Substance Abuse Essay Example for Free

Substance Abuse Essay OBJECTIVE: Analyze specified social problems facing contemporary United States. The social problem taken into consideration in contemporary United States is substance abuse. The World Health Organisation (2014) defined substance abuse as the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances including alcohol and other illicit .Psychoactive substance use can lead to a dependence syndrome, that is to say, a cluster of behavioural, cognitive and psychological phenomena that develop after a repeated use and that typically include a strong urge to take the substance and finding difficulties in controlling its use. Substance abuse is a social canker in contemporary US. Examples of substances that are abused are marijuana, inhalants, cocaine, heroin and alcohol. People abuse these substances due to various reasons and the society in which we live has a hand in this social canker. It is now common to see young people specially adolescents engaging and experimenting with substances such as alcohol, cocaine, morphine and tobacco in the US. Substance abuse actually affects the individuals, the society and the government of the US. Substances abuse has adversarially affected the economy of the US due to the fact that resources which could have been used to further develop the US have been channelled to controlling substance abuse and its associated problems. Many violent crimes have been linked to the mind- altering effects of substances abused. Substance abusers often commit theft to support their drug habits. In contemporary US, more than half of the economic cost of alcohol and drugs is due to crime. Most substance abusers are involved in criminal activities such as gang –rape, assault, armed robbery and these criminal activities really affect US negatively. Another extent at which substance abuse affects the United States is the incident of diseases. Most of the abused substances have harmful health effects which downsizes the United States. Diseases attributable to substance abuse which affects the US negatively are high blood pressure, stroke, heart damage, and tetanus, HIV/AIDS, diarrhoea and cirrhosis as well as several degrees of cancers. The diseases outlined costs the US billions of dollars in treating them and the monies used in treating these diseases could have been used in other developmental sectors. From my own sociological perspective, a sociological theory is a set of ideas that provides a detailed explanation of any occurrence or happenings  in the society. Based on my perspective of sociological theory, I would say as a fact that peer pressure is one of the main causes of substance abuse in contemporary US.US is a nation where the societal power of peers really exists. In a society, everyone wants to be seen as a member of a group or class and even better still associated with a group. When this happens, those left in a group of substance abusers are left with no option than to use and abuse substances such as cocaine, alcohol and marijuana due to the fear of being left out in that particular group or class. Pressure from peers is a major causing factor of substance abuse because a peer group is a strong agent of socialization in the society; peer groups are able to influence other individuals in the group to abuse substances because it makes them smart in class, it boosts confidence in them and other persuasive reasons which has the tendency to influence the individual to also abuse such substances. REFERENCE 1. World Health Organization. (2014). Substance abuse. Retrieved 11-11-14 from http://www.who.int/topics/substance abuse/en/

Investigating Corruption In The Construction Industry Construction Essay

Investigating Corruption In The Construction Industry Construction Essay Corruption is a longstanding issue within the Construction Industry worldwide. What Effects have the Recent Bidding Scandals had on the UK Construction Industry and what are their Implications for the Future Worldwide, the construction sector is regularly rated as one of the most corrupt industries and the UK has not escaped these unlawful practices. In fact, in 2006 the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) published a survey entitled Corruption in the UK Construction Industry, which showed that corruption was present to some degree in many areas of this sector and that more should be done to tackle this issue. The industry was further rocked by the Office of Fair Tradings (OFT) Investigation into Bid Rigging in the Construction Industry. This topic is current and on-going and the main focus of my project. The aim of my project is to investigate the widespread effects and outcomes of bid rigging on the UK Construction Industry and how companies can tackle such problems. Scandals have included many large, high profile companies within the UK, damaging both reputations and trust. The project concludes that corruption in the form of bid rigging appears to be long standing and endemic in the construction industry and, often, an acceptable practice. Even though legislation against such practices exists and new legislation has/is coming on stream, this has not managed to stamp out these illegal practices. If the UK finds it difficult to control corrupt practices with legislation in place it most certainly follows that worldwide where practices are not subject to the same legislation, the problem is huge. There is a need for monitoring, greater transparency and staying within the law. Introduction (292) There are many reasons why corruption takes place including greed, a lack of transparency and accountability, bureaucracy and a lack of law enforcement. Corruption is fuelled by the enormous sums of money involved in carrying out projects and wherever money changes hands practices are open to corruption. Corruption is illegal and causes serious problems. Corruption in construction takes many different forms, from bribery or misuse of power/position to obtaining large sums of money through fraud or other dishonest behaviour. In order to win contracts companies would normally not have won, corrupt practices take place. This has an effect on the decision making and independent processes and causes costs to rise. Corruption in the construction industry is a world-wide problem; it is not just confined to developing countries, as there is extensive evidence of corruption taking place in developed industrialised countries. The United Kingdom has extensive experience of corruption in the construction industry and, as a consequence, advanced systems of corruption have evolved. High profile, leading companies have been involved in corruption scandals provided by large public sector contracts being issued to the private sector, which often means that taxpayers are likely to have been massively overcharged. Politicians have been found guilty of improperly accepting cash from businesses. Scandals such as cash for amendments and cash for favours have been uncovered in recent years. Public sector contracts and concessions are the single greatest source of corruption in the UK and the majority of corruption cases in the UK are connected to the award of contracts. The use of illegal payments for contracts is widespread. A report by Transparency International listed the construction industry as the business sector most prone to bribery ahead of even the arms, defence, oil and gas