Free Essays on Disciplining Children

Disciplining Children Children need discipline within reason. Not abuse to know they are bad. The word discipline, which comes from the root word disciplinare-to teach or instruct- refers to the system of teaching and nurturing that prepares children to achieve competence, self-control, self-direction, and caring for others. An effective discipline system must contain three vital elements; a learning environment characterized by positive, supportive parent-child relationships, a strategy for decreasing or eliminating undesired or ineffective behaviors. Each of these components needs to be functioning adequately for discipline to result in improved child behavior. The earliest discipline strategy is passive and occurs as infants and their caregivers gradually develop a mutually satisfactory schedule of feeding, sleeping, and awaking. Biologic rhythms tend to become more regular and adapt to family routines. The main parental discipline for infants is to provide generally structured daily routines but also to learn to recognize and respond flexibly to the infant’s needs. As infants become more mobile and initiate more contact, parents must impose limitations and structure to create safe spaces for them to explore and play. (Reid JB. Prevention of conduct disorder before and after school entry: relating interventions to developmental findings. Dev Psychopathol. 1993;5:243-262) Equally important, parents must protect them from potential hazards and introduce activities that distract their children from potential hazards. Such proactive behaviors are central to discipline for toddlers. Communicating verbally, NO, helps prepare the infant for later use of reasoning. As children grow older and interact with wider, more complex physical and social environments, the adults who care for them must develop increasingly creative strategies to protect them and teach them orderly and desirable patterns of behavior. Because of consistent s... Free Essays on Disciplining Children Free Essays on Disciplining Children Disciplining Children Children need discipline within reason. Not abuse to know they are bad. The word discipline, which comes from the root word disciplinare-to teach or instruct- refers to the system of teaching and nurturing that prepares children to achieve competence, self-control, self-direction, and caring for others. An effective discipline system must contain three vital elements; a learning environment characterized by positive, supportive parent-child relationships, a strategy for decreasing or eliminating undesired or ineffective behaviors. Each of these components needs to be functioning adequately for discipline to result in improved child behavior. The earliest discipline strategy is passive and occurs as infants and their caregivers gradually develop a mutually satisfactory schedule of feeding, sleeping, and awaking. Biologic rhythms tend to become more regular and adapt to family routines. The main parental discipline for infants is to provide generally structured daily routines but also to learn to recognize and respond flexibly to the infant’s needs. As infants become more mobile and initiate more contact, parents must impose limitations and structure to create safe spaces for them to explore and play. (Reid JB. Prevention of conduct disorder before and after school entry: relating interventions to developmental findings. Dev Psychopathol. 1993;5:243-262) Equally important, parents must protect them from potential hazards and introduce activities that distract their children from potential hazards. Such proactive behaviors are central to discipline for toddlers. Communicating verbally, NO, helps prepare the infant for later use of reasoning. As children grow older and interact with wider, more complex physical and social environments, the adults who care for them must develop increasingly creative strategies to protect them and teach them orderly and desirable patterns of behavior. Because of consistent s...

Understanding the Ballot Initiative Process

Understanding the Ballot Initiative Process The ballot initiative, a form of direct democracy, is the process through which citizens exercise the power to place measures otherwise considered by state legislatures or local governments on statewide and local ballots for a public vote. Successful ballot initiatives can create, change or repeal state and local laws, or amend state constitutions and local charters. Ballot initiatives can also be used simply to force state or local legislative bodies to consider the subject of the initiative. As of 2016, the ballot initiative process was used at the state level in 24 states and the District of Columbia and is commonly used in county and city government. The first documented approval for the use of the ballot initiative process by a state legislature appeared in the first constitution of Georgia, ratified in 1777.   The State of Oregon recorded the first use of the modern ballot initiative process in 1902. A major feature of the American Progressive Era from the 1890s to 1920s, the use of ballot initiatives quickly spread to several other states. The first attempt to gain the approval of the ballot initiative at the federal government level took place in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma. The resolution never came to a vote in the full House of Representatives, having failed to gain committee approval. Two similar resolutions introduced in 1977 were also unsuccessful.According to the Initiative Referendum Institutes Ballotwatch, a total of 2,314 ballot initiatives appeared on state ballots between 1904 and 2009, of which 942 (41%) were approved. The ballot initiative process is also commonly used at the county and city levels of government. There is no ballot initiative process at the national level. Adoption of a nationwide federal ballot initiative process would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Direct and Indirect Ballot Initiatives Ballot initiatives may be either direct or indirect. In a direct ballot initiative, the proposed measure is placed directly on the ballot after being submitted by a certified petition. Under the less common indirect initiative, the proposed measure is placed on a ballot for a  popular vote only if it has first been rejected by the state legislature. Laws specifying the number and qualifications of names required to place an initiative on a ballot vary from state-to-state. Difference Between Ballot Initiatives and Referendums The term ballot initiative should not be confused with referendum, which is a measure referred to voters by a state legislature proposing that specific legislation may be approved or rejected by the legislature. Referendums may be either binding or non-binding referendums. In a binding referendum, the state legislature is forced by law to abide by the vote of the people. In a non-binding referendum, it is not. The terms referendum, proposition and ballot initiative are often used interchangeably. Examples of Ballot Initiatives Some notable examples of ballot initiatives voted on in  the November 2010 midterm elections included: Washington State Initiative 1098 would impose a first-ever state income tax, initially on individuals with incomes above $200,000 but later possibly extend to other groups at the legislatures discretion. This action would remove Washington from the list of nine states without a state income tax.Californias Proposition 23 would suspend enforcement of the sweeping California Global Warming Act and all laws related to it until the states unemployment rate eases and becomes stable.A ballot initiative in Massachusetts would  slash the states sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, and repeal in most cases the state sales tax on alcoholic beverages.Californias Proposition 19 would legalize the possession, cultivation, and transportation of marijuana for the personal use of persons 21 years of age or older.As a sign of opposition to the new federal health care reform law, voters in Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma considered ballot initiatives affirming individuals choices on purchasing insurance or participating in government plans.

