Enviromantal engneering project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enviromantal engneering project - Essay Example rmore, instead of excavating and transferring the contaminated soil to another site, this process proved successful as it was done on site- saving time and energy. Bioremediation- According to Prof. Shaily Mohindra of UCLA, conventional technologies for cleaning ground water are not always effective. Moreover, these methods usually move pollutants from one point to another. For that reason, Mohindra endorses Bioremediation using Pseudonocardia dioxanivorans bacteria for the mitigation of next generation pollutants e.g. Perfluorinated compounds, nano materials, and dioxane. The progress of remediation will be monitored usin stable isotopes. Pump and treat- The application of pump and treat technology in Hanford has been successful in soil and ground water remediation. By 2011, 24.7 billion gallons of ground water had been treated, although the whole process of remediation will be completed in the next 25 years. At the end of the remediation process Contaminants such as plutonium and i ts derivatives e.g. Carbon tetrachloride will be successfully removed from the soil and ground water. In situ thermal remediation- pump and treat technology had been used for more than 17years to clean up chlorinated solvents from the subsoil in Stuttgart with minimal success rates. However, in January 2013 an in-situ thermal remediation pilot test offered a suitable alternative for remediation even under prevailing difficult geological conditions in Stuttgart. Monitored natural attenuation- The Company was justified as it relied on natural processes to clean up the site. An environmental disaster similar to the silent spring has also been observed in Oregon (Lower Columbia). Since 1985, conservation centered on removing the nearly extinct bald eagle from the federal extinction list resulted in significant overall increase in bald eagle numbers. Yet, in lower Columbia most of the eagle nests in the lower Columbia failed to hatch eaglets; and have been producing half the number of

Writing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Writing assignment - Essay Example e offensive, its linguistic origin indicates that it is not fundamentally belligerent but merely a term used to describe a unique group of people who principally hunted for sustenance and still leading an aboriginal way of life. Eskimo language encompass a parlance continuum and is divided into two branches; Aleut and Eskimo. The Aleut dialect encompasses Pribilof, Unalaskan, Atkan, Unangan, Berring and Attuan while the eskimo dialect encompasses Inuit, Yuit and Yupik. Although our population has been fluctuating overtime due to climatic and technological changes, it currently lies at approximately 57,152, a figure that is higher as compared to other traditional hunting and gathering societies. We are very different from Indian Americans and cannot simply be designated ‘Indians transformed’ (Vakhtin, 1998). However, they are meticulously correlated with the Mongolian people from eastern Asia. Hunting was the main activity that provided sustenance to the Eskimo. However, the animals hunted varied significantly depending on the location of the group and the prevalent seasons; the animals include whales, caribou, fish, walrus, fox, birds, Dall sheep, polar and fractious bears. Hunters, especially whale hunters, subsisted in dome shaped ice cabins and dressed in hefty fur clothing (Kaplan, 1990). The hunters captured huge bowhead whales that could provide numerous tons of meat; meat that was stored in hovels in the frozen ground. Both men and women were involved in hunting for food and kept on constantly migrating following the movements of their prey. The apposite time to end a term’s whaling was agreed upon by captains of the crews, each crew consisted of 6 paddlers, a harpooners and a captain, a factor that bolstered cooperation and coordination and forestalled instances of hunger. When a whale was spotted, 4-8 hunters used umiak (a skin-covered open boat) to ventu re onto the water and capture the animal. Hunting was perceived to be an important strategy of

The Christian’s Weapons for Spiritual Warfare Essay Example for Free

The Christian’s Weapons for Spiritual Warfare Essay Christianity presupposes the existence of the supernatural. After all, God is invisible and so are the angels and demons documented in the Bible as spirits that are present in the world inhabited by humans. Too often, however, because they are not seen, most people do not believe in the reality of the spiritual world. The Christian worldview takes into account the different unseen beings present and active in the world. This is well documented in the Bible and can be attested to by a lot of people who have been involved in one way or another in demonic possession. The church is also not spared in doubting the reality of spiritual beings at work. As such, they can easily fall prey to the wiles of Satan, which is described as â€Å"a