Cybercrime in Indonesia Essay

Even if Indonesia has not ratified or signed the Convention on Cybercrime yet, officially Indonesia has implemented almost all cyber crime provisions set forth in the Convention. These provisions are set out in several articles in Law No. 11 Year 2008 on Information and Electronic Transaction. The seven provisions, among others; offense related to child pornography, illegal access, illegal interception, data interference, system interference, misuse of devices, and computer related forgery. The provisions of computer-related fraud and attempt and aiding or abetting are no longer regulated under this Act due consideration has been accommodated by the existing provisions in the Penal Code. Likewise, some offenses related to infringements of copyright and related rights are deemed to have been sufficiently set forth in the Law on Intellectual Property Rights. In addition to the above provisions, the Law No.11/2008 is the merely cybercrime statute in Indonesia, which also includes provisions on e-commerce and e-signature referring to the UNCITRAL Model Law and the EU Directives on such subjects. This is by virtue of the awareness of regulator about inevitable legal convergence of telecommunications, media, and informatics. By means of the principle of neutrality and efficiency, this product of law will be able to encompass the three specialties. Moreover, hacking, according to BATAN is defined as ‘infiltrating or breaching activities into an electronic system without rights, which usually aim to misuse or damage the system.’ Identical definition of hacking is also proposed by David S. Wall which is ‘deliberate unauthorized access to spaces over which rights of ownership or access have already been established.’ Therefore, hacking can be incorporated into illegal access provisions. In the Article 30, there are three paragraphs that organize illegal access, inter alia; 1. ‘Setiap Orang dengan sengaja dan tanpa hak atau melawan hukum mengakses Komputer dan/atau Sistem Elektronik milik Orang lain dengan cara apa pun.’ It means ‘any person intentionally and without right or unlawful access to computers and/or electronic system belongs to any other person in any way.’ 2. Setiap Orang dengan sengaja dan tanpa hak atau melawan hukum mengakses Komputer dan/atau Sistem Elektronik dengan cara apa pun dengan tujuan untuk memperoleh Informasi Elektronik dan/atau Dokumen Elektronik. It means ‘any person intentionally and without right or unlawful access to computers and/or electronic system in any way aim at obtaining electronic information and/or document.’ 3. Setiap Orang dengan sengaja dan tanpa hak atau melawan hukum mengakses Komputer dan/atau Sistem Elektronik dengan cara apa pun dengan melanggar, menerobos, melampaui, atau menjebol sistem pengamanan.’ It means ‘any person intentionally and without right or unlawful access to computers and/or electronic system in any way by infiltrating, trespassing, surpassing, and breaking through a security system.’ The first offenses are to be punished with imprisonment up to 6 years either with or without an administrative fine of up to IDR 600 million. Meanwhile the second offenses are to be sentenced by imprisonment up to 7 years either with or without an administrative fine of utmost IDR 700 million. The latter is to be sanctioned by imprisonment up to 8 years either with or without an administrative fine of up to IDR 800 million. During the past four years since enactment, a myriad of hacking incidents have taken place in Indonesia . However, only two cases were successfully expressed and processed in court. The first case is a case of hacking (defacing) the Election Committee website in 2004 by Dani Firman. While the second case is a similar case against the website of one Indonesia’s largest party, Golkar, by Iqra Syafaat. In fact, according to data from the Association of Indonesian Internet Service Provider (APJII), in 2003, it has recorded 2267 cases of network incidents and in 2004 there were 1103 such cases. It can be concluded that the cases which fails to trial far less. Furthermore, another concern is phishing, defined as ‘the pursuit of personal financial information that is subsequently used to defraud the victim and relies upon the recipient’s inability to distinguish a bogus email from a real one.’ Hence, it should be categorized into ‘computer related forgery’ provision. Article 35 states ‘Setiap Orang dengan sengaja dan tanpa hak atau melawan hukum melakukan manipulasi, penciptaan, perubahan, penghilangan, pengrusakan Informasi Elektronik dan/atau Dokumen Elektronik dengan tujuan agar Informasi Elektronik dan/atau Dokumen Elektronik tersebut dianggap seolah-olah data yang otentik.’ It implies ‘any person intentionally and without right or unlawful manipulate, create, delete, alter, or suppress any electronic document and/or information with the intent that it be considered as if it were authentic.’ Accordingly, this breach is to be sentenced up to 12 years in prison and a maximum fine of IDR twelve million. Unfortunately, there is no case hitherto which is brought to court proceeding. Finally, rare incidents of cybercrime exposed and processed in court trial as the aforementioned are caused by several factors, inter-alia; the lack of awareness among users, the absence of single identity number, the reluctance of victims to report, the limitedness of infrastructure or equipment and devices in the field of IT, and also the lack of law enforcement officers who have expertise in the field of IT. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Indonesia Law Number 11/2008 about Information and Electronic Transaction, entry into force on April 21,2008 [ 2 ]. See (n 1) art 27 and art 9 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 3 ]. See (n 1) art 30 and art 2 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 4 ]. See (n 1) art 31 and art 3 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 5 ]. See (n 1) art 32 and art 4 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 6 ]. See (n 1) art 33 and art 5 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 7 ]. See (n 1) art 34 and art 6 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 8 ]. See (n 1) art 35 and art 7 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 9 ]. art 8 in Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, entry into force on July 1, 2004 [ 10 ]. (n 9) art 11 [ 11 ]. (n 9) art 10 [ 12 ]. Indonesia has several Laws on IPR such as Law No.12/1997 about Copyright, Law No.29/2000 about Vegetal Variety Protection, Law No.30/2000 about Trade Secrecy, Law No.31/2000 about Industrial Design, Law No.32/2000 about Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Law No.14/2001 about Patent, and Law No.15/2001 about Trademark [ 13 ]. See UNCITRAL Mode Law on E-commerce on http://www.uncitral.org/pdf/english/texts/electcom/05-89450_Ebook.pdf and UNCITRAL Mode Law on E-signature http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/uncitral_texts/electronic_commerce/2001Model_signatures.html accessed September 28, 2012 [ 14 ]. (n 1) Explanation [ 15 ]. BATAN is an Indonesian government institution which constitutes one of consulting agents of ICT, http://www.batan.go.id/sjk/uuite.html accessed September 29, 2012 [ 16 ]. Wall, David S, ‘Cybercrime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age’, (Polity Press 2008) 53 [ 17 ]. (n 1)

Adolescent and Predictable and Unpredictable Elenents of This Transition and Associated Life-Stage Essay

Abdallah. Ayda Critical Reflection Essay Introduction Within the context of nursing there has been a significant change in nursing in the last two decades, where nursing and medical knowledge has led to changes where patients can no longer stay in hospital and reduction in hospital beds. Professionals who are employed in the healthcare industry are dealing with acutely ill patients who are in more need of care (usher et al 2009). As professionals we must discover the nature that is offered to us by responding and using reflective thoughts to enhance the important aspects in society (Lauder et al 2004). And qualified nurses, acknowledge and understanding is essential for their practice to remain current, continuous improvement in reflecting on our thoughts, and what we do becomes Habitual to our practice (usher et al 2008). It is a necessity for nurses to use critical thinking as it helps gather relevant information to assist practitioners in examining assumptions and identify relatio nships and patterns (Parker & Clare 2000). We begin this chapter by exploring the concept of critical reflection and why it is important for a nurse, as well as provide an over view of the related legislation that requires the use of reflective thinking in practice by registered nurses, the next section addresses the Gibbs Cycle of what, why and overview of definitions of reflection. Nurses are becoming more aware of the need to utilize and improve their practice, as well as consider the political, social structure issues affecting it. (Taylor 2000). As changes are occurring with the nursing context it is essential for nurses to analyze and respond to different challenges. Initiatively, reflection is the foundation of organizing difficult situations when faced, it also is easily understood, if any problem aroused in the work place (usher et al 2008). John (1998), explains the description of reflection of when being faced with contradictions allows practitioners to assess, think critically and reflect on their practice. In addition reflection is a process which allows existence in acknowledge in the way nursing theory, for example can. Reflection is cognitive in relation to changes of things we do which is not a technique or curriculum element. See more:  First Poem for You Essay Reflective practice enables practitioners to learn from their experiences and what they do, how they do it, what they say in relation to their home  and work, in the significant of others and wider society and culture. Nurses who engage in some form of activity are set out by regulatory authorities indicate an adoption with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, (ANMC). Competency standards for registered nurses (2005), in the early 1990’s Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, (ANMC) had first adopted the national competency standards for registered nurses. Establishment of the organization was in 1992, to develop a national approach to nursing and Midwifery regulation. To ensure and deliver safe competent care, the (ANMC) worked together with the state and territory nursing and midwifery authorities (NMRAS) to produce national standard. In relation, to the AHPRA’S Scheme, which came into effect of 1st of July, 2010, the operations are governed by the health and practitioner regulation national law Act, 2009 (QLD) and each state and territory. In addition with the national scheme, responsibility was taken over for the regulation of nurses and midwifes in Australia, and taken ownership of the national competency standard for registered nurses. The minimum care standards for a nurse in Australia are the 4 domains provisions and coordination of care, professional practice, critical thinking and analysis, collaborative and therapeutic practice. The domains of reflections which also include self-appraisal reflecting on ones own practices by feeling and beliefs and professional development. The domains have all been set out for the nurse to reflect on practice, reflectively and ethically (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council 2008a, 2006). Reflections a verb which means to reflect on one thought (Hancock 1999). This might recall what one thinks and memories in a cognitive act such as overviewing identifying error. (Taylor 2000). Reflection is an activity in the guidance of an action before it happens. (Francis 1995). Rolfe et al (2001), argue that knowledge for practice that does not come from text books or lectures. In addition they call it scientific knowledge that practitioners pick up from everyday knowledge, reflection is the process of theorizing about that knowledge. In consideration, of the reflective views of recognizing strengths and weaknesses and my education enables me to make positive changes to my future practice by using Gibbs Cycle model. Gibbs Reflective Cycle ï‚ · ï‚ · Gibbs model begins with asking what happened. What was your feeling? This allows me to think what accured at the time of event. ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · What was my role in the situation? What was I trying to achieve and what action to take? What was the response of others and what they thought? We move from the second stage of Gibbs Cycle. ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · What does this tell me about my patients? What is the model is model of care I am using? How is my attitude towards the patient? What should I have done to make this better? Final stage of Gibbs model. ï‚ · ï‚ · What do I need to do to make things better? Question myself about improving patient care; widen my knowledge to improve patient care. Conclusion: During my research I began to acknowledge the fact that critical reflection is essential in nursing to enable to look back words on errors made in the work place. Gibbs Cycle is the tool in reflecting back on thoughts and actions accomplished by nurses. If we look back on what we do and how we do it, high care of patient care can be monitored easily without causing harm in the work place. (ANMC) embraces all nurses and practitioners to engage in some type of activity to enhance reflective thinking as it helps in gathering relevant and current information as it is part of the legislation. I feel it has come to my mind that critical reflection it is an important tool on reflecting ones thoughts. Perception of my role: Critical reflection has knowledge me to look backwards and think of things we do. It has changed my perception of nursing as my knowledge expanded enormously towards my role as a nurse since commencing my university degree. I feel I have a responsibility as a nurse to follow the nursing and midwifery council scheme to remain current.

