Saturday, August 31, 2019

Alexander Hamilton vs Thomas Jefferson Essay

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had very different political views, which is why our first president, George Washington, had them both in his cabinet. Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, while Jefferson was the first Secretary of State. These differences begin with who they thought should govern and what type of government was the best. Hamilton thought we should have a strong central government in the interests of commerce and industry, while having the national government in charge. However, Jefferson felt that the people should rule with a decentralized, agrian government in the terms of freedom and the people should rule themselves. They also had conflicting ideas for what economy suited us best, Hamilton believing it to be industrial and Jefferson believing the best was agricultural. Along with those conflicts, they didn’t agree with how the constitution was to be interpreted. Hamilton was a loose constructionist, wanting to stick closer to the thought of the central government ruling. Jefferson was a strict constructionist, believing that the constitution was to be followed closely. Lastly, their difference in ideas helped formed political factions. They became two sides, the Federalists and the Antifederalists – or Republicans. Alexander Hamilton’s side was the Federalists, they stood for the urban mercantile interests of the seaports. Thomas Jefferson’s was the Republicans who represented the southern and rural interests. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had very different political views, which is why our first president, George Washington, had them both in his cabinet. Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, while Jefferson was the first Secretary of State. These differences begin with who they thought should govern and what type of government was the best. Hamilton thought we should have a strong central government in the interests of commerce and industry, while having the national government in charge. However, Jefferson felt that the people should rule with a decentralized, agrian government in the terms of freedom  and the people should rule themselves. They also had conflicting ideas for what economy suited us best, Hamilton believing it to be industrial and Jefferson believing the best was agricultural. Along with those conflicts, they didn’t agree with how the constitution was to be interpreted. Hamilton was a loose constructionist, wanting to stick closer to the thought of the central government ruling. Jefferson was a strict constructionist, believing that the constitution was to be followed closely. Lastly, their difference in ideas helped formed political factions. They became two sides, the Federalists and the Antifederalists – or Republicans. Alexander Hamilton’s side was the Federalists, they stood for the urban mercantile interests of the seaports. Thomas Jefferson’s was the Republicans who represented the southern and rural interests.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water Essay

In today’s society drinking water from a plastic bottle has become the norm, but just a few decades ago this action was not the case. During the late 70’s a French company named Perrier introduced bottled water to America and convinced people of the fact that drinking water from a bottle would make people look cool, so they advertised a new fashion of consuming this precious liquid. Companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsico saw the opportunity to start a division of bottled water as an alternative to soda drinks, so this high revenue business started. Bottled water sales skyrocketed during the 80’s and 90’s thanks to heavy advertising on TV, radio, and billboards which made people to believe that bottled water exceeded the quality of tap water. Tom Lauria, vice president of communications for the International Water Association, stated, â€Å"Once reserved for Perrier-sipping elitists, bottled water has become a drink of the masses. Sales have quadrupled in the last 20 years, and rose almost 8% last year [2007-2008] alone† (Gashler, par.15). According to Tom Lauria, in 1990, 2.2 billion total gallons of bottled water were sold worldwide. In 2007, it was 8.8 billion. In just the last year, wholesale dollar sales for bottled water grew 7.8%, to $11.7 billion in 2007, according to the bottled water trade group. Bottled water became very popular for different reasons; convenient to carry around, no need to wash the containers, and available almost anywhere. But, people must stop to think for a minute about the consequences and the impact caused to earth’s environment because of the choice made by so many people to drink water from a fancy plastic bottle instead of tap water, in most cases safer and less expensive. Read more:  10 minutes presentation how many words. Improper recycling of plastic bottles has caused devastating damage to the earth’s environment and fragile ecosystem. Only about 20 percent of all plastic bottles get recycled, the other 80 percent end up in landfills, river streams, and finally washing off in the oceans. For those bottles that finish in the landfills the process of biodegrading may take hundreds of years. â€Å"Plastic is a material that earth cannot digest. Every bit of plastic ever produced still exists and will be here with us for hundreds of years. Once in the environment, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller  particles that attract toxic chemicals, are ingested by wildlife on land and in the ocean, and contaminate our food chain† (Maqueda, par.1). Most people that drink bottled water ignore or do not care about the impact plastics cause to the ecosystem of earth. In fast pace cities around the world and especially in American, people have become a fast food mind-oriented type of consumer s, always looking for convenience. One can see why people tend to drink bottled water instead of tap water; convenience, portability, and taste. But nations all over the world can experience the cause and effect resulting from the irresponsibility of their citizens to take action in the recycling of plastic bottles. Some people may argue that recycling plastic bottles will not resolve the pollution problem around the planet, but it will reduce the damage to the environment considerably by drinking less bottled water and more tap water. People must stop and consider the effects caused to mother earth when drinking bottled water. Parents, teachers, and government urge others to learn to recycle; but the problem also lies on the companies that produce so much bottled water without strict government supervision on quality and environmental issues. The cost of drinking bottled water exceeds tremendously the price of tap water. Unfortunately most people do not know that tap water may surpass the quality of bottled water. A person that drinks tap water can save more than $800 in a year and will help to reduce the amount of more than 200 plastic bottles in a lifetime period. In addition, this action in return will contribute to save oil used to make most plastic water bottles. Marine life has changed drastically due to the ocean pollution called ocean garbage patches. Plastic bottles became the most common marine litter in many parts of the globe, which equals about 80 percent of all litter found in several seas and oceans. The oceans natural ecosystem will continue to degrade by the tremendous quantities of plastic debris dumped in them; which will endanger the health of sea animals and plants. People must a different approach when opting to drink bottled water; although bottled water has some advantages over tap water, the damage caused to earth will forever have an  impact on future generations. Other issue arising from drinking bottled water may reflect on people’s health. Plastic bottles are made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) known to cause cancer. â€Å"Since BPA has been linked to low sperm counts and an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, scientists like vomSaal and Hunt suggest avoiding reusable bottles made fro m plastic. They also raise serious concerns about the potential for other plastic chemicals to leach out of typical PET water bottles especially if they sit in the hot sun† (Knopper, par.23). Many scientists concerned with the impact on people’s health when drinking bottled water have researched and found pollutants in bottled water due to the leaching from the chemicals used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles. Customers purchase bottled water completely unaware of the facts how plastic can affect their health, because people do not take the time to research how bottled water is produced. Finally, the mining of water supplies in rural areas in the United States have conservationists working with communities for support in stopping bottling companies from using their natural resources. Companies like Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Pepsico have purchased the rights to extract water in many states where water is abundant; in defiant opposition of the people against the over mining of peo ple’s water resources. Overall, drinking bottled water comes at a high price, affecting the environment, economy, and people’s health. The inhabitants of this world must become sociably responsible for protecting this fragile ecosystem and become more environmentally conscious. Works Cited Gashler, Krisy. â€Å"Thirst for Bottled Water Unleashes Flood of Environmental Concerns.† Gannett News Service. 06 Jun 2008: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Nov 2011. Maqueda, Manuel. â€Å"The Bioplastic Labyrinth.† Earth Island Journal Autumn 2010: 18. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Nov 2011. Azios, Tony. â€Å"The Battle over Bottled vs. Tap Water.† Christian Science Monitor Jan. 17 2008: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov 2011. Knopper, Melissa. â€Å"Bottled Water BACKLASH.† E Magazine May/Jun 2008: 36-36. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Nov 2011.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Market & social research - research proposal Essay

Market & social research - research proposal - Essay Example The financial crisis impacted negatively on the savings of the British public as most banks lost the savings entrusted to them by depositors. According to Buckley, one of the major contributors to the global financial crisis was the untenable rise in subprime mortgage lending (2011). Part of the reason for the rise in subprime mortgage lending is attributable to the government’s own efforts to win votes and popularity by making it easy for the public to buy homes. Also, the banks rode on this high risk debt products due to their potential to generate immense profits. The banks leveraged the mortgage loans with credit default swaps and the mass failure of borrowers to pay back led to added levels of debt on the banks’ books of account. Ultimately, the culmination of mass defaults led to the financial crisis. Due to globalization, the financial crisis had a negative impact on many countries since the world economies are interconnected. The credit crunch had cross cutting effects that affected virtually all sectors of the economy. This led to social economic changes that had direct impact on the British public (Akinbami 2011). This paper will evaluate the British public attitudes towards the banking sector after the financial crisis. ... The onus is upon the financial regulatory agencies to establish the public attitudes and implement strategies to ensure that the financial sector is positively perceived by the public (Hodson & Deborah 2009). The needs of bank customers are evolving rapidly and it is therefore necessary for banks to put in place futuristic plans that can effectively cater for the evolving needs of their customers. Objectives 1. To investigate the public’s attitude towards the banking sector after the financial crisis. 2. To establish the public perceptions on who is to blame for the financial crisis 3. To identify the information that the public receives in regards to the banking industry in the United Kingdom and how this information affects their attitudes towards the banks 4. To establish the consumer trends in the banking sector and the evolving needs of the bank customers 5. To identify the banking products that the customers will need in twenty years time. Limitations The domain of the s tudy comprises of all the public and it is difficult to access all the domains of the public. Suffice to say, the research will be restricted to a sample of the public selected through convenience sampling. It is also notable that numerous changes have occurred in the banking sector after the financial crisis and new factors may contribute to the public attitudes towards the banking sector. Research Design It is important that the opinion and attitudes of the members of the public should be correctly observed and recorded. This research will adopt a pragmatic philosophy in order to effectively collect information about the perceptions and attitudes of the public. It is important to that the nature of the research problem demands for multiple views to appropriately answer

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Enhancing E-Learning Experience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Enhancing E-Learning Experience - Assignment Example In terms of Prensky’s transitional imperatives referred above, games and simulations, do offer all the significant features required in the 21st-century learning paradigms. As Ardell and Andresen point out, games and simulation sparkle interest through interesting storytelling narratives, thereby enhancing engagement; but to be effective, learning content in games have to be relevant and woven around strong context. Exploring the effectiveness of learning content, Schank (1997) opines, that people remember situations that turn out to be different from what they expected. Failing in interesting ways, Schank suggests, should be a goal of any learning intent. And, where else, then through games and simulations, can a facilitator embed failure-modes in learning?  The research problem embodies the research study, both in its scope and depth, and unambiguously defined (Fouche, 2005).   In this study, the research problem is centered on studying the impact of games and simulation in e-learning, in terms of effectiveness in learning content, and engagement in learning delivery. Klaus Mogensen (2009) states that the future of learning would revolve around: improved technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, and future competencies. The technologies would include intelligence (smart), interactivity, individualization, and inclusion. Virtual classrooms, second life, situational encyclopedias, Wikipedia, open source and YouTube would become the order of the day. The scope of this dissertation would include the impact of such emerging technologies on e-learning and their adaptation to games and simulation.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Film Art - History of Film or World Cinema Research Paper

