Monday, December 30, 2019

The, Sharing The Secret Essay - 1762 Words

Many film and television depictions regarding psychological disorders often do more harm than good by feeding into the public’s misunderstanding and perpetuating the stereotypes associated with these complex mental health conditions. For instance, the harm and impact of eating disorders are belittled on film and joked about, especially in teen movies. Also, they are often represented in a way that either glamorizes them or perpetuates the misconception that eating disorders are a willing choice. (Howard, 2016) Fortunately, the movie, Sharing the Secret, presents a breath- taking portrait of bulimia nervosa and provides a remarkable presentation of some of the underlying psychological issues that can play a part in the formation of an eating disorder during the adolescence. The film also touches on the general effects that an eating disorder can have on members of the person’s family and the person’s friends. According to Dr. Joyce Almeida, Sharing the Secret is a n â€Å"excellent portrait of an eating disorder in a teenager† and she would recommend it to anyone interested in working in the field of adolescence psychology on account of its accuracy in its representation of the psychological condition. Beth Moss appears to be an average teenage girl who likes hanging out with her friends and has a passion for ballet. She excels in school and often helps her classmates with their school work. Despite these things, however, Beth constantly feels that she is not living up to theShow MoreRelatedThe, Sharing The Secrets Of The Universe1049 Words   |  5 PagesHave you ever walked alongside the Gods, sharing the secrets of the universe? A whirlwind of truth permeates and resonates with every fiber of your being, the ultimate osmosis of what is, was, and will be. Gusts of wind throw themselves at you with the force of a giant s kick, tearing away all that isn t held down. Hats. Scarves. Fear. Pain. Nothing is safe from its icy grip. It s li ke an out of body experience that you never want to end--a dissociative spell that makes you feel at one with theRead MoreVsual Cryptography : A Branch Of Secret Sharing Data1235 Words   |  5 PagesVISUAL cryptography (VC) is a branch of secret sharing data. In the VC scheme, a secret image is encoded into transparencies, and the content of each transparency is noise-like so that the secret information cannot be retrieved from any one transparency via human visual observation or signal analysis techniques. In general, a -threshold VC scheme has the following properties: The stacking of any out of those VC generated transparencies can reveal the secret by visual perception, but the stacking ofRead MoreKey Security Position And Security783 Words   |  4 Pagesshared secret key between two or more parties. One can easily achieve the security services like confidentiality or data integrity. Methods for key establishment can be classified into two types namely, key transport protoco ls and key agreement protocols. A key protocol is a technique in which only one party creates or obtains secret value, and securely transfers it to others. In key agreement protocol two or more parties derive the shared secret where all parties contribute to the secret. IdeallyRead MoreThe Sharing Research Data And Intellectual Property Law : A Primer, By Carroll Mw Essay1617 Words   |  7 PagesReview and Reflection Paper in Reaction to: Sharing Research Data and Intellectual Property Law: A Primer, by Carroll MW (2015) Background Publishing research data in articles could make it available for public to access. In this article, the authors have discussed about sharing the research data by letting public access it leads to a challenge of reusing the data. There are various questions that might arise in the researchers’ minds including queries about the legal rights, the owner of the rightsRead MoreAnalysis Of Two Party Key Agreement Protocol960 Words   |  4 Pagesset of participants, but has only source and destination who wish to share a secret key between them because the aim of this model is to share a secret key between the two end parties to communication. Source plays the role of dealer and destination plays the role of set of participants. Source chooses the secret key to be shared with the destination, partitions the secret key into ‘n‘ shares using Shamir‘s secret sharing scheme [24], where ‘n‘ is the number of disjoint paths exists between sourceRead MoreThe Im portance Of Friendship883 Words   |  4 PagesThomas Aquinas states, â€Å"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship†. In everybody life, there are many things and friendship may be one of the most important. Friendship is a very wonderful thing and, it is one secret of the happiness secrets in life. Everyone agrees that friendship adds a special flavor to life and that with friends we spend the most beautiful times and the most beautiful moments of life. It is not limited to individuals but also between peoples, nations,Read MoreThe Theme Of Laura Van Den Bergs Antarctica739 Words   |  3 Pagesthe formation of secrets. Secrets build the trust that people have with each other in their relationships. A common complication with human relationships is with whom and when to share a secret. People confide in others when something becomes stressful or interesting with the hopes of relieving stress or sharing excitement. One person sharing a secret commonly turns into a domino effect and many times confidence is broken because the information is unknowingly shared. Holding a secret from people canRead Mo reIs It A Single Fundamental Value? Essay889 Words   |  4 Pages Introduction: Welcome to the sharing economy where you can have everything, but own nothing. It may sound like a riddle, but the developing industry is built on a single fundamental value: trust. As soon