Cell Phone Use While Driving Essay

Cell phones and driving are like oil and water, they don’t mix well together. Not only is using your cell phone while driving dangerous, in some states it’s against the law (Which States Have Cell Phone, Texting While Driving Bans, 2011). It is smart to just let that text or call wait until you can pull safely off the road and answer it, or even wait until you have reached your destination to return the call. I don’t believe cell phones are the most dangerous distraction during driving, but it falls at the top of the list. You can feel the consequences of driving while using your cell phone mentally, physically, and financially. Driving while talking on the phone can affect your mental state. When engaged in a conversation on your cell while driving, your reaction times become slower. â€Å"The act of holding a conversation hinders the driver’s visual processing skills† (Cell phones create mental distraction, not physical hindrance, 2009, p.6). Your mind is elsewhere when it’s not focused on the road. To avoid causing harm to yourself or someone else, it is best to put the cell phone down and focus on the road. Additionally, driving and texting affect a person physically. The number one culprit of physical distractions is texting. If asked most mobile phone users believe driving while texting should be banned, but do it anyway. â€Å"49% of driver’s with cell phones between 20-29 years of age admit they text while driving† (Drivers Pan Texting Behind the Wheel, But Do It Anyway, 2009). That just shows that people have no regards to themselves, others, or the law. Just a quick glance to read or respond to a text is not worth risking your life. Finally, the last repercussion of using your cell phone while driving is the financial toll it can take on you and your family. The laws have been  changed to inflict fines and punishment on people who break this law. In Utah, you can be fined up to $1000 and spend time in jail for texting while driving (Toledo to ban texting while driving; ordinance to go into effect Jan. 1, 2009). That is just legal fines; this doesn’t include how much your insurance premium may go up for causing an accident. You may also be responsible for hospital bills if you cause injury to another motorist. Again, not worth it just to respond to a simple text. In closing, I whole heartedly believe that cell phone use while driving is in close comparison to drinking and driving. People are distracted everyday while driving, but I think cell phones pose a bigger threat as it makes you take your eyes completely off the road and you become unaware of what’s going on in front of, behind, and around you. Consequences could be fatal if you aren’t careful. I bet your family and friends would rather get a message or call from you while you are safe and alive, rather than a call from the police notifying them of an accident you caused due to using your cell phone while driving. References Which States Have Cell Phone, Texting While Driving Bans? (2011, December 14). PC Magazine Online. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA274957396&v=2.1&u=oran95108&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w Cell phones create mental distraction, not physical hindrance. (2009, Spring). Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 12(1), 6. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA218027803&v=2.1&u=oran95108&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w Drivers Pan Texting Behind The Wheel, But Do It Anyway; A survey of 5,000 mobile phone users found about 60% of younger drivers admitted to texting while behind the wheels of their vehicles. (2009, May 20).InformationWeek. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA200206794&v=2.1&u=oran95108&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&p=AONE&sw=w Toledo to ban texting while driving; ordinance to go into effect Jan. 1. (2009, November 25). Blade [Toledo, OH]. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA212836882&v=2.1&u=oran95108&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w

Economics & Public Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Economics & Public Policies - Essay Example The paper tells that the production possibilities curve represents the total output of the combination of two products in an economy provided the inputs and technology are available. There are 3 basic assumptions underlying the production possibilities curve: quantity and quality of all resources as inputs fixed; unchanged technology and fully employed resources. If the federal state and local governments in the U.S. engage in increased health-related expenditure, they would require increasing taxes to meet the increased costs. Assuming the fixed quantity of resources, i.e. public taxes and technology over a given time period, the U.S. is capable of providing limited amount of public health care services. This also depends upon how much the taxpayers are willing to sacrifice other goods and services for increased public health service. The production possibilities curve shows that increase in health care services will lead to less of other government public services due to its limite d resources. Therefore, the production of other goods and services will be less. As the quantity of health care services is reduced, the government will be able to provide more of other goods and services. The probable production possibilities curve is provided in the study. When each member of the community makes a voluntary contribution towards per unit of a pure public good, that contribution equals to his/her marginal benefit derived from the public good at efficient level of output. This equilibrium contribution per unit is known as Lindahl price. The Lindahl prices are assigned in such a manner that no budget deficit or surplus arise at the efficient output of the good. Lindahl equilibrium requires that the total contribution by the community towards the public good is equal to the Marginal Social Benefit and total cost of producing that public good (Hyman, 2010, p.165). This means that ?Ti*Q = MC*Q = AC*Q Where Ti is the voluntary contribution by each individual; Q is the eff icient output; MC is the Marginal Cost of pure public good; AC is the Average Cost of pure public good; Therefore, the total contribution or revenue collected will be (?Ti*Q) and it should be equal to the total cost of the production, i.e. AC*Q. MC*Q equal to AC*Q implies there is no budget surplus or deficit. However, assuming that marginal cost of pure public good increases if more is purchased by the community, i.e. MC>AC then ?MBi>AC because MC = ?MBi. Therefore, the sum of per unit voluntary contribution becomes more than the average costs of production and so this will result in budget surplus at the efficient annual output. Answer 3: Pollution Abatement There are very few human activities that do not pollute the environment, and it has become imperative to address the global concerns over the environmental degradation. The objective of a hundred percent pollution abatement cannot be achieved because the regulators do not have the information of the pollution’s marginal external costs and marginal costs of abatement (Grafton, 2004, p.63). Therefore, most of the pollution abatement policies aim to ensure that the pollution control methods are cost-effective. The costs of pollution abatement not only consider the marginal social costs, but also the opportunity costs associated with cleaner environment.

Bioethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bioethics - Essay Example From the Catholic point of view, life begins immediately after conception and therefore it should be preserved under all circumstances because interfering with it amount to violation of God commandment that forbids murder. Thomson (1971: 46) declines to engage in the argument of establishing when life begins, but she agrees that at conception, the fetus is an embodiment of life that at just ten weeks has developed most physical characteristics of a human being. In this case, Thomson (1971:47) support of abortion does not arise from opposing the view that life begins at conception, but from the pregnant woman point of view. The first circumstance that could make abortion morally permissible according to Judith is when a woman conceives without her consent through rape (Thomson, 1971:47). In such situation, the argument that every person has a right to live lacks conviction because it denies the woman the right to make her own sound decision. Opposing abortion in such circumstance is t antamount to accepting rape as moral act that could be justified by the pregnancy. In case of pregnancy resulting from rape, Thomson(1971:48) argues that the woman should be allowed to make her own decision on whether to abort or not, because the fetus is in the woman , she is the owner of her body and she holds the sole responsibility of determining whether to keep it or not. Another circumstance that render abortion morally permissible is when the life of the mother is in danger (Thomson 1971:49). In such circumstance, prolife activists argue that the action of aborting amounts to murdering the fetus. In this case, the mother should be allowed to carry on and die naturally. This is utter disregard of the mother‘s life where the fetus is regarded to be of more importance. The circumstance under which a woman gets pregnant should not be used as a reason for justifying moral permissibility of abortion or not. According to Thomson (1971: 53), nobody is morally required to make h uge sacrifices of her interests, health, concerns or commitment for a given period just to keep another person alive. This condition holds because the unborn child has the no right to demand the sacrifice (Thomson, 1971:53). In this case, the decision on whether a woman should make the sacrifice to carry the baby to term does not arise because the unborn child deserves the right but it is the volition of the woman to do so. The main point of contention in the abortion debate arises from the fact that a woman cannot safely undertake abortion on herself and hence she requires the assistance of a qualified person (Thomson, 1971:56). In such situation, the role of the third party on whether to accept the abortion request or not has often been strictly regulated by law, and in most countries, it is illegal for a medical practitioner to undertake the procedure on a woman. Thomson (1971:55) argues that restriction amounts to affirming that the unborn child has every right to be accommodate d in the mother’s womb and the wellbeing of the baby should always come before the interests of the woman. In this case, the role of the third party (doctor) in the abortion debate is unfairly extended to deny her wish and this situation portrays a woman like a helpless bystander, who cannot make the decision, about her happiness, yet she is the one carrying the baby in her womb. Thomson (1971:59) argues that every person has right for self

Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Smoking - Essay Example Bernard (2011) claims that the smoke has very high toxicity levels so harmful to the human life given the amount of chemicals contained in the cigarette. He goes ahead to quite cite the actual fact that toxicologists and health care professionals have gone a long way in finding several harmful chemicals in the cigarette. Cigarettes are the most popular, most addictive and the deadliest form of tobacco ever to be used (World Health Organization). These contrasting ideas between smoking enthusiasts (revelers) and the equally enthusiastic dissidents create an interesting discovery of facts about smoking. If there is proof that smoking kills, with health professional’s strong campaigning against the ‘vice’, then why is the number of smokers increasing day after day? The US National Cancer Institute brings out the observation that some of the facts leading to someone talking up smoking may just be a social issue as opposed to personal or medical issue. Actually, smokin g has never been proved to cure any health problem apart from allegations by some health researchers that Cannabis has some medical content. The review of this work therefore seeks to point out the effects of smoking to the body of the smoker and those who are physically close to him/her. This will also seek to establish whether smoking in public should be Okayed as a legal aspect of life or be deemed illegal by the law. A report on smoking was released on September 17th 2009 by Dr. Jen Doe and Dr. Chris DeSanto had very comprehensive information about effects of smoking. These two medical professionals are members of the Georgetown Hospitals Community Pediatrics Program and have served as campaigners for Tobacco Free Kids in America. Their work was seconded strongly by the American Medical Student Association having produced accurate reports on kids and smoking (Doe and DeSanto). This article about children and smoking reflects on effects of smoking by elucidating critical aspects. The authors

Proposal- how alcohol and drugs affect drosophila mutation Essay

Proposal- how alcohol and drugs affect drosophila mutation - Essay Example In this research, the researcher will show how tolerance effects last in Drosophila, an incidence that can be related to human beings. Sometimes alcohol and drug use may extend to the withdrawal stage and the researcher will show whether stress affects the return to a tolerant state after this no drug usage stage of withdrawal. Lastly, the research will show the different behaviors of Drosophila mutants that lack donamine receptors to determine whether they behave differently or not. Alcohol use can lead to addiction that is simply the compulsory use of drugs for survival. Human beings and animals are all subject to drug abuse with recent studies using animals in their studies to explain both behaviors witnessed by humans. The two are proved of having the same body genes that behave the same under alcohol or drug use. In studying the effect of alcohol and drug use in Drosophila mutation, the research will examine the fruit fly Drosophila. Drosophila gets in touch to alcohol and ethanol almost daily from the fermented fruits they eat, but they are resistant to them, unlike ethanol and alcohol in labs that they show some level of sensitivity when exposed to them. When exposed to alcohol, the fruit flies become hyperactive and show somebody imbalance. Just like humans, fruit flies have genes like alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetylaidelyde dehydrogenase (ACDH). Then when exposed to alcohol fumes, ADH changes alcohol into an aldehyde that is then changed to citri c acid by ACDH. The citric acid generates the energy responsible for the hyperactivity realized when humans and the fruit flies are exposed to alcohol. The first alcohol exposure results in the hyperactivity but with continuous exposures, the behavior changes and the fruit flies become tolerant to the ethanol and alcohol effects (Speicher, Motulsky and Antonarakis, 2010). At the tolerance stage, flies have to take more alcohol than earlier for them to start feeling the effects.

