An Assessment of the Profession of Arms free essay sample

What does it mean to be a professional? A professional is defined as a qualified and experienced person in a work environment that conforms to the standards of skill, with competence and character. After nearly a decade of war the Army has decided to focus on creating professionals rather than just creating warriors. Leaders have realized the importance of being a professional and want to ensure that every soldier and civilian member of the Army understands the same importance. Therefore, the Army has begun implementing the Profession of Arms. The Army is an American Profession of Arms, a vocation comprised of experts certified in the ethical applications of lethal land combat power, serving under civilian authority, entrusted to defend the constitution and rights and interest of the American People† (Gen. Casey, 2010). After reading General Casey’s statement on what it means to be a Profession of Arms I realize the importance of ensuring that the traditions and values o f the Army are upheld well beyond war. We will write a custom essay sample on An Assessment of the Profession of Arms or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is essential for the Army to develop itself as a profession. By developing professionals the Army is ensuring that service members have leaders with expert knowledge and ethical behaviors. Unlike other professions the Army is based on unique fields of expertise and demonstrated competencies. Even though, the Army is structured differently from civilian careers it is still imperative that soldiers have character and skills that will transfer into the civilian sector. By adapting to a Profession of Arms the military has began preparing for the next phase; a phase that may be different from a war environment. Ethics is the study of moral standards and how they affect conduct. The Profession of Arms mentality will teach soldiers of all ranks to conduct a self assessment and transform into a trained expert with high ethical values. By transforming the warrior into the expert the military is ensuring that ethical values are maintained. It is important that soldiers have ethical values because their duties have an unlimited liability. Soldiers have an unlimited liability because they have taken an oath which ultimately places his or her life on the line. This sacrifice may increase the odds of a soldier participating in unethical situations. When an American citizen sees a soldier in uniform they will formulate their opinions of the military based off of that one soldier. I believe that if a soldier possesses character they are motivated intrinsically and will benefit the Army as a professional by upholding its ethical values. The Army is a way of life; a culture designed to understand, embrace, and demonstrate its understanding. Throughout the entire existence of the Army its culture has been based on elements such as oaths, creeds, the Warrior Ethos and the Army Values. The elements of the Army’s culture are the basis for ethical conduct. Soldiers have been taught to uphold and live by the Army Values but they have not necessarily been taught to remain a professional while upholding these standards. By instilling ethical and moral value into the professional soldier the military is ensuring that all soldiers, even lower level soldiers, are able to make complex and tactical decisions for a strategic effect. If the Army has unethical soldiers they risk failure. Failure due to unethical soldiers can have strategically far reaching implications for the Army, our client nation, and international allies. Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston stated that soldiers must be taught professionalism based on science and art. The science of teaching means making certain that military members understand the laws, the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, and all regulations. The Art of teaching soldiers means ensuring that they are able to apply the sciences of being a professional. â€Å"The Art and science of ethically fighting wars and establishing a more just peace using lethal land combat power to uphold and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic- and to advance our foreign policies abroad† (CAPE, 2010). After listening to Sergeant Major of the Army Preston, I realize the importance of building blocks for educating service members and incorporating the profession of Arms. The expertise of implementing science and art will manifest itself into specific fields of knowledge: the military technical field, the moral and ethical field, the political and cultural field, and the most important field human development. Without Human development, maturity will not be attained and progress will be inevitable. The steps that the key leaders have taken to improve the military are essential. It is critical that the Army be evaluated to ensure that soldiers understand what we have been through over the last decade. To monitor the transformation the Army has created the Center for the Army Profession and Ethics campaign which is known as CAPE. The Army has decided to introduce the Campaign for the Profession of Arms to develop leaders of character and competence required to meet the dynamic challenges of the 21st Century. This campaign is designed to define and reinvigorate what it means to be a professional in the Profession of Arms. As we embark on this mission, we must reflect on the values and traits that define and distinguish us as a unique profession† (LTG Caslen, 2011). After careful review of The Center for the Army Profession and Ethics campaign I noticed several steps that the campaign has taken to reach soldiers of the 21st Century. One of the most crucial steps that I have noticed is the advance in social media. CAPE has realized the importance of sites like Twitter and Facebook and has created links to reach the social networking soldiers. The campaign has also begun to reach soldiers by utilizing the media streaming network YOUTUBE. In the new Army transformation, all of these advances are great steps and will aid in the success of the Professional of Arms. Ultimately, the success of organizations transformation and adapting of the Profession of Arms depends on the commitment of all soldiers and leaders. If soldiers are unable to learn or unwilling to learn, based on the arts and sciences of professionalism the Army will not be able to move past the last decade of war. Our country has placed special trust and confidence in soldiers as individuals and in the Army as an institution to perform our duties. Exemplary duty can achieve a trust relationship with Americans and a high vocational status. The ethical improvement will demonstrate both effective military expertise and the proper employment expertise. The Profession of Arms outlook will bridge the gap between civilian professional and warrior. I’m excited about the implementation of professionalism. I want my soldiers to be able to transform from a warrior to a professional before the end of their military career, this way they are prepared when their obligation is over and are not at a disadvantage. I believe that character and job competence is the only way to surpass the current era of conflict and CAPE will work with officials to strengthen the Army. References Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (2011). Retrieved on July 23, 2011 from http://cape. army. mil/index. html USACAPE1. Army Profession of Arms (FULL) Part 1 of 2. Retrieved on July 23, 2011 from http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=PEjnKJwLrFU USACAPE1. Army Profession of Arms (FULL) Part 2 of 2. Retrieved on July 23, 2011 from http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=GFnRM56Oejkfeature=relmfu