Process improvement plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Process improvement plan - Essay Example Any company or person operating a business needs the best operational processes to avoid time and resource wasting to ensure maximization of profit. Steps in attaining this process should be identified and recorded according to their performance. It should be noted that proper data collection will enhance effective data analysis towards improving the quality of data management. In a span of 5 weeks, cash flow was recorded showing all the processes involved during the day and the time it takes for each step. Metrics were established towards creating a flowchart that recorded the entire process that was created. According to the data, the process began on Monday and lasted for a period of five weeks. Metrics of the outcome was used to determine the control limits, intervals, and seasonal effects. Process Boundaries Process boundaries is usually established where a process begins and ends with input and output. The process of depositing many is sub-divided into: handing the cash flow pa ttern from the facility to the bank, ensuring figures indicated are of true reflection of the business activities, signing the form, heading to the bank, being served by the relations manager, confirmation of the deposit slip by the manager, head back to the firm and final preparation of the next day`s work. Therefore, this activities constitutions a process boundary since it began and ended and also has input and output. process configuration process metrics A metric is a measure that allows the project team or individual to evaluate various performance constraints within a process; hence, ensuring that monitoring can be done on the processes to check the quality and effectiveness (Guha & Kettinger, 1993). Control limits and processes metric will be used to guide the process improvement plan. The metric used to measure the process's flow was the time flow metrics. This test measures the alignment of the time allocated for each stage with the factors that may disrupt the flow of the process. In order to run a business successfully, it is important to know what is going on with the financial aspect of the business and make sure there is appropriate cash flow. Daily routine is heavily affected by Traffic jams, this cause interruption; 0On the other hand, driving to the bank and from the bank will also a factor to both processes. A process can be delayed if the owner wants to set up a meeting with other workers under his supervision, checking and proper clearance of account books to see if there are missing details. These factors disrupt the time schedule as allocated to each phase. (Wood, 1999) After a successful collection of the data needed the upper control limit, lower control limit, mean and standard deviation were computed. The mean is the average on record of the partaker`s action time. . The mean is from the data given is 93.75 Class limits Frequency Class limits Class limits-mean F2 80-89 2 84.5 -9.25 171.125 90-99 17 94.5 0.75 9.5625 100-109 0 104.5 10 .75 0 110-119 4 114.5 20.75 1722.25 120-129 1 124.5 30.75 945.5625 Standard deviation =2, 838.5/25= 10.89 Accepted mean = (25+10+15+10+30) = 90 minutes The accepted mean from the table is 90 minutes improved performance In the whole process to improve, the owner needs to understand the current state of the process and where he wants them to be in the future. Even if the process is

Cultural Comparison of the Muslim African and Catholic Mexican Research Paper

Cultural Comparison of the Muslim African and Catholic Mexican cultures related to Healthcare - Research Paper Example Mexicans have several illnesses in their healthcare culture that have varied meanings among them. While others are of the idea that health is as a result of good fortune or comes as a recompense for good conduct, others believe that illnesses have either natural or supernatural causes. For example, Mexicans have an illness in their culture known as humoral imbalance that they believe that mental and bodily sickness results from an inequality between the sick person and the surroundings. In Muslim culture, health is often believed to be lost through a lack of balance and moderation in one’s lifestyle and this creates a situation where it is difficult. Mexicans generally have three meals per day with dinner and lunch larger than the breakfast and the family takes their meals together especially when they have a large extended family and the meal is usually prepared by grandmothers. Food in the Mexican culture can be traced to the Galen’s humoral theory that is based on th e notion that the body is composed of four humors that is the blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile which in order to have the best health must be balanced using the qualities of heat, cold, moisture or dryness. Ethnopharmacology The African Muslim culture has a long history of pharmacology and this includes the use of knowledge from the ancient world as well as newly developed medicines. Today, African Muslims use both traditional and modern western medicine for the purpose of treating various medical afflictions. This is the same for Mexicans who use both traditional healthcare providers and Western medicine and the Mexican medication is prevalent in the urban areas though the poor who cannot afford the often expensive Western medicine resort to long-established practices in healthcare. Traditional medicine may be through home remedies such as taking herbal teas or if home medicine is ineffective, the Mexicans consult herbalists known as yerbero or massage therapists (sobador) or partera(midwife). Treatment can also be through religious rituals that may include prayers or the use of religious symbols worn on the body or kept in the house, making promises or commitments or visiting religious shrines. Mexicans can purchase prescription medicine anywhere without necessarily having to consult Mexican pharmacies but in some instances such as a person suffering from tuberculosis (TB) will purchase the drugs back in Mexico for fear of divulging their status that may result into stigmatization in a Western healthcare provider. Ethnonutrition When African Muslims deal with the matter of diet, they often follow the Islamic teaching on moderation, and when defining self-control, the Prophetic direction on the best of common diets is one-third food, the other third is composed of water and the final third should be air (Books, LLC 2011). This is because of the belief that when the stomach is overfilled with food, it will not be able to consume water, and when food a nd water go beyond their required level, one may experience from pulmonary problems. Therefore, this leads to anxiety and fatigue from lungs being incapable of easily delivering

