Finance SLP5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Finance SLP5 - Essay Example The average Japanese stock pays less than one percent in annual dividends per year (Norris, 1995). In Japan the overall sad state of the economy has gotten better during 2008. The country had endured a 15 year span of basically no economic growth and was stuck in a climate that felt like a constant recession. The stock market completely bottom out, but finally there is light at the end of the tunnel. The fourth quarter numbers for 2007 demonstrate an economy on the rise, if the benchmark of GDP was annualized it reflects a Japanese annual economic growth of 3.7% (Hutchinson, 2008). The economy is one of the most influential factors in the behavior of a country’s stock market behavior. Despite that fact last year was another bad year for Japanese stocks. The SPDR Russell / Nomura index which reflects the value of smaller companies dropped 30% altogether last year (Hutchinson, 2008). The stock market in Japan is extremely risky. If an econometric statistical analyst was perform I’m sure the Beta coefficient for the marketplace is extremely high. There is still lots of uncertaintly over the long term performance of the Japanese stock market. The yen during the last year has not done well and has lost purchasing power against the dollar which is bad sign for Japanese stocks. Investing in a marketplace with high level of risk has its advantages for sophisticated and smart investor that can find hidden gems within all the chaos. It is basic economic that with high risk come high rewards which means that in stock market such the Japanese stock market there are great short gains to be made in many stocks in the marketplace. I would personally invest in the Japanese stock market place. As stated earlier there are opportunities to find high yield stocks in such a market. The smart move is to diversify and include a portfolio of blue chip U.S. stocks when attempting to make money in high risk

Future of Human Factors in Aviation (capstone paper) Thesis

Future of Human Factors in Aviation (capstone paper) - Thesis Example Human factors are the major contributors in accidents associated with aviation industry (Helmreich, 2000). Flight Standards (AFS) Human Factors Specialists’ primary activities include: â€Å"Develop and update FAA regulations, policy, and guidance about human factors issues for aircraft operations and procedures, aircraft maintenance, pilot training, and other functions; Support projects that involve human factors assessments of aircraft operations, procedures, and maintenance; Develop tools to assist the FAA Flight Standards Service; Sponsor and supervise human factors research to support Flight Standards† (FAA, n. d.). FAA and NASA have spent a huge amount of R&D budget in understanding these factors. In an attempt to determine the path for future development in the field of human factors and aviation industry, a thorough investigation was carried out with the help of secondary sources that included books, research articles, and official report. With various technolog ical developments the influence of human factor in aviation has been mitigated to some extent, however, there is still a room for improvement. The need at the moment is to develop error tolerant systems, that not only monitors human factors, but also use automation to an extent where equipment become task centered as well as human centered. Aviation industry is one of the most prosperous industries. The expected annual growth of the industry is around five percent. The number of people utilizing these services continues to increase as well. With such a large customer base, it is tough to maintain standards in performance. Moreover, the slightest of errors may end up in causing loss of millions and affecting several hundred lives at the same time. Safety and efficiency of operations are the two most vital components. These components rely directly on organizations and their crew members. Despite, the advances in technology, it

Modern Drama Essay Example for Free

Modern Drama Essay Restoration literature Restoration literature is the English literature written during the historical period commonly referred to as the English Restoration (1660–1689), which corresponds to the last years of the direct Stuart reign in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. In general, the term is used to denote roughly homogeneous styles of literature that center on a celebration of or reaction to the restored court of Charles II. It is a literature that includes extremes, for it encompasses both Paradise Lost and the Earl of Rochesters Sodom, the high-spirited sexual comedy of The Country Wife and the moral wisdom of The Pilgrims Progress. It saw Lockes Treatises of Government, the founding of the Royal Society, the experiments and holy meditations of Robert Boyle, the hysterical attacks on theaters from Jeremy Collier, and the pioneering of literary criticism from John Dryden and John Dennis. The period witnessed news become a commodity, the essay developed into a periodical art form, and the beginnings of textual criticism. The dates for Restoration literature are a matter of convention, and they differ markedly from genre to genre. Thus, the Restoration in dramamay last until 1700, while in poetry it may last only until 1666 (see 1666 in poetry) and the annus mirabilis; and in prose it might end in 1688, with the increasing tensions