Discussion 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion 5 - Essay Example The writer also identifies these mistakes such as male chauvinism and egotistic minds. From these mistakes, Rogers ends his piece of writing by insisting on critical thinking on issues and opinions before making informative decisions. From the start and conclusion of the article, a reader is convinced on critical analysis of the article. (Rogers 333) Rogers employs simple and direct language so as to make it easier for understanding the views passed across. The article inspires change in decision making on daily notions and sometimes uninformed decisions about people and issues. From the writing, words such as communication, differences, and decisions play a significant role in enabling readers understand the article. The article bears repetition of words such as understanding and communication. These words form the foundation of the existence of the article and also the delivery of the message. From this, communication comes out as the main point of discussion. The article comes out enlightening in such a way that my personal judgments are put on test and the urge of making informative decisions comes also in. Communication enables individuals understand each another. On the other hand, through communication, people tend disagreeing on issues and matters without informative decisions. The argument bears similar views and opinions from related texts in that both delve into analysis of how people think and handle ideas and

International Maritime Organization IMO-International labour Essay

International Maritime Organization IMO-International labour organisation ILO Co-relationship in Maritime Administration - Essay Example The establishment of the IMO in the year 1948 was in response to the proposal made by several countries stressing the need for an international body to promote maritime safety in a more effective manner. The IMO Convention proposed an article which summarized the purpose of the organization. It called for cooperation among governments in relation to technical matters governing the shipping industry, to adopt the highest practical standards for maritime safety, and to improve navigation efficiency and to control and prevent marine pollution (Introduction to IMO, n.d). Following the convention, the IMO adopted a newer version of SOLAS (safety of life at sea), which is concerned with maritime safety, in the year 1960. It further regulated international maritime traffic and the carriage of dangerous goods and also revised the measurement of tonnage in ships. In addition, following the increasing number of oil spills by oil tankers owing to the rise in the transportation of oil across cou ntries, the organization also laid down measures to reduce marine pollution due to tanker accidents as well as those resulting from disposal of chemical and garbage wastes into the sea. One of the important measures introduced by the IMO is the International Convention for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL) which strictly regulated oil spills and also disposal of wastes into the sea (Introduction to IMO, n.d; IMO and ILO, n.d). In addition to taking measures to prevent marine pollution, IMO also adopted two treaties by which suitable compensation was provided to the victims who suffered losses due to the pollution. In the year 1970 the International Mobile Satellite Organization, which was launched as a global search and rescue system, has further improved the radio communication in ships. As a further advancement, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, which came into existence in the year 1988, now ensures that any ship in distress can be guaranteed with imme diate assistance through automatic message transmission (Introduction to IMO, n.d). The safety of the human force in ships are being taken care of by two standards, the International Safety Management Code and the amendment to the Convention for the certification and watch keeping of seafarers (STCW) (Introduction to IMO, n.d; IMO and ILO, n.d). In addition, further conventions related to maritime safety were adopted in the 2000s and several amendments have been adopted as a result changing technology or lessons learned from accidents. Some of the key issues of the IMO at present include tackling modern day piracy, reducing green house gas emissions from ships, and ensuring the safety of the seafarer. Secure, environment friendly, and maintaining sustainable cooperation in the shipping industry is the motto of the IMO and the organization is working towards achieving these objectives by adopting and implementing the right standards and legal practices (Introduction to IMO, n.d). ILO is the abbreviation for International Labor Organization which is a tripartite UN agency that oversees the labor standards, their rights and welfare across the world. It was founded in the year 1919 during the war crisis when it was strongly believed that universal peace can be achieved only through the establishment of a social justice system. Its representatives include the international labor conference, the

Socialization and Criminal Behavior Essay Example for Free

Socialization and Criminal Behavior Essay He was attractive, smart, and had a future in politics. He was also one of the most prolific serial killers in U. S. history. Ted Bundy screamed his innocence until his death in the electric chair became imminent, then he tried to use his victims one more time to keep himself alive. His plan failed and the world got a glimpse of the true evil inside him. Theodore Robert Cowell was born on November 24, 1946 in the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Vermont. Ted’s biological father was an Air Force veteran, and was unknown to his son his whole life. His mother was Lousie Cowell. After she had her birth with him, they has moved back to Ted’s grandparents in Philadelphia. While growing up there, his was taught that his mother was actually his sister, and that his grandparents were his parents. They did this in order to protect his mother from harsh criticism and prejudice of being an unwed mother, At the age of four, him and his mother moved to Tacoma, Washington, with some relatives. It was there where his mother had fallen in love with a military cook named Johnnie Culpepper Bundy, In May 1951, his mother married the cook, and Ted had then assumed his stepfather’s last name, and had gotten the name Ted Bundy. During the marriage, they had more children, and Ted found himself babysitting many days after school. In school, he was terrible shy and uncomfortable in many social situations. He was often the one teased in school or made the head butt of the jokes and pranks. Author Stephen Michaud analyzed his behavior and decided that â€Å"he was not like the other children. Despite his parental circumstances and meager surroundings Bundy was well behaved and grew into an attractive teen who was generally liked and who performed well in school. Throughout his years at high school After high school he entered the University of Puget Sound and continued to do well academically, but felt uncomfortable around his fellow peers who were predominantly wealthy. In his sophomore year Bundy transferred to the University of Washington to escape the uncomfortable feeling of his financial inadequacy.