industries. Research Review (2134) This review focuses on reliable primary and secondary sources. Very little speculative information has been used in this study. Corruption is an illegal practice and by its nature is difficult to establish and to accuse companies of such practices without circumstantial evidence would likely lead to cases of slander or libel as the companys reputation would be at stake. No company is going to admit freely to adopting an illegal practice. Speculative information is therefore in short supply. What is corruption? Corruption, with reference to the construction industry, is the abuse of power or resources for personal gain by extortion or offering bribes. This includes collusion, i.e. an agreement between two or more people. It is used to limit open competition by deceiving or defrauding others of their legal rights, leading to gaining an unfair advantage. In a Global Corruption Report produced by Transparency International in 2005 it was estimated that the cost of corruption in the UK could be circa  £3.75 billion per annum, a vast sum of money. At the time they drew up an anti-corruption code for individuals in the construction and engineering industry. Tendering The main purpose for the principal contractor, the sub contractors and suppliers is to win contract work on a competitive basis and to ensure that the profit margin placed within the tender is maintained or exceeded. If the reverse occurs, where a loss is made, it can be made up during the trading period of the company with other projects; however large losses cannot be maintained indefinitely and could lead eventually to the closure of the company. Some companies will submit to tender with no intention of winning the work, solely to maintain the reputation and references of their company. This can have adverse effects on smaller companies who need the work however are beaten by larger companies. There is a cost to the contractor for tendering. Construction firms have to survive in a high risk market and losing contractors lose their costs of tendering. Illegal Practices within the Construction Industry affecting the tendering process Cartel A formal agreement among competing firms to fix prices, marketing and production. [The European Unions competition law explicitly forbids cartels and related practices. Competition Act 1998 and Article 81 of the EU Treaty] Bid Rigging Bid rigging is a form of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one party even though several other parties also present a bid to make the process look acceptable. This is a form of price fixing and illegal in most countries, including the UK. Cover Pricing Cover pricing takes place when companies join together to overbid for a contract they have no intention of winning. One or more bidders tenders an inflated bid with an intention not to win the contract This is misleading to clients as it gives a false representation of the real extent of the competition as the client is unaware of the contact between the bidders and cheaper firms are less likely to be invited to tender. Often builders do this to avoid being taken off the tendering list of contractors. Compensation payments known as bungs may take place in exchange for a cover price Both these practices can have the effect of inflating the final contract price. Blacklisting A blacklist is a list or register of persons who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service mobility, access or recognition. SCANDALS Case Studies One very large scandal to hit the UK construction industry recently was the Office of Fair Tradings investigation into bid rigging and cover pricing. A primary source of information. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) started one of the largest investigations in its history against the construction industry in April 2004. The investigation into the cartel behaviour which it claims artificially inflated the cost of  £3 billion of public and private sector contracts. 112 companies were accused of years of price fixing. It formally accused the industry of bid rigging and cover pricing, contrary to the Competition Act 1998. The contracts investigated included several public sector projects to build schools, hospitals, universities and social housing. This bid rigging often involved the use of false invoices. The OFT reported that in the course of its investigation it found evidence of cover pricing in thousands of tender processes in the construction industry involving many more than those named. The inquiry involved dozens of investigators and lawyers and firms had their offices raided during the process. The industry admitted privately that the practice of bid rigging and cover price fixing was widespread for some time before the OFT intervened. Among those named were large companies such as Carillion, Balfour Beatty and the Kier Group but many small family run businesses were also involved. The OFT had the power to fine the companies up to 10% of their global turnover for breaches of competition rules and several firms admitted their guilt in order to reduce their fines to 1% or 2% of turnover. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO), also a primary source of information, uncovered serious breaches of the Data Protection Act and served Enforcement Notices on 14 construction firms who had paid for illegal information on potential employees. Firms including Balfour Beatty and Laing ORourke paid annual fees of  £3,000 to obtain sensitive information on workers and over 40 construction companies were accused of flouting the law by paying for personal information on blacklisted construction workers. Construction firms would use the illegal list to vet potential new employees. The data included information on personal relationships, trade union activity and employment history. The ICO said that companies paid a  £3,000 annual fee to a firm known as the Consulting Association to use the service. Consulting Association was owned by Ian Kerr, who faced prosecution by the ICO for breaching the Data Protection Act. According to the ICO the firm operated for 15 years. Deputy Information Commissioner, David Smith, said: This is a serious breach of the Data Protection Act. Not only was personal information held on individuals without their knowledge or consent but the very existence of the database was repeatedly denied. The covert system enabled Mr Kerr to unlawfully trade personal information on workers for many years helping the construction industry to vet prospective employees. Smith said the ICO was considering what regulatory action to take against the construction firms who had paid for personal information from the blacklist. I remind business leaders that they must take their obligations under the Data Protection Act seriously. From 16 March the ICO said it will operate a dedicated enquiry system for people who believe personal information about them may be held on the database. Prosecutions for such corrupt activities are not new. A famous corruption case from the 1970s was the Poulson case, involving public works contracts, which led to the resignation of a Government Minister, the then Home Secretary, The Right Honourable Reginald Maudling. This case was very well documented legally and is a primary source of information. Architect John Poulson was jailed for five years in 1974 for corruption after being found guilty of bribing public figures to win