Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 82

Summary - Essay Example The issue of identifying the affected birds was complicated by the lack of manifestation in ducks which pose potential risk to humans in an area. The virus that cause the flu mutated from the original type that affected birds only to a complicated one that is unaffected by the immunity system of humans. The virus is spread when an avian strain meets a strain that is adapted to spreading the virus in mammals and the exchange can take place in the body of a person or any other animal host. In the past, the flu has killed a large number of animals with a record 40million people noted to have died from it between 1918 and 1919 and showing that it can wipe very many people within a short time with few chances of survival after infection. Some organisations have partnered to increase surveillance of the influenza because the former studies focused on humans, swine, chicken and horses. This is regardless of the high monetary demand that is posed in attempt to produce a vaccine to curb the virus, which is very harmful to the

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example According to the research findings, business ethics is based on moral behavior and aims at conducting business activities in a just and fair manner. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the duty or obligation of a company towards the people, societies, communities, and environment that may be affected by the activities of the business. For example, reducing the environmental impacts of the operations of a business is one common aim of the business, especially in cases of companies whose operations affect the environment in a hazardous way like the automobile companies. In short, both terms are based on the social concepts of morality and responsibility. Business ethics involve the application of moral and ethical values in a business and CSR is extended form of business ethics in which these values are expressed and embedded in the organization through programmes and policies involving the stakeholder groups. CSR involves conducting ethical activities and business ethics involves conducting activities ethically. So, the underlying essence of the two remains similar. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term related to the social responsibilities that a company has towards the community in which it operates. In contrast, business ethics is based on the factor of conscience. Business ethics is related to morality and differentiating between right and wrong and conducting the business operations by focusing on the rights and avoiding the wrongs. Using ethics in business implies that the company is obliged to set business policies, rules and conduct its activities in a just and right manner so that the activities of the company le ad to the good of every entity which is, directly and indirectly, related to the business. These entities include all the internal and external stakeholder groups of the company and the society as a whole. Business ethics, in the modern business environment, has emerged as a preliminary necessity that should be taken up by every company, irrespective of the industry or its level of operation in order to conduct its business in a legally and socially compliant manner. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), on the other hand, is the additional responsibilities that a business should take up in order to create sustainability and a positive brand image for itself.