as people are able to walk and talk, they are faced with decisions regarding trust. A child shares toys with another child trusting it will be returned in the same condition. A teenager shares secrets with a friend, trusting it will be kept a secret. Adults are riding in cars with strangers trustingRead MoreTechnology Implementation in Companies: An Overview1164 Words   |  5 Pagesestablished. Information Sharing During the Implementation Process: There is a widespread development and implementation of new technologies across companies since the lack of such systems will make a company to be considered as outdated given that the current generation is technology savvy. The implementation of technology in a company is the phase where the systems is tested and evaluated in its actual performance. One of the most critical aspects of the phase is information sharing between the technicalRead MoreVisual Cryptography Essay1041 Words   |  5 PagesCOLOR IMAGES: The process of Visual Cryptography, as developed through the original algorithm [12], was designed to be used with binary images. This is illustrated from the nature of the shares and the encryption process documented previously. If the secret messages being encoded contain text or binary images, the process shown in the original algorithm works well. However, the world is not composed of solely black and white pixels. With the increasing production of images in the digital age, gray and

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Legal Profession At The Washington College Of Law

The legal profession in itself can be evaluated as abstract; the duties and responsibilities of the members of the legal profession belong to a plethora of options. The profession can be approached in several ways, but the overarching goal is to practice law in one way or another. Observing legal processes has truly been an eye-opening experience. It is much easier to say I want to be an attorney than actually be informed about the process. I had the pleasure of sitting in on a law school class at the Washington College of Law, speaking to very successful lawyers and observing the inner workings of a law firm. I have been interested in the legal profession since I was in middle school, but whenever I mention attending law school, people slightly sigh and tell me that it wouldn’t be worth it- or I get the exact opposite and be told I will make a lot of money. Coming from a background where I am a first generation college student, pursuing any goal is to benefit society and leav e my mark, not necessarily for the money. I am still considering law school many years later and I have been exposed to the profession both in practice and in theory. I have read books about law school and heard both positive and negative comments. Sitting in on a class was both nerve wrecking and exciting. I registered to sit in on a first year torts class taught by Professor Popper. He has a lengthy experience in the legal field and I would’ve liked to speak to him, but unfortunately he had an ABAShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Profession Of The Gilded Lawyers1479 Words   |  6 PagesLawyer Did you know that at present, there is only one lawyer for every 247 Americans in the Unites States? A lawyer is â€Å"a person trained in the legal profession who acts for and advises clients or pleads in court† (Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus). According to about careers, there are many different types of lawyers, among the top five highest paying legal professionals around the globe are trial lawyers. The first lawyers, also known as the â€Å"Gilded Lawyers† arranged the United Auto Workers (UAW)Read MoreThe Issue Of State Income Tax917 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"A 1952 law that extended withholding for state income taxes to federal civilian employees prohibits withholding of these taxes from military compensation† and â€Å"the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940 says that military duty pay can be taxed only by the state in which the armed forces member is domiciled, or is a legal resident.† Bowman shows the issues that were prev alent at that time. He goes into exact reasons why the states should get on the same page and recant those laws. There wasRead MoreThe American Of American Counseling Association967 Words   |  4 Pageswas finally called what it is today, the American Counseling Association. 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Friday, December 13, 2019

Digital Fortress Chapter 100-106 Free Essays

Chapter 100 Hulohot took the Giralda stairs three at a time. The only light in the spiral passage was from small open-air windows every 180 degrees. He’s trapped! David Becker will die! Hulohot circled upward, gun drawn. We will write a custom essay sample on Digital Fortress Chapter 100-106 or any similar topic only for you Order Now He kept to the outside wall in case Becker decided to attack from above. The iron candle poles on each landing would make good weapons if Becker decided to use one. But by staying wide, Hulohot would be able to spot him in time. Hulohot’s gun had a range significantly longer than a five-foot candle pole. Hulohot moved quickly but carefully. The stairs were steep; tourists had died here. This was not America-no safety signs, no handrails, no insurance disclaimers. This was Spain. If you were stupid enough to fall, it was your own damn fault, regardless of who built the stairs. Hulohot paused at one of the shoulder-high openings and glanced out. He was on the north face and, from the looks of things, about halfway up. The opening to the viewing platform was visible around the corner. The staircase to the top was empty. David Becker had not challenged him. Hulohot realized maybe Becker had not seen him enter the tower. That meant the element of surprise was on Hulohot’s