Religious diveristy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religious diveristy - Research Paper Example Moreover, the author will be supporting the stand for religious diversity in the country on the basis of respect for individual rights, knowledge of good and evil and the treatment of diverse choices like commodities (Wuthnow 76). According to Wuthnow (Wuthnow & Myers), America claims to have been built on Christianity when in fact religion already existed even before Christopher Columbus discovered the land. This has caused the problem we have today because of the information instilled in the American minds that the country progressed economically, technologically as well as other aspects where the nation succeeded, because of Christianity. These days, the modern American now assumes the right to insist on his/her belief in the Christian God and disregards the other religions as exemplified by the then presidential candidate George Bush who was reported to have claimed that only Christians have a place in heaven to which his own mother did not agree with (Wuthnow & Myers). This reck less comment gained Bush a number of enemies at least when it comes to religious discussions with the Muslims, Jews, Hindus and other religions. Just this example may probably suffice to represent the tension experienced in America because of individual religious convictions. Being a political leader, the aforementioned statement of Bush has been unwittingly uttered because knowing the laws, he should have borne in mind the spirit of democracy which is freedom and in this freedom is included the respect for individual rights to religion (Balmer). It is unwise for an individual, not to mention a political leader to try to coerce somebody to conversion by scaring them about heaven or hell. People have individual rights and they have the right to choose so that proselytizing would not be a good means of sharing one’s faith but as one preacher once said, faith is not a matter to argue upon but is a gift to be shared. If an individual thinks his religion is the right one, then he should share the reasons why he has such convictions. If his reasons are acceptable enough for his prospect, then that person will have all the right to have the freedom to choose or to reject the religion even if he is fully convinced of a person’s convictions and arguments. The second argument to be discussed is the belief that people have the ability to distinguish good from evil on the basis of their common experience as human beings, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion (Wuthnow 76). This is in relation to the right to religion, leaving the person to choose the beliefs he wants to embrace, trusting that they are able to make wise choices. Salvation is a choice and should not be insisted. It can be encouraged but not forced nor become a threat to an individual, like he does not have the capacity to decide for himself. The third argument is that diverse choices are like commodities (Wuthnow 76), where when there are more choices, a person can have a choic e that would really fit his/her needs and satisfy individual expectations. For instance, where there is a wider selection of clothes there is the greater possibility that the one that best suits a customer can be found. Correspondingly, diversity in religion will allow a person to choose

Art And Social Protest During The Vietnam War Research Paper

Art And Social Protest During The Vietnam War - Research Paper Example Many participants of these artworks have different ways to demonstrate and pass their message to the targeted people and empower them on different aspects. During war times, people use artwork to demonstrate the suffering of other people which they undergo and this helps in easing of the situation or more help coming to the people in need. Most paintings may reference a certain War event but it serves for any War and artist aim for generic use and information when making these artworks. Pablo Picasso’s artwork, named after a city in Spain that was a target of terror bomb during the Civil War in Spain. This painting demonstrated the kind of suffering it puts individuals and at most, the innocent people the fame of this art reminds of war tragedies with the symbolization of anti-war and peace. The spread of the artwork throughout the world brought the Spanish War to the attention of the whole world. Picasso never wanted the painting to reach Spain until democracy and liberty for med, this saw the painting put under a high security with a bomb and bulletproof screens for security purposes. This shows the importance of the painting in the fight against the war. The meanings of Picasso’s painting vary according to the interpretation provided. Throughout Picasso’s career, he used the bull and a horse to symbolize different roles since the two are important characters in the Spanish culture. Many victims are visible with some alive and others dead which remains as a historical reminder of the times of war.  ... This shows the importance of the painting in the fight against war (Matthew 49). The meanings of Picasso’s painting vary according to the interpretation provided. Throughout Picasso’s career, he used the bull and a horse to symbolize different roles since the two are important characters in the Spanish culture. In the sculpture, many victims are visible with some alive and others dead which remains as a historical reminder of the times of war. Chaos by the European political unpredictability is visible in the composition of the Picasso’s painting. The color in the Guernica is black which mostly symbolizes death. Other artists during the time of Picasso who influenced the artwork of anti-war, or the like of Franisco de Goya not only did the artwork on war but also in a bullfight. The whole scene takes place within a room with one open end and a bull over a woman mourning for a dead child and some other hidden images. A light bulb to represent the sun and a broken sword to represent defeat are visible in the painting by Picasso known as Guernica (Shabi 12). Schneemann held a performance â€Å"snows† to protest the famous Vietnam War with a focus in values on flesh and this brought new fraught in politics. Schneemann participated in the New York City festival during the week of Angry Arts, which involved many performances and events from many artists in protest of the famous war. Her presentation shows the ambivalence of emotionally charged photos, which suggests uncertainty in the information overlaid and passing strategy. She also uses a film that she demonstrates the misuse of people in wars and the results of war. These artworks show that Schneemann was among the protestors

