Issues in Protecting Rights and Copyrights

Issues in Protecting Rights and Copyrights Each society throughout history has, and will be introduced to new ideas, inventions, and movements that benefit their communities. Yet, with those inventions will come ways for people to exploit them, and use them to gain an advantage. Recently, with the dawn of the Information Age of the early 2000s, the fairly-new Internet has connected the world in ways previously incomprehensible. With the Internet, people can send digital goods such as music, movies, and games to each other without any physical meeting or materialization. While beneficial to the economy and markets, those who sell online also risk digital pirates making copies of their goods, and distributing them for free to the world, or even reselling them. Piracy has become a growing issue in the new age, and governments across the world are beginning to take action against it. Even though government intervention would control piracy much better, and could possibly be done not to interfere with innocent customers, it could lead to invasions of privacy as people will always find ways to download copyrighted files undetected, and trying to stop infringements will only hurt internet providers and customers, who have the right to privacy, shown in the Fourth Amendment (Bridegam 11)Government intervention is certainly possible, and has been done in correlation with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. An anti-piracy firm named CEGTEK pushed for the Notice-and-Notice Law to be passed, which allows copyright companies to send letters to users, recognizing that someone on the infringed network has downloaded copyrighted software. It also tells that if the user ignores the infringement, legal action may be taken. While it does not actually search and seize files on users computers, forcing deletion, it recognizes copyrighted software being transferred to the network, and takes nonlegal action which may eventually be brought to court, however. After the Law was passed, piracy rates dropped up to 61% one ye ar (Brownell 1), due to the letters being sent with notices of infringement. It had an impact on slowing down the growth of piracy, but governments have to find other ways to end digital crime. Piracy is still fairly new to the big picture, and old laws need to be modernized in order to stop it. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unwarranted and unreasonable search and seizure without a probable cause. While the Amendment protects personal property, including computers, an officer can still access the content and files stored on the machine. David Cole at Georgetown University says When I send an email, Ive shared it with the Internet provider. (Zwerdling 1) All communications with servers and websites are stored somewhere on the sites history, leaving a digital footprint behind. Law enforcement can access these records as they can be made available upon calling, because if a warrant is denied to search a users computer, another one can be requested to search the server or service provider involved in the alleged crime to find out if copyright infringement did occur. The Amendment has not aged well, and with the Information Age accelerating, th e old laws need to be updated in order to keep up with new technology. The Fourth Amendment tells little about digital search and seizure, yet it still is unconstitutional for unreasonable search of property.Internet service providers (ISPs) monitor everything a user does, downloads, and uploads on the internet, and while it may differ from each company, most keep records for all types of purposes, include hardware and software maintenance, as well as to catch pirates. These companies assign IP addresses to every computer in order to connect the PC to websites and servers, but the address can also be used to trace a user across the network. This is how pirates can be quickly caught. Some ISPs work with anti-piracy and copyright protection companies, such as Tecksavvy Solutions in Canada, work to catch infringements and stop it on their networks. The collaboration between the companies comes down to the anti-piracy firms monitoring P2P (peer-to-peer) connections scanning for copyrigh ted content. If a file is found to be copyrighted, the IP address is logged and forwarded to the ISP of the user. While it may seem like a simple job, the ISP does not legally have to disclose the name and location of the alleged pirate. (Robinson 1) Obviously, the ISP could if they wish to, but most companies see so many infringements that taking actual legal action towards the cases would cause more problems than needed. The amount of legal fees, time spent, and reputation on the line is simply too much for most companies to risk. Ways to stop piracy have doubled over the years, and each year introduces more invasive methods of cracking down. (Katyal 1) Years of lobbying and debates have introduced many new acts and bills passed in order to prevent and cease piracy. However, they have been passed in ways so as not to affect the openness and opportunity of the internet, yet still be able to enforce their rules. The Stop Online Piracy (SOPA) and Protect IP Acts are in the process of being debated by Congress, and opposed by pirates. SOPA intends to defund and cut off access to rogue sites that promote piracy but are