Adelphia Scandal and Worldcom Scandal Essay Example for Free

Adelphia Scandal and Worldcom Scandal Essay Basic Questions 1. Rigas Entities were entities that shared a common cash management system with Adelphia and Adelphia subsidiaries, which Adelphia controlled and operated. Since the scandal broke, it is commonly referred as off-the-book entities. 2. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization added back to it, and can be used to analyze and compare profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions.-from Investopedia 3. Self-dealing basically refers to when directors of a company improperly uses company finances or resource for personal gain. This can include directors taking company loans that the directors do not intend to repay, using company money for extraordinary personal use, or using company property for personal gain. See more: Is the Importance of being earnest a satirical play essay Advanced Questions 1. Both Adelphia scandal and WorldCom scandal were not prevented by company’s external auditor, though Deloitte and Touche and Arthur Andersen both rated their client as high risk. As for the differences, Adelphia did not have an independent internal auditor. However, WorldCom had an independent internal auditor and blows the whistle. 2. I will say Deloitte and Touche is most responsible for not detecting and stopping. As an external auditor, they should pay attention to organizations financial records and examine on any mistakes or fraud. At least, Deloitte and Touche should have stopped Timothy Rigas from serving as CFO and Director of Adelphia’s Accounting Committee. After all, it was obviously against the rules. 3. Timothy Rigas received a reasonable prison sentence as we can see from the WorldCom case; Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years. As for John Rigas, a former CEO who was guilty of more than 15 counts of fraud. Rationally speaking, it seems to be a fair judgment. However, it sounds too rough to keep an old man who has been suffered from cancer in jail.

John Steinbecks “The Chrysanthemums” Essay -- Steinbeck Chrysanthemum

John Steinbeck's â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" shows the true feelings of the main character, Elisa Allen, through the use of setting and her interactions with other characters in the story. By way of vivid descriptions, Elisa's feelings of dissatisfaction over the lack of excitement in her life are portrayed. Her role as a mere housewife and then the subsequent change to feelings of a self-assured woman are clearly seen. These inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of Elisa working in the garden with the chrysanthemums, the conversation she has with the man passing through, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner. Steinbeck's strong and somewhat manly description of Elisa while working in the garden, gives the distinct impression that she is not as weak as a stereotypical housewife would be. He writes that "Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she worked with." As evidenced by this excerpt you can see that she has covered up her hair with a "man's hat" and has thrown an apron over her dress in attempts to cover up her femininity. This apron also takes on a similar role as a man's tool belt as he works the land. This initial description lends to the notion that Elisa wants to be stronger as a woman, to stand beyond the stereotype of a housewife. Other phrases used by Steinbeck fu rther the above points. The author mentions that her face was "handsome," her work with the scissors was "over-powerful," and her fingers "destroyed such pests." This description shows an inner strength that Elisa possesses; yet she is unable to bring this out. She also hints to the reader that she would like to take on more masculine responsibilities after her husband Henry comments on the size and beauty of her chrysanthemums. He says that he wishes she'd work out in the orchard and "raise some apples that big." She reacts to this by saying "Maybe I could do it too. I've got a gift with things, all right. My mother had it. She could stick anything in the ground and make it grow.† All of these de... ...sion of Steinbeck's short story, Steinbeck has her fall right back into the rut she so despised. She comes back to reality and "turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly-like an old woman."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elisa’s inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of her working in the garden, the conversation she has with the â€Å"Fixer-Guy†, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner. Steinbeck offers an array of different details concerning the character of Elisa Allen. The main detail being that she is a strong woman on the inside although she seems to struggle in showing it throughout the story. Because of the "Pot Fixer," she is able to act, although for a short time, like that strong woman. Steinbeck unfortunately brings Elisa full-circle, back to where she started. She notices on the way to dinner her chrysanthemum sprouts at the roadside. This, along with her husband’s hesitation to allow her curiosity, puts her back where she started, canceling her emergence. One must ask after reading this short story if Elisa will continue this discontented lifestyle. Or will she be able to blossom beautifully for good, as do her chrysanthemums?