Film Art - History of Film or World Cinema - Research Paper Example Editors show people the best visuals of a movie and leave the rest. It is those selected pieces that decide a movie’s fate at the hands of the viewers. The real question is, what is it that makes a movie move? And probably there is no certain answer or at least a unanimous satisfying answer to that, however, theoretically, the â€Å"persistence of vision† (pp. 2-3) is what really makes a film move. The image that stays on the retina of the eye, its duration and most importantly the effect it has on the sensory nerves of the brain makes it a complete motion picture. Any artistic piece of work branches out of a form; it is something that helps to create the linkage between ideas. The concreteness of an idea is the most important concept in any form of art, especially in the art of Filming. As in films, one tries to synchronize various dots, in order to transform a big picture. If any of the questions remained unanswered, a communication gap arises among the audience of that art. Symmetry in the presentation of any idea is the most important part of the creation of an art. The way in which the sculpture is shaped, its volume, its colour, texture and every minute detail required to address the desired audience if the Form of that art (Pp. 39). Like in any other form of art, in Film to this creation of the form is of real importance. But along with this aspect, there are various other inter-related areas which are either dependent or independent on the Form, which will be discussed in the paragraphs below: Form and Content are two separate but inter-related elements in any type of art. You could form the exterior of any type but the content with which this exterior will fill in with is of the same, but at times of more importance than the Form itself. The slight difference between the form and content is that a form needs to perfectly consistent; while on the other hand, the content is more subjective it could be moulded according to the needs and demand of the form.  Ã‚  

Monday, August 26, 2019

Final exam paper two part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Final exam paper two part - Essay Example According to Cicero 3 all human beings are the same. We all have the urge to be together. We cannot live in isolation and that we come together in communities from a desire to be together both for fulfillment of our nature as social beings and for company. As Aristotle has said, â€Å"man is social being†. He argues that nature has endowed humans with reason so that we can understand the natural urge and guide our actions in order for us to live together. For Cicero, not only are all humans one species, but also all communities with â€Å"an innate desires on the part of human beings to form communities.† He agrees with Aristotle that humans are political or social animals. But that nature has given to mankind â€Å"†¦ a compulsion to do good and †¦ a desire to defend the well being of the community†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Marcus 4). What this means is that as human beings we have constructive toward each other and are urged by nature to seek the well being not just o f themselves but of the whole community. The opposite of this is selfishness and for Cicero this is acting against human nature. Cicero even marvels at the power of human reason. â€Å"Reason in fact †¦ the one thing in which we are superior to the beast which enables us to make valid deductions, to argue, refute, debate, solve problems, draw conclusion †¦ that certainly is common to all of us (John 4). It is this common reason that allows each individual to examine nature and come to understand what nature urges him or her to do. This is his basis for universal understanding of the institution, it is better to live with other people. He takes a stand that Law is the highest reason, implanted in nature, which prescribes those things which ought to be done and forbids the contrary (John 10). For Cicero, â€Å"The highest reason inherent in nature which enjoins what out to be done and forbids that opposite† Living by this natural law

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Maastricht Treaty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Maastricht Treaty - Essay Example The treaty, according to Europa (2007) came about as a result of the impetus provided by the collapse in communism in Eastern Europe and the reunification of Germany. It caused Europeans leaders to feel that they should reassert themselves once more on the international scene. Internally also, there was the feeling that the timing was right to capitalize on the gains made by the Single European Act, by adding more reforms (Europa, 2007). In order to qualify for membership in the Union, two sets of requirements referred to as convergences and stability criteria, has to be achieved in their respective economies of prospective applicants, and the attainment will ensure the European Union achieve and maintain an optical currency area, according to Euro Economics (2009). Inflation was high on the convergence and stability agenda, as applicants were mandated to have no more than 1.5% above the lowest three members of the union. This performance enables all members to have similar monetary policies and prevents the development of asymmetric shocks within the financial operating system (Euro Economics, 2009). In terms of the deficit, the Maastricht Treaty requires prospective Member States incur a maximum of 3% of their GDP, while for the debt load they had report figures below 60% of the Gross Development Product, according to Euro Economics, (2009).

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Township of Twisted Water Boundary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Township of Twisted Water Boundary - Assignment Example The process used and the allocation limits chosen were published in managing the groundwater resources of the Township of Twisted groundwater management strategy. To decide on the allocation limits, results from an earlier groundwater model (GRFAMOD, Dodson 2001) and the information gathered from the environmental water requirements assessments (SMEC 2001), was used. The GASFAMS groundwater model estimated the recharge, through flow, discharge and storage characteristics of the flow system. The groundwater model simulated a number of recharge scenarios to determine how much water could be sustainably abstracted from the system. The department follows a standard planning process when developing an allocation plan. A component of this process is setting allocation limits and the management regime. For the Township of Twisted area, we set allocation limits in accordance with this process. The yield estimate tells us how much water can be taken from a resource for use and what volume or flow is needed to maintain the ecological and social values, within and downstream of the resource. We also consider management considerations in our decision, such as reliability of supply, current use, future demand and the effects of water abstraction and use on water quality. The department applied this process to the Township of the Twisted alluvial aquifer to determine the allocation limits. An allocation limit is the annual volume of water set aside for consumptive use from a water resource. This includes the water available for licensing and the water set aside for uses exempt from licensing, such as stock and domestic. For administrative purposes, the allocation limit is divided into three groups of components: Involving the community is an important part of the planning process. Extensive consultation should be done to ensure setting the right management approach for the area.  

World Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

World Religions - Essay Example Daoism is a ‘religion’ since it entails an orientation to as well as a relation with the hallowed. Furthermore, Daoism is a ‘tradition’ since it is a society of devoted practitioners linked to one another as a historic as well as energetic continuum (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002, p. 498). The Dao is the ultimate or sacred interest of Daoists. There are 4 primary Dao characteristics: a) Source; b) Unnamable mystery; c) All-pervading sacred presence; d) Universe as an astral process (Nature). Additionally, the Dao is ineffable and impersonal. Through an impulsive, neutral procedure, the Dao shifted from primordial un-differentiation-differentiation (the patent realm). Daoists theology, therefore, emphasizes immanence and emanation.The Daoism religion has no founder or standard scripture. Diverse adherents, communities as well as movements worship different scriptures and individuals. Generally speaking, Master Lao (Laozi) receives veneration place, but La ozi is mythological and pseudo-historic. Laozi is a complex figure. In respect to leading scriptures, the ‘Daode Jing’ (the Dao as well as Virtue Scripture), similarly known as (Lao-tzu; ‘the Book of Venerable Masters’), has possibly been most dominant and influential (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002). 2. Shinto is Japanese faith that worships all the kami of earth and heaven. Its beginning is as ancient as the Japanese history. Â  Shinto was, therefore, a faith that came into being naturally in Japan. Shintoism is not a religion established and advocated by any particular individual, therefore, there exists no dogma grounded on lessons or actions of the initiator. Shinto has openness to external faiths, even those with an entirely different nature like Buddhism (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002). As there is no doctrine, there is no sectionalism. By nature, religions tend to break into several groups because of differences on interpretation of doctrine . In the instance of Shinto there exists no dogmatic dis-confederacy, and this is the reason Shintoism embraces people of dissimilar faiths. Shintoism does not impart that individuals must be liberated from the worldly hardships, a philosophical reflection traditionon life, sufferings and death exist. Shintoism does not satisfy individuals in idealistic terms. However, this is indeed the reason it is calmly acknowledged by many people, without philosophical discrimination (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002). Because Shintoism is a faith closely linked to secular-life through celebrations and traditional rites-of-passage, its value organism is closely linked to that of a secular-society. Consequently, though it does not have the sharpness pertaining to logical expansion of thought, Shintoism has instituted its own way over the development of its extensive history. Individuals have been stirred to execute what they think will bring gratification to the ‘Kami’ and to refra in from what could upset Kami (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002). 3. Nature in Chinese religion is embraced as a way for man to develop and survive through being in harmony with nature. Nature in the Chinese religion is viewed as basis for all things in the globe and they should be interdependent and inseparable. The Chinese religion opposes the obliteration of the biosphere. It advocates that people must take care of nature, live an environmental life-style that ensures environmental sustainability and protection (Esposito, Fasching, & Lewis, 2002). Chinese religion deems that nature and man are interrelated as well as bound by knots of retribution and reciprocity. If humans are in accord with nature, plus nature is appropriately treated by human-beings, the planet will be harmonious and peaceful, and every single thing

Friday, August 23, 2019

International Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Business Strategy - Essay Example The theoretical framework applied for external audit is the PESTEL analysis. The political system in China significantly favours entrepreneurship. Having risen from a middle-income country to a near developed country in less than a century, the political system has a history of favouring entrepreneurship (bec.org). Hong Kong is the richest country in the mainland China with a GDP of US$ 258 billion. This makes it one of the most economically viable nations. The purchasing power in the country is estimated by the World Bank to be US$ 42.653. The country has other established foreign and local brands that pose great competition to Koyo Jeans. These include Diesel, Calvin Klein and Levis which are international companies; and Gallery and Lucky Brand, which are Hong Kong-based (lowtax.net). Being a local company, Koyo jeans do not experience any social or political barriers. The population of Hong Kong is more than 7 million people most of whom embrace the European and traditional Chinese clothing as fashion. Because of the cultural orientation of the products, the demand for Koyo Jeans’ products is high among the people who can be said to be luxurious shoppers. They have been quite receptive of the Koyo products over the years and has helped the company develop. Canada has a democratic tradition dating back to mid-nineteenth century. A general governor governs the country, and the political system is fairly stable. Being a developed and industrialised country, the political system is supportive to businesses, both local and foreign. The population of Canada is more than 34 million people and is in constant expansion. The Canadians are not only affluent but also fashion sensitive. This means that there is a ready market for the products. Jeans market in Canada experienced a 2% increase in 2013 (euromonitor.com). The main competitors in this market are the European brands; Diesel, Calvin Klein, Levi; and the Canadian