established internationally, most notably The Pirate Bay, in Sweden. The two acts rival each other in debate, but have the same end goal to end foreign piracy in the United States. The bills have not been passed, but have the support of the RIAA, MPAA, and NMPA, all music and media production companies. (ABC-CLIO 1) Arguments followed the consideration of the bills, with the defense that they would not enforce anything, and would only hurt the internets freedom. Cutting off access to websites is a prohibition of the openness of the internet, as it is not truly free with these restrictions. The United States is surprisingly not one of the countries with the most piracy, but the ones that too have taken action against it. David Kassler, CEO of EMI Group, a British music company, says You can have a number-one album in Spain with 3,000 sales, referencing the number of pirates and downloaders. (Economist 1) Germany has kept their piracy laws simple, with a fine system for each crime. South Korea faced rampant piracy as well, but took action against it, introducing a three-point warning system for their users suspected of copyright infringement. If the user ignores these warnings and does not cease their use, their connection will be cut off and disconnected. Now, some companies in the U.S. have taken up a warning system. Copyright firms are able to collect the IP of a pirate, and can send a notice to that IP without needing to take legal action. Some unknowing pirates are frightened off by the sight of the official notice, and cease immediately. Using a detection and warni ng system has worked in Korea, leading to a 10% increase of music sales in 2009, but whether it will work in the U.S. is yet to be seen. Not all the laws will work, as Mayseey Leong of the IFPI says it wasnt as though the law came into effect and all illegal activity stopped. Laws will not be enough to stop piracy, but it can make a difference in slowing down the increase of infringement rates. Piracy has a much larger effect on people besides their internet being disconnected. Being convicted of piracy could result in graduation denial, loss of job, scholarship, or even citizenship for international pirates. Studies by Stuart Green from the International Herald Tribute shows that pirates and users of the internet have drawn a solid line between digital piracy and physical theft. (Green 1) Pirates claim nothing is being stolen, only copied and mostly used for personal use. However, 1962 introduced the Moral Penal Code, which defines property as anything valued. The vague definition has led to an argument over theft law even 50 years later, bringing up the discussion of whether or not digital goods count as valued, as they technically do not exist only as bits and numbers on a server, not physically. Therefore, a dilemma has been created where users must decide whether or not they believe piracy is actually stealing. It is known that digital distribution has done wonders for the music business, increasing revenue and popularity, but it opens up a whole world of debate about digital sharing of copyrighted goods. Because nobody is hurt at the moment of download, users claim piracy is not stealing because they are simply making a copy of the file, nobody is killed or robbed at gunpoint, as all the user has to do is click download. In the long run, production companies and music artists do take a large financial hit from a lack of sales, if a certain song or album of theirs is being sent across the internet illegally. One reporter, James Lardner, claims the more they lock things up, the more users rebel. (Lardner 1) Regardless of how companies and Congress may try to make their files inaccessible except legally, pirates and hackers will always find ways to get what they want, even if they face troubles such as takedowns of their websites. The problem companies face is that file sharing services are much smarter, and shutting down physically in one place will not affect piracy as much. One popular website, KickAss Torrents (KAT), was taken down after the founder was arrested. Yet, it did not do much against piracy, because of the way it works. Copyrighted content is shared via P2P networks, meaning it goes straight from computers that seed the file, and make it available for download directly from their computer, with no website involved. The site was simply a catalog for the .torrent files which contain the information that allow users to connect to other users to download the file. Pirates have t aken measures against website takedown, and entire server backups were quickly uploaded to a different domain name to ensure the site stayed up. KAT was down almost momentarily, and goes to show how a server level takedown could not do much damage against stopping piracy. (Mathur 1) Not only is piracy rampant digitally, but burned CDs and physical copies of copyrighted files are shared just for that reason. Physical copies are much harder to trace, despite them not leaving footprints, and can be publicly viewed and broadcasted without the user even knowing it is a pirated version. Pirates argue that the internet is a source of information and sharing, and because companies and users make their files publicly available, one way or another, they are free for the taking due to a lack of security against them. (Peloso 136) Not just one force is at fault in the grand