prowling lion† in the Bible. Not only that, when they encounter demon possession or any spiritual activity involving demons. In fact, even Christians sometimes are not spared from demon activities, especially if they place themselves in places and circumstances where demons can work in their lives. Spiritual Warfare The world in which Christians live is full of circumstances where the spirit of light and darkness struggle against each other. Dr. Ed Murphy said that there is a kingdom of Christ where believers belong to and the kingdom of Satan where the powers in the air and in the world reign and influence the lives of people who choose to live outside the fold of Christ’s grace and love. This statement was presented in page 5 and I agree because this dichotomy is reflected in the different activities of people in the world. Part One of Dr. Murphy’s book talks about worldviews and how such worldviews affect the thinking of people in the world. Those who belong to the two different kingdoms necessarily espouse different kinds of viewpoints. Those who have become believers in Christ have been transformed and redeemed. They no longer belong to the sinful ways of the world, where the influence of Satan is very much at work. The saving grace of Christ enables a person to change his views and his outward expressions. As such, spiritual warfare is truly a clash of worldviews between that of the Kingdom of Heaven and that of the world. The Bible also supports the worldview that spiritual beings are very much at work in the world then and now and it is the source of authority of God’s work. Dr. Murphy also expounded on a kind of history of spiritual warfare. Satan used to be one of God’s top angels but was transformed by his desire for power and because of his pride. By relying on what the Bible says, the author traced the source of the cosmic conflict and how such conflict affects the world that we inhabit now. When Satan and his horde of fallen angels were cast down from heaven, the battleground has shifted to the earth. The fall of man in the Garden of Eden became a reality and has become the source of the rift between God and man. Dr. Murphy expounded this history in page 41. Through his explanation, I understood how humans are being influenced by demons and spirits. Christ became the centerpiece of history because He is God’s ultimate way to redeem fallen mankind from sin and shame. The battle is not complete, however, with one’s coming to Christ. It may be difficult to accept, yet, even Christians are not exempt from demon activities such as implanting thoughts and even demon-possession. Encountering such claim has taken me aback at first. However, as Dr. Murphy went on to explain the dynamics and levels of God’s protection towards His children, and the way that Christians put themselves in a position where demons may influence them, it dawned on me that he was right. He even related several real life experiences that he had. Christians therefore had a battle to fight. Such battle occurs in their minds, which is the battlefield for control. In addition, the battle also occurs at a higher level when culture collides with the claims of the gospel. Part III surveys the biblical view on spiritual warfare with a focus on the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, warfare in a lot of instances took on physical war and bloodshed. More importantly, however, is the spiritual nature of this war. The warfare between good and evil has been going on since the beginning of time. When man entered the picture, it has just been intensified. The Old Testament contained a number of promises that dealt with the promise that was fulfilled by Christ—the promise that evil and death will be ultimately conquered. Dr. Murphy made it clear that the Old Testament showed the need for an ultimate sacrifice in Christ and the inadequacy of human agency in waging spiritual warfare. Even if God made a covenant with Israel as a chosen nation in the Old Testament, there were kings and prophets who led the nation politically and spiritually. Dr. Murphy stated the role of kings and prophets in page 253. Through the role of kings and prophets, the author masterfully showed the coming ministry of Christ and of Christians. Spiritual warfare then truly involved warfare in the traditional sense—involving physical weapons. The problem, however, is that the spiritual aspect of the warfare has been disregarded and even denied. Worse, the Israelite nation forgot to keep the covenant they have with God, which led to the downfall of both the Northern and the Southern kingdom. The Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the new one. With the coming of Christ, the New Testament was put in place. Christ and the New Testament The first covenant failed to fulfill the terms of the covenant. In fact, the chosen people have failed to do their duty in becoming the light in the world. Yet, God has put in place a plan for redemption, which, incidentally, was also a part of God’s strategy against the Kingdom of Satan. Jesus