Marriages And Families

The formation of a family conventionally starts with the union of two persons through marriage. In a marriage, the couple shares responsibilities in many aspects — child rearing, properties, home utility bills, taxes, and the likes. They also share responsibilities in resolving various problems encountered during the relationship. To most couples, this sharing of responsibilities is what they call commitment to the relationship, a commitment to their spouse. However, many couples around the world experience troubles in handling these responsibilities. Such experiences sometimes lead to their disillusion to the commitment they vowed to revere when they entered into the married life. In many cases, these couples end up filing a divorce. Divorce, which is sometimes referred to as the dissolution of marriage, â€Å"is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. † Divorce is common in many developed countries such as the United States, South Korea, Canada, as well as in countries within Europe, except for Malta where civil divorce is banned. Marriage, being a legal act, should also be dissolved through legal action. In some cases, prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements, when applicable, are given importance in determining the terms of divorce. These terms refer to the rightful partition of the responsibilities which were supposed to be carried out within the marriage. In a divorced state, the couple is still liable to hold those responsibilities, this time through their individual efforts. A recent survey of matrimonial lawyers in the United Kingdom revealed that the main causes of marriage meltdown are: extra-marital affairs, abuse (physical and/or mental), boredom, lack of sex, financial disagreements, alcohol/drug abuse, debt, workaholism, and hobbies (Wikipedia). Religious affiliations of married couples also have implications on divorce. For Muslims, divorce may be granted, but it is discouraged. Judaism, on the other hand, has regarded divorce as a fact of life. It generally preserves its principle that it is better for a couple to live separately, through divorce, than live together in a life of distress and strife. The Roman Catholics believe that marriage is permanent during the life of spouses. Although it allows divorce, it does not approve of remarriage after a divorce if the other spouse is still living. This rule, however, is not observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church and many Protestant churches, where remarriage of divorcees is allowed even with a surviving former spouse, but under certain conditions. Meanwhile, Dharmic Religions are not cognizant of the concept of divorce. Divorce in the Republic of Ireland The Republic of Ireland is mostly populated by Catholics. In their 1937 Constitution, divorce was not allowed. However, in their more recent regulations, divorce in Ireland became possible under certain circumstances. Divorce in Ireland follows the rules stipulated in the 1996 Family Law Act . It involves a process where the following conditions should be met first: the spouses should have lived apart for at least four years of the preceding five years; there is no reasonable prospect for reconciliation; and there is proper provision for the spouses and dependent children. The spouse who initiated the filing of divorce is called the applicant, and the other is the respondent. The applicant should have a solicitor who, before the divorce proceedings begin, will discuss with the applicant the possibility of reconciliation or judicial separation as an alternative to divorce. If the court sees that there is really no possibility of reconciliation, trials and hearings will proceed to discuss the terms of the proposed divorce. During the trial period, the court may issue orders relevant to the 1996 Family Law (Divorce) Act which include: a safety order, barring order, temporary barring order or protection order; an order for the custody, access or maintenance of a dependent child; an order to protect the family home, its contents or any money from its sale. The court may also order either spouse to pay maintenance for the other spouse and any dependent children, the terms and conditions of which, the court will decide. After the divorce is granted, the court is authorized to decide on the terms and conditions for the payment of maintenance of the spouse and any dependent children, giving consideration to certain conditions. The court also decides on the partition of assets as well as on disputes and claims on properties. Child custody of any dependent children under the age of 18 will also be subject of court decision. Divorce in New York, USA The Divorce Law of New York initially deals with residency and filling requirements. Divorce in New York may be maintained only when: â€Å"the parties were married in the state and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding; or the parties have resided in this state as husband and wife and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding; ort he cause occurred in the state and either party has been a resident thereof for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the action; or the cause occurred in the state and both parties are residents thereof at the time of the commencement of the action; or either party has been a resident of the state for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the commencement of the action. † Under the Divorce Law of New York, the spouse who initiated the filing of divorce i s called the plaintiff while the other is the defendant. The grounds for divorce are also spelled out in the Divorce Law of New York. This include: â€Å"the cruel and inhuman treatment of the plaintiff by the defendant such that the conduct of the defendant so endangers the physical or mental well being of the plaintiff as renders it unsafe or improper for the plaintiff to cohabit with the defendant; the abandonment of the plaintiff by the defendant for a period of one or more years; the confinement of the defendant in prison for a period of three or more consecutive years after the marriage of plaintiff and defendant; the commission of an act of adultery, provided that adultery for the purposes of articles ten, eleven, and eleven-A of this chapter, is hereby defined as the commission of an act of sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct, voluntarily performed by the defendant, with a person other than the plaintiff after the marriage of plaintiff and defendant; the husband and wife have lived apart pursuant to a decree or judgment of separation for a period of one or more years after the gr anting of such decree or judgment, and satisfactory proof has been submitted by the plaintiff that he or she has substantially performed all the terms and conditions of such decree or judgment; and the husband and wife have lived separate and apart pursuant to a written agreement of separation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Spousal support in a New York divorce is not an automatic obligation of either party; it is rather provided on a case-to-case basis which may be agreed upon by both parties, or upon the discretion of the court. The court is also authorized to decide on the child custody and support to any dependent child of the divorcees. Computation for child support is based on the Income Share Model, in which child support is divided proportionally based on each parent’s income. Under the New York Divorce Law, guidelines have also been set with regard to the provision of child support. Ireland and New York Divorce Laws: A Comparison Considering the fact that Irish people are mostly Catholics, divorce is relatively difficult to obtain in Ireland than in New York, which is predominated by Protestants. It may be noted that the Irish Divorce Law specifically mentions of processes that need to be undertaken to possibly settle the couple for reconciliation. As mentioned earlier, Catholics believe that marriage is permanent during the lives of the spouses. Perhaps working within this premise, the Irish court instills in the legal process of divorce actions that should be taken by the State in order to preserve marriage, and consequently the family. This attempt on the possible reconciliation of the husband and wife has no mention in the New York Divorce Law. While both laws discuss in detail the rules to abide by in the partition of assets and properties, as well as of responsibilities, certain conditions differ. One highlight is on the provision of spousal support. The Irish court obligates spousal support while the New York court does not. This ruling may be attributed to the fact that the United States of America is a developed country while the Republic of Ireland is still in its developing stage. This implies that in the United States, both spouses are assumed to have stable incomes and thus do not require financial support from each other. Irish couples, on the other hand, them being in a developing country, would mean needing of spousal support should their marriage be dissolved so that the spouse with less income can cope with the responsibilities left to him/her by the other. However, these two laws seemed to have dealt more on the partition of properties than on the rules on determining child custody. In both laws, child custody is to be decided upon by the court, but no guidelines on the court’s basis of its decision on the issue were discussed. It is noteworthy to mention that in most, if not all, divorce cases, the couple’s children are the ones most affected. A recent study showed that children of divorced parents have higher potential of having behavioral problems compared to children in intact families (Wikipedia). Various studies further revealed that the following are most of the time observed in people from divorced families: higher rates of alcoholism and substance abuse; occurrence of clinical depression attacks; and commission or attempt to commit suicide (Wikipedia). Though studies have been conducted on the effects of divorce to children, no remedy has been proven to be effective enough to lessen the incidence of such behaviors from children of divorced parents. This brings us to another observation that the laws of Ireland and New York on divorce do not present steps to be taken to ensure the protection of the children’s best interest. Conclusion Divorce laws vary from one country or state to another. In some parts of the world, the issue of divorce is still a topic of debate — whether to approve granting of it or not. For married couples who have become unhappy in their marriage, divorce is seen as an answer to end their distress. To others, it is viewed as a way to turn backs against marital problems. Many other arguments have cropped up about the issue of divorce. Depending on a person’s beliefs and biases, these arguments may be valid to some, while to others they are not. The varying rules of Ireland and New York on divorce have been put into law based on the needs and beliefs that each state deem are applicable to their respective people. It is good to note that both laws have particularly specified various scenarios that may occur after during divorce proceedings and after the divorce has been granted, and have spelled out how issues and disputes will be resolved. However, the laws have focused more on the resolution of disputes over assets and properties. Issues on child custody and support also need to be discussed in a more in depth manner so that the children’s welfare is also given equal importance. In fact, children’s welfare should have been given highest priority since the greatest effects of divorce is manifested in the behavior of affected children. Although it has been said that the child custody and support will be decided upon by the court, it is also imperative that specific rules be spelled out on what the court will give primary considerations to with respect to these issues. It may also be useful, though not yet scientifically proven, to include rules on procedures that the children will have to undertake to be able to cope with the aftereffects of divorce. We do not question the authority and integrity of these courts in their decisions on child custody and support. What is being sought is the clear definition of the law on how child custody is decided upon. In addition, it is also better to see in these laws the specific measures that the court may order for implementation that will lessen, or possibly prevent, the occurrence of adverse behaviors of children whose parents have divorced.

