How War Is Necessary Essay Example for Free

How War Is Necessary Essay Mr.Weirzbowski-English 10 War has been with mankind for many millenniums. The reasons for wars in mankind’s history have all been various, however one big reason for war is that countries want to grow bigger, by taking over one another. Throughout history, rulers would not be satisfied with the amount of land that they had or wanted to spread their beliefs around the world. So, they did it by trying to take over others. However, some didn’t want to give up their land or change, so they fought. Fighting these wars are, however, necessary no matter what people believe. This is because fighting them and winning will stop them from controlling others. Some wars that stopped countries from controlling others are the second world war, the war in Vietnam, and the Revolutionary war. However, there are claims that the Vietnam war could’ve been avoided, but there would’ve been consequences for going to war. War is necessary because it’s a way to try to stop countries from dominating over others and controlling them. There are many ways that war has stopped countries from controlling one another. Firstly, the Vietnamese war was necessary because, the war would’ve stopped the spreading of communism to neighboring asian countries, also known as the â€Å"domino theory†. The idea of communism started with the election of Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam. Kennedy wasn’t concerned with Vietnam until Lyndon B Johnson called Ngo Dinh Diem the â€Å"Wi nston Churchill of Asia† because, Diem was the only one trying to resist the communists and Johnson promised to help him. Noam Chomsky, a US philosopher, stated that if a country better its economy due to communism, neighboring countries would try to improve their economy using communism, as seen when China influenced North Vietnam. Had communism been successfully spread to South Vietnam, then Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. Also, other countries would’ve lost faith in the US for not protecting S.Vietnam in their time of need. This shows that the US needed to fight this war to stop the communistic ideals from spreading to countries and to keep the confidence of other countries around the world, so that they could help the US when the US needs them. The second world war as necessary  because, it showed how the world responds to a fascist ruler controlling a major country, trying to claim the world. It also showed how the US would react when attacked by another major country. Hitler want to create a â€Å"master race†, which was blonde-haired, blue-eyed people. So when he came into power, he had convinced the german people that jewish people were less than humans and should be treated as such. Thus he started taking over various countries in Europe and started killing jewish people to start his plan. While that was happening, the US was maintaining neutrality and supplying Britain, Russia, and China with weapons until the japanese attacked pearl harbor on December 1941. The US then declared war on Japan and fought in the Pacific theater until August 15th, 1945. Had the axis powers won World War II, North America and South America would be surrounded by dictators ready to destroy democracy and take over the world. Also, H itler’s plan would’ve probably been completed and the world would’ve been comprised of blonde, blue-eyed people. However, the war told us that when we are concerned with individualism, we become selfish and corrupted or under the influence of corrupted selfish nations. This war was needed because, when one tries to dominate and take over another country, we become blinded and end falling. We need teamwork to stay strong in the world. Finally, the Revolutionary War was necessary because, it allowed rights normally granted by the king, to be for every single individual. It also sparked other revolutions, along with stopping Britian from controlling the colonies. When the French Indian War concluded, King George III made the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that no colonists may settle west of the Appalachian and anyone other than Indians there had to move from the area. The Boston Massacre also brought them closer to the revolution, because British soldiers killed 5 civilians for calling them names. The Stamp Act of 1765, Townshend Act of 1767, and the Tea Act of 1773, were all attempt of Britian to try and control the colonies in North America. However after the war, the Declaration of Independence was signed and Britian let the colonies rule themselves. With this newfound freedom, the colonists were allowed to trade with anyone they wanted, colonize past the Appalachian Mountains, set up a new government and th e British moved out of the colonies. Had the colonists lost the war, the US would probably still be under British rule to this day. Even with all this evidence that war is necessary, people still see war as a terrible thing. Going back to the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese War could’ve been avoided because the US could’ve stayed neutral and let the problem in Vietnam blow over, instead of sacrificing 50,000 men. The war would’ve been avoided and Vietnam would’ve became a communist country along with possibly, part of Asia. Robert McNamara, defense chief under John F Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson, says that he doubted Vietnam would let China or Russia use them as a base, but that’s the US had feared at the time. The US had feared that China or Russia would use them as a base they could use to control more parts of Asia. The Vietnamese could’ve probably fought the war themselves and probably resisted the communistic ways of China and/or Russia. The belief about if war is needed in the world or not cuts both ways. Either that it helps bring everlasting peace in the world closer or it’s useless and all it does is kill off innocent people. War is a big thing that stops countries from trying to gain total global domination or keeping them at bay until they give up. Until that happens, there will be allies who will attack at a moments notice when a country is trying to bite off more than it can chew.There are so many more examples of how war is necessary in the world that this would be a lot longer than it is already. The concept of war may seem bad, but in the end, it’s all worth it.