Latino Religions †a Blend of Nationalist and Spiritual Meaning

Latino Religions – a Blend of Nationalist and Spiritual Meaning Free Online Research Papers When asked to define features that seem to be distinctive to Latino religious traditions, there is a list that comes to mind. Firstly, Latino religions have an interesting blend of nationalist and religious meaning applied to their practices and beliefs. For example, the Virgen de Guadalupe has been the symbol of Mexico since the War of Independence. Ever since being credited as an aide to the people in the war, the Virgen has been a strong figure for Mexicans. Eventually she became the official patron saint of Mexico and the Americas. However, at the same time she holds different meaning in a spiritual context. While her role as the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas is recognized by the Catholic Church, she also is believed to provide aide and protection beyond a strictly nationalist identity. The Virgen is also seen as a mother and protector responsible for miracles in daily life, in the home, within the community, or whenever separate from strictly Mexican identity. The veneration of saints such as the Virgen is also something inherently Latino. Saint veneration, most commonly expressed through votive devotion, is homage to God through the mediation of a saint. Latinos feel very strongly about this practice, both going to their place of worship to light candles and most often lighting them at home, too. In order to light these candles in the home, Latinos also generally have altars set up in their residences. These altars are extremely common and are very important to the Latino community. This tradition is mainly in response to the lack of incorporation of Latino aspects of Catholicism into the Anglo-Catholic system as these immigrant communities are growing. Yet another distinctive feature is the emphasis on the suffering and/or oppression aspects of each of their faiths. For example, Mexican-Catholics put great importance on the portrayal of the intense suffering of Jesus within the Passion narrative. By doing this, they are able to rationalize the seemingly unavoidable oppression and suffering experienced by Latino communities wherever they may be. This virtually unavoidable marginalization and persecution of Latino communities almost always leads to community bonding. With Latino communities growing closer together and becoming tighter knit, the already existing emphasis on religion being part of one’s ethnic identity is only magnified. To many, being Mexican simply means being Catholic. Evidence of this connection can be seen with the incorporation of indigenous history in services, celebrations, and traditions. Not only can Aztec dancers be found at many festivals, but many Latinos also visit botanicas, incorporating other traditions like Santeria into their spiritual experience outside of the church. Of course, Latinos also prefer bilingual or Spanish speaking leaders for their services, something some Latinos had the privileged of experiencing and many didn’t. But this ethnic identity goes even further geographically than the botanicas in their neighborhoods. The last and final of the bigger commonalities within Latino religious experience is that of a strong regional identity. Obviously, this comes from the already intense ethnic identity but it is taken a step further. The ethnicity is directly linked back to a home country and village that are reflected on the other side of the border. Latinos tend to create communities in America with the best attempts to reflect their original community from their homeland. By creating this physical region in a transplanted area, Latinos are able to continue to adhere to their strong regional identity and, furthermore, ethnic identity. Each community in the original fatherland was unique, with different patron saints and/or traditions, something that, if it could be transplanted, would help create a comfort zone during a very new and jarring experience upon entering America. Beyond this, many express and act upon the desire to return back to their homeland for spiritual or personal milestones, such as certain festivals or child confirmation. Some are even willing to risk not being able to make it back because they are illegal immigrants. Though all of these traits and traditions are agreed upon by many to be common within the Latino religious experience, it would be a gross generalization of the Latino community. Not only that, it would misrepresent other religious experiences by making each of these aspects seem uniquely Latino. The best way to approach finding out what makes a Latino religion Latino is less about finding a finite list such as this one and checking off each trait for each faith and labeling it Latino if it covers a majority of the traits and traditions. Rather, it would be better to take a quite opposite approach. Firstly, the definition of religion would have to be established and agreed upon before anything else begins. This could take up a whole other paper, so the discussion will, sadly, not be delved into here, but let’s just say the dictionary definition is not the final answer. Secondly, it would need to be decided if the qualifications for a Latino religion would have emphasis on the racial and genetically affected ethnic breakdown of the community. If so, then it’s a simple matter of gathering up statistics regarding demographics and interpreting it for a more mathematical and finite answer. However, I feel that this would probably be the worst cop out ever and would truly miss everything about the emotions and experience of the elusive definition of what a Latino religion is. The best approach, which would (just our luck) be the most difficult approach, would be to somehow observe and document each individual Latino community’s general experience starting with their homeland faith and going through the immigration experience all the way until the present day in their American community. A combination of extensive personal human experience and demographical data would have to be collected in order for this to be done as accurately as possible. The reason why I think this method is best is because I think the personal and spiritual experience of a Latino is the most important factor in their choice of religion. Not only that, but it would further directly influence how that religion would be shaped as far as traits and traditions that may change, be added or removed, or left the same. Using this approach, we aren’t limited to just studying the religion as it is upon the time of discovering that a Latino is biologically Latino. With this information, we are able to create a rough picture of pre-existing religions that changed or remained stoic, religions that merged to create hybrids, and religions that were (more or less) created from the history of Latino evolution. Granted, I also have to accept that there will be generalization to a certain extent since I can in no way find it realistic to even dream about documenting this for each and every individual Latino. I chose the virtually impossible task of trying to document as many communities of Latinos along with a strong number of those who are not part of a Latino community, having experienced less bonding between Latinos and more of assimilation and possible alternate bonding with another non-Latino based community. Even more interesting would be to see if these individuals felt alienated and unsure of their identity. Basically, the answer to this question can’t truly be answered but not just because my approach would require years of research and financing. There is no religion that could ever simply be labeled as Latino. Santeria, one of the religions brought over, is a mix of Latino and African indigenous. If the history of these African religions could be traced back, I’m sure they came from a merge of two or more pre-existing faiths. No sense of identity that anyone claims, whether ethnic, regional, political, etc. can be used to claim any religion because, in all honesty, not one religion is new, original, or separate from the other, much like trying to find an actor not six degrees away from Kevin Bacon. Even Anglo-Catholicism is not truly Anglo tracing back into its history. Latinos cannot create a religion (hybrid or ‘original’) that is exclusive to only them, nor can they take a pre-existing religion and simply throw Latino in front of it and claim any ownership to it. Sadly, the idea that there is any sense of ownership of religion does exist no matter how 100% false that claim is. This study would not give us an answer of whether a religion is Latino or not because that simply can’t be done. The best way I can think to explain this (and maybe it’s only because I’ve been studying for this final lately) is by comparing it to plate tectonics. There are two separate plates, one being Latino community and its current faith, the other representing whatever separate community and faith they are about to encounter. The basic premise of this scenario would be to gather any and all information about each separate plate so that we can properly predict and/or analyze the impending collision. Many scenarios would arise. The Latino plate could prove to be weaker, being forced under by the other plate, with only scattered (yet explosive) uprising magmatic traditions that couldn’t fully be coerced out of them, similar to the Anglo vs. Mexican Catholic experience. Or, the Latino plate could prove stronger and, instead, overtake the other plate, causing the opposite results, something I would personally love to see and hesitantly say could be the impending future of the Catholic church in America. The plates could also, rather than face each other head on, take on a transverse boundary, in which the Latino plate and the other plate violently rub together, causing intense heat, friction, and earthquakes all around the area. While they are not dramatically overtaking each other or drastically reshaping the weaker, they are interacting with each other abrasively where they meet, having effect on each other beyond just where they interact. This is still a situation of give and take, where the rocks actually rubbing at the boundary are mixing and switching in a tense manner. I find this to be most like the tension between the Protestant and Catholic churches, but specifically in the context of Latino conversion where the evangelicals and Catholic power-houses are struggling to keep what they have while also trying to acquire more of the Latinos in the vulnerable or soul-searching state that puts them in this boundary danger zone. Finally, there is the divergent zone, in which is where the two plates are moving away from each other. This is due to the combination of pull and push forces, something that should sound familiar to those who listened to the lectures. The pull force is coming from the other side of the plates that are partaking in the subduction or overtaking of another plate, causing them these two plates to pull away from each other. The push force is coming from the uprising of new magma between the two plates, creating new portions of each plate. This new material not only helps with growth and movement of the plates, but it’s also interesting that two different plates are now made of very similar (if not identical) matter at this boundary. This boundary is harder to put into context though it provides quite an interesting scenario. I would try and think of it as similar to a more relatively current situation in which Protestantism and Catholicism in Mexico have come to exist in each other’s space. They seem to just so sweetly and Christ-like naturally repel each other and desire great distance between them, in a general sense. Granted, Catholicism came ‘first’ and so instead of an even migration, the Protestant plate would be moving far faster and greater as they see the appeal of acceptance in America (pull force) and are virtually unwelcome in Mexico by Catholics (push force). Catholicism would remain more stagnant or, at least, be moving at a slower rate in the other direction. What’s most interesting, however, is what this ‘new’ material that is rising up will be. Could it represent the already clear open-minded and friendlier acceptance of Protestantism that can be fou nd in Mexican cities and villages near the border? Or is there something new on the horizon that we have yet to see? The one thing plate boundaries don’t cover is the existence of two plates that amiably live in the vicinity of each other. This is because not one single inch of a plate boundary isn’t interacting with another boundary. Call me a cynic, but there will never be a situation in which humans will interact in a 100% non-violent or abrasive manner, even if they try their best not to. Religion, like plates, will never stop interacting or changing and not one religion comes out fully unchanged. So, the answer to the question is clearly not here. Instead, I think the question to ask here is broad and consisting of many layers. Considering the consensus that religions are not own-able or entitled to anyone, how does the personal and community experience of Latinos shape the way in which Latino communities and individuals react with other religious experiences they encounter? Do certain similar experiences (boundary types) correlate with similar outcomes (boundary types)? What does this tell us about the nature of Latino practices and traditions, such as why certain traits or traditions are less tightly held on to or how these dynamics lead to a winner in the power struggle? And, of course, in return, we can ask all these questions in regards to whatever religious experience our other plate may represent. Research Papers on Latino Religions - a Blend of Nationalist and Spiritual MeaningAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeHip-Hop is ArtQuebec and CanadaCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Comparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoDefinition of Export Quotas