contracts. After his business failed in 1972 an investigation showed it had been making payments to several MPs, police officers, health authorities and civil servants. This case was one of the longest for corruption in legal history. Scandal of  £19m rigged building tenders An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading found that two firms colluded with each other on tendering for the  £8.3m project to renovate Bradfords Eastbrook Hall. Bidding processes designed to ensure clients and, in many cases taxpayers, receive the best possible choice and prices were distorted, creating a real risk of increased prices. This decision sends a strong message that anti-competitive and illegal practices, including cover pricing, must cease. Five charged with corruption over  £66m engineering construction Five men have been charged with offences of conspiracy to corrupt following a two year investigation into allegations of corruption in the energy sector between January 2001 and August 2009 and it is alleged that inside information was being offered to companies bidding for contracts in high value engineering projects in return for a percentage of the contract value. The case will be heard during November 2010. Local examples Last year, Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands withheld  £511,046 of funding from Stoke-on-Trent council due to concerns over the procurement procedures of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP), for which Stoke-on-Trent Council is the accountable body. AWM finally released the money last month after NSRP agreed to address procurement issues over the engagement of consultants identified by an audit and independent review by KPMG. The council insisted that no deliberate wrong-doing had taken place. In March this year, Staffordshire Police began an investigation into the award of the contract to  demolish the former Westcliffe Hospital site, which was re-tendered following an internal investigation which found that the correct procedures had not been followed. The meeting also heard that the council had paid a company  £3.2 million for building maintenance over the past three years without tendering for the work. The above are a few example cases of which there are many. These practices have still taken place despite the existence of laws governing conduct. It is recognised that it is up to each individual company to comply with the law and there are severe penalties in force for those that do not. The UK construction industry is committed to compliance with UK and EU competition law. Competition helps to lower prices and give more choice. There are established laws in the UK on anti-competitive behaviour. The Competition Act 1998 This law prohibits anti competitive agreements such as cartels between businesses and also anti competitive behaviour. The OFT is there to enforce competition laws but does rely on complaints to help enforcement. A wide range of information published by the OFT is available to companies on the Competition Act. Enterprise Act 2002 This is an Act passed to give legal powers to the Office of Fair Trading, the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Competition Service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to create an offence for those entering into certain anti-competitive agreements; to provide for the disqualification of directors of companies engaging in certain anti-competitive practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Available advice from the SFO includes a list of corruption indicators. Some of these indicators can be applied to the construction industry both in the UK and worldwide. Abnormal cash payments Pressure exerted for payments to be made urgently or ahead of schedule Payments being made through 3rd party country, e.g. goods or services supplied to country A but payment is being made, usually to shell company in country B Abnormally high commission percentage being paid to a particular agency. This may be split into 2 accounts for the same agent, often in different jurisdictions Private meetings with public contractors or companies hoping to tender for contracts Lavish gifts being received Individual never takes time off even if ill, or holidays, or insists on dealing with specific contractors him/herself Making unexpected or illogical decisions accepting projects or contracts Unusually smooth process of cases where individual does not have the expected level of knowledge or expertise Abusing decision process or delegated powers in specific cases Agreeing contracts not favourable to the organisation either with terms or time period Unexplained preference for certain contractors during tendering period Avoidance of independent checks on tendering or contracting processes Raising barriers around specific roles or departments which are key in the tendering/contracting process Bypassing normal tendering/contractors procedure Invoices being agreed in excess of contract without reasonable cause Missing documents or records regarding meetings or decisions Company procedures or guidelines not being followed The payment of or making funds available for high value expenses or school fees etc on behalf of others. Another Act coming into force in April 2011 to help clean up corruption is the UK Bribery Act which will have a significant effect on the construction industry. The UK will reinforce its reputation as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, when the Bribery Act comes into force in April 2011. Such conduct is not without significant consequences. If such practices go undetected companies can benefit from huge financial rewards at the expense of the client or tax payer; if caught, the guilty can face huge fines or even imprisonment, not to mention tarnished reputations and blacklisting for breaching trust. Discussion/Development/Analysis (2518) What Effects have the Recent Bidding Scandals had on the UK Construction Industry and what are their Implications for the Future? An internal audit of building projects commissioned by Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust in 2004 developed into a major OFT investigation with serious implications for the Construction Industry. This became the biggest investigation the OFT had ever conducted into cartels and price fixing. The OFT focused its investigation on approximately 240 alleged infringements even though evidence was uncovered on cover pricing being undertaken by many more companies. Evidence was uncovered on cover pricing in over 4000 tenders involving over 1000 companies. The effects of the scandal resulted in one hundred and three companies being implicated in the OFTs investigation into bid rigging, including some very high profile companies. This was scandalous as many of these projects were for the public sector, involving schools and hospitals. It was all the more scandalous as the companies involved were some of the biggest names in the construction industry Carillion, Balfour Beatty, Kier Group, Interserve and many more. In some cases the winning bidder made payments of several thousand pounds, known as compensation payments (kickbacks), to the others submitting high bids. Companies were visited under the Competition Act during the investigation and several of these companies admitted breaking the law and assisted in the investigation in the hope of their fines being reduced. Fines totalling c. £129.5 million