Employee Motivation Elements in Job Design

Employee Motivation Elements in Job Design Introduction Background It is obvious that the world is in constant change process. Markets are growing and becoming more competitive and dynamic. According to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (online), the systems and methods that once were effective to hold organisations together are now more likely to prevent communication and demotivate employees. Managers now need to take account of the changing attitudes and expectations of employees. They need to find new ways to organising work so that it allows more flexibility and brings motivation and job satisfaction to employees. Robinson, I. (2006) argues that motivated employees produce higher levels of performance, are more enthusiastic and committed to the organisation. They are willing to use their skills, participate and contribute to the benefit of the company. By contrast, demotivated employees are likely to be apathetic and to have higher levels of absence. It is self evident that organisational performance is likely to be greater with motivated and engaged employees. The concept of job design opens a new perspective to creating a more favourable work environment in which motivated employees will improve and enhance organisational performance. Aims Objectives This projects objectives are the following: To identify those specific factors / elements which are considered / used when designing job. To establish which job design factors motivate employees. To establish whether a relationship exists between employee motivation and the quality of job performance. The purpose of my research is fundamentally to find out whether the following hypothesis is true: H1. The aspects of job design improve employee motivation and lead to improved employee performance. Answering the following questions will help to research into my topic as well as either prove or disprove the hypothesis I have put forward. These are the following: What is job design? What is the difference between Mechanistic and Motivational approaches in job design? Are motivation and job performance inter-related? What are the factors of Motivational approach that improve employee motivation? What is the role of IT in job design? Such a study aims offer insight into the changes going around and a basis for managers for reflecting on how best reorganise work to improve performance. Preliminary literature review There is a wealth of literature covering the topic of my research hypothesis. My study of the literature will start with the key question of what job design is and how it impacts employee performance. I will then compare two different approaches, mechanistic approach and motivational approach in job design and assess the role of IT in this context. Jobs are created by people for people. Whether deliberately or by default, choices are made about which tasks to group together to form a job, the extent to which job holders should follow prescribed procedures in completing those tasks, how closely the job incumbent will be supervised, and numerous other aspects of the work. Such choices are the essence of job design, which may thus be defined as the specification of the content and methods of jobs (Wall and Clegg, 1998:265-268). Background to job design Mechanistic approach The concept of job design was first used in the late nineteenth century when industrialists such as Taylor or Ford first introduced a scientific approach in management practices (CIPD, online). Their approach consisted of defining clear job roles, suggesting that workers required specific tasks and boundaries to enable organisation to become more productive, effective and efficient. The principle of this approach is that a job is broken down into small and simple tasks that can be easily learned and performed. It is assumed that it makes the production more efficient (Business Dictionary, online). It aims to achieve maximum job fragmentation to minimise skills requirement and job learning time. Taylor (1914) was one of the first to develop the idea of time and motion studies to identify the most efficient movements during a work task. Workers were selected and trained to perform their jobs using Taylors approach and were offered monetary incentive to ensure that they performed to the ir maximum efficiency. Bloisi (2007) argues that the problem with this approach to job design is that it is too preoccupied with the productivity and ignores the workers social needs. According to Pickard (2006, in CIPD), in the 1960s, the focus shifted from hard, process-oriented approach to job design emphasizing social behavioural perspective of employees. While scientific management aimed on achieving organisational effectiveness through task fragmentation, during the middle part of the twentieth century, there was recognition that motivation would influence organisational performance. The work of Maslow and McGregor advocated that job design could be heavily influenced by understanding and responding to the motivations of individuals. However, it was Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation and the concept of job enrichment that was to shape the development of job design during the second half of the last century (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002). Motivational approach This new approach, called human relations approach (Bloisi, 2007) stems from the assumption that jobs can be designed to stimulate employee motivation and increase job satisfaction. Herzberg (1993, in Bloisi, 2007) asked two questions: What makes you feel good about your work? and What makes you feel bad? From the answers received, Herzberg concluded that the job satisfaction was one of the key elements of motivational job design. In his two-factor theory he identified hygiene factors and motivator factors. Hygiene factors are referred to practices at work that would cause dissatisfaction, but if corrected would not motivate (i.e. salary, organisations policies, administration and supervision). For example, if an employee were given a laptop computer to do his job, it may stop him to be unhappy because of the lack of the IT, but he would not be motivated to work harder. On the other hand, motivator factors, such as achievement, advancement, growth, recognition, responsibility and wor k itself, tend to create satisfaction and positive attitude and discretionary effort of employees (Robinson, 2006). The impact of job design on employee performance From the studies of motivator factors, different job design models were developed, such as Hackman and Oldhams (1980, in Bloisi, 2007). They developed a job characteristics model that identified the motivational factors of a job from the following aspects: Skills variety the variety of skills needed to complete the task. Task identity how much of the complete product or service is completed by the worker; how much they feel they have ownership of the task. Task significance how important is the task to the lives of others. Autonomy how much of decision-making role the person has while doing a job. Feedback how much feedback an employee is given about their job performance. The Figure 1 below shows how job characteristics described above impact on critical psychological states of employees, therefore improving their job satisfaction and performance. Core job Critical psychological Outcomes characteristics states Skill variety Job identity Job significance Job autonomy Feedback from job Meaningfulness of work Responsibility for work outcomes Knowing the actual results of the work activities Less absenteeism Less turnover High satisfaction High motivation High quality work performance Figure 1. Job characteristics model. Source: Adopted from Hackman and Oldham (1980: 77). It can be seen from the diagram above that when the critical psychological states are high, then employees will have a high level of internal work motivation. This leads to a greater productivity and helps create competitive advantage through people. During the 1990s an increased emphasis on employee empowerment led to high discretion models characterised by individual job enrichment and self-managing teamwork (Huczynski and Buchanan 2001, in CIPD online). Herzberg (Accel, online) suggested the following for the job enrichment: Lessen the control and retain accountability at the same time; Increase personal accountability for work; Grant additional autonomy and authority to employees; Make company reports available to all employees and not only to managers; Introduce new and more challenging tasks into the job; Encourage the enrichment of skills and expertise by assigning employees to specialized tasks. This approach aims to involve employees in decision-making processes, planning, organisation