Christ represented God’s ultimate plan for the redemption and restoration of creation from the clutches of Satan. Through Jesus Christ, man was no longer in the clutches of demons. Rather, a choice has been given to them so that they can be free. After all, Jesus came to set the captives free. Dr. Murphy also chronicles the encounters of Jesus with the demons. Before he started his public ministry, he was tested in the wilderness and tempted by Satan himself. It was a reenactment of the temptation that Satan presented to Adam and Eve but only this time, he did not succeed. Hence, his dominion and authority was about to be wrested away from him. He did not want to be deprived of such power, however, and so he gave a fight. In other passages in the gospels, Jesus encountered demons in the synagogue and in the tombs. In cases where he encountered demons, they recognized him for who he is—the Son of God. Jesus silenced these demons so that he can proceed with his ministry unabated. It was as if he wanted people to listen to Him instead of having to cast out demons. As the ministry of Jesus progressed, he managed to train his disciples in asserting His authority. When the disciples came back and reported that even the demons were obedient to them, he gave them occasion to celebrate while at the same time asked them to focus on building the kingdom of heaven instead of casting demons out. With the training of his disciples, Jesus passed on his authority to them. Throughout Part Four, Dr. Murphy looked at the development of the training of disciples and the way in which they encountered demons in their ministries. The Book of Acts, particularly, contains a lot of stories of demon encounters that followed the disciples wherever they go. In page 342, Dr. Murphy explained that there were times that the power encounters with demons led to conversions. There are also instances that they did not. Nonetheless, what is important is that, the early disciples knew that demons are real and that they are subject to the authority of believers given to them by Christ. The New Testament chronicles the development of the church from being a simple band of believers to a growing church in different areas of the known world then. As believers were preaching to people about Christ, no doubt the demons were also at work. That is why the believers saw the need to assert the weapons that Christ gave them for spiritual warfare. On the whole such encounters pointed out to the authority of Christ in the spiritual world as much as in the material world. Dr. Murphy also takes a look at different biblical passages dealing with spiritual warfare and the weapons that believers can use regarding against the powers in the air. The author also takes a look at some instances that even believers were besieged by demons in their efforts to live out the gospel given by Christ. Power encounters were also frequent as the church was growing. He said that power encounters were necessary in some places but not in others. This is because the people listening to the gospel of Christ should be able to make the decision of whether or not to accept Him. When the demons interfere, therefore, the Christians can assert their authority in Christ and ask these demons to get away. Christians can also be demonized. Although this may come as a shock to others, Dr. Murphy elaborates why in Part Five, particularly in page 440, where he discussed the different entry points of demons in the lives of Christians. There are sin areas that a Christian may wallow in. These areas then become the entry points for demons to establish their strongholds. I agree with Dr. Murphy’s assertion that demons can assail Christians. It is very similar to the captain of a ship who possesses the authority but refuses to assert it but instead gives the authority to somebody without rank in the ship. Demon possession of Christians works in the same way. There are a lot of manifestations of demonization. A lot of these can be easily spotted when one reads the newspaper—child abuse! The act of abusing a child can both be the cause and the result of demonization. A lot of social issues arise from demonization even though few people would accede to that. Even the mental health of people can be severely affected by demons—they lose their wits and logical judgment but instead rely on the voices telling them what to do. Dr. Murphy draws from psychology to explain that in some instances demonization leads to the alienation of the individual and leads to losing his mind. In closing, he also discusses the way in which people, Christians included can be free from demonization. The section dealing with finding freedom, however, appears to be inadequate given the number of chapters he dedicated to explore the causes of demonization. He also recognized the dangers of spiritual warfare and the way that people may shirk from taking responsibility for their action because of spiritual warfare. Nonetheless, Dr. Murphy’s book derives biblical insight and is a practical guide for all.