literature Review of Hate Crimes

literature Review of Hate Crimes Abstract Hate crime is a term that was born in the 1980s from journalists and policy advocates who were trying to describe crimes of bias against African Americans, Asians, and Jews. From there, the term hate crime expanded and an act was passed that required the tracking of hate crime statistics. These statistics can often be misleading due to the underreporting of hate crimes and the strict requirements surrounding what constitutes a hate crime. Gender based hate crime is the most prevalent, with African Americans being the largest racial group targeted by hate crime. Trends develop in the amount of hate crimes as seen by the recent upswing in hate crimes against Middle Easterners following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Police have responded to hate crime by changing their policies and creating new units to specifically target hate crime. There have been new laws created regarding hate crimes and an enhancement of their punishment in an effort to combat hate crime. Possible solu tions to try to decrease hate crime focus on the early identification of young adults and juveniles who may be prone to commit these acts and the intervention and education of offenders. There must also be a focus on the tactics of law enforcement officers if hate crime is to be reduced. 3 A Study of Hate Crime To better determine how to respond to and handle hate crime, it helps to understand just what hate crime is. An example of hate crime from Shively and Mulford (2007) is, In December 2000, in Brooklyn, New York, Mohammad Awad punched Chaim Spear while yelling obscenities and anti-Semitic remarks (para. 1). This is a very basic example of what can be a very complex criminal act. Specific statistics on just how many hate crimes are committed can be a bit murky due to reporting methods, but one thing that can be gathered from the statistics is that hate crime is not going away anytime soon. Since hate crime is not going away, the appropriate response to hate crime from police and courts is more important than ever. The response of police and courts should also work towards solving the problem of hate crime. That can mean targeting hate crime in youth offenders and possibly preventing it or changing the tactics of law enforcement officers. When studying any problem, a good place to start is determining the origins of the problem. With that being said, hate crime has most likely been around as long as there have been people with differences in religion, race, or sexual orientation trying to live together. But, as pointed out by Shively and Mulford (2007), The term hate crime was coined in the 1980s by journalists and policy advocates who were attempting to describe a series of incidents directed at African Americans, Asians, and Jews (para. 26). The collection of statistics regarding hate crimes began in 1990. It was at this time that the Hate Crime Statistics Act was passed by Congress. The act as defined by Bartol and Bartol (2011), Known as the Hate Crime Statistics Act, it requires data collection of violent attacks, intimidation, arson, or property damage that are directed at a person or group of persons because of race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity (p. 17). During the 1990s, the act was expanded to i nclude disabilities, both physical and mental, as a tracked bias. The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act was also passed during the 1990s to lengthen sentences for perpetrators convicted of hate crimes. While studying hate crime it is apparent that there can be trends in hate crime. African Americans usually top the chart in being the target of hate crime, but a trend that started after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were an increase of hate crimes against people from the Middle East. One of the more surprising finds from Steinberg, Brooks, and Remtulla (2003) was, Gender-based hate crimes, or crimes against women, are perhaps the most prevalent form of hate crime in general, but the most socially acceptable and prevalent type of hate crime among teenagers and young adults is that targeting sexual minorities (para. 28). This find was surprising to read at first, but after reflection, the find makes sense. In many countries, women are still seen as second-class citizens with less rights and privileges than their male counterparts. Among teenagers and young adults, there is still a negative stigma around being homosexual as seen from some of the slang still used. An examp le of this is hearing a group of students describe something they deem to be bad as gay. The impact these hate crimes have on the victims can be overwhelming and lasting. As described by Bune (2004), Sometimes they blame themselves for being victimized, although they are innocent victims. As a consequence of their victimization, victims may isolate themselves from others and possibly develop strong mistrust of other people (para. 10). The impact on the victims makes it very important to get a clear picture on how prevalent hate crime is. But, because of underreporting, it is very hard to have accurate statistics on just how prevalent hate crime is overall. As stated above, two of the problems with statistics regarding hate crimes is determining what constitutes a hate crime and victims not always reporting the crimes against them in fear of either retaliation or shame. According to research from Shively and Mulford, the FBI found 7,163 hate crime incidents with 8,795 victims in a 2005 study. But, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) using victim interviews and including times when the offender either used hateful symbols or language found 191,000 incidents affecting 210,000 victims. As they explain, The disparity in these two estimates stems, in part, from an important difference in the data collected: the FBI counts only crimes that are reported to the police. For the NCVS, BJS collects information from victims, who are asked if they think hate played a role in the crime (para. 8). This is a huge gap in the two numbers and more than likely, the true scope of the problem lies somewhere in between the two numbers. A specific look at s ome of the groups from the research of Steinberg, Brooks, and Remtulla shows, In 1999, there were 7,876 hate crimes reported, of which 4,295 were motivated by racial bias, 1,411 by religious bias, 1,217 by sexual orientation bias, 829 by ethnicity/national origin bias, 19 by disability bias and 5 by multiple bias (para. 24). With over half of reported hate crimes that were reported being motivated by racial bias, it is clear that race is still an issue in the United States. These statistics can help in responding to hate crime by determining where efforts should be focused. Two main entities focused on hate crime right now are police departments and the court system. Police departments have begun to deal with hate crime by altering their policies regarding how hate crimes are handled and by creating units specifically to deal with hate crimes. One of these policy changes according to Bune is, Establish clearly that the department has zero tolerance to any form of hate crime, regardless of apparent seriousness (para. 6). By doing this, the community will begin to understand that hate crime will not be tolerated and as mentioned above, the penalties for hate crimes can be more severe. The units as described by Shively and Mulford, Many jurisdictions have established hate-crime units in their police departments, and some regional task forces are devoted to investigating hate crime (para. 13). These units have the time to focus on hate crimes specifically and implement strategies in dealing with and hopefully eliminating hate crime. The court system has a t ough balancing act regarding hate crimes. There are many acts that are racially motivated, but because of first amendment rights are protected. One example is cross burning. As explained by Harr, Hess, and Orthmann (2012), Without more evidence to prove a hate crime, cross burning is deemed a protected form of speech (p. 151). The court cannot interpret what is meant by the acts involved even if they are implied. Even without that, there is still the positive regarding hate crime legislation and laws. According to Shively and Mulford, The Federal Government and all but one State (Wyoming) have specific hate-crime laws (para. 10). Even though these laws vary in what they encompass or the enhancement of the penalties, having the laws in place is a step in the right direction regarding handling hate crime. After getting an idea about what hate crime is and tactics to try to combat it, there is another question that must be answered. What can be done to get rid of hate crime or at least significantly reduce the number of hate crimes? One idea from Steinberg, Brooks, and Remtulla is, To prevent future hate crimes, law enforcement agencies, state and federal agencies, public interest groups, and schools have been working together to identify and track hate crimes and to mitigate the conditions that foster them (para. 44). It is not surprising that there is a large amount of hate crimes perpetrated by young adults and juveniles. That developmental period lends itself to trying to fit in and struggling with peer pressure. That is why there must be a focus on young adults and juveniles if hate crime is to be decreased. Three ways this can be accomplished is by tracking the crimes that are being committed and identifying the causation behind them, stopping the recruitment of juveniles to hate groups, and using the data from tracking and identifying the causation of hate crime to intervene and educate at risk juveniles and young adults. Another way to try to reduce hate crime is to alter law enforcement tactics. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, such as police leadership ensuring that departmental policies are followed regarding hate crimes and assisting prosecutors in getting convictions of hate crimes by providing accurate information. A major tactic regarding victims as explained by Bune is, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦recognizing the particular fears and distress typically suffered by victims, the potential for reprisal and escalation of violence, and the far-reaching negative consequences of hate crimes on the community, the department will attend to the security and related concerns of the immediate victims and their families (para. 28). There should be a focus on healing and the rights of the victim after a hate crime has taken place. It not only helps the victim a nd their family, but the community as well to see that there is support and that it is okay to report crimes with fear of retaliation. Hate crimes definition has expanded since the 1980s. Even as different groups are added, the importance of focusing on hate crime will not change. Statistics regarding hate crime are very hard to track due to the underreporting of them as well as strict definitions on what the FBI determines to be a hate crime. Over the past few years, police departments and the court system have responded to hate crime by changing their policies, creating new units, and enacting laws centered on hate crime. Some possible solutions to decrease hate crime are to focus on young adults and juveniles and by changing law enforcement tactics regarding hate crime. A final example of hate crime and just how heinous and serious it can be comes from June 1998 in Jasper, Texas. James Byrd, Jr. was a 49-year-old African American man who was walking home from a family party when he was offered a ride home by three known white supremacists. They took him to a remote road and beat him and then dragged him behind th eir truck. The rest of the story as described by Bartol and Bartol, Police found Byrds head, neck, right arm, torso, shoes, a wallet, and other personal items scattered along the route. A mile-long blood trail on the road marked the gruesome scene (p. 18). A scene like the one described is not just another murder. It is the perfect example of the type of hate needed to commit a crime of this magnitude and why there needs to be such a focus on hate crime and its prevention. 9