English Pronunciation And Accent For Students English Language Essay

English Pronunciation And Accent For Students English Language Essay The Language has three basic constituents: Sound, structure and vocabulary. The main problem of language learning is to master its sound system, to understand the streams of speech, to hear the distinctive sound features and to approximate their production .Accuracy Of sound, rhythm of innovation, structural forms and arrangement within a limited range of expression must be acquired first before the other linguistic aspect of the language. Correct pronunciation imparts clarity to the speech and correct tone. It makes the language more fluent. It makes an impression on the mind of the listener. The pronunciation has to be learnt through constant and sustained practices. This section provides the different sounds and practices to master the English pronunciation. Received PronunciTION Like all languages English has wide variation in its pronunciation. The variation is especially salient in English because the language is spoken over such a wide territory, being the predominant language in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, South Africa and India. Although there are many dialects of English, the Received Pronunciation is usually used as the standard accent. To learn the exact pronunciation of the words in English language we need to first identify the different speech, sounds in English language. There are 44 sounds in English language and they are divided into vowels sounds and consonant sounds. There are 20 vowels and 24 consonants. The vowels sounds are further classified into Monophthongs and diphthongs. Monophthongs are either short or long. VOWEL SOUND A vowel sound is produced by the free flow of air. During the articulation of vowel sound,the active articulator is raised towards the passive articulator in such a way that there is a sufficient gap between the two for air to escape through the mouth without friction. For example when we say True the air escapes freely and continuously without any friction. To begin with we first focus on the vowel sound. The vowel sound is the nucleus of the word. No word can exist without it. The consonant sound is the marginal element. It appears either before of after the nucleus. The Consonant sound at the beginning of the nucleus is called the releasing consonant and the one at the end is called the arresting consonant for egg. PICK pik p is known as the releasing consonant. Examples of short vowels: /É ª/ in kit and mirror, /ÊÅ  / in put, /e/ in dress and merry, /ÊŒ/ in strut and curry, /à ¦/ in trap and marry, /É’/ in lot and orange, /Éâ„ ¢/ in ago and sofa. Examples of long vowels: /iË / in fleece, /uË / in goose, /ɜˠ/ in nurse, /ɆÃƒâ€¹Ã‚ / in north and thought, /É‘Ë / in father and start. RPs long vowels are slightly diphthongised. Especially the high vowels /iË / and /uË / which are often narrowly transcribed in phonetic literature as diphthongs [É ªi] and [ÊÅ  u]. Long and short are relative to each other. Because of phonological process affecting vowel length, short vowels in one context can be longer than long vowels in another context. In addition to such length distinctions, unstressed vowels are both shorter and more centralized than stressed ones. In unstressed syllables occurring before vowels and in final position, contrasts between long and short high vowels are neutralized and short [i] and [u] occur.[ CONSONANT SOUND A consonant sound may be defined as a speech sound that is produced with stoppage of air. For Ex ample when we say the word CUP to pronounce the initial /k/ and the final /p/the voice or breathe is particularly hindered by the tongue teeth, lip or other organ of articulation. The consonant sounds are classified according to the nature of the constrictions plosives friction, affricated , and lateral consonants. The sound of the language is known as phonemes. Phoneme is a minimal,distinctive, functional unit of the sound system of a language. Phonetics is the science of speech sounds, their production,transmission and reception, It studies the medium of spoken language. To learn the pronunciation and improve spoken Phonetic transcription. It may be defined as a way of representing speech sounds through symbols. A phonemic symbol represents each English sound. It is important to learn the phonemic symbol to acquire the accurate pronunciation because these symbols help to recognise the sound easily. knowledge of these symbols is useful while referring a Dictionary. It helps to know the pronunciation of the word. PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION It may be defined as a way of representing speech sounds through symbols. A phonemic symbol represents each English sound. To acquire the exact pronunciation it is important to learn phonemic transcription. This helps to identify the sounds easily .Knowledge of these symbols is useful while referring to a dictionary. The table below contains the list of these pronunciation symbols; VOWELS PHONEMIC SYMBOLS Monophthongs Front Central Back long short long short long short Close iË  É ª uË  ÊÅ   Mid e ɜˠ Éâ„ ¢ ɆÃƒâ€¹Ã‚  Open à ¦ ÊŒ É‘Ë  É’ EXAMPLES Symbols words /e/ bet, let, men /i/ sit, lit, bit /Ɇ/ hot, shot , pot /ÊŒ/ hut, but, nut / à ¦ / bat, mat, sat /u/ would, could, should / Éâ„ ¢ / ago, aloud, about DIPHTHONGS SYMBOLS EXAMPLES Diphthong Example Closing /eÉ ª/ /beÉ ª/ Bay cake, lake, play /aÉ ª/ /baÉ ª/ buy /ɆÃƒâ€°Ã‚ ª/ /bɆÃƒâ€°Ã‚ ª/ boy /Éâ„ ¢ÃƒÅ Ã…  / /bÉâ„ ¢ÃƒÅ Ã…  / beau /aÊÅ  / /baÊÅ  / bough Centring /É ªÃƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢/ /bÉ ªÃƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢/ beer /eÉâ„ ¢/ /beÉâ„ ¢/ bear /ÊÅ  Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢/ /bÊÅ  Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢/ boor CONSONANT SYMBOLS Consonant phonemes of Received Pronunciation Bilabial Labio- dental Dental Alveolar Post- alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal m n ņ¹ Plosive p  Ã‚  b t  Ã‚  d k  Ã‚  g Affricate tʃ  Ã‚  dÊ’ Fricative f  Ã‚  v ÃŽÂ ¸Ã‚  Ã‚  ÃƒÆ' ° s  Ã‚  z ʃ  Ã‚  ÃƒÅ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ h  Ã‚   Approximant É ¹ j w Lateral l Nasals and liquids may be syllabic in unstressed syllables. /ÃÆ' °/ is more often a weak dental plosive; the sequence /nÃÆ' °/ is often realized as [nÃÅ' ªnÃÅ' ª]. /h/ becomes [É ¦] between voiced sounds. /É ¹/ is postalveolar unless devoicing results in a voiceless fricative articulation (see below). /l/ is velarized in the syllable coda. Unless preceded by /s/, fortis plosives (/p/, /t/, and /k/) are aspirated before stressed vowels; when a sonorant /l/, /É ¹/, /w/, or /j/ follows, this aspiration is indicated by partial devoicing of the sonorant. Syllable final /p/, /t/, /tʃ/, and /k/ are preceded by a glottal stop; /t/ may be fully replaced by a glottal stop, especially before a syllabic nasal (button [bÉ ÃƒÅ Ã¢â‚¬ nÃÅ' ©]). SYMBOLS EXAMPLES /P/ Pin, pick /b/ but, cup /t/ tin, stick /d/ bud , doll /k/ could, cake /g/ girl, mug / tʃ / church, chew / dÊ’ / jug, judge /f/ graph, fast /v/ give, vary / ÃŽÂ ¸ / theory, earth / ÃÆ' ° / mother, further /s/ sea, ask /z/ zero, design / ʃ   / ash, shift / Ê’ / garage, pleasure /m/ machine, charm /n/ nature, born / ņ¹ / ring, king /h/ hymn, harp /l/ life, style /l/ /r/ rose, correct /w/ water, work, /j/ yes, you DUALITY OF LETTERS AND SOUNDS Duality of letters and sounds mean that there is no one to one correspondence between letters and sounds in English. Different letters may represent different sounds . Following table gives example of words where different letters represent the same sound. /s/ see, censor, miss /SH/ chef, mention, passion /z/ zoo, season /k/ kill, sick, chemistry / ee/ key, deal, physique / oo/ movie, soup, true /AH/ market, fast, aunt, heart ACCENT Word Stress in English Word stress is the key to understand spoken English. In English, we do not say each syllable with the same force or strength. In one word, we accentuate ONE syllable. We say one syllable very loudly (big, strong, important) and all the other syllables very quietly for example if we say photograph, photographer and photographic. They do not sound similar because we accentuate (stress) ONE syllable in each word. And it is not always the same syllable. So the shape of each word is different . shape total syllables stressed syllable PHO  TO  GRAPH 3 #1 PHO   TO  GRAPH  ER 4 #2 PHO  TO   GRAPH  IC 4 #3 This happens in all words with two or more syllables: TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion, INteresting, imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera The syllables that are not stressed are weak or small or quiet. Native speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables, not the weak syllables. If you use word stress in your speech, you will instantly and automatically improve your pronunciation and comprehension There are two very important rules about word stress: One word, one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. So if you hear two stresses, you have heard two words, not one word.) The stress is always on a vowel. The stress in English language can be learned by listening to engish news on radio or television. This serves as a good practice exercise to learn the right stress pattern. Sentence Stress in English Sentence stress is the music of spoken English. Like word stress, sentence stress can help you to understand spoken English, especially when spoken fast. Sentence stress is what gives English its rhythm or beat. You remember that word stress is accent on one syllable within a word. Sentence stress is accent on certain words within a sentence. Most sentences have two types of word: content words structure words Content words are the key words of a sentence. They are the important words that carry the meaning or sense. Structure words are not very important words. They are small, simple words that make the sentence correct grammatically. They give the sentence its correct form or structure. If you remove the structure words from a sentence, you will probably still understand the sentence. If you remove the content words from a sentence, you will not understand the sentence. The sentence has no sense or meaning. Imagine that you receive this telegram message: Will you SELL me CAR because Im GONE to FRANCE This sentence is not complete. It is not a grammatically correct sentence. But you probably understand it. These 4 words communicate very well. Somebody wants you to sell their car for them because they have gone to France. We can add a few words: Will you SELL my CAR because Ive GONE to FRANCE The new words do not really add any more information. But they make the message more correct grammatically. We can add even more words to make one complete, grammatically correct sentence. But the information is basically the same: Content Words Will you SELL my CAR because Ive GONE to FRANCE. Structure Words Why is this important for pronunciation? It is important because it adds music to the language. It is the rhythm of the English language. It changes the speed at which we speak (and listen to) the language. The time between each stressed word is the same. In our sentence, there is 1 syllable between SELL and CAR and 3 syllables between CAR and GONE. But the time (t) between SELL and CAR and between CAR and GONE is the same. We maintain a constant beat on the stressed words. To do this, we say my more slowly, and because Ive more quickly. We change the speed of the small structure words so that the rhythm of the key content words stays the same. syllables 2 1 3 1 Will you SELL my CAR because Ive GONE to FRANCE. t1 beat t1 beat t1 beat t1 beat Important rules of word stress 1 Stress on first syllable rule example Most 2-syllable nouns PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble Most 2-syllable adjectives PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy 2 Stress on last syllable rule example Most 2-syllable verbs to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN   3 Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end) rule example Words ending in -ic GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic Words ending in -sion and -tion teleVIsion, reveLAtion 4 Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end) rule example Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy, geOLogy Words ending in -al CRItical, geoLOGical 5 Compound words (words with two parts) rule example For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part BLACKbird, GREENhouse For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part to underSTAND, to overFLOW

Euripides Medea Essay -- Papers Medea Euripides Essays Papers

Euripides' Medea I see Medea as a woman who took a chance and stood up for herself. The kind of behavior that Medea displays was very rare for these times: she doesn?t accept the dramatic change in her life; she does something about it. On the other hand, Medea becomes so obsessed she loses herself to revenge. Medea is only heroic to an extent. Medea?s thirst for revenge begins when she finds out about her husbands unfaithfulness. Medea?s husband Jason decides to marry the princess Glauce to establish a position of power in Corinth. Jason claims he did it so Medea and their two sons could have better lives. Jason fails to tell Medea of his plans. Medea, who has committed her life to Jason, is enraged when she finds out. Rather than accept Jason?s betrayal and her own humiliation, she vows revenge. Here is where Medea is heroic and clever. Medea says just the right words to plead her case to Creon. Medea set her plan for revenge in motion when King Creon comes to exile her from Corinth. Medea: This one day...