Aleatoric Music Of The 20th Century Music Essay

Aleatoric Music Of The 20th Century Music Essay compositional and instrumental methods utilized by John Cage. The biographical background, educational influences and examples of the musical compositions of Cage will also be illustrated. This paper continues by describing the various methods and processes employed by John Cage in the formation of music written during the minimalist movement. Contrived instruments, ambient audience noise, non-traditional tone structures and electronic music will be identified and defined. Furthermore, this paper will explore the debate over aleatoric music as art form versus noise. Traditionally, Western music is highly structured and organized- however, music written in aleatory form generally lacks traditional instrumentation, time, and other methods present in Western forms. According to whom one would ask, aleatoric music can be extremely complex, emotional and intellectual. On the other hand, there are those who believe aleatoric music is nothing more than random noise with no structure, rhyme or reason. Over the course of this paper, the reader will be able to discern that aleatoric music is a definitive musical genre. ii Aleatoric Music of the 20th Century: Compositions of John Cage An Art Form, Not Noise Introduction Aleatoric music refers to musical compositions where some aspect of the music is left to chance. The tempo, instrumentation, dynamics, order of the written music, or various other devices can be manipulated. Simply put, aleatoric music is left up to some amount of chance. However, the amount of chance is not immeasurable. In many cases, the composer only allows a portion of the entire composition to chance while the rest conforms to standard Western-influenced counterpoint. The American composer John Cage was one of the foremost composers who utilized aleatory in musical works. He was also the father of the avant-garde in music during the minimalist movement. THESIS: By studying the devices used in Cages compositions, the argument will be clearly made that aleatoric music, while sometimes free in form and function, is clearly a structured art form and not random noise. ii Aleatoric Music of the 20th Century: Compositions of John Cage An Art Form, Not Noise Outline: Aleatoric Music Explicative definition of aleatoric music Overview of aleatoric devices John Cage Early life and education B. Utilization of aleatoric devices in compositions Thesis support Compare and contrast with opposing viewpoint Acknowledge and dismiss opposing view utilizing evidenciary support Conclusion Summarize main points Reinforce the argument that aleatoric music is not random Markham 1 Selena Markham MUS 2930 Dr. Valerie Austin November 22, 2010 Aleatoric Music of the 20th Century: Compositions of John Cage An Art Form, Not Noise Aleatoric music refers to musical compositions where some aspect of the music is left to chance. The tempo, instrumentation, dynamics, order of the written music, or various other devices can be manipulated. Simply put, aleatoric music is left up to some amount of chance. However, the amount of chance is not immeasurable. In many cases, the composer only allows a portion of the entire composition to chance while the rest conforms to standard Western-influenced counterpoint. The American composer John Cage was one of the foremost composers who utilized aleatory in musical works. He was also the father of the avant-garde in music during the minimalist movement. By studying the devices used in Cages compositions, the argument will be clearly made that aleatoric music, while sometimes free in form and function, is clearly a structured art form and not random noise. One of the most prolific composers of music in aleatory, John Cage, was born September 5, 1912 in Los Angeles, California. He was the only child of Markham 2 parents Lucretia and John Cage, Sr. (two other sons passed away as infants). His father was an inventor and his mother worked on and off as a writer for the Los Angeles Times. The couple met in Greeley, Colorado. John Cage, Sr.s father was a Baptist minister who felt music was of the Devil. His mother, Lucretia (her maiden name was Harvey) was considered rebellious because she read books (a practice her family forbade). The young couple fled the restrictive atmosphere of Colorado for the more welcoming state of California. John Cage, Sr. had an avid interest in undersea vessels and, in fact, invented a device that was used in the English Channel to successfully detect German submarines during World War I. The intellect and innovative spirit of his mother and father would serve young Cage well throughout his lifetime. (Rich 142). As early as age eight, the young Cage began to express an interest for music that was slightly outside of the norm. While taking piano lessons with his aunt, the young boy confessed he enjoyed the music of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (Rich 145). When Cage graduated in 1928, his grades earned him the record of having the best academics in Los Angeles High Schools history. From high school, Cage spent two years at Pomona College (Struble 287). While at Pomona College, he studied ministry and writing. (Rich 145). Cage then went on hiatus to Europe for two years. While there, he composed many short works, some using mathematical formulas. Unfortunately, Cage did Markham 3 not save these early works- as he traveled, he would go through his belongings and discard any non-essential items in order to lighten his load (Nicholls 175). He returned to the United States in 1931 and in 1933, John Cage began to study piano under Richard Buhlig, who introduced the composer to serialism, an aleatoric musical device. Serialism is music which has been written with a high degree of organization (Brindle 17). Since Buhlig had premiered serialist composer Arnold Schoenbergs composition Three Piano Pieces, Cage hoped Buhlig would introduce him to Schoenberg. Instead, Cages first published piece, Sonata for Clarinet (1933), brought him to the attention of Henry Cowell, a professor teaching the new music at the New Music Society of California in San Francisco. Though Cage was able to informally study with Schoenberg, Cowell was his primary influence (Lipman 22). The Sonata for Clarinet also shows how Cage used serialism to reproduce the same pitches in retrograde in the last movement from the first movement of the