FBI - White collar crimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FBI - White collar crimes - Essay Example The main role of the FBI is investigation of criminal activities that are assigned to it. This incorporates intelligence and law enforcement initiatives from the agency. Another role of the FBI is collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in investigative measures in which it helps with evidence examinations, and in empowering members of the other agencies through trainings. In facilitating its investigative role and collaborative role with other agencies, the FBI collects intelligence information, analyses the data and shares it with relevant authorities (The Federal Bureau of Investigations 1). As a special agency, however, the role of the FBI under domestic jurisdiction is limited to â€Å"white-collar crimes, kidnapping, extortion, interstate transportation of stolen property, and bank robbery† among others (Gaines and Miller 156). White-collar crimes are crimes that professionals commit in their course of duty with intent of obtaining material benefits of concealing some information with the aim of avoiding a consequence. Elements such as â€Å"deceit, concealment,† breach of trust characterize it (Ferguson 16). White-collar crimes are also free from use of violence or threat of violence and often aim at receipt of money of commodities of avoiding material liabilities (Ferguson 16). The FBI investigates these crimes to ensure evidence towards justice and its special intelligence is essential to the type of crimes that intellectuals commit through well-crafted schemes that sometimes incorporate intelligence and use of technology to cover up the criminal activities. The Enron case is an example of white-collar crimes that the FBI has investigated. The case involved a series of fraudulent misrepresentation by the firm on its financial position and collaboration with the organization’s accounting fi rm for concealment of the misrepresentations and for further misrepresentations. This led to losses among investors as officials of the company