Bloodless Surgery

Bloodless Surgery| [Type the document subtitle]| Michael Jones| Abstract There have been many court cases that has made, parent who deny their child blood transfusion, to have to get one. Most time the courts will side with the parents, but if their decision not to is life threatening, the court side with the hospital. Most times it is for religious reasons that parent don’t want their child to have blood transfusion. There are many risks associated with blood transfusion, some parents don’t want to take that risk. Some of the diseases you can get are hepatitis B and hepatitis C. HIV and AIDS can also be contracted through blood transfusion. It can even lead to death of a recipient. Is it ethical for parents to chose for their kids not to have blood transfusion. There is an alternative to blood transfusion. There are many tools and techniques to prevent the need for blood transfusion. Many doctors today are moving more towards bloodless surgery. The growth of bloodless surgery can be largely due to the number of Jehovah’s Witness patients. It is beneficial for both the patient and the hospital. More cost effective and faster recovery. I will talk about how preoperative planning is important for a successful bloodless surgery. I will touch on technique like cell savaging and Normothermia. Also introduce you to a cool tool called Cyber-Knife. I will show how Jehovah’s Witnesses and their Hospital Liaison Committee help my family when it came to bloodless surgery. Blood transfusions have been known to have many dangers. In most cases the cons outweighs the pros, causing many people to consider alternative measures. Today one of the most innovative and effective alternatives is bloodless surgery. In the event that you are faced by such a challenging yet important decision such a surgery, allow me to enlighten you on some of the statistics, procedures and benefits of bloodless surgery to assist you in making an informed decision. As we look at some of the dangers that are associated with blood transfusion alongside modern methods, equipment and benefits of bloodless surgery. We will see how these procedures have progressed over the years, and how the increase in use of bloodless surgery can be attributed to a small group of people known as Jehovah’s Witness. Witnesses as patients will not accept blood transfusion, under any circumstances. This has caused doctors to look for other solutions. The reasons why you should use bloodless surgery are the risk associated with blood transfusion. Transfusions have been used for over fifty years in clinical medicine. Within those fifty years it has become apparent that the risk such as infectious viruses, bacterial infections and even death has been linked to blood transfusion. Infectious viruses include but are limited to blood borne pathogens like hepatitis B and C. The Blood bank reports â€Å"for screened units of blood in 2007, 1 in 137,000 had hepatitis B, fewer than 1 in 1,000,000 for hepatitis C† (Nagarsheth, N. P. , Sasan, F. 2009) Blood transfusions have been associated with higher incidence of bacterial infections. â€Å"Bacterial infection was 2 percent non-transfusion patients, 15 percent for those with up to 2 units of blood red blood cells transfused, 22 percent with three to five units of blood, and 29 percent for patients transfused with 6 or more units of blood. † (Nagarsheth, N. P. , Sasan, F. 009) The more blood received in a transfusion, the more likely you are to get a postoperative infection. Many People today receive multiple transfusions. Transfusion in time develops allergenic immunization. This limits the supply of compatible blood. These numbers may seem like lottery chances, but why take the chance. Ultimately there is death. Death is not a foreign outcome of blood transfusion. Transfusion related acute l ung injury or TRALI, was first reported in the early 90’s. It’s a life threading reaction following a blood transfusion. TRALI is now known to cause many deaths each year. However, experts believe that the number of death is much higher than what is reported in relation to TRALI, because many doctors are unaware of the symptoms. The cause for such a reaction is conclusive. New scientist states â€Å"The blood that causes TRALI appears to come primarily from people who have multiple transfusions. TRALI is the top reason for blood transfusion death in the world. Jehovah’s Witnesses have benefited greatly from their faithful course. Although their reason for not having blood transfusions are not because of the negative reasons that derive from it, but because of their devout belief in God and the Bible. They obey scripture such as Acts 15; 20 which states â€Å"abstain from blood† and Leviticus 7; 26 â€Å"you must not eat any blood. † Jehovah’s Witnesses respect Gods authority and has taken their stand against blood transfusions, regardless of the outcome. If you do not agree with such a point of view, let’s examine the benefits to bloodless surgery and its advancing technology. Over the years the tools and techniques of surgery without blood transfusion has improved greatly. One tool or technique used for surgeries with a lot of blood lost is called cell salvage. This involves recovering the blood lost by a patient, cleaning it, and putting it back into the patient. This is done non-stop during surgery. â€Å"Technological advances have increased system automation†¦ offering higher processing speeds and better end product. †(Lawrence Goodnough. 2003 Vol. 4) Cell salvaging is also cost effective for the hospital and the patient. If there is a surgery with lots of blood lost, it is cheaper to use cell salvage than the units of blood used in a transfusion. Also the recovery time is faster reducing the time and money a patient spends at a hospital. How can blood loss during surgery be lowered in order to lessen the chance for need of a blood transfusion? The key is preoperative planning for a successful bloodless surgery. The first thing to be considered is the amount of red blood cell (RBC) that will lost before a transfusion is needed. This is called the transfusion threshold. Another thing that can be done before surgery is to â€Å"increase the patients RBC mass. † (Watchtower Bible and Track Society, 2004) RBC mass can be increased by injection of iron into the patient. Also erythropoietin(EPO). EPO is a protein hormone produced by the kidneys. â€Å"This synthetic hormone acts like the natural erythropoietin found in our kidneys and stimulates the bone marrow to send new, fresh red cells into the bloodstream. † (Watchtower. org)EPO is normally given 10 to 20 days before surgery. If you increase the RBC mass and lower the transfusion threshold, it allows for an even greater acceptable amount of blood loss. Normothermia is a technique used to keep the patient’s body temperature during surgery. This helps keep the blood flowing properly. Managing the patient body temperature throughout the entire process reduces the surreal shock to the body which reduces the chances of incurring infection. The patient can be warmed by a thermal suit or a machine that infuses warm fluid into the body. The position can also help reduces blood loss during surgery. Local veins pressure changes depending on the field of relativity to the heart. Low pressure goes hand in hand with blood saved. Stanford University Medical Center is a pioneer in the use of bloodless surgery in neurosurgery. â€Å"Without sawing into the skull or so much as cutting the scalp, they are curing patients whose brain and spine tumors were not long ago considered a death sentences. † (Fillon, Mike 1997) These surgeries are possible with the use of Stanford University’s computer mediated stereotaxis radio surgery known as the Cyber-knife. The Cyber-Knife is basically a robotic x-ray gun that shots small amounts of radiation into the tumor in a lot of different directions. This kills off the infected tissue without over exposing other parts of the body to radiation. Cyber-knife is a robotic arm that locks the radiation beam on to the tumor and constantly readjusts its aim in response to the patient’s natural small movement. To help doctors in providing treatment without blood transfusions, Jehovah's Witnesses have developed a helpful liaison service. Presently, more than 1,400 Hospital Liaison Committees worldwide are equipped to provide doctors and researchers with medical literature from a data base of over 3,000 articles related to bloodless medicine and surgery. Not only Jehovah's Witnesses, but all patients in general today, are less likely to be given unnecessary transfusions because of the work of the Jehovah’s Witnesses' Hospital Liaison Committees. In many surgeries which doctors felt that a transfusion was needed. The liaison committee has provided them with medical literature that shows how effective EPO can be. Some did not think that it would work fast enough to make up the amount of blood needed. A number of cases have shown how quickly EPO gets results. In one instance, on the very same day after EPO was administered, the count of new red cells was already four times normal! †(Watchtower. org) My mother and father got to see how effective the liaison committee, and blood surgery first hand. When my brother was 16 years old, we found out that he had cancer in his knee. At that time there was no hospitals with a committee or doctor that would perform bloodless surgery on Staten Island. So the hospital liaison committee located Mount Sinai Hospital that had one doctor that did do bloodless surgery. My brother was put on EPO, and was the only patient that was. For all of the doctors this was their first time use EPO, or even doing bloodless surgery. They were extremely surprised how much better he was doing than the other kid’s that were having blood transfusions. â€Å"It was really sad to see all those little kids and babies having blood pumped in to them. † That is what my mother said when I was asking her about my brother surgery. She said â€Å"Junior what the only kid that was up walking around, all the other kids was in their beds look like they was about to die. † Two things happened to my brother. First he lost all his hire because of chemotherapy. He also lost his leg because that was the only way they could remove all the cancer. It is reasonable to conclude that although blood transfusion has been around for many years. With all its side effects such as, infectious viruses bacterial infections and even death. It is quickly becoming a thing of the past! With strong scriptural basis and its practical benefits, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been the main reason for the growth of bloodless surgery. Today hospitals across the world implanted bloodless programs to help meet the demand for this growing number. Along with that, doctors have developed many techniques and tools in order to be successful in bloodless surgery. Techniques such as cell savaging and blood recovery and tools like the Cyber-knife. This have allowed for more cost effective surgeries, faster recovery, lower chance for infection and viruses. If ever surgery is something you have to undergo. I hope that I have persuaded you to make the right decision. References Cantrell, S. (2010). New normothermia measure heats up patient- temperature management. Healthcare Purchasing News, 34(3), 22-29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Fillon, M. (1997). Bloodless surgery. Popular Mechanics, 174(1), 48. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Goodnough, L. , ; Shander, A. (2003). Evolution in alternatives to blood transfusion. Hematology Journal, 4(2), 87. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Nagarsheth, N. P. , ; Sasan, F. (2009). Bloodless Surgery in Gynecologic Oncology. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 76(6), 589-597. doi:10. 1002/msj. 20146 Watch Tower Bible and track society of Pennsylvania. (2004) Transfusion Alternatives, Document Series. Watchtower. org