Nigerian Civil Service History

Nigerian Civil Service History In tracing the emergence and growth of the civil service in Nigeria, Nwosu (1977) started from 1900 when Britain formally established the authority in most of the administrative purposes. They were in the colony of Lagos and the protectorate of Northern and Southern Nigeria. Later in 1906, the Lagos colony was merged with the southern protectorate and renamed the colony and protectorate of Southern Nigeria. In 1914, the two protectorates were amalgamated and subsequently became known as the colony and protectorate of Nigeria. In order to be able to administer the territory, Britain imposed a unified alien civil service on Nigeria without giving much thought to its impact on the Nigerian traditional communities with their conflicting values, interest, norms and authority structure (Kingsley 1963). It must be pointed out that despite the amalgamation and its attendant unification of the civil services of the North and South, the two are still developed at their own pace. The major function of civil service at the time was mainly the maintenance of law and raising enough revenue to sustain the colonial authority. According to Okoli Onah (2002), the service was geared towards the negative policy of preventing trouble in the areas under its administration. Economic and social development was never a major objective of the administration. The colonial civil service according to Nwosu 1977 had its structure; at the Head of Public Service was the Governor-General, who was accountable to the colonial secretary in London. The colonial secretary was himself accountable to the British cabinet and the parliament. The governor-general delegated his authority to the Chief Secretary, who was the effective head of the service. The chief secretary coordinated the whole service which was divided into two major parts the departmental and the political administration. The departmental administration covers the technical and professional functions of the colonial regime. These include education, health, treasury, agriculture, forestry, public works and audit. The various heads assisted the chief secretary. They not only advised the Governor but initiated policies, participated in legislation and supervised the execution of enacted bills and approved policies. While the head of technical department operated from Lagos. Their subordinates were in charge of field offices. The field officers included the lieutenant-governor, the resident and district officers, the officers who are pillars of colonial civil service were fully responsible for maintenance of law and order and the mobilization of resources which were the main object of colonial administration. The field officer did not rule the people directly, rather they owned the people and that is indirect rule. In the north, it was completely successful because of the indigenous political and administrative structure on ground. In the west, it was partially successful because of the peoples contact with western education and in the east; it was a complete failure because of the republican nature of the peoples government. The fusion of western administration with the traditional African system produced a new structure which Nwosu (1977) says corresponded with Fred Riggs description of the pattern of role differentiation in a traditional society. At this early period, Nigerians were restricted to the lower echelons of the civil service. The south and the north; though amalgamated, still had their separate civil services. Principles of the Civil Service The civil service is guided by the triple maxims of anonymity, neutrality and impartiality. The principles of permanence are also seen as part of the maxims (Obiajulu Obi 2004). Anonymity: this states that civil servants should be seen and not heard. Though they advise political office holders on issues relating to government, they neither take the blame nor the glory of such policies. They are not expected to be seen defending such policies. Civil servants as far as possible are anonymous and should not be seen as craving for publicity. Neutrality: the civil servant must be politically neutral. His job is to serve the government of the day irrespective of what he feels about that particular government. He should not allow his personal prejudices color his dedication to his duty. He is not expected to be a card carrying member of a political party or get involved in partisan politics though he is expected to vote at election times. Impartiality: Civil servants are paid from tax payers money which does not belong to anybody or group in particular. They are therefore expected to discharge their duties without fear or favor in rendering such service to the public. The civil servant is expected to treat everybody with a high degree of impartiality. Permanence: the civil service is often defined as a permanent body of officials that carryout government decisions. It is permanent and its life is not tied to the life of any particular government. Government come and goes but the civil service remains. Functions of the Civil Service According to Obiajulu Obi (2004), the major function of the civil service is the implementation of government policies. Civil servants are not policy makers and are not really in a position to question government policies. Whenever a policy is made, it becomes the role of the civil servants to implement the policy the way the government of the day wants it to be. The federal and state civil servants play important role in policy formulation and advice. They play a major economic, social and educational objective of both the federal and state governments. The civil service also gathers statistical information for the activities of the government. Senior civil servants also have to inform the public about the achievements, abilities and problems facing the government. Also, Ezeani (2005) noted that the civil service is a store of knowledge of past government decisions and procedures. Thus, it plays an educative role by assisting professionals and military political executives (as is the case in Nigeria), especially the new ones to adapt themselves to the realities of their offices (This Week, 1988:19). The civil servants also play investigative and regulatory functions. CHAPTER TWO Structure of the Nigerian Civil Service The civil service is mainly organized around the federal ministries headed by a minister appointed by the president, who must include at least one member of the 36 states in his cabinet. Presidents appointment is confirmed by the senate of Nigeria. There are less than 36 ministries. In some cases, a federal minister is responsible for more than one ministry and a minister may be assisted by one or more ministers of state. Each ministry has a permanent secretary who is a senior civil servant. The ministries are responsible for various parastatals (government owned corporations) such as education, National Broadcasting Commission (information) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Other parastatals are the responsibility of the office of the presidency such as the Independent Electoral Commission, the Federal Civil Service Commission, etc. Role of the Civil Service in National Development The civil service is a vital part of government machinery and its role is decisive in ensuring the stability of governance, its quality and ability to perform and push the frontiers of national development. According to Edozien, a former permanent secretary, the civil service inherited from the British was effective, efficient offered a socially responsible service and was well respected and regarded by the political class. So also was the civil service under phase one of the national development plan covering 1960 1975). He said that phase two 1975 1999 started with a blow of the morale of the civil service as permanent secretaries were compulsorily retired and were barred form accompanying their ministers to federal executive council (FEC) meetings, while job security was no longer guaranteed. Engr. Ebele Okeke described the civil service as a critical contact between the government and the people in the area of good government and the people in the area of good governance and service delivery. The success of any government depends on a virile civil service. Hence, the civil service remains very crucial and critical to national development and democratic stability. In developing states, why years of military and authoritarian rule in most developing societies have impacted negative political culture on the character and philosophy of the service, yet its role in national development cannot be undervalued. However, since military regimes and authoritarian rule have lost their appeal in modern government. The need to reform civil and public service to be in tune with democratic values becomes highly imperative. An efficient civil service acts as a catalyst in the development of all nations. While on the other hand, its inefficiency can constitute as one of the heaviest mill stones round the neck of developing nations. Therefore, it is important to most that the civil service must be efficient to service the newly found democratic project for stability and survival of the polity. Since it is the vehicle and machinery of public policy formulation and implementation, it is also to be noted that democracy with its attractive values will enhance the workings of the public service and redefine, reorient and reposition it to be more affective, mobile and productive partner in national reconstruction agenda (Ayodele and Bolaji). Bureaucratic bottleneck, high levels of corruption and personalization of governmental affairs exhibited hitherto by the civil service are highly anti-democratic. Democracy is expected to bear on the attitude and change this negative democratic attitude to service. Democracy has rekindled the expectation and optimism of the people in the ability of the civil service to be relevant to he challenges of growth and development. The strategic relevance of civil service in policy formulation and implementing cannot be over emphasized. In the developing societies especially in the immediate past independence era the public service assumed the pivotal roles as the vehicle of development. In fact, Ejifor (2003) posits that civil service in the developing societies is everything and that the most important catalyst of development is an efficient service while at the same time its inefficient constitute the heaviest millstones of any nation. This is similar to the view of Agagu (1997:233) who contends that public and civil service is the continuously active business part of government concerned with carrying out the law, as made by the legislative bodies in the process of organization and management. In scope, the influence of the civil service is not debatable; it remains definitely a major force in todays governance. The civil service contains a network of human relationships and associations extending from the highly influential government officials to the lowest paid and powerless individual charged with all resources, natural and human and all other aspects of the life of the society with which the government is concerned (Nnoli, 2000:44). In essence, public service is the totality of how progress and development are made in the society. The Nigerian civil service has faced a number of challenges, which has considerably undermined its capacity to serve as agent of national development. Such challenges include those of achieving technical competence, coping with public expectation and change, behaving ethically and maintaining constitutional order. The truth is that all these problems are inextricably linked to failure of the civil service to play its rightful role in system maintenance and continuity. Again, in order to enhance the nations development, the civil service under the auspices of the public service can partner with the private sector. In Nigeria and other developing countries, sustainable access to healthcare and other socio-economic services and products can be accomplished through public-private partnerships, where the government delivers the minimum standard of services, products and care, the private sector brings skills and core competencies while donors and business bring funding and other resources. Such collaborations will be especially productive in promoting poverty alleviation through partnerships as has been the case with polio eradication and other child immunization efforts. However, this public-private partnership would help to highlight perspectives on development, from leaders in civil society, government, business and the media, share information of development alternatives, provide forums for informed debate on related issues; seek to accomplish better understanding of the nature of relationships between governmental and non-governmental organizations and introduce conceptual frameworks for understanding such relationships. Intrinsic in the aforementioned objectives of typical public-private partnerships is the mission to contribute to the economic integration of a country/region accelerate its economic growth and sustainable development, engender and sustain private sector participation in traditionally public sector projects; and expand local assess to international markets, thereby ensuring the countrys deeper integration into the global economy. For Nigeria in particular, this could be done within the official NEPAD structure, ECOWAS and other regional economic communities in Africa, governments, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders. Finally, a vibrant and healthy civil service is the key to good governance and national development. Challenges of the Nigerian Civil Service According to Ezeani (2005), the Nigerian Civil Service has over the years been plagued by a number of problems which adversely affected its role as an instrument for socio-economic and political development of the country. The problems include: The nature of political competition in the Nigerian environment. The Nigerian civil service has been transformed into a theatre of sharing the national cake among the major ethnic and sub ethnic groups, a factor responsible for the unending demand for fragmentation of governmental structure units of ministries, divisions of major departments etc.) despite the obvious difficulties in sustaining the existing ones. The conflictual relationship between politicians and administrations Corruption e.g. looting of national treasury and lack of accountability Poor remuneration of civil servants Politicization of the civil service. As Olowu et al (1997) rightly points out politicization of the top civil services in an environment of high political instability and high turnover of officials has not only been wasteful of personnel, it has also led to a weakened role for the civil service in the development process. Ethnicity and indiscipline. A family local ethnic and other primordial ties and loyalties, sometimes compete on take precedence over loyalty to the nation and the service (Nwosu 1997) Social distance existing between the senior civil servants and the masses. Most senior civil servants have contacts with the masses and therefore do not experience their problems Lack of flexibility among bureaucrats. Civil servants cling tenaciously to routine well established procedures for doing things or red-tapism. The Military Rule and Nigeria Civil Service The history of post colonial Nigeria is fraught with military authoritarianism. This has reflected in its bureaucracy. Scholars agree that since 1966 when the military intervened in the Nigeria government and politics up to 1999 civil service has enjoyed enormous popularity due to the inability of the military class to dictate the pace of government without recourse to bureaucrats wealth of experience. It should be noted that civil servants are often used as stabilizers of the staff under military regimes. Generally, military administration manifests certain characteristics which are hallmarks of military regimes, these are: Method of Civil Service Appointment: The civil service has laid down rules and regulations guiding appointment, discipline and promotions. Under the military these processes are rubbished. Merit and seniority are relegated and mediocrity celebrated. This has brought into the service deep hatred among the rank and file of the system. This has undermined professionalism in the civil service. Decision Making Process: This under the military is usually centralized. There is no constitution, no rule of law, absence of separation of power, no democratic institution with the legislature, executive and judiciary. The decision making process are vested in one centralized body like the Supreme Military Council or Armed Forces Ruling Council. Related to the above is the military often acted with dispatch in administration. The tradition military culture has affected their method of operation even in official bus. By their training and due to their low educational background, they dont know their power limitations. Thus, most of them give appointment, promotions, contract and other forms of state privileges without due process. Absence of Separation of Powers and Function: over-concentration of power and function in one body is another feature of military regime. Military governments dont subscribe to separation of powers. Hence the issue of rule of law is out of the question. The doctrine of separation of powers presupposes that whatever power accruing to one organ shouldnt be interfered with by another. But the precepts of the military regime all governmental powers i.e. legislature, executive and to some extent, the judiciary, are concentrated in few hands. Prevalence of Spoilt System in Appointment: Often, appointments under the military are not done on merit. Successive military regimes often adopted some faithful members of the public into public administration without regard to their qualification. By this arrangement, sensitive federal and state positions were left for people who arent competent. This is in line with the military belief that any person can do the art of administration. Again because of military governments could be ousted any day it becomes a tradition among staff office occupiers to appropriate or personalize the trappings of their office. CHAPTER THREE How can National Development be fully Realized? Development has become more crucial in the developing countries to avert the lingering problem of bureaucratic maze paralyzed by partisan politics and ideological imperatives, poor coordination, implementation and sheer miscalculation that bedevil many administrative issues in the developing countries. These problems can be tackled through better monitoring accountability checks and more rigorous project evaluation. Development does not take place in a vacuum but in an environment, the environment in the field of development is a countrys socio-economic and political set up. To be conducive to national development, the civil service as an environment has to have minimum level of stability, peace and order. (Obi Obikeze 2004). National development is crucial in developing countries such as Nigerian to help them enhance their level of political economic, social and cultural wellbeing with the aid and instrumentality of the civil service. Recommendations Todays civil service needs to rediscover the time-honoured inbuilt system of training, retraining and adaptive skills in consonance with modern work practices and processes. It must imbibe the culture of innovation both in imagination and routine works as well as in developing appropriate tools for anticipating change and challenges. It must be able to institutionalize change in modern governance and societal development. It must see itself as a tool for the promotion of growth, peace, stability, development and democracy. Conclusion In conclusion, for the civil service to be both relevant and effective, it must rediscover its cherished tradition of service, loyalty and excellence and complement them with integrity, credibility, leadership, innovation and transparency in the management of scarce resources. With this, the Nigerian civil service can be capable of meeting modern challenges of national development.