and control of work. An example of this can be through self-managed teams, where workers are given a goal to achieve but it is their teams that decide how tasks are allocated to achieve their goal. Job rotation can also be used as part of the motivational approach; here, employees are moved from one job to another over time (Bloisi, 2007). When job rotation is used, most of the jobs tend to be similar. However, it can increase skills variety and help boost job identity. The Figure 2 illustrates how job redesign can improve work and make it more meaningful. After the redesign of the cashiers jobs, their new jobs were found to be more motivating and as a result their job performance increased significantly. Before job redesign After job redesign Cashiers cashed cheques, processed deposits and payments for bills Business customers were referred to a business advisers Foreign currency transaction were referred to another cashier Auditors ensured transactions balanced Errors were notified to cashiers No feedback on workload No records were kept on who did the transactions Cashiers handled all aspects of the transaction for both business customers and foreign currency Feedback on errors available immediately Feedback on volume displayed on a computer screen Cashiers signed their names to each transaction so they were recognised as taking responsibility for their work Figure 2. How job redesign can make work more efficient and meaningful. Source: Bloisi (2007: 84). Research has shown that if work is seen as meaningful and important to the individual then they are likely to be more committed to the organisation and more productive. The role of IT in job design Developments in technology and increased use of the Internet open a new perspective in organisation and job design. Many employers are developing flexible working patterns using latest technological advances. There are great advantages as well as drawbacks to it. Here are some examples of how employer and employees can benefit of IT: Employees are encouraged to work more flexibly: it means they can work from home. Employees can save money and time on travelling to work. Although employees are physically absent at work, employers can always contact them either by mobile phone or email. Apart from that, organisations safe a huge amount of money on property costs, when some of the workforce is based at home. Disadvantages of using developed communication technologies at work: Employees are no longer able to switch off from work: they work outside their habitual nine-to five hours. It can lead to increased employee stress and dissatisfaction, which ultimately leads to less productive work. Despite these obvious disadvantages, the benefits of the use of the communication technology are major. As stated in Bloisi (2007), British Telecom encourages staff to work more flexibly. Following a workstyle analysis it now has 7500 of its workforce formally based at home and another 40,000 have remote access. Not only has it saved  £180 million in property costs, but also improved productivity by 20-40 per cent. The example above illustrates how flexible working in job design can act as a significant motivator contributing to employee well-being and improved productivity. Methodology Approach to my research scope The scope of my research is to explore the impact of job design on employee motivation and improved performance as its result. This is reflected in my research topic and hypothesis. This topic is of my own interest. Basically the research consists of the following three sequential parts: Job design Æ’Â   Employee motivation Æ’Â   Improved performance My research objectives and questions are designed in a way so that they first explore what job design is; secondly, how it can motivate people (Herzberg theory above); thirdly, I studied the model of Hackman and Oldham about the impact of employee motivation on the quality of their task performance (please see above). Research methodology Definition: Pattron (2009, online) defined research methodology as a highly intellectual human activity used in the investigation of nature and matter and deals specifically with the manner in which data is collected, analysed and interpreted. Secondary data collection method I have conducted a preliminary literature review to investigate what other authors write about my research topic. All findings in my literature review are meant to serve as a base for comparison with the results of primary data collection. The comparison between the two will help to either prove or disprove my research hypothesis. Theory Hypothesis Primary Research Conclusions The approach I have adopted for my research is deductive and can be represented in the diagram as follows: Figure 3. Deductive Research Approach. Primary data collection method Written questionnaire is the method I have chosen to collect the data. The type of my questionnaire is the Likert Scale (PHS, online) where I have given a scale to indicate the strength of agreement to statements (please see a sample of my questionnaire in the Appendix 2 below). The advantage of this type of questionnaire is that it is easier and faster for the recipient to complete and also allows direct comparability to answers as well as to assess the feelings of the respondents towards issues. This method ascribes quantitative value to qualitative data, makes it amendable to statistical analysis. A numerical value is assigned to each potential choice and the final average score represents overall level of accomplishment or attitude toward the subject matter. This questionnaire is targeted on sample population. Sample population is a number of homogenous respondents who share important characteristics e.g. all employed and working in a relatively big companies, rather than self-employed or working in small private businesses. It is essential to make the data comparable as well as to make conclusions meaningful (PHS, online). Accordingly, I distributed my questionnaires to a number of people working in different organisations but which had one same characteristic employed and working in medium size businesses. Approach to analysis and interpretation of data The theories in the literature review above (Hackman and Oldhams Job Characteristics model) have confirmed my research hypothesis which states that there is a link between job design, employee motivation and improved performance. In order to test this theory, I designed my primary data collection (questionnaire: questions 1 to 15) so that it fits the following formula: Motivating Potential Score MPS = Skill Variety + Task Identity + Task Significance x Autonomy x Feedback 3 Source: Hackman Oldham, 1980:90 in Bloisi, 2007. This formula is a summary of Hackman and Oldhams Job Characteristics model. It measures the overall potential of a job, or Job Satisfaction. It is calculated by taking the average of Skill variety plus Task identity plus Task significance and then multiplying that Average by Autonomy and Feedback. The outcome of jobs with high MPS will be high quality work performance and high worker satisfaction (Hackman Oldham in Bloisi, 2007). I created additional 12 questions, 16 to 27, to identify strong feeling of employee engagement. Results from this part of the questionnaire would show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. All answers are accumulated and represented in the table in the Appendix 1 below. For each of the agree answers 1 point, and for each of disagrees 0 point is ascribed. The averages are calculated as well as MPSs for individual questionnaires. Conclusions The objective if this research was to investigate into the impact of job design on employee motivation and performance. The results of the primary data should either prove or disprove the statement made in the research hypothesis. The research was based on 5 dimensions that according to Hackman and Oldham (1980) would help to analyse how jobs were designed. The highest score for the Variable 1 (average 1.93) showed that the majority of the respondents agreed to a certain degree with the statement that their jobs require the variety of skills and abilities. Whereas Task significance and Autonomy had the lowest scores (Appendix 1). MPS has revealed which of these dimensions, that impact total Motivating Potential of a job, can be redesigned so that employees feel more motivated. Additional questions on job performance (16 to 27 and referred as Variable 6 in the Appendix 1), showed the result for the quality of job performance (average score 7.8 out of 12 questions). The research has revealed that job performance score is far greater at those jobs which had higher scores for Task variety, Task significance and Feedback. Therefore, we can conclude that if a job is well designed, people feel more satisfied and motivated which results in improved performance. Thus, our research hypothesis has proven to be true. Timescale Key tasks with milestones plotted along a time line