Legal Drama Movies

Erin Brokovich is a true story of an unemployed single mother of the title name who is desperate to find a job in order to support her three young children. Without any real skills and work experience, borderline inappropriate wardrobe, but armed with charm, wit and beauty, she manages to accomplish what she needs. She finds an unlikely job as a file clerk in a law firm without any qualifications.She talks herself into a job as a compensation for the loss of her personal injury case handled by the owner of the small California firm, Ed Masry. Doing her work, she comes across a file regarding a suspicious real estate case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Fueled by curiosity and passion, she does her own investigation and learned the particulars of the case. She persuades her boss to allow her to research the case further.She fervently pursues the case and discovers the systemic cover-up and that the company is trying to quietly buy the land that was contaminated by hex avalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is irresponsibly, improperly and illegally dumping in the area thereby poisoning the residents in the town of Hinkley giving them serious health problems. The pursuit of the case against PG&E seemed beyond the capabilities of the small law firm Erin works for, but her infectious passion and established bond with the victims propelled her and her boss to follow through.The case proved very challenging to both Erin and her boss as she finds little time to take care of her children and her boss has to carry the burden of the legal costs. In the end, Erin’s emotional connection with the victims and their families, her dedication and perseverance helped in winning one of the biggest class action lawsuits against a multi-billion dollar company in American history. 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Angry Men is a story about twelve white, mostly middle-aged and generally of middle-class status men who were chosen jurors to determine the f ate of a Latino teenager who was accused of stabbing his father to death.The movie shows what happens in the deliberation of the jurors behind the closed doors of the jury room. The hot, summer day in New York adds to the tense setting and the irritability of the jury. It shows that jurors are influenced by their personal experiences, situations and biases. They are to decide about the life and death of another human being but the gravity of the situation only becomes apparent when one of the jurors cause a holdout, voting not guilty while everyone is eager for a verdict. The film points to the flaws of the justice system.One of which is having a disinterested appointed court defendant whose meager efforts could very well personally strap the defendant to the electric chair. The importance of reasonable doubt is also highlighted as some tend to take it lightly ignoring the fact that they are making a life and death decision. It also portrays how the unreliability of witnesses and ci rcumstantial evidence can give rise to reasonable doubt. Through the deliberation, the back stories of the jurors were revealed explaining their prejudices and predispositions that lead to disagreements and squabbles among the jurors because of their personal differences.The discussion continued with the built up tension among the jurors but because they carried on, other jurors changed their vote in light of the arguments. The votes kept changing as they made the effort to dissect the case until the tally is reversed to an eleven to one in favor of not guilty from the swift and unscrutinized decision of eleven to one for a guilty verdict during the first vote. The lone juror for the guilty verdict sees that he is the only one with that vote and changed his vote, leading to a unanimous verdict for an acquittal. Civil Action (1998)Based on the real-life water contamination case in Woburn, Massachusetts, Civil Action is about Jan Schlichtmann, a money-driven personal injury lawyer pla yed by John Travolta and the case that changed his life. He pursues an environmental case thinking it would earn him millions of dollars and enhance his and his firm’s reputation. The case was against the two major conglomerates Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace & Co. as they were suspected of pollution crimes. The drinking wells supplying water to the town were found to be contaminated by industrial solvents caused by the companies’ local factories.There was a high rate of leukemia that led to the deaths of some of the children in the town as a direct result of the pollution and the families, represented by Schlichtmann, filed a class action lawsuit. It was a great challenge in Schlichtmann’s career as the case was against someone with resources enough to impede the case. Later, he finds out that more than the case, a lot more is at stake. He pursues the case against the industrial giants at a great personal and professional expense. A judge rules against him thus not achieving his goal of earning millions and worse, setting his firm back because of the magnitude of the case.He becomes deeply invested in the case and his original goal of monetary gain takes a back seat to pride and stubbornness. He declines some settlement offers deciding that he must win at all cost. After all these, the case is dismissed in favor of one of the defendants and he is forced to accept a settlement from the other defendant that was barely enough for him to break even with his expenses. Because of what transpired, his partners decided to break up the firm and no longer practice with him. On his own, he comes up with an idea to win a settlement for the families while his life remains a mess.He later ends up alone and files for bankruptcy. The Insider (1999) The Insider is a true story of tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand, played by Russell Crowe, and 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, played by Al Pacino. Their lives converge when Bergman wanted to produce an exp ose against the tobacco industry and Wigand has the inside information that made him perfect for the interview. Wigand is a terminated employee from a tobacco firm, Brown and Williamson, who knew that the CEOs of the seven major tobacco companies perjured themselves to the US Congress about their knowledge of nicotine's addictiveness.He says that Brown and