Students Should Take Up Part-Time Jobs During School Holiday

1. America's love affair with Taylor Swift seems to have hit a rough patch. She quickly won over fans by sharing her everygirl boyfriend woes, including how she was dumped by Joe Jonas during a 27-second phone call. 2. The most recent blowback comes from her fan mail dumping scandal. As omg! reported Tuesday, hundreds of letters that had been carefully crafted (and decorated with stickers and glitter! ) by her loyal fangirls and boys and sent to the star were discovered, unopened, in a Nashville dumpster. Though a spokesperson for the singer explained it was an accident, there has been a strong backlash – even here on omg!Then there was the unnecessarily harsh comment Swift directed at Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for making a joke – again, a joke – about Swift's taste in younger men. Not only was the one-liner from the Golden Globes tame – and not so off-base considering her last two boyfriends were both 18 – but the star's love life is a daily punch l ine both on TV and the Internet, so it was unclear why she singled out the two very likable – and darn funny – comedians with the stinging comment to Vanity Fair that, â€Å"There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women. 3. Perhaps the most damaging blowback has become Swift's ex-boyfriend bashing. While it was once charming to hear a story of her heartbreak woes (we have never ever ever felt the same about Joe Jonas! ), Swift has been blowing through famous boyfriends – others have included Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, and Conor Kennedy – and then making money off them by slamming (most of) them in her songs.Her performance at the Grammys, in which she was viewed to have mocked Styles by breaking into a faux British accent mid-song, especially raised eyebrows and prompted us to ask, â€Å"Is Taylor Swift the Worst Ex-Girlfriend Ever? † It's that unapologetic nature that rubs some the wrong way, especially when not all of her exes have the huge worldwide platform she does to defend themselves. 4. Taylor Swift has an incredibly strong brand and her earning power remains as high as just about anyone in music,† Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg tells. â€Å"She has done pretty well by writing about it. How many hit songs has she had? Maybe if she settles down – and perhaps gets married – there will be other things to write about. † Until then, she should keep in mind, â€Å"If you're talented and doing well – like she is – you really don' t need to take personally everything that everyone says about you. †

Ethics of Singapore Airlines Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethics of Singapore Airlines - Research Paper Example The present research has identified that Singapore Airlines has been accused of some unethical practices. In 2010, the company pleaded guilty for a price-fixing charge in front of the US Department of Justice and received a fine of 48 million US dollars. Airline’s portrayal of â€Å"Singaporean Girl† and recruitment practices are sexist and discriminatory. Furthermore, their promotion campaign asking customers to â€Å"fly with Singaporean Girl† contributes towards objectifying women and portrays the traditional stereotype of Asian women as submissive to males. The absence of whistleblowing practices and training also caused the company to suffer a scandal that involved an employee depriving the company of 35 million Singaporean dollars over a period of 13 years. Introduction It was on May 1, 1947, that Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) was incorporated, which would later undergo division into two separate entities of Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines System. In the process, the paper would present various examples and cases that would assist in making meaningful conclusions. Discussion Social Responsibility In order to save Harapan Rainforest, Indonesia, Singapore Airlines, in the fall of 2010, donated 3 million US dollars to the Harapan Rainforest initiative, which is looking after the restoration and conservation of the rainforest. These funds would be utilized towards creating a workforce which could prevent illegal logging of this low land rain forest, prevent damage from any fires and contribute to the animal species conservation programs. According to Singapore Airlines, these funds are just another manifestation of the fact that the company strongly believes in the restoration of forests since forests are the world’s chief carbon stores, in the absence of which climate change and global warming would become a graver issue than ever. In an attempt to become a more ethical corporate citizen, Singapore Airlines has supported the arts community especially in Singapore and other parts of the world, through various generous donations. Some of these donations have gone to reputable arts societies of Singapore such as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Dance Theatre, Singapore Lyric Opera, and Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Furthermore, Singapore Airlines also takes great pride in the fact that it has served as the leading sponsor of various high profile exhibitions at the National Museum of Singapore.

Kellogg Briand Pact and the Ethiopian Invasion of Italy Research Paper

Kellogg Briand Pact and the Ethiopian Invasion of Italy - Research Paper Example The pact was proposed in 1927 by Aristide Briand the then foreign minister of France. Briand proposed to the government of the US the establishment of a treaty prohibition war between the two nations (Special Cable 1935, 1). The US Secretary of State Franc Kellogg agreed to Briand’s proposal and proposed that the pact encompasses other nations in the deterrence of war among nations. After intense negotiations, the Kellogg-Briand pact encompassed 15 nations including among others Italy, New Zealand, Britain, the US, Germany and South Africa. Parties that accepted the contract agreed that, despite the origin and nature of conflicts among the contracting parties, neither party would use war as a medium of national policy. While up to 62 states eventually ratified the pact, the effectiveness of the Kellogg-Briand was eventually impaired by its inability to provide guidelines of enforcement. In addition, many nations gave the pact a rather unenthusiastic reception because most stat es recognized war as the sole solution to conflict resolution. It is essential to, however, note that while the Kellogg-Briand pact did not advocate resolution to war, the pact acknowledged the right of states to defend their integrity when under attack. The ineffectiveness of the Kellogg-Briand pact is also apparent because no nation or entity was given the authority to ensure all parties abide by the provisions of the pact. Apparently, the pact did not make any substantive contributions to ensuring international order in most cases. However, in 1929, the pact was invoked rather successfully when the USSR and China arrived at a tense moment regarding possession of the Chinese Eastern RR located in Manchuria (George 1969, 308). However, the Kellogg-Briand pact proved to carrying no significant weight, especially because of the practice of engaging in undeclared wars during the 1930s. Such undeclared wars include the 1931 invasion of Manchuria by the Japanese, German’s 1938 oc cupancy of Austria and Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. This section of the paper will examine Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in the year 1935, and discuss the effects of the Kellogg-Briand pact, if any. The war between Italy and Ethiopia, or the Second Italo-Abyssinian War as it is often referred occurred in 1935 between Fascist Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia. The war between the two nations is notable because of Italy’s use of underhanded strategies against Ethiopia (Mark 2001, 239). For instance, Italy’s illegal utilization of mustard gas clearly contravened the Kellogg-Briand pact. Italy, being a signatory of the pact had contravened the essence of the pact by engaging in undeclared and unwarranted warfare against Ethiopia because of Italy’s desire to annex Ethiopia, which was still uncolonized at the time. Perhaps the reason why Italy sought to annex Ethiopia was its inability to do so in the 19th century. When Italy acquired nations such as Eritrea and Somaliland, it was unable to annex Ethiopia. Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia exposed the inherent limitations of the League of Nations because the league was unable to protect Ethiopia or control Italy. This was despite the fact that both nations were its members and Italy was a

Social Effects of the War in Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Effects of the War in Iraq - Essay Example The worst struck by wars are people directly involved in the war - soldiers, their families and Iraqi civilians. These individuals critically create a society. Attitude formation of Iraqi civilians towards the Americans will expectedly be very unforgiving. They will be desperate to seek revenge from them for tearing apart their homes and killing their children for no apparent reason. Even though no American was personally involved in this except for the US government and the forces, the Iraqi civilians will develop a deep hatred for all Americans as it will remind them of their perfect lives that they ruined. (Farris, 2002) Attitude measurement is a quantitative technique used to measure the change in attitude towards a certain object (Bohner & Wnke, 2002). In this particular case the attitude measurement will be to see which factors have influenced change in the minds of the Iraqi civilians about Americans on the whole and especially George Bush. As said before, it comes as no surprise that individuals directly involved in the war will develop an extremely negative impression of the Americans. But those individuals, who were not directly involved, like the American civilians, have developed a sympathetic attitude towards the Iraqi people. This is because Americans are highly aware and they are much more civilized than Iraqi people. They value life more.

Environmental Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environmental Ethics - Essay Example Ecofeminist has different perspectives and argue on various basic concepts that build up the philosophy. Today, many feminist supports that our environment is apparently a feminist issue. This philosophy has been really popular and many relate the ethics of the environment to feminism and have their contradictions over the patriarchal issue and the biases as well as the dominance that comes in hand with the situation. One needs to understand in depth the basis of this philosophy. "A feminist uses gender analysis as the starting point; gender is the lens through which the initial description and analysis occur." Similarly like feminism, many forms of ecofeminism prevail. Ecofeminism is basically a name given to various feminist practices and philosophical ideas. These various approaches not only represent feminism but also how different forces of nature play and how they can overcome environmental concerns. Some examples of different perspective are liberal, Marxist, black etc. Theref ore various environmental philosophical positions that accept feminine issues and support feminism are generally referred to as ecofeminist positions. "Views which uncritically embrace unified or one stance views of feminine sides of gender dichotomies are not feminist; they are better understood as ecofeminine than ecofeminist. They are, in fact, dangerous views from a genuinely feminist perspective." (Darion, 1999) The question here arises that what does one perceive about ecofeminism? What makes this philosophy so concrete that it stands as a complete concept which deals with its theoretical support or the political movement? Although there are significant differences between ecofeminism and feminism from which it has actually rooted, but all ecofeminist agree about certain things which are prominent in feminism. For instance, there is always a significant link between the dominant forces of nature and women, which is essential to understand three things that is feminism, philoso phy of the environment and environmentalism. The major reason to establish this movement is to highlight the links between nature and women and how dangerous these connections can be at times. Ecofeminist have been successful in identifying eight different sorts of links. The links between these two intriguing forces are at times due to competition, at times they are complementing each other or can also be supportive, all this can eventually sum up to analyze forces of nature and the dominance between the two i.e women and nature. The eight connections are as follows: 1. Historical connection (causal): a link between women and nature can be historical. One of the causals is the historic data that develop and nurture theories which deal with the initialization and connection between the domination of women and nature. This concept is so concrete that Ariel Salleh claim's that ecofeminism is particularly a cent progress in the feministic approach and believes that the recent crisis th at has occurred globally and environmentally is basically because of the prevailing culture of patriarchal. (katz,2000) 2. Concept based Connections: Most of the scholars that study ecofeminism believe that the dominant power between women and nature is because of the causal connection which basically stems from causal links which take their branches from concept based structures of domination that develop and nurture women and nature in a social system which consist of male biases. 3.