The Golden Lily Chapter 9

THOSE OF US WHO KNEW what to look for could instantly spot Moroi by their pale complexions and tall, slim builds. To most human eyes, those features stood out but weren't a vampire tip-off. Humans just noted the features as striking and unusual, much as Lia regarded Jill as the perfect ethereal runway form. I didn't want to play upon stereotypes, but after a quick assessment of Mr. Ivashkov's Moroi-paleness, long face, dour look, and silver hair, I kind of wondered that he didn't get mistaken for a vampire more often. No, vampire wasn't really the correct term, I decided. More like undertaker. â€Å"Dad,† said Adrian stiffly. â€Å"Always a pleasure.† â€Å"For some of us.† His father studied me, and I saw his eyes fall on my cheek. He extended a hand. I took it, proud that shaking hands with Moroi was a non-event for me now. â€Å"Nathan Ivashkov.† â€Å"Sydney Sage,† I replied. â€Å"It's very nice to meet you, sir.† â€Å"I met Sage while I was bumming around out here,† explained Adrian. â€Å"She was nice enough to give me a ride from ll.A. today since I don't have a car.† Nathan looked at me in astonishment. â€Å"That's a long drive.† Not nearly as long as the drive from Palm Springs, but we'd figured it would be safest – and more believable – to let him think Adrian was in Los Angeles. â€Å"I don't mind, sir,† I said. I glanced over at Adrian. â€Å"I'll go get some work done. You want to text me when you're ready to go?† â€Å"Work?† he asked in disgust. â€Å"Come on, Sage. Go buy a bikini and enjoy the pool while you're hanging around.† Nathan looked between us incredulously. â€Å"You made her drive you out here, and now you're just going to make her wait around for your convenience?† â€Å"Really,† I said. â€Å"I don't – â€Å" â€Å"She's an Alchemist,† continued Nathan. â€Å"Not a chauffeur. There's a big difference.† Actually, there were days at Amberwood I doubted that. â€Å"Come, Miss Sage. If you've wasted your day driving my son here, the least I can do is buy you lunch.† I shot a panicked look at Adrian. It wasn't panicked because I was afraid of being with Moroi. I'd long since gotten used to these sorts of situations. What I was unsure of was if Adrian really wanted me around for his family reunion. That hadn't been part of the plan. Also, I wasn't sure that I really wanted to be around for said reunion either. â€Å"Dad – † Adrian attempted. â€Å"I insist,† said Nathan crisply. â€Å"Pay attention and learn common courtesy.† He turned and began walking away, assuming we'd follow. We did. â€Å"Should I find a reason to leave?† I whispered to Adrian. â€Å"Not when he uses his ‘I insist' voice,† came the muttered response. For a moment, catching sight of the gorgeous terrace restaurant and its sunny ocean view, I thought I could handle the Ivashkovs. Sitting out there in that warmth and beauty would be well worth the drama. Then, Nathan walked right past the balcony doors and led us to the elevator. We followed obediently. He took us down to the hotel's ground floor, to a pub called The Corkscrew. The place was dim and windowless, with low-hanging wood beams and black leather booths. Oak barrels lined the walls, and what light there was came filtered through red glass lamps. Aside from a lone bartender, the pub was empty, which didn't entirely surprise me this time of day. What did surprise me was that Nathan had taken us here instead of the ritzy outdoor restaurant. The guy was dressed in an expensive suit that looked like it had come straight from a Manhattan boardroom. Why he'd ignore a trendy, elite restaurant for lunch and instead choose a stuffy, dark – Dark. I nearly groaned. Of course the terrace wasn't an option, not with Moroi. The sunny afternoon that made such enchanting conditions for me would have resulted in a pretty miserable lunch for the Ivashkovs – not that either of them looked like they planned on enjoying this one anyway. â€Å"Mr. Ivashkov,† said the bartender. â€Å"Nice to see you back.† â€Å"Can I get food delivered down here again?† asked Nathan. â€Å"Of course.† Again. This subterranean lair had probably been Nathan's mainstay for all meals since arriving in San Diego. I allowed the terrace one last, wistful thought and then followed Nathan and Adrian inside. Nathan selected a corner table intended for eight people. Maybe he liked his space. Or maybe he liked pretending he was presiding over a corporate meeting. The bartender gave us menus and took drink orders. I got coffee. Adrian ordered a martini, earning disapproving looks from his father and me. â€Å"It's barely noon,† said Nathan. â€Å"I know,† said Adrian. â€Å"I'm surprised I held out that long too.† Nathan ignored the comment and turned to me. â€Å"You're very young. You must have just started with the Alchemists.† â€Å"They start us all young,† I agreed. â€Å"I've been working on my own for a little over a year.† â€Å"I admire that. Shows a great deal of responsibility and initiative.† He nodded thanks as the bartender set down a bottle of sparkling water. â€Å"It's no secret how the Alchemists feel about us, but at the same time, your group does a lot of good for us. Your efficiency is particularly remarkable. Too bad my own people don't pay more attention to that example.† â€Å"How are things with the Moroi?† I asked. â€Å"With the queen?† Nathan almost smiled. â€Å"Are you saying you don't know?† I did – at least, I knew what the Alchemists knew. â€Å"It's always different hearing an insider's perspective, sir.† He chuckled. It was a harsh sound, like laughing wasn't something Nathan Ivashkov had much practice with. â€Å"The situation's better than it was. Not great, though. That girl's smart, I'll give her that.† I assumed â€Å"that girl† was Vasilisa Dragomir, teenage queen of the Moroi and Rose's best friend. â€Å"I'm sure she'd rather be passing dhampir laws and hereditary laws – but she knows those are only going to anger her opponents. So, she's finding ways to compromise on other issues and has won a few of her enemies over to her already.† The hereditary laws. Those were of interest to me. There were twelve royal lines among the Moroi, and Vasilisa and Jill were the only two left in theirs. Current Moroi law said a monarch had to have at least one other family member, which was how Jill had become such a political game piece. Even hardcore assassins would have a difficult time taking out a wellguarded queen. Removing her half sister would provide the sa me results, however, and invalidate Vasilisa's rule. That was why Jill had ended up in hiding. Nathan's thoughts followed the same lines. â€Å"She's also smart to hide that bastard sister of hers.† I knew he meant â€Å"bastard† in the sense of an illegitimate child, not an insult, but I still winced. â€Å"Rumor has it your people know something about that. Don't suppose you'd give me an insider's perspective on it?† I shook my head and tried to keep my tone friendly. â€Å"Sorry, sir. Insight only goes so far.† After a few moments of silence, Nathan cleared his throat. â€Å"Well, Adrian. What is it you wanted?† Adrian took a sip of his martini. â€Å"Oh, did you just notice I was here? I thought you'd come to see Sydney.† I sank into my chair a little. This was exactly the kind of situation I'd wanted to avoid. â€Å"Why must every question yield some difficult answer with you?† asked Nathan wearily. â€Å"Maybe it's the kinds of questions you ask, Dad.† This pub wasn't going to be big enough to hold the rapidly increasing tension. Every instinct told me to become invisible, but I found myself speaking anyway. â€Å"Adrian's in college,† I said. â€Å"Taking art classes. He's very talented.† Adrian shot me a questioning – but amused – look at that. Some of his pieces were quite good. Others – especially when he'd been drinking – looked like he'd accidentally spilled paint on canvas. I'd helpfully told him so on a number of occasions. Nathan looked unimpressed. â€Å"Yes. He's done that before. It didn't last.† â€Å"Different time, different place,† I said. â€Å"Things can change. People can change.† â€Å"But often, they don't,† declared Nathan. The bartender returned to take our lunch orders, though none of us had even looked at the menus yet. â€Å"I'll just order for us all, shall I?† Nathan opened the menu and scanned it quickly. â€Å"Bring us a platter of the garlic butter mushrooms, the goat cheese fondue, the bacon-wrapped scallops, and the fried oyster Caesar salad. Enough for three on the salad, obviously.† The bartender made a couple of quick notes and was gone before I could even say a word. â€Å"Heavy-handed much, Dad?† asked Adrian. â€Å"You didn't even ask if we minded you ordering.† Nathan looked unconcerned. â€Å"I've eaten here before. I know what's good. Trust me, you'll like it.† â€Å"Sage won't eat any of that.† This really would be easier, I decided, if they'd both just pretend I didn't exist. â€Å"Why ever not?† asked Nathan, looking at me curiously. â€Å"Are you allergic to seafood?† â€Å"She only eats healthy stuff,† said Adrian. â€Å"Everything you just got is dripping in fat.† â€Å"A little butter won't hurt her. You'll both see that I'm right. It's all good. Besides,† Nathan added, pausing to sip at his water. â€Å"I did order a salad for the table. Lettuce is healthy.† I didn't even attempt to point out that no amount of Romaine was going to make up for fried oysters or Caesar dressing. I wouldn't have had a chance to speak up anyway because Adrian was on a roll and – I noticed with some surprise – halfway through his martini. â€Å"You see?† he said in disgust. â€Å"That's exactly how you operate. You assume you know best for everyone. You just go ahead and make these decisions, not bothering to consult with anyone, because you're so certain you're right.† â€Å"In my vast experience,† said Nathan coldly, â€Å"I am usually right. When you too possess that kind of experience – when you can actually claim to be an authority on, well, anything – then you can also be trusted with important decisions.† â€Å"This is lunch,† Adrian argued back. â€Å"Not a life or death decision. All I'm saying is that you could have at least made some effort to include others. Obviously, your ‘vast experience' doesn't apply to normal courtesies.† Nathan glanced over at me. â€Å"Have I been anything but courteous to you, Miss Sage?† My chair, much to my dismay, didn't swallow me up or offer to hide me. Adrian finished his martini in a gulp and held up the glass to catch the bartender's eye. â€Å"Leave her out of it,† Adrian told his father. â€Å"Don't try to manipulate her into proving your point.† â€Å"I hardly need to manipulate anyone into proving my point,† said Nathan. â€Å"I think it's made.† â€Å"Lunch will be fine,† I blurted out, fully aware that this altercation between father and son really had nothing to do with my eating habits. â€Å"I need to try more things anyway.† â€Å"Don't give in to him, Sydney,† warned Adrian. â€Å"That's how he gets away with walking all over people – especially women. He's done it to my mom for years.† The bartender silently appeared and replaced the empty martini glass with a full one. â€Å"Please,† said Nathan, with a heavy sigh. â€Å"Let's leave your mother out of this.† â€Å"Should be easy enough,† said Adrian. I could see lines of tension in his face. His mother was a sensitive topic. â€Å"Seeing as you always do. I've been trying to get an answer out of you for weeks on how she's doing! Hell, I've just been trying to figure out where she's even at. Is that so hard for you to give up? She can't be in maximum security. They must let her get letters.† â€Å"It's better that you don't have contact with her while she's incarcerated,† said Nathan. Even I was amazed at how coldly he spoke about his wife. Adrian sneered and took a sip of his new martini. â€Å"There we are again: you knowing what's best for everyone. You know, I'd really, really like to think you're keeping this avoidance attitude with her because it hurts too much. I know that if the woman I loved was locked away, I'd be doing everything in my power to reach her. For you? Maybe it's too hard. Maybe the only way you can cope without her is to block her out – and by keeping me away too. I could almost understand that.† â€Å"Adrian – † began Nathan. â€Å"But that's not it, is it? You don't want me to have contact – and you probably aren't having contact – because you're embarrassed.† Adrian was really getting worked up now. â€Å"You want to distance us and pretend what she did doesn't exist. You want to pretend that she doesn't exist. She's ruined the family reputation.† Nathan fixed his son with a steely look. â€Å"Considering your own reputation, I'd think you would see the wisdom in not associating with someone who has done what she's done.† â€Å"What, screw up?† Adrian demanded. â€Å"We all screw up. Everyone makes mistakes. That's what she did. It was bad judgment, that's all. You don't cut off the people you love for mistakes like that.† â€Å"She did it because of you,† said Nathan. His tone left no question about what he thought of that decision. â€Å"Because you couldn't leave well enough alone with that dhampir girl. You had to flaunt your relationship with her, nearly getting yourself in as much trouble as her in your aunt's murder. That's why your mother did what she did – to protect you. Because of your irresponsibility, she's in prison now. All of this is your fault.