Why People Refuse To Use Internet Banking Information Technology Essay

Why People Refuse To Use Internet Banking Information Technology Essay Do you consider online banking in its current state to be secure. In your experience, what are the biggest mistakes that financial services providers and their customers make that expose them to security risks? The world is changing at a staggering rate and technology is considered to be the key driver for these changes around us (Papers4you.com, 2006). An analysis of technology and its uses show that it has permeated in almost every aspect of our life. Many activities are handled electronically due the acceptance of information technology at home as well as at workplace. Internet can be seen as a truly global phenomenon that has made time and distance irrelevant to many transactions. The transformation from the traditional banking towards e-banking has been a leap change. The evolution of electronic banking started from the use of automatic teller machines (ATM) and has passed through telephone banking, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer and the revolutionary online banking. The future of electronic banking according to some is the acceptance of WAP enabled banking and interactive-TV banking. Online banking is the future of electronic financial transactions. The rise in the e-commerce and the use of internet in its facilitation along with the enhanced online security of transactions and sensitive information has been the core reasons for the penetration of online banking in everyday life (Papers4you.com, 2006). According to the latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS, 2006) indicate that subscriptions to the internet has grown more than 50% from 15 million in 2000 to 35 million in 2005 in the UK. It has also been estimated that 60% of the population in the UK use internet in their daily lives. Why people refuse to use internet banking? Today, there are still many internet users who refuse to do their banking online. Their main reason for not doing so is the lack of online banking security. One of the reasons why they feel insecure about banking online is because of misinformationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.not knowing the correct information about internet security. A study from the University of Michigan by Atul Prakash looks at design flaws that many online banking sites have today. He concluded that they fail to protect users who dont know the basics about internet security. The study focussed on design flaws rather than actual software programming weaknesses. Website design flaws are decisions or assumptions that were made by the web developers when they designed the online banking website. For example, the developers assumed that online banking users were educated about internet security. In fact, the opposite is trueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.many online banking users are uneducated about basic internet security. This assumption can be taken advantage of by unscrupulous hackers. Some of the design flaws of online banking security are: Being able to access the site by using insecure HTTP, Being redirected to an untrusted site, Low security password thresholds and e-mailing confidential data to users. These are all examples of website design flaws that can lead to confidential data being leaked! Strong Passwords: As far as user password information goes, many of the sites involved in the study dont require password restrictions for users. Having low quality passwords invite themselves to being disclosed by brute-force attacks. The study also noted that having a strong password does not protect against phishing sites and key loggers. Many banks find it to be just an inconvenience for their users to force strong passwords. The online banks claimed that by enforcing a three-strike  [1]  lockout policy when incorrectly typing in a password makes brute-force attacks on low quality passwords unrealistic. However, the study found that even when a three-strike lockout policy is enforced, it can be broken if low quality passwords are allowed. For example, if you use a password that is very weak like password, hackers can successfully use automated attacks to compromise your login. This is so, even if the online bank enforces a three strike policy. The design flaw here is that online banks have assumed that users will always use strong passwords. Online banks must not assume that some online users understand basic internet security and enforce the creation of strong passwords. Well designed online banking sites will enforce strong passwords by using JavaScript  [2]  to immediately test the passwords strength. If the password is not strong enough, the user will immediately be advised by an on-screen error message or a graphic. Click here to create a password and test whether it is a strong password. Hackers and intruders have an easier time figuring passwords out when they are not frequently changed. You must change your passwords regularly, especially for your online banking password. When you change your password, the hackers would have to start over again. Online banks with strong password security policies automatically enforce users to change their passwords periodically. Typically a password creation screen will appear and you will be asked to update your password twice. You will also need to know the old password. It is harder for hackers to figure out your password if you use a number of different charactersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ especially if it is a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols found in your keyboard. Of course, it will be harder for you to remember the new password, so you have to make sure you memorize the combination. A useful tip: never use passwords that are codes like your birth date, spouses name, or other relevant information because your password can be deduced quickly and easily. These coded passwords are used by a lot of people, particularly in ATM machines and email passwords. By doing this, you simply make yourself a big target to hackers. Chain of Command: The University of Michigan study by Atul Prakash also mentions websites that break the chain of trust. Often time, bank websites will redirect you to other websites without notice. These sites may not be secured by using SSL  [3]  . Many times the certificates  [4]  used are not affiliated with the bank at all and there is no way for the user to tell if they are still on the banks website or not. This makes it hard for even knowledgeable users to know if they are on a phishing  [5]  siteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ or not! Some online banking sites may present secure login options within an insecure webpage. While their online banking site may offer secure logins via SSL and HTTPS  [6]  , that same webpage may be available insecurely through a HTTP  [7]  version. While redirection to a secure page may occur, if the user had already entered in credential information under the insecure page, then their credentials are at risk of being compromised. While many sites exhibited 1 or 2 of the noted flaws, there were many on the list that didnt show any flaws and offered very good security. It also went on to note that some of the sites may have even fixed the flaws noted in the study at the time when the study was released. Online Banking: Tips for Doing It Safely With the increasing popularity of the Internet as a virtual marketplace, consumers and criminals alike have capitalized on this growing community. As a result the issue of Internet security has become one of great importance, especially when it comes to online banking. However, safe banking online is not as difficult as it may seem. It simply involves making the right choices. Here are some tips that will help ensure a safe banking experience on the Internet. First, make sure that the bank you choose is legitimate. If they do not have a branch you can visit locally, then you wont have the convenience of checking them out in person. In such cases, it is advisable to read pertinent information about the bank on its site. Most financial institutions will have an About Us tab where you can read more information about the bank and its history. You should even be able to the find name and address for the banks headquarters along with a toll free number you can use to speak with a live person. Second, be aware of criminals who put up fraudulent websites under a name or web address similar to that of a credible bank. Unfortunately, these