Connection in Forster’s Howards End Essay -- Howards End Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚   The epigraph of E.M. Forster's novel Howards End is just two words: "only connect".   As economical as this gesture seems, critics and interpreters have made much of this succinct epigraph and the theme of connection in Howards End.   Stephen Land, for example, cites a: demand for connection, in the sense of moving freely between the two Forsterian worlds - the two "sides of the hedge", the everyday world of social norms and the arcadian or paradisal world of individual self-realization - has its roots in earlier stories..." [1]  Ã‚   He goes on to say that "each [character] must reconcile or connect for himself the range of conceptual polarities exposed by the story - prose and passion, seen and unseen, masculine and feminine, new and old"   (Land, 165).   Land reads the novel as some sort of compromise between these two worlds - the realm of social justice and the realm of the individual.   Other critics have made similar gestures.   James McConkey, for one, feels that "Margaret will reconcile the human and transcendent realms so that she may live in harmony with the human; the voice senses the connection through its remove from both." [2]  Ã‚   These critics seem to confuse "connection" with "reconciliation", seem to read the novel as a triumph for humanism and social justice.   I feel this is a little bit of . . . fudging.   True, the characters in Howards End experience reconciliation at the close of the novel - but reconciliation occurs only when love passes out of the novel, when the narrative ceases to be a bridge between two worlds.   The meaning of the word "connect" diminishes as the novel progresses, gradually loses its mythic, transcendent meaning.    The "only connect" moment referenced in the epigraph comes wh... ...any remnant of the bridge between the paradisal world and the world of manners and civic duty.   The concept of connection is so degraded as to be unrecognizable.   This is what happens after love fails. The celestial omnibus will not stop at Howards End again.             [1] Stephen Land.   Challenge and Conventionality in the Fiction of E.M. Forster.   New York: AMS Press, 1990 (165).   Hereafter cited parenthetically.   [2] James McConkey.   The Novels of E.M. Forster.   New York: Cornell University Press, 1957 (79). [3] E.M. Forster.   Howards End.   New York: Penguin, 1986 (154).   Hereafter cited parenthetically. [4] E.M. Forster.   "The Celestial Omnibus".   The Collected Tales of E.M. Forster.   New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952 (61).   It seems prudent to note that this story was first published in 1911, one year after Howards End appeared.   