† Adrian went pale – more so than usual – and looked too shocked to even attempt any response. He picked up his martini again, and I was almost certain I could see his hands shaking. It was right around then that two waiters from the upstairs restaurant showed up with our food. We stared in silence as they arranged our place settings and artfully laid out the platters of food. Looking at all that food made me nauseous, and it had nothing to do with the oill or salt content. â€Å"Mr. Ivashkov,† I began, despite every reasonable voice in my head screaming at me to shut up. â€Å"It's unfair to blame Adrian for her choices, especially when he didn't even realize what she was doing. I know he would do anything for her. If he'd been able to stop this – or take her place – he would have.† â€Å"You're sure of that, huh?† Nathan was piling his plate with food and seemed quite excited about it. Neither Adrian nor I had an appetite. â€Å"Well, Miss Sage, I'm sorry to shatter your illusions, but it seems you – like so many other young women – have been fooled by my son's fast-talking ways. I can assure you, he has never done anything that didn't serve his own interests first. He has no initiative, no ambition, no follow-through. From a very early age, he was constantly breaking rules, never listening to what others had to say if it didn't suit what he wanted. I'm not really surprised his college attempts have failed – and I assure you, this one will too – because he barely made it out of high school. It wasn't even about the drinking, the girls, and the stunts he pulled†¦ he just didn't care. He ignored his work. It was only through our influence and checkbook that he managed to graduate. Since then, it's been a constant downward spiral.† Adrian looked like he'd been slapped. I wanted to reach out and comfort him, but even I was still in shock from Nathan's words. Adrian clearly was too. It was one thing to go on and on about how you thought your father was disappointed in you. It was an entirely different thing to hear your father explain it in excruciating detail. I knew because I had been in both situations. â€Å"Honestly, I don't even mind the drinking so much, so long as it knocks him out and keeps him quiet,† continued Nathan, through a mouth full of goat cheese. â€Å"You think his mother suffers now? I assure you, she's far better off. She was up countless nights, crying over whatever trouble he'd gotten himself into. Keeping him away from her now isn't about me or him. It's for her. At least now, she doesn't have to hear about his latest antics or worry about him. Ignorance is bliss. She's in a better place not having contact with him, and I intend to keep it that way.† He offered the scallops to me, as though he hadn't just delivered a huge chastisement without taking a breath. â€Å"You really should try this. Protein's good for you, you know.† I shook my head, unable to find words. Adrian took a deep breath. â€Å"Really, Dad? I come all the way here to see you, to ask you to give me some way to contact her†¦ and this is all I get? That she's better off not talking to me?† Looking at him, I had a feeling he was working very hard to stay calm and reasonable. Breaking into snarky Adrian retorts wouldn't win him any ground, and he knew it. Nathan looked startled. â€Å"Is that the only reason you came here?† It was clear from his tone that he thought it was a foolish reason. Adrian bit his lip, probably again to hold back his true feelings. I was impressed at his control. â€Å"I also thought†¦ well, that maybe you'd want to hear how I was doing. I thought you might be glad to know I was doing something useful.† I gasped. For a moment, his father simply stared. Then, his confusion melted into one of those awkward laughs. â€Å"Ah. You're joking. I was puzzled for a moment.† â€Å"I'm done with this,† said Adrian. In a flash, he downed his martini and was out of his seat, heading toward the door. Nathan continued eating undisturbed, but I was on my feet as well. It was only when I was halfway across the pub, trying to catch up with Adrian, that Nathan bothered to say anything else. â€Å"Miss Sage?† Every part of me wanted to run after Adrian, but I paused to glance back at his father. Nathan had taken out his wallet and was flipping through a stack of bills. â€Å"Here. Allow me to pay you for your gas and your time.† He held the cash out, and I almost laughed. Adrian had forced himself to come here for all sorts of reasons, money being one of them. He'd never gotten a chance to ask for it, yet here his father was, offering it up. I didn't move. â€Å"I don't want anything from you,† I said. â€Å"Unless it's an apology to Adrian.† Nathan gave me another blank look. He seemed sincerely confused. â€Å"What do I have to apologize for?† I left. Adrian had either taken the stairs or immediately caught an elevator because there was no sign of him outside the pub. I went back up to the lobby and peered around anxiously. A bellman passed by, and I flagged him down. â€Å"Excuse me. Where's the nearest place you can smoke?† He nodded back toward the front door. â€Å"Far side of the circle drive.† I thanked him and practically ran outside. Sure enough, over in the designated smoking area, Adrian was leaning against an ornate fence in the shade of an orange tree, lighting up. I hurried over to him. â€Å"Adrian,† I exclaimed. â€Å"Are you okay?† He took a long drag on his cigarette. â€Å"Is that really a question you want to ask, Sage?† â€Å"He was out of line,† I said adamantly. â€Å"He had no business saying any of that about you.† Adrian inhaled on the cigarette again and then dropped it to the sidewalk. He stamped the cigarette out with the toe of his shoe. â€Å"Let's just go back to Palm Springs.† I glanced back at the hotel. â€Å"We should get you some water or something. You took down that vodka pretty fast.† He nearly smiled. Nearly. â€Å"Takes a lot more than that to make me sick. I won't throw up in your car. I promise. I just don't want to stick around and risk seeing him again.† I complied, and before long, we were back on the road again. We'd spent less time in San Diego than it had taken to drive there. Adrian stayed silent, and this time, I didn't try to coax him out or distract him with meaningless conversation. No words of mine would help. I doubted anyone's words would help. I didn't blame Adrian for his mood. I'd feel the same way if my father had laid into me like that in public. Still, I wished there was something I could do to ease Adrian's pain. Some small comfort to give him a moment of peace. My chance came when I saw a small gas station outside of Escondido with a sign reading BEST SLUSHES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HERE AT JUMBO JIM'S! I remembered his joke about switching to a slush-based diet. I turned my car off the highway, even though I knew it was silly. What was a slush compared to the disaster we'd just left behind? Still, I had to do something – anything – to make Adrian feel better. He didn't even seem to notice we'd stopped there until I was getting out of the car. â€Å"What's up?† he asked, managing to drag himself out of his dark thoughts. The look on his face tore me apart. â€Å"You've got half a tank.† â€Å"Be right back,† I said. I returned five minutes later, a cup in each hand, and managed to knock on his window. He got out of the car, truly puzzled now. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"Slushes,† I said. â€Å"Cherry for you. You have to drink it out here, though. I'm not risking the car.† Adrian blinked a couple of times, as though maybe I was a mirage brought on by too much sunlight. â€Å"What is this? A pity party for me? Because I'm so pathetic?† â€Å"It's not always about you,† I scolded. â€Å"I saw the sign and wanted a slush. Figured you'd want one too. If you don't, I'll throw it away and just drink mine.† I only got one step away before he stopped me and took the bright red slush. We leaned against the car together and drank without talking for a while. â€Å"Man,† he finally said, when we were about halfway through. There was a look of wonder in his eyes. â€Å"I'd forgotten how good these are. What kind did you get?† â€Å"Blue raspberry.† He nodded and slurped loudly on his. That dark mood still hung around him, and I knew a childhood beverage wasn't going to undo what his father had done anytime soon. The best I could hope for was a few moments of peace for him. We finished shortly thereafter and tossed the cups in the trash. When we got back in Latte, Adrian sighed wearily and rubbed his eyes. â€Å"God, those are awesome. I think I needed that. The vodka may have hit me harder than I thought. Glad you decided to branch out into something that isn't coffee for a change.† â€Å"Hey, if they'd had coffee flavor, you know I would've gotten it.† â€Å"That's disgusting,† he said. â€Å"There isn't enough sugar in the world to make that even remotely – † He stopped and gave me a startled look. In fact, he looked so shocked that I stopped backing up and kicked the car back into park. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked. â€Å"The slush. That thing's like 99 percent sugar. You just drank one, Sage.† He seemed to interpret my silence as though perhaps I hadn't understood. â€Å"You just drank liquid sugar.† â€Å"Maybe you drank liquid sugar,† I said. â€Å"Mine was sugar free.† I hoped I sounded convincing. â€Å"Oh.† I couldn't tell if he was relieved or disappointed. â€Å"You freaked me out there for a minute.† â€Å"You should've known better.† â€Å"Yeah. I suppose so.† He fell back into his blue mood, the slushes only a temporary distraction. â€Å"You know what the worst part of all that was?† I knew we were back to his father, not slushes. â€Å"What?† â€Å"You'd think it'd be that I didn't get the money or that he just ripped my life apart or that he has no faith in me sticking to college. But that's okay. I'm used to that from him. What really bothers me is that I really did ruin my mom's life.† â€Å"I can't imagine you did,† I said, shocked at his words. â€Å"Like you pointed out, we still love people who make mistakes. I'm sure she loves you too. Anyway, that's something you need to discuss with her – not him.† He nodded. â€Å"The other thing that bothered me†¦ well, he said all that in front of you.† That was a shock too. I brushed it off, feeling a little flustered that he would think so much of my opinion. Why should he care? â€Å"Don't worry about me. I've been with much more abrasive people than him.† â€Å"No, no†¦ I mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Adrian looked at me and then quickly averted his eyes. â€Å"After what he said about me, I can't stand the thought that you might think less of me.† I was so surprised that I couldn't muster a response right away. When I did, I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. â€Å"Of course I don't.† He still wouldn't look at me, apparently not believing my words. â€Å"Adrian.† I laid my hand over his and felt a warm spark of connection. He jerked his head toward me in astonishment. â€Å"Nothing he said could change what I think of you. I've had my mind made up about you for a long time†¦ and it's all good.† Adrian looked away from me and down to where my hand covered his. I blushed and pulled away. â€Å"Sorry.† I'd probably freaked him out. He glanced back up at me. â€Å"Best thing that's happened to me all day. Let's hit the road.† We got back on the highway, and I found myself distracted by two things. First was my hand. It still tingled and felt warm from where I'd touched his, which was kind of funny. People always thought vampires were cold, but they weren't. Certainly not Adrian. The sensation was fading the longer I drove, but I kind of wished it'd stay. The other thing that kept distracting me was all that sugar I'd just consumed. I kept running my tongue over my teeth. My whole mouth was coated in sickening sweetness. I wanted to brush my teeth and then drink a bottle of mouthwash. Liquid sugar. Yes, that was exactly what it had been. I hadn't wanted to drink one, but I'd known if I'd just brought a slush for Adrian, he really would've read that as pity and refused. I had to act as though I'd wanted one too, with him as an afterthought. He seemed to have believed my lie about the drink's sugar content, though a quick trip into the gas station would have quickly alerted him to the fact that Jumbo Jim's most certainly didn't carry sugar-free slushes. I'd asked them. They'd laughed. Skipping lunch wasn't going to compensate for those calories, I thought glumly. And I wasn't going to get that sugary taste out of my mouth anytime soon. With as quickly as Adrian had sunk back into his depression, I suddenly felt stupid for even attempting this ruse. A slush couldn't change what his father had said, and I'd be a pound up on the scale tomorrow. This probably hadn't been worth it. Then, I thought back to that brief moment by the car, and Adrian's fleeting look of contentment, followed later by: God, those are awesome. I think I needed that. A brief moment of peace in the midst of his dark despair. That was what I had wanted, and that was what I had gotten. Was it worth it? I rubbed my fingertips together, still feeling that warmth. Yes, I decided. Yes, it was worth it.