side as well-not that he’d need it. Hulohot held all the cards. Even the layout of the tower was in his favor; the staircase met the viewing platform in the southwest corner-Hulohot would have a clear line of fire to every point of the cell with no possibility that Becker could get behind him. And to top things off, Hulohot would be moving out of the dark into the light. A killing box, he mused. Hulohot measured the distance to the doorway. Seven steps. He practiced the kill in his mind. If he stayed right as he approached the opening, he would be able to see the leftmost corner of the platform before he reached it. If Becker was there, Hulohot would fire. If not, he would shift inside and enter moving east, facing the right corner, the only place remaining that Becker could be. He smiled. SUBJECT: DAVID BECKER-TERMINATED The time had come. He checked his weapon. With a violent surge, Hulohot dashed up. The platform swung into view. The left corner was empty. As rehearsed, Hulohot shifted inside and burst through the opening facing right. He fired into the corner. The bullet ricocheted back off the bare wall and barely missed him. Hulohot wheeled wildly and let out a muted scream. There was no one there. David Becker had vanished. Three flights below, suspended 325 feet over the Jardin de los Naranjos, David Becker hung on the outside of the Giralda like a man doing chin-ups on a window ledge. As Hulohot had been racing up the staircase, Becker had descended three flights and lowered himself out one of the openings. He’d dropped out of sight just in time. The killer had run right by him. He’d been in too much of a hurry to notice the white knuckles grasping the window ledge. Hanging outside the window, Becker thanked God that his daily squash routine involved twenty minutes on the Nautilus machine to develop his biceps for a harder overhead serve. Unfortunately, despite his strong arms, Becker was now having trouble pulling himself back in. His shoulders burned. His side felt as if it were tearing open. The rough-cut stone ledge provided little grip, grating into his fingertips like broken glass. Becker knew it was only a matter of seconds before his assailant would come running down from above. From the higher ground, the killer would undoubtedly see Becker’s fingers on the ledge. Becker closed his eyes and pulled. He knew he would need a miracle to escape death. His fingers were losing their leverage. He glanced down, past his dangling legs. The drop was the length of a football field to the orange trees below. Unsurvivable. The pain in his side was getting worse. Footsteps now thundered above him, loud leaping footsteps rushing down the stairs. Becker closed his eyes. It was now or never. He gritted his teeth and pulled. The stone tore against the skin on his wrists as he yanked himself upward. The footsteps were coming fast. Becker grappled at the inside of the opening, trying to secure his hold. He kicked his feet. His body felt like lead, as if someone had a rope tied to his legs and were pulling him down. He fought it. He surged up onto his elbows. He was in plain view now, his head half through the window like a man in a guillotine. He wriggled his legs, kicking himself into the opening. He was halfway through. His torso now hung into the stairwell. The footsteps were close. Becker grabbed the sides of the opening and in a single motion launched his body through. He hit the staircase hard. Hulohot sensed Becker’s body hit the floor just below him. He leapt forward, gun leveled. A window spun into view. This is it! Hulohot moved to the outside wall and aimed down the staircase. Becker’s legs dashed out of sight just around the curve. Hulohot fired in frustration. The bullet ricocheted down the stairwell. As Hulohot dashed down the stairs after his prey, he kept to the outside wall for the widest angle view. As the staircase revolved into view before him, it seemed Becker was always 180 degrees ahead of him, just out of sight. Becker had taken the inside track, cutting off the angle and leaping four or five stairs at a time. Hulohot stayed with him. It would take only a single shot. Hulohot was gaining. He knew that even if Becker made the bottom, there was nowhere to run; Hulohot could shoot him in the back as he crossed the open patio. The desperate race spiraled downward. Hulohot moved inside to the faster track. He sensed he was gaining. He could see Becker’s shadow every time they passed an opening. Down. Down. Spiraling. It seemed that Becker was always just around the corner. Hulohot kept one eye on his shadow and one eye on the stairs. Suddenly it appeared to Hulohot that Becker’s shadow had stumbled. It made an erratic lurch left and then seemed to spin in midair and sail back toward the center of the stairwell. Hulohot leapt forward. I’ve got him! On the stairs in front of Hulohot, there was a flash of steel. It jabbed into the air from around the corner. It thrust forward like a fencer’s foil at ankle level. Hulohot tried to shift left, but it was too late. The object was between his ankles. His back foot came forward, caught it hard, and the post slammed across his shin. Hulohot’s arms went out for support but found only empty air. He was abruptly airborne, turning on his side. As Hulohot sailed downward, he passed over David Becker, prone on his stomach, arms outstretched. The candle pole in his hands was now caught up in Hulohot’s legs as he spun downward. Hulohot crashed into the outside wall before he hit the staircase. When he finally found the floor, he was tumbling. His gun clattered to the floor. Hulohot’s body kept going, head over heels. He spiraled five complete 360-degree rotations before he rolled to a stop. Twelve more steps, and he would have tumbled out onto the patio. Chapter 101 David Becker had never held a gun, but he was holding one now. Hulohot’s body was twisted