Thursday, August 22, 2019

United States Military Recruiting Practices Essay Example for Free

United States Military Recruiting Practices Essay US military navy is the largest in the world with a tonne greater that the next 17 largest combined. US Navy is managed by Department of Navy administration which is a division of the Department of defense. The nine components to the operating forces of the US Navy include Atlantic Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Naval Forces, Central Command, Naval Forces Europe, Naval Network, Naval Special Warfare Command, Navy Reserve, Warfare Command, Operational Test and Evaluation Forces and Military Sealift Command. Fleets in U. S Navy, act as force provider by training and maintaining naval unity. This is subsequently provided to the naval forces component of each Unified Combatant Command (Caton, 1988). The Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations are responsible for organizing, recruiting, training and equipping the Navy. Navy Operations are coordinated under the department of the Unified Combatant Commanders. In US military, the recruits are issued with recruiting Service Ribbon at the end of recruitment period. In US military Navy, all the navy Recruits who qualify receive recommendation letter from commanding officer before they are presented with the ribbon. The recruits to are presented with Recruiter badge which is a temporary decoration for Navy recruits and other star awards (Tanter, Selden and Shalom, 2000). The recruitment program in US is usually done annually. There have been cases of irregularities in the military recruitment and especially in the Navy. The US Navy has a record of recruiting thousands of US Navy personnel. The irregularities in US Navy recruitment have increased with 2004-2005 fiscal year recording the highest cases. Many recruiters became aggressive and threatened the D. O. D over the issue in 2005. This led to loss of trust of D. O. D to the public and recruiters. The cases were more than double the existing irregularity cases the time before. However, establishing the recruiters who contributed to the irregularities was hard and hence could not be proved. In the US Navy recruitment program, the recruit has to undergo medical tests which form as the first qualification before proceeding to any other stage. In this stage, the practice is carried out by an independent group, EMS, though the equipment is operated the military service since it’s the major recruiter in US. The results produced by the equipment are then analyzed by a medical doctor who can provide a waiver or suggest disqualification of the individuals based on the physical aspects. The same medical condition can receive different responses in relation to waiver and disqualification. This cannot be explained because it depends with the doctor and recruiter. There are usually permanent and temporary waivers and disqualifications. If one is disqualified permanently then that means that the individual is not medically fit for the recruitment process then or at any other time. This has raised a concern from individuals who receive permanent disqualification yet there is no appeal for that. The US navy recruiters are described as honest, committed and hardworking. However, within the circle there are some who twist the truth in order to sign up a recruit. The existence of recruiters who cheat in recruitment has been attributed greatly by the process by which a recruiter’s productivity is judged. The recruiters are judged by their seniors based on the number of recruits they sign up. Some recruiters who do not want to lose their job therefore are pressurized to adopt unethical practices t ‘make mission’. â€Å"Making mission† is signing up a minimum number of recruits as has been set by the policy. The signing up of unqualified military navy recruits has led to adverse effects in the military force. Violating the recruiting regulations attract heavy punishment if caught. The act of cheating by recruiters will hardly miss in any recruitment program unless the policy of productivity assessment is changed. It’s hard to curb the malpractice because there are usually no witnesses in the recruitment process supervising the individual recruiters hence it become â€Å"he said/I said† type of deal (Crompton, 1969). The issue of recruiters failing to tell the truth to their recruits has contributes to many downfalls evident in the recruitment program. The cost of recruiters failing to say the truth incurs a lot of cost on the government in the Department of Defense. Some of he wrong driving force mitigated by the recruiter. Some recruiters lie to the recruits of the terms and that they would be granted whatever position they apply for. This has led to disillusionment to those recruits who find the profession contrary to the expectation yet they have to serve for eight years. Most of those recruit lead miserable military years before the eight years end if they do not change their attitude (Crompton, 1969). Dishonesty form a main ethical challenge in US military recruiting practices especially the US Navy. The recruiters do not reveal about the risks involved in working as a military navy and the real opportunities available in the force. Hence some recruiters proceed with the process with the wrong expectations due to misrepresentation of some military navy recruiters. There are many cases which indicate the non-adherence to military ethics in the current US military Navy profession. One of those cases is evident in the Iraq war case that the American government had funded in fight against nuclear weapons in Iraq, the US nation despite the fact that the UN Agency had denied the move. According to the military ethics, the military personnel are supposed to adhere to integrity and transparency in their job mission. However, as its evident in the recruitment process carried out by US navy military recruits, its hard to measure integrity and to identify those recruiters who have not adhere to the ethics. The recruits who are taken up during annual recruitment process using the wrong criteria contribute greatly to the downfall of the military credibility and hence their long term goals. The long term goal of US military navy is to provide security to it citizens, to safeguard the borders including the resources. The US resources also include the water mammals and fish. The U. S navy are given training to become expert swimmers and peace restoring citizens are known worldwide of their expertise and their dedication to their state. Military navy officials are known to give up their priorities and pursue the country’s interest irrespective of their opinion about it. The U. S navy military personnel recruited during the recruitment period should become aware of their mission and objectives. The recruits are supposed to obey to whatever orders are given to them despite their opinion about the job to do.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Differences between Windows Version 1.0.2 and 1.0.3:

Differences between Windows Version 1.0.2 and 1.0.3: Windows version Changes between 1.0.2 and 1.0.3: Video outputs: * Fix video quality when resizing the video on Windows Vista and 7, due to regressions in most popular drivers * New deinterlacers modules based on yadif and yadif(x2) algorithms Decoders: * Windows version supports now natively the WMA Professional codec, as it didnt work in the packaged version of 1.0.2 * Fix downmixing of particual 4.0 AC-3 audio tracks Encoders: * x264 has profile-limitter, like: #transcode{vcodec=h264,venc=x264{profile=baseline,level=12}..} Input: * Update for appletrailers lua script * Fixes on the RAR stream filter * Fix for E-AC3 in ATSC/TS streams * Various fixes for v4l and v4l2 * Fix a crash in mjpeg demuxer Service discovery: * New udev module for linux Qt4 interface: * Fixes on the playlist and the stream output panels Translations: * French, Galician, Korean, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Slovak and Ukrainian updates Changes between 1.0.1 and 1.0.2: Decoders: * Native support for WMA Professional, without the use of the Win32 dlls * Fix issues in subtitles, especially SSA ones * Various fixes on theora and ogg Demuxers: * Various fixes for EPG support in MPEG-TS demuxer * Fixes for potential stack overflow in .avi, .mp4 and .asf demuxers Access: * Fixes for v4l2 devices * Fixes for dvb-c channels-scanning Qt Interface: * Fix some playlist sorting issues Mac OS X Interface: * Fixed a crash when updating VLC * Fixed a crash related to QTKit when opening video files (10.6 only) * Added the ability to play 2nd media in sync to the primary item (input-slave) * Added the Quit after Playback feature Mac OS X Port: * The Delete Preferences script is now delivered as a Universal Binary with native code for PowerPC, Intel and Intel 64bit * Full 64bit runtime compatibility on both Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 no support for Goom and SDL limited text rendering support This port is still considered as EXPERIMENTAL despite its binary release. Encoders: * MPEG2 transrate stream output removed * x264 default-values closer to x264.exe defaults. * x264 rc-behaviour fixes: if user defines qp-value, CQP-mode is used otherwise if user defines vb=0, CRF-mode is used otherwise ABR-mode is used * x264 set vbv-bufsize/vbv-maxsize better if user hasnt defined these: ABR mode set vbv-max-bitrate=bitrate vbv-bufsize is bitrate * seconds between keyframes (keyint/fps) Playlist: * Lua scripts for Mpora and Vimeo playback Unix builds: * Various fixes to enable 1.0 to build on Solaris and OpenBSD Translations: * New Kazakh and Croatian translations * Lithunanian translation is available on Windows * Galician, Korean, Nepali, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Brazilian, Arabic and French translation updates Changes between 1.0.0 and 1.0.1: Demuxers: * Fix wmv/asf issues that caused audio to drop * Various fixes for ac3, mp3, dts and stability for wav format * Fix seek in RTSP in conformity to RFC 2326 * Fix Dailymotion access script * Fix crashes in xspf files handler * Fix seeking and timing issues in some flv files on Windows version Access: * Add extra caching for files on network shares * Prevent integer underflow in Real pseudo-RTSP module, discovered by tixxDZ, DZCORE Labs, Algeria Decoders: * Fix seeking in mpeg2 video files * Improve SSA subtitles rendering * Update most codecs for the Windows and Mac version Muxers: * Fix sound recording of .flv files with mp3 audio Qt Interface: * Possibility to change the opacity level of the Fullscreen controller * Fix various crashes and VIDEO_TS folders opening Mac OS X Interface: * Added options to disable support for Apple Remote and Media Keys * Fixed options for Volume, Last.fm password and Subtitle Encoding * Fixed redraw issues when autosizing the video window * Preferences panel now includes help through tool-tips * More reliable Information and Messages panels * Fix various crashes Windows port: * The ZVBI module is now available for Windows, for complete teletext support Translations updates for Brazillian, French, German, Korean, Norwegian Nynorsk, Lithuanian Changes between 0.9.9a and 0.9.10: HTTP Interface: * Fixed default ACL Mac OS X: * Fixed crashes on multi-screen setups * Corrected volume and subtitle encoding options in the Preferences * Improved Information panel behavior, when playlist is not displayed * Fixed QTCapture input support for the latest iSight models * Added a menu-item to unlock the video windows aspect ratio * Fixed redraw issues when autosizing the video window * Updated libpng, libgpg-error, libgcrypt, fribidi Various fixes to the following modules: * access: HTTP, SMB updated and additional access scripts (BBC radio, dailymotion, ) Prevent integer underflow in Real pseudo-RTSP module, discovered by tixxDZ, DZCORE Labs, Algeria * stream out: RTP, RTSP VoD, Mosaic Bridge * decoder: TSCC Changes between 0.9.9a and 1.0.0: Important notes: - * Alsa and OSS audio capture has been removed from the v4l and v4l2 accesses. See Access: for more info. * Support for Mac OS X 10.4.x was dropped due to its technical limitations Playback: * Instantaneous pausing * Frame-by-Frame playback * Finer speed control * On-the-fly recording for all medias * Timeshift for most medias * RTSP trickplay support * Subtitles core improvements and fixes Decoders: * New AES3 (SMPTE 302M) decoder * New Dolby Digital Plus E-AC-3 (A/52b) decoder * New True HD/MLP decoder and parser * New Blu-Ray Linear PCM decoder * New QCELP (Qualcomm PureVoice) decoder * Improved Real Video 3.0 4.0 decoder * New WMA v1/2 fixed point integer decoder * Closed Captions using the SCTE-20 standard are now correctly decoded * Improvement of WavPack decoder to support all integer modes and float mode * Corrections on 5.1 and 7.1 channel decoding and ordering Demuxers: * Support for Dirac, MLP and RealVideo in Matroska files * Major improvements in RealMedia files opening (.rm and .rmvb) * Improvements of the TS demuxer for M2TS files from Blu-Ray and AVCHD * Metadata for mod files are supported * GSM codecs in Wav files are supported * New raw audio demuxer supporting raw PCM streams * New Dirac demuxer for raw Dirac streams Encoders: * Dirac encoding using libdirac (supported in Ogg and in TS) * Shine mp3 fixed-point encoder Access: * RTSP authentication with Darwin Streaming Server * On-the-fly gzip and bzip2 file decompression (except on Windows) * Playback for video in uncompressed multi-RAR archives * DVB-S and ATSC cards support on Windows * New OSS and Alsa accesses. The v4l2 and v4l modules no longer support OSS or Alsa audio input. Use input-slave alsa:// or oss:// if needed. * DVB scanning on linux * EXPERIMENTAL Blu-Ray Disc and AVCHD Folders support * On-the-fly zip file decompression and browsing (MRL of the form zip://file.zip!/file.avi to specify the file the development form of zip://file.zip|file.avi is not supported anymore) * Opening of any file descriptor using fd:// * MTP device access on Unix * CD-Text support on the cdda module (CD-Audio) * :start-time and :stop-time can handle sub-second values Inputs: * Mouse cursor support in x11 and win32 screen modules * Screen module now features partial screen capture and mouse following on Windows and Mac OS X. Playlist: * Export the playlist in HTML * Lua script for BBC radio playback * Better metadata handling and reading Linux/Windows interface: * Global Hotkeys on Windows and Linux * Various fixes for skins2 interface * Recently played items list * Interface toolbar customizations * Various Improvements on the Qt interface: More menus actions Finer speed slider Improvements on many dialogs New dialog for plugins listing Fixed-size mode for videos Better Teletext, trickplay and encrypted streams control * Better integration in GTK environments Mac OS X Interface: * Controllable by the Media Keys on modern Apple keyboards (brushed Aluminium) * Reveal-in-Finder functionality for locally stored items. * Easy addition of subtitles through the Video menu * Additional usability improvements Stream output: * Restored the old mpeg2 transrating module. * Multiple bridge-in instances are now possible. * bridge-in can be used to configure a placeholder stream. * Remote Audio Output Protocol (AirTunes) module. * Fixed mosaic memleak. Mosaics are now usable again. Maemo Port: * New Maemo port with: an interface based on Hildon framework. scaler based on the swscale_nokia770 library. Windows CE Port: EXPERIMENTAL work for the winCE port has been done. Mac OS X Port: * EXPERIMENTAL 64bit support * Speed improvements by using llvm-gcc * New document icons by Dominic Spitaler * Support for latest iSight models Audio output: * Removed obsolete Esound and aRts plugins * Surround support for PulseAudio Video output: * Effects (cube, torus, etc.) removed from OpenGL video output * Video is able to stay in original size and to zoom in fullscreen (hotkey o) while keeping black borders * Image video output has been rewritten into a video-filter named scene. The old image video output has been removed. * Support for scaling and converting video chromas with FFMPEG imgresample was withdrawn due to bugs. Please use the newer FFMPEG swscale instead. Miscellaneous: * Invmem, a fake codec to display images from external applications New Localization: * Khmer * Mongolian * Sorani Changes between 0.9.9 and 0.9.9a: Mac OS X: * Updated multiple 3rd party libraries to keep in sync with the Win32 port * Playback fixes for PowerPC-based Macs Changes between 0.9.8a and 0.9.9: Decoders: * Experimental new decoder for Real Video 3.0 4.0 Demuxers: * Various fixes related to real demuxer Mac OS X Interface: * Fixed circumstances, which could lead to an empty Information panel Note that VLC will show information on the currently _selected_ item instead of the currently _playing_ item, if the playlist is visible in the main controller window. * Fixed multiple UTF8 issues in the Streaming / Exporting Wizard Mac OS X Port: * Improved video playback performance on Intel-based Macs New Localizations: * Indonesian * Bengali * Updates of other localizations Various bugfixes: * Support for receiving RTP packets on odd port numbers. * Lots of small bugfixes. * Correct Fullscreen behaviour on Multi-Screen setups on Windows * Telnet fixes on Windows * Resampling fixes when transcoding Changes between 0.9.6 and 0.9.8a: Security update: * Fixed buffer overflow in Real demuxer (SA-0811, CVE-2008-5276) Bunch of small bugfixes. Changes between 0.9.5 and 0.9.6: New Localizations: * Ukranian Security updates: * Fixed overflow in CUE support from VCD access (SA-0810, CVE-2008-5032) * Fixed overflow in RealText subtitles support (SA-0810, CVE-2008-5036) Changes between 0.9.4 and 0.9.5: Security updates: * Fixed buffer overflow in TiVo demuxer (SA-0809, CVE-2008-4686, CVE-2008-4654) * Fixed libpng CVE-2008-3964 in Win32 and MacOS builds Features: * Closed Caption EIA 608/708 parsing enabled for libmpeg2 Various bugfixes: * Fixed various potential crashes and memleaks * Fixed issues with reading from files (especially non-local) Windows port: * Fix bug where interface was eating some media keys * Fix some crashes in DirectShow access Qt Interface: * Fix bug when the resetting of preferences didnt reset the dialog states * Right-click menu to select playlist columns reenabled * Various fixed in playlist Access: * MMAP module is now deactivated by default Translations: * Update of Brazillian, Swedish translation Changes between 0.9.3 and 0.9.4: Various bugfixes: * Crashes fixed in ogg, vobsub, dvdread * Fixes several memory leaks. Mac OS X port: * Apple machines without Quartz Extreme are no longer supported (use 0.9.2 or earlier ) * Fixed a crash with deletion of old preferences. * Fixed targetname for downloaded updates Windows port: * Stability fix for the video output. Changes between 0.9.2 and 0.9.3: Various bugfixes: * Fixed DTS channel order on 5.1 systems * Fixed pausing behavior for subtitles and for Audio-CD * Multiple subtitles and podcast fixes * Various crashes fixed in PS, SSA, mkv, xspf, freetype * Fixed update system bugs * Other bug fixes (dvd language selection, subtitle colours, HTTP keep-alive+) Mac OS X port: * Fixed ffmpeg slowness on PowerPC-based Macs * Fixed crash on startup when installed on old preferences * Fixed bug in directory opening on Mac OS X * Fixed font selection in the Simple Preferences * Thicker border to the subtitle renderer * Fixed the appearance of playlist items in the Streaming/Transcoding Wizard * Fixed AC3 passthrough on Mac OS X * Fixed behavior of the Volume Normalizer settings on Mac OS X * Removed the deprecated QuickDraw video output module to avoid crashes on modern Mac OS X versions Windows port: * Fixed sensitivity of Fullscreen Controller * Fixed error messages on startup when VLC wasnt correctly uninstalled before installation * Fix showing of controller when returning from fullscreen playback * Multiple directory and path location fixes. Qt4 interface: * Added Faster/Slower icons to the controller panel * Fixed lost playlist columns when switching the playlist view * Added needed options to Simple preferences (to avoid NVIDIA drivers issues) * Fullscreen controller: added time label, remembering of last position * Fixed dragn drop behaviour on the playlist * Multiple other fixes (Enter hotkey in preferences, Skins selection) Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.2: * Restored the old behavior of sout-keep. It is now de-activated by default. * Skins2 interface repaired on Windows. * Multiple bugfixes. Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.0: * Multiple bug fixes. Changes between 0.8.6i and 0.9.0: Important notes: - * This release will need Windows 2000 and Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), or more recent to work correctly * The HTTP interface is now only available on the local machine by default. If you want to make it available from other machines, you will have to edit the .hosts file. On UNIX/Linux, the file is in /usr/share/vlc/http/.hosts If youre using the old http interface, its located in /usr/share/vlc/http/old/.hosts On Windows they are in C:Program FilesVideoLANVLChttp.hosts and C:Program FilesVideoLANVLChttpold.hosts On Mac OS X, you can find it in VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/http/.hosts and respectively in VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/http/old/.hosts * This version of VLC contains a new interface for Windows and Linux. This interface has a fullscreen controller and simplified preferences. This interface lacks the Streaming Wizard that used to be present in VLC 0.8.6, but provides basic profiles. * The behavior of sout-keep was changed. Its now activated by default. * The marq, mosaic and logo commands in the rc interface changed. They now require a target name as their first argument. Example: vlc sub-filter [emailprotected]{marquee=Hello} -I rc You can then use commands like: @test marq-marquee Goodbye If you didnt name the object using @test, its name will default to the plugin name (hence marq) in this example. These new commands are also available in the telnet interface. * The rtp access output module has been removed. Please use the RTP stream output instead, e.g.: Old: #std{access=rtp,mux=ts,dst=239.255.1.2:5004,sap} New: #rtp{mux=ts,dst=239.255.1.2,port=5004,sap} * You now need to append m3u-extvlcopt to your command line to enable EXTVLCOPT options parsing in m3u playlists. Note that only a limited set of options is available to m3u playlists (CVE-2007-6683). * The old access:url syntax is no longer supported to resolve ambiguities with some file names. Use access://url instead. E.g.: vlc:quit -> vlc://quit ; udp:@239.255.12.12 -> udp://@239.255.12.12 * The ffmpeg module has been removed and replaced by the new avcodec, avformat, swscale (or imgresample if you use a swscale-less ffmpeg build) and postproc modules. * The web plugins ActiveX (IE)/Firefox/Mozilla/Safari now recognize the following states: IDLE/CLOSE=0, OPENING=1, BUFFERING=2, PLAYING=3, PAUSED=4, STOPPING=5, FORWARD=6, BACKWARD=7, ENDED=8, ERROR=9. With FORWARD and BACKWARD being reserved for future implementations and are thus not functional atm. * Croping and padding in transcode are now done using the croppadd video filter. For example: transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vfilter=croppadd{cropttop=20,cropbottom=30,paddleft=100}} * Canvas setting in transcode is now done using the canvas video filter. For example: transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vfilter=canvas{width=640,height=480}} * Glide video output module has been removed. Changes: Security updates: * Updated libfreetype on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1807) * TTA Parser improvements (CVE-2008-3732) * MMS Access Module improvements (CVE-2008-3794 ) Playlist: * Vastly improved playlist support: * Media library creation to save all your playlist items * Live search * Shoutcast TV listings * Audioscrobbler/Last.FM support * Album art support * User definable Lua playlist scripts. See share/lua/playlist/README.txt (Default scripts open YouTube, DailyMotion, metacafe, Google Video and lots of other URLs) * User definable Lua album art fetcher scripts. See share/lua/meta/README.txt Inputs: * Video for Linux 2 (V4L2) input support * UDP-Lite transport for RTP/AVP * DCCP transport for RTP/AVP * Proxy support for MMSH stream * JACK audio input support * Input run time option (improved live stream recording) * BDA devices access module for DVB-C/S/T capture cards on Microsoft Windows * Re-written Screen access module for Mac OS X using OpenGL instead of QuickDraw * Screen module now supports partial screen capture and mouse following on X11. * Experimental EyeTV access module This requires the user to install a plugin to EyeTV.app (available as a separate download). * Simple RTP input (with MPEG A/V, G.711 and PCM support). * RTMP input support * QTKit-based Input module for Mac OS X allowing display and streaming of video taken from all iSight-labelled video cameras (no audio support) * HTTP access now supports gzip compressed data and Digest Access Authentication. * New options to reduce latency between arrival of raw data and display of frames. (auto-adjust-pts-delay and use-stream-immediate) Demuxers: * MP4 gpac and Apple chapter support * Fixed playback of AIFF stereo files * Fixed audio glitch on seek * Improved FLAC demuxer (duration / current time / meta data) * AAC tags support * APEv1/2 tags support * Improved ID3v2 tags support * Improved Ogg/Vorbis tags support * Raw video support * Standard MIDI File (types 0 1) support * TiVo Series 2 support * CD+G karaoke Files support * MXF files support * OMA support Decoders: * VP60/VP61/VP6F/VP62 support * Flash Screen Video support * CamStudio Screen Video support * DosBox Capture support * Karl Mortons Video support * limited atrac3 support * Fraps support * Fluidsynth MIDI software synthesis (with external sound fonts) * New codec FOURCCs to support more specific files: Avid, FCP, Sony, Samsung, * H.264 PAFF support * DNxHD / VC-3 support * NellyMoser ASAO support * APE (Monkey audio) support * RealVideo support (with the RealVideo run-time) * Dirac video support using libschroedinger Subtitles: * Closed Caption Decoder (DVD, ReplayTV, TiVo, DVB/ATSC) * VBI EBU (Teletext) support (*nix, Mac OS) * Ogg/Kate subtitles support * AQTitle subtitles support * MKV USF subtitles support * HTML-based subtitles support * MPSub subtitles support * JacoSub subtitles basic support * MPL2 subtitles support * Rewrite of ASS/SSA scripts and subtitles support * PowerDivx (.psb) Subtitles support * Realtext subtitle support * DKS subtitle support * SubViewer 1.0 (SubRip09) subtitles support * Correct Right-to-left languages in subtitles support Encoders: * Flash Screen Video support * Improved H.264 encoding speed Video outputs and filters: * New CoreAnimation-based output module (VLCKit framework on OS X only) * Adjust, Invert and Distort (now split into Wave, Ripple, Gradient and Psychedelic) video filters can now be streamed * New puzzle video output filter * Re-written motion detection video filter * New extract video filter (extract Red, Green and Blue components from a video) * New sharpen video filter (increase the contrast of adjacent pixels) * New erase video filter (removes logos from a video) * Enhanced subtitles renderer to support bold, italic and some HTML tags (Google Summer of Code Student project) * Support for RGBA and I420 blending. The latter improves Mosaic CPU usage *a lot*. * New transparency mask video filter (for use with the mosaic_bridge module). * New bluescreen video filter (for use with the mosaic_bridge module). This was previously part of the mosaic module. * Fixed random characters problem in RSS filter. * Add rotate-deciangle for more precision on rotate filter * Support for Intel SSE2 instruction set in chroma converters * Improved use of Intel MMX instruction set in chroma converters * New croppadd and canvas video filters. Audio outputs and filters: * Replay gain support * Audio playback when going slower/faster (with pitch correction via new scaletempo audio filter) * New spatializer audio filter * Correct DTS output via S/PDIF Stream output: * RTSP for TS-multiplexed broadcast streams * New RTP payload formats: * Speex voice audio codec * ITU T.140 (for text, subtitles) output * G.711 (both A-law and  µ-law) output * UDP-Lite transport for RTP * DCCP transport for RTP * Lots of fixes for RTSP broadcasting * RTMP output Interfaces: * All * New Simple Preferences dialogs showing the most important settings in an end-user suitable way. * Improved user interaction * Improved mouse gestures * Vastly improved Update checker * Full support for meta data editing (ID3v2, Ogg/Vorbis, AAC, APEv1/2) * Windows/Linux * Brand new interface for Linux and Windows, based on the Qt toolkit * Fullscreen controller (transparency on Linux+Composite) * Mac OS X * Improved video output features * Online access to VideoLANs Help Wiki within VLC * New setting to disable the Recent Items service * When playing Radio (live) streams, the current track is shown correctly * Correct appearance on Macs using Aquas graphite theme * Simplified Extended Controls panel * Ncurses: * Correctly displays wide characters when using an UTF-8 locale, if libncursesw is available. * Some nice colors if the terminal supports it (most do) * Experimental Lua interface modules. See vlc -I lua and share/lua/playlist/README.txt for more info. * Unix * Option to allow only one running instance, using D-Bus interface. * D-Bus Interface implementing the MPRIS (Media Player Remote Interfacing specification), a common dbus control interface for media players that intends to become an xdg standard when finished: http://wiki.xmms2.xmms.se/index.php/Media_Player_Interfaces . * Motion module using disk accelerometers to keep video horizontal * Plugin to set Telepathy presence message using MissionControl * Fixed VLM schedule time on Linux Linux Port: * VLC now complies with the XDG Base Directory Specification version 0.6 http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-0.6.html (which means that VLC doesnt use the $HOME/.vlc directory anymore) Mac OS X Port: * Mac OS X Framework VLCKit that can be used to embed VLC in third party applications (Google Summer of Code Student project, Mac OS X 10.5 only) * New text renderer based on Quartz replacing the existing Freetype solution * Complete compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard * It is now required to compile a fully featured build * The support of Mac OS X 10.3.9 and QuickTime 6.x was discontinued. LibVLC: * Event management and various improvements in libvlc (Part of a Google Summer of Code Student project) New Localizations: * Finnish * Persian * Polish * Punjabi * Bulgarian Developers: * LibVLC now supports externally built plugins properly. A vlc-plugin pkg-config package is provided. * Java bindings are now built from a separate source. Changes between 0.8.6h and 0.8.6i: - Security updates: * Fixed integer overflow in WAV demuxer (CVE-2008-2430) Various bugfixes: * Fixed option to use shared memory within the GLX video output module * Improved galaktos-based audio visualizations on FreeBSD * Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc (transcode stream output, OSD menu video filter, VCD input, SAP services discovery, http control interface) * Updated Polish translation Changes between 0.8.6g and 0.8.6h: - Security updates: * Updated GnuTLS and libgcrypt on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1948, CVE-2008-1949, CVE-2008-1950) * Updated libxml2 on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2007-6284) Goodies: * Updated libebml and libmatroska on Mac OS X. Reliability improvements. * Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc (ftp access, record access filter, video filters, RC interface, playlist demuxer, IP networking, MPJPEG muxer, stream outputs) * Improved support for MPEG2 content created by Final Cut Pro * More reliable audio reception for MPEG TS streams * Fixed a regression in 0.8.6g where usage of the snapshot feature could lead to an unexpected application termination * New Serbian translation * Updated Romanian translation Changes between 0.8.6f and 0.8.6g: - Security updates: * Removed VLC variable settings from Mozilla and ActiveX (CVE-2007-6683, VideoLAN-SA-0804) * Removed loading plugins from the current directory (CVE-2008-2147, VideoLAN-SA-0805) * Updated libpng on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1382) * Fixed libid3tag denial of service (CVE-2008-2109) * Fixed libvorbis vulnerabilities (CVE-2008-1419, CVE-2008-1420, CVE-2008-1423) * Fixed speex insufficient boundary check (CVE-2008-1686, oCERT-2008-004) Various bugfixes: * Fixed various memory leaks, improving stability when running as a server * Fixed compilation with recent versions of FFmpeg * Correctly parses SAP announcements from MPEG-TS * Fixed AAC resampling * The Fullscreen Controller appears correctly on Mac OS X, if the Always-on-top video option was selected. Changes between 0.8.6e and 0.8.6f: - Security updates: * Really fixed subtitle buffer overflow (CVE-2007-6681, CVE-2008-1881) * Fixed Real RTSP code execution problem (CVE-2008-