over succession and the corresponding rise in journalism and periodicals, or not until 1700, when those periodicals grew more stabilized. In general, scholars use the term Restoration to denote the literature that began and flourished under Charles II, whether that literature was the laudatory ode that gained a new life with restored aristocracy, the eschatological literature that showed an increasing despair among Puritans, or the literature of rapid communication and trade that followed in the wake of Englands mercantile empire. Theatre The return of the stage-struck Charles II to power in 1660 was a major event in English theatre history. As soon as the previous Puritan regimes ban on public stage representations was lifted, the drama recreated itself quickly and abundantly. Two theatre companies, the Kings and the Dukes Company, were established in London, with two luxurious playhouses built to designs by Christopher Wren and fitted with moveable scenery and thunder and lightning machines.[10] Traditionally, Restoration plays have been studied by genre rather than chronology, more or less as if they were all contemporary, but scholars today insist on the rapid evolvement of drama in the period and on the importance of social and political factors affecting it. (Unless otherwise indicated, the account below is based on Humes influential Development of English Drama in the Late Seventeenth Century, 1976.) The influence of theatre company competition and playhouse economics is also acknowledged, as is the significance of the appearance of the first professional actresses (see Howe). In the 1660s and 1670s, the London scene was vitalised by the competition between the two patent companies. The need to rise to the challenges of the other house made playwrights and managers extremely responsive to public taste, and theatrical fashions fluctuated almost week by week. The mid-1670s were a high point of both quantity and quality, with John Drydens Aureng-zebe (1675), William Wycherleys The Country Wife (1675) and The Plain Dealer(1676), George Ethereges The Man of Mode (1676), and Aphra Behns The Rover (1677), all within a few seasons. From 1682 the production of new plays dropped sharply, affected both by a merger between the two companies and by the political turmoil of the Popish Plot (1678) and the Exclusion crisis (1682). The 1680s were especially lean years for comedy, the only exception being the remarkable career of Aphra Behn, whose achievement as the first professional British woman dramatist has been the subject of much recent study. There was a swing away from comedy to serious political drama, reflecting preoccupations and divisions following on the political crisis. The few comedies produced also tended to be political in focus, the whig dramatist Thomas Shadwell sparring with the tories John Dryden and Aphra Behn. In the calmer times after 1688, Londoners were again ready to be amused by stage performance, but the single United Company was not well prepared to offer it. No longer powered by competition, the company had lost momentum and been taken over by predatory investors (Adventurers), while mana gement in the form of the autocratic Christopher Rich attempted to finance a tangle of farmed shares and sleeping partners by slashing actors salaries. The upshot of this mismanagement was that the disgruntled actors set up their own co-operative company in 1695.[11]A few years of re-invigorated two-company competition followed which allowed a brief second flowering of the drama, especially comedy. Comedies like William Congreves Love For Love (1695) and The Way of the World (1700), and John Vanbrughs The Relapse (1696) and The Provoked Wife (1697) were softer and more middle class in ethos, very different from the aristocratic extravaganza twenty years earlier, and aimed at a wider audience. If Restoration literature is the literature that reflects and reflects upon the court of Charles II, Restoration drama arguably ends before Charles IIs death, as the playhouse moved rapidly from the domain of courtiers to the domain of the city middle classes. On the other hand, Restoration drama shows altogether more fluidity and rapidity than other types of literature, and so, even more than in other types of literature, its movements should never be viewed as absolute. Each decade has brilliant exceptions to every rule and entirely forgettable confirmations of it. [edit]Drama Main article: Heroic drama See also: She-tragedy Genre in Restoration drama is peculiar. Authors labelled their works according to the old tags, comedy and drama and, especially, history, but these plays defied the old categories. From 1660 onwards, new dramatic genres arose, mutated, and intermixed very rapidly. In tragedy, the leading style in the early Restoration period was the male-dominated heroic drama, exemplified by John Drydens The Conquest of Granada (1670) and Aureng-Zebe (1675) which celebrated powerful, aggressively masculine heroes and their pursuit of glory both as rulers and conquerors, and as lovers. These plays were sometimes called by their authors histories or tragedies, and contemporary critics will call them after Drydens term of Heroic drama. Heroic dramas centred on the actions of men of decisive natures, men whose physical and (sometimes) intellectual qualities made them natural leaders. In one sense, this was a reflection of an idealised king such as Charles or Charless courtiers might have