British museum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

British museum - Essay Example This museum has the greatest collections of human cultural history and its main objectives include becoming a museum of the world for the world, providing services to the curious and the studious and collecting culture for the benefit of the entire world (Williams, 2013). To this end, this essay focuses on the issues that affect the British Museum operations. Particularly, the essay focuses on the cultural issues affecting the British Museum operations and the cultural impacts of the museum to the British culture. Cultural Issues affecting the British Museum British Museum, like other museums, faces numerous cultural challenges that affect its day-to-day operations. To begin with, Jenkins (2008) points out that the issue of handling human bodies in the museums is a cultural affair that is largely affecting the operations of the British Museum. Many museums have collections of human remains that aid in scientific research. However, the presence and the handling of these remains in the museums raise numerous cultural questions. According to Musiol (2013), displaying or exhibiting human remains in modern day museums leads to the emergence of new challenges relating to the ethics and morality of the museum professionals and stakeholders. In the UK, the Human Tissue Act 2004 regulates the display of human remains that are less than 100 years old in the British museums. Nonetheless, this regulation has minimal impacts on museum collections in the UK as it provides some museums with the freedom to exhibit human remains that are less than 1000 years old (Jenkins, 2008). The UK DCMS has a publication â€Å"Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums† that provides museums with guidelines on how to handle human remains. In line with these guidelines, museums in the UK cannot display human remains if these remains have no significant contribution to a particular interpretation. All these restrictions are affecting the display of human remains in the British M useum. To counter these negative effects, the British Museum has created its own policies regarding the display of human remains. In its policies, the British Museum is protesting against the regulations of displaying human remains in the museums claiming that it was among the nine museums given the freedom to display human remains that are less than 1000 years old (Jenkins, 2008). The other cultural issues affecting the operations of the British Museum result from controversies. Selim (2011) is of the opinion that a collection of historical artifacts that hold great cultural significance cannot exist without controversy. There have been several controversies with negative impacts on the operations of the British Museum. One of these controversies revolves around the Parthenon sculptures from the ancient Greek. The Parthenon sculptures are decorative art works that were found in the Parthenon; they represent the cultural artwork of the ancient Greek. The members of the public have t he misconception that all the sculptures from the Parthenon are in the British Museum. This misconception affects the operations of the British Museum negatively as numerous individuals visit the museum with the intention of viewing these sculptures only to be disappointed by the fact that half of these sculptures are lost and the remaining ones are found in museums of six different

Creating a Business & capitalism Doubled spaced that equals five pages Essay

Creating a Business & capitalism Doubled spaced that equals five pages - Essay Example This research paper focuses on capitalism as an economic system and its effects. The types of capitalism and their advantages are also tackled in this document. As a business owner-owning a beauty parlor, critical analysis of how I can use my privately owned business and utilize capitalism to make the world a better place is discussed in details. Also, contained in this paper are the possible disadvantages of capitalists in case it is inappropriately practiced. Capitalism is an industrial term used to describe an economic system in which the centers of production, trade and industry are owned and operated by private individuals and not the state. All business operations regarding production, distribution and management are entirely carried out by individuals and private sectors. In capitalism systems, the government’s role is the provision of security, both internally and externally and solving disputes through a court of justice in the case of any disagreements in business terms. Other business activities including price determination of goods and services are typically determined by parties involved in the transactions. The degree of capitalism varies from state to state depending on the laws and regulations of the country. There are different types of capitalism. The existence of capitalism varies according to the region or country’s economic policies. Types of capitalism include mercantilism, free-market economy, social-market economy, state capitalism where the state is in power of production and distribution of goods and services for profit-making purposes, corporate capitalism and mixed economy. There are other minor variants of capitalism including crony capitalism. Crony capitalism describes a type of economy in which the success of a business lies in the relationship between business owners and governmental officials. Crony capitalism