Tourism in Bulgaria

Tourism in Bulgaria Introduction Bulgaria is one of the most visited countries in Europe. Situated in Southern Europe and occupying northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria has many attractions that keep more than 5 million tourists visiting the country annually. Tourism has been one of the most important sectors of its economy for a long time since it started a revolution about 10-15 years ago. In 2006, more than 6 million tourists visited the country. This number reached about 8 million in 2007 and is expected to rise further in 2008. The country has both old tourist cites and also new sites which draws that attention of many people all over the world. These sites are reinforced with an effective transport system of railways, automobile, air and water. (Bell 1998, p. 45) Attraction sites in the country Tourism activities in the country ranges from skiing, hunting, mountaineering, mountain bike riding, caving, bird watching, hiking and walking, and horse riding. These forms the land activities that can be undertaken in the tourism sector in the country. Water activities are diverse ranging from swimming and surfing, rafting, canoying, kaying, and diving. There are also various attraction sites including resorts, national parks, mineral water springs, water parks, Adventure Park and zoo, museums and other archeological sites. Air activities include paragliding in sunny and dry climates. There are a number of attraction sites in Bulgaria ranging from natural sites to man made sites. There are several sites in Bulgaria that are found in UNESCO list of landmarks. It is a world of world natural and cultural heritage. These forms the general attraction sites like Kazanluk Tomb which is dated 4th and 3rd century B.C. This tomb is located in the Tyulbeto hills near the town of Kazanluk. Ivanovo Rock Churches is a monastery compound believed to of Archagel Michael which contains preserved churches. This is believed to be one of the most significant 14th century Bulgarian arts. The Madar Horseman is a rock reef cutting into the northern slope of Provadiisko Plateau. The Rila Monastery forms an impressive 13th to 14th century architectural work and a spiritual centre for Bulgarian people. Nessebur, forms the old part of the town with architectural, historical and archeological significance situated at the Black Sea coast. Pirin National Park which is a part of the Pirisn Moun tain contains plant and animal species. In the UNESCO list there is also Sreburna reserve and Sveshtari tomb. Also there are several tourist centers in Bulgaria like Borovetz, Bansko, Pamporove, Vitosha and others which are picturesque also popular ski resorts. It also has famous summer resorts like Sozopol, Nessebur, Sunny Beach, Albena, and others. Winter resorts include Bansko, Chepelare, borovetz, Vitosha, and others. Rural tourism attractions include Arbanasi, Madzhorobo, Kumani, and others. It has also developed city tourism in sites like Sofia, Varna, Kardzhali, and others. There is hiking and paragliding in Balkan Mountains. Cultural tourism is greatly developed in Bulgaria. It has been the home of many civilizations including Thracians, Slavs, Romans, Byzantines, and ottomans. People are attracted to Bulgarian to see the architectural and other remains of these civilizations. There are quality hotels found in major tourist sites in the country. In Sofia there are hotels like Castle Hrankov, Gloria Palace Diplomatic Club, and others. Most of the tourist hotels are found in Sofia. Plovdiv has hotels like Rodopi, Ambassador, Atlantic, and other. In Varna there are quality hotels like City Plane, Elegance, Lukos, and others. Burgas has least number of hotel including Kosmos, Mirage, White Rose, and others. Like in other tourist site in the world, these hotels fall into categories with most of them being 3 star and 5 star hotels. In total there are about 190 000 beds in the Bulgarian hotel sector. Accommodation facilities have grown rapidly in the sector since the government started privatizing the hotel facilities. This has seen a 12% growth in the accommodation sector in the industry. Tourism in Bulgaria is supported by availability of other facilities which support tourism activities. There are multipurpose halls, conference halls, offices and exhibition areas in major hotels in the country. These facilities are reinforced by technical facilities including simultaneous translation and sound systems, other audio visual facilities including film projectors and video equipments. This ensures that all hotel activities are served with quality services. Bulgaria has a lot of potential to develop tourism. It has sites that attract people and with little development in some weak areas, the sector can flourish to be an important foreign earner. However there has been criticism that tourism in Bulgaria is underdeveloped. It faces weaknesses which continue to undermine the industry. Seaside tourism heavily relies on short season which make it face stiff competition from other countries offering similar services. The industry is also faced by inadequacy of hotels in the ski resorts and the resorts are also underdeveloped. Support services in the transport are also inadequate and are undermined by low airline services and poor road condition which makes it difficult to access most tourist sites in the country. (Grunt 2001, p. 65) Tourism business strategies The state and the private in Bulgaria has done remarkable job in trying to come up with the above marketing requirements. The State Agency for Tourism has made a lot of strategies aimed at marketing Bulgaria as a tourist destination in the world. This has resulted to increased number of tourist visiting the country in the recent past. The government has taken stem in recognizing some of the most potential marketing including other EU countries. With the country expected to join the EU on January 2007, the tourism agency has taken steps towards marketing the country all over the world. This is expected to increase business tourism into the country and the government has undertaken necessary measures to upgrade business support services. (Kaytcheve and Purchell 2006, p. 21) On of the most important made by the government in promotion of tourism in the country is through privatization of most hotels in the country. Most of the hotels in Bulgaria were state owned which led to poor management and consequently most of the facilities became worn out. From 2001, the government embarked on a plan to privatize most of the facilities. The government also embarked on renovation of most of the tourist attraction sites and facilities. The government has also responded well by holding foreign trade fairs through which it has been able to market its tourism sector. The private sector has also responded very well. With the privatization of most tourist facilities in the country and the consequent renovation and upgrading of the facilities, major international tourist operators has responded very well into acquisition of these tourist facilities. Over the last ten years, accommodation facilities has grown by more than 75% in the country while it has actually doubled in the Black Sea regions due to the concerted input from the government and the private sector. The marketing strategies in the country have been targeting regions. One category includes markets of the geographical region within the EU. Germany had been a leading market for tourism in Bulgaria but other countries like United Kingdom, Russia, Scandinavia, Greece, ad others have emerged as potential markets as well for the industry. It has held exhibition in these markets which has enabled exchange of information about tourist sites in the country. The other categories include emerging markets where the government should continue to lay more emphases on. These markets are a special market category in which the government has continued to hold special trade fairs and exhibitions. The government has done a lot of promotions for the domestic market which has continued to make contribution to the tourism industry. (Petreas 2007, p.67) Economic impact Tourism industry remains one of the most untapped business sectors in Bulgaria. Although it has a lot of business potentials in the tourisms sector, little has been done in order to improve this sector. This is because there have been infrastructure issues that have been the main block in the development of tourism in the country. However the sector has grown in years and has performed relatively well in the past 10 years. The sector has recorded growth with the increasing attention that is being paid to the development of the tourism sector. In 2007, the industry recorded a 10 percent more booking than it has received in the previous year. This represents a higher growth which is also reflected in earnings from the sector. For the same period the number of tourist increased by more than 5 percent growth margin. This has an effect on financing the income of the population. In 2007, revenues from tourist sector rose by more than 16 percent. There has also been a growing trend in the rise of domestic tourism. A big number of Bulgarians has recognized the importance of domestic tourism and for the period ending 2007, there was 15 percent increase in the number of domestic tourist the country. With the country expected to join the EU, the number of tourists coming in and out of Bulgaria to the EU region increased by more the 11 percent for the same period. Therefore in terms of important of the sector, Bulgaria has recognized the importance that the sector can play in the growth of the economy. In particular, special emphasis on diversification of tourist sites and other attractions has been very crucial in ensuring that the sectors grow evenly and makes a contribution to the overall GDP of the country. But there is need for the government to take more bold steps toward improving the marketing strategies in order to ensure that the sector makes more contribution to the growth of the economy in the country. Social-environmental impact of tourism in Bulagaria Apart from coming with positive economic impact, tourism has had positive and negative impacts on the tourism business in the country. This has been through the increased number of visitors in the country and the increased interaction between the people of Bulgaria and the outsiders which has brought about cultural interaction. On the environment impact, there have been environmental issues that have come along with booming tourism business in the country. In a recent study, it was revealed that a total number of 268 000 tourists and 52 150 vehicles visited Rila National Park alone between January and June 2007. This shows that there has been increased number of tourists visiting other parks in the country. Keeping this visitors and ensuing that there is positive environmental impact is quite difficult. There have been environmental challenges that have been encountered in ensuring that the flood of people and cars is kept to the check. (Bulgarian Country Commercial Guide FY2001, 2008) Environment impacts have been on the increased emissions from the cars that have been used and difficulties that have been enounced in managing the waste from the residential areas where the tourist are housed. The nature has not been spared either as more and more negative impact on the natural environment are being reported in the effort to create more tourist attraction to the country. On the issue of social concerns, it has been shown that the wave of globalization has not left Bulgaria out and tourists have immersingly contributed. There has been mix up of outside cultures with that of Bulgaria. This has led to efforts which are aimed at streamlining the industry such that the culture of the country is protected. At the same time there have been efforts that are aimed at integrating the culture of Bulgaria with that of the outside world. There have been efforts which are all aimed at ensuring that the culture of Bulagaria and that of the outside world is integrate in aspects of foods, music, and other attraction which are aimed at increasing the level of attraction to the country. However it has had negative impact of eroding the culture of most Bulagrina community. The once rich culture has been contaminated with external practices which is reducing the value of cultural tourism in the country. The focus in the recent times has been development of cultural tourism in the country. The level of cultural tourism in the country has been very low and the hence the effort are supposed to market the rich cultural mix of country in order to make it a tourism activity. This will help in neutralizing the negative effects that it has had on the cultural of Bulgaria. There have been other challenges on social issues that have come due to tourism business. Key among this issue has been the ever disturbing problem of underage sex tourism. It has been found the rate of underage sex tourism has been on the increase and it is raising concerns from all quarters. The issues have been the way in which these children are misuse for tourism purpose by some tourism activity which has been seen as bleach on the social right of these children. There have been other issues parting social life of the people that has been interrupted by tourism activity. (European Union, 2006) Recommendation Tourism in Bulgaria has been instrumental in contributing to the economy of the country. It has also done a lot to market the country to the outside world. This is because more and more people are becoming attracted to the country. Therefore there are measures that should be taken in order to market the country more to the outside world. Since the country has joined the EU, there is more chance of developing the sector more since it will be supported by EU funds. However there must be systematic effort to improve the attraction sites in order to diversify the number of sites in the country. This will raise the number of visitors and increase the level of tourist activities. Diversifying the number of attraction sites in the country should also take into account the need to give the people more chances to be involved in tourism activist. This is the main focus of recent development in cultural tourism. Tourism support facilities should also be supported by improving their condition. T his will also help in diversifying attraction to the country. In conclusion we can say that tourism business in Bulgarai is one of the lucrative investment opportunities for any investor willing to invest in the country. Reference: Annstova, L. Purchell, K 1997, Human Resource management in Bulgaria tourism, Journal of International Hospitality Management, Vol. 3(3): 34-67 Bell, J. D 1998, Bulgaria in Transition, Wiley, New York Bulgarian Country Commercial Guide FY2001, Tourism Infrastructure Summary, Retrieved from, http://www.factbook.net/countryreports/bu/Bu_Tourism.htm, on 30th January 2008 Discussion about the Bulgarian Tourism before 2005, Retrieved from, http://209.85.129.104/search?/htm, on 30th January 2008 European Union 2006, Technical Assistant to the Bulgarian State Tourism Agency- Bulgarian State Tourism Agency â€Å"Strategy for the Development of Bulgarian Tourism for the Period 2006-2009† Final Report, Vol. 1, Issue 3 Grunt, M.D 2001, Business marketing management: a strategic view of industrial and organizational markets, London, Dryden Press Kaytcheva, E. Purcell, K 2006, Tourism Management in Bulgaria: The challenge of change, Oxford University, Britain. Petreas, C 2007, â€Å"Competitiveness of Bulgarian Tourism, in the EU† EU expert for Tourism