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Relationship Between Rubber Hand Illusion And Interoceptive Awareness

Relationship Between Rubber Hand Illusion And Interoceptive Awareness When and artificial hand is placed in a position compatible with the participants own posture, i.e. a position that is plausible anatomically with regard to the participants body, then the combination of visual input from the rubber hand and tactile stimulation to the participants hidden hand produces the feeling that the rubber hand is part of the body in around half of participants. The incidence of the illusion as well as its intensity is substantially reduced when the visual and tactile stimuli are applied asynchronously, so that the feeling on the hand is not matched by what the participant sees on the rubber hand. This reduction also occurs when the rubber hand is put in a posture that is anatomically implausible(e.g. Tsakiris Haggard, 2005). The term interoception was coined by Charles Sherrington (1907) in the same paper that he introduces the terms proprioception and exteroception. in the original definition, the term referred solely to visceral sensations. However, now it has come to encompass the physiological state of the body as a whole, and the mechanism by which afferent information reaches conscious awareness and affects behaviour, which can occur both indirectly and directly. Interoception relates to the way in which people perceive feelings from their bodies that affect mood, the sense of well-being and even emotions (Cameron, 2002). The field of interoception has been aided greatly by the advent of functional imaging. Thus far, research has been limited in its scope to contribute to the understanding of self-awareness and, by extension, consciousness. The rubber hand illusion has important implications for interoception because it implies that information from proprioceptors- the mechanoreceptors in the hand and arm- can be overridden fairly easily by visual information. However, it is important to remember that it is not visual information alone that the participant is subject to; they are also receiving proprioceptive input to their unseen hand. Ramachandran (2005) suggests that rather than the more cognitive Helmholtzian unconscious inference explanation posited by others (e.g. Lackner, 1988), the rubber hand illusion can be explained from a Bayesian perspective. Several (e.g. Alais Burr, 2004; Ernst Banks, 2002) have shown that adults are able to integrate information both within and between senses in what appears to be a statistically optimal (Bayes-optimal) fashion. The fact that Bayesian models fit human behavioural results so well fits with the evidence that synchronous stimulation in two modalities can bring about chang es in interoception. In a more natural environment, the probability of seeing something in the outside world being stimulated and feeling identical stimulation on a consistent body part is vanishingly unlikely and so it seems unsurprising that the neural machinery that fuses information between the senses is subject to this illusion. A more recent experiment has shown that both the afferent and efferent elements of the body in motion are able to influence the feeling of ownership (Tsakiris, Prabhu Haggard, 2006). The authors found that the rubber hand illusion could be elicited solely on the basis of hand movements. In a variation on the methodology, participants had a virtual hand projected to the front of them while their own hand was hidden. Both the participants index finger and the same finger of the virtual hand underwent up and down motions, which could be done either actively or passively. When movements were in synchrony, participants reported that they felt as if their own hand was nearer the virtual hand than when motion was asynchronous as in the classic illusion. Under the passive condition, as in the classic condition, the illusion is a result of integration of visual and proprioceptive information. Conversely, there is also efferent information signalling that the finger is moving in the active co ndition. One difference between the conditions was that the proprioceptive drift only affected the index finger in the passive condition. The rest of the fingers were not perceived as being closer to the virtual hand. However, in the active condition, proprioceptive drift affected the whole hand. Therefore, the effect was more local when afferent information alone was available, but more global when there was efferent information as well. Tsakiris et al came to the conclusion that efferent information can influence interoception and the sense of bodily ownership by unifying the body into a coherent whole. One possible argument against the view that the rubber hand illusion shows that visual information can override proprioceptive information is that the participant may simply be speaking metaphorically when they say that they feel as if the rubber hand is part of their body. This problem arises from the fact that measures of the extent of the elusion are based on self report. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) studies have examined whether the rubber hand is truly incorporated into the participants body image. Evolutionarily, it is necessary to protect the body from physical harm, and so threat to they body elicits feelings of anxiety, the withdrawal tendency, and increased autonomic arousal (e.g. Cooke Graziano, 2003; Kalisch et al, 2005). Therefore, it seems fair to say that for something to qualify as being part of the body, the brains homeostatic mechanisms should react as if it is when it is under threat. This hypothesis has received support from the fact that hitting the table near t he false hand with a hammer leads to increased GSR during the rubber hand illusion (Armel Ramachandran, 2003). There was no change in GSR during the control condition in which the rubber and real hands were stimulated asynchronously. Ehrsson et al (2007) have gone even further than this and shown using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging that areas of the brain associated with interoception, i.e. the anterior cingulate cortex and insula are active during the rubber hand illusion. The convexity cortex of the anterior cingulate and cingulate cortex have been shown to become active during both the experience of pain and anticipation of it (e.g. Craig et al, 1996; Wager et al, 2004). The anterior insular cortex has also been shown to become active during pain anticipation, the experience of pain and also pain empathy (e.g. Singer et al, 2004). Furthermore, coactivation of these regions during experiments has been linked to interoceptive awareness and emotional processing (Farrell, Laird Egan, 2005; Craig, 2003). The authors suggested that the activity they found in response to threat to the rubber hand most likely reflected participants anxiety as they were elevated more when the participant felt ownership of the rubber hand than when they did not. Significantly, this activity was specific to threats to the body and was not seen in response to empathy for pain or looking at the syringe (which was used to threaten the rubber hand). This is strong evidence that the rubber hand illusion leads to changes in the participants interoception. Tsakaris (2010) describes the rubber hand illusion as a model example of how the normal sense of embodiment works, and argues that it can be used to examine how the experience of the body as belonging to the individual comes about, is maintained, and perhaps even how it can be disturbed. He puts forward a neurocognitive model in which body ownership is the result of interactions between current information from all of the senses and internal models regarding the body. This model begins with pre-existing models of the body that are stored in the right temporo-parietal junction. These allow distinction between objects that may be embodied and those that may not. Subsequently, on-line postural and anatomical representations of the body (in the secondary somatosensory cortex) allow modulation of this multisensory information. This in turn allows the visual and haptic co-ordinate systems to be recalibrated in order to respond to current demands of the environment. This is done by the vent ral premotor and posterior parietal cortices, which contain neurons that code for recalibration of the hand-centred co-ordinate system. This results in referral of haptic sensation that leads to subjective experiences of body ownership, which arises in the right posterior insula. Some similar ideas are expressed by de Vignemont. She argues that bodily sensations are experience through a multimodal spatial representation of ones body. This view leads directly to the prediction that the sense of ownership of the body should be influenced by information in the visual modality, as in the rubber hand illusion. She also points out that proprioceptive information decays very quickly while the hand is stationary, and that it is often vision that dominates the other sensory modalities (e.g. Welch and Warren, 1986). This provides further support for the idea that the spatial content of haptic sensations should rely more on the visual modality than proprioception. This can account for the fact that when Botvinick and Cohen asked their participants to reach towards the hand that had been stimulated (using their other hand), this motion was displaced toward the rubber hand rather than their unseen hand. This distortion of proprioception and the sense of the location of th e body comes from the emphasis on information in the visual modality, which can also account for the subjective feeling of ownership of the hand. This results from the localisation of the haptic information within a representation of the body that has been constructed from the information available to the participant. In the illusion, the descriptive aspect of the haptic sensation is accurate, however, the spatial aspect has been shifted. Craig (2009) examines the role of the insula in interoceptive awareness in areas as diverse as gastric distension, heartbeat and pain. He identifies awareness of bodily movements (rather than the sense of agency regarding movements) as a possible role for the insular cortex, as well as speech, self recognition and various emotions, describing an emotional salience network in which insular cortical areas feature. He also suggests that the anterior insular cortex plays a role in performance maintenance in which it is put at the heart of the switch to self reflective networks from central executive functioning. The insula is argued to contain representations of the self at every moment in time and to provide comparison between representations at different points in time. The predictive role that this implies may explain the role of the insula in emotions such as anxiety. He also examines the role of the anterior cingulate cortex in interoception and self awareness, noting its numerous c onnections with the insular cortex. He also posits an evolutionary theory, wherein the anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortex developed independently, but subsequently came to have more integrated functioning that performed the role of interoception, specifically managing autonomic activity. He argues that this explains the close relationship of the two areas in various neuroimaging studies. In conclusion, the rubber hand illusion has provided much insight into human interoception. It has revealed the different kinds of information involved in this process by showing how it can be tricked, as well as the flexibility inherent in the system. Neuroimaging studies using the illusion have revealed the mediating brain areas, which in turn leads to tantalising hints about how the conscious sense of the body arises. The experience of ownership of the body may be a significant aspect of self-specificity. This illustrated by the different ways that multisensory integration and internal models of the body are able to manipulate important psychological and even physical elements of the self, the prime example being the rubber hand illusion. Interoception has important implications for some groups of patients, in particular amputees. The rubber hand illusion has shown how outside objects can fairly easily be integrated into the body image. The withdrawal reactions that are elicited f rom participants are the same in kind to those that arise when replacement limbs are under threat.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Importance of the Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) in the Crea

Importance of the Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) in the Creation of the American Constitution After America was recognized as an independent country from England, the new republic went through almost twenty years worth of trial and error to find a government that would satisfy the needs of the citizens, the states, and the central national government. The most memorable, and influential, action of this time would have to be the Connecticut Compromise, proposed Roger Sherman, following the proposal of the Large and Small State plans at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This Compromise directly affected the amount of representation from each state, and created the government system we are familiar with today. In Tindall and Shi’s â€Å"America,† the reader is denied the opportunity to have a complete understanding of both the Virginia Plan (representing the large states) and the New Jersey plan (representing the small states.) In order for the people of today to comprehend their government, a detailed historical account of how our government came to be is an important factor. Given a brief explanation, the reader is only vaguely introduced to the concepts that there were disagreements in how our country should be run in the beginning. More emphasis is given to the outcomes and effects of the Connecticut Compromise than why the Compromise was needed in the first place. The Virginia Plan, introduced by James Madison, suggested for the need of representation based upon a states population, including a states African American slavery population. Thus, it was deemed the Large State plan, since it obviously favored states with heavy population. Tindall and Shi explore this, but leave many questions unansw... ...ponses to questions from "everything from heavy-handed threats and poker-faced bluffs to heartfelt pleas for accommodation, from candid avowals of interest to abstract appeals for justice" (Rakove). The Tindell and Shi obviously felt the need to leave this out of the textbook because the main issue hanging over the delegates head was the issue of slavery. The new government was tested by its own strengths and weaknesses before a Constitution was ever written at the Convention. The young country could have been torn apart over issues such as representation and slavery during the summer of 1787 in the city limits of Philadelphia. Instead, the delegates were able to work together to form a government that would appeal to the people of our past, and the people of our future. For over 225 years, this has worked, with only few minor details needing rearranging.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Essay --

Communication and Professional Practice Niamh Hubble T00157631 1st year Social Care Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to explore why non-verbal communication is an important tool for professional practice. Some of the aspects of non-verbal communication are facial expression, eye contact, posture, orientation, proximity, touch, fine movement, gross movement, dress, setting and direct work (Egan 2002). [The Skilled Helper/ People Skills] In my opinion non-verbal communication is a very important tool when working with clients. For example, in a professional setting a client could be telling you they are fine and they aren’t afraid yet they could be shaking or looking around nervously. The non-verbal prompts that clients give out subconsciously or consciously give us, as professional workers clues to how the person is really feeling even if what they say using verbal communication isn’t the same as the non-verbal prompts. Thompson (2009) says that in addition to the words we speak, we give very powerful messages through non-verbal communication and our body l anguage ...