International Management College Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Management College - Assignment Example Being open at the very outset will help set the mindset of the workforce, who would then be able to work with a clear set of requirements (both at an individual as well as at the organizational level). 3. Educate the workers on modern industry: the new manager also has to ensure that the Chinese workers are well-educated about changes in work practices and the way in which modern industry is profit oriented. This will pave the way for bringing out any opinions on the part of the workers, which may be addressed well in time. Such issues generally require that the manager be skilled enough so as not to offend the sentiments of the Chinese workers, which requires that the manager have prior exposure to Chinese culture and the way things need to be said and done under it. 4. Motivate workers: the new manager can help further the interests of the company by offering performance based incentives in the form of financial benefits. This requires that the manager monitor the performance of every worker and keep track of those who are performing better in comparison to others. Other sources of motivation such as promotions etc. also work a long way in this regard. 5. 5. Encourage feedback and suggestions from workers: the manager must understand the fact that it is the worker who spends most of the time in the manufacturing process, and as such has a better knowledge of how the production can be improved within the existing framework. Typical examples in this regard could be scenarios whereas certain stages of production are underutilized and others are unable to cope up with the supply and demand. Under such situations, it is the workers who can offer better suggestions. Gathering such information requires that the manager establish effective communication with the workers and make efforts to obtain feedback from them on a regular basis. CHANGES TO COMPENSATION PACKAGE Keeping in view that the manager is supposed to work in a foreign country; two important changes to the compensation package are suggested. The first and the foremost change to the compensation package would be decide the salary amount depending on the personal income tax rates of the country where the manager is supposed to work (China in this case). This is extremely crucial as tax rates vary from country to country and having a fair idea of the tax rates for a particular country is absolutely important in order to cut down on the costs (incurred in sending the expatriate to another country, which is substantially more than hiring local managers in China). Secondly, changes have to be made to the compensation package to accommodate the expenditure incurred for the purpose of schooling. This is because of the fact that the children of expatriates most likely would prefer an international school, which is quite costly in almost any city. As such, considering these costs is quite imp ortant while deciding upon the compensation package. REFERENCES 1. Geoffrey W. Latta (2006), the Future of Expatriate Compensation. Found at:

Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Problems - Assignment Example Since the producers are producing Q3, their revenue will rise substantially since all their produce is sold off. On the other hand, consumers would only consume Q2; implying that they are in the same position as before. The loss experienced by taxpayers result from the fact that they are the one financing the purchase of the surplus cheese through payment of higher taxes (David, 2003). b) When the price floor is at $10, new market price will be 10 dollars. This is because the price floor is binding. Taking into consideration that the quantity demanded of Frisbees are only 2 million at a price floor of 10 dollars, 2 million is the quantity demanded. The imposition of tax drives a wedge of 2 dollars between the supply and demand. Consumers pay price P2 whereas producers pay P-$2. Due to increase in price, the quantity of beer sold decreases to Q2 (David, 2003). b) The demand curve for typewriters, substitute goods, will shift to the left as a result of decrease in the computer price (David, 2003). Thus increase in the supply of computers will decrease the demand of typewriters. Hence typewriters producers should be sad. Both quantity supplied and price will decrease. d) Yes, the analysis do explain why software producer Bill Gates is one of the richest men. With advancement in technology, cheaper computers are made making people want more user-friendly software and operating systems. Thus Bill Gates who produce most popular operating systems and software make a lot of money from

The Story as Told in The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Story as Told in The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Essay Mark Twains Legendary story of Huckleberry Finn is the tale of a young little-minded orphan boy named Huck, who is the narrator, and tells his story in which he is accompanied by a runaway slave named Jim who both embark on various mischievous adventures down the Mississippi River, Jim who is owned by Hucks care takers Ms. Watson and Widow Douglass is faced with the most challenges in the novel. Throughout the novel Huck Jim are faced with many obstacles on there adventures up and down the Mississippi River seeking the free state of Illinois, where Jims Plan is to gain his freedom and live his dream of reuniting with his wife and children whom were also sold into slavery. Eventhough the novel is touching and compelling in many ways over the last 120 years Twains novel has been attacked by various groups for being a racist novel, while others strongly believe that his novel is the greatest statement in American culture against racism. Twain began writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn currently after his first novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) which wasnt as much of a controversial novel compared to his best seller. Twain later re-wrote and re-wrote Huck Finn multiple times later finishing it in December 1883. During his writings Twain had a hard time within himself towards his novel due to his character Huck helping Jim runaway to a free state and there strong bond they both shared, which Twain knew wasnt a right thing to do during his time for the fact in the eyes of the average slave owners or racist go-getters. As years passed and many different versions of Twains writings evolved from language to language but still with-held the same context as his original writings. After Twains passing, and Huckleberry Finn having a slight shed under the limelight for some of its vulgar language, and more than many racial slurs toward Jim other characters portrayed as slaves in his novel, real criticism began. Many different types of various groups regardless whether they have there share of pros and cons, on the novel shared there own opinions regarding the use of the N word being used in the novel to be dignified as if it was Jims name. Those who do not approve of Twains writings are those who see the book as a racist novel, which when reading the novel you can see many different clusters of its racism. As you continue to read the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you tend to notice that Huck is faced with many challenges dealing with the fact Jim is a runaway slave,and Huck is giving his share as being a accomplice in his crime, and that is where many people who see the negative side of the novel try to look passed the helpings of Huck and Jims freedom and just focus on that bubble of racial slurs and the hardships for African Americans of that time who were mistreated and who died trying to live a positive life style passed the mistreatment. Thats in all of the history itself Twain lived in the era where slaves were a household appliance or necessity and in todays days its unethical to own a slave, which many Americans today will all agree on. Many issues the groups who withheld opposition of Twains writings in our decade are trying to shed light on the fact that this novel is being taught in schools all across America, and the use of the racial slurs once again should be censored throughout the novel. Yet once you re-arrange a book to have the slightest bit of change, you create a gap or some type of a road block where you miss the true meanings Twain is trying to approach to his audience, to feel the feelings Jim and Huck felt on there voyage across the Mississippi, and thats when other groups who approve of the message Twain is trying to achieve in his purpose feel as if this is one of the novels in American History that cultivates one of the greatest statements of the true meaning on unity, faith, and the growth of a boy becoming a man all within a time where racism was a huge whirlwind of negativity. Choosing a side to say weather Twains novel is a racist book, or one of the greatest statements in American culture against racism. I would have to choose that, Twain was always giving a positive outlook when writing this story,due to many helpings between the friendship of Huck Jim. Regardless if it was Jim helping Huck or Huck Helping Jim it was an integrated friendship that would of not have been accepted in the society of the late 1800s when racism wasnt at its peak as it would be 50-80 years later in the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Some can and will always argue with the vulgarity scripted page by page in the story but that is what makes it such an interesting story, Twain wanted his reader to experience the feelings he captivated within each character and how hard it really was in his decade for two unlike pairs to help eachother gain more than moral values in life and to take chances in doing whats right than whats expected. Seeing passed the racism issues various groups attack Twains writings on, he tries to give a self point-of-view on what unity should really be like, such as Huck helping Jim be free than later throughout chapters recover Jim from a slave auction where he was forced to stay when the King and the Duke turned him in for ransom. Regardless of his skin color and the crime he committed Huck knew what was right from wrong and did the unexpected and helped out a colored man , at the time where it was not excepted to do so in that specific time frame in American History. You can say the novel shares its negatives and its positives on the opinions of racism, yet many can share there own opinions within eachother when reading the book. Mark Twain had every bit of intention to make his book have many controversies in his present and our future. People need to see the true meanings of Twains work past all of the negativity and a real autobiographical look at his point of view on racism itself, he had every reason for Huck and Jim to be best buddies in his novel because at that time he knew what was right from wrong. So people can his story is wrapped around tightly with words or racism some can say its simply work of great meanings but as I would say its a story of unity of two unlike pairs to be united as one into helping eachother find themselves and the true meaning of life, and becoming there own men, In Conclusion Mark Twains Legendary story of Huckleberry Finn the tale of the young little-minded orphan boy Huck, and a runaway slave Jim who both embarked on a mischievous adventure down the Mississippi River, and faced with many challenges seeking the free state of Illinois. Was really a tale of two unlike cultures coming together and helping one another no matter what color you are friendship is stronger than a racial barrier, eventhough the last 120 years the book has been attacked by various groups for being a racist novel, while others strongly believe that it is the greatest statement in American culture against racism. I strongly believe it is definitely the greatest statement in American culture against racism. Word Count:1266