were imposed on those companies involved in the scandal. The Kier Group received the largest fine at  £17.9 million. A table listing those involved and the amount of fines imposed is attached as Appendix 2. The construction industry showed it could not be trusted. The effect of the recent scandal has exposed high profile firms in the UK cheating. Until corruption is regulated in the UK/EU how can UK companies be expected to bid legally/successfully for overseas contracts? The companies that were found guilty of these offences also risked being barred from taking part in future contracts but Government intervention ensured that these firms were not blacklisted by the public sector and the OFT issued an information note for the guidance of those involved in procurement in the public and private sectors, which included a recommendation that these companies should not be automatically excluded from tendering in the future (see below). Extract: The OFT considers that the following factors are relevant to the above: The Parties have received significant financial penalties appropriate to the infringement findings in the Decision; It would be wrong automatically to assume that construction companies that are not named in the Decision have not also been involved in bid rigging; As a result of the OFTs investigation, the Parties can be expected to be particularly aware of the competition rules and the need for compliance and, if anything, are more likely to be compliant; and Many of the Parties have cooperated fully with the OFTs investigation and a significant proportion have taken measures to introduce or reinforce formal compliance programmes and to ensure that their staff are aware of their competition law obligations. For the avoidance of doubt, this recommendation is only intended to apply to this case. It should not be assumed that the OFT would take a similar view in future cases. Did the Government intervene due to the involvement of such high profile national companies? It certainly gave them a second chance. The fact that cover pricing has been common in the construction industry is certainly a contributory factor. The OFT operates a policy where financial incentives of up to  £100,000 are available in return for information on cartels and illegal practices. This, however, raises the issue of whistle blowing and protection for those who come forward with information. The recent bidding scandals have raised the profile of ethical conduct in the construction industry where many people did not realise that their unethical behaviour was a criminal offence which could also lead to losing their job or even their professional status. Not everyone was sympathetic to the bid rigging scandal. In 2008 Sir John Egan, who chaired the construction industry task force that produced the 1998 Egan Report (Rethinking Construction) was openly critical of the OFT investigation saying that public sector clients only had themselves to blame for the alleged bid riggings, blaming the culture of public sector lowest price procurement. I have little sympathy for government over this OFT investigation. What do they expect if they persist in procuring based on lowest price? I am very sad the public sector is still using this short cut approach. It is still procuring on lowest price and as long as this is the case, proper tendering cant happen. It is not illegal to submit an inflated bit but it is the communication between the bidder and its competitors that infringes the law. On a smaller scale following a discussion with the proprietor of a local building company, who preferred to remain anonymous, it was apparent that cover pricing was common even on a small scale. He admitted that he had obtained quotes from colleagues that enabled him to ensure he was submitting the lowest quote, usually in the case of insurance quotes or small works for local authorities and had provided quotes for colleagues in the same way.. However, in his defence, in the case of insurance claims he stated this was sometimes done on behalf of the client who wanted to ensure they secured the services of the contractor they knew and trusted by trying to ensure the preferred contractor submitted the lowest quote. It was also said that in hard times this act of cover pricing was seen as a survival technique and a way of keeping the business going. Collusion is not only confined to large companies. Small companies and the self employed are at a greater disadvantage when tendering due t o limited resources. On speaking to a Quantity Surveyor who works for a national company she told me that late bids were never considered and negotiations with tenderers was illegal. In order to achieve fair competitive tendering it is essential that any unauthorised amendments to or qualifications of the tender documents by a tenderer render the tender non-compliant and subject to rejection, although the tenderer should be given the opportunity to withdraw the amendments/qualifications and stand by his tender. It is also essential that unsolicited alternative bids, either in terms of price or time, are considered non-compliant and rejected. How might bid rigging be prevented? A tender is the construction industry method whereby clients choose the main contractor. The practice of building firms quoting for free is a problem. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce an accurate quotation. Costs for tendering for contracts that are not won have to be absorbed by the company at its own expense. Cover pricing has been seen as a means to ease the loss. For every amount lost in unsuccessful bids more work must be generated to cover those costs or the profit is lost through the lost tenders. Bid rigging has been seen as a method of compensation. Each construction project is individual and there is no guarantee to companies that they will win any work at all through the tendering process. Perhaps procurement policies and/or tendering processes are in need of overhaul as it is not the tender price that matters but the final building cost, which is subject to all manner of variations due to delays, weather, etc. The scandal of bid rigging and the subsequent high profile media coverage has undoubtedly affected client thinking. Firms should now be more aware that suspicion and whistleblowing has been made easier to act on, which may act as a deterrent. There are measures which can be promoted to try to combat the perceived need for bid rigging, although there is probably none so attractive as financial gain! One of the most obvious measures is regular and appropriate training which can be used on a local and national scale so awareness is raised as to what types of behaviour are illegal. This can also be used to reinforce moral obligation to do what is correct. Again, the self employed small contractor is highly unlikely to be able to afford the time or the additional cost for training. It maybe that small firms cannot bypass bid rigging. Where firms are able to employ professionals to prepare bids and tenders the likelihood of bid rigging reduces as they would run the risk of losing their professional status if found to be undertaking illegal practices. Practical steps can be taken to help reduce the risks, such as the use of non-collusion clauses and careful design of procurement processes. In 2009 the National Federation of Builders (NFB) and the UK contractors Group launched a competition law code of