same composition in a highly organized fashion. Ironically, when the Sonata for Clarinet premiered, Cage found himself performing it on piano because the clarinetist was unable to do so (Nicholls 176). Over the course of the next two years (1933-34), John Cage invented a new technique called 25-pitch non-repetitive serialism. In this technique, each voice is limited to a twenty-five note pitch area and no pitch can be repeated Markham 4 until all twenty-five have been played. He also used this technique in three additional pieces he wrote during this period: the Sonata for Two Voices (Nov. 1933), Composition for Three Voices (1934) and Soloà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and Six Short Inventions (1933-34). The use of this technique was generally not harmonically sound with the exception of a few phrases (Nicholls 177). John Cage composed two pieces in 1935 (Three Pieces for Flute Duet and Two Pieces for Piano) that also used the serialism technique. The harmony was paired with a highly chromatic melodic line that made the pieces overwhelmingly contrapuntal. However, these pieces tended to possess a higher percentage of harmonically pleasing subject matter (Nicholls 184). These works also coincided with his introduction to Merce Cunningham, an author, choreographer and Cages lifelong love interest. As a result, Cage began to be interested in how music correlated with dance. John Cage and Merce Cunningham collaborated to organize performances using Cages music and Cunninghams choreography over the course of their lifetimes (Thomson 77). Another interesting device John Cage used in his composition was ambient noise. In his piece 4 33 (1952), a piano or any ensemble is to conduct themselves as if they were preparing to play. However, the instrument(s) or performer(s) never utter a singular sound- for the entire four minutes and Markham 5 thirty-three seconds. The idea is to attune ones self with the ambient noise of the room, the noise entering the room from outside and the natural noises of the people within (Lipman 30). The piece has also been said to be an example of freedom in general (Brindle 122). This work had its premiere by pianist David Tudor in Woodstock, New York, on August 29, 1952, in the Maverick Concert Hall (located near where the 1969 Woodstock Festival was held). Cage (interviewed in the late 1980s by William Duckworth) stated that he listened to the piece every day and that in Indian culture, it is we that turn away from the music. However, the music is always there (Bonds 588-589). An original device employed by John Cage was an invention all his own- the prepared piano. A prepared piano is a grand piano where the inside strings are manipulated by foreign objects to produce a twelve-tone scale. Such was the case with Cages composition Bacchanale (1940)- a percussive piece he was commissioned to write to be performed with a dance group. The work was originally intended for percussion instruments, but was relegated to the prepared piano when it was deemed the concert hall was too small for all of the required instrumentation. Cage required that bolts and weatherstripping be attached to the strings connected to the 12 different notes (Bonds 590). John Cages influence in the realm of electronic music began as early as 1937. His composition Imaginary Landscape No. 1 (1939) was one of the first Markham 6 written in the electronic genre. It consisted of recording oscillatory frequencies on two 78rpm gramophone records (Brindle 99). He also wrote a piece comprised of fifty-one tapes (each twenty minutes long) produced on the computer system of Illinois University (Illiac) that could be played in any order along with seven live harpsichords and a light show of sorts. This piece was written in 1967 and titled HPSCHD (Brindle 125). John Cage began to write pieces titled by the number of performers later in his life. For example, the work titled One (1987) was for one pianist. Another work, titled Five (1988) was for string quintet. These pieces are dubbed number pieces (Moser 31). Even these odd little pieces have a structure- the structure being the amount of time the performer has to perform each measure and the number of musicians required for performance. As illustrated with the devices John Cage used in his compositions, his works are very structured and organized. Cage was one of the total serialists, who felt that music composition could be planned and analyzed with the precision of scientific experiments (Lipman 56). In his own words during a lecture in Darmstadt in 1958: The function of the performerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is comparable to that of someone filling in color where outlines are given; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is that of giving form, providing, that is to say, the morphology of the continuity, the Markham 7 expressive content; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is that of a photographer who on obtaining a camera uses it to take a picture; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is comparable to that of a traveler who must constantly be catching trains the departures of which have not been announced but which are in the process of being announced (Moser 8). It is clear by reading these words that Cage finds his music to have form, which is a staple of Western music. In addition, his music is generally left up to the interpretation of the performer- definitively not an aspect of Western music. Even still, form is readily detectable within his works regardless of how the stated form is interpreted by the performers. Another argument concerning music in aleatory is that there are no determinate ways to discern the number of possible arrangements. This simply is not true: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the exact number of realizations of an indeterminate score can often be determinedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Moser 11). In conclusion, John Cage lived during an exciting time in American history. Just after his birth in 1912, the United States found itself fully engaged in World War I. The United States truly became a world power during this time. The enlightenment through his well-rounded and educated parents as well as the Markham 8 excitement and innovations of the new century served John Cage well, as he was able to thrive and grow as an intellectual and musician in this