view of piracy, but pirates blame the music industry saying it has consistently failed to adapt to changes in technology. (Wray 1) If a company has not taken any measures to protect its media, then it can be at fault for users copying it illegally. Companies can also be at fault for not making their media available in all countries for all people. International users must pirate content because some files are regionally locked, and only available in America (Wortham 1). The only way for some users to access the media is to download it from a P2P network, which may not put them completely at fault, as the companies have yet to make their media available worldwide. One anonymous user says It is available , just not legally. Having region-locked data also may serve as a cause for the high piracy rates in South Korea and Spain, being outside of the U.S. The internet is a vast network, with billions of packets of data sent on the daily. Being able to monitor and scan every single connection would take an amount of power machine and man do not have yet in the Information Age. Not even the United States could crack down on every case of copyright infringement, even in their own country. One man, who wishes to remain unknown, claims the film and television industrys efforts to stopà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ distribution à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is like building a dam in the middle of a vast ocean. Along with their failure to keep up with modern times, copyright firms can only do so much in terms of catching pirates, as most use proxies, which change their IP addresses to somewhere far from their computer, to trick websites into thinking they are connecting from somewhere else, hiding themselves and their location. Therefore, it is presently impossible to catch every pirate, and authorities must accept the internets freedom, and how it can never be fully co ntrolled by anyone due to the massive size of it. No matter how much effort is put into stopping piracy, someone somewhere will always find a way to bypass restrictions and free the copyrighted content for the rest of the world. Once the content is out in the internet, it can never be fully erased, as it has been saved on hundreds, or even thousands of computers by the time the copyright firm has information the file has been taken. (Sampat 1) This is why website takedowns would not work, copies of the file have been made and can be reuploaded and hosted at any time. Pirates have to work together to function, but taking them down one-by-one has not worked so far. More attempts will be made to end piracy for sure, but that may spark more controversy, however, because any more intervention by the government and firms would only end up in violations of privacy and rights. Piracy is still fairly new, and is growing every day, despite rigorous attempts to stop it, while still remain constitutional. The main question ISPs and copyright companies face is how can the openness of the internet be preserved while having all illegal acts filtered out?. The protection of innocent customers is on the mind of every company, and selecting the few out of the bunch who commit acts of piracy is not an easy task. While they do have access to the file transfer history between users, they cannot legally intervene without a warrant, shown in the Fourth Amendment, and even if they are issued one, they cannot completely prove the user was the one who downloaded the material. Perhaps the pirate used a public Wi-Fi access point to copy a file off KAT, and then left the building. The owner of the Wi-Fi would receive a notice to cease piracy, even though he had committed no such act, his customers did. Piracy is a tricky subject, and neither side is technically correct. Pirate s can claim anything accessible can be taken, and will be because of the vast size of the internet, but companies do have a legal copyright on some media materials, and taking them is a criminal act. It is up to the governments of countries facing piracy to make a decision based on the current situation, and take action to resolve piracy. Pirates must unite to keep themselves anonymous against companies out to crack down on infringement. Congress must protect the pirates rights, but production companies must protect their copyrights. Works Cited A Rare Victory Against Piracy. Economist (London, England) Vol.395, No.8679, Apr, 2010, pp. 68, SIRS Issues Researcher. Bridegam, Martha Ann. Search and Seizure. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. Print Brownell, Claire. Pirates of the Internet. National Post, 13 Feb, 2016, pp. FP.5, SIRS Issues Researcher. Green, Stuart P. When Stealing Isnt Stealing. International Herald Tribune, 30 Mar, 2012, pp. 6, SIRS Issues Researcher. K, Katyal Sonia. Yale Journal of Law and Technology. N.p.: Yale Law School, 2005. Print. Lardner, James. The Empire Strikes Back. U.S.News World Report, Sep, 2000, pp. 54-56, SIRS Issues Researcher. Mathur, Swapnil. KickAss Torrents is Dead for Sure, but Online Piracy Will Continue. Financial Express, 23 Jul, 2016, SIRS Issues Researcher. Obama Administration Responds to we the People Petitions on SOPA.. WHITE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE, 14 Jan, 2012, SIRS Government Reporter. Peloso, Jennifer. Intellectual Property. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2003. Print. Robinson, Michael. Student Downloaders Beware. Macleans, Nov, 2016, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com. Sampat, Neel. Digital Piracy. Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2017, issues.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1560147. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Spotting the Pirates. Economist, Aug, 2011, pp. 55, SIRS Issues Researcher, Stop Online Piracy Act (2011). Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2017, issues.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1688414. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Wortham, Jenna. Readers Debate Online Piracy and the Future of Digital Entertainment. The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