undesirables have caused some trepidation when it comes to online banking. However, they can be fairly easy to spot and avoid. These sites are designed to trick you into entering their website and providing your personal information (i.e., social security number, account number, password). Be sure you have typed the appropriate web address for your bank before accessing your account online. This can be easily ensured by book marking your banks site or adding it to your favourites in your web browser. Doing this virtually guarantees you will visit the correct site in the future. Third, safeguard your private information. Thieves would love to get a hold of your credit card numbers, banking info, social security number and other private data. Review your banks security practices. This information is usually available on their website, but you should also be able contact the bank directly if necessary. Fourth, a secure online banking site will provide encryption  [8]  . In this process, private information is scrambled in order to prevent the wrong eyes from seeing it. Some web browsers will show an icon at the bottom of your screen that looks like a key or a lock. This icon indicates that your transaction is secure and your private information has been encrypted. Hackers and bad people are constantly attempting to crack into our online accounts and access everything from our email to our online banking records for nefarious purposes. How can you stop them from easily accessing your accounts? One very important step is to use highly secure passwords that arent easily guessed or cracked by their malicious software. Most of the time theyre after easy targets and will move on if your account cant be hacked quickly. Here are five tips to help you create secure passwords for your online accounts: Dont use names, dates, phone numbers, or addresses Dont use common words from the dictionary Use a mix of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters (such as! * % where possible) Make it at least 8 characters long (longer is better) Change it often (for online banking or hosting accounts, try every month) You may want to use an online random password generator. If youre worried that you may have trouble remembering all your secure online passwords, dont resort to using the same password at multiple sites or using passwords that arent secure! Instead, consider an option like RoboForm or RoboForm Online. You can also use Firefox as your browser (its free) and allow it to save your passwords. Just be sure to use a master password to secure your passwords file. You can find details about that at http://kb.mozillazine.org/Master_password Finally, make sure that you logout of the online banking site completely. When you are finished with your online banking session, you need to be sure that you log out. If you do not physically click the log out button, you may stay signed in. Anyone who uses the computer that you used to check your bank account could then get into your bank on-line account. It could also give more time to those people who want to crack into your bank account. Checking for the lock that indicates a secure log in is crucial to being careful when using online banking. It helps you to ensure that you are giving your password and information over a secure connection. Password protection, and having a secure password, will allow you to make it difficult for others to log into your account. By logging out, you can be sure that you have stopped the connection, preventing anyone (both online or in person) from finding and using your account. You need to be responsible when using online banking to ensure that your finances are safe. It should be clear that safe online banking is not an impossible task. It simply involves being well informed and making the right decisions.

Comparing Katharina, of The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice of Much Ad

Comparing Shakespeare’s Katharina, of The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice, of Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare’s Katharina, of The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice, of Much Ado About Nothing, are very similar characters.   Each is plagued with unrequited love, and depressed by their inability to woo the suitor of their choosing.   Neither will accept the passive female role expected by society. Yet, both women seem to accept their role as wife by the conclusion.   Upon further examination, one will find that Beatrice is a much more complex character.   One would have to agree with the critic who said, "Katharina is a character sketched in bold, rapid stokes, with none of Beatrice's sophistication, verbal brilliance, or emotional depth."   In Taming of the Shrew, the first introduction to Katharina, by Gremio and Hortensio, tells that she is a shrew, (1.I .54-60) and that she will never find a groom.   When she first speaks we see her responding to these insults, but she was provoked so her words seem appropriate.   Yet as the play continues we see Katharina tying up Bianca, (2.I.29) and hitting her.   This can be rejected as sibling rivalry, but later Katharina slaps Petruchio when he is trying to woo her (2.I.214). Katharina seems to have a physically violent side that isn't present in Beatrice.   She also does not seem to have as strong as a character as Beatrice, especially when one considers that Petruchio was able to tame her in a very short time. In the opening scene of Much Ado About Nothing,   Beatrice says some harsh things about Benedick (1.I.37-43).   She seems to be unprovoked but very rigid in her opinion of him.   In Leonato's house, the discussion of Beatrice and marriage leads her uncle to conclude that, "Thou... ...y is important.   But the most important thing to note is that the weaker of the two did change her attitudes, beliefs and actions in order to become a better wife for her husband.   Both women seem to be happy as do the men and like most conclusions of Shakespeare's plays, all the loose ends are tied up. Works Cited and Consulted Barton, Anne. Introduction. Much Ado About Nothing. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 361-365. Dash, Irene G. "Wooing, Wedding, and Power: Women in Shakespeare Plays". The Critical Perspective Volume 2. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 825-833. Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Logan, IA: The Perfection Form Company, 1996. Shakespeare, William; Much Ado About Nothing; Washington Square Press; New York, NY; New Folger Edition May 1995

Rip Van Winkle and its Impact on Society :: Rip Van Winkle Essays

Rip Van Winkle and its Impact on Society Events, no matter how small can change a society, a culture, and an outlook in the blink of an eye. Whether it is in a war, a speech, a gesture, or even a novel. Washington Irving made an incredible impact from his short story "Rip Van Winkle", drawing the events surrounding him to form a simple story with deep meaning. To bring to a pinpoint, the story shaped the American culture as the American culture shaped the story. Washington should not be able to take full credit for his story. Rip Van Winkle originated from the Dutch folklores. The story was found in the house of Diedrich Knickerbocker. Although there was some speculation on the accuracy of the tale, historians agree that the story is "now admitted into all Historical collections as a book of unquestionable authority" (Irving, 1353). Knickerbocker claims that he actually talked to Winkle himself and concluded that Rip was in sound mind and that "the story therefore, is beyond the possibility of doubt" (1353). The Catskills are a parallel to the story. Filled with Indian folklores, the Catskills are believed to posses a Manitou or spirit that will take the form of the flesh of human or animal form that would strive to rid the area of bad or mischievous elements or people. Combing the Dutch folklore, the Indian tales, and the idea of using short simple stories to make a point, Washington created a whole new dimension of literature. The British culture concluded that his story had become the new "American" literature. Washington analysis of the relationship between the British and the colonists caused a minor stir among people. First, it was unconventional to even mention the revolution since it was such a touchy subject. Secondly, Washington made quite a statement with his notion that the British rule acted selfishly and oppressive, in turn, portrayed America as the hero. From this folklore, others have grown from it. Some believe that Rip in fact did not fall asleep, but took adventurous journeys in foreign lands with strange people. Art and child-like fantasies have been the median to which the stories have been communicated.