imagined. However, such dashing heroes were also seen by the audiences as occasionally standing in for noble rebels who would redress injustice with the sword. The plays were, however, tragic in the strictest definition, even though they were not necessarily sad. In the 1670s and 1680s, a gradual shift occurred from heroic to pathetic tragedy, where the focus was on love and domestic concerns, even though the main characters might often be public figures. After the phenomenal success of Elizabeth Barry in moving the audience to tears in the role of Monimia in Thomas Otways The Orphan (1680), she-tragedies (a term coined by Nicholas Rowe), which focused on the sufferings of an innocent and virtuous woman, became the dominant form of pathetic tragedy. Elizabeth Howe has argued that the most important explanation for the shift in taste was the emergence of tragic actresses whose popularity made it unavoidable for dramatists to create major roles for them. With the conjunction of the playwright master of pathos Thomas Otway and the great tragedienne Elizabeth Barry in The Orphan, the focus shifted from hero to heroine. Prominent she-tragedies include John Bankss Virtue Betrayed, or, Anna Bullen(1682) (about the execution of Anne Boleyn), Thomas Southernes The Fatal Marriage (1694), and Nicholas Rowes The Fair Penitent (1703) and Lady Jane Grey, 1715. While she-tragedies were more comfortably tragic, in that they showed women who suffered for no fault of their own and featured tragic flaws that were emotional rather than moral or intellectual, their success did not mean that more overtly political tragedy was not staged. The Exclusion crisis brought with it a number of tragic implications in real politics, and therefore any treatment of, for example, the Earl of Essex (several versions of which were circulated and briefly acted at non-patent theatres) could be read as seditious. Thomas Otways Venice Preservd of 1682 was a royalist political play that, like Drydens Absalom and Achitophel, seemed to praise the king for his actions in the meal tub plot. Otways play had the floating city of Venice stand in for the river town ofLondon, and it had the dark senatorial plotters of the play stand in for the Earl of Shaftesbury. It even managed to figure in the Duke of Monmouth, Charless illegitimate, war-hero son who was favoured by many as Charless successor over the Roman Catholic James. Venice Preservd is, in a sense, the perfect synthesis of the older politically royalist tragedies and histories of Dryden and the newer she-tragedies of feminine suffering, for, although the plot seems to be a political allegory, the action centres on a woman who cares for a man in conflict, and most of the scenes and dialogue concern her pitiable sufferings at his hands. Comedy Main article: Restoration comedy Restoration comedy is notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles II personally and by the rakish aristocratic ethos of his court. The best-known plays of the early Restoration period are the unsentimental or hard comedies of John Dryden, William Wycherley, and George Etherege, which reflect the atmosphere at Court, and celebrate an aristocratic macholifestyle of unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest. The Earl of Rochester, real-life Restoration rake, courtier and poet, is flatteringly portrayed in Ethereges Man of Mode (1676) as a riotous, witty, intellectual, and sexually irresistible aristocrat, a template for posterity.s idea of the glamorous Restoration rake (actually never a very common character in Restoration comedy). Wycherleys The Plain Dealer (1676), a variation on the theme of Molià ¨res Le misanthrope, was highly regarded for its uncompromising satire and earned Wycherley the appellation Plain Dealer Wycherley or Manly Wycherley, after the plays main character Manly. The single writer who most supports the charge of obscenity levelled then and now at Restoration comedy is probably Wycherley. During the second wave of Restoration comedy in the 1690s, the softer comedies of William Congreve and John Vanbrugh reflected mutating cultural perceptions and great social change. The playwrights of the 1690s set out to appeal to more socially mixed audiences with a strong middle-class element, and to female spectators, for instance by moving the war between the sexes from the arena of intrigue into that of marriage. The focus in comedy is less on young lovers outwitting the older generation, more on marital relations after the wedding bells. In Congreves plays, the give-and-take set pieces of couples still testing their attraction for each other have mutated into witty prenuptial debates on the eve of marriage, as in the famous Proviso scene in The Way of the World (1700). Restoration drama had a bad reputation for three centuries. The incongruous mixing of comedy and tragedy beloved by Restoration audiences was decried. The Victorians denounced the comedy as too indecent for the stage,[12] and the standard reference work of the early 20th century, The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, dismissed the tragedy as being of a level of dulness and lubricity never surpassed before or since.[13] Today, the Restoration total theatre experience is again valued, both by postmodern literary critics and on the stage. The comedies of Aphra Behn in particular, long condemned as especially offensive in coming from a womans pen, have become academic and repertory favourites.