Platos Symposium Essay -- Socrates Love Symposium Essays Plato

Plato's Symposium   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the meaning of love? What does love feel like? How does love come about? No one can truly explain it, yet somehow it's understood. In Plato's Symposium, a dinner party was held with the discussion of love as the main topic. Everyone was required to make a speech, an ode to Love, the spirit. The philosopher, Socrates gave his speech last, claiming that his speech was merely a repetition of what a wise woman named Diotima once told him. The speech was a powerful one, but before the night was over, a drunk Alcibiades entered. He was asked to make a eulogy for Love as well, but instead, talked about the nature of Socrates. The nature of Love and the nature of Socrates turned out to be extremely similar. In the Symposium, Socrates can be seen as the embodiment of Love itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The notion of love that was understood at the end of the Symposium came about gradually. It transformed from speaker to speaker over the course of the party, and could be compared to the whole process of understanding love that Socrates tried to explain in his own speech.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Its complexity was attained by taking small steps in a larger direction. Diotima explained to Socrates, that to attain the deepest love, he had to follow a certain order.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Much like stepping up on the "rungs in a ladder"(211c), love's nature started small, with Phaedrus and Pausinas merely stating that there was good love and bad love. This was the first step, starting with "beautiful things"(211c) and making those things "reason for... ascent"(211c) up the proverbial ladder. Next Eryximachus' speech compared love's importance to that of medicine's. He used the "things of this world as rungs in a ladder"(211c). Aristophanes then gives love a comedic approach, breaking up the adulation. Agathon was next, and his speech showed how love affected people's minds. It created great poets, and spawned the practices of "hedonism, luxury, and sensualism"(197d). Agathon was last before Socrates, and the closest to Socrates' view. He was at the final steps of the deepest love, seeing the "beauty of people's activities"(211c) and of "intellectual endeavors"(211c).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Love, the spirit, was said to be the son of "Plenty and Poverty"(203c). One parent a polar opposite of the other, coming together to form the middle path named Love. The spirit Love was full of self-conflic... ...lings were not a eulogy for Love, they were personal opinions of his experiences with Socrates, and bluntly stated it. Although it must be taken into consideration that he was characterized as drunk while giving his speech, he reminded the party that the "truth comes from wine"(217e). Essentially, reassuring the reader that he is not in a condition to be making up lies. His description of Socrates' nature was similar to that of Socrates' own description of love's nature. However, Alcibiades was not at the party when Socrates made his speech, so there was no way could have used it to fashion a similar story of his own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates was regarded as the wisest man at the party. He could have given a "second-rate report"(215d) on love, as Alcibiades would have said, and "woman, man, or child"(215d) would have been "overwhelmed and spellbound"(215d). It was the effect Socrates had on people. Perhaps he was the embodiment of love? Even if his speech was fictional, he held a captivated audience of men who would have reveled in the chance to "lay"(219b) with the Socrates. Works Cited: Plato, and Robin Waterfield, trans. Symposium. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Using Nazi Tactics Against Smokers Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive A

Using Nazi Tactics Against Smokers Prior to the 1930s, Germany was Europe's most hospitable country for Jews. While Jews were only one percent of the population, they were one-fourth of Germany's law and medical students. In some German cities, Jews were the majority of doctors. While Jews were only five percent of the Berlin population in 1905, they paid 31 percent of all income taxes collected. For Germany as a whole, Jewish income was more than three times the national average. In his book, Migration and Cultures, Dr. Thomas Sowell adds that Jews were so highly integrated into German economic and social life that in nearly half of all Jewish marriages during the 1920s one of the spouses was Gentile. During World War I, Jewish-American publications were investigated and prosecuted by the U.S. Government for writing favorably about Germany, a nation at war with the U.S. Much of German history has been one of racial toleration. This is partially seen by their anti-slavery positions in Brazil and the United States. In the United States, Germans had a large hand in assisting runaway slaves by way of the "underground railroad." Germans also had an established reputation of getting along very well with American Indians. So why the story about pre-Nazi Germany? I think examining it raises an interesting question that few bother to answer; namely, if Germany was so hospitable to Jews, relative to other countries, how in the world did the Holocaust happen? There are several alternative explanations such as Hitler's massive consolidation of government power. Then there's the fact that German culture places high values on regimentation and obedience to authority. An important part of the answer of how Germans came to accept Jew... ... no more. The nation's tyrants have now turned their attention to the vilification of fast food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, charging them with having created an addiction to fatty foods. Thus, the tyrants claim, fast food chains have contributed to obesity-related problems and growing healthcare costs. Like the anti-tobacco zealots they call for regulation, compensation for injury and taxes on foods they deem to be non-nutritious. In addition to fast food chains, these tyrants have targeted soft drink and candy manufacturers. Chinese and Mexican restaurants are also in their sights because they have meal servings deemed to be too large. In their campaign against fast food chains, restaurants and soda and candy manufacturers the nation's food Nazis always refer to the anti-tobacco campaign as the model for their agenda.