Analysis of Data Security in Wireless Networks

Analysis of Data Security in Wireless Networks Chapter 1: Introduction Research Method Research is defined as search for new knowledge or an art of scientific and careful investigation of new facts. Research method is referred as a systematic methodology of defining and re-defining the problems, suggest solutions, formulate hypothesis, evaluate the data, make deductions and then reach conclusions. At last, test the conclusions to determine whether they are suitable for the formulating hypothesis or not (KOTHARI, C. R., 2005). The research method chosen for the present study are case studies. Case study research is used because of its capability to bring a clear idea on any complicated issue and thereby strengthening the previously developed research works. A key characteristic of case study research method is its ability to provide multiple sources of evidence each with its strengths and weaknesses (Bill Gillham, 2000). The steps involved in case study research method are as follows: Getting Started The research work started with the collection of data on Wireless Sensor Networks. Sensor networks are referred as secured networks if they can provide end to end security with authenticity and confidentiality. The present research work emphasizes the importance of providing data security in sensor networks through Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security system. Selecting Cases Selection of cases is an important aspect of building theory from case studies. The earlier stages of the research work focused on various security systems and then identified Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security system for providing data security in sensor networks. Literature review section of this research work will explain all these aspects very clearly. Case study research method is quiet difficult as it provides multiple sources of evidence in its research. So to develop this research work, data was collected from various sources like books, journals, articles and online websites. Crafting Instruments and Protocols After the collection of data related to sensor networks and its importance in the field of providing security for networks it was analyzed that efficient steps must be followed by the organizations to provide security for sensor networks. In order to provide an efficient data security system for sensor networks, the research work was customized a number of times. All the design principles were considered for improving the security in sensor networks so to implement better communication networks. Entering the field After gathering the information related to wireless sensor networks from various sources like websites, journals, articles and books. The information gathered gave a better understanding on Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security system for providing data security in sensor networks. Analyzing data The case study research method primarily concentrated on Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security system for providing data security in sensor networks. The data collected for this research work was analyzed using various methods and techniques. This analysis helps to find the link between the research objects and outcomes with respect to the present study thereby providing an opportunity to strengthen the research findings and conclusions. Shaping hypotheses The task of shaping hypotheses is mainly applied for the alteration or modification of models applied for the research work previously. The new models applied in the research depend upon the data analysis. Enfolding literature After the analysis stage which was helpful in assessing the proposed solutions related to the problems occurred by disasters then a detailed critical analysis will be presented in literature review section that will evaluate the existing security designs so as to improve the performance of sensor networks. Reaching closure From the start of the research work to the analysis stage it was analyzed that providing efficient security for sensor networks is very important as it increases the life of networks and improves the efficiency of networks. Background study of Wireless Sensor Networks Wireless Sensor networks will fall under the category of modern networking systems. It has emerged in the past and caters the needs of real world applications. These networks are the preferred choice for the design and development of monitoring and control systems. In the year of 1940s and 50s wireless sensing technology was developed. To discover and chase enemy craft this was used by military (Shimmer, 2006). The technology formulated to let in radio frequency identification and real time location system but the real force behind wireless sensor network was the power to place detectors in remote or in the environment without wired lines. This allows in turn for capture and analysis of information to transmit warnings and to identify the approaching phenomenon. The quality of life by allowing real time information was developed by WSNs. WSNs supply real world information in a perceive manner rather than a virtual world (Shimmer, 2006). As the health of the people is becoming worse a nd the global population is getting older, with the ability to sense and perform direct measurements biometric solutions can be created which will improve the healthcare and improves the quality of life. As one of the key drivers for wireless sensor networks data will be captured and analyzed for detecting and predicting the phenomena like falls and warnings to develop intelligent solutions for industry. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Overview Providing security for data in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is a difficult task because of complexity in managing the critical resource. Data security in sensor networks can be achieved by Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security system. A sensor network can called as secured if it can provide end-to-end security through data confidentiality, authenticity and availability. Applications like wildlife monitoring, manufacturing performance monitoring and military operations use wireless sensor networks. Security is the most important requirement for all these WSNs applications. Providing security in wireless sensor networks is different from traditional approaches because of resource limitations and computation restrictions. Node compromise attacks, DoS attacks and resource consumption attacks are the most general attacks in the wireless sensor networks while providing security to the data. This research concentrates on wireless sensor networks, data security in sensor networks, Locat ion-Aware End-to-end Data Security (LEDS) systems and its performance in providing data security. 2.2 Wireless Sensor Network Wireless Sensor Network is a fast growing technology and has exciting research area. Military and civilian activities can be operated successfully using this network. Interconnection between thousands of sensor nodes in large sensor networks can create technical issues (LEWIS, F. L., 2004). To offer a high quality sensing in terms of space and time the sensing nodes are closely arranged and are made to work together. This technology is responsible for sensing and also for the first stages of the processing hierarchy. Computations, communication capacities, memory, low cost devices which have limited energy resources are included in the network. One of the major applications of sensor networks is actuators. This type of sensor networks is widely used in many sectors like military applications, environmental applications and commercial applications (RAGHAVENDRA, C. S., Krishna M. Sivalingam and Taieb F. Znati, 2004). Networks can be organized in multi-hop wireless paths and large lands capes in order to recognize the events of interest. Industries attain security and safety by making use of wireless sensor networks. This network uses sensors for the detection of toxic, harmful and unsafe materials and also provides a way for the identification of leakages which may cause dangerous results. These networks are best suitable for monitoring and help in controlling rotations in moving machinery (Edgar h. Callaway, 2003). Wide usage of sensor networks in large applications forces the network to provide security for data in order to operate the applications effectively. Security is the major issue faced by wireless sensor networks. The main reason for security problems in sensor networks is hold of data by attackers. If number of nodes increased in communication then there may be chance for tampering the data which may create the problem of data loss (CHAN, H. and PERRIG, A., 2003). This sensor network helps in expanding the internet into physical space. Compared to customary approaches wireless sensor networks provide many advantages. Information in sensors networks is available only at runtime. Sensors networking is done by contribution from signal processing, database and information management, embedded systems and architecture and distributed algorithms. Much number of sensors is already in use for monitoring the traffic in networks (Feng Zhao and leonidas J. Guibas, 2004) The organization growth reduces internally by loss of important data and due to false data introduced by hackers in network.However, the lack of end-to-end security guarantee makes the WSN weak due to the attacks. Functions in the networks are injured by internal attacks which lead to breakdown of mission-critical applianc es (Elaine Shi and PERRIG, A., 2004). Hence from the above discussion it can be understood that wireless networks leads to a new trend as the way of interchanging of data through internet service like e-mail and data file transfers is increasing tremendously. WSN is used in many martial appliances. As these networks provide many benefit for organizations and users it lacks in providing security to data while transferring. Wireless sensor networks play a vital role in transferring the data from one network to another without any delays or disturbances. The functionality and behavior of the WSN are completely dissimilar from the other wireless network devices present in WSN.WSN are not assured by the users. In terms of battery and power these devices are much more restrained. The WSN can be separated into two parts Data acquisition and data dissemination network. Data acquisition network consists of sensor nodes and base stations. Sensor nodes are the accumulation of small devices wit h the charge of assessing the physical information of its setting, and base stations are influential devices in case of gathering information of its surroundings. Sensor networks are mainly projected for real-time collection and analysis of low level data in aggressive environments (Javier Lopez and Jianying Zhou, 2008). For this reason they are well fitted to a significant amount of monitoring and observation applications. Famous wireless sensor network applications involve wildlife monitoring, bushfire response, military command, intelligent communications, industrial quality control, infrastructures, smart buildings, traffic monitoring and examining human heart rates etc. greater part of the sensor network are spread in aggressive environments with active intelligent resistance (Feng Zhao and Leonidas J. Guibas, 2004). Hence security is a crucial issue. One obvious example is battlefield applications where there is a pressing need for secrecy of location and resistance to subvers ion and destruction of the network. 2.3. Evaluating the existing security designs in WSNs Evaluation of existing systems can be done with the help of data security requirements like data authentication, availability and authentication. Security is not provided efficiently by the existing systems due to weak security strengths and is exposed to many different attacks. Security authentication tools such as authentication and key management. These tools provide various security mechanisms for sensor network. Routing and localization are supports sensor network (Donggang Liu and Peng Ning, 2007). Similar to the traditional networks most of the sensor network applications need security against introduction, and modification of packets. Cryptography is the standard defense. Interesting system tradeoffs grow while comparing cryptography into sensor networks. For point-to-point communication, continues cryptography attains a high level of protection but involves those keys to be set up among all end points and be in companionable with passive participation and local broadcast (C. S. Ragahavendhra, Krishna M. Sivalingam, Taieb F. znati, 2004). Link layer cryptography with a network wide shared key simplifies key setup and supports passive participation and local broadcast but intermediate nodes might alter messages. The earliest sensor networks are likely to use link layer cryptography because this approach supplies the greatest ease of deployment among presently available network cryptographic approaches. Subsequent systems may react to demand for more security with more advanced use of cryptography. Cryptography implies a performance cost for extra computation that frequently gains packet size. Cryptographic hardware support increases efficiency and also increases the financial cost of implementing a network. Limitations of existing key management schemes From many past years many different pre-distribution schemes have been proposed. Hop-by-hop is one of the techniques which dont provide end-to-end security in a proper manner. This hop-by-hop not only involves the end points but also have the intermediate components for data forwarding. Hop-by-hop header carries information which should be examined by each and every node along the packet path. As this technique involves each node referencing and processing it becomes complex in analysis of networks (Alberto Leon Garcia and Indra Widjaja, 2004). Data authentication and confidentiality is very much vulnerable to inside attacks and the multi hopping makes a worse while transmitting the messages. The problem of distributing and updating cryptographic is to valid member is known as Key Management. The key management is one of the most important tasks in the cryptographic mechanisms for networks. However the sensor networks, the key management is one of the more challenging network because there may be no central authority, trusted third party, or server to manage security keys. The key management performed in the distributed way. The self organization scheme to distribute and manage the security keys proposed (Yang Xiao, 2006). This system certificates are stored and distributed to the user by themselves. False data filtering and their analysis This helps in protecting data from validation in WSNs. Data that is not authorized will be filtered out by the transitional nodes. Location Based Resilient Secrecy (LBRS) is the proposed scheme that identifies the problems and errors in Statistical En-route Filtering (SEF) and Interleaved Hop-by–Hop Authentication (IHA). All these methods are highly exposed to interference attacks and selective forwarding attacks (kui Ren, Wenjing Lou and Yanchao Zhang, 2008). SEF helps in detecting and dropping the false reports during the forwarding process that contains Message Authentication Codes (MAC) generated by multiple nodes (Anne-Marie Kermarrec, Luc Bouge and Thierry Priol, 2007). IHA identifies the fake reports by using interleaved authentication 2.4. Data Security Requirements in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) As wireless sensor networks usage is increasing in organizations, security should be provided for data in order operate organizations successfully. Data security in wireless sensor networks includes data authentication, data availability and data confidentiality. Data should be available for authenticated users only in order to provide security. Various data