ICT and Society Essay Example for Free

ICT and Society Essay My mobile phone is a Nokia 6020. I got it a year ago, for my birthday. It is on a pay as you go tariff, and I have to pay it all my self. I have had to get myself a paper-round to contribute towards some of the costs. I use it to make phone calls, but mainly to text, and take pictures, with the camera. I often use the video camera to make low quality videos. I quite like the look of my phone but it is getting slightly old now. It is still a very good, basic phone however I think that the memory is much too small. It can acess the internet; but I dont use that mainly because of the cost. Describe how you use the ICT technology. My phone is mostly used in the social category because I use it most to communicate with others. However, it can also come under the personal category because I use it to entertain myself by playing games on it among other things. Because I have to pay for it myself I tend not to spend as much as my friends, whos parents pay for it. I am probably more conscious about the cost than them too. I am not someone who relies on it completely, I have lost it for a whole week before, without even realising. Saying this I do tend to text friends who dont live near me. This way I can keep in touch with them. I would like to text them more but a phone is quite expensive to run and I would rather spread out my remaining money on other things. I also use my mobile to arrange outings with my school friends during the holidays or weekends. I like to text them because it is quick and easy. I dont really use any kind of predictive text when I write text messages. This is because I dont really like it that much. The avantages of it is that it writes texts quicker with less movement of fingers. However it doesnt have text talk words in the program, like 2moro so therefore the text is longer and you cant fit so much in the text. I find having a camera on the phone very useful too. Like most people I can take a picture any time, any where. This means I can caputure really cool pictures. I can send the good pictures to people via multimedia messages. If Im on holiday they can see what Im doing and generally keep in touch. Another thing which makes my phone more personal is the fact that I can change the background and the order of the lists in menu. I like to do this but it is quite complicated to do. I also use my phone for entertainment, I play games when I am bored like on the train. Although the games are not that advanced, they keep me entertained. I use the calculator appliance a bit but I cant use it in school because the school has banned mobiles. I often use the calander. The calander, if set, will remind me of peoples birthdays a week or so before. However it does take a while to set and add information. My phone also has an alarm, which I use when I am camping or sleeping in a hotel. I use most of t he things that are on my phone and usually they work well. What are the advantages of using the ICT technology. One of the things which I find most useful about having a mobile phone, is having so many things on one device. It has endless uses all in one tiny object. It saves people carrying around lots of different devices each with one use. The other thing which I find most useful about having a mobile is that it gives me freedom. This is so important. My parents will let me go out and know that I can phone them at any time. Theyll say well, as long as you have got your mobile with you. For my parents, it gives them a slight chance to relax. My parents also know that they can log onto a website and track my phone, this is an advantage for them. Say, should the worst happen, I was hurt and got rushed to hospital. The paramedics could look at my phone and find mum in my contacts and immediately let her know. Another reason for having a phone with lots of things on it, is money. It could actually save money, not having to buy a digital camera, ect. What are the disadvantages, if any, of the ICT technology. There were several studies recently that warned of a possible health risk to teens who use their phone a lot. It was worried about the waves that a phone uses damaging heavy users. Now I dont use my phone that much but I dont exactly like the thought. Nothing has been proved yet but, then again, nothing has been not proved. So at the moment I am just cautious. For me, the fact that my parents can track my phone is generally a bad thing. I dont want my parents to know exactly where I am all the time, theyve got to learn to let go a little. But if I got into trouble I think that I would be really glad so as long as they only use it when they are really worried its OK. The fact that it costs quite a lot to run a phone also is a bad thing. Handsets cost a lot to buy, the better and more features it has, the more expensive the price. Packages where users are lured into by the promise of free weekend texts or 100 free picture messages are often not right for the customers. Most people end up paying a set amount per month, say à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20. Thats