Free College Essays - Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale the Wuss in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter: Dimmesdale the Wuss "But (Hester) is not the protagonist; the chief actor, and the tragedy of The Scarlet Letter is not her tragedy, but Dimmesdales. He it was whom the sorrows of death encompassed_. His public confession is one of the noblest climaxes of tragic literature." This statement by Randall Stewart does not contain the same ideas that I believe were contained within The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I, on the contrary to Stewart's statement, think Dimmesdale is a coward and a hypocrite. Worse, he is a self-confessed coward and hypocrite. He knows what he has to do to still the voice of his conscience and make his peace with God. Throughout the entire story his confession remains an obstacle . While Hester is a relatively constant character, Dimmesdale is incredibly dynamic. From his fall with Hester, he moves, in steps, toward his public hint, at the end of the novel, of sinning. He wants to unburden himself by revealing his sin to his congregation, but somehow can never quite manage this. He is a typical example of a "wuss", using today’s terminology. To some extent, Dimmesdale's story is one of a single man tempted into the depths of the hormonal world. This world, however, is a place where the society treats sexuality with ill grace. But Dimmesdale’s problem is enormously complicated by the fact of Hester's marriage (for him no technicality), and by his own image of himself as a cleric devoted to higher things. Unlike other young men, Dimmesdale cannot accept his loss of innocence and go on from there. He must struggle futilely to get back to where he was. Torn between the desire to confess and atone for his sin and the cowardice that holds him back, Dimmesdale goes slightly mad. He takes up some morbid forms of penance, fasts and scourgings, but he can neither whip nor starve the sin from his soul. In his agony, he staggers to the pulpit to confess, but his words come out as generalized and meaningless declarations of guilt. The reverend seems to want to reveal himself, but Chillingworth's influence and his own shame are stronger than his weak conscience. Dimmesdale cannot surrender an identity which brings him the love and admiration of his parishioners. He is far too intent on his earthly image to willingly reveal his sin.

The Young Can Teach the Elderly

According to common belief, we, especially the younger, usually learn many things from previous generations. Some even believe that the young cannot teach in turn the elderly. To my way of thinking, I do not agree with this idea in many aspects. On one hand, I admit that the elderly has played an important part in teaching young men, and we benefit a lot from their knowledge. In particular, they have incurred and undergone many events in their lives; therefore, they have gathered lots of experiences, which are very useful for us. Time has taught them how to deal with problems and difficulties, and they can teach us about it. On the other hand, I feel we, the young, in turn can teach them about a lot of things as follow. The first thing to mention is modern knowledge, especially innovations in technology, which the elderly can hardly follow. For example, we can show them about how to use the internet, a marvelous invention in modern day, which is quite strange to them. Similarly, the elderly usually are not familiar with learning foreign languages, like English, thus we teach them how to learn and use it effectively. Another thing we can teach the elderly is communication skill. As we can see, the elderly tend to limit their relationships, and they almost communicate with a few relatives and friends only. On the contrary, the young usually talk to a lot of people, even strangers, through using social network or chatting utility. Hence, they always feel happy and relaxed, because they can share their emotions and thoughts with many people. Moreover, they feel more comfortable and self-confident in real life’s communication, therefore may succeed more in work. All these things should be taught to elderly, whose timid characteristics sometimes lead to their failure. To sum up, though the knowledge of the elderly is very large and extensive/ however experienced and wise the elder generation may be, they sometimes have to learn many things from the young. Only by this way can they achieve success in this new era. Vice versa, the young should also take all advantages from the elderly to be more successful in life.