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 1

Damon Salvatore was lounging in midair, nominally supported by one branch of a†¦who knew the names of trees anyway? Who gave a damn? It was tall, it allowed him to peep into Caroline Forbes's third-story bedroom, and it made a comfy backrest. He lay back in the convenient tree fork, hands clasped together behind his head, one neatly booted leg dangling over thirty feet of empty space. He was comfortable as a cat, eyes half-closed as he watched. He was waiting for the magic moment of 4:44A.M . to arrive, when Caroline would perform her bizarre ritual. He'd already seen it twice and he was enthralled. Then he got a mosquito bite. Which was ridiculous because mosquitoes didn't prey on vampires. Their blood wasn't nutritious like human blood. But it certainly felt like a tiny mosquito bite on the back of his neck. He swiveled to see behind him, feeling the balmy summer night all around him – and saw nothing. The needles of some conifer. Nothing flying about. Nothing crawling on them. All right then. It must have been a conifer needle. But it certainly did hurt. And the pain got worse with time, not better. A suicidal bee? Damon felt the back of his neck carefully. No venom sack, no stinger. Just a tiny squishy lump that hurt. A moment later his attention was called back to the window. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on but he could feel the sudden buzzing of Power around the sleeping Caroline, like a high-tension wire. Several days ago, it had drawn him to this place, but once he'd arrived he couldn't seem to find the source. The clock ticked 4:40 and beeped an alarm. Caroline woke and swatted it across the room. Lucky girl, Damon thought, with wicked appreciation. If I were a rogue human instead of a vampire, then your virtue – presuming you've any left – might be in danger. Fortunately for you, I had to give up all that sort of thing nearly half a millennium ago. Damon flashed a smile at nothing in particular, held it for a twentieth of a second, and then turned it off, his black eyes going cold. He looked back into the open window. Yes†¦he'd always felt that his idiot younger brother Stefan didn't appreciate Caroline Forbes enough. There was no doubt that the girl was worth looking at: long, golden-brown limbs, a shapely body, and bronze-colored hair that fell around her face in waves. And then there was her mind. Naturally skewed, vengeful, spiteful. Delicious. For instance, if he wasn't mistaken, she was working with little voodoo dolls on her desk in there. Terrific. Damon liked to see the creative arts at work. The alien Power still buzzed, and still he couldn't get a fix on it. Was it inside – in thegirl ? Surely not. Caroline was hastily grabbing for what looked like a handful of silken green cobwebs. She stripped her T-shirt off and – almost too fast for the vampire eye to see – had herself dressed in lingerie that made her look like a jungle princess. She stared intently at her own reflection in a stand-alone full-length mirror. Now, whatcan you be waiting for, little girl? Damon wondered. Well – he might as well keep a low profile. There was a dark flutter, one ebony feather fell to the ground, and then there was nothing but an exceptionally large crow sitting in the tree. Damon watched intently from one bright bird-eye as Caroline moved forward suddenly as if she'd gotten an electric jolt, lips parted, her gaze on what seemed to be her own reflection. Then she smiled at it in greeting. Damon could pinpoint the source of Power now. It was inside the mirror. Not in the samedimension as the mirror, certainly, but contained inside it. Caroline was behaving – oddly. She tossed back her long bronze hair so that it fell in magnificent disarray down her back; she wet her lips and smiled as if at a lover. When she spoke, Damon could hear her quite clearly. â€Å"Thank you. But you're late today.† There was still no one but her in the bedroom, and Damon could hear no answer. But the lips of the Caroline in the mirror were not moving in synch with the real girl's lips. Bravo! he thought, always willing to appreciate a new trick on humans. Well done, whoever you are! Lip-reading the mirror girl's words, he caught something aboutsorry . Andlovely . Damon cocked his head. Caroline's reflection was saying, â€Å"†¦you don'thave to†¦after today.† The real Caroline answered huskily. â€Å"But what if I can't fool them?† And the reflection: â€Å"†¦have help. Don't worry, rest easy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Okay. And nobody will get, like,fatally hurt, right? I mean, we're not talking about death – forhumans .† The reflection: â€Å"Why should we†¦?† Damon smiled inwardly. How many times had he heard exchanges likethat before? As a spider himself, he knew: First you got your fly into the parlor; then you reassured her; and before she knew it, you could have anything from her, until you didn'tneed her any longer. And then – his black eyes glittered – it was time for a new fly. Now Caroline's hands were writhing in her lap. â€Å"Just as long as you really – you know. What you promised. You really mean it about loving me?† â€Å"†¦trust me. I'll take care of you – and your enemies, too. I've already begun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Suddenly Caroline stretched, and it was a stretch that boys at Robert E. Lee High School would have paid to watch. â€Å"That's what I want to see,† she said. â€Å"I'm justso sick of hearing about Elena this, Stefan that†¦and now it's going to start all over.† Caroline broke off abruptly, as if someone had hung up on her on the phone and she'd only just realized it. For a moment her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned. Then, slowly, she relaxed. Her eyes remained on the mirror, and one hand lifted until it was resting lightly on her stomach. She stared at it and slowly her features seemed to soften, to melt into an expression of apprehension and anxiety. But Damon hadn't taken his eyes off the mirror for an instant. Normal mirror, normal mirror, normal mirror – l era! Just at the last moment, as Caroline turned away, a flash of red. Flames? Now, whatcould be going on? he thought lazily, fluttering as he transformed from a sleek crow back into a drop-dead gorgeous young man lounging in a high branch of the tree. Certainly the mirror-creature wasn't from around Fell's Church. But it sounded as if it meant to make trouble for his brother, and a fragile, beautiful smile touched Damon's lips for a second. There was nothing he loved more than to watch self-righteous, sanctimonious, I'm-better-than-you-cos-I-don't-drink-human-blood Stefan get in trouble. The teenagers of Fell's Church – and some of the adults – regarded the tale of Stefan Salvatore and their local beauty Elena Gilbert as a modern Romeo-and-Juliet story. She had given her life to save his when they'd both been captured by a maniac, and afterward he had died of a broken heart. There were even whispers that Stefan had been