fine if they would use à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 credit on pay as you go tariff but most wont. They dont realise that theyd get a better deal if they went onto another tariff. I think this is how phone companies make all their money. Bullying is another major problem. More and more, younger and younger children possess phones for all the reasons I have listed above. Bullying via text messages is becoming a substantial problem, big enough for many schools to start to ban mobile phones. This leads us onto the next disadvantage. Many schools have banned phones completely. My school still allows us to have phones in school however were not allowed to use them or get them out during the day. We can turn them on at the end of the school but not otherwise. If a teacher sees them they confiscate them. This is a real pain because a parent needs to come in and collect it. A wider problem is security. If you have a phone apparently some hackers can hack onto phones, steal personal information and stuff. Also having a phone makes you a target to thieves and muggers. They will just whip your phone anytime. It has now been made harder for thieves as you can block the SIM card and make it un-useable. However if you take out the blocked SIM, and put in another the handset will still work perfectly. This still makes stealing a phone worth it. What companies need to develop is a way of blocking the handset too. If I lived and the mobile phone wasnt around today I wouldnt be able to keep in touch with my friends as easily or arrange to meet up with them. My parents would feel less comfortable with me going out so I would have less freedom and if I got into trouble I couldnt ring for help. The mobile is so convienient that many people would have to change too. So although there seem to be more disadvantages than advantages I still find a mobile the most useful piece of IT I use, secondary only to the computer. This is simply because it gives me the freedom I want in more than one way. The freedom to go out without my parents worrying and the freedom to walk around with one little device in my pocket.

The History Of Acid Throwing Criminology Essay

The History Of Acid Throwing Criminology Essay It is defined as the act of throwing acid onto the body of a person with the objective of injuring or disfiguring out of jealousy or revenge. Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones. The long term consequences of these attacks include blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body. These attacks are most common in Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and other nearby countries. Globally, at least 1500 people in 20 countries are attacked in this way yearly, 80% of whom are female and somewhere between 40% and 70% under 18 years of age. ATTACKS IN SOUTH ASIA In South Asia, acid throwing attacks have been used as a form of revenge for refusal of sexual advances, proposals of marriage and demands for dowry. Scholars Taru Bahl and M.H. Syed say that land disputes are another leading cause. AFGHANISTAN In Afghanistan in November 2008, extremists subjected schoolgirls to acid attacks for attending school. Attacks or threats of attacks on women who failed to wear hijab or were otherwise immodestly dressed have been reported in Afghanistan. BANGLADESH In Bangladesh, where such attacks are relatively common, they are mostly a form of domestic violence. The Acid Survivors Foundation counted 91 attacks in Bangladesh in 2011. The chemical agents most commonly used to commit these attacks are hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid. According to Mridula Bandyopadhyay and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, it is a form of violence primarily targeted at women. They describe it as a relatively recent form of violence, with the earliest record in Bangladesh from 1983. The scholar Afroza Anwary points out that acid violence occurs not only in Bangladesh but also in Pakistan, China, and Ethiopia and has occurred historically in Europe. CAMBODIA In Cambodia, it was reported that these attacks were mostly carried out by wives against their husbands lovers. GAZA In 2006 a group in Gaza calling itself Just Swords of Islam claimed to have thrown acid at a young woman who was dressed immodestly, and warned other women to wear the hijab. INDIA The Thomas Reuters Foundation survey says that India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women to live in as women belonging to any class, caste or creed and religion can be victims of this cruel form of violence and disfigurement, a premeditated crime intended to kill or maim her permanently and act as a lesson to put her in her place. In India, acid attacks on women who dared to refuse a mans proposal of marriage or asked for a divorce are a form of revenge. Acid is cheap and easily available and is the quickest way to destroy a womans life. The numbers of acid attacks have been rising in India and there have been 68 reported acid attacks in the state of Karnataka since 1999. Most of the female victims