Principles of Education

Theoretical and practical teaching and learning are the fundamental aspects of education. Since the early 20th century, education has been an essential part of nursing (Bastable 2008). Nurse educators encounter a diversity of learning styles and are challenged when needed to develop and adapt their teaching methods to accommodate students learning (Arthurs 2007). Mentors have a responsibility to assist the student within practice, building upon the students level of training (Kinnell and Hughes 2010). This essay will discuss the importance of the nurses role in relation to teaching both students and patients and will critically evaluate the literature used to build a lesson plan (Appendix 2) whilst discussing the process of learning and teaching. An important role of the nurse since the mid-1800s has been the responsibility of teaching. Educating other nurses for professional practice and promoting health were included. Florence Nightingale, the ultimate educator, influenced the nurse’s role to include educating families, patients and colleagues (Glanville 2000). Tilley et al (2006), states that by the 1900s the importance of the nurse as teacher was understood as preventing disease and promoting health. The National Midwifery Council (NMC) has for years put forth statements on the functions, standards, and qualifications for nursing practice. Patient teaching and the nurse’s role as educator to colleagues and student nurses are key elements (NMC 2002). Obtaining formal preparation in the principles of teaching and learning is an important part as there is much knowledge and skill to be acquired as educator with efficiency and effectiveness. A learner cannot be made to learn, but an effective approach in educating others is to actively involve learners in the education process. † (Bodenheimer et al. 2002 cited in Bastable 2008: 13). By working as a team a partnership philosophy should allow the nurse’s role as teacher of patients, families and students to be obtainable. A growing body of evidence suggests that effective education and learner participation go hand in hand. The nurse should act as a facilitator, creating an environment conducive to learning that motivates individuals to want to learn (Arthurs 007). Nurse educators encounter a variety of learning styles when faced with prospective nurses. Nursing students will have a variable age group with younger students possibly unaware of their learning styles as well as mature students who may be rooted in one way of learning (Arthurs 2007). Nursing education being primarily clinically focused results in limited knowledge of teaching strategies causing challenges for the nurse educator, this mix can lead to student and teacher frustration with poor academic performance among nursing students. Dunn and Griggs (2000) argue that teaching styles more closely aligned to a variety of adult learners will promote retention and application of new knowledge, these factors were taken into account when designing appendix 2. Blooms Taxonomy (1956 cited in Moseley et al. 2005: 102) is a system that describes, identifies and classifies three domains of learning – cognitive, affective and psychomotor. These domains are used for the development of instructional objectives and learning outcomes (Appendix 1), the first steps in the development of appendix 2. These steps identify what is expected as a result of the students learning experience (Connolly and DeYoung 2004). Airasian (2001) argues that objectives limit the learning experience and does not expose the student to further their knowledge. Gronlund (2000) explains that the need to clearly communicate the teacher’s expectations to the students, specifying what a student should know and be able to do at the end of the session is the most important part. These points guided the learning objectives of appendix 1 aiming to allow the student to strive to achieve their own personal best in order to enhance the learning experience. Reece and Walker (2000) believed that a lesson plan is designed to help teachers proceed with a lesson logically. Can every possibility be provided for? Surely a lesson plan has to be tentative and accommodating allowing substitute teachers to follow if necessary. Therefore it is only a step by step guide with estimation of time, questioning and probability, however needs to retain adequate content in order to be followed and understood. Fleming and Mill’s learning framework typology (Nilson 2003) reflects learning in a physical sense of visual, auditory, read/write and kinaesthetic preferences. Visual learners rely upon sight for their learning needs, such as presentations, diagrams and pictures with the use of colour to enhance knowledge retention (Susskind 2005). Nilson (2003) explains that the auditory learner prefers information to be explained and benefit from verbal presentations such as lectures and discussions. Students with preference of reading or writing benefit from well-structured textbooks in order to understand new information. In contrast to this type of learning the kinaesthetic learner usually has excellent eye-hand-mind coordination valuing practical information with active involvement (Nilson 2003). The lesson plan of Appendix 2 is structured to accommodate varied learning styles and planned towards delivering a variety of teaching strategies helping the student retain and learn. The wide range of learning styles represented in a large group of nursing students makes a single type teaching strategy ineffective for some of the class (Arthurs 2007). Appendix 2 allows for Visual learning through the use of diagrams and direct observation of role play, Auditory learning by a power point presentation and discussion on own experiences, Reading/Writing learners gain from the use of hand outs with limited information encouraging further reading as well as a textbook style informative diagram with