environment. Although his music is sounds extremely dissonant and non-harmonic, it exhibits a high amount of structure. Cages earlier works illustrate a mathematical approach to the music- meaning that the music makes sense based on mathematical principles, but not necessarily traditional ideals surrounding musical composition. The influence of John Cages music can certainly be felt today in late 20th century jazz and numerous other works that allow the performers greater freedoms. Take, for instance, the piece recently performed on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Dr. Joanna Hersey premiered a work for her Low Brass Ensemble at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke titled Sails, Whales and Whalers (2008) by Gary Buttery. This work included recorded whale song interspersed with the live music produced by the L ow Brass Ensemble (Hersey Krosschell). Perhaps Gary Butterys composition was influenced in some way by the works of John Cage. There is no doubt that many musicians past, present, and future have been and will continue to be influenced by Cages maverick attitude toward music. Markham 9

Essay --

Nehal Banik 12-12-13 Period 4 Room 121 The Noble Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address simply conveys the ideas that expands his wisdom of politics and Civil War, and civilizes those who wish to respect the dead that passed away fighting for their country. Abraham Lincoln, a great spokesman, and wise critic, throughout his speech uses many techniques that grasp his audience’s attention and pull them into the scenario at hand. His speech contains miscellaneous information from throughout human history that respects the great men that have fought for this country, and pertains to circumstances that would have been helpful in convincing his audience. The Gettysburg Address uses parallel structure that determines the tone of relaying a message of lost soldiers that fought for their part in the country. He is trying to establish a purpose where the Union needs to succeed and cannot perish before the country is whole again. The Gettysburg Address was written in a form that was meant to show his audience what had happened at Gettysburg; one of t he bloodiest and goring battles of the war; and was meant to convey his idea of our nation, and address the people about the peace and sacrifices that have been made so that the war would come to end and the that the nations success would not go down in vain. The purpose of his speech was to rally the people and spread his idea to the nation; to represent that the ideas that encircled the documents written by the founding fathers, and not let their imposing deaths go in vain. In the text, Lincoln begins to state, â€Å"That government of the people, by the people, shall not perish from the earth.† Lincoln translates the morals once taught by the founding fathers; government and democracy will... ... parallel structure not only are represented without restraint, but they were conveyed in respected manners of the viewer’s bias and were therefore abiding. The purpose and main ideas of the Gettysburg Address was to honor the brave soldiers that fought in the blood battles, and complete their task that was not finished. He begins to stress the importance of liberty and freedom. He wants the nation to be whole again and united so that they can improve it for the future generations. He tries to convey a message to everyone that they all have a part in the war and when they realize their job they can finally begin to move forward. The Gettysburg Address tells the people of America that even if many are lost, that their specific mission is not finished and there is still much to do before freedom can be portrayed by the people that live henceforth on this continent. Essay -- Nehal Banik 12-12-13 Period 4 Room 121 The Noble Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address simply conveys the ideas that expands his wisdom of politics and Civil War, and civilizes those who wish to respect the dead that passed away fighting for their country. Abraham Lincoln, a great spokesman, and wise critic, throughout his speech uses many techniques that grasp his audience’s attention and pull them into the scenario at hand. His speech contains miscellaneous information from throughout human history that respects the great men that have fought for this country, and pertains to circumstances that would have been helpful in convincing his audience. The Gettysburg Address uses parallel structure that determines the tone of relaying a message of lost soldiers that fought for their part in the country. He is trying to establish a purpose where the Union needs to succeed and cannot perish before the country is whole again. The Gettysburg Address was written in a form that was meant to show his audience what had happened at Gettysburg; one of t he bloodiest and goring battles of the war; and was meant to convey his idea of our nation, and address the people about the peace and sacrifices that have been made so that the war would come to end and the that the nations success would not go down in vain. The purpose of his speech was to rally the people and spread his idea to the nation; to represent that the ideas that encircled the documents written by the founding fathers, and not let their imposing deaths go in vain. In the text, Lincoln begins to state, â€Å"That government of the people, by the people, shall not perish from the earth.† Lincoln translates the morals once taught by the founding fathers; government and democracy will... ... parallel structure not only are represented without restraint, but they were conveyed in respected manners of the viewer’s bias and were therefore abiding. The purpose and main ideas of the Gettysburg Address was to honor the brave soldiers that fought in the blood battles, and complete their task that was not finished. He begins to stress the importance of liberty and freedom. He wants the nation to be whole again and united so that they can improve it for the future generations. He tries to convey a message to everyone that they all have a part in the war and when they realize their job they can finally begin to move forward. The Gettysburg Address tells the people of America that even if many are lost, that their specific mission is not finished and there is still much to do before freedom can be portrayed by the people that live henceforth on this continent.

