashion of the times. Its primary function was to make the home a fashionable and comfortable place as more and more time was spent at home with the emphasis on the family unit and fostering close relations with ones friends, relatives and neighbors. See figure 3) The table is deserving of further comment in that it speaks to the importance of feudalism and its infiltration of domesticity. Litchfield observed that ‘over the lower range of table the roof had no covering, the rough plastered walls were left bare, the rude earthen floor was uncarpeted, the board was uncovered by a cloth, and rude massive benches supplied the place of chairs’ (Litchfield 2004) More telling however was the tw o chairs that occupied the upper table’s center. These two chairs were elevated more so than the other chairs and was reserved for the male female heads of the household. ‘To each of these was added a footstool curiously carved and inlaid with ivory, which mark of distinction was peculiar to them. ’ (Litchfield 2004) The Norman civilization began to infiltrate Medieval times and the citizens found themselves warring with neighboring communities. This, together with the move toward trade and migrant farming obviated the need to change residence from time to time. As noted previously this nomadic lifestyle encouraged light furnishings and the ability to travel lightly if one wanted to secure valuable possessions. The Anglo-Saxons were adamant in their perception of the necessity for a bed. The bed was reserved for royalty and ladies of nobility. However, as the Medieval period settled into a more stable state the gradual growth into domesticity became more grounded. Ladies began to dress more formally, and the upper classes became more polished. New and more pronounced domestic furnishings sprung up in the Medieval home. For instance, upper floors were added and stairs would follow this alteration. Domestic socialization reached its peak with the introduction of ‘the parloir’ or ‘talking room’. (Gella 2002 pps 5-10) Completing this domestic setting fire places made of brick or stone were inserted refining the overall decorum where previously a gaping hole was utilized for escaping smoke. Even the sleeping quarters took on a new look, one of domestic harmony and comfort. ‘Bedsteads were carved and draped with rich hangings. Armoires made of oak and enriched with carving, and Presses date from about the end of the eleventh century. ’(Litchfield 2004) Medieval France was no different from Anglo-Saxon decor. The domestic chamber was similar to that of the Anglo-Saxons and typical European knight and lady ‘bedroom’ settings. (Kauper 1996 p 146) ‘The prie dieu chair was generally at the bedside, and had a seat which lifted up, the lower part forming a box-like receptacle for devotional books then so regularly used by a lady of the time. (Litchfield 2004) As the fourteenth century came to a close Medieval France and much of Europe witnessed a propensity toward loud colors. A typical room in a castle or palace was adorned with ‘cloth of gold, bordered with vermilion velvet embroidered with roses. ’(Litchfield 2004) A Duke’s room would contain trimmings of gold material of embroidered windmills whereas a Duchess’s room would contain similar trimmings of an em broidered crossbow. Carpets were generally glossy and cushions of gold or some other rich coloring were typically placed on the floor during summer months. The time spent at home was evidenced by the detail and attention given to arm chairs of the time. Litchfield describes a typical chair for a princess as . a chamber chair with four supports, painted in fine vermilion, the seat and arms of which are covered in vermilion morocco, or cordovan, worked and stamped with designs representing the sun, birds, and other devices bordered with fringes of silk and studded with nails. (Litchfield 2004) As commerce developed through the Empires of The Middle Ages there was a development of the middle classes. The domestic values of the middle classes are also manifested by the furnishings and fittings of a typical home of a dealer. The retail dealer’s wife dressed in silk and was provided pillows adorned with buttons made of Oriental pearls for resting her arms and head. (Boissonnade 2002 pp 3-8) The chair which represents comfort and stability is prominent throughout Medieval Europe also had a place in the German community. (See figure 1) Litchfield pays homage to a typical chair of German construction of the times. ‘The famous choir stalls in the Cathedral of Ulm, which are considered the finest work of the Swabian school of German wood carving. The magnificent panels of foliage on the front, the Gothic triple canopy are adorned with the busts of Isaiah, David, and Daniel. ’(Litchfield 2004)