rational. Kinesthetic learning is accommodated by the use of a practical section for the clinical skill. Nilson (2003) distinguished that individuals only retain 10-20% of what they hear, by including visual material to the presentation this can increase by 50%. Speaking involves active cognition as well as hearing and can increase recall to 80%, by combining speaking and applied methods retention increases to 90%. Producing a lesson plan to teach in auditory, visual and experimental modes is important, increasing the successfulness of a session by allowing individuals a variety of learning styles enhancing the storage of the material to 97% (Knowels, Holton III and Swanson 2008). Learning to accommodate a range of learning styles will improve retention of intricate information for both student and patient (Arthurs 2007). However this could be argued that this is time intensive to design. Time is a premium for the nurse, it may be unrealistic to have time to design lesson plans that accommodate all learning styles present in large classes, Appendix 2 is applicable to a small class of 10-12 students, and would not work in a large lecture theatre of over 100 due to the structure. Information may only be taught through lectures due to time constraints requiring the student to further the topic at home. It is therefore imperative that the environment, and number of students is assessed in onjunction with a lesson plan otherwise these variables could result in an unsuccessful teaching session. When teaching a patient, the approach will change, however styles will remain similar. A patient will always learn best from a one to one short session that is informative with use of written sources such leaflets allowing the information to be kept by the patient for further reference. Hands on or observation experi ence is also an excellent form to teach a patient (Quinn 2000). The success of a one to one session with a patient or family relative will rely deeply on interpersonal skills. The pace of the teaching has to be judged carefully to ensure that the patient is keeping up, and the atmosphere needs to be informal and relaxed. Factors that might affect patients or students' ability and readiness to learn could include physical issues, psychological or emotional issues, and difficulties with cognition or the environment. Appendix 3 identifies a range of common expectations that are appropriate to nurse education students and contrasts these with a patient. There will be variations within the two learners, however the information will be valid for both. It is designed to ensure that nurse educators clearly understand the importance of assumptions towards learners (Quinn 2000). In reference to Appendix 4 different teaching methods would be used to manage the learning styles required by the patient and that of the student. Mrs Helen would need a substantial about of teaching and guidance in order to continue with her oral care and understand the importance of oral hygiene (Rosdahl and Kowalski 2008). This information would need to be informal, sensitive, and professional, working at the level of knowledge the patient comprehends, allowing Mrs Helen to understand through Visual learning with the use of leaflets and diagrams, Auditory through the giving of information and Kinesthetic through demonstration. As a mentor the nurse would teach the student through direct observation, possible contribution to the teaching of skills, followed by questioning and further research to develop the students’ knowledge (Kinnell and Hughes 2010) allowing for Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic student learning. It is important to be able to consider and address your own learning needs in order to meet the needs of others in practice. Education is an important aspect of nursing, attaining the skills required for learning and teaching something new within the profession every day is vital as research and technology is always progressing. Key differences in the ways of approaching teaching within nursing include adoption of either a nurse focused approach or a patient focused approach (Forbes 2010). Without the correct understanding of learning styles the correct teaching strategy cannot be adopted which could result in poor education, misunderstood information retained by a student which could be passed onto a patient. Adopting patient focused approaches to nursing will allow the nurse educator to adapt to the teaching style necessary for the patient, ensuing exceptional guidance, support and education. Without this educating structure within the Nursing Programme, student nurses would not be prepared for the practice setting of communication, demonstration and most importantly continual education and teaching.

A Swimming Adventure Essay

Awaking early, I decided to sit on the screened porch and watch the Florida sun come up. Within a very short time as I sat there, the sun peaked on the horizon as it gradually awakened from its night of slumber. The dew sparkled like diamonds as the sun’s rays tenderly caressed the grass. Off in the distance, I could hear the world spring to life as the birds began to sing a spectacular melody, growing louder and louder as each bird began to chirp in unison, like a choir singing in church on Sunday morning. A new day had dawned and I remember thinking how magnificent the birds’ song was and what a wonderful day it was going to be. Returning to my duties as a mom, I started making breakfast for my children, who would wake shortly wanting to eat. Within a few minutes, the wonderful aroma of the pancakes and bacon cooking on the stove gave way to the sound of pitter-pattering little feet as they hit the floor. My children Michael, Laura and Misty were awake and joined me in the kitchen. I seated the children; gave them their breakfast and told them that it was going to be a very hot day and if they ate all of their breakfast and cleaned up the toys, I would take them to the beach to go swimming. The children, bustling with excitement over the news, hurriedly ate their breakfast and started cleaning up their toys while I cleaned the kitchen. Around noon, the temperature was a blistering 95 degrees as we packed a cooler with sandwiches and drinks. We loaded the trunk with our chairs and headed off to the beach. On the way, we saw a black and white cat racing across the street chasing a gray mouse. We played a game called I Spy and sang songs to pass the time. Growing closer to the beach Michael spied a snake lying in the road, and asked, â€Å"Why is the snake lying in the middle of the road mommy?