The Belief In Miracles Philosophy Essay

The Belief In Miracles Philosophy Essay I will proceed in the following way: First, I will respond to Humes charges against the belief in miracles. Then, I will present conditions that, if met, would justify a belief that a miracle has occured. The arguments against miracles in Humes work can be divided into three categories. The first arguments attack the coherence, or intelligibility, of the concept of the miraculous. The second accept, for the sake of argument, that the concept is coherent, but target the plausibility of miracles, arguing there could never be sufficient evidence for believing in a miracle. The third attacks the reliability of the reports of those who claim to have witnessed miraculous events. This paper shall concern the first two arguments but not the last, because I cannot disagree with Hume that historically, the evidence for miracles has indeed been remarkably weak. Additionally, I would like to take this opportunity to further clarify what I am not trying to prove. I do not contend that there ever has been a miracle, nor that the things commonly considered evidence for miracles are evidence at all. What I do contend is that given certain conditions, the most rational explanation for an event could be that it was a miracle. A miracle may be accurately defined, says Hume, a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent. Note that there are two conditions set out in this definition. First, a miracle presents as an exception to the established laws of nature. But that is not all; an events exceptionality is not enough to warrant it miracle status. The exception must be attributable to some sort of supernatural interference with the laws of nature. Thus, we may paraphrase Humes definition as the following: A miracle is a violation, enacted by a supernatural agent, of the laws of nature. This is how Hume defines it, and accordingly, this is the conception I shall use in my refutation of Hume. The first charge I shall address is the charge of unintelligibility, or incoherence. It is Humes most ambitious argument against miracles. However, what exactly Hume meant by this charge is the subject of debate. The first view to be considered is Anthony Flews. He interprets the argument as the following simple argument: Laws cannot have exceptions. The definition of a miracle is an exception to the laws of nature. Therefore, miracles cannot exist. But this argument is unsound, specifically at the second premise. Miracles are not just exceptions according to Hume, but violations, the result of supernatural interference with nature ¿Ã‚ ½s normal course. The laws of nature cite relations of natural causes to their effects, not supernatural causes to their effects. In other words, the supernatural is beyond the proper subject matter of natural laws. Accordingly, it would be unreasonable to expect for the laws of nature to account for miracles, which are events caused by the supernatural. So because miracles are caused by forces external to the natural realm, and because natural laws describe only those causes within the natural realm, miracles present no problem for our acceptance of the laws of nature. We may accept the laws of nature as accurate descriptions of the natural world as it usually functions. What would be incoherent is an internal exception, that is, a natural exception to the laws of nature. But of course, Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s miracles are not of that nature. The second interpretation of Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s argument connects the charge of incoherence to Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s particular conception of lawhood. Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s conception of the laws of nature is one that places strict checks on the use of the natural-supernatural distinction. It claims that we form our ideas of natural laws based on all the evidence, exceptional events included. Thus, there can be no clear way of distinguishing what is a natural event from what is supposedly supernatural. As Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s natural laws encapsulate all observed events, there is no basis for saying that some events are miracles that should be excluded from the scope of these laws, but be instead placed in a conveniently created supernatural realm, as we do when we label them miracles. To respond to this argument, one need only point out that it is not free from some quite substantive assumptions about lawhood. It attaches the charge of unintelligibility of miracles to a particular and narrowly defined view of lawhood, substantially limiting the argument ¿Ã‚ ½s scope, and likewise weakening it. There are other theories of lawhood, such as the Naturalness theory of laws, which have no problem excluding anomalous events from the explanatory scope of natural laws. (Lierse, 19__) Thus, this charge of Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s is not one of unintelligibility or incoherence, but a charge of incompatibility with a particular conception of lawhood. And of course, that two ideas are incompatible is just as much a problem with either one the two as it is with the other one. So why see this incompatibility as a problem with the concept of miracles when we can easily construe it as a problem with Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s theory of lawhood? The charge against Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s theory of lawhood being t hat it clashes with the intuitive idea of a miracle. The claim that miracles are incoherent is, therefore, unfounded. Now for Hume ¿Ã‚ ½s second charge. He argues that given the vast body of empirical evidence that has established the laws of nature as laws, it would be impossible to have comparable evidence supporting a miracle claim. In other words, the fact that any law of nature is a law means that, in our experience, it has never been violated, so any claim that a law has been violated is in direct contradiction to a vast body of evidence. Thus regardless of how trust-worthy a person reporting a miracle may be, that report cannot possibly be more likely to be true than false. As a result, Hume argues, it is never reasonable to accept reports of miracles. What this argument tries to do is pit the evidence in support of a miraculous occurrence against the evidence for the laws of nature. But in truth, the two do not negate each other. When we label an event that violates a law of nature  ¿Ã‚ ½a miracle ¿Ã‚ ½, we are not contradicting a law of nature, but in a way defending it; we are protecting the law ¿Ã‚ ½s integrity. An anomalous event would seem to challenge the law it violated, but not if that event is a miracle. If the event is a miracle it is no longer counter-evidence to the law, because the law is not expected to account for it in the first place, as it has a supernatural cause. So we may continue to claim there have been no observed natural events that have contradicted the law, and therefore, we may conclude the law still stands. As an example, imagine there were a 2000 year old monk living somewhere up in the mountains of Tibet. The law of nature that all humans are mortal would seem contradicted. But if the monk ¿Ã ‚ ½s extraordinarily long life is a miracle, then his longevity is ultimately the effect of some supernatural force interfering with his natural life-span. We could argue the law of human mortality, correctly construed, only applies to people whose lives have not been interfered with by the supernatural, and accordingly, it is fully coherent to suppose that interference by a supernatural force could cause the law of human mortality to be violated. Just like the law of human mortality, other laws of nature can also be protected from perceived counter-instances in this way. By appealing to the supernatural, laws can be saved from apparent counter-evidence. Of course, there are other ways to explain anomalous events without appealing to the miraculous. There seem to be three other options: we can dismiss the evidence for the event, we can posit another law as the cause, or we can modify the law to accommodate the anomalous event. In order to demonstrate that miracles are possible, it must be shown that a miracle could be the best explanation available in certain circumstances. And that is what I shall demonstrate in what follows. I begin with an admission. In explaining an apparent violation of a law of nature as a miracle, all other explanations must first be completely ruled out. This is because if we accept that a miracle happened, it may pose a challenge to the coherence of our established beliefs. If we accept a miraculous explanation for an event, then we are accepting that a supernatural power exists, and not only exists, but also interferes with the natural world. This may lie in contradiction to our established beliefs about such matters, and this threat to coherence may very well be considered evidence against a miracle claim. However, a miracle may nevertheless be the best explanation available for certain events, because all other explanations may in fact be impossible. This can occur when a number of conditions are met. The first condition is repetition. If an event is only reported once, even if the only reasonable explanation is the miraculous, we still might reject the report as evidence. This is because no matter how convincing the evidence may seem, we are aware that our track-record for assessing the reliability of evidence is weak, and we can deny that a miracle has in fact occurred on those grounds alone. But if an event is reliably reported to have been repeated enough times, and by enough people, this concern is taken care of. The more the event is reliably reported to have occurred, the more difficult it becomes to deny that the event has taken place. Consider the following example. Suppose there were reports that Tom Cruise could cure cancer with his mind. And not just individual reports, but double-blind placebo controlled scientific studies, published in all the top medical journals. We would, it seems, be forced to rule out other explanations and seriously open our minds to the possibility that Tom Cruise has supernatural powers. We are not be able to dismiss the reports as faulty because of the degree to which they are reported, and the reliability of the sources reporting them . But could the laws of nature be modified to permit this occurrence? It seems unlikely. In this case, Tom Cruise is violating numerous laws of nature. If we are going to modify a law of nature, we need to be able to explain our reason for doing so, as well as provide a plausible account for why the exception we are permitting is in fact justified. Normally, when we modify a law to account for an exception, we can provide an explanation for why the law should not apply in the exceptional case. But there is no biological difference between a cancer that Tom Cruise wills to go away with his mind and one he does not. Any law we would devise for this phenomenon of cancers spontaneously healing would have to rely on a completely non-physical property: being willed to heal by Tom Cruise. So if we modify our laws of biology to allow that can cers can be spontaneously disappear, not only must we explain why some cancers spontaneously disappear and some do not, but we are also faced with the challenge that the only description we can give for the set of exceptions refers to the non-biological property of being willed to disappear by Tom Cruise. Now this is of course a very odd sort of exception to a law of biology, one that is completely unprecedented in any other biological law. Alternatively, trying to explain it in natural terms is a completely hopeless endeavour. However, claiming that Tom Cruise ¿Ã‚ ½s ability is a miracle, and given a Scientologist world-view not unexpected, provides two important advantages to the above explanation. Firstly, it provides us with an explanation for why cancers willed to heal by Tom Cruise are disappearing, and not other cancers. Secondly, it allows us to retain our natural laws as comprehensive, simple, and therefore useful descriptions of the natural world. So appealing to the miraculous is the best explanation. And though we can always modify our conception of the laws of nature to avoid introducing miracles into the equation, it would, as demonstrated in the above example, be crazy for us to do so. My defence of miracles has a potential objection that must be addressed. Problems of the unreliability of evidence for reported events, I argued, could be defeated by appealing to the repetition of miracles. That miracles can be repeated, however, is sometimes denied. One objection is by Swinburne. Swinburne is not prepared to allow that a miracle could be repeated, though he does allow a single miraculous occurence. He argues that any repeated miracle would nullify the credibility of the miracle and demand a modification of our law. This argument is weak. Firstly, it grants God the ability to interfere with nature, but just one time for any particular kind of interference, which leaves us with a rather odd sort of metaphysics. Secondly, if it is logically possible that a law can be violated once, then why can it not be violated again? It is arbitrary to insist that the point where a law requires modification is when an anomaly is repeated. Some modifications of laws provide poorer explanations for events than does an appeal to the supernatural, and that anomalies may be repeated does not change that fact, as we saw in the case of Tom Cruise. The reasonable conclusion is that a miracle can possibly be repeated any number of times. Even the possibility of  ¿Ã‚ ½miracle laws ¿Ã‚ ½ is something we should be willing to accept. Miracles can themselves be law-like despite being violation of laws. This is coherently understood in the case of supernatural laws violating natural laws, an instance of laws violating other laws. For example, consider the biblical story of the Israelites ¿Ã‚ ½ God turning the Egyptians ¿Ã‚ ½ water into blood. What is claimed to have happened is that any and all water belonging to an Egyptian spontaneously turned into blood. The spontaneous transformation of water into blood is certainly in violation of the laws of nature. Thus, by the biblical account, a supernatural power created a supernatural law, and caused the laws of nature to be violated in doing so. Any remnants of disreputability that miracles may have been tainted with should be taken care of by the admission of  ¿Ã‚ ½miracle laws ¿Ã‚ ½.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are Not Evil Essay -- GCSE Coursework Macbeth