Developing and Maintaining Safe Schools Essay -- Safety Education Essa

Developing and Maintaining Safe Schools There is no greater challenge that exists today than creating safe schools. It is difficult for children to learn in an environment that is unsafe and when they feel at risk. It is hard to keep staff on task when they fear for their own safety. One out of twelve students who stay away from school do so because of fear. In an ideal world, you would like to prevent all school crime and ensure the safety of students and each staff member. There are so many things outside the control of the school administrator that such a task is almost impossible. To predict the potentially disruptive behavior of students, a staff member, or the intruder who comes to your campus is unrealistic, but being armed with the knowledge that this could happen to you could can lead to do several things to prepare for a crisis, avoid a crisis, and preclude successive crises. Restoring our schools to tranquil and safe places of learning requires a great commitment. It involves placing school safety at the top of the educational agenda. Without safe schools, teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn. School administrators have a host of opportunities and strategies that can be implemented to make a difference. The difficulty often is in effectively analyzing the problem, and then deciding what can be done about it. A safe school is in place when students can learn and teachers can teach in a warm and welcoming environment free of intimidation and fear. It is a setting where the educational climate fosters a spirit of acceptance and care for every child; where behavior expectations are clearly communicated, consistently enforced and fairly applied. A safe school is a function of community will, priorities and i nterests. It requires partnerships and cooperation. The components and people involved are limited only by the imagination, creativity, energy, and commitment of the local community. Very important people include students, educators, parents, law enforcers, judges, probation directors, mental health leaders, and... ...allenge of setting a safe school environment plan. In today's society, safety is a very important issue. Once upon becoming an administrator, this would be one of the main issues on my list. I would work to have a safe school environment plan in effect. I would follow the outlined guide as closely as possible in order to implement a safe school environment plan in my school and district. Bibliography: Dwyer, K.; Osher, D.; and Warger, C. Early Warning, Timely Response: A guide to safe schools. www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/earlywrn.html Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Education Flannery, Daniel J. Improving School Violence Prevention Programs Through Meaningful Evaluation. New York, New York: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, 1993. Houston, Paul. Schools: Islands of Safety in a Sea of Violence. www.aasa.org/Latest/Outlook/outlook10-7-98.htm AASA Leadership for Learning Stephens, Ronald D. The Art of Safe School Planning. Bloomington, Indiana: The School Administrator, 1996. Stephens, Ronald D. Conducting a Self-Assessment of School Safety. Bloomington, Indiana: The School Administrator, 1996.

Edward Snowden Essay

On June 6, 2013 The Guardian newspaper printed a story alleging that the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in a top secret government sanctioned program. This would be just the first glimpse at the many disturbing actions revealed by a man named Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee and NSA contractor who used his computer prowess and security clearance to collect information about how the United States government has been monitoring its own citizens. Mr. Snowden’s actions have prompted the government to file criminal charges against him including theft of government property and espionage. This situation raises serious questions about the legality and ethicality of government surveillance programs as well as security of personal information. There has always been a debate over the trade-off between privacy and security, and this is a perfect example of that discussion. This is an issue that affects anyone who utilizes the technological advancements of today, regardless of the criminality (or lack thereof) of their actions. To better understand this issue we must first take a look at the laws that govern surveillance and the laws that protects our individual freedom from unwarranted surveillance. Two of the most important documents that focus on these issues are the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects Americans against unwarranted surveillance, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was instituted in 1986 as an update to the law governing government wiretapping programs. Since the issue at hand regards government surveillance in general and the Fourth Amendment was written to protect Americans from this act, it is worth quoting in full: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to  be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. According to Jackson Lears (2013), the Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and Editor in Chief of the Raritan Quarterly Review, this Amendment was â€Å"written by men who had rejected imperial power and were determined to prevent its reassertion in their new nation†¦Nothing could more flagrantly violate those requirements than the NSA dragnet† (p. 4). Although our Constitution was written almost 230 years ago, and the men who wrote this document could not have possibly foreseen the technological