suffer more because of police apathy in dealing with cases of harassment as that of a safety issue as they refused to register a police case despite the victim being attacked thrice before meriting police aid after an acid attack. One such incident would be Sonali Muk herjees case where the perpetrators were granted bail after being sentenced to nine years of Jail. Thereafter, when her family approached High Court, all the legislators, and MPs in search of justice, all she got in return was assurances and nothing else. The perpetrators got away scot-free. Indian acid attack survivor Shirin Juwaley founded Palash Foundation to help other survivors with psycho-social rehabilitation. She also spearheads research into social norms of beauty, speaks publicly, and blogs regularly at Do I Look Normal? In 2011, the principal of an Indian college refused to have Juwaley speak at her school for fear that Juwaleys story of being attacked by her husband would make students become scared of marriage. Tom ONeill of National Geographic reported that acid throwing is also used to enforce the caste system in modern India. PAKISTAN According to New York Times reporter Nicholas D. Kristof, acid attacks are at an all time high in Pakistan and increasing every year. The Pakistani attacks he describes are typically the work of husbands against their wives who have dishonored them. According to another New York Times article, in 2011 there have been counted 150 acid attacks, after 65 in 2010. LEGISLATION In 2002, Bangladesh introduced the death penalty for throwing acid and laws strictly controlling the sale, use, storage, and international trade of acids. The acids are used in traditional trades carving marble nameplates, conch bangles, goldsmiths, tanneries, and other industries, which have largely failed to comply with the legislation, derided by Salma Ali of the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association as a dead law. Under the Qisas law of Pakistan, the perpetrator may suffer the same fate as the victim, and may be punished by having drops of acid placed in his/her eyes. This law is not binding and is rarely enforced according to a New York Times report. According to Afshin Molavi, in the early years of the revolution, and following the mandating of the covering of hair by women in Iran, some woman were threatened with an acid attack by the Islamic vigilantes for wearing a Hijab. Today, Iran has had several laws against acid attacks which is treated as a capital offense, and sentenced an attacker to be blinded in 2008. However, as of July 31, 2011, Ameneh Bahrami pardoned her attacker, thereby absolving Majid Movahedi of his crime and halting the retributive justice of Qisas. Lower House of Parliament in Pakistan unanimously passed the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill On May 10, 2011. As punishment, according to the bill individuals held responsible for acid throwing face harsh fines and life in prison. Over the past few years, acid throwing has been recognized by many countries as one of the latest and most excruciating forms of violence committed against women. STATISTICS Acid violence remains under-reported but scores of women are victimized by this brutal act in South Asia every year. The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women. Throwing acid on a woman is by far the cruelest form of abusing a person, leaving the individual paralyzed and psychologically unable to face society confidently again. An acid attack is a deliberate act of throwing acid on a victim, mostly women, usually on the face that causes severe pain, permanent disfigurement, subsequent infections and often blindness in one or both eyes. The chemical agents most commonly used to commit these attacks are hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. The attacker commits acid attacks for a number of reasons, including revenge for refusal of a marriage proposal or other romantic or sexual advances; land disputes; perceived dishonor; and jealousy. Valerie Khan, Director, Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) says, 60 % of these attacks occur as the epitome of an already existing cycle of violence. While acid attacks are most prevalent in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Pakistan, they have also been widely reported in Afghanistan and in parts of Africa and Europe. In Pakistan, approximately only 30% of acid cases are reported. Exact statistics on acid attacks in Pakistan are not available but roughly around 200 acid attacks take place in Pakistan every year; at least 9000 acid attacks were reported between 1994 and 2011, according to data compiled by the Progressive Womens Association (PWA). A weak judicial system and lack of support from the police is partly to be blamed for the under reporting of such cases. Another major reason is that the victims families reach out of court settlements due to financial pressure, which prevents the compilation of any official statistics. Acid attacks, a leading act of domestic violence, are common for a number of reasons. Acid is readily