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are Not Evil Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are good people with poor judgment. It is unfair for Malcolm to describe them as "this dead butcher and his fiend - like queen". In the beginning they are a respected couple sharing a loving relationship. Their downfall is not due to evil, but caused by their ambition for Macbeth, sparked by the witches' prophecy. Macbeth's indecision on whether or not to kill Duncan, and Lady Macbeth's begging of the spirits to take away her feminine qualities, demonstrate that ruthlessness does not come easily to them. Macbeth is a Scottish nobleman and important kinsman of King Duncan, whose devising and heroic leadership of a winning tactic in a battle show his talent, courage and loyalty to his country. He is well respected, and after his feat of braveness, Duncan believes him worthy to receive the title of Thane of Cawdor, which is a huge honour to Macbeth. The problem with this, though, is that it helps to spark his ambition, which, we find later, is his tragic flaw. Lady Macbeth is a loyal wife with ambitions for her husband. She believes that Macbeth deserves to be King, but thinks that he is too nice to do anything about it. She does not think that he could kill Duncan on his own. She is supportive of Macbeth, and is willing to do what she can to help him get what he wants. She is basically a caring and loving person, though, so she pleads with the Spirits to take away her tenderness and femininity and make her ruthless: " Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty." (I.v.38-41). This evidence on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth proves that, at the beginning of the play, they are bo... ...omen Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997. Knights, L.C. "Macbeth." Shakespeare: The Tragedies. A Collectiion of Critical Essays. Alfred Harbage, ed. Englewwod Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964. Mack, Maynard. Everybody's Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Schlegel, August Wilhelm. Criticism on Shakespeare s Tragedies . A Course of Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature. London: AMS Press, Inc., 1965. Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992. Steevens, George. Shakespeare, The Critical Heritage. Vol. 6. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. Wills, Gary. Lady Macbeth and Evil. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Mansion of a serial killer – Creative Writing