security requirements for wireless sensor networks are (Kui Ren, Wenjing Lou and Yanchao Zhang, 2008): Data availability Data Confidentiality Data authentication Data integrity Time synchronization Secure Localization Data availability – To ensure availability of message protection in sensor network it should protect the resources or sensor nodes. Nodes in sensor networks should be guarded from unnecessary processing of messages. Avoiding unnecessary processing can reduce the energy usage so that the life time of sensor network increases. Wireless sensors are influenced by many factors like limited communication capabilities and computation. Wireless sensor networks are vulnerable to various attacks like Denial of Service attacks, node compromise attack and resource consumption attack (Shinqun Li, Tieyan Li and Xinkai Wang, 2002). Hence, in order to provide availability and security resources should be maintained effectively. Data Confidentiality – In wireless sensor networks confidentiality can be achieved by allowing only authenticated users to access the data. In sensor networks data can be secured by using cryptographic methods. Using encryption and decryption for data allows only authenticated users to access the data. Unauthorized or third parties cannot read the original data if confidentiality is provided effectively (Chris Karlof, Naveen sastry and David Wagner, 2004). Hence to have confidentiality for data wireless sensor networks should make of encryption methods. Data authentication – Authentication is necessary for controlling the sensor networks effectively. Data authentication in sensor networks allows the users to verify whether the data is sent from authorized resources or not. It also protects the original data from alterations. Digital signatures can be used for authentication in sensor networks (Mona Sharifnejad, Mohsen Sharifi and Mansoureh, 2007). Hence, authentication in sensor networks can be achieved with digital signature which helps in authenticating the senders. Hence from the discussion it can be given in order to provide security data availability, authentication and confidentiality should be sustained in sensor networks. Data Integrity Data integrity in sensor networks is required to check the dependability of the information and concerns to the capability, to support that message has not been corrupted, altered or changed. Even if the network has confidentiality measures, there is still a possibility that the data integrity has been compromised by alterations (Richard Zurawski, 2006). The integrity of the network will be in trouble when the malicious node present in the network throws fake data. Wireless channel cause damage or loss of data due to unstable conditions. Hence from the above it can be given the information provided by the sensor network is easily corrupted which can leads to loss of data. Time Synchronization Most of the sensor network applications trust on some form of time synchronization. Moreover, sensors may wish to calculate the continuous delay of a packet as it moves among two pair wise sensors. For tracking the applications a more collaborative sensor network may involve group synchronization. Secure Localization The usefulness of a sensor network will trust on its ability of each sensor to accurately and mechanically locate in the network (G. Padmavathi and D. Shanmugapriya, 2009). A sensor network planned to locate faults and it need accurate fixed information in order to identify the location of a fault. In this an attacker can easily misrepresent non secured location information by giving false signal strengths and playing back signals. Hence from the above content it has discussed about the security goals that are widely available for wireless sensor networks. 2.5. Proposing Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security (LEDS) LEDS helps in providing safety to data in a well-organized way. Security to data is provided through confidentiality, authentication and availability in LEDS. This mechanism has the ability to provide en-route filtering and end to end authentication. It makes use of key management for achieving data security. LEDS can be used either in small networks or large networks (Ed Dawson and Duncan S. Wong, 2007). LEDS splits the whole network into small cell regions and sends keys for each cell in order to provide security. Cell size of LEDS depends on the number of keys distribute and it does not support dynamic topology. Sensors helps in finding events that are occurring in network. Encryption of events is happened in networks by sensor nodes which are participating in the network. In order to encrypt the events LEDS uses the pre distributed cell keys (Abu Shohel Ahmed, 2009). Sensor nodes calculates unique share key for sensors after encrypting the data, where this is demonstrated using d ifferent sinks. Sensor nodes use authentication keys for calculating MACs. To avoid duplicate reporting each and every report is given with different MACs. A report or data validity will be checked at each and every node while broadcasting through networks in order to provide data security (Fan Ye, Hao Yang and Starsky H.Y. Wong, 2006). Hence from the above discussion it can be understood that, LEDS mechanism helps wireless sensor networks in providing end to end security. This mechanism makes use of key management in order to provide data authentication, confidentiality and availability. The main aim of designing LEDS is to provide end to end data security through data confidentiality, authenticity and availability. LEDS has the capability of preventing false data report attacks. Brief description of the goals of designing LEDS: Provide end-to-end data confidentiality and authenticity: Event reports in wireless sensor networks can maintain authenticity and confidentiality if the sending nodes themselves are not compromised for data corruption. Compromised nodes may affect the neighbor node performance. Cryptographic methods are used to protect data from attackers which is collected from compromised nodes. Key management assists in providing data authenticity and confidentiality by LEDS (Jun Luo, Panos Papadimitratos and Jean-Pierre Hubaux, 2007). In LEDS key management mechanism the nodes use keys for applying cryptographic methods on data in order to provide security. Achieve high level of assurance on data availability: If any attack occurs on data in wireless sensor network, then it should be flexible in selecting alternative ways for forwarding the data. In order to ensure availability, networks should be able to detect and drop the duplicate reports in an efficient and deterministic manner (Kui Ren, Wenjing Lou and Yanchao Zhang, 2008). LEDS assures data availability in the networks by identifying the duplicate reports early in the networks. Hence from the discussion it can be understood that, LEDS was designed for providing security in the wireless sensor networks. False information reports can be eliminated by using some LEDS mechanisms in networks. 2.6. Components of Location-Aware End-to-end Data Security To provide data security, LEDS makes use of two major components: Location-aware key management framework. End-to-end data security mechanism. LEDS provides end to end security by providing data authentication, confidentiality and availability. 2.6.1. Location-aware key management framework As wireless sensor networks are used in wide range of applications it should be deployed correctly in order to collect data. Network planners should give a framework before organizing in order to have security to data. LEDS makes use of key management in providing framework for the sensor networks. Using Key management in LEDS exploits the static and location-aware nature of wireless sensor networks (Reihanah Safavi Naini, 2008). Key management adopts a grid structure for redistributing and examining specific properties related to designing process. For providing a light-weight and robust location aware key management framework for sensor nodes in network preloaded keys are distributed in networks. This framework can be understood through embedding location information into the keys. Framework using key management should be derived in such a way that it should provide data authentication, confidentiality and availability (Yan Zhang, Honglin Hu and Masayuki Fujise, 2006). In LEDS ever y sensor node computes three different types of location-aware keys for distributing purpose. A sensor node computes two unique secret keys which can be shared between a node and sink. These keys help in providing node to sink authentication. A cell key will be distributed between two nodes in the same cell. Confidentiality to data in Wireless Sensor Networks is given by distribution cell keys among network elements. A set of authentication keys can be distributed among the nodes in the network in order to provide authentication to the nodes. This distributing of keys can help sensor networks in data filtering. A Sensor node in the network computes the location-aware key independently. Key management provides basis for end to end data security (Kui Ren, Wenjing Lou and Yanchao Zhang, 2008). Key management strategies for wireless sensor network have proposed recently existing keys which are based on pre-distribution where a probabilistic access for fixing up session keys among adjace nt nodes. Random key Pre-distribution schemes are dangerous to selective nodes and node replication attacks. These frequent attacks can be prohibited by the location aware key management. More challenges are to be taken by the location aware key management such as connectivity within the groups, deployment flexibility and security resilience (Xiaofang Zhou, 2006). Existing strategies need the deployment data as a priority before the deployment. This makes it very hard in major applications. Hence from the above discussion it can be concluded that, for developing a structure for WSN LEDS uses the key management technique. In this framework the safety to data is given by the distribution of keys between sensor nodes. Different location-aware keys computed from sensor nodes can provide data confidentiality, authentication and data filtering. 2.6.2 End-to-end data security mechanism Security is the main issue in transformation of data over internet or any wired or wireless communication. Several encryption methods are implemented and deployed in organization for providing security to data. Network smart cards supports networking mainstream standards and secured protocols. Private data can be sent from smart cards to remote server by establishing a secured connection between network smart cards and trusted remote internet server. This mechanism helps in avoiding manual type for confidential information. End-to-end mechanism struggle in identifying threat mechanism that will capture the data before it is encrypted (Yuliang Zhenq, 2004). Specificdevices and protocols can be installed at the end point connection for offering end to end security. Hyper text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection is an example of end-to-end connection to web server where an IP security is used as end-to-end security. There is an opinion that end-to-end security mechanism provides solutio ns in providing security to network based systems. Wireless sensor networks usually consist of a prominent number of resource constraint sensor nodes which are distributed in neglected uncongenial surroundings, and therefore are displayed to more characters of serious insider approaches due to node cooperation. Existing security designs generally supply a step by step security prototype and are exposed to such attacks (Claude Castelluccia, 2005). Moreover, existing security designs are also exposed to several DOS attacks such as report disruption attacks and selective forwarding attacks and thus put information accessibility at stake. To overcome these exposures for major static WSNs come up with a location-aware end-to-end security framework in which secret keys are bound to geographic locations (frank Stajano , Catherine Meadows, Srdjan Capkun and Tyler more, 2007). This location alert property successfully limits the impact of settled nodes only to their locality without involvin g end-to-end data security. The suggested multi functional key management framework checks both node to sink and node to node authentication along with the report forwarding routes and the suggested data delivery access assures effective en-route fake data filtering, and is highly influential against DOS attacks. In end-to-end security the end points refers to connection between client and server. Providing security is the major constraint for transferring data in a secured manner. For providing end-to-end secure communication constrains components like (Michael H. Behringer, 2009) Identity- which helps in identification of entities at both the ends Protocols- to provide required security functions protocols are implemented with the help of algorithms. Security- the end points used by network should be provided with secured protocols and the operations implemented on the end points should be in a secured manner. Thus from the above context it can be given that networks which uses end-to-end security mechanism provides a great security. In spite of having some potential problems end –to-end security many of the organizations are deploying this type of mechanism. End-to-end security protocols and their clarification acts as keystone in having security for the networks. 2.7. Security and performance analysis of LEDS Location aware End to end Data security design (LEDS) function is to anticipate the security and analyze in diverse etiquette. Digital systems afford the sanctuary by means of sundry techniques. In providing the security features researchers generate innovative services for improving the recital and trustworthiness of single technique algorithm (Sam Brown, 2002). Along with security the performance, hardware and software implementations are focused, transparency of the requirements as well as performance and productivity. The factors that involves in escalating this technology are Viability, power consumption, area, complexity, Flexibility. Security analysis can be explained in three dissimilar ways (Kui Ren, Wenjing Lou and Yanchao Zhang, 2008): Data Confidentiality as the security strength Data Authenticity Data Availability Data Confidentiality as the security strength: The requirement of provide data confidentiality within the internal network can be met using the same deployment and management approaches used. Using of the data encryption standard the confidentiality of encryption could be obtained. Data Confidentiality is also used in the Marketing and Sales (John W. Ritting House and James F. Ransome, 2004). In LEDS every report is encrypted by the corresponding cell key and therefore no nodes out of the event cell could obtain its content. Node from the event cell is compromised as the attacker obtains the contents of the corresponding reports because of the data confidentiality. Scheming total network cells number of compromised nodes and portion of compromised cell were utilized. There are two ways for calculating they are Random node capture attack and selective node capture attack. The above figure shows the data confidentiality in LEDS. One has to be clear that in compromising 40% of total cells at least 5% of the total nodes are to be compromised. Along with random node capture attacks accessible defense designs in which compromising a few hundred nodes usually compromise even in all the network communication, which specifies the dominance of the altitude in litheness. Data Authenticity By using diverse online techniques authenticity of data is accomplished. Significance of the data generation determines the position of the obligation (Chris Mann and Fiona Stewart, 2000). Security strength of LEDS regarding the data Authenticity is obtained by the content o