Physical restraints in special education Essay

Physical restraint is the use of physical force to significantly limit free movement of parts of the body or the whole body. It is a practice whereby people are rendered helpless or are kept in captivity through the use of straps, ropes, straitjackets, fetters, handcuffs and any other way of retraining people physically. In this regard, it should be done when a person poses threat property, self or others. In relation to special education, it is usually done to the students who as a result of their conditions may pose risks to themselves, the other students or even the staff (Magee & Ellis, 2001). There are reports to indicate that there are many allegations regarding abuse of physical restraint practices in schools. These involve cases where it is used even when the said children are not dangerous or physically aggressive to self o other people. Statistics show that between 1990 and 2009, investigators have found hundreds of allegations revolving around abuse, seclusion and restraint in both private and public schools. On the other hand, there is also evidence that some teachers are not fully trained on the techniques they should use regarding the same. While nineteen states lack the necessary regulations or laws on seclusion or restraint, only seven states have them. Most of the people who use these restraint and seclusion do not seem to understand the techniques involved and short and long term effects they have on the people they are used on. In most cases, parents and guardians have not consented to the techniques and are usually surprised that they are being used. There are more and more cases of teachers who are using physical restraint even before they have tried the other methods of instilling discipline to the students (Mohr & Anderson, 2001). The experts agree that it is a good method of restoring order in case of an emergency. However, they contend that this method should only be used as a last resort and not immediately. If the method is used properly, it can be effective according to experts. When all the other methods have been tried and they seem not to work, the teachers and other school staff members can use this method. Some states which are against the technique have banned it. Any other kind of restraint which has the potential to cause the death of the child or injure the child further is also prohibited in some states. They only allow it in the event that the safety of the staff member and the students is at risk as a result of the violent and challenging behavior of the student in question (Skoulos & Tryon, 2007). The trend however has been on the immediate use of physical restraint. The Massachusetts law on the same allow the use of physical restraints. Physical restraints should only be used during emergence situations after the failure of other techniques but should be used with caution. It requires schools to have written procedures for physical restraints and to conduct detailed training in their schools for the same. It claims that when non-physical interventions have failed and the behavior of the student continues to pose risks to self and others, then the teachers and other staff member can use physical restraints. However, it should never be used to respond to verbal threats, students’ rebuttal to comply with rules, disruption of school order or property destruction. It requires that in the event that the student shows distress as a result of using physical restraint, he should be released and medical assistance should immediately be sought (Magee & Ellis, 2001). There are some reasons as to why the staff members use physical restraints immediately compared to as a last resort. First is the fear of being injured. According to studies, once a person starts acting in a way which the society considers as abnormal, there is a high tendency of the people around such a person to run way for their own safety. This is usually like a reflex action and people in most cases think about it later. In this regard, when a student behaves abnormally, the teachers and other staff members try to help after the first shock. Due to the confusion about the potential consequences and their roles as staff members, they might lack other best ways of containing the situation. Most of them use physical restraints as they seek for other ways of helping such a student (Gersch & Gersch, 2002). Second is the fear that the student behavior might cause harm to him or the other students. Physical restraints help to control the situation until the staff member can come up with a better solution. In this case, most of the physical restraining involves holding the affected student and preventing him from causing harm. Once the student and the ones around him are safe, the staff member can think clearly of a better solution. Third is the issue of lack of training. Although most of the states which have allowed physical restraints have regulations regarding training about it, we still have many staff members who have not learnt on the way it is applied. They also lack the knowledge on other ways of dealing with abnormal behaviours of the student. When such a staff member is confronted with a situation whereby a student seems to lack control and poses threat to him or other people, the first think that is likely to come to mind is how to control such a student, mostly by holding the student down. In this case, the staff member ends up using physical restraints without first trying other methods. He can not use other methods because he has not been trained on the same (Thomas & Loxley, 2007). Using physical restraint immediately or as a last resort is not as major as its misuse. There have been very many cases regarding its misuse which have resulted into physical injuries or even death. For example, Annie’s son is evidence to the negative consequences of physical restrained on children who are uncontrollable. Her autistic son is claimed to have been acting out in school he was taken for a time out where the mother alleges that the school personnel had held him down since he ended with a broken collarbone. After some time the bone healed, however, the child had emotional damage and he kept asking the mother whether the person who broke his collarbone was taken to jail and the mother had to give a negative answer. After seven weeks, Annie’s son harmed himself and was admitted in a psychiatric hospital for two months (Day, 2002). This is only one case of misuse of physical restraints. There are other cases of the same which have resulted into the death of the victims. Such cases have brought controversy to the issue and many parents are now of the opinion that it should be totally banned for the fear of their children’s lives. The Council for Exceptional Children however is in support of physical restraint as a technique for dealing with the children who have behavioural cases. However, they still maintain that it should only be used as a last resort when such a child poses danger to self and to the people around him. The body recommends the establishment of regulations which would facilitate reporting of physical restraints to outside agencies (Ryan, Robbins, Peterson & Rozalski, 2009). The council is also in support of the same but recommends that research to be done on kids from all kinds of settings. The policy gives the indication to the availability of other methods which teachers can use to contain behavior. It is against the harm that may come to a child as a result of misusing physical restraint. The CEC’s recommendations regarding the same tallies with the Massachusetts law on the same (Jones & Timbers, 2003). Studies show that physical restraint has been used over a long time in medical institutions. This has been possible because there are guidelines for the same. However, in the case of physical restraint and schools, there are not such guidelines. Lack of commonly accepted guidelines in schools put the people who use in vulnerable position where they are often understood and at times abused. In this regard, the staff may not have the necessary skills to deal with children who have emotional outbursts or the kids who have behavioural problems. At times, such interventions are very important to deal with such cases as they help to prevent the behavior of students from increasing to harmful levels. Another issue which poses a problem regarding the use of physical restraints in school is the fact that it was thrust into public education mainstream without prior proper planning. This was partly due to the Act for education of the people with disabilities whose principles include serving the individuals who have special needs in an environment which is least restrictive. Nowadays, there are many children with behavioural and emotional problems being admitted in the public schools irrespective of the disability label. This implies that the issue of physical restraints move with them to the public schools and typical classroom and school settings. At the same time, the media has played part in creating a lot of attention regarding the issue and schools are now more than ever before required to show practices which are capable of containing the violent and challenging behavior. Many of them have therefore resulted into making use of physical restrain as one of the tools to ensure that the challenging behavior is contained. This produces another challenge in the sense that if the staff members are not well trained on physical restraint; they may end up causing more harm to the affected children. This leads to lawsuits from the affected children’s parents and other problems for the whole family (Mohr & Anderson, 2001). The way forward therefore would be to come up with many ways in which the violent or challenging behavior can be contained. Once this is done, schools should undertake thorough training of its staff members to ensure that they are well equipped with the right techniques. The training should not be based on physical restraints only. We have already discovered that there are many people who turn to physical restraints simply because they lack other methods of containing challenging behavior. The school staff should be trained in the various methods so that in case of an emergency, they have a variety to choose from. There are also many programs which are available for training people on physical restraints. These also teach different methods of problem solving and conflict de-escalation. They also teach the right procedures for the different approaches for the same. Schools should invest in such programs to ensure that their staff members are equipped with the right techniques and procedures of behavior control methods. They should also make sure that there is recurrent training so that the staff members always keep on toes regarding the same issue (Magee & Ellis, 2001). There should also be an extensive research on the use of physical restraints. Most of the studies have shown negative effects of physical restraints. Researchers claim that physical restraints are an effective tool for controlling behavior which is likely to lead to harm. However, most of them do not show how many cases have been successful as a result of using this method. If it is agreed to be an effective method, there should be evidence in support of the same. There are however numerous studies’ showing that physical restraint has been misused and it has led to escalation of the problems. There have been deaths, physical injuries, emotional and psychological harm as a result of using physical restraints. There have cases of children being unable to trust grow ups due to having being subjected to physical restraints by the same adults. In other words, there are many problems which have come up as a result of using physical restraints in schools. The efficacy of using physical restraints is largely in doubt or the research showing positive effects for the same are usually lacking. This means that it might not be as effective as people wish. In order to maintain conducive learning environments in addition to controlling violent and challenging behavior, schools need to come up with less harmful methods. On the other hand, if they wish to use physical restraints, they should be equipped with the necessary information which they are supposed to transfer to their staff members. This way, it might have positive effects on schools (Mohr & Anderson, 2001). Conclusion A restrictive school environment can be blamed for the use of physical restraints in schools. The intent was to use it as a last resort when all the other methods have failed. However, due to factors like fear and lack of skills in other methods of controlling violent behavior, people end up using it immediately there is violent behavior. This contributes to the major negative effects which come as a result. The schools which are willing to use it as one of the techniques should train the staff on the right procedures in order to reduce its misuse. This would give evidence that physical restraints can be an effective method to control challenging and violent behavior. Reference: Day, D. M. , (2002), Examining the therapeutic utility of restraints and seclusion with children and youth: The role of theory and research in practice. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72, 266-278. Gersch, Irvine S. & Gersch, Adam, (2002), Resolving Disputes in Special Educational Needs: A Practical Guide to Conciliation and Mediation, RoutledgeFalmer Jones, R. J. & Timbers, G. T. , (2003), Minimizing the need for physical restraint and seclusion in residential youth care through skill-based treatment programming. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 04(1), 21-29. Magee, S. K. & Ellis, J. , (2001), The detrimental effects of physical restraint as a consequence for inappropriate classroom behavior, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 501-504. Mohr, W. K. & Anderson, J. A. (2001), Faulty assumptions associated with the use of restraints with children, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 74(3), 141-154. Ryan, Joseph B. , Robbins, Katherine, Peterson, Reece & Rozalski, Michael, (2009), Review of State Policies concerning the Use of Physical Restraint Procedures in Schools, Education & Treatment of Children, Vol. 32 Skoulos, Vasilios & Tryon, Georgiana Shick, (2007), Social Skills of Adolescents in Special Education Who Display Symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, American Secondary Education, Vol. 35 Thomas, Gary & Loxley, Andrew, (2007), Deconstructing Special Education and

Managing the Virus Hunters Essay

A-1: * Vincent use technical, human, conceptual skills to maintain an environment that encourages innovation and professionalism among the virus hunter by recognizing his employees that can help the new product development of the company. * He know how to communicate, motivate and inspire his team * He understands the relationship of the companies’ subunits and visualizes how his thing fits into its broader. A-2 A. Vincent play the management role as he had weekly security briefing conference calls with co-workers around the world because as a manager he must had a lot of information that he must give or share to his co-workers and He must have always a new ideas regarding to virus that they had encounter so that his co-worker may also learn from him. B. Through this situation Vincent play decisional role because he assess the feasibility of adding network security consulting. C. in this case he is engaging and connecting to his employees by reminding them to kept focused n the company’s commitment to the customer and this king of activities done by Vincent can be classified as interpersonal roles because he interact and engaged with his employees. A-3 Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help our customers – from consumers and small businesses to the largest global organizations – secure and manage their information against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently than any other company. Our company’s unique focus is to eliminate risks to information, technology and processes independent of the device, platform, interaction or location. * Positioned for Growth * Protect completely * Manage easily * Control automatically A-4 The managers learn the following from Vincent Weafer and Symantic approach: * Every step in the company’s growth we have expanded both our technological expertise and our understanding of customer needs. * Ability to successfully integrate internally developed with technologies we acquire has kept the companies at the front of its industry and enabled them to provide best-of-breed solutions for millions of corporate and individual customers.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 34