It was a cold rainy day school felt like it had being on forever, but it was only 11:45 oh well, at least I have lunch to look forward to. As I walked in to the dinner hall, I saw my best mate Kobe staring out of the window at the other side of the canteen. I walked over and asked what he was staring at. He replied â€Å"I was thinking about what it would be like to spend a night in that old mansion† â€Å"I think that's a stupid idea † I replied â€Å"why? Are you chicken?† He said â€Å"No of course not I will prove to you i'm not chicken Said I â€Å"Fine we will both stay in the mansion on Saturday night † After lunch Kobe and I went to play basketball on the inside courts, I was still thinking of the dare. I'm always scared to do things which could get me in trouble. I am really small and skinny with long brown hair and blue eyes. Kobe is nearly the opposite of me he is tall, slim, with dark skin and a shaven bald head he is always in trouble and he is really brave. All the kids in school are scared of him even though he is big and tough on the inside he is really quite a nice person. I am lucky to be friends with him. We made friends when we were 12 I use to get bullied every day and one day Kobe saw the lads bullying me so he came over and sorted then out ever since then we have being best friends. After school Kobe and I walked home he lived just across the corner from me on the way we passed the mansion. We stopped and looked up at it; it had being abandoned for years. It has really old stone work all the bricks are dirty and have bits of moss growing on them, the roof slates had fallen off and broke to a hundred pieces on the floor, most of the windows were boarded up and the ones the weren't were smashed, their weeds all over and the garden looked like a jungle with all the long grass. Kobe started to walk on so I followed him we walked to our street and said good bye. The street we lived on was quite a poor part of town their were giant pot holes every were, the houses were small and packed tight together quite a lot of people have windows put out from the rebel youths that live up the road. Later that night' I came down stairs for tea. Mum was sitting at the table on her own because dad was away for the week working. I asked mum about the mansion â€Å"Mum you know that old mansion? Who use to live there and what happened?† She said â€Å"a young couple use to live their who were very odd and never spoke to anyone but one mourning they were both lying dead on their beds with slit throats and wrote on the wall with blood was the words I will be back! So that's why nobody wants to move in† Trying to get to sleep that night was almost impossible that night my imagination was going crazy and scared me. The curtains were stirring and it sounded like rusty razor blades. I was thinking maybe I shouldn't do it but the I remembered this was to prove i'm not as scared as people think I lay thinking about the next day until 2:00am when I decided to get some sleeping pills from down stairs. I woke up in the mourning feeling really tired I went downstairs to get something to eat. Mum was out at work so I sat down on my own eating my cereal trembling to think this could be my last bowl. I wrote a note that read gone to stay at Kobe's see you tomorrow I left it on the kitchen table and left to go to Kobe's house it was a cold wet day pouring down with rain as I got their I knocked on his door and walked in he was just finishing his toast. We went upstairs to his bedroom. He already had his stuff packed, so we just played board games for the day as dawn came upon us, we went down stairs and told his mum he was coming to stay at my place she said â€Å"Ok† And we were on our way. As we stepped out it was starting to get really dark, the clouds were bid and grey and looked like they were about to spit rain at any minute. We set off towards the mansion. The time seemed to drag and it seemed like the longest walk ever Finally we reached the mansion the big black rusty gates were crashing together, sending shivers down my spine as we walked towards the door. I was shaking and my teeth were shattering together while Kobe just walked calmly to the door and turned the handle. The door opened with a massive squeaky creak. The smell of old and rotten hit me straight away, the floor boards creaked as we walked on them. Every thing was covered in dust; there was a spiral stair case in front of us and a grandfather clock ticking in the corner. As Kobe shone the torch on the wall and on the floor there were lots of red stains which freaked me out. BOOM all of a sudden the door slammed shut causing us to jump and shout as we turned back to look at the stairs. There was a tall dark figure standing there it said in a deep low voice â€Å"GET OUT!!† We turned quickly to get out the door but it was locked. We turned and sprinted to go down the cellar. We jumped behind an old book case when we heard the stairs creak. The guy entered the room and switched the light on. As I lifted my head to look around, I saw dead bodies everywhere. Some all bones some rotting and some fresh ones hung on the wall. Kobe looked at me and gulped I had never seen him scared but I could see the sheer terror on his face. I looked around the corner and saw the guy he had long greasy black hair hanging over his scared mangled face a long dark leather coat and jeans. He was holding a large knife in his hand, he started to walk over to the book case

Free Essays on Durkheim And Crime

For this paper I chose to write about Durkheim’s â€Å"The Normality of Crime† and his overall views on crime and deviance. I agree with his view that crime is a normal part of society, and that only too little or too much is undesirable. A certain amount of crime is in fact good for society, reinforcing the bonds between the general law abiding public. His theory is that the right level of crime would create interaction between the general public leading to solutions to problems; too little crime would see the end of this interaction and the stagnation of society, too much crime would lead to anomie, the loss of shared and dominant guiding principles or normalness. He recognizes crime as being important to the well-being of society and proposes that challenges to established moral and legal laws (deviance and crime, respectively) act to bring together those that were not in opposition to the laws. Recognition and punishment of crimes is, in effect, the very reaffirmation of the laws and moral boundaries of a society. The existence of laws and the strength of the laws are upheld by members of a society when violations are recognized, discussed, and dealt with either by legal punishment (jail, fines, execution) or by social punishment (shame, exile). Durkheim proposed that crime and deviance bring people in a society together. When a law is violated, especially within small communities, everyone talks about it. Meetings are sometimes held, articles are written for local news publications, and in general, a social community rises with activity when a norm is broken. As is most often the case, a violation pushes the non-violators (society as a whole) to cling together in opposition to the violation, reaffirming that society's bond and its obedience to certain norms. There is always evidence of this on the news. On numerous occasions I have seen communities come together because of a murder or kidnapping; lighting candles, having ... Free Essays on Durkheim And Crime Free Essays on Durkheim And Crime For this paper I chose to write about Durkheim’s â€Å"The Normality of Crime† and his overall views on crime and deviance. I agree with his view that crime is a normal part of society, and that only too little or too much is undesirable. A certain amount of crime is in fact good for society, reinforcing the bonds between the general law abiding public. His theory is that the right level of crime would create interaction between the general public leading to solutions to problems; too little crime would see the end of this interaction and the stagnation of society, too much crime would lead to anomie, the loss of shared and dominant guiding principles or normalness. He recognizes crime as being important to the well-being of society and proposes that challenges to established moral and legal laws (deviance and crime, respectively) act to bring together those that were not in opposition to the laws. Recognition and punishment of crimes is, in effect, the very reaffirmation of the laws and moral boundaries of a society. The existence of laws and the strength of the laws are upheld by members of a society when violations are recognized, discussed, and dealt with either by legal punishment (jail, fines, execution) or by social punishment (shame, exile). Durkheim proposed that crime and deviance bring people in a society together. When a law is violated, especially within small communities, everyone talks about it. Meetings are sometimes held, articles are written for local news publications, and in general, a social community rises with activity when a norm is broken. As is most often the case, a violation pushes the non-violators (society as a whole) to cling together in opposition to the violation, reaffirming that society's bond and its obedience to certain norms. There is always evidence of this on the news. On numerous occasions I have seen communities come together because of a murder or kidnapping; lighting candles, having ...