Malaysias Economy Exports

Malaysias Economy Exports Malaysia Economy Exports Introduction Malaysia, the place called ‘Truly Asia’. It lies on the Southeastern Asian peninsula bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea. It’s filled with different Asian cultures from Malay, Chinese, Borneo and other indigenous groups. Having no or little issues about societal upheavals, corruptions and such being published in international media, Malaysia continues to be a puzzling country known for its present natural splendor as it continues to flourish as one of Asia’s leading countries. However, knowing its experiences that led to its present growth is what’s really interesting about this country. After gaining independence from Britain in 1957, it was noted that the Chinese was the chief force in Malaysia’s economy. In the 1960’s, Malaysia’s economy was dependent on exports of agricultural goods. During this period annual Gross Domestic Product increases on an average rate of 6 percent per year. Then in the late 1960’s racial pressure started and caused the creation of the New Economic Policy which aimed to ensure that by 1990’s at least 20% of the economy must be controlled by ethnic Malays. In the 1970’s, high deflation and mismanagement of government enterprise caused its economy to experience severe economic downturn. By 1985, recession having negative 1.2 percent GDP growth was experienced. As solution to the downfall of the economy, the government shifted its focus from the agriculture sector to the manufacturing sector. It liberalized foreign equity ownership from 10 to 20 percent in order to attract foreign investments. These efforts resulted to a success by achieving a positive GDP growth of 13.4 percent from 1986 to 1990. Although the country’s internal economic factors continued to be strong, its external economic factors affected it in a negative way. Huge capital outflows from the Malaysian economy and other South East Asian economies were hurt by the Asian crisis. From positive 7.7 percent Malaysia’s real growth rate in declined to negative 7.5 percent in 1998. Interest rate also increased from five percent to nine percent. Furthermore, inflation and the increase in unemployment from 2.4 percent to 3.2 percent caused poverty to boost from 6.1 percent in 1997 to 7 percent in 1998. In addition, the health sector was also affected due to the increase in the price of imported drugs which in turn also made it harder for the poor to afford medication. Despite its condition, Malaysia rejected IMF assistance and stabilized its money with the help of Bank Negara Malaysia, its Central Bank, through lowering exchange rates, interest rates, and government spending. Also, the government increased capital controls by halting, several mega projects and established the National Economic Action Council (NEAC). With all these efforts, the country achieved a positive annual growth rate of 5.4 per cent in 1999. Malaysias economy continued to surge despite all terrorist threats and health diseases such as the SARS. The Package of New Strategies was established in 2003 to generalize domestic sources of growth, promote private investment and strengthen the countrys competitiveness. In 2006, The Ninth Malaysia Plan was issued. This plan reiterates the target of lifting Malaysia’s economy to developed nation by 2020. After knowing all these facts, this paper will now discuss about the economic condition of Malaysia starting from the year 2002 to 2006. It will tackle the GDP’s contribution to growth and growth by sector, lending and inflation rate, money supply, trade and economic indicators and some movements of selected exports. Gross Domestic Product Contributions to Growth (Figure 2.24.1) Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product was highest during the year 2004 with 7.2 percent. To further analyze the changes, the factors affecting the Gross Domestic Product would be discussed. First, consumption was analyzed in two separate types: Private Consumption and Public Consumption. From the figure, it could be seen that consumption is an unstable factor in their economy. Private consumption in 2002 was 2.0 percent and rose until it reached 4.9 percent in 2004. However it started to decrease in 2005 and by 2006 private consumption was only 3.5 percent. Private consumption in the last five years grew by an average of 3.58 percent. When in comes to Public consumption, 1.4 percent growth was attained in 2002. It grew by 0.2 percent by 2003 then started to fall and reached 0.8 percent in 2005. It picked up its pace and increased to 1.2 percent in 2006. The average Public consumption growth is 1.18 percent. It could be noted that private consumption became the largest GDP contributor in the years 2003 to 2006. The increased consumption is caused by the low interest which encouraged business investments and higher income for the household to dispose. This in turn generated income for the businesses which could eventually lead to expansionary means that would produce employment. Next, investments were also presented as two types namely Private and Public investments. Private investment started at a negative growth of 1.9 percent in 2002 then increased to positive 2.9 percent by 2004 and decreased to 1.3 percent in 2006. On the other hand, Public investments kept on fluctuating from positive 4.1 percent in 2002 it decreased to a negative growth in 2003 and 2005 until it sustained a positive 0.3 percent in 2006. As could be seen from the figures, public investments started as the largest GDP contributor in 2002 but kept on decreasing while Private investments tried to maintain its positive growth. The increase in private investments was due to a healthy business relationship achieved through the trust established in the economic plans such as the Ninth Malaysian Plan. With regards to the country’s net exports was negative during 2002, 2004 and 2006 with negative 1.3, 2.5 and 0.4 percent growth. In 2003 and 2005, positive 2.0 and 1.3 percent were obtained. Overall, Malaysia had the lowest GDP in 2002 with 4.4 percent growth and as said earlier, it achieved 7.2 percent growth in 2004 and ended with 5.9 percent growth by 2006. The highest contributor in the years 2002 to 2006 were public investments for 2002 and private consumption for the following years. From all these, it could be deduced that Malaysia’s GDP growth was reliant on private consumption. The problem is that as people consume more, they might not have enough to consume in the future therefore increasing the other factors in the GDP should also be done. Growth by Sectors (Figure 2.24.2) The growth it’s Agriculture, Industry and Services sectors, no one sector dominated the others by having a consistent increase per year. This might be caused by the shifts in the strength of production in such sectors. For instance in 2002, Services had the greatest contribution to their economy. However, by the Industrial sector increased by almost 70% in 2003 and continued to rise by 8.22% in 2004, causing it to contribute more to the GDP of the country. By 2005 and 2006, Industry decreased and as finance and trade businesses rose, Services became the largest contributor again. With these, total employment increased in 2006 by 2.5%. As could be noted Agriculture was the least competitive sector. This sector which has been very important to rural incomes and exports might have still been affected by the 1985 act of shifting focus away from the Agriculture sector. It only attained a 6.4% GDP contribution due to the increased prices of foreign crops. Inflation Rate and Money Supply There are 3 types of money monitored by the Central Bank in Malaysia namely M1, M2 and M3. M1 is narrow money, and M2 and M3 considered broad money. M1 is composed of private sector currency and demand deposits. M2 is M1 plus financial assets while M3 is M2 plus: fixed deposits of the private sector; net issues of NCD to the private sector and transactions effected by finance companies, merchant banks, discount houses, and Bank Islam. The adoption of the managed float enabled the central bank to gain flexibility with the money control in monetary policy. Through it they were no longer stalled with always having to off-set the increase in money supply with a substantial increase in money demand in order to keep the Ringgit fixed. In the past 5 years (Table A9), money supply has changed positively. This might have been through their imposed decrease in interest rate. In fact it reached its peak in 2004 by having a 25.4% increase in money supply. With regards to inflation, the Malaysian economy has been experiencing a low inflation (Table A8). Inflation has been under an increasing and decreasing trend per year. However, their rate is not worrisome since it’s still managed in low single digits. From 1.8 in 2002 it reached an inflation of 3.6 in 2006. This price increase has been mainly caused by the increase in fuel prices and electricity cost. In addition, the positive growth in