conduct (see extract below). This highlighted the need for construction companies to establish internal procedures to prevent anti-competitive practices. It remains to be seen whether this Code will have a lasting effect on contract practices. Codes have to be adopted together with training and evaluation on a continuing basis and made an integral part of the companys culture. The Competition Law Code of Conduct Extract The UK construction industry is committed to compliance with UK and EU competition law. The industry understands that the purpose of competition law is to preserve free, fair and efficient competition for the benefit of all companies operating in the industry and their clients. The industry agrees at all times to commit to ensuring the highest standards of competition law compliance within the sector by adhering in all of its business practices to the principle of fair competition and to ensure that construction companies do not engage in conduct which is anti-competitive. Construction companies must: not restrain competition amongst themselves through agreements, arrangements or understandings that restrict competition; bid for contracts and tenders independently from and without any agreement or arrangement with their competitors; or not exchange competitively sensitive information or engage in discussions that may lead to the co-ordination of competitive behaviour and, in particular, must not share information about current or future pricing intentions for tenders, or any element that might affect prices or pricing practices, including the exchange of cover prices. Construction companies understand that co-operation with a competitor is justified only under the exceptions permitted by the competition rules or where they have been expressly required to enter into such arrangements by the client, for example, certain joint ventures and framework agreements, in which case such arrangements will be fully disclosed to the client. The industry understands that each individual construction company is responsible for its own compliance with competition law and that the consequences of breaching competition law are severe including possible penalties, director disqualification, criminal sanctions and damages actions. Construction companies will therefore endeavour to: ensure that competition law compliance will be achieved through implementing effective competition compliance policies and guidelines throughout their businesses; and promote an understanding of and compliance with competition law throughout their supply chains, including with their sub-contractors. This may or may not prove to be effective in cleaning up the industry as it is non-binding. In the light of recent problems clients may not be happy with verbal reassurances on competition law compliance. An overhaul of tendering processes in light of new regulations could help to avoid bid rigging. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), together with the assistance of the OFT has issued the following best practice guidelines: Guidelines for Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement Designing Tenders to reduce bid rigging Detecting bid rigging in public procurement A checklist includes: Bids received at the same time or containing similar or unusual wording. Identical prices. Bids containing less detail than expected. The likely bidder failing to submit a bid. The lowest bidder not taking the contract. Bids that drop on the entry of a new or infrequent bidder. The successful bidder later subcontracting work to a supplier that submitted a higher bid. Expected discounts suddenly vanishing or other last minute changes. Suspiciously high bids without logical cost differences (e.g. delivery distances). A bidder betraying discussions with others or with knowledge of previous bids. The construction industry has been badly affected by the recession and competition is fierce. It has put itself in the spotlight and faces further scrutiny. It may be sensible for companies to carry out their own evaluation of project procurement to check for any anti-competitive behaviour. Corruption has a cost both in terms of reputation and uneconomic projects, raising the cost to the client. The Future The OFT also published a report in June of this year on the evaluation of the impact of its investigation into bid rigging in the construction industry. The research was based on surveys of construction contractors and procurers; first phase 2008 and second phase 2010. Nine in 10 construction firms now recognise that bid rigging, including cover pricing, is a serious breach of competition law with associated penalties. Approximately two in three procurers have introduced a new mechanism in the last two years to detect or prevent anti-competitive practices. A recognised way forward is the adoption of a company competition compliance policy to minimise risk, together wit

I Believe in the Potential of Children :: Teaching Education College Admissions

I Believe in the Potential of Children â€Å"Anybody, any kid can learn if he or she has the desire to do it†¦ The teacher plays an important role in education—we all remember the first teacher who really touched our lives, or gave us some encouragement, or at least appreciated our best. The teacher gives us the desire to learn, the desire to be Somebody†¦The teacher has to have the energy of the hottest volcano, the memory of an elephant, and the diplomacy of an ambassador†¦Really, a teacher has to possess love and knowledge and then has to use this combined passion to be able to accomplish something.† --Bob Alante, teacher Concerning the nature of students, I agree with the Sophist point of view—although all children are not born with the same level of intelligence, all children have the capacity to learn. I do not think that children are born entirely good or entirely bad. A child is influenced by his environment, and models his behavior to match the people closest to him. Knowledge is relative, and the level of success a child achieves in school is directly related to the amount of support and encouragement he receives at home. Public education serves a variety of different functions. Most importantly, education helps to shape children into competent, self-sufficient adults. Schools reflect and promote society’s values. Important social skills needed in the work force and everyday life are learned at school, such as sharing, compromise, and the importance of teamwork. As a teacher, I want to encourage and help children to reach their full potential. I want my students to realize that they are all different, and understand that diversity is a good thing. I believe that there are different types of intelligence, and creativity is just as important as logic. Teachers’ behavior should reflect values such as tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, and open-mindedness. Effective communication skills are needed to encourage students to share their concerns. Teachers should not try to persuade students with their personal points of view, nor should they shy away from showing students that they have strong beliefs. An ideal classroom environment is one that allows students to feel free to express individual beliefs. I will try to exemplify these ethics by using a variety of teaching methods, alternating between visual, kinesthetic and audio instructional approaches in an attempt to reach all students.