Hollowness in Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Discourse Essay example -- Biog

Hollowness in Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Discourse Much has been said about Emily Dickinson’s mystifying poetry and private life, especially during the years 1860-63. Allegedly it was during these years that the poetess, at the most prolific phase of her career, withdrew from society, began to wear her â€Å"characteristic† white dress and suffered a series of psychotic episodes. Dickinson tended to â€Å"theatricalize† herself by speaking through a host of personae in her poems and by â€Å"fictionalizing† her inner life as a gothic romance (Gilbert 584). Believing that a poem is â€Å"the best words in the best order† (to quote S.T. Coleridge) and that all the poems stemming from a single consciousness bring to surface different aspects / manifestations of the same personal mythology, I will firstly disregard biographical details in my interpretation of Dickinson’s poems 378, 341 and 280 and secondly place them in a sort of â€Å"continuum† (starting with 378 and ending with 280 ) to show how they attempt to describe a â€Å"plunge† into the Unconscious and a lapse into madness (I refrain from using the term â€Å"journey,† for it implies a â€Å"telos,† a goal which, whether unattainable or not, is something non-existent in the poems in question). Faced with the problem of articulating and concretizing inner psychological states, Dickinson created a totally new poetic discourse which lacks a transcendental signified and thus can dramatize the three stages of a (narrated) mental collapse: existential despair, withdrawal from the world of the senses and â€Å"death† of consciousness. In poem 378 the reader is introduced to the mental world of a speaker whose relentless questioning of metaphysical â€Å"truths† has led her to a state of complete â€Å"faithlessness†: l... ...son’s Poetry: Stairway of Surprise. New York: Holt, 1960. Eberwein, Jane Donahue. Dickinson: Strategies of Limitation. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 1985. Feit Diehl, Joanne. â€Å"’Ransom in a Voice’: Language as Defense in Dickinson’s Poetry.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 156-75. Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the 19th Century Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Homans, Margaret. â€Å"’Oh, Vision of Language’: Dickinson’s Poems of Love and Death.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 114-33. Miller, Cristanne. â€Å"How ‘Low Feet’ Stagger: Disruptions of Language in Dickinson’s Poetry.† Feminist Critics Read Emily Dickinson. Ed. Suzanne Juhasz. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. 134-55.

Putting the Enterprise Into the Enterprise System

Davenport’s article â€Å"Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System† discusses the pros and cons of Enterprise Systems. These systems gather data—manufacturing, sales, logistics, financial, etc. , and then pull this data into a central warehouse that helps companies make informed business decisions. However, the Article’s main theme is, that while these can be powerful tools for an organization, the adoption of a cookie cutter solution may be counterproductive.The part that most interested me was the Article’s discussion that very often a software system designed by the software experts may, in fact, remove the competitive edge of that company. While we tend to think of computing systems as enhancing operations and making them more efficient through faster communication, automation, removing the need for people, etc. , I had never thought of them as having the potential to remove a company’s competitive advantage.Competitive advantage , of course, is doing something different that makes your company better than the others. The difference, as cited in the Article, is typically the service, speed of delivery, etc. , and not the product itself. If, however, you and your competitor all sign up for the same or similar systems that define your business methods, then you begin to operate the same. Now all you have to compete on is price, which is going to squeeze margins.Of course there is a way around this, as the Article discusses, and that is to customize the system to match your existing processes and differentials so that you get the benefits of the efficiencies where you want them, but still maintain the uniqueness that makes your customers continue to come to you. This Article should be read by any company that is about to embark on the integration of an Enterprise System into their organization.The Article gives a lot of good pointers, particularly on the last page of the items to consider and the need for peopl e who truly understand the company’s methods of operations and DNA to ensure that these carry on even after the software is introduced. For the cost investment of such software, it is vitally important that an organization comes out with a product that makes them better and stronger and doesn’t get pulled down to be just another one of the pack.