Williamson manipulated nicotine so that it could be more rapidly absorbed in the lungs, thus affecting the brain and central nervous system through impact boosting and that they consciously ignored public health in favor of profit. The interview became a source of grief and personal problems for both Wigand and Bergman. Bergman suggested court deposition to Wigand to protect himself from his former employer’s counterattack on the interview especially with his signed confidentiality agreement.Soon his problems begin with restraining orders and death threats to prevent him from testifying, as well as character assassination t o discredit him and his statements. Bergman on the other hand battles with censorship and with constant fights with the management, he was ordered to go on vacation. After all the turmoil, the Wall Street Journal clears Wigand’s name, reveals his deposition and condemns his employer’s smear campaign against him. The New York Times releases an article about the scandal in 60 Minutes, wherein Wigand’s full interview was finally broadcasted.The movie ends with the title cards showing the $246 billion settlement the tobacco companies made with Mississippi and other states to reimburse Medicaid funds used to treat people with smoking-related illnesses: a result of Wigand’s interview. Runaway Jury (2003) Runaway Jury, based on John Grisham’s novel The Runaway Jury, is a movie about circumventing justice through manipulation of the jury. The story revolves on the case filed by Celeste Wood who sues a gun company who manufactured the gun that killed her hu sband. Representing her is an idealistic lawyer named Wendell Rohr played by Dustin Hoffman.On the defense’s side is jury selection expert Rankin Fitch, played by Gene Hackman, who unlike Rohr, is ruthless and willing to bend the rules to get the results he wants. The conflict intensifies when Nick Easter, played by John Cusack becomes part of the jury who has the same ability to sway and manipulate the other jurors like Fitch. He is helped by his girlfriend Marlee, played by Rachel Weisz in the efforts to outsmart Fitch. With Nick and Marlee’s access to the jurors and their influence on them, they have the power to manipulate the verdict to whichever they wish.They offered to sell this influence for a hefty price to both Rohr and Fitch. As the trial progresses and both the plaintiff and defense become desperate, the two opposing parties agreed to Nick and Marlee’s terms but bothered by his conscience, Rohr backs out. Fitch deposits the millions to Nick and Marl ee’s account only to regret it when the twist of the movie is revealed. Fitch had worked on the case about the death of Marlee’s sister in a school shooting years ago. The town sued the company that manufactured the gun that killed Marlee’s sister but lost and went bankrupt.Nick and Marlee particularly picked the Celeste Wood case to exact their revenge on Fitch. They used the money Fitch deposited as a leverage to force him to retire as the IRS would be interested with the amount of the transfer. As for the money, Nick and Marlee plan to give it to the town that went bankrupt after losing the case with the gun company. Wall Street (1987) Wall Street is a film about the seedy underbelly of the world of stock market as some stockbrokers resort to bending the rules and breaking the law with insider information to get ahead.Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, is a discontented mediocre stockbroker eager to get to the top like Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas. Gekko, whose philosophy in life is â€Å"Greed is Good,† is ruthless, devoid of ethics, and would do anything to earn his millions — a polar opposite to Bud’s father Carl, played by Martin Sheen. Fox, desperate to be mentored by Gekko, tries to impress him and inadvertently reveals insider information about his father’s company Bluestar Airlines. Gekko becomes interested and takes Fox under his wing.Gekko shows Fox the fast and the good life of a successful and rich stockbroker but in exchange for more information about Bluestar. Fox suggests to buy Bluestar and to expand the company’s assets. Even with Carl’s dislike of Gekko, he was convinced by his son to use his influence in the company’s union to push the deal forward. Gekko, however, had a different plan and sells Bluestar’s assets leaving Carl and the other employees of the airline unemployed. Wracked by guilt, Fox finds a way to ruin Gekko’s plans.He manages to a lter Bluestar’s stock value and as Gekko realizes that his stock is plummeting, decides to relinquish his remaining interest in the company. Fox feels triumphant but not for long because Gekko learned his involvement in the scheme and had him arrested by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Towards the end of the film, a heated confrontation ensues between Fox and Gekko, which was Fox’s ploy to record Gekko’s confession of his crimes. Fox hands over the recordings to federal authorities helping them build a case against Gekko, which would help lighten Fox’s sentence.Their fates are left unambiguous but the film delivers a message that crime does not pay and greed is indeed not good. The Firm (1993) The Firm, based on a John Grisham novel, is about a young lawyer’s budding career and the troubles that he encounters when he associates with the wrong people in pursuit of early success. Mitch McDeer, played by Tom Cruise, is one of the top graduates of his class in Harvard Law School despite his poor economic status. He receives many offers from different firms but coming from an unprivileged upbringing, he was enticed by the most lucrative offer from Bendini, Lambert, & Locke law firm in Memphis.Everything is great until the reason for the too-good-to-be-true offer gets revealed. Mitch learns that no one in BL&L ever quits and those who do end up dead shortly after. The firm also takes a very keen interest in its employees’ personal lives. Things become suspicious and he later learns about the firm’s strong ties to the Mafia and that the firm was being used to launder money for organized crime. With the FBI’s interest on the case, they contact Mitch and coerce him into cooperating with their investigation of the firm.The firm suspects of Mitch’s knowledge on their illegal activities and soon, Mitch is blackmailed from both sides and is torn between doing the right thing and his personal