What is positivism

Positivism Is a well established philosophy wealth the natural sciences. In the early nineteenth century It became an integral aspect of social science methodology. In Bacon tradition, positivism is the precise and objective observation of an object from a scientifically detached position. Though its definition is broad, there are fundamentally six assumptions in positivistic philosophy and three distinct generations that negotiate with these assumptions. Naturalism; positivists are committed to the implication of the natural scientific teeth in social science.The natural scientific method creates a ‘closed system' in which a limited number of discrete variables are identified, influences are excluded, cause and effect Is established, and excellently law or authoritative knowledge Is constructed. No acknowledgement of open systems as a feature of both natural and social science Is made. Phenomenal; only knowledge gained from physical experience Is considered valid. Otherwise It Is metaphysical and meaningless. If It cannot be subject to empirical tests and corroborated, it does not exist. Happiness, for example, by this criterion, is meaningless.Nominal; again concepts must be rooted in physical actuality. Words are mere reflections of things, semantics are dismissed. Scientific concepts are regarded as true reflections of the world instead. Atomics; attempts definition of discrete irreducible objects. An individual would by this criterion, be the smallest unit of society. 19th century utilitarian maxim ‘greater good for greater number' placed special emphasis on this assumption. Scientific laws; a sequence of regularities in objects are sought and named a constant conjunction of events.A general statement Is then devised citing one variable as the cause, the other as the effect. E. G. : Ill health as the cause for poverty. The problematic, Internal structure of these objects Is not examined. Universal law Is established. Facts and Values: facts onl y are scientific, distinct then from subjective and relative values which cannot be verified by empirical measurement. The first generation of positivists, in response to European chaos, devised a confident Sino of knowledge as human made, not divine construction and so open to critical enquiry.Augusta Comet directed early positivist thought in the social sciences. He made a naturalist assumption that through social physics, social cohesion could be attained which would then lead to civic harmony. With positivist philosophy intent, he meant to serve the needs of humanity through objective intellectual enquiry. Comet believed that all knowledge could be reconstructed and a better world created. Human reason could subject social phenomena to natural laws and achieve regress. The method of Induction I. E. He construction of knowledge through the collection of empirical evidence from observed regular instances, would play a early positivistic claim to objective knowledge was very ambiti ous and modified by the next generation of logical positivists. Prominent in the Vienna Circle, these philosophers placed greater emphasis on the sensory world as automatically composed of separate irreducible objects. Conscious of previous translation of value into fact and failure to separate theories from observation they had a more acute awareness of language and its tendency to, even in simple statements, have normative assumptions.Logical positivists were careful to make distinctions between statements. Two connected types were identified: analytic and synthetic. An analytic statement such as ‘all bachelors are unmarried' is a tautological truth whereas the synthetic there are more bachelors in London than anywhere else' tells us something about the world. It can be empirically tested and refuted. Logical positivists' favoring of the induction method, with its assumption of rabbles' passivity posed a difficulty for the next generation of philosophers, the standard positi vists.Nominal was the prominent assumption for this school of thought. Hempen, acknowledging the role of meaning, championed the idea of deduction over induction. Deduction involves abstract reasoning. It sees thought processes, not a general law as initial in devising empirical research. These positivists see empirical regularity as sufficient in creating a causal law. They see symmetry in explanation and prediction. These causal laws can be empirically tested and verified. Popper on the other hand saw verification as leading to stagnation.In mid 20th century he proposed instead the idea of falsification which encourages systematic skepticism of all knowledge claims. Moving away from induction's ‘common sense' science, Popper begins with an assumption of uncertainty. Truth to Popper is a matter of degree, of verisimilitude, not an absolute. Popper shifts the demarcation criteria of science and non-science. He adopts naturalism but challenges the logical positivist view of the meta-physical as meaningless. To Popper, there is no true or false, but testability.He held that a search for truth was a search for the end of knowledge, which was contrary to his view of knowledge as continual. He saw the practice of refuting evidence as integral to progress. Popper understood research's vulnerability to false claims, the complexity of the fact/ value distinction. Our awareness of the power of social construction over our perceptions is more astute these days but it is imperative that we situate ourselves and know that we are as shaped by context as ever.

Tecumseh essays

Tecumseh essays As a young pupil in a third grade classroom I remember first hearing about Columbuss adventure to Plymouth in 1492. A little bit later we also found out about the pilgrims who found America in the Mayflower and had the first Thanksgiving ever with their guests the Indians. I can only recall learning about how the Indians taught their new neighbors harvesting techniques and other survival tips. Then the Native Americans were not brought up again in history classes until the Trail of Tears. I never gave any thought to why this was, but must have figured that nothing significant could have happened to them from those two different time periods. Tecumseh really altered my previous knowledge about the Native Americans. They had as much of a history as America did. Civil war, outsiders taking their territory, and early struggles to survive were all both shared by Indians and Americans. Why is it then students do not know as much as they should of this rich, native heritage. This is eas ily considered United States history, just because the Indians were not there to sign the Declaration of Independence does not diminish their importance. Edmunds story of Tecumseh: and the Quest for Indian Leadership takes a magnifying glass peak into the time period of 1680s to the War of 1812. Focusing especially on one particular Shawnee warrior named Tecumseh. The Shawnees lived in the Ohio valley at about the time when the frontier was being explored. History books gave their readers the impression that when these explorers were heading out west that they better be fearful of the savage tribes throughout the land. Comparable to the fear some have walking about in the bad streets of populated cities. According to Edmunds writings, the tribes were initially peaceful with the Americans until they broke promises and took military action (36). The Indians rarely struck first with the battles with the white man. Consistentl...

Crito Response essays

Crito Response essays As I read The Crito it seems to me a confusing and somewhat muddled dialogue. The difficulty Plato faced in composing the dialogue was to somehow justify Socrates' decision to stay in prison rather than try to escape after his wrongful conviction. Plato had to draw out a distinction between the just laws, which Socrates must obey by staying in prison, and the unjust behavior of Socrates' accusers, who sentenced him to death. The problem, of course, is that Socrates' accusers have unjustly sentenced him by using the laws. By giving the laws their own voice, Plato hopes to distinguish them as a separate entity, making them something human toward which Socrates might be able to act unjustly. In this dialogue we have the laws following suit with the accusers as the law persuades Socrates that he must face death to avoid breaking them. These arguments, at first seemed to be persuasive and sound. But I think that you can only separate the laws from the people who make and apply them so f ar. And that if both the people and the laws have condemned him, then it would seem that either the people side with the laws or the other way around. Either way it doesnt seem right to say that the laws are just and must be respected but the people are unjust and should not. One questionable argument of Socrates comes when, I think, Crito presents his best argument for escape. Crito says that by accepting the accusers wishes, he would be abetting their wrongdoing. Socrates' reply to this argument is that he would in fact be harming the Laws, which are just. But if the laws are just and the people are unjust, and both seem to be willing the same punishment, then Socrates it seems is caught between a rock and a hard place. If Socrates stays in prison, he will be siding with his unjust accusers, and if he escapes he will be acting against the just laws. But, in the end, he wants Crito to believe that ultimately it is better to ...

Application layer firewalls and Packet Filtering

Application layer firewalls and Packet Filtering Application-layer firewalls are every so often executed using application go-betweens. Two TCP affiliations are set up: one between the package source and the firewall, another between the firewall and the bundle objective. Application delegates square arriving packs for the advantage of the objective, take a gander at application payload, and a while later exchange enabled bundles to the objective. Suspicious data is dropped and the client and server never examine particularly with each other. Middle people basically incorporate more tradition stack overhead than surveying packages at the framework layer. Moreover, in light of the fact that a fascinating mediator is required for each application, middle person firewalls can be less versatile and slower to refresh than tasteful appraisal firewalls Package isolating firewalls are the most crucial sort of firewall confirmation and can process information through a fundamental organizing computation. Package filtering can be performed by different framework contraptions and is for the most part executed when you download free firewall programming. This suggests most bundle filtering firewalls allow the customer a level of control. Greater frameworks ought to maintain a strategic distance from package isolating firewalls as use can realize complex issues with plan. Nevertheless, they are ideal for little frameworks. There are only two honest to goodness disadvantages to distribute. The firewall has no logging limit, so perceiving if it is being attacked can be troublesome. Additionally, it cant be used for content-based isolating. Delegate Firewalls Like a save server or delegate server, middle person firewalls are a somewhere between in-house frameworks and servers on the web. They work by isolating information at the application level, which implies more important security for compose resources. Despite encroaching upon web requests, go-between firewalls in like manner allow and deny moving toward movement for any similarity of traditions, for instance, HTTP and FTP (Layer 7). Delegate firewalls use significant bundle examination and tasteful examination to choose whether moving toward action is shielded or destructive. Go-between firewalls have their own specific IP address which keeps away from facilitate framework contact with various structures and is championed as the most secure sort of firewall available. Not in any manner like an extensive parcel of interchange sorts of firewall, they similarly have wide logging limits which are impeccable while investigating security breaks. Stateful Inspection Firewalls Similarly, known as novel package isolating or multi-layer firewalls, stasteful examination is a firewall development that screens all powerful TCP and UDP affiliations. These firewalls use the information from looking at to figure which sort out bundles to allow through the firewall. Just bundles organizing a known powerful affiliation are allowed to pass the firewall and it is a security feature transcendent in numerous business frameworks. Stasteful examination is an advancement from static package isolating, inside which simply the header of groups could be poor down. This suggested an assailant could get information through a firewall by indicating reply in the header. Stasteful appraisal at present screens the header of groups and also the separation down to the application layer (ALG). VPN A virtual private framework vpn. Is a framework inside a framework that usually empowers a customer to use the web on a private framework A virtual private framework vpn is widily common in various affiliation on account of the going with reasons Vpn are brave expermision Various segments coordinating Consequently, vpn give unusual condition of security By fowl long on electronic developments vpn streamline a framework general Running a vpn mean better shot of aphorism molecule organize uptime Content Filtering A Content Filter picks which content is commendable for review and access through a given structure. Programming that controls content, which is generally called web-filtering undertakings or blue pencil item, is a term used for applications made and made for managing what information or media is allowed to be seen by the end customer (especially content from the Internet) Scarcely any corporate tech subjects rouse as much dialog as corporate web isolating. Corporate organization needs to shield their structures from malware and their delegates from wasteful Internet surfing. Delegates need to feel like trusted in people from a gathering and are stressed over security and the chance to use the Internet to its fullest potential as they work.