Change: Theme in the Metamorphosis Essay

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novella. The theme in this story is that change in one character leads to positive and negative change in other characters. Gregor Samsa, the main character changes into dung beetle. His change affects his family deeply and they make both positive and negative changes to accommodate both his change and themselves. The family resents Gregor and sees him as a burden, which is a negative change, but previously the family had relied on Gregor as their source of income. This is where the conflict arises because now they have to learn to work for themselves instead of relying on Gregor for income, which is ultimately a great positive change. The family’s initial reaction towards Gregor is largely extremely negative. When the family and the chief clerk, Gregor’s boss, see him for the first time they panic. Gregor is promptly shoved back into his room and he is locked there. â€Å"No one came any longer, and, in addition, the keys were now on the outside† (page 25). This represents the family’s immediate hostility towards Gregor where as before Gregor’s family had always taken care of him. Gregor’s sister, Grete decided to at least bring Gregor some food but even then she is still frightened. â€Å"†¦She immediately opened the door again and walked in on tiptoe as if she were visiting a seriously ill person or even a stranger† (page 26). Mrs. Samsa asks to see Gregor but Mr. Samsa and Grete stop her. It shows that at least she has accepted Gregor’s change and wants to see him. Although the family does not react very well towards Gregor’s change his family still trys to help him. Grete notices that Gregor is learning to move around, this is a positive change. She decided that moving furniture out of Gregor’s room would give him more room to move around, and she asks for her mother’s help. Gregor sees his mother and sister taking away the last traces of his humanity. In a plight of desperation he sticks himself to a picture on the wall. Grete is annoyed and tells him to get off, and when Gregor’s mother catches sight of Gregor she is so frightened she faints. Grete panics because she is worried about her mother, and Gregor follows her to get medicine for their mother. In the midst of all this chaos Mr. Samsa comes home. A positive change in his  appearance is seen. Gregor had seen him as â€Å"†¦the same man who would lie wearily, buried in bed,†¦who had received him wearing a bathrobe and sitting in an arm chair†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (page 37). Where as now Gregor’s father â€Å"†¦was perfectly erect, dressed in a tight blue uniform† (page 37). Although Mr. Samsa’s appearance and his acquiring a job is a positive change his reaction towards Gregor is negative. Gregor’s father assumed that Gregor had done something violent and he was so furious he threw an apple at Gregor. Mr. Samsa throwing the apple was also a negative change because this was his son he was injuring. The change in the family’s behavior towards Gregor had become increasingly negative. Gregor’s mother and Grete had obtained jobs, and Gregor saw how tired and overworked the family was becoming. In the beginning Grete took careful time to feed Gregor and clean his room, but as she worked she hastily shoved food into Gregor’s room as she ran off. The bitterness of the family peaked, and Grete even wished for Gregor to die. â€Å"And therefore I merely say: we have to try to get rid of it† (page 47). Where previously Gregor had been dying physically he had accepted that he was a burden on the family and he was also dying emotionally. He accepted his face and dies peacefully. When the family finds Gregor dead they are relieved and thankful they don’t have to deal with him anymore. Gregor dying had a positive effect on the family because now they were relieved of the burden that they had been given. The family learned how to work for themselves, yet in the process they treated Gregor poorly, the first being positive but their treatment of Gregor being negative. If one person changes it become necessary for the people around them to change as well. Often times those changes made can be positive or negative. Gregor’s change greatly affected the family and it became necessary for the family deal with the change. The changes they made were largely negative and not beneficial towards Gregor. The family was unwilling to make positive changes in their behavior towards Gregor which resulted ultimately in his death. This shows that whatever changes people choose to make, either positive or negative, the changes will always have a great effect on everyone around them.

“The Arrival” Annaylisis

â€Å"The Arrival,† illustrated by Shaun Tan, presents the visual story of a migrant’s experience as he leaves his home and family to create a better life for them in an unseen country, mirroring a migrant’s life upon migrating to a 1990s New York City, showing his experience of poverty, home sickness, language difficulties, separation from family and loss of social status. The purpose of the book was to represent what many immigrants experienced and reflect their memories of travelling to foreign countries, and for Shaun Tan to depict his experience of growing up in one of the most isolated cities in the world, as he discovered a sense of separation, an unclear conception of identity and questioned what it means to be â€Å"Australian†. The target audience is immigrants who can relate to this book, although there is no particular audience as it can relate to everyone for the book questions every day experiences. The concept of belonging is explored within this text with the use of language features. It uses flashbacks represented in a dark sepia tone, suggesting the past and pain of the trauma of these stories. The sharing of these experiences bonds the arrival to the people within this new environment, creating a place where he feels he can belong. Symbolism is employed, such as the alien creature and the white origami bird who befriend the father. They are representatives of how belonging is about people and relationships and not the locations for these are unstable. This acts as a reminder of where he comes from and inspires him to continue through difficult times. The visual angles create emotion, tension and a sense of individual opinion on belonging among a third person narrative. It uses visual metaphors such as the dragon’s tail that, as a faceless threat, slithers through the old town, providing the push for change and the creation of a new place to belong. There is an absence of written descriptions, which allows individual interpretation and as a result, the belonging experiences of one family becomes a reflection of many. The text has affected my response by having no words, therefore allowing me to create meaning for myself. I was positioned in the characters shoes with the absence of writing, and therefore made my own interpretations. It showed me how it felt to not belong visually with the use of images of different cities around the world. The texts develop my understanding of belonging because it showed me migration is an inessential part of human history. The visual text allowed me to understand what feeling and emotions are felt when you are taken away from your family and then moving to another country.