† The snake  was dead and not wanting to upset him, I replied, â€Å"The snake is basking in the sun so it can get warm†. It was not long before we had reached our destination. Anticipation filled the air as we found the perfect spot and unloaded the car. The children helped set up the chairs and then headed off to swim. Deciding to relax a few minutes, I took in the peaceful views that lay before me. The beach was covered with white sand and on each side of the swimming area were large boulders and rocks that had been piled up. There were several covered tables and a bathroom area. Many people were playing in the water while others were lying on their towels and blankets on the sandy beach. A volleyball game was taking place a few yards away and I remember thinking how hot it was as the glaring sun beat down on everyone. Watching the children playing in the surf, the waves from the shore looked fun and almost childlike as they crested and then crashed over one another. I could taste the salt in the air and watched little rainbows glisten through the prisms of the ocean’s spray. The warm ocean water toward the shore was covered with foam and bubbles from the rumbling waves as my children and other families played in the gritty sand of the Gulf. I watched the seagulls swoop  down as a child threw small pieces of bread up in the air. The sea gulls were white and gray and had a long orange beak. I remember thinking to myself, â€Å"This is going to be a perfect day†. The children are playing and laughing in the ocean and call out â€Å"Come on mom, come and play†. I start towards the water trying not to step on any of the tiny hermit crabs as they emerge from their sandy homes in search of scraps. I reached the water; no crabs injured and plunged head first into a two-foot wave coming to shore, hah! How refreshing. My children and I are swimming and playing together in the cool refreshing water. I lift them one by one tossing them slightly in the air and letting  go, I hear them shriek with delight as they plummet towards the water with a splash! This exciting activity is repeated several times until my arms give out and I am forced to take a break, much to the dismay of my children who are having a wonderful time. I stand there in about three feet of water when my children come up with another exciting game; they start swimming through my legs playing mommy is a bridge. I remember thinking boy! I wish I had their energy. After resting a few minutes I picked them up, placed them one at a time on my back and began to swim; we slowly swam under the blue water and up again and I could hear them giggle with excitement and say â€Å"Do it again mommy, do it again†. A short time later a commotion broke out interrupting our games, I struggled to hear what everyone was shouting about and saw people running to the water’s edge and pointing about fifty feet from where the children and I were playing. Looking in the direction they were pointing, a  man with his daughter in tow yells, â€Å"SHARK!† without hesitation, I yelled to my son, â€Å"Michael, get out of the water!† I grabbed Laura and Misty and headed to shore. My adrenalin pumping we reached the shore incredibly fast, like a bolt of lightning streaking across the night sky. Only when we were safely on shore did we look back to see three fins just skimming the surface of the water. I stood there stunned and shocked watching the fins, wondering what kinds of sharks they were and very grateful that everyone was in one piece. A few minutes later, the fins disappeared beneath the surface and everyone was treated to a wondrous sight, there off in the distance, were three dolphins jumping high into the air and making a big splash as they entered the water. The dolphins took turns jumping and playing; sometimes they would jump in unison, as if dancers in a chorus line. As fast as they had appeared, the dolphins slipped beneath the waves and headed out to sea. I wondered if the dolphins laughed to themselves; thinking about how they had scared the two-legged creatures from the water  or if they were just as curious about us as we were of them. With the all clear, we headed back into the water and continued swimming and playing games. A short time later, the children became hungry so we decided to get something to eat and drink. The ham and cheese sandwich tasted good and the Pepsi was refreshing. As we ate, the children began to get goose bumps so I covered their shoulders with a blanket. Hours later, the sun setting, we gathered our belongings, packed up the car and ventured home. The children tired from a full day of fun and games fell asleep quickly. Not wanting to wake the children, I turned off the radio and listened to the hum of the motor as we made our way home. Later as I lay in bed I replayed the day’s events in my mind, from the stunning sunrise, the splendor of the birds as they sang, the laughter of they children as the played, the show of the dolphins, the beauty of the beach and the setting sun, I thanked God for all the wonderful gifts he had given me. THE END Graded and Corrected A+ paper The teacher wanted us to write an essay about something that happned in our lives. I scored a 94% on this essay due to poor punctuation, which has since been fixed.