and profess ional wellbeing. Doubting the FBI, Mitch gets the help of those he trusts to collect the necessary evidence against the firm at great personal risk, even coming face to face with the mob boss. With their resourcefulness despite the great difficulties of acquiring the important client files and documents, they gathered what they needed and Mitch provides the FBI enough evidence to indict the firm.In the end, everyone gets what they deserve and everything is resolved. Mitch gets a modest job in a small but promising law firm in Boston. Fracture (2007) Fracture is a film about a talented structural engineer Ted Crawford, played by Anthony Hopkins, who manages to escape justice with his skill in finding the fracture or flaw in arguments. He however is hindered by an equally intelligent prosecutor Willy Beachum, played by Ryan Gosling. Ted carefully plans the murder of his unfaithful wife. He executes it but his wife manages to survive but is dependent on life support.Ted confesses to th e crime but retracts it and demands to represent himself in the trial, relying on his skills of spotting the weakness in structures, in this case, the prosecutor’s arguments. Willy, who has a young and successful career and in transition to a more lucrative corporate position, takes Ted’s case thinking it would be an easy victory only to be humiliated by someone untrained for litigation. It was discovered that Ted’s gun acquired at the crime scene was not the gun used to shoot his wife. Baffled and lacking further evidence, the prosecution lost and Ted was acquitted.Engrossed by the case and his career in disarray, Willy visits the only eye witness, Ted’s wife, who Ted later orders to be pulled from life support. With his efforts, Willy uncovers that Ted and the arresting officer’s guns were identical. Ted learns that the police officer was his wife’s lover, switches out the guns and shoots his wife. The officer arrived at his house, surpris ed to see his lover’s predicament, became distracted and Ted was able to switch back the guns. Ted’s gun was admitted into evidence and the officer unknowingly takes the murder weapon.Willy confronts Ted with this new evidence and thinking he is protected by the double jeopardy clause, Ted confesses. Willy reveals that because he took his wife off life support, they can now try him for murder and double jeopardy does not apply as he was previously tried for attempted murder. Ted was arrested and a new trial begins, this time with Ted defended by actual lawyers. Michael Clayton (2007) Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney, is a story about a man who makes a living by cleaning up other people’s messes.He is a former District Attorney who uses his contacts to get the clients of his high-priced law firm out of trouble. Other than his ethically dubious job, he is also troubled by his personal problems of a failed marriage and gambling debt and later finds the add ition of threat to his very life when he encounters the new problem his firm will send him to fix. One of the firm’s partners Arthur Edens, played by Tom Wilkinson, had an outburst in the middle of a deposition involving an agricultural products conglomerate U-North and Michael is sent to remedy the situation.U-North’s general counsel Karen Crowder, played by Tilda Swinton, learns that Edens have evidence about the company’s involvement in manufacturing a cancer-causing product. Learning that Edens is not likely to cooperate, she orders to permanently incapacitate him in a way that will look like a suicide. Michael is saddened by Edens’ death and later becomes suspicious about its connection with U-North. He was able to sneak in to Edens’ apartment and learns about the U-North documents.This puts his life in danger as two men are tailing him informing Crowder of the situation. They later detonate a remote bomb in Michael’s car which luckily exploded when he was out of the vehicle. Later, Michael waits for Crowder to finish a U-North board meeting. He tells her that he is in possession of Edens’ U-North evidence, he knows about her involvement in Edens’ death and that he will keep his silence for a hefty price. When she agrees, he reveals that their conversation is being monitored.He walks away and Crowder and the chairman of U-North get arrested by the police. The Star Chamber (1983) The Star Chamber is a film about the flaws in the judicial system and the boundaries that some people are willing to cross in order to take justice into their own hands to address these flaws. Judge Stephen Hardin, played by Michael Douglas, is a California judge frustrated about being forced to set free suspects that are obviously guilty based on technicalities in paperwork and processing of evidence.He reaches his breaking point when two men accused of raping and killing a ten-year-old boy had to walk free because of the sm all detail in dates of paperwork processing. This is when his friend Judge Ben Caufield, played by Hal Holbrook, introduces him to the secret organization of radical magistrates called the Star Chamber. These judges take the law into their own hands by identifying and assassinating guilty criminals who got away with their crimes. The two men in Hardin’s case become the next target of the Star Chamber.A predicament arises when a detective shows Hardin conclusive evidence that someone else raped and killed the boy. He then appeals the case to the group but it was too late. An assassin has already been ordered and cannot be called off. Also, the group justified that what they do is still for society’s greater good and that those two men are guilty of other crimes, if not for the murder of the boy. Hardin goes on a quest to ironically save the two men he wanted killed. He warns them but they do not believe him, especially because he finds out about the other illegal things that they are involved in.Hardin was attacked by the two men but the Star Chamber’s assassin kills them before they kill him. However, the assassin was also there to kill Hardin since the group ordered his murder as well. In the nick of time, the detective comes to his rescue and he survives. The Star Chamber continues with their work without Hardin, who is merely outside in a car with the detective, recording their meeting. Reference All Media Guide LLC. (n. d). All Movie Guide. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www. starpulse. com/