notquite human†¦but something else. A demon lover that Elena had died to redeem. Damon knew the truth. Stefan was dead all right – but he had been dead for hundreds of years. And it was true that he was a vampire, but calling him a demon was like calling Tinkerbell armed and dangerous. Meanwhile Caroline couldn't seem to stop talking to an empty room. â€Å"Just you wait,† she whispered, walking over to the piles of untidy papers and books that littered her desk. She rummaged through the papers until she found a miniature video camera that had a green light shining at her like a single unblinking eye. Delicately, she connected the camera to her computer and began typing a password. Damon's eyesight was much better than a human's, and he could clearly see the tanned fingers with the long shining bronze nails:CFRULES . Caroline Forbes rules, he thought. Pitiful. Then she turned around, and Damon saw tears well up in her eyes. The next moment, unexpectedly, she was sobbing. She sat heavily on the bed, weeping and rocking herself back and forth, occasionally striking the mattress with a clenched fist. But mainly she just sobbed and sobbed. Damon was startled. But then custom took over and he murmured, â€Å"Caroline? Caroline, may I come in?† â€Å"What? Who?† She looked around frantically. â€Å"It's Damon. May I come in?† he asked, his voice dripping with mock sympathy, simultaneously using mind control on her. All vampires had such powers of control over mortals. How great the Power was depended on many things: the vampire's diet (human blood was by far the most potent), the strength of the victim's will, the relationship between the vampire and the victim, the fluctuation of day and night – and so many other things that even Damon didn't begin to understand. He only knew when he felt his own Power quicken, as it was quickening now. And Caroline was waiting. â€Å"I can come in?† he said in his most musical, most beguiling voice, at the same time crushing Caroline's strong will under one much stronger. â€Å"Yes,† she answered, wiping her eyes quickly, apparently seeing nothing unusual in his entrance by a third-story window. Their eyes locked. â€Å"Come in, Damon.† She had issued the necessary invitation for a vampire. With one graceful motion he swung himself over the sill. The interior of her room smelled like perfumes – and not subtle ones. He felt really quite savage now – it was surprising the way the bloodfever had come on so suddenly, so irresistibly. His upper canines had extended to about half again their size, and their edges were razor-sharp. This was no time for conversation, for loitering around as he usually did. For a gourmet, half the pleasure was in the anticipation, sure, but right now he was inneed . He drew strongly on his Power to control the human brain and gave Caroline a dazzling smile. That was all it took. Caroline had been moving toward him; now she stopped. Her lips, partly open to ask a question, remained parted; and her pupils suddenly widened as if she were in a dark room, and then contracted and remained contracted. â€Å"I†¦I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she managed. â€Å"Ohhh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There. She was his. And so easily, too. His fangs were throbbing with a kind of pleasurable pain, a tender soreness beckoning him to strike as quickly as the lunge of a cobra, to sink his teeth to the hilt in an artery. He was hungry – no,starving – and his whole body was burning with the urge to drink as deeply as he liked. After all, there were others to choose from if he drained this vessel dry. Carefully, never taking his eyes from hers, he lifted Caroline's head to expose her throat, with the sweet pulse throbbing in its hollow. It filled all his senses: the beating of her heart, the smell of the exotic blood just under the surface, dense and ripe and sweet. His head was spinning. He'd never been so excited, so eager – So eager that it gave him pause. After all, one girl was as good as another, right? What was different about this time? What waswrong with him? And then he knew. I'll have my own mind back, thank you. Suddenly Damon's intellect was icy cold; the sensual aura in which he'd been trapped frozen over instantly. He dropped Caroline's chin and stood very still. Hehad almost fallen under the influence of the thing that was using Caroline. It had been trying to snare him into breaking his word to Elena. And again, he could just barely sense a whisk of red in the mirror. It was one of those creatures drawn to the nova of Power that Fell's Church had become – he knew that. It had been using him, spurring him on, trying to get him to drain Caroline dry. To take all her blood, to kill a human, something he hadn't done since meeting Elena. Why? Coldly furious, he centered himself, and then probed in all directions with his mind to find the parasite. It should still be here; the mirror was only a portal for it to travel small distances. And it had been controlling him – him, Damon Salvatore – so it had to be very close indeed. Still, he could find nothing. That made him even angrier than before. Absently fingering the back of his neck, he sent a dark message: I will warn you once, and once only. Stay away from ME! He sent the thought out with a blast of Power that flashed like sheet lightning in his own senses. It ought to have knocked something dead nearby – from the roof, from the air, from a branch†¦maybe even from next door. Fromsomewhere , a creature should have plummeted to the ground, and he should have been able to sense it. But although Damon could feel clouds darkening above him in response to his mood, and the wind rubbing branches together outside, there was no falling body, no attempt at dying retaliation. He could find nothing close enough to have entered his thoughts, and nothing at a distance could be that strong. Damon might amuse himself sometimes by pretending to be vain, but underneath he had a cool and logical ability to analyze himself. He was strong. He knew that. As long as he kept himself well nourished and free of weakening sentiment, there were few creatures that could stand against him – at least in this plane. Two were right here in Fell's Church,a little mocking counterpoint in his mind said, but Damon shrugged that off disdainfully. Surely there could be no other vampire Elders nearby, or he would sense them. Ordinary vampires, yes, they were already flocking. But they were all too weak to enterhis mind. He was equally certain there was no creature within range that could challenge him. He would have sensed it as he sensed the blazing ley lines of uncanny magical power that formed a nexus under Fell's Church. He looked at Caroline again, still held motionless by the trance he'd put on her. She would come out of it gradually, none the worse for the experience – for whathe'd done to her, at least. He turned and, as gracefully as a panther, swung out of the window, onto the tree – and then dropped easily thirty feet to the ground.