Telework Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Telework - Term Paper Example From this paper, it is clear that employers of the companies may feel a split among their employees because there is a feeling of alienation among those, who are working at home and those, who are working in the office. A lack of visual control over teleworkers is one of the main preventive factors for employers in order to evaluate whether an employee spends his time effectively or not. The economies of the companies gain benefits from telework in case the level of â€Å"downtime† is decreased among teleworkers. In spite of the findings that environment gains benefits and there is a smaller number of cars and different means of transportation commuting, teleworkers have more free time and during this time they may travel or go by car wherever they want. There is also reduction of taxes paid by the companies in case they are free from the option of renting and that will take money from the national economy for sure.As far as we can see, there are more positive issues about tel ework than negative ones. Telework is a perfect option for the modern business world to satisfy the needs of employees, employers and the government. Balanced work relations among employers, employees and support groups lead to high levels of satisfaction from telework. The benefits of telecommuting outweigh the costs and we can talk about the increase of efficient work, growing levels of productivity and reductions in real estate costs, numerous environmental benefits, greater work flexibility and many others.... Moreover, it should be noted, that the option of telecommuting is relevant both to large and small firms and businesses. In accordance with the survey, conducted in 2009: â€Å"At companies with between 1,000 and 4,999 employees surveyed last year, an average of 16% of employees telecommute one or more days per week, compared with an average of 14% of employees at firms with between 5,000 and 19,999 employees, and an average of 18% of those working for organizations with 20,000 or more employees† (Brownlee 2009, p. 2). Moreover, there is a greater opportunity for employees, who often telecommute, to travel to different countries regularly. The highest percentage is found in the North America. Benefits for companies There are numerous advantages for the companies, which implement telecommuting. In spite of the fact that there are essential benefits, many businesses are afraid of cost of supporting telecommuting, which is too high. There is a need to hire IT specialists and crea te IT groups in order to support telework. More innovative and risk-taking businesses realize advantages of telework (Vega, 2003). They are able to send millions of dollar a year on real estate, because they provide their employees with an opportunity to work at home. Moreover, the levels of employee productivity are also essential. Managers underline that it is more convenient for them not to interrupt offline work and thus it is the right way to work delivery, especially in cases of urgency. First of all, there is a need for organizations to establish written telecommuting policy. It should be reviewed and corrected by IT specialists, financial department and human resource department. The majority of the companies and organizations correlate the

Middleware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Middleware - Essay Example Current business trend require integration such as ERP, SCM and CRM. Business to Business (B2B) communication needs will further accelerate this trend. The need for middleware stems from this increasing growth in the number of applications and in the customizations within those applications. - Platform Transparency - Using interfaces and APIs abstraction features, Middleware provides Platform Transparency. Client and server don't require to have intimate knowledge of each other in order to work together. - RDBMS Support - Data access middleware provides transparency across different data storage formats. It will make different RDBMS look like the same RDBMS by providing multiple RDBMS support from both proprietary and standard APIs. - Advance applications - New enterprise applications harness Middleware technology for Single System Login, Enhanced Security, Location Transparency, Database and Application Oriented Services however they are not very common. - Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - Remote procedure call Middleware extends the procedure call interface familiar to all programmers offering the abstraction of being able to invoke a procedure whose body is across a network. - Distributed Object Middleware (DOM) - DOM suc... Based on the uses they can be categorized in following categories: - Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - Remote procedure call Middleware extends the procedure call interface familiar to all programmers offering the abstraction of being able to invoke a procedure whose body is across a network. - Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) - Message-Oriented Middleware provides the abstraction of a message queue which is accessible across a network. They are based on SOAP. - Distributed Object Middleware (DOM) - DOM such as DCOM and CORBA gives all the advantage of OOPS such as encapsulation and inheritance. It provides the abstraction of an object that is remote yet whose methods can be invoked just like those of an object in the same address space as the caller. are such examples. - Direct data access (DDA) for accessing databases directly as opposed to going through an application to get the information. Middleware offers many technical benefits. Current enterprise applications involve multiple applications interacting with same application. Instead of providing different APIs for different client application, we can put a Middleware with single set of APIs for each application. This can significantly simplify the communication. Also the Middleware can be used for handle different services such as checking the data for integrity, reconciling the data with other applications, data splitting and formatting so that we don't have to rewrite those services again and again for different applications. Middleware may have the capability to hold this data for a while so that it can be served to other applications which need it. Thus, it can introduce a type of persistency in the system. However there are some limitations of the

African American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

African American History - Essay Example The following study text will evaluate King’s role in the Civil Rights Movement with regards to his unique and effective strategies applied in acquiring overwhelming victory against white supremacy. Born in January 1929 as Michael Luther King, King grew up in religious environment and both his father and grandfather were pastors at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In 1948, he earned a B.A. at the Morehouse College and proceeded to the Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951. In 1955, he earned a doctorate from the Boston University where he also happened to meet his wife Coretta Scott. After his graduation from Boston University, he began his pastoral role as at the Montgomery Avenue Baptist Church. This is where his journey into world history began. Rosa Sparks, a young black woman refused to give up her seat for a white person to sit in a bus and this had sparked controversy all over the United States around 1955. By chance, King’s Montgomery Church was chosen as the meeting venue to host one of the meetings to discuss the matter, and King happened to be there1. The meeting acted to recruit King into his call of advocating for the end to racial discrimination in the United States. Rosa Sparks was thrown into jail and King could not stomach the sense that she had been jailed for failing to give her seat to a white person. Following this, he planned his first public demonstration. In the same year, he mobilized the entire Montgomery [mainly African American] community to boycott the city’s transport service. He demanded equal rights for all. After an unending one year of boycott, a court ruling in Browder V. Gayle put an end to the discrimination on the public bus service and everyone was free to board the buses. This did not end, but sparked a new struggle aimed at eradicating racism all over the United States2. Martin Luther King Jr. was

2-way mixed ANOVA Schizotypy practical report protocol Essay

2-way mixed ANOVA Schizotypy practical report protocol - Essay Example These findings were consistent with the theories put forth that a diagnosis of schizophrenia is made by a high score on deviating from normal emotional indications, as well as the theories that schizophrenics tend to have cognitive deficits with regards to context processing, and not as many cognitive deficits with regards to spatial processing. Schizophrenia is an illness that is characterized by a number of neurocognitive impairments, including impairments in attention, executive functioning, and verbal and non-verbal memory. (Gooding & Braun 261). Failure in logical reasoning is also a hallmark of schizophrenia (Tsanikos 1717), as is emotional disturbance (Yoon et al. 2008). Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is often associated with schizophrenia, and some theories state that schizophrenia and SPD share the same genetic liability, with environmental stressors being a leading cause of SPD turning into schizophrenia. (Olin et al. 93). Research has shown that schizophrenics tend to perform poorly on tasks that involve sustained attention. (Rawlings & Goldberg 2001) (Hoff & Kremen 2003). This would affect the participants, as the spatial reasoning portion of the study was timed, therefore it would be predicted that the higher on the schizotypal scale the participant is, the lower he or she would score on the spatial reasoning scale. Research has also established a positive correlation between schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder and emotional disturbance. (Yoon et al. 2008). Yoons study of participants who scored high on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) found a positive correlation for depression, anxiety and anger, and a negative correlation for mood clarity and mood repair. (Yoon et al. 2008). This is backed up by other research. For instance, Kohler (2003) has shown that schizophrenics have difficulty reading facial

Principles of Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Principles of Economics - Essay Example Q1. You own a local sub shop in a college town. You primarily serve two groups of people: local residents (both students and other local residents) and visitors to your town. Devise a price discrimination strategy that will increase your revenues compared to a single-pricing strategy. A1. Although, there may be a plethora of available price discrimination policies for a variety of different businesses, for a fast food eatery there are a number of simplistic strategies that could be employed to help increase revenues over a single price strategy. Firstly, the sub shop could advertise students to 'show their student card' for a predetermined discount. As for other residents fliers could be distributed to the houses in the community with a 'customer loyalty card attached'. These loyalty cards could also be presented for a predetermined discount. As visitors passing through the town would not have access to these types of identification they would be charged full price. According to Tutor2u (2011) this strategy would accomplish charging a higher price for an identical good (In this case food) for a reason that is not associated with an increase in costs. Q2. Suppose the cable TV industry is currently unregulated. However, due to complaints from consumers that the pric e of cable TV is too high, the legislature is considering placing a price ceiling on cable TV below the current equilibrium price. If the government does make this price ceiling law, diagram and explain the effects with supply and demand analysis. If the cable TV company is worried about disgruntling customers, suppose that the company may introduce a different type of programming that is cheaper for the company to provide yet is equally appealing to customers. Explain what would be the effects of this action. A2- In this example, if the government were to impose a price decrease from Price $(A) to Price $(B) this would naturally drive the demand from its Equilibrium level to a level of Q(B). However, the cable company may not want to provide all of this excess service to new customers (Owing to high costs associated with new cable lines etc) so it is likely that this government imposed decrease in price would be driven from Equilibrium to Q(A) resulting in a shortage of supply. Nat urally, this action would enrage customers. What the company may choose to do is offer a price discrimination strategy wherein they could charge the new government imposed low price for a basic service cable service and continue a higher price strategy for a more premium service. Q3. Consider a perfectly competitive market. Analyze and explain in detail using graphical tools to show what you expect to happen to the number of firms and firm profitability in the short run and long run a) if demand for the product falls and b) if demand for the product rises. A3. As you can see from the above graph, if in a perfectly competitive market the quantity demanded for a product increases the demand curve will shift to the right and the price of a good will increase in the short term (Which would have a positive effect on the profitability of a firm). However, because the market is perfectly competitive more players would enter this market which would effectively drive the price down until its original equilibrium was once again attained. However the opposite could also hold true, insofar as if the demand for a good decreases the price of goods would also decrease (Which would have negative consequences for firms operating in this market). At this point several firms would no longer compete in this market and the quantity of goods supplied would decrease which would drive the price of goods back to its original position. Q4- Discuss why some long-run average cost curves are steeper on the