advancements that would be made in that time (i.e. the telephone, nuclear weapons or the Internet), they were witness to the abuse of government power and tried to institute broad principles to mitigate the possibility of their new government becoming corrupt in that way. The problem our country faces, however, is that in order to regulate this type of behavior it must first be known, which until Edward Snowden appeared had only been considered speculative, and then addressed (Richards, 2013, p. 1934). The government has made attempts, however feeble, at implementing additional laws to prevent this type of abuse of power in the past, but has not kept up with the times when it comes to updating these safeguards. The Supreme Court ruled in 1928 that warrantless wiretapping was not illegal, but that ruling was overturned in 1967 and it was not until 1968 that Congress passed legislation governing wiretapping. In the same fashion, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was passed in 1986 as an amendment to the Wiretap Act, but has not been updated in the nearly 30 years since it was enacted (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1291). The only two times Congress has clarified what may or not be done in conjunction with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was in 1994 with the passing of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and the Patriot Act (passed in 2001 only 6 weeks after the attacks on September 11), which both â€Å"further eased the restrictions on law enforcement surveillance† (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1292) and â€Å"ensured[d] that providers of telecommunications services maintained the accessibility of their systems to wiretapping (Freiwald & Mà ©tille, 2013, p. 1293). Friewald and Mà ©tille (2013) also explain that â€Å"surveillance that proceeds outside the bounds of the ECPA (and related statutes), either by virtue of not being historically covered, or by  virtue of being too new to be included, can proceed without any judicial review, so long as a court has not yet held that the Fourth Amendment requires regulation (p. 1295-1296). The question we must ask is whether or not this type of surveillance is necessarily dangerous or if it is necessary to protect our country and national security. According to Neil Richards (2013), â€Å"First, surveillance is harmful because it can chill the exercise of our civil liberties†¦Second, we must recognize that secret surveillance is illegitimate and prohibit the creation of any domestic-surveillance programs whose existence is secret†¦Third, we should recognize that total surveillance is illegitimate and reject the idea that it is acceptable for the government to record all Internet activity without authorization† (p. 1935-1936). The first idea that Richards raises deal with our civil liberties such as freedom of speech. When people are constantly under the fear of government surveillance, they may be less likely to speak their mind when they disagree with public policy because they may fear retaliation or retribution for their dissent. The second point of secret surveillance deals with the idea of accountability for those who are performing the surveillance. If a blank check is written by Congress for surveillance with no oversight as to what surveillance is being performed, then there can be no guarantee that the people performing the surveillance are not violating our personal privacy. If the government wants it’s people to trust them, then they should be comfortable with the idea of â€Å"trust but verify†. Finally, the idea of total surveillance is the most concrete example of the violation of the Fourth Amendment which requires probably cause as a basis for any intrusive action by the government. I am not against the idea of surveillance, especially in the dangerous world we live in, but at the same time we must find a balance and understand our limits. In order to preserve our individual freedoms we must be willing to accept a certain level of insecurity and a certain level of personal responsibility. The level of personal responsibility we must accept is to be willing, and able, to defend ourselves without relying on the government to do it for us all the time. One example of this is the attacks of  September 11, 2001 where 4 planes were hijacked and used as weapons. Out of these 4 planes, only the passengers of one, United flight 93, were willing to stand up for themselves against the hijackers. If the hijackers knew that the passengers on each and every plane would have acted with the bravery and heroism of those on the United flight, I doubt they would have hijacked any of them. As far as accepting a certain level of insecurity goes, that is just a part of life; there is no way we can prevent every horrible thing from happening. I understand the human desire to prevent bad things from happening, but what cost are we willing to pay for it? If we want to prevent car accidents that occur from deer running into the road, does that mean we should kill all the deer? In the words of Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers and signatories of our Constitution, â€Å"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.† References Lears, J. (2013). EDITOR’S NOTE. Raritan, 33(1), 1-6. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Richards, N. M. (2013). THE DANGERS OF SURVEILLANCE. Harvard Law Review, 126(7), 1934-1965. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Freiwald, S., & Mà ©tille, S. (2013). REFORMING SURVEILLANCE LAW: THE SWISS MODEL. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 28(2), 1261-1332. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.