Jury Nullification Paper Essay

Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically criminals guilty, but who do not deserve punishment. It occurs in a trial when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the judge’s instructions as to the law. A jury verdict contrary to the letter of the law does not belong only to the particular case before it. If a pattern of acquittals, however, develops in response to repeated attempts to prosecute a statutory offense, it can have the de facto effect of invalidating the statute. A pattern of jury nullification may indicate public opposition to an unwanted legislative enactment. In the past, it was feared that may unduly influence a judge alone or a panel of public officials to follow established legal practice, even if such practice had drifted from its origins. In most modern Western legal systems, however, often instruct juries only serve as â€Å"finders of facts†, whose role is to determine the veracity of th e evidence, and the weight accorded to evidence, to implement these tests the law and reach a verdict, but not decide what the law is . Jury Nullification â€Å"It is not only the juror’s right, but his duty to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court.† This is what John Adams said of jury nullification. John Jay, who was the first justice of the Supreme Court said, â€Å"The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy.† So what is jury nullification and how does it influence courtroom proceedings and judicial practices? The definition of jury nullification according to thefreedictionary.com website jury nullification is defined as a sanctioned doctrine wherein members of a  jury disregard either the evidence presented or the instructions of the judge in order to reach a verdict based upon their own consciences. It espouses the concept that jurors should be the judges of both law and fact. The doctrine of jury nullification is based one important things, one that a juror can never be punished for the verdict they bring back to the judge, and second that a defendant cannot ever be retried once the jury has returned to the courtroom with a not guilty verdict. The first case of jury nullification in British law dates back to 1670 in trial of William Mead and William Penn, (William Penn would later go on to be the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania) these two men were charged in England for unlawful assembly, which was a law that was aimed at preventing different religious groups that were not noticed by the crown from worshipping. Both of these men were clearly guilty of breaking the law according to British law and the judge presiding over the case demanded that the jury find William Mean and William Penn guilty, but the jury refused to find these two men guilty because they felt that the law itself Jury Nullification was unjust. The judge continued to insist that the jury find these two men guilty, and the jury repeatedly refused, the judge became so infuriated with the jurors that he threw the jurors in prison. The highest court in England ordered that the jurors be released and established into common law the integrity of jurors in criminal cases. In America the Founding Fathers recognized the relevance of letting jurors determine not only the guilt or innocence of the person on trial, but the fairness of the law in which the person is charged with breaking. In more recent cases, in California a jury convicted Ed Rosenthal in two-thousand three of growing marijuana which was a violation of federal law. During the case the jury did not know and was never allowed to hear that not only was Ed Rosenthal growing medical marijuana for medical patients, but he was growing and harvesting the marijuana for the city of Oakland, California. When the trial ended and the jury found out the true facts of the case they were outraged and the foreman of the jury was quoted in the New York Times as saying â€Å"it is the most horrible mistake I have ever made in my entire life.† Should Ed Rosenthal b een convicted of growing marijuana? I feel that he should not have been convicted and the jury had a right to know the truth about who Ed Rosenthal was growing the marijuana for and for who it was being provided to. Another case would be that of Richard  Pen of Florida, who is serving a twenty-five year prison sentence in Florida for distribution of a controlled substance. Richard Pen was a forty-six year old paraplegic man who became a paraplegic after being involved in a very serious car accident that badly damaged his back, and after having back surgery that did not go as planned, Richard Pen was left in indescribable amounts of pain. Richard Pen realized that Jury Nullification. He could relieve his pain by taking large amounts of opiate painkillers, but the amount of medication his doctor had prescribed him was not enough, and they could not prescribe him anymore because it would exceed the amount of what his doctor could legally prescribe. Richard Paey felt that he had no choice but to obtain the medication illegally and he began photocopying the prescription and used them to get his medication from local pharmacies. Richard Paey was arrested and was charged with distribution of a controlled substance, but he never sold the medication, and never gave the medication away, he only used the medication for himself so that he could live somewhat of a normal existence and be free from the excruciating pain that he was in. But once again because of the way the laws are written the jury had no choice but to return to the court with a guilty verdict. In these two cases, I do feel that they did break the law, but should they have been found guilty of the charges against them? I do not feel that they should, and if the jurors were allowed to hear the truth about these cases these two men, Ed Rosenthal, and Richard Paey would not be serving time in prison, and since the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors on the federal level can continue to arrest and charge people who use medical marijuana, you should expect to see more and more cases like this crowding up our courtrooms. You will probably see more and more cases such as Richard Paey, and other patients like him who are just trying to manage their pain and try to live somewhat of a normal life crowding up our courtrooms as well. So what can us as citizens do to undo the injustice of the Richard Paey’s and the Ed Rosenthal’s? Well unless you are serving on a jury panel, nothing, but if you happen to get a jury Jury Nullification Summons in the mail, do not ignore it as I have done many, many times before although I did have valid reasons for not being able to serve as a juror, I had a disabled parent and I was his sole caregiver, instead send back the summons stating that you are available to serve as a juror, and who knows you might be able to undo some  of the injustices of the judicial system, and keep an innocent person from serving a lengthy prison sentence. References http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/jury+nullification http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,163877,00.html http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/emal1.1.1.html