Maintaining Psychological Contract is Crucial During Downturns Essay

Maintaining Psychological Contract is Crucial During Downturns - Essay Example How employee perceive obligation and to what magnitude it is fulfilled constitute the main ingredient of this psychological contract. It can be divided into subdivisions within the literature that further enumerate its framework. The two types includes transactional and relational contract. Relational psychological contract is mainly driven by socio-emotional exchanges between the employee and the organization. It involves long term undefined performance terms and promotes a mutual sense of understanding. It bonds the two parties with the commitment of promoting collective interest over personal gains. (ODonohue et al 2007). On the other hand transactional psychological contract is comprised of monetizable exchanges and are driven by short term personal interest. Both these type of contract terms blend together to provide with the important adhesive that binds the two parties with a concealed force. According to Burr and Thomas there is another form of contract which is emerging unde r the label of â€Å"ideology-infused† contract. It has a more transpersonal perspective not only transactional and relational but also for something for the society. So it demonstrates what is in it for me, us and the society. So far we were explaining psychological contract from one dimension only involving the employee and the organization. But since recent changes in the trend of hiring workers from different agencies has given rise to another form of psychological contract. This contract has two dimensions. In this setup, workers are employee of the agency hence all the essence of psychological contract perfectly applies among the two parties. The other contract is established between the employee and the client organization where he or she works. (Chambel et al 2009). This dual psychological contract is not discussed much in the literature and it is important to highlights its implication in today’s changing trend of contingent employment. Now technically there

Principles of Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Principles of Economics - Essay Example Q1. You own a local sub shop in a college town. You primarily serve two groups of people: local residents (both students and other local residents) and visitors to your town. Devise a price discrimination strategy that will increase your revenues compared to a single-pricing strategy. A1. Although, there may be a plethora of available price discrimination policies for a variety of different businesses, for a fast food eatery there are a number of simplistic strategies that could be employed to help increase revenues over a single price strategy. Firstly, the sub shop could advertise students to 'show their student card' for a predetermined discount. As for other residents fliers could be distributed to the houses in the community with a 'customer loyalty card attached'. These loyalty cards could also be presented for a predetermined discount. As visitors passing through the town would not have access to these types of identification they would be charged full price. According to Tutor2u (2011) this strategy would accomplish charging a higher price for an identical good (In this case food) for a reason that is not associated with an increase in costs. Q2. Suppose the cable TV industry is currently unregulated. However, due to complaints from consumers that the pric e of cable TV is too high, the legislature is considering placing a price ceiling on cable TV below the current equilibrium price. If the government does make this price ceiling law, diagram and explain the effects with supply and demand analysis. If the cable TV company is worried about disgruntling customers, suppose that the company may introduce a different type of programming that is cheaper for the company to provide yet is equally appealing to customers. Explain what would be the effects of this action. A2- In this example, if the government were to impose a price decrease from Price $(A) to Price $(B) this would naturally drive the demand from its Equilibrium level to a level of Q(B). However, the cable company may not want to provide all of this excess service to new customers (Owing to high costs associated with new cable lines etc) so it is likely that this government imposed decrease in price would be driven from Equilibrium to Q(A) resulting in a shortage of supply. Nat urally, this action would enrage customers. What the company may choose to do is offer a price discrimination strategy wherein they could charge the new government imposed low price for a basic service cable service and continue a higher price strategy for a more premium service. Q3. Consider a perfectly competitive market. Analyze and explain in detail using graphical tools to show what you expect to happen to the number of firms and firm profitability in the short run and long run a) if demand for the product falls and b) if demand for the product rises. A3. As you can see from the above graph, if in a perfectly competitive market the quantity demanded for a product increases the demand curve will shift to the right and the price of a good will increase in the short term (Which would have a positive effect on the profitability of a firm). However, because the market is perfectly competitive more players would enter this market which would effectively drive the price down until its original equilibrium was once again attained. However the opposite could also hold true, insofar as if the demand for a good decreases the price of goods would also decrease (Which would have negative consequences for firms operating in this market). At this point several firms would no longer compete in this market and the quantity of goods supplied would decrease which would drive the price of goods back to its original position. Q4- Discuss why some long-run average cost curves are steeper on the

Mental Disorder and Mental Health Problems Essay Example for Free

Mental Disorder and Mental Health Problems Essay This unit aims to provide the learner with knowledge of the main forms of mental health problems according to the psychiatric classification system. Learners also consider the strengths and limitations of this model and look at alternative frameworks for understanding mental distress. The focus of the unit is on understanding the different ways in which mental health problems impact on the individual and others in their social network. It also considers the benefits of early intervention in promoting mental health and well-being. Credit Level 3 3 Assessment criteria The learner can: 1.1 Describe the main types of mental ill health according to the psychiatric (DSM/ICD) classification system: mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, substance-related disorders, eating disorders, cognitive disorders 1.2 Explain the key strengths and limitations of the psychiatric classification system see more:psychiatric (dsm/icd) classification system 1.3 Explain two alternative frameworks for understanding mental distress 1.4 Explain how mental ill health may be indicated through an individual’s emotions, thinking and behaviour 2. Know the impact of mental ill health on individuals and others in their social network 2.1 Explain how individuals experience discrimination due to misinformation, assumptions and stereotypes about mental ill health 2.2 Explain how mental ill health may have an impact on the individual including: a. psychological and emotional b. practical and financial c. the impact of using services d. social exclusion e. positive impacts Learning outcomes The learner will: 1. Know the main forms of mental ill health 2.3 Explain how mental ill health may have an impact on those in the individual’s familial, social or work network including: a. psychological and emotional b. practical and financial c. the impact of using services d. social exclusion e. positive impacts 2.4 Explain the benefits of early intervention in promoting an individual’s mental health and well-being Notes for Guidance In learning outcome 1, assessment criterion 1, learners are asked to describe ‘the main types of mental ill health according to the psychiatric (DSM/ICD) classification system’. Learners should demonstrate knowledge of how types of mental health are categorised by their main signs and symptoms and how the system attempts to draw a line between mental health and mental disorder. Learners do not need to demonstrate detailed knowledge of each form of disorder within each category.