A Notion of Zero in the Philosophy of Aristotle :: Philosophical Math Essays

A Notion of Zero in the Philosophy of Aristotle ABSTRACT: This article shows that Aristotle created the first notion of a zero in the history of human thought. Since this notion stood in evident contradiction to the basic principles of his metaphysics and logic, he rejected it. The origin and development of mathematical symbols was closely connected with the development of mathematics itself and development of philosophy. It resulted from the fact that philosophy provided the motivation for investigations and creation of adequate and good mathematical symbols. Moreover, being one of the cultural factors, (1) it played a significant role in the process of accepting or rejecting certain notions. This article aims at producing evidence that particular ideas of Hellenic philosophy made it impossible for Hellenic thinkers to accept notion of a zero. The following considerations will be preceded by brief information on the ancient notations. The ancient numeric systems aimed at ascribing to a singular whole number or written symbol (up to a point determined by practical needs). This symbol was a combination of a limited number of signs, produced on the basis of more or less regular laws. (2) Three ancient groups of people: the Babylonians, the Chinese and the Mayas discovered a position principle, that is one of the prerequisites leading to discovering a zero and considering it a number. (3) The first appeared in the Babylonian numeration in the 3rd century BC as a result of overcoming ambiguity in the notation of numbers. The sign for a zero that is the so-called diagonally drafted double nail ( ) indicated, first of all, a lack of units of some "sixty" order. It was also treated as kind of an arithmetic operator, since adding it at the end meant multiplication by "sixty". But neither the Babilonian mathematicians nor astronomers treated zero as a number. A diagonally drafted double nail was conceived of as an empty pla ce, that is a lack of unites of a respective order. Hellenes people used two systems of denoting numbers. The Athenian system was mathematically equal to the Roman system, whereas the Ionic system, just like the Hebrew system, was a system of an alphabetic type. In both systems, just like in the Egyptian hieroglyphic system or the Hebrew numeration, numbers had their established values regardless of the place they were put in. (4) None of the Hellenic system was based on a position principle, none of them used a symbol of zero, either.

Fantastic Mr Fox Essay

In times of immense strife, a child’s relationship with their parents becomes more important. As a child’s world is turned upside down, they cling to the familiar as means of self-identification and discovery in confusing circumstances. But when parent child relationships become unhealthy, a child’s sense of identity is damaged as they struggle to rectify their sense of self without clear role models to follow. In particular, relationships between parents and children of the same gender carry with them gendered ideals of self and identity that further strain the relationship between the parent and child. Both Fantastic Mr. Fox and Maus look at father son relationships that are under immense strain, and how the characters discover their identities through working their troubled relationships out. Throughout both of these works, there is a theme of self-discovery as the means of improving relationships and the moral of each story is that to understand truly each other, one must first understand oneself. The film adaptation/imagination of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr.  Fox deviates from the source material in positive ways and introduces an interesting father-son subplot between the titular protagonist and his son(s). At the start of the film, Mr. Fox and his son Ash have difficulties communicating with each other. An ambitious and upward thinking individual, Mr. Fox is less than thrilled with his son’s wiry frame and lack of athletic ability. Ash falls short of the â€Å"ideal† athletic masculine archetype that Mr. Fox likes to think of himself as, so when the naturally athletic Kristofferson comes to stay with the Foxes, Mr.  Fox naturally gravitates towards a father-son relationship with Kristofferson. This causes Ash to feel tension and jealousy because he sees Kristofferson as a rival for his father’s attention. As the movie progresses and Mr. Fox’s schemes for advancement begin to take shape, he involves first Kristofferson, due to his natural athletic ability, further deepening the rift between Ash and his father. It gets to the point that Ash is willing to risk his life on his father’s heists just to earn his respect because he believes that his father values  Kristofferson more than his â€Å"different† son. This desire for his father’s attention is diminished considerably when Fox’s scheming and theft inevitably bring the farmer’s wrath down on the animals. The pedestal that Ash placed his father on is broken and Ash decides to stop trying to be his father and instead embrace the facets of his character that makes him† different†. This leads to greater self-actualization for Ash who utilizes his unconventional talents in time to save his father’s life and defeat the farmers. What is important to note here is that Ash’s self-discovery comes as a he breaks free of his father’s expectations and comes to accept himself as a unique and important individual in his own right. His father comes to accept Ash not for conforming to his own ideals but for embracing his individuality. Ash’s relationship with his father only strengthens and deepens when Ash comes into his own as a person. Ash’s development and self-discovery comes in spite of his interaction with his father and their relationship only matures as Ash develops his own persona. Both Mr.  Fox and Ash discover themselves through understanding one another; once Mr. Fox discards his mid-life crisis and Ash makes peace with his eccentricities, both are capable of having a healthy relationship with each other. The same father-son tension fuels character development in Maus, as the relationship between Art Spiegelman and his father, Vladek, develops over the course of this graphic novel. Though Maus is primarily focused on Vladek’s own Holocaust narrative, the interaction with his son Art does not occur until after the Holocaust has happened, thus coloring Vladek’s interpretation of the world. Art states, â€Å"In some ways, my father didn’t survive the Holocaust† . Vladek’s experiences affect his worldview to the point where he has difficulty relating to his son, who simply cannot imagine the things Vladek had to do to survive. This gap in understanding drives the conflict between the characters as Art struggles to get away from his father’s presence in order to establish an identity for himself as an artist. But however hard he tries, moving on with his life demands that he understands his father, something that Art has always found difficult. I mean, I can’t even make any sense out of my relationship with my father †¦ how am I supposed to make sense out of Auschwitz?†¦ 0f the Holocaust? † . While these questions linger with Art and the reader long after the final page (largely because such senseless tragedy defies comprehension), in working with his father to comprehend his story, Art begins to understand his father bet ter. In doing so, Art is able to make peace with his father and begin constructing his own identity as something other than a reaction to his father and the suffering he endured. Art moves past merely rejecting the pressure his father puts on him, accepting his father’s struggle and in the process their relationship is strengthened. Art and Vladek help each other to move on with their lives to differing degrees and in the process grow closer to one another as more complete individuals. Both Mr. Fox and Vladek care about their children and genuinely want to do right by them but both are grappling with their own issues of identity in the midst of personal crises way beyond the comprehension of their sons. Likewise, Ash and Art’s own sense of self-suffering, due to the strained relationships they had with their parents come into play. In order for any kind of healthy relationship to exist, meaningful self-discovery and self-actualization is necessary on the part of both individuals. The heartening message to take away from these stories is that a meaningful parent-child relationship cannot exist between individuals who themselves are incomplete. The parent and the child must first look to their â€Å"inner selves† to make themselves more personally complete before they can truly enjoy a meaningful and satisfying parent-child relationship.