Quality Education Endangered :: School Learning Essays

Quality Education Endangered Education today is leaving students ignorant while overworking them to the point that they have little free time to relax and have fun. Teachers are not teaching their students some of the basic knowledge of the subjects and instead are assigning considerable amounts of homework to the students in an attempt to educate them through repetition. I do believe that homework is necessary to reinforce lessons, but the massive amount we are receiving is going too far, especially considering students are still graduating without the education they need to continue to a higher level of schooling. In actuality the lesson they are receiving is how to handle being overworked. If a student joins even one activity or takes on a part time job, their lives become a balancing act. Time becomes priceless and must be used wisely in order to come out on top of it all. With the amount of effort a students puts into their education in grade school they should at least being getting enough out of it to smo othly move on to their next step in life. America is the home of famous colleges like Harvard and yet American college students have to work extra hard to get a good educational experience. College freshman in California are a perfect example of this. "Between 70 and 90 percent of all students entering the California State University system have to take some form of remedial course work in basic subjects like English and math" (Jennings 305). These students are starting out their college years behind where they are supposed to be so they will have enough knowledge of basic courses to be able to succeed in college level classes. In essence, students are paying money and spending extra time to learn exactly what they are supposed to have already learned from their public education. Everyone knows how hard it is to get out of a four year college in four years today and remedial course are a source of the blame. IUP, for example, has a full course list for the students to complete to get their degree with minimal free elective c redits to accommodate the extra classes. Remedial classes also take up the space designed to allow for a minor if the students should desire to receive the extra education. It is no wonder that so many students are now be referred to as super seniors.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Campare and Contraste Essay

In his article â€Å"Driving While Stupid,† Dave Barry shares his experience of bad drivers. He talks about many scenarios that are taking place in many places. He first starts by stating that downtown Miami is home to the worst drivers. He claims that although some may try to say otherwise, that there is no way to compete with Miami on the worst driver scale. Barry backs up his clam by giving examples of how he has driven in every major U.S. city as well as in Italy, where there is only one traffic law, in an Argentinean city of Mar del Plata, literally meaning â€Å"Cover your  eyes,† and in China, where buses ‘encourage’ people to get out of the way. He says he has seen many insane drivers and situations, but that didn’t stop him from being surprised with one of his own experiences; the night when a driver in a convertible on the interstate I-95 was weaving back and forth going maybe 600 miles per hour. The observation Barry makes is that the driver was watching a music video on a video screen installed in his sun visor. Barry goes on to say that there are many drivers who distract themselves by cell phones, reading, eating, etc, while driving, but at least, unlike the guy on the interstate, they are able to see the road from time to time. The level of comedy that Barry used in his article is high. By using deliberate and obvious exaggeration and sarcasm to convey the fact that drivers should pay more attention to the road, and less to other crazy activities.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Is Privacy In The 21st Century Possible? Essay

Privacy was once valued and protected. But now with so many new and convenient technological advancements, is privacy in the 21st century possible? To protect our privacy Congress created the Electronics Privacy Acts (ECPA) to protect us from government access to private information that is transmitted and stored on the Internet, such as emails, private photos, or corporate data. Congress has not updated the ECPA on technology since it was created, in 1986. When the ECPA was created there was no â€Å"World Wide Web†, social networking was something in the future, and nothing was stored in what we call the â€Å"cloud.† With all the technological changes in today’s society no one is protected. Privacy is defined as being free from the public eye. Yet we have so many people sharing personal information on social networking websites, and government agencies monitoring emails, and phone calls most of the time without our knowledge. There is no privacy in the 21st century, it is just a nostalgic feeling, and it is no longer practiced. Today’s privacy laws aren’t up to date with today’s technology. Things are rarely sent through the mail, and emails and text messages have replaced written communication. Online messaging and social networking was something of a novelty when lawmakers created the ECPA (Frolik, 2013). A recent article from the Dayton Daily news written by Cornelius Frolik on June 2013 he mentioned, â€Å"The Government can easily access many personal communications and other private information without sufficient probable cause†. Instead of acquiring a warrant that requires more standards and procedures. Government agencies instead obtain subpoena’s to obtain people’s emails, and telephone records (Frolik, 2013). Although, local authorities catch lots of dangerous criminals through information online like emails, photos, and social media sites like Facebook some critics still feel it is an invasion of privacy. Also as our technology advances by leaps, and bounds so does the way Government uses new high tech tools to surveillance law-abiding citizens. Though our Fourth Amendment states to protect the American people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Almost everything is done through  technology in the 21st century. This meaning that government can seize any emails that are 180 days or that has been opened without a warrant; subpoenas have become the most used investigator tool for Government agencies. The reason why is because they can be easily written inside the prosecutors office without any further review from a judge. This means there is an exception to the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, if it satisfies the requirements. The question we should be asking when it comes to Government and our privacy are † Is to explain a clear understanding of the word privacy†? If the Government cannot clarify the term privacy then how can they protect our privacy? The lack of clarity makes it hard for lawmakers to create new policies that will keep our privacy out of harm (Libin, 2012). Two reasons why privacy can be considered threaten in today’s society one being the Government powers are limitless, and two being we the American people expose ourselves digitally (Libin, 2012). The people of America should come together and declare for the Government to protect our privacy rather than participate in warrantless searches (Libin, 2012). The fact that the Government can argue that the Fourth Amendment does not apply because there is no exception to privacy when it comes to prot ecting national security, then that leave the American people in times of calamity, and crisis. Laws like the ECPA is a law that the Government has an obligation to respect (Libin, 2012). The ECPA protect the privacy of the electronic communications, but when law enforcement and prosecutors have to protect and enforce laws, personal information has to be collected to build a case (Libin, 2012). The solution is more complex than simply, and right now the Government is facing difficulties figuring out the best way to protect the American people (Libin, 2012). Given all the information privacy seems to be the problem. It can be portrayed in many ways, one as it’s protecting the public from terrorism, and local crime; and two being if you are innocent, what do you have to hide? In 2014 I find that most American people store their digital lives in what we call â€Å"The Cloud† which included emails, calendar data, photos, and other sensitive information. The ECPA has become obsolete. Technology today leaves the ECPA outdated, the laws have not changed since it was originally created  in 1986. The existing privacy laws only focus on the text-based personal records, and the issues that people face today with this outdated privacy law is gathering of digital multi-media files, and the way this unauthorized data is used (Lipton, 2010). Do you consider video surveillance systems out on the street personal data? Some may say yes and some may say no. According to a case study researched by Jacqueline D. Lipton, if the face of an individual is recognizable, than it is considered personal data. Some people feel protected with the video surveillance capturing their every moment. Then on the other hand some people feel they are being scrutinized being watched by video surveillance. The U.S. has a protection for free speech and for free of a press under the First Amendment. However there is no express constitutional right to privacy (Lipton, 2012). The question that American people should rigorously examine is whether or not Congress should repeal the ECPA and creates new privacy laws to replace it (Kerr, 2014). The ECPA should be considered top priority when it comes to being reformed. If Congress were to start fresh on what changes to make on the ECPA the technologic changes would have to be particularly considered. Being that the cost of stored information has changed it also changes how law enforcements surveillance people, it threatens privacy. In 1986 this all made sense because the internet was designed at this time to only hold limited storage, and wire-tapping was a threat more than stored information (Kerr, 2014). Overall access to stored record has become the greatest privacy threat. Technology has changed enormously, now everything is stored. With everything being stored now in what we call â€Å"The Cloud† like mentioned before stored information begins to reveal the same level of details as real time surveillance or real-time access (Kerr, 2014). Stored information has become more revealing an invasive. (Kerr, 2014). References _Cohen, J. E. (2013). What is Privacy For._ Harvard Law Review Association_,_ 126_(7), 1904,29. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=5& sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=edsgbe&AN=edsgcl.333333595_ _Kerr, 0. S. (2014). The Next Generation Communications Privacy Act._ University of Pennsylvania Law Review_,_ 162_(2), 373-419. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/command/detail?vid=26&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=aph&AN=93917886_ _Libn, N. (2012). PRIVACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Foreword._ Harvard Law and Policy Review_,_ 6_, 263. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=edslex&AN=edslex2F0EC940_ _Lipton, J. D. (2010). Digitlal Multi-Media and The Limits of Privacy Law._ Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law_,_ 42_(3), 551-571. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=24&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=bsh&AN=51909959_ _Sutanto, J., Palme, E., Chuan-Hoo, T., & Chee Wei, P. (2013). Addressing The Personalization-Privacy Paradox: An Empirical Assessment From a Field Experiment on Smartphone Users._ MIS Quarterly_,_ 37_(4), 1141-A5. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=29&sid=34a7b883-e7a4-45d2-aff3-a25b4e535c3e%40sessionmgr110&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=bsh&AN=91906295_

Thursday, August 15, 2019

The “math wars”