Modern Family Essay

In ‘Modern Family’s’ episode 15 of season 1 a number of societal norms are addressed, some of which challenged others reinforced. Norms such as the ones relating to gay couples with children, typical teenagers, and extended families, in other words the rich older man with the young â€Å"hot† wife and step kid. Modern Family as by its name offers us a more modern view of family in today’s society. The premise of Modern Family is a mock documentary-style sitcom fabricated around three very different families that all share kinship: a gay couple, who’ve just adopted a baby daughter from Vietnam; a husband and wife with three kids; and a May-December marriage between an older man and a woman who has a son from a prior marriage. This particular episode is based around Valentine ’s Day and follows three different stories of Jay and Gloria, Cam and Mitchel, and of course, Phil and Claire. Claire and Phil plan a Valentine’s Day excursion which leads them to role playing at a hotel, while Jay and takes Gloria to a David Brenner show where Jay gets picked on for being an older husband and is mistaken for Gloria’s father, and oh yeah! He also bought her diamond earrings with this fat wallet. Cam and Mitchel however decide to say at home since Mitchel has had a long day at work but the two of them are able to help out a much desperate Manny (Gloria’s kid) with a crush of his own. One of society’s biggest norms is the conflict of marriage and the age at which one is expected to be married and his/her partners age. As shown in Modern Family Jay is significantly older than Gloria who is your typical trophy wife. The show clearly challenges the accepted norm of marriage and how we as a society have come to accept the so called ‘limitations’, (i. e. age), of marriage. Episode 15 illustrates in a scene where Jay takes Gloria to a comedy show featuring David Brenner (who is from Jay’s generation) for Valentine’s Day, however she wants to go salsa dancing. Once there David Brenner mistakes Jay for Gloria’s father and pick on him for being an older husband. The show clearly challenges the accepted norm of a traditional family/marriage and displays the May-December marriage as an accepted view of the modern family. It also shows how Jay is not the ‘classic husband’ due to his age difference. As this norm is being presented, the same norm is being challenged in a different way. Earlier in the episode Jays is shown to give Gloria a diamond earring which demonstrations that Jay is a typical husband, one who is expected to buy his wife diamonds earrings, necklaces, etc. Through this example, Jay demonstrates the traits that are exhibited in the ‘classic husband’. In today’s society the issue of gay marriage is a delicate one, where gay marriage is becoming more and more accepted in society but is still illegal in some states of the U. S. An even bigger issue lies with same-sex couples adopting babies, which is clearly not yet fully accepted by society and is not an image that forms when a picture of a typical family is cast. These norms are tested when the show follows the story of Cam and Mitchel (Jays Son) on Valentine’s Day. Cam and Mitchel are a gay married couple, who decide to stay at home for Valentine’s Day. In Modern Family, Mitchel is not shows as a typical gay man instead he’s busy with his work and wearing shirts without any flowers or patterns, does not act like the norm gay man. While Cam on the other hand is a very prototypical gay man, always wearing colorful shirts with patterns, dressing up Lilly (Cam/Mitchel adopted daughter) in costumes for Valentine’s Day. These two characters are quite unlike one another where one reinforces the typical gay man, the other see to challenge the typical gay man. The couple also has an adopted Vietnamese daughter, again challenging the norm in society of a traditional family. Cam and Mitchel while staying at home agree to babysit Manny who is upset over a girl who he has written a poem to, hoping it would impress her. Manny, unlike other kids who hang-out with their friends and ride their bikes, writes poems and is not the least bit self-conscious. He is very mature and intuitive for his age and is often shown doing adult-like things, such as writing poems, challenging the norm of a usual 13 year old kid. Fathers in past years have been considered to be stricter on their kids, teaching them discipline and to focus on school. Phil however does not follow that same norm, instead he try’s very hard even in fact goes out of his way to be a â€Å"funny† dad/husband. Challenging the societal norm of what is known as a typical father. Claire conversely is a very common stay at home, minivan driving house wife who looks after the kids. She reinforced the utmost ideological norms of what a middle class house wife should be like. Talking care of the kids and being a loving mother. Claire and Phil like a normal couple exchange only cards and go to a restaurant on Valentine’s Day which is what they’ve been doing for years. However this all changes when the couple decides to go role playing at a hotel. The two meet at the hotel bar and he â€Å"picks her up†, she then goes to the bathroom and comes back wearing her coat with no clothes underneath. As they prepare to go upstairs she gets her coat stuck in the escalator, which she cannot take off. The circumstances turn worse when they begin running into different acquaintances from work and school, all of whom recommend that she take the coat off. These sequences of event illustrate how much distinct Clair and Phil are from a classical couple, challenging the norm of the traditional couple. The norm for a 13 year old boy is quite simple, a goofy, mischievous, and fun-loving boy who is not very bright. This norm is supported in Modern Family through Luke (Clair’s son). As the episode begins Phil and Luke come running into the house laughing over something they call a water weasel, a water pipe attached to a nerf ball. Luke is the standard of a typical 13 year old. Phil however is not 13 yet acts like one at times, further challenging his norm of a typical â€Å"Dad†. The norm for the young teenage daughter has changed completely over the past decades, now the norm for a teenage girl is almost expected her to be rebellious, wild and care free. A norm which Haley (Clair’s daughter) most definitely reinforces. As illustrated in this episode Haley’s boyfriend Dylan give Haley a picture portrait of Haley and himself half-naked in bed, which of course terrifies her mom and she takes it away. Haley patently reinforces the norm of a typical modern day teenager. In conclusion, the norms presented in Modern Family are mostly challenged to that of a typical nuclear family as an ideal, but yet in some instances as in the case of Haley and Claire the norms of the young teenage daughter and the stay at home house wife are confirmed. The show does need a balance of both, to reinforce norms and challenge them to become a successful comedy. Most of the norms that are challenged are all done in a fun-making manner. The show for the most part encourages the viewer to work for or at least echo on the need for change in society. The episode mostly challenges thoughts of consumption and view’s the show’s audience as citizens not consumerist. Modern Family without a doubt offers us a look into what in today’s society is viewed as a â€Å"Modern family†.

Verb Agreement with Number

Noun/Verb Agreement with Number Noun/Verb Agreement with â€Å"Number† Noun/Verb Agreement with â€Å"Number† By Mark Nichol When a sentence begins with â€Å"A number of,† should the verb that follows be singular, or plural? For example, when a sentence refers to a number of objections being raised, is was correct, or should you use were? In this case, number stands in as a vague reference to the quantity of objections, but the objections themselves are the focus of the sentence: â€Å"A number of objections were raised.† (This last sentence is passive; it might be better to construct the sentence more actively by identifying and emphasizing those who objected: â€Å"Community members raised a number of objections during the public-comments period.† Occasionally, though, the identity of the actor or actors is irrelevant, or the writer wishes to deemphasize or disguise their identity. That’s why passive construction isn’t categorically wrong it’s merely less direct.) However, when the sentence begins with â€Å"The number of,† the verb that follows should be singular: â€Å"The number of chairs available is 500,† for example, is correct, because the subject of the sentence is number, not chairs, and number is a singular noun. (Of course, â€Å"Five hundred chairs are available† avoid starting a sentence with a numeral is more direct and concise, but, again, sometimes a more relaxed syntax is desirable.) The difference may seem negligible, but consider that in an â€Å"a number of† construction, though the plurality of phenomena in the sentence is important, the identity of the phenomena objections, in the first example above is the essential information. Likewise, in the second example, the reader needs to know what objects the stated quantity refers to, but the point of the sentence is the quantity; hence, number is the key word. The same principle applies when the sentence begins with the expletive there or here, followed by a verb: â€Å"There are a number of objections† and â€Å"Here is the number of chairs you requested.† Again, these sentences are not necessarily ideally constructed, but when you need to write in such a syntactical style, remember, â€Å"A number . . . are† and â€Å"The number . . . is.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:5 Uses of Infinitives50 Idioms About Fruits and Vegetables48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids

Make Bubbly Ice Cream Using Dry Ice

Make Bubbly Ice Cream Using Dry Ice Are you in a hurry for your ice cream? Try this quick and easy  ice cream recipe using dry ice. The ice cream comes out carbonated, so its very interesting. Safety Information Avoid touching the dry ice. Its cold enough to give you frostbite.Test the ice cream before eating it to make sure its not too cold. If the ice cream is soft, its fine to eat. If it freezes very hard, let it warm slightly before digging in. Dry Ice Ice Cream Ingredients dry ice2 cups heavy cream2 cups half-and-half3/4 cup sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon salt Make Dry Ice Ice Cream First, you need to crush the dry ice. Do this by placing your dry ice in a paper bag and either smash it with a mallet or hammer or roll over the bag using a rolling pin.Mix all of the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl. If you want chocolate ice cream  instead of vanilla ice cream, add 1 cup of chocolate syrup.Shake the dry ice into the ice cream, a little at a time, mixing between additions.As you add more dry ice, it will start to harden and will get more difficult to mix. Continue adding dry ice until the ice cream has reached the desired consistency.Feel free to stir in flavorings or candy pieces.The ice cream may be very cold! Use care when eating it to avoid frostbite. If the ice cream is soft enough to stir or scoop it should be warm enough to eat safely.You can then freeze leftover ice cream to eat later. Chocolate Dry Ice Ice Cream Recipe Do you prefer chocolate? Heres a simple recipe to try with no eggs or requirement for melting chocolate. Its easy! Ingredients dry ice2 cups heavy whipping cream1 can sweetened condensed milk1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon salt Make the Ice Cream Whip the heavy cream to form stiff peaks.In a separate bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla.Crush the dry ice.Fold some of the heavy cream into the condensed milk mixture.Add some dry ice.Fold in the rest of the whipped cream to get a uniform ice cream.Add the rest of the dry ice, bit by bit, until it freezes. Eat the ice cream immediately to enjoy the bubbly texture. You can freeze leftovers. How It Works Dry ice is colder than a home freezer, so it does a good job of freezing ice cream. Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide that undergoes sublimation to change from solid form into carbon dioxide gas. Some of the carbon dioxide bubbles get trapped in the ice cream. Some of it reacts with the other ingredients. The carbonated ice cream has a slightly tangy flavor, much like that of soda water. Because the flavor is different, you might prefer flavored ice cream over plain vanilla.

Young Men & Fire by Norman Maclean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Young Men & Fire by Norman Maclean - Essay Example Many years later, Norman Maclean tried to re-enact the race up the hill and piece together the events of the Mann Gulch fire. In Young Men and Fire, he recounted his visits to fire research centers, discussions with the fire's survivors, and exploration of the canyon itself. His poetically written investigation into the events of Mann Gulch sought lessons from the fire while presenting pieces of beautiful writing on every page. The book is extremely compelling and use of language is both touching and elegant. Young Men and Fire combines a captivating primer on fires and firefighting, a powerful, amazingly real reconstruction of a tragedy, grief and human character. It is a magnificent drama of writing that pays tribute to the dead and offers rescue to the living. Maclean's quest for the truth that becomes an exploration of his own mortality, is more inspiring even than his journey into the heart of the fire. His description of the conflagration frightens, but it is his efforts to turn the story of the 13 men into tragedy that makes this book a classic. The Mann Gulch fire occurred when a wildfire in the Helena National Forest, Montana, United States, spread out of control. The fire was first spotted by a forest ranger around noon on August 5, 1949. James O. Harrison, the recreation and fire prevention guard for Meriwether Canyon Campground had quit his former job as a smokejumper to find a less dangerous profession. On this day however, he fought the fire on his own for four hours before he met the crew of smokejumpers who had been dispatched from Missoula, Montana, in a C-47. Foreman Wagner Dodge led the team towards the Missouri River. The fire however, spread faster than anticipated and had already cut off the path to safety. The men had to turn around. When Dodge realized that they would not be able to outrun the fire, he started an escape fire and ordered everyone to lie down in the area he had burnt down. The other team members hesitated and hurried towards the ridge of Mann Gulch instead. It was a mistake. Only two of them managed to escape through a crevice and found a safe location, a rock slide with little vegetation to fuel the fire. Two other members survived with heavy injuries but died within a day. Unburnt patches beneath the bodies indicated that the rest of the team, including Jim Harrison, suffocated before the fire caught up with them. Later 450 men fought for five more days to get the fire, which had spread to 18 km (4500 acres), under control. Wagner Dodge survived unharmed and died five years later of Hodgkin's disease. Lessons learn ed from the Mann Gulch fire had a great impact on firefighter training and over the years the science behind fire rampage continued to develop further. Numerous factors shape fire growth. In the case of Mann Gulch certain aspects led to one of the most violent of fire hazards, a blowup. This is a sudden increase in fire intensity or rate of spread strong enough to prevent or upset fire control measures. Blow-ups are often accompanied by violent convection and may have other characteristics of a fire storm. Sometimes flare-ups can occur where there is a sudden acceleration of fire spread or intensification. Unlike a blow-up, a flare-up lasts a relatively short time and does not radically change fire control measures. The most violent fire hazard is a fire storm, a violent convection