Calibration of Volumetric Glassware Essay

Summary In this experiment, The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the measurement of the actual volume contents of volumetric glassware. In the beginning of the experiment, the volumetric glassware should be clean and dry before used. The volumetric glassware, measuring cylinder and pipette should be handled with care and all the precautions were be taken during the experiment was held. This was to ensure to avoid any errors such as parallax error especially while reading water meniscus. This experiment must be repeated three times or more and take the average reading to get more accurate data. By using the formulae, the standard deviation and relative standard deviation could be calculated. As the result, the lower the standard deviation, the higher the consistency of an instrument. Although the instrument may measure a given sample, the value might need to be altered due to various conditions and errors. Objectives The objective of the experiments was to; Calibrate a 10 mL volumetric pipette. Calibrate a 25 mL volumetric pipette. Calibrate a 100 mL volumetric flask. Calibrate a 50 mL measuring cylinder Introduction Volumetric glassware is used to accurately measure volumes. Despite all of the tools and instruments available for the use of measuring values of various data, it is impossible to measure the true value of anything. This experiment is intended to develop a person’s capacity to handle volumetric glassware. One must understand how to handle volumetric glassware to acquire  the best possible data from the equipment used in lab. Although the instrument may measure a given sample, the value might need to be altered due to various conditions. However, with practice and experience, we can reach very close to the true value, gaining the ability to measure with both high accuracy and precision. The objective of this experiment is to calibrate a 10mL burette and other volumetric glassware by calculating their correction values. By doing so, we can correct systematic errors caused by the burette’s or glassware’s values. A systematic error is an error in reading the scale when a physical quantity is being measured. Systematic errors are caused by the instrument, observer and surroundings. Another main type of error is random error. Random error is an error which occurs when the observer is reading the scale on the measuring instrument. Volumetric glassware is used to accurately measure volumes. In any given experiment, students may come across systematic errors or random errors. Random errors are not able to be corrected by a standard mean because they are not consistent. However, systematic errors are consistent and is able to be detected which allows students to correct the error that was found. So, using uncalibrated glassware will cause a systematic error. This error occurs because the volume reading given by the glassware is slightly different than the actual volume that is obtained in the glassware. In order to avoid systematic error, it important to calibrate the measuring instrument so that there is a standard value for zero which allows the measurement to be more accurate. Calibration of volumetric glassware such as burette is carried out by weighing the amount of water delivered. The temperature of the water used in the calibration must be known since the density of water changes. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the measurement of the actual volume contents of volumetric glassware. If there is a slight variation in this instrument, it would cause systematic error and thus, the accuracy of results of an experiment or investigation would be affected. All volumetric glassware has marking on it. It is either being marked with TD or TC, which brings the meaning of ‘to deliver’ and ‘to contain’ respectively. For example, a pipette has a marking of TD, which means a pipette is marked  as a ‘to deliver’. Whereas, volumetric flask has TC as its marking, meaning it is marked as a ‘to contain’. A volumetric pipette & measuring cylinder can be calibrated by just weighing the water they deliver. As for volumetric flask, the weight of an empty flask is recorded. Next, weigh the flask after filling it with water to the mark. After that, it is crucial to convert the mass to volume. The water density at a t emperature will aid this process. The compliance of the Volume Occupied by 1.000g of Water Weigh in Air table is deemed necessary throughout the comparison. In order to obtain the true volume of volumetric glassware holds, this formula will be used. This experiment shall be repeated twice or more to enhance accuracy of the results obtained. Besides detecting systematic errors, this experiment would aid on the technique and understandings to the correct use of these equipments. Materials Transfer pipette, cleaning solution/detergent, beaker, thermometer, distilled water, top loading balance, 10ml volumetric pipette, 25mlvolumetric pipette, 100ml volumetric flask, 50ml measuring cylinder. Procedure 1) Calibration of a volumetric pipette (10ml and 25ml) a) Transfer pipette was obtained. The pipette was cleaned because distilled water does not drain uniformly. A cleaning solution or detergent was used to clean the pipette. b) An empty beaker was weighted. Then, water was filled in the beaker. The temperature was recorded at uniform intervals. c) The 10ml pipette was filled with distilled water until it reaches the calibration mark. d) Water was drained into another beaker e) The beaker filled with water was then weighted to find the mass of water delivered from the pipette. f) The following equation was used to convert mass to volume : Volume(actual) = (grams of water) x (volume of 1g of water in table1) g) Step a – f was repeated using 25ml pipette. 