money supply was also a factor in this inflation. It should be noted that despite the inflation consumption still increased because the actual increase in the prices did not hurt the consumers knowing that it was off-set by the strengthening economy or national income. Unemployment Rate The country’s unemployment was unstable. The rate did not increase to more than 3.0 figures (Table A6). In fact, from 3.5 in 2002, it decreased to 3.4 in 2006. This might have been greatly influenced by the sectors especially industry or manufacturing and the services sectors. This is one accomplishment of the macroeconomic objective of reducing unemployment. Further it could aid to an increase in national income through the reduction of the poverty situation in the country. Exchange Rate, Imports and Exports Due to the 1997/98, Bank Negara Malaysia decided to have a â€Å"currency peg† thus fixing the Ringgit exchange rate. As can be seen (Table A19) until 2005, the Ringgit was valued RM 3.8 to one U.S. dollar. Fixing the rate caused damages to the economy since their currency did not increase in value in response to the weakening economy of other countries such as the U.S. Also, although foreign investors might feel comfort in knowing that the exchange rate wouldn’t change most were also hindered from investing. This was because investors know that in time they would lose since the Ringgit does not have a chance to increase its value thus they would look for other profitable investments in other countries. It was a good thing that the Central Bank decided to shift to a managed float system. In 2006, Malaysian Ringgit appreciated to 3.6 per U.S Dollar. The managed float is more favorable for foreign investments since more profit would be attained by investors. It would be the Bank of Negara’s role to ensure control over short term variability and let the demand and supply factors to affect the long-run trends. The exports and imports of the country were not severely affected by the exchange rate knowing that it was still fixed during 2002-2005. Other factors affected the trade of the country. In 2002, 2004 and 2005 the growth in imports was more than that of the exports (Figure 2.24.5). Although the percentage growth of exports was less, surplus was still attained because the total amount of exports was more than the imports. This was attributable to the industrial sector’s contribution in electronics and the rising oil, gas and crops to be exported. Imports grew through the increased consumption of foreign goods. Government Revenues and Expenditures Government revenues were in a declining trend (Table A22). From 23.1 in 2002 it decreased to 22.1 in 2004 and ended at 21.7 in 2006.Likewise, government spending was also declining (Table A21). From 28.7 in 2002 it reached 26.4 in 2004 and 24.3 in 2006. This decrease in earnings might be bad for the government because they would have little funds to finance government programs. It was good that as the earnings decreased, the expenditures also decreased. This direct proportional trend would enable the country to not experience a great loss unlike those countries that tend to spend more although they have the knowledge that they are not earning much. The decrease in government expenditure could be attributed to the decrease in government borrowing as a result of the fiscal policy. The contractionary fiscal policy enabled the country to lower government spending to achieve a long term economic growth. In addition, increasing prices of exports was used as a compensating factor for expenditure’s effect on revenue. Revenue from these exports represents 37% of government revenue. Conclusions Malaysia could be an interesting topic for a lot of economic enthusiasts because of the cycle that it has gone through. Malaysia’s economy has undergone many changes. It started as a well-off economy until it experienced a lot of crises including the Asian crisis. This country is among the lucky ones who have been able to get back on its feet and improve its condition. The increased growth in the pattern of its GDP signifies the strength of their economy. It shows how their national income increases as being affected by the said factors. However, it should still continuously work on improving the condition of its net exports and investments because increasing consumption now could result to less consumable goods in the future. When it comes to the sectors, the performance has been good. The increased electronic productions, crop harvesting and service providing could boost their economy further. In addition, employment is greatly increased by these factors. Moreover, they have a fine control of their money supply. The positive increase in their money supply enables the increased consumption and decreased interest rates but higher inflation. Their inflation is not worrisome being stable at a low inflation figure. With their exchange rate, it has been a right move to shift to a managed rate instead of the pegged rate since more investments and profits would be generated from this. Factors other than the exchange rate have had more influence on imports and exports. Since their exports are still more than their imports its positive contribution to the national income could still be anticipated. Lastly, with regards to their government revenue and expenditure they should find ways in generating more revenue but increasing the spending at the same time because government spending is one of the main factors of national income. With all of these, it could be deduced that Malaysia has a chance of achieving more economic growth. However, the possibility of achieving the Ninth Malaysia Plan is still unfeasible. Although their economy is rising they should still consider more expansionary means of creating a long-run growth and produce realistic goals. This will enable them to catch up and become one of the developed countries. Sources http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/ADO/2007/MAL.asp www.econ.upm.edu.my/~azali/FN.pdf www.mier.org.my/mierscan/archives/pdf/drariff1_8_2005.pdf http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Malaysia-OVERVIEW-OF-ECONOMY.html http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/research/educators/060106_10d/ http://0-proquest.umi.com.lib1000.dlsu.edu.ph/pqdweb?index=7did=1169443391SrchMode=1sid =1Fmt=3VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1193566062clientId=47883 Appendix 2.24.1 Contributions to growth (demand) Sources: Bank Negara Malaysia, available: www.bnm.gov.my, downloaded 28 February 2007; staff estimates. 2.24.2 GDP growth by sector Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, available: www.bnm.gov.my, downloaded 28 February 2007. 2.24.5 Trade indicators Sources: Bank Negara Malaysia, available: www.bnm.gov.my, downloaded 28 February 2007; staff estimates.

Personal Narrative On Being Teased and Accepting Yourself :: essays research papers

I had always been comfortable in myself, it never really bothered me how I looked, nor did it seem to bother others, the people who I called friends. As I walked through the door somehow it was as if, overnight I was expected to wear clothes that I felt awkward in (but still looked cute), shoes that hurt my feet, and makeup that clogged my already full pores. I was met with grins and giggles from others. I caught tidbits of what they were saying. ?Look at her shoes! Why is she wearing those? They have holes and don?t even match what she has on.? said anonymous person number 1. I looked down, sure my Chucks were a little faded (okay a lot faded), but they were comfortable and isn?t that what mattered I thought. ?God does she even wash her face anymore, its like erupted, I can?t even see a smooth patch of skin? chimed in anonymous person number two. Its genetic, who are these people, and why are they making me feel bad about myself, I thought. Okay, now as I think back, I will admit that it being the first day of middle school I should have put a little effort in my appearance but, who did I have to impress? Weren?t we coming here to learn? If I was going to sit in a classroom for 8 hours a day I needed to be comfortable. By now I?m sure you have already gathered I was a tomboy. The kind of girl who would rather play with the boys than sit on the sidelines and talk about how ?oh so cute they looked when they caught the football?. Now I think my mother is to blame for this, she never really did give into that girly stereotype that most mothers did. Where I was only going to do cheerleading ?because I?m a delicate flower and all that yadda yadda yadda ya?. She always let me make my own choices and never forced things upon me. Boy did she really mess me up, I mean being so understanding and all. And so my morning went, being verbally assaulted by people who I didn?t even know, scrutinizing every aspect of my wardrobe, being so blunt and uncaring to the fact that I could hear them, I was on the verge of tears. Somewhere in between hearing them trying to figure out why ?