Aside from the requisites of drug manufacturing, a drug company must also have the knowledge on the legal aspect of the pharmaceutical business. A company must be able to know what agencies of the government he has to seek advice from before it undergoes the manufacturing process in order to have a good start.Relative to this, the company needs to know which regulates the safety and efficacy of the drugs to be manufactured and which agency protects the rights of the manufacturer and the consumers against illicit drugs.This paper will discuss the basic responsibilities of the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency including the approval process of manufacturing a generic drug copy. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is generally responsible for ensuring the safety and efficacy of all drugs for human and veterinary use.FDA’s 1mission statement specifically states that the administration â€Å"is res ponsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. † This will then give us the idea why FDA need to regulate drugs, and that is to ensure that they are safe and effective. The administration is also held responsible for ensuring that the drugs have information that is honest and accurate for the general public to use.The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) (Drug Enforcement Administration for the United States) is primarily responsible for the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Laws and Regulations. In the United States, DEA is under the wing of the Department of Justice, where it serves as an arm of the justice against the 2those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illi cit traffic in the United States. The DEA’s drugs of concern include: Cocaine, marijuana, heroin, inhalants, LSD, Ecstasy, Steroids, Oxycontin and Methamphetamine.The following list of specific responsibilities is adopted by this writer from the DEA’s official website: >Investigation and preparation for the prosecution of major violators of controlled substance laws operating at interstate and international levels. >Investigation and preparation for prosecution of criminals and drug gangs who perpetrate violence in our communities and terrorize citizens through fear and intimidation. >Management of a national drug intelligence program in cooperation with federal, state, local, and foreign officials to collect, analyze, and disseminate strategic and operational drug intelligence information.>Seizure and forfeiture of assets derived from, traceable to, or intended to be used for illicit drug trafficking. >Enforcement of the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act as they pertain to the manufacture, distribution, and dispensing of legally produced controlled substances. >Coordination and cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement officials on mutual drug enforcement efforts and enhancement of such efforts through exploitation of potential interstate and international investigations beyond local or limited federal jurisdictions and resources.>Coordination and cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies, and with foreign governments, in programs designed to reduce the availability of illicit abuse-type drugs on the United States market through nonenforcement methods such as crop eradication, crop substitution, and training of foreign officials. >Responsibility, under the policy guidance of the Secretary of State and U. S. Ambassadors, for all programs associated with drug law enforcement counterparts in foreign countries.>Liaison with the United Nations, Interpol, and other organizations on matters relating to international drug control programs. DEA’S PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS Drug Enforcement Agency also updates its programs and operations according to the demand of technology and the development of new methods of illicit drug operations. Recent report published in the KT4 Online alerted the public on the emergence of illegal websites that are bringing prescription drugs out into the market (KT4 Online, August 24, 2007).The DEA reported that such websites are able to market their products using just credit cards as payment modes. The agency now referred the so-called â€Å"rogue pharmacies† to the congress for the legislation of a more formidable law for such illegal and dangerous activities, which are regulated because such companies do not meet the standards set by the United States. Even medicinal or herbal plants that are not yet studied or regulated under the law is also under the responsibility of the DEA to study and made research relative to its danger in the human health.In Utah, a native plant called salvia divinorium, has been put into attention by the Hill Air Force Base which according to initial findings can cause hallucinations. In the report published in the Salt Lake Tribune, â€Å"magic mint† as its street name, is ingested or inhaled usually by the members of the military and the people inside the base (Salt Lake Tribune, August 20, 2007). The herbal plant is still legal as it is still under research by the DEA. Experts also say that the plant that grows in the wilds of Utah can cause lung irritation when its dried leaves are inhaled.LAWS AND POLICIES GOVERNING GENERIC DRUGS The regulations pertaining to generics drugs are under the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration. Under the law, pharmaceutical companies or drug manufacturers have all the right to apply for a generic copy of their branded drugs. It can also be that a manufacturer seeks for a license from the brand name company to make a generic copy of the branded product . A generic copy of the drug is called â€Å"authorized generics† because the branded product manufacturer had given the authority to the manufacturer of the generic drug copy.However, these generic copied have to undergo the legal process that is regulated by the FDA. It is the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly referred to as the Waxman-Hatch Act, which is being used as a legal basis for FDA for regulating generic drug copies. â€Å"Since the law was enacted over 23 years ago, the number of generic manufacturers and number of generic drug products on the market have expanded exponentially† (Coster, John M. 2007). The law allows a generic drug that is a generic copy of the pioneer drug to be approved by FDA to be marketed by the same company.This is even without the submission of the usual New Drug Application (NDA) that is submitted in full when a branded product is being applied for marketing. The NDA is usually a time-consuming and expensive clinical trials required to be done by the drug manufacturer in order to comply with the safety and efficacy standards required of them. With the Waxman-Hatch Act, NDA is being replaced with the submission of Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) provided that the generic copy has demonstrated the fact that it is bioequivalent to the pioneer drug (J.Coster, The Pharmacist, Vol. 32, No. 6, 2007). This process allows the generic copy to be approved for marketing the easier and faster way because it does not to prove its safety and effectiveness through trials since the pioneer drug had already proven such. For the ANDA of the generic drug to be approved, its pioneer drug must have the four required certifications: (1) that no patent is listed for the pioneer drug; (2) that the patent has expired; (3) the date on which the patent will expire; or (4) that the patent is invalid or not infringed.Such information is listed in the FDA’s Orange Book, a reference for t he pharmacists in determining the interchangeability of the drugs. Just recently, the Waxman-Hatch Act has been replaced with 3McCain-Schumer Act, after its authors Senators John McCain and Charles E. Schumer. The main feature of the new act is the changing of the 180-day exclusivity term of the first generic drug copy to only the 30-day term. Exclusivity, in the old law is granted for the manufacturer of the generic drug to market the product exclusively within 180 days that is for the manufacturer who first secured the FDA’s approval of the generic copy.With the new law, exclusivity term is shortened for the purpose of further price reduction of the generic drugs as competition is encouraged after the 30-day term. It is estimated, according to Schumer’s study that the new law will enable consumers to save 60% of their usual expense when buying branded drugs and that will give consumers a total of $71 billion savings in 10 years (Bash, Dana, CNN Online, May 01, 2001). Schumer cited Claritin, a prescription allergy drug as example which costs an average of $63. 65 while its generic equivalent will only cost $25. 46.Generally, the new law is of great help for the Americans in terms of their medical expenditures. CONCLUSION By looking into the basic responsibilities and functions of the FDA and DEA, we were able to have an idea of the basic legal aspect of drug manufacturing and marketing. Also by having an overview of the laws governing generic copy manufacturing, we were able to have the basic knowledge of how the approval process rolls. In general we can conclude that the legal process of drug manufacturing and marketing is really a long and expensive process for the companies especially for the branded or patented drugs.However with the Schumer-McCain Act, the process is shortened and had benefited especially the consumers for enabling the cheaper version of their branded medicine to be marketed. REFERENCES 1FDAs Mission Statement. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http://www. fda. gov/opacom/morechoices/mission. html 2DEA Mission Statement. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http://www. usdoj. gov/dea/agency/mission. htm 3Senate Passes Ground-Breaking Schumer-McCain Generic Drug Bill (Press Release). July 31, 2002. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http://schumer. senate. gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/PR01124.html Bash, Dana. McCain, Schumer introduce generic drug bill. CNN Online. May 01, 2001. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http://archives. cnn. com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/05/01/senate. genericdrugs/index. html Coster, John M. The Waxman-Hatch Generic Drug Law: 23 Years Later. The Pharmacist. June 19, 2007. Vol. 32 No. 6 Griffith, Christopher, et. al. (2002). View from Washington: Senate approves changes in generic-drug approval. Leydig, Voit Mayer, Ltd. Report. October 2002. Volume 3 Issue 4 Colonel bans use of ‘magic mint' herb. Salt Lake Tribune. August 20, 2007. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http ://www.sltrib. com/News/ci_6668009 Federal Authorities Warn Against Online Rogue Pharmacies. KT4 Online. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http://www. ktiv. com/News/index. php? ID=16295 What FDA Regulates. Retrieved on August 26, 2007 from http://www. fda. gov/comments/regs. html There has always been a debate on whether the mathematics be taught should be the old basics or the standards reformed mathematics. Basic mathematics primarily comprises arithmetic and computation. This is just simple mathematics which involves solving simple equation and memorizing formulas.Basic mathematic also comprises the following list t o f items. There is the accurate counting to 100 or more, mastery of basic facts for all four operations, pencil and paper computation skills with hole numbers, decimals and fractions and solving percent problems. Other aspect includes the knowing and using formulas for area and perimeter of basic shapes. Though the above list is a bit simplified its basic position i s that kids only get to know some basic stuff. Basic mathematics can also be referred to as trivial pursuit mathematics meaning that children are to know the content not the practicability (John, 1999).On the other hand reform mathematics has higher level of difficulty and has set five goals. These are that students should value mathematics, be confident in the ability to do mathematics and become mathematics problem solvers. They should as well be able to communicate well mathematically and learn to reason mathematically. It involves the four basic process standards which are problem solving, communication, reasoning, and connections. It entails gearing the children to develop the ability to think than just memorizing the mathematics concepts.Those who believe in the reform mathematics talk about mathematical power, the ability to reason and solve unique problems (John, 1999). It is important to note that even if the two approaches appear to differ there are some things they share in. Benefits and demerits of basics Basic mathematics requires teacher centered approach which involves teaching the mathematics through drill and practice. However in this way the children can end up not being intrinsically motivated. This prevents them from learning mathematics facts and how to connect to the real world.Furthermore the approach is essentially teacher directed, and structured only for basic skills instructions. This approach comes with advantages and disadvantages as far as basic mathematics teaching is concerned. One of the advantages is that, it is clear that for learning to be effective there must be a knowledge source and this is what the teacher act as. The teachers have attained their unifications and expertise from colleges and universities to become experts in their fields. In this reasoning it’s convenient to involve to someone who is already an expertise in the field to impart that knowledge in the students.For example according to Kelly, if the st udents have a question on atopic raised by the text book, the teacher is present ton as the expert to answer the question (Kelly, 2004). Other benefits include good planning and execution of knowledge passing process and good discipline. The disadvantage of this style is that no one can predict which parts of the information the student has learned will eventually become obsolete or incorrect, what the student will forget, or what new information he will need to know in the future (Howard, 1980).Furthermore according to Howard in some cases the students can obtain a false security if they believe that, once information ins dispensed and a cognitive framework provide the student will incorporate the information, recognize where and when it could and should be applied when time comes. One great disadvantages of this method is that a strong investment in the style can lead to rigid, standardized, and less flexible ways of managing students and their concerns (Howard, 1908). This acts a s huge impediment to development and self discovery within the student.This huge impediment has been seen as the greatest drawback for this style of administering knowledge. The benefits and demerits of reform mathematics style According the student center online answers, the best approach of teaching mathematics should stress active, student centered learning in real life context (student center). This may help in making the concepts more understandable and interesting. This therefore calls for the student knowing the crafts before they can apply them and that is where the basic mathematics comes handy. The reform mathematics takes the student centered approach of learning.This involves instructions where by the students actively create knowledge for themselves. It consists of group learning, inquiry, and humanistic learning activities (student center). This method has additional advantages both to the student and the teacher some which are enlisted below. To begin with the student would develop learning and knowledge that will help them throughout their life. In this method students always discover that learning is fun and interesting. Furthermore, through this method teachers always have less traditional work. This is more prominent in the upper class levels where the students are mature enough.The student gets to be more attentive and willing to participate in the class activities. In this way there is a reduction in the number of complaints about fairness and unequal treatment. When student carry out research and group works they generate a lot of information that the teacher may add to his collection of information. However this method also comes with some disadvantages. It poses a problem when it comes to evaluation in that this has to be individualized. Providing one test for the whole class has to be abandoned. Every student has to be evaluated based on his or her goals.One other big disadvantage of this method is that there some student who do not re late well with it in spite the teachers best efforts. Such scenario is always more prevalent in the lower classes levels even though it can also be found in the upper classes. The other demerit is that the students’ always have to work in groups. There occur complaints about being put in teams. However the complaints get to seize as the student get to understand that it is what the real world is like. Under some circumstances student may find it hard to work in teams since most of them have never had the experience of team work. ConclusionIt is important to note for the reformed mathematics, the fact that it takes the student centered learning method gives it an upper hand as method of teaching mathematics. In fact students do appreciate the real world experience eve when they do not like them that much (daymalyn, 2009). This is therefore more appropriate and practical than the basics math which would d lead to rigidity and less development of the kids as well as new advancem ent in the mathematics fields. References Howard S & Robyn M. (1980), Problem Based Learning: An Approach to Medical Education, Springer Publishing Company, ISBN 0826128416, 9780826128416.Daymalyn (2009), Disadvantages and disadvantages of student center learning, Accessed on August 7, 2010, from http://wwwemmalynombayan-daymalyn. blogspot. com/2009/09/advantages-and- disadvantages-of-student. html John A. (1999), Reform Mathematics Vs. The Basics: Understanding the Conflict and Dealing with It Accessed on August 7, 2010 from http://mathematicallysane. com/analysis/reformvsbasics. asp Kelly K. (2004), the â€Å"Math Wars†, a Short Analysis, Accessed on August 7, 2010 from http://www. newfoundations. com/ConAnalysis/KellyMathWars. html Student center, Accessed on August 7, 2010 from http://www. abacon. com/woolfolk7/faq. html