1) 2) Calibration of volumetric flask (100ml) a) A 100ml volumetric flask was cleaned and dried. b) The flask was weighted. Then, water was filled into the flask. Transfer pipette was used to remove the excess amount of water filled in the flask so that it exactly reach the calibration mark. c) The flask filled with water was weighted to find the mass of water contained in the flask. d) Mass of water was converted to volume using the equation above. 3) Calibration of a measuring cylinder (100ml) a) A 100ml measuring cylinder was cleaned and dried. b) The measuring cylinder was weighted. Then, water was filled into the measuring cylinder until it reached the calibration mark. Transfer pipette was also used to remove the excess water. c) The measuring cylinder filled with water was weighted to find the mass of water contained in the measuring cylinder. d) Mass of water was converted to volume using the same equation. Result and Discussion Result: a) Data 10mL pipette Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Mass of flask + water (g) 42.64 42.66 42.66 Mass of flask (g) 32.72 32.72 32.72 Mass of water (g) 9.92 9.94 9.94 Temperature (oC) 28 28 28 Actual volume (mL) 9.97 9.99 9.99 Average volume (mL) 9.98 Standard Deviation, 0.012 Relative standard deviation ,/ 0.001202 50mL pipette Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Mass of flask + water (g) 121.08 121.06 121.04 Mass of flask (g) 96.60 96.60 96.56 Mass of water (g) 24.48 24.46 24.48 Temperature (oC) 28 28 28 Actual volume (mL) 24.60 24.58 24.60 Average volume (mL) 24.59 Standard Deviation, 0.012 Relative standard deviation ,/ 0.00049 10mL pipette Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Mass of flask + water (g) 158.42 158.44 158.42 Mass of flask (g) 57.18 57.16 57.16 Mass of water (g) 101.24 101.28 101.26 Temperature (oC) 28 27 28 Actual volume (mL) 101.73 101.77 101.75 Average volume (mL) 101.75 Standard Deviation, 0.02 Relative standard deviation ,/ 0.000197 50mL measuring cylinder Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Mass of flask + water (g) 116.48 116.48 116.48 Mass of flask (g) 68.18 68.17 68.18 Mass of water (g) 48.30 48.31 48.30 Temperature (oC) 28 28 28 Actual volume (mL) 48.53 48.54 48.53 Average volume (mL) 48.53 Standard Deviation, 0.007 Relative standard deviation ,/ 0.000146 Discussion: According to the tables above, when using 10mL pipette, the actual volume delivered is 9.98mL and the standard deviation is 0.012. The lower the standard deviation, the higher the consistency of an instrument based in a physic’s book. Consistent measurements consist of readings that have little or no relative deviation among them. So, when the standard deviation is nearer to zero then this shows that the readings taken are consistent. In order to get a good accuracy, the experiments are done until trial 3. Temperature are remain consistent for all three trial for different glassware that 28 °C. This experiment expectation is that the glassware will be used to measure liquids at room temperature. Since liquids have a tendency to change volume (at the level of precision of calibrated instruments), then we want the liquid to be at the temperature we are most likely to use so that the calibration will have the most accuracy and we used water since it is thermal equilibrium in su rrounding. Another factor that may interrupt the reading is parallax error during the experiment is held. In order to avoid parallax error is the glassware must be weight for another two times. Every scale on the reading instrument must be read properly, it may reduce the fact. The eyes must be perpendicular to the reading scale on the same level as the bottom surface of the water meniscus to avoid parallax error. Besides, the weighing bottles are always being capped to avoid evaporation since it is important precaution. Conclusion Based on this experiment , we can conclude that this experiment are to study the calibration to measure the accuracy of volumetric glassware. This experiment also ensure the accuracy of the volumetric glassware for 10 ml and 25 ml pipette, 100 ml volumetric flask and 50ml measuring cylinder References * http://gula-gulakapassikecik.blogspot.com/2012/04/calibration-of-volumetric-glassware_24.html?m=1 * www.studymode.com * Lim Peng Chew, Lim Ching Chai, Nexus Bestari Physics, Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd. , 2013, Pg 18,19

Gay Ane Lesbian Exam Being Worked

gay and lesbian marriage i do not think the law should or shouldent be passed but i had to chose one and if they want to be happy why cant the get married. Australia currently bans recognition of same sex marriage although as of 2011 the federal labour party government officially changed its position to allow a vote on the same sex marriage despite Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s opposition to such a vote. ne main reason people are against it is because they might want a child and people think that the child will grow up in a unstable environment because studies have show that a heterosexual relationship/marriage last 20 years or longer with many wedded for life. a vast majority of homosexual relations are temporary. In 2008 a study of 390 gay and lesbian people Victorians found that 1 in 7 reported fear of violence. This fear is justified in that nearly 85 precent of respondents has been subjected to some form of homophobic violence in their life time.Homophobia is a fear of h omosexuality; some people are threatened by people who have other sexual preferences than their own. gay and lesbian marriage today i am here to talk to u about one of the dabates that the australian goverment are having the one about same sex marriage rights. i belive that the law should be accepted because people can not help who they fall in love,some spectics think that gay marriage will lead to more devorces but accoding to Divorceform. org 74% of the population gets devorced every year but that is only the heterosexual couples.