What are the causes and implications of the Israeli and Pale essays

What are the causes and implications of the Israeli and Pale essays The cause of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the agenda of Zionism claiming ancient land rights as the basis for the movement established in 1897. The implications of this policy cause the central grievance of the Palestinian people, their oppression and displacement at the hands of Jewish immigration and migrations. The establishment of the state of Israel after the second world war by the United Nations has seen this oppression of the Palestian people intensified as Israeli expansionism continues to the present. The role of the US in the Israeli/Palestinian issue has consistently supported Israel and needs to be amended if peace is to be achieved. The history of the Israeli and Palestinian struggle extends from biblical times and is now one of the most enduring and explosive of all the worlds conflicts . The land that now encompasses Israel and Palestine has been conquered and re-conquered throughout history. The Zionist Israeli claim extends back to 1250BC when the Israelites first began to conquer and settle the land of Canaan (Palestine) on the eastern Mediterranean coast after Moses had led his people out of Egypt . Until this time the Jewish people had no land and had wandered the desert for forty years in search of the promised land (as told by the old testament). Exodus 15:14-16, states that [t]he people shall hear and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestinia(14), till trembling shall take hold upon them; [and] all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away(15). Zionists claim that Jews have the right to posses all land between the Nile and the Eurphrates because of the historical Old T estament claims according to Genesis 15:18 . If ancient claims are the basis of Israeli occupation- the Palestinians would have the greater claim due to their own length of history. The Canaanites, the People of Palestine, could count...

Computer Network Security Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Computer Network Security - Case Study Example In order to protect digital information, organizations are keen to implement technical controls such as firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems, honeypots and Demilitarized zones. These controls are considered as logical and provide security on the logical layer. However, often the important aspect i.e. information security management is not addressed to the optimal level. A typical information security program is led by an information security manager who establishes a steering committee for discussing security aspects focusing not only on the IT department but every department within the enterprise. Some of the management controls that are implemented by the information security manager are IT governance, Risk management, monitoring Key Process Indicators (KPI) and Key Goal Indicators (KGI). KPI demonstrates the current state of security within an organization and KGI demonstrates the level of security to be achieved. As per the current scenario, critical data must be protected by i mplementing Firewalls to secure the network from external logical threats and Virtual Private Network will be implemented for securing the data transmission on the Wide Area Network. 2 Detailed Network Security Recommendations 2.1 Fundamentals of Firewall and VPN Network security appliances are implemented for providing three fundamental functions i.e. prevention, detection, and correction. Some of the most commonly adopted security appliances are Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems. Firewall is defined as â€Å"a piece of software or hardware device that ? filters the information coming through the Internet connection into a private network or a computer system. Firewall enforces an access control policy between two or more networks with two key functions: to block unwanted traf?c, and to permit wanted traf?c† (Firewall.2007). Similarly, as per network dictionary, Intrusion detection system is defined as â€Å"Intrusion detection system (IDS) is a type of security man agement system for computers and networks. An IDS gathers and analyzes information from various areas within a computer or a network to identify possible security breaches, which include both intrusions and misuse†. 2.2 Recommendation for Firewall and VPN Remote access ‘VPN’ provide emulation of a workstation to a remote user. It can extend every application related to data, video or voice communication. Remote access ‘VPN’ can provide highly customizable and secure remote access to employees anywhere anytime with any compatible device (Vachon & Graziani,). They can access the network resources and data access with any compatible device. The remote access ‘VPN’ portrays a realistic user experience as the user access his own system. The access is more flexible and easy because it can be operated by any compatible computing device. Remote access ‘VPN’ supports a wide variety of connectivity options and platforms, fulfilling the user requirements efficiently. 2.3 Recommended Solution for the Enterprise-A recommended solution for the enterprise will be a hardware-based firewall that is also called as Adaptive Security appliance ASA 5500 from Cisco. The ‘Cisco ASA 5500 Series Security Appliances’ personalize the security for specific network requirements such as securing credit card transactions.  

Research methods - Literature review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research methods - Literature review - Assignment Example The tone of the article also supports that he is addressing the literate class. In addition, the literature review presented is well referenced using footnotes, a factor that ascertains that it is scholarly. The author explores the balancing and bandwagoning, as the two options that states have during conflicts. Schweller seeks to highlight the factors that motivate states to settle for any of the two alternatives. His thesis is very evident that balancing and bandwagoning are not opposites, and a range of different factors motivates states adopting either of them. The goals of balancing and bandwagoning are different as well, with states opting for bandwagon to gain something, while the purpose of balancing is ensuring that values are protected (p. 75). From the literature review, it becomes evident that many scholars have not focused on exploring the issue of bandwagoning effectively. The author highlights that other authors who have tried to explore this topic previously have misconceived the concepts of bandwagoning. The literature review highlights that rewards are of central significance to states that opt for bandwagoning. It emerges that other reasons also prompt states to consider bandwagoning as the preferred option. The theory of the balance of interests is more realistic in explaining bandwagoning (p. 100). Schweller believes that the topic of bandwagoning has not been explored as it deserves. This is because the balancing theory that has often been used in explaining this concept seems insufficient. Moreover, the goals of bandwagoning have not been explained in details as required. He discerns the need for the development of new theories that can effectively explain the concept (p. 105). In his literature review, he focuses on filling this gap. He does this by reviewing the balancing theory, and explaining the reasons that prompt states to opt for bandwagoning. He