Reducing Inequalities in Healthcare

Reducing Inequalities in Healthcare Background Equity in health and reducing inequalities are considered as the main goals of all health systems (1) which is the absence of systematic disparities in health or in the social determinants of health between social groups with different levels of social advantage(2). Health inequalities are structural and systematic differences in health status between and within social groups in society. There is a difference between the inequality and inequity in health so that inequity is regarded as avoidable inequalities (3). The term health inequity has been recognized as a root cause affecting health and is closely related to social determinants of health (SDH)† including place of residence, race/ethnicity/culture/language, occupation, gender/sex, religion, education, socioeconomic status, and social capital requirements. Inequity in health is more important than other inequities because the health is the first prerequisite to achieve other capacities(4,5). Studies, for example, show that the richer individuals are healthier than the poorer ones(6). However inequalities do exist in health care (notably in access to care), they should not be considered as the principal cause of inequity in health status(7). In response to growing concern over the continuation and expansion of these inequalities, the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health was established and made recommendations to develop and systematically monitor the equity in health and social determinants of health at the local, national and international levels. They may lead to design appropriate interventions and facilitate evidence-informed policy-making process(8). Monitoring health inequalities through producing appropriate evidence can promote accountability and continuously improve equity-oriented health plans including moving toward universal health coverage(9). Given the importance of the issue, various countries have initiated the development of such surveillance systems(10). Health equity surveillance systems include the analysis of groups in terms of socio-economic status, age, gender, race, ethnicity, residence and other key factors determining socio-economic advantages or disadvantages (11) The above list of factors identified may not include the underlying causal factors and pathways of health inequality from the developing countries perspective. As there are differences from country to country, addressing health inequalities may need country-specific indicators. Identifying causal factors at country level is essential for prioritizing policy interventions (12). The accurate selection of appropriate indicators can affect the proper and reliable measurement of inequality rate. General important considerations for selection the indicators include the cost of data collection, data quality issues, availability of data for monitoring at proper time intervals, cultural appropriateness, sensitivity to the policy interventions and the required technical capacity for the analysis(13, 14). Some countries use the World Health Organization health equity indicators. In Iran, the basis for development of health equity indicators was the Urban HEART (urban health equity assessment and response tool) indicators. Urban HEART, developed by WHO, is a simple tool and guide to identify health inequity in urban areas which was tested in some countries including Tehran (Iran)(15,16). In this regard, In Iran the responsibility of the development of health equity indicators was delegated to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. To develop these indicators, several expert meetings were held and 52 indicators were determined using the Urban HEART and after several refinements. Some of these indicators are international and some other are based on the local circumstances of Iran. The indicators have been determined in five domains including health (20 indicators), human and social development (17 indicators), economic development (4 indicators), physical environment and infrastructures (7 indicators) and governance (4 indicators). In addition, appropriate practical classification variables to calculate were determined for each indicator. Data associated with 12 indicators will be collected using survey studies while data related to 40 other indicators will be gathered through the routine data recording system(14). To ensure the enforcement of the health equity indicators, they were announced to the relevant organizations after its approval. In order to plan for reducing inequalities, stakeholders should have sufficient knowledge and awareness of the issue of the equity in health and its indicators and reach a consensus about the system for monitoring these factors. It is necessary to clarify challenges and consequently relevant scientific and practical solutions can be applied using the international, national and local evidence. Objectives Given the importance of awareness of the health equity indicators and its implementation challenges and lack of study in this area in the country, this study aimed to investigate stakeholders perspective on equity in health and its 52 indicators in Iran. The results of the study can help policy makers to better understand the issue in order to effectively plan and implement the health equity indicators. Materials and Methods In this qualitative study, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and the review and analysis of relevant documents including meetings minutes, working plans and working progress reports. The interviews were conducted using a topic guide developed according to a literature review and expert opinion. It was pilot tested using interviews with three policy makers and executives and based on their comments it was revised and finalized. The participants were given the information sheet and consent form prior to the interviews. After research ethics committee approval, interviews conducted in-person on a one-to-one basis after consent was provided by the research director and two trained colleagues. All interviews were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. A framework analytical approach was used for data analysis. Participants were selected using purposive sampling method and were policy makers involved in developing the indicators and executives responsible for implementing and calculating the indicators. A total of 23 individuals were invited, 8 of whom refused to take part in the study for various work-related reasons or the lack of willingness to participate. There were five policy makers and 10 executives. Among the executives, two were governors of major cities. Interviews continued until data saturation was reached and no new code was found. The focus of the policy makers’ interview questions was primarily on the process of indicators development and participation and interaction of various sectors in this process the developing indicators as well as steps of indicators development process. Executives answered questions mainly regarding their perception of the health equity and related indicators’ calculation and implementation processes. The member check strategy was used and the comments were incorporated in the final analysis. It helped to ensure that the findings were congruent with participants perceptions, beliefs and opinions. All the stages in the study were recorded to make it possible to track of each stage and clarify the procedures. Discussion The equity and equity in health are not only the issue of international interest but also have been considered in Iran development plans. Furthermore, committee on social determinants of health in the final report from the World Health Organization (2008) titled closing the gap in a generation emphasized on national and global health equity surveillance systems for routine monitoring of health inequity(8). The issue of stewardship in health equity is a matter of great importance. Health system need to lead by taking a stewardship role in supporting a cross-government approach that focuses on the social determinants of health and performing as catalysts to all society. The Health in All Policies programs of the European Unionand South Australia promote inter-sectoral collaborations to health equity (17). The establishment of a common language for health sector and other agencies is considered as an important challenge in its leadership. Gopalan et al. suggested that a lack of awareness among stakeholders restricted the inter-sectoral convergence on combating health inequities(18). In Iran, the Ministry of Health is the steward of health equity goals and it is suggested that a secretariat or an independent office be established for health equity. According to the definitions of equity concepts provided by the stakeholders, the difference between viewpoints is obvious and their perceptions on the main concepts of equity in health are different from each other. This study showed that many executives and some policy makers disagreed on key concepts of equity in health and the executives had insufficient information about the concept of equity in health as desired by the policy makers. In general, many executives considered the equity in health mainly as fair access to and distribution of health system resources. Also, Low study showed that access to health services alone is not sufficient to achieve equity in health(19). However city governors and medical science universities are executives responsible for implementing the indicators in the region, they lack sufficient attitudes and awareness towards the issue of equity in health. It seems that orientation programs by the Ministry of Health should be more comprehensive and with an aim of emphasizing a higher priority of the issue for executives. The establishment of these indicators requires capacity building, training and shifting the attitudes of the executives implementing this program. So training and improving the awareness of the key actors are main effective steps for the establishment of health equity indicators. Training and improving the awareness of executives are facilitated by providing regulatory requirements helping the decision-making. Beheshtian et al suggested that the Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making (COMD) model for more intersectoral collaboration and consensus among other areas can be used in Iran (14). After the development of the indicators and in the establishment step, interaction between politicians, policy makers and regulatory authorities is essential in order to establish these indicators. There are some challenges regarding the calculation of the health equity indicators in the country. However 40 out of 52 health equity Indicators are collected through routine system, investigation and survey are needed for remaining 12 indicators. The routine system itself needs to be reformed and improved including hardware and software improvements. Furthermore, the preparation and participation of organizations to change their statistics and reporting systems are also required. Therefore, gaining a wide intra and intersectoral participation is needed to collect data for the indicators and change statistical forms. This participation should be established at levels of policy makers and high authority officials. In addition to the above mentioned issues, creating the infrastructure for electronic data recording and defining access level may help to the establishment of the indicators. The establishment of indicators requires financing, training and empowerment of organizations employees, legal requirements, and finally a clear action plan. A report from the Pan American Health Network on the development of health equity indicators in Canada also cited the similar challenges such as the need for financial resources, being time consuming as well as limitation of sources of information (20). As the establishment of the indicators is in its the primary steps, so the executives responsible for implementing the indicators have not had the possibility for complete and necessary adaptation to ministry of health instructions and gaining more support for the executives, training them as well as laying the proper groundwork for calculation these indicators are obviously necessary. It is debatable whether these indicators show the extent of the health equity in the country. Many policymakers stated that the World Health Organization and international indicators provided the basis for the country indicators but some changes were made in them according to cultural and social conditions of the country. In this regard, an important point mentioned by the policy makers is that as these indicators had not previously been identified, so the development of them can be considered as a positive step and they will be revised in the future according to feedbacks from universities and other organizations. Braveman in his study argued that data utilization to develop interventions is far more important than data collection itself(2). The results of this study are in consistent with those of current study, because many policy makers argued that the establishment of these indicators can be helpful if appropriate interventions are developed based on information they provide. It is, therefore, necessary to specify solutions for using the indicators in decision making. Policy making for reducing inequity in health is too difficult because it is an intersectoral policy making requiring various areas and organizations involvement and this, in turn, demands the specification of common goals, integrated accountability and increased organizational responsibilities (14). Overall, the results of the study showed the inadequate awareness of stakeholders on equity in health, lack of proper infrastructure and insufficient support from stakeholders are the important challenges regarding the establishment of the indicators; these findings are consistent with those of a study by Gopalan et al(18). Limited access to some policy makers and executives was a limitation. A small number of the governors and executives were interviewed while there were more policy makers and stakeholders participating in the development of the indicators. Conclusion: As the establishment of the indicators is in its the primary steps, so the executives responsible for implementing the indicators have not had the possibility for complete and necessary adaptation to ministry of health instructions and gaining more support for the executives, training them as well as laying the proper groundwork for calculation these indicators are obviously necessary. The development of the indicators requires a shared understanding among policy makers and executives. As the attention has been focused recently on the issue, in addition to knowledge improvement, proper solutions with intersectional collaboration approach in order to tackle challenges should be considered. References: 1. Murray CJ, Frenk JA. Framework for assessing the performance of health systems. Bull World Health Organ 2000; 78(6):717-31. 2. Braveman P, Gruskin S. Defining equity in health. J Epidemiol Community Health 2003; 517:254-8. 3. Whitehead M. Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity and health. Int J Health Serv 1992;22(3):429-45. 4. Marmot, M. Achieving health equity: from root causes to fair outcomes. The Lancet 2007;370(9593): 1153-63. 5. ONeill J, Tabish H, Welch V, Petticrew M, Pottie K, Clarke M, et al. Applying an equity lens to interventions: using PROGRESS ensures consideration of socially stratifying factors to illuminate inequities in health.J Clin Epidemiol 2014;67(1):56-64. 6. Exworthy M, Blane D, Marmot M. Tackling health inequalities in the United Kingdom: the progress and pitfalls of policy. Health Serv Res 2003; 38(6 Pt 2): 1905–22. 7. Davidson R, Kitzinger J, Hunt K. The wealthy get healthy, the poor get poorly? Lay perceptions of health inequalities. Soc Sci Med 2006; 62(9):2171-82. 8. Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2008 .Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf 9. Hosseinpoor AR, Victora CG, Bergen N, Barros AJ, Boerma, T. Towards universal health coverage: the role of within-country wealth-related inequality in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Bull World Health Organ 2011; 89(12): 881-889. 10. Cristina C, Caroline C. Can we build on existing information systems to monitor health inequities and the social determinants of health in the EU? Brussels: Euro Health Net, 2010. 11. Kelly PM, A. Bonnefoy J, Butt J, Bergman V. The social determinants of health: developing an evidence base for political action. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2007. 12. Eshetu, EB, Woldesenbet SA. Are there particular social determinants of health for the world’s poorest countries?.Afr Health Sci. Mar 2011; 11(1): 108–115 13. Wirth M, Delamonica E, Sacks E, Balk D, Storeygard A, Minujin A. Monitoring health equity in the MDGs: a practical guide. Center for International Earth Science Information Network, 2006. 14. Beheshtian M, Manesh AO, Bonakdar SH, Afzali HM, Larijani B, Hosseini L, et al. Intersectoral Collaboration to Develop Health Equity Indicators in Iran. . Iran J Public Health 2013;42(1):31-5. 15. Asadi-Lari M, Vaez-Mahdavi MR, Faghihzadeh S, Montazeri A, Farshad AA, Kalantari N, et al. The application of urban health equity assessment and response tool (Urban HEART) in Tehran; concepts and framework Med J Islam Repub Iran 2010;24(3):175-85. 16. Asadi-Lari M, Vaez-Mahdavi MR, Faghihzadeh S, Cherghian B, Esteghamati A, Farshad A. Response-oriented measuring inequalities in Tehran: second round of Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART-2), concepts and framework. Med J Islam Repub Iran 2013;27(4): 236-48. 17. Baum F.E, Bà ©gin M, Houweling T.A, Taylor S. Changes not for the fainthearted: reorienting health care systems toward health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Am J Public Health. 2009; 99(11): 1967–74. 18. Gopalan SS, Mohanty S, Das A. Challenges and opportunities for policy decisions to address health equity in developing health systems: case study of the policy processes in the Indian state of Orissa. Int J Equity Health 2011; 10(1):55. 19. Low A, Ithindi T, Low A. A step too far? Making health equity interventions in Namibia more sufficient. Int J Equity Health 2003; 2(1):5. 20. Pan-Canadian Public Health Network. Indicators of Health Inequalities. Pan-Canadian Public Health Network. Pan-Canadian Public Health Network. [cited 2014 Sep 24]; Available from: URL: http://www.phn-rsp.ca/pubs/ihi-idps/pdf/Indicators-of-Health-Inequalities-Report-PHPEG-Feb-2010-EN.pdf Acknowledgements The authors would thank people who participated in this study and Iran University of Medical Sciences for financial support. Financial Disclosure There is not any conflict of interests. Funding/Support This work was supported by Iran University of Medical sciences [IUMS/SHMIS-15748]. Authors’ Contributions Ravaghi and Oliyaee Manesh jointly designed the study. Arabloo and Goshtaei collected the data. Ravaghi, Goshtaei and Oliyaee Manesh contributed to data analysis and interpretation of the results. Arabloo, Goshtaei and Abolhassani prepared the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.