History of Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of Architecture - Essay Example (Wagner 21). Wagner’s architectural style embraced and clearly manifested a distinct change in traditional and the emergence of purpose built buildings. The church at Vienna’s Steinhoff sanitarium, the Postal savings Bank and several entrances for Vienna’s city railway are some of Wagner’s most memorable buildings. (100) . The belief of art having purpose was expressed when he stated, â€Å" The practical element in man, which is particularly pronounced, is evidently here to stay and every architect is going to have to come to grips with the postulate, a thing that is unpractical cannot be beautiful† (100). In the exploration of the idea of modernity in architecture, he used the designs of his own buildings, where he used new technology, materials and simpler ornamentation. The Postal Savings Bank is seen as an important early work of modern architecture. This represented Wagner’s move from Neoclassicism. The building was constructed using reinforced concrete. Square marble plates cover the faà §ade attached to the man brick structure with mortar and ornamented with iron bolts with aluminum caps. The picture below shows the exterior of the main faà §ade of the Postal Savings Bank. The ideas of Jugendstil were represented in Wagner’s work in the 1980’s. Other architects seemed to set him apart because of his perspective on industrialization that meant the use of machine aesthetic, glorification of technological advancements and the incorporation of new materials such as iron in his architectural work. This incorporation of an open metallic crown with floral decoration that topped the main building in his 1897 project for an Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna was noticeably a modern element.

PESTEL analysis of Australia, including SWOT analysis Assignment

PESTEL analysis of Australia, including SWOT analysis - Assignment Example The serene political environments, diverse cultures and a techno-savvy population only make the business environment better. The aforementioned political, economical, environmental, cultural and legal environments have made Australia one of the best markets in the world. This paper tries to identify the unique characteristics of Australia that enables it to have an excellent international marketing environment. It goes ahead to list the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the various environments that influence international marketing in Australia. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 International Marketing Environment in Australia 5 2.1 The Economic and Financial Environment 5 2.2 The Political and Legal Environment 8 2.3 The Social and Cultural Environment 9 2.4 Technological Environment 9 2.5 Challenges and Opportunities 10 3.0 Conclusion 11 4.0 References 12 PESTEL Analysis of Australia 1.0 Introduction Australia boasts one of the most efficient capitalist e conomies in the world. In 2012 the Australian economy was ranked the 13th largest in terms of GDP, contributing over 1.7% of the world’s GDP for that period. Presently, the economy’s GDP stands at US $1.58 trillion with a total wealth of over US $6.4 trillion (DFAT, 2013). One of the main reasons for this startling performance is because of the freedom in the market. The Australian governments that have been in power since early 1980s have continuously liberalized the market. This has attracted more investors and as a result the Australian economy has largely been growing even when other countries were experiencing recession. In 2011 the Australian economy was found to be the third freest economy in the world with an index of 82.6. Due to this freedom the economy is favorable for entrepreneurs’ development. It boasts the largest number of entrepreneurs in the world, both internal and external (Jacka and Scott, 2013). The Australian economy is built on exports. A ccording to the survey conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Australia is the 19th largest exporter and importer. Most of what is exported is from the mining sector followed by the agricultural sector. Mining has been the major contributor to the Australian GDP, nearly 10% of the GDP (DFAT, 2013). Australia mining sector produces exports natural gas, iron ore, petroleum and gold. The agricultural sector on the other hand produces mainly foodstuffs and wool and cotton. Apart from these the economy also exports service especially technology-based expertise and skills. The Australian economy is ranked the second in terms of the average wealth of individual adults. A study conducted in 2011 by Credit Suisse Research Institute placed Australia behind Switzerland and established that the average Australian has a wealth of US $397,000. It also placed Australia second in terms of the highest per capita income The economy also has an average GDP growth of 3.4% annually with 3.2 % in 2011 and 3.8% in 2012 (Richardson, 2013). However, during the same period the poverty level increased by 1.6% from 10.2% to 11.8%. This has made the economy to be termed as a ‘two-speed’ economy. The inflation rate averaged at 2.5% since the turn of the millennium and the unemployment rate stood at 5.8%, the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the world according to the