â€Å"You've been fed and taken care of as best as we can manage,†Meredith said, looking at allthe taut, frightened young faces turned toward her in the basement. â€Å"And now there's just one thing I want to ask of you in return.†She made an effort and steadied her voice. â€Å"I want to know if anybody knows of a mobile phone that connects to the Internet, or a computer that is Stillworking. Please, please – if you even think you know where one might be, tel me.† The tension was like a thick rubber cord, dragging Meredith toward each of the pale, strained faces, dragging them to her. It was just as well that Meredith was essential y well – balanced. About twelve hands went up immediately, and their lone five-year-old whispered, â€Å"My mommy has one. And my daddy.† There was a pause before Meredith could say, â€Å"Does anybody know this kid?†and an older girl spoke up before she could. â€Å"She just means they had them before the Burning Man.† â€Å"Is the Burning Man cal ed Shinichi?†Meredith asked. â€Å"‘Course. Sometimes he would make the red parts of his hair burn up way over his head.† Meredith filed that little fact away under Things I do not want to see, honest, cross my heart, ever. Then she shook herself free from the image. â€Å"You guys and girls, please, please think. I only need one, one mobile phone with Internet access that Stillhas power right now. One laptop or computer that is Stillworking now, maybe because of a generator Stillmaking electricity. Just one family with a home generator Stillworking. Anybody?† The hands were down now. A boy she thought she recognized as being one of the Loring siblings, maybe age ten or eleven, said, â€Å"The Burning Man told us that mobile phones and computers were bad. That was why my brother got in a fistfight with my dad. He threw al the mobiles at home in the toilet.† â€Å"Okay. Okay, thanks. But anybody who's seen a working mobile or computer? Or a home generator – â€Å" â€Å"Why, yes, my dear, I've got one.†The voice came from the top of the stairs. Mrs. Flowers was standing there, dressed in a fresh sweat suit. Strangely, she had her voluminous purse in her hand. â€Å"You had – have a generator?†Meredith asked, her heart sinking. What a waste! And if disaster came al because she, Meredith, hadn't finished reading over her own research! The minutes were ticking away, and if everyone in Fel ‘s Church died, it would be her fault. Her fault. She didn't think she could live with that. Meredith had tried, al her life, to reach the state of calm, concentration, and balance that was the other side of the coin from the fighting skil s her various disciplines had taught her. And she had become good at it, a good observer, a good daughter, even a good student for al that she was in Elena's fast-paced, high-flying clique. The four of them: Elena, Meredith, Caroline, and Bonnie had fit together like four pieces of a puzzle, and Meredith Stillsometimes missed the old days and their daring, dominating pseudo-sophisticated capers that never real y hurt anyone – except the sil y boys who had mil ed around them like ants at a picnic. But now, looking at herself, she was puzzled. Who was she? A Hispanic girl named for her mother's Welsh best friend in col ege. A hunter-slayer of vampires who had kitten canines, a vampire twin, and whose group of friends included Stefan, a vampire; Elena, an ex-vampire – and possibly another vampire, although she was extremely hesitant to cal Damon a â€Å"friend.† What did that alladd up to? A girl trying to do her best to keep her balance and concentration, in a world that had gone insane. A girl Stillreeling from what she'd learned about her own family, and now tottering from the need to confirm a dreadful suspicion. Stop thinking. Stop! You have to tel Mrs. Flowers that her boardinghouse has been destroyed. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers – about the boardinghouse – I have to talk to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Why don't you use my BlackBerry first?†Mrs. Flowers came down the basement stairs careful y, watching her feet, and then the children parted before her like waves on the Red Sea. â€Å"Your†¦?†Meredith stared, choked up. Mrs. Flowers had opened her enormous purse and was now proffering a rather thick al -black object to her. â€Å"It Stillhas power,†the old lady explained as Meredith took the thing in two shaking hands, as if receiving a holy object. â€Å"I just turned it on and it was working. And now I'm on the Internet!† – proudly. Meredith's world had been swal owed up by the smal , grayish, antiquated screen. She was so amazed and excited at seeing this that she almost forgot why she needed it. But her body knew. Her fingers clutched; her thumbs danced over the mini-keyboard. She went to her favorite search page and entered the word â€Å"Orime.†She got pages of hits – most in Japanese. Then feeling a trembling in her knees, she typed in â€Å"Inari.† 6,530,298 results. She went to the very first hit and saw a web page with a definition. Key words seemed to rush out at her like vultures. Inari is the Japanese Shinto deity of rice†¦and†¦foxes. At the entrance to an Inari shrine are†¦statues of two kitsune†¦one male and one female†¦each with a key or jewel carried in mouth or paw†¦These fox-spirits are the servants and messengers of Inari. They carry out Inari's orders†¦. There was also a picture of a pair of kitsune statues, in their fox forms. Each had a front paw resting on a star bal . Three years ago, Meredith had fractured her leg when she was on a skiing trip with her cousins in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She had run straight into a smal tree. No martial arts skil s could save her at the last minute; she knew she was skiing off the groomed areas, where she could run into anything: powder, crud, or iced-over ruts. And, of course, trees. Lots of trees. She was an advanced skier, but she had been going too fast, looking in the wrong direction, and the next thing she knew, she was skiing into the tree instead of around it. Now she had the same sensation of waking up after a head-on into wood. The shock, the dizziness and nausea that were, initial y, worse than the pain. Meredith could take pain. But the pounding in her head, the sickening awareness that she had made a big mistake and that she was going to have to pay for it were unbearable. Plus there was a curious horror about the knowledge that her own legs wouldn't hold her up. Even the same useless questions ran through her subconscious, like: How could I be so stupid? Is this possibly a dream? and, Please, God, can I hit the Undo button? Meredith suddenly realized that she was being supported on either side by Mrs. Flowers and their sixteen-year-old, Ava Wakefield. The mobile was on the cement floor of the basement. She must have actual y started to black out. Several of the younger kids were screaming Matt's name. â€Å"No – I – I can stand up alone†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Al she wanted in the world was to go into the darkness and get away from this horror. She wanted to let her legs go slack and her mind go blank, to flee†¦ But she couldn't run away. She had taken the stave; she had taken the Duty from her grandfather. Anything supernatural that was out to harm Fel ‘s Church on her watch was her problem. And the problem was that her watch never ended. Matt came clattering down the stairs, carrying their seven-year-old, Hailey, who continual y shook with petit mal seizures. â€Å"Meredith!†She could hear the incredulity in his voice. â€Å"What is it? What did you find, for God's sake?† â€Å"Come†¦look.†Meredith was remembering detail after detail that should have set off warning bel s in her mind. Matt was somehow already beside her, even as she remembered Bonnie's very first description of Isobel Saitou. â€Å"The quiet type. Hard to get to know. Shy. And†¦nice.† And that first visit to the Saitou house. The horror that quiet, shy, nice Isobel Saitou had become: the Goddess of Piercing, blood and pus oozing from every hole. And when they had tried to carry dinner to her old, old grandmother, Meredith had noticed absently that Isobel's room was right under the dol -like old lady's. After seeing Isobel pierced and clearly unbalanced, Meredith had assumed that any evil influence must be trying to travel up, and had worried in the back of her mind about the poor, old, dol -sized grandmother. But the evil could just as easily have traveled down. Maybe Jim Bryce hadn't given Isobel the malach madness after al . Maybe she had given it to him, and he had given it to Caroline and to his sister. And that children's game! The cruel, cruel song that Obaasan – that Inari-Obaasan had crooned. â€Å"Fox and turtle had a race†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And her words: â€Å"There's a kitsune involved in this somewhere.† She'd been laughing at them, amusing herself! Come to that, it was from Inari-Obaasan that Meredith had first heard the word â€Å"kitsune.† And one more additional cruelty, that Meredith had only been able to excuse before by assuming Obaasan had very poor sight. That night, Meredith had had her back to the door and so had Bonnie – they had both been concentrating on â€Å"poor decrepit old Grandma.†But Obaasan had been facing the door, and she was the only one who could have seen – must have seen – Isobel sneaking up behind Bonnie. And then, just as the cruel game song told Bonnie to look behind her†¦ Isobel had been crouching there, ready to lick Bonnie's forehead with a forked pink tongue†¦ â€Å"Why?†Meredith could hear her own voice saying. â€Å"Why was I so stupid? How could I not have seen from the beginning?† Matt had retrieved the BlackBerry and read the web page. Then he just stood, fixed, his blue eyes wide. â€Å"You were right,†he said, after a long moment. â€Å"I want so much to be wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Meredith – Shinichi and Misao are Inari's servants†¦If that old lady is Inari we've been running around like crazy after the wrong people, the hired muscle†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The damn note cards,†Meredith choked out. â€Å"The ones done by Obaasan. They're useless, flawed. Al those bul ets she blessed should have been no good – but maybe she did bless them – as a game. Isobel even came to me and changed al the characters the old lady had done for the jars to hold Shinichi and Misao. She said that Obaasan was almost blind. She left a tear on my car seat. I couldn't understand why she should be crying.† â€Å"I Stillcan't. She's the granddaughter – probably the third generation of a monster!†Matt exploded. â€Å"Why should she cry? And why do the Post-it Notes work?† â€Å"Because they're done by Isobel's mother,†Mrs. Flowers said quietly. â€Å"Dear Matt, I truly doubt that the old woman is related to the Saitous at all. As a deity – or even a powerful magic-user named after a deity – and undoubtedly a kitsune herself, she surely just moved in with them and used them. Isobel's mother and Isobel had no choice but to carry on the charade for fear of what she'd do to them if they didn't.† â€Å"But Mrs. Flowers, when Tyrone and I pul ed that leg bone out of the thicket, didn't you say that the Saitou women made such excel ent amulets? And didn't you say that we could get the Saitou women to help translate the words on the clay jars when Alaric sent the pictures of them from that Japanese Island?† As for my belief in the Saitou women, Well, I'l have to quibble a little here,†Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"I couldn't know that this Obaasan was evil, and there are Stilltwo of them who are gentle and good, and who have helped us tremendously – and at great risk to themselves.† Meredith could taste the bitterness of bile in her mouth. â€Å"Isobel could have saved us. She could have said ‘My fake grandmother is real y a demon.'† â€Å"Oh, my dear Meredith, the young are so unforgiving. This Inari was probably instal ed in her house when she was a child. Al she knows at first is that the old woman is a tyrant, with a god's name. Then perhaps some demonstration of power – what happened to Orime's husband, I wonder, to make him go back to Japan – if indeed he went there? He may well be dead. And then Isobel is growing up: shy, quiet, introverted – frightened. This is not Japan; there are no other priestesses here to confide in. And you saw the consequences when Isobel reached out to someone outside of the family – to her boyfriend, Jim Bryce.† â€Å"And to us – Well, to you and Bonnie,†Matt said to Meredith. â€Å"She sicced Caroline on you.† Scarcely knowing what they were doing, they were talking faster and faster. â€Å"We have to go there right now,†said Meredith. â€Å"Shinichi and Misao may be the ones bringing on the Last Midnight, but it's Inari who gives the orders. And who knows? She may dole out the punishments as well. We don't know how big her star bal is.† â€Å"Or where,†said the old woman. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers,†Matt said hastily, â€Å"you'd better stay here with the kids. Ava, here, is reliable, and where's Jacob Lagherty?† â€Å"Here,†said a boy who looked older than fifteen. He was as tal as Matt was, but gangly. â€Å"Okay. Ava, Jake, you're in charge under Mrs. Flowers. We'l leave Saber with you too.†The dog was a big hit among the kids, on his best behavior, even when the younger ones chewed his tail. â€Å"You two just listen to Mrs. Flowers, and – â€Å" â€Å"Matt, dear, I won't be here. But the animals wil surely help to protect them.† Matt stared at her. Meredith knew what he was thinking. Was Mrs. Flowers, so reliable up until now, going somewhere to hide alone? Was she abandoning them? â€Å"And I'l need one of you to drive me to the Saitou house – quickly! – but the other can stay and protect the children as well.† Meredith was both relieved and worried, and clearly Matt was too. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers, this is going to be a battle. You could get hurt or be taken hostage so easily – â€Å" â€Å"Dear Matt, this is my battle. My family has lived in Fel ‘s Church for generations, al the way back to the pioneering times. I believe this is the battle for which I was born. Certainly the last of my old age.† Meredith stared. In the dim light of the basement, Mrs. Flowers seemed suddenly different somehow. Her voice was changing. Even her smal body seemed to be changing, steadying, standing tal . â€Å"But how wil you fight?†Matt asked, sounding dazed. â€Å"With this. That nice young man, Sage, left it for me with a note apologizing for using Misao's star bal . I used to be quite good with these when I was young.†From her capacious purse, Mrs. Flowers pul ed out something pale and long and thin as it unwound and Mrs. Flowers whirled it and snapped it with a loud crack at the empty half of the basement. It hit a Ping-Pong bal , curled around it, and brought it back to Mrs. Flowers's open hand. A bul whip. Made of some silvery material. Undoubtedly magical. Even Matt looked scared of it. â€Å"Why don't Ava and Jake teach the children to play Ping-Pong while we're gone – and we real y must go, my dears. There's not a minute to waste. A terrible tragedy is coming, Ma ma says.† Meredith had been watching – feeling as dazed as Matt looked. But now she said, â€Å"I have a weapon too.†She picked up the stave and said, â€Å"I'm fighting, Matt. Ava, the children are yours to care for.† â€Å"And mine,†Jacob said, and immediately proved his usefulness by adding, â€Å"Isn't that an axe hanging back there near the furnace?† Matt ran and snatched it up. Meredith could see from his expression what he was thinking: Yes! One heavy axe, a tiny bit rusty, but Stillplenty sharp enough. Now if the kitsune sent plants or wood against them, he was armed. Mrs. Flowers was already going up the basement stairs. Meredith and Matt exchanged one quick glance and then they were running to catch up with her. â€Å"You drive your mom's SUV. I'l sit in back. I'm Stilla little bit†¦Well, dizzy, I guess.†Meredith didn't like to admit to a personal weakness, but better that than crashing the vehicle. Matt nodded and was good enough not to comment on why she felt so dizzy. She Stillcouldn't believe her own stupidity. Mrs. Flowers said only one thing. â€Å"Matt, dear, break traffic laws.†