available not only in major cities but also in small towns across rural areas, costing less than Rs 100 a liter and is often used for household cleaning or for cotton processing in rural areas. Shopkeepers are unaware of any regulatory requirement concerning the sales and anyone can purchase an unlimited amount without question. An important precaution, one that many are unaware of, is that the victims of acid burn should quickly douse themselves with water, for at least 30 minutes as it is important to neutralize the severity of the acid as quickly as possible. Given the limited medical care facilities available in Pakistan, this might be the victims only chance to reduce the severity of the attack. In other South Asian countries, the government has also taken a proactive approach to the crime. In 2002, Bangladesh introduced the death penalty for throwing acid and implemented laws strictly controlling the sales of acids. In 2011, Pakistan passed a law in the form of Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill that established tougher penalties for an acid-attack conviction 14 years to life behind bars and a fine of up to $11,000. But womens rights activists are demanding greater regulation of the sale and distribution of acid to prevent these attacks. Better rehabilitation services are also crucial for victims so they can rebuild their lives. After an attack, the victim faces physical challenges, which require long-term surgical treatment, as well as psychological challenges, which demand in-depth counseling from psychologists at each stage of physical recovery Reports of acid burn cases are alarmingly on the rise but legislation to counter this remains wanting. Many hope that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoys Oscar winning film, Saving Face, exploring acid-attacks, will bring the much needed pressure to transform the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill into action. Every year, scores of Pakistani women are disfigured in acid attacks, usually at the hands of husbands or relatives. The attacks, often brought on by fits of jealousy or rage, go largely ignored and are rarely prosecuted. Only in the last decade, has the media increased coverage of such social issues. The use of acid as a weapon has deep roots in Pakistani society. Short of murder, an acid attack is the most devastating form of aggression, transforming the victim into a figure of horror and an outcast. If this is not the time to do something about this atrocious act of violence, then one wonders if there ever will be a right time. VICTIMS AND TREATMENT Brutality of the damage depends on the concentration of the acid and the period of time before the acid is thoroughly washed off with water or neutralized with a neutralizing agent. The acid can rapidly eat away skin, the layer of fat beneath the skin, and in some cases even the underlying bone. Eyelids and lips may be completely destroyed, the nose and ears severely damaged. According to the Acid Survivors Foundation in Pakistan, there is a high survival rate amongst victims of acid attacks. Consequently the victim is faced with physical challenges, which require long term surgical treatment, as well as psychological challenges, which require in-depth intervention from psychologists and counselors at each stage of physical recovery. In Bangladesh, the Acid Survivors Foundation, Nairpokkho, Action Aid, and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committees Community Empowerment Strengthening Local Institutions Programmed assist survivors in Bangladesh. The Acid Survivors Foundation in Pakistan operates in Islamabad offering medical, psychological and rehabilitation support. The Acid Survivors Foundation in Uganda operates in Kampala and also provides counseling and rehabilitation treatment to victims of acid attacks, as well as their families if need be. Additionally in Cambodia, LICADHO, the Association of the Blind in Cambodia and the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity all assist survivors of acid attacks. The Acid Survivors Trust International provides specialist support to its sister organizations in Africa and Asia through its specialist team who work across the organizations transferring medical, psychological and social rehabilitation skills whilst supporting knowledge sharing and best practice. CONCLUSIONS An acid attack involves the premeditated throwing of acid on a victim, usually on her face. In addition to causing psychological trauma, acid attacks result in severe pain, permanent disfigurement, subsequent infections, and often blindness in one or both eyes. Perpetrators commit acid attacks for a number of reasons, including revenge for refusal of a marriage proposal or other romantic or sexual advances; land disputes; perceived dishonor; and jealousy. While acid attacks are most prevalent in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Pakistan, they have also been reported in Afghanistan and in parts of Africa and Europe. Experts attribute the prevalence of the practice in part to the easy availability of acids.

Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf as Epic Hero -- Epic of Beowulf Essay

Beowulf as Epic Hero Epic heroes usually exemplify the character traits most admired in their societies, and Beowulf is no exception.   "Beowulf" is set in the Anglo-Saxon society, a time when war was rampant among the many peoples trying to take over the different kingdoms of England.   In this dangerous, violent time people lived in constant peril and jeopardy.   These conditions only allowed people of great bravery to survive and men of outstanding courage were admired the populous.   These warriors fought for their leader and tribe in return for treasure and protection.   This relationship between the lord and his men was the basis of the Anglo-Saxon society.   The epic poem "Beowulf" is a perfect example of how this system worked in these trying times. The warrior in the Anglo-Saxon civilization had many duties to fulfill.   He was obligated to respect and protect his lord as well as defend his lord's honor. The demonstration of personal valor was also very important in these times.   Beowulf is "Higlac's Follower" and works to please his lord.   He is afraid that   "My lord Higlac / Might think less of me" (l   191-192) if he uses weapons in battle.   Not only does Beowulf work to please his lord, but he also works to protect Hrothgar, the lord of the Danes.   As the poem shows, when In his far-off home Beowulf...(l 131) Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror And quickly commanded a boat fitted out, Proclaiming that he'd go to that famous king, Would sail across the sea to Hrothgar (l 134-137). Beowulf is going out of his way, "across the sea" to help a lord whom he is not obligated to.   He is doing so out of choice to show his respect for Hrothgar, and to help the poor people threatened by Grendel. G... ...s.   Both Hrothgar and Beowulf adequately filled their places as a ruler. As clearly indicated through the characters of Beowulf and Hrothgar, the ruler-warrior relationship during times of great danger was very important for the survival of the Anglo-Saxons.   As long as this relationship remained stable, both the ruler and warrior would remain protected, rewarded, and fairly happy.   Beowulf and Hrothgar both men of great valor, were praised by all.   This simple system set up between warrior and leader was the basis of society at the times, and destroying this structure would surely destroy a tribe's chances of survival in this time of peril.   Therefore, if Beowulf did not honor the Danes' lord and Grendel was allowed to live, Hrothgar and the Danes would surely see their demise.   This is perhaps why bravery was of such high necessity in the Anglo-Saxon society.

Disease and Death :: History Journal Diary Essays

Disease and Death May 14th 1963: The jungles of Zaire are much more intimidating and humbling in person than in the brochure at the Peace Corps office. I have been dispatched here to assist in the quarantine and treatment of the locals and some wild life. While I am overcome with the beauty of the flora I can't help but ponder the sheer amount of insects and mosquitoes that this sort of environment can support... After a 5 hour bus ride into the forest we come to a clearing with clusters of lean-tos and make shift buildings. What once was a clearing for farm animals to graze and to grow crops is now a make shift graveyard and apparently the process of burying the dead has become too much of a burden on the bereaved and a funeral pyre burns day in and day out. The air of the village hangs low with the stench of death and burnt flesh while the wailing of those that have survived, thus far, greet the ears of the volunteers. The doctors have already set up a make shift hospital in the largest of the buildings and the volunteers are shown to the quarters and are expected to work right alongside the doctors as an informal nurse. May 15th 1963: I have estimated that the population of the village before the outbreak of this plague was roughly 500-750 inhabitants with an equal population of livestock. It appears that the cattle were afflicted first and were promptly skinned and burnt. The disease then ran its course into the herdsmen who were responsible for disposing of the cattle. The first case occurred a month ago when one of the skinners nicked a finger while skinning. As I gathered, from the translator who has been interviewing people since his arrival two weeks ago, that at first people thought the man just to have a common cold and headache but after a few days his eyes were filled with blood and he became hot to the touch. Then the skin became horribly bruised as if he had suffered some sort of terrible flogging. As the disease progressed his fever steadily increased seeming to cook him alive and the bruises filled with what one could only imagine as his own wretched blood trying to escape the b ody housing it.