and mangled in the darkness of the Giralda staircase. Becker pressed the barrel of the gun against his assailant’s temple and carefully knelt down. One twitch and Becker would fire. But there was no twitch. Hulohot was dead. Becker dropped the gun and collapsed on the stairs. For the first time in ages he felt tears well up. He fought them. He knew there would be time for emotion later; now it was time to go home. Becker tried to stand, but he was too tired to move. He sat a long while, exhausted, on the stone staircase. Absently, he studied the twisted body before him. The killer’s eyes began to glaze over, gazing out at nothing in particular. Somehow, his glasses were still intact. They were odd glasses, Becker thought, with a wire protruding from behind the earpiece and leading to a pack of some sort on his belt. Becker was too exhausted to be curious. As he sat alone in the staircase and collected his thoughts, Becker shifted his gaze to the ring on his finger. His vision had cleared somewhat, and he could finally read the inscription. As he had suspected, it was not English. He stared at the engraving along moment and then frowned. This is worth killing for? The morning sun was blinding when Becker finally stepped out of the Giralda onto the patio. The pain in his side had subsided, and his vision was returning to normal. He stood a moment, in a daze, enjoying the fragrance of the orange blossoms. Then he began moving slowly across the patio. As Becker strode away from the tower, a van skidded to a stop nearby. Two men jumped out. They were young and dressed in military fatigues. They advanced on Becker with the stiff precision of well-tuned machines. â€Å"David Becker?† one demanded. Becker stopped short, amazed they knew his name. â€Å"Who†¦ who are you?† â€Å"Come with us, please. Right away.† There was something unreal about the encounter-something that made Becker’s nerve endings start to tingle again. He found himself backing away from them. The shorter man gave Becker an icy stare. â€Å"This way, Mr. Becker. Right now.† Becker turned to run. But he only took one step. One of the men drew a weapon. There was a shot. A searing lance of pain erupted in Becker’s chest. It rocketed to his skull. His fingers went stiff, and Becker fell. An instant later, there was nothing but blackness. Chapter 102 Strathmore reached the TRANSLTR floor and stepped off the catwalk into an inch of water. The giant computer shuddered beside him. Huge droplets of water fell like rain through the swirling mist. The warning horns sounded like thunder. The commander looked across at the failed main generators. Phil Chartrukian was there, his charred remains splayed across a set of coolant fins. The scene looked like some sort of perverse Halloween display. Although Strathmore regretted the man’s death, there was no doubt it had been â€Å"a warranted casualty.† Phil Chartrukian had left Strathmore no choice. When the Sys-Sec came racing up from the depths, screaming about a virus, Strathmore met him on the landing and tried to talk sense to him. But Chartrukian was beyond reason. We’ve got a virus! I’m calling Jabba! When he tried to push past, the commander blocked his way. The landing was narrow. They struggled. The railing was low. It was ironic, Strathmore thought, that Chartrukian had been right about the virus all along. The man’s plunge had been chilling-a momentary howl of terror and then silence. But it was not half as chilling as the next thing Commander Strathmore saw. Greg Hale was staring up at him from the shadows below, a look of utter horror on his face. It was then that Strathmore knew Greg Hale would die. TRANSLTR crackled, and Strathmore turned his attention back to the task at hand. Kill power. The circuit breaker was on the other side of the freon pumps to the left of the body. Strathmore could see it clearly. All he had to do was pull a lever and the remaining power in Crypto would die. Then, after a few seconds, he could restart the main generators; all doorways and functions would comeback on-line; the freon would start flowing again, and TRANSLTR would be safe. But as Strathmore slogged toward the breaker, he realized there was one final obstacle: Chartrukian’s body was still on the main generator’s cooling fins. Killing and then restarting the main generator would only cause another power failure. The body had to be moved. Strathmore eyed the grotesque remains and made his way over. Reaching up, he grabbed a wrist. The flesh was like Styrofoam. The tissue had been fried. The whole body was devoid of moisture. The commander closed his eyes, tightened his grip around the wrist, and pulled. The body slid an inch or two. Strathmore pulled harder. The body slid again. The commander braced himself and pulled with all his might. Suddenly he was tumbling backward. He landed hard on his backside up against a power casement. Struggling to sit up in the rising water, Strathmore stared down in horror at the object in his fist. It was Chartrukian’s forearm. It had broken off at the elbow. Upstairs, Susan continued her wait. She sat on the Node 3 couch feeling paralyzed. Hale lay at her feet. She couldn’t imagine what was taking the commander so long. Minutes passed. She tried to push David from her thoughts, but it was no use. With every blast of the horns, Hale’s words echoed inside her head: I’m truly sorry about David Becker. Susan thought she would lose her mind. She was about to jump up and race onto the Crypto floor when finally it happened. Strathmore had thrown the switch and killed all power. The silence that engulfed Crypto was instantaneous. The horns choked off mid blare, and the Node 3 monitors flickered to black. Greg Hale’s corpse disappeared into the darkness, and Susan instinctively yanked her legs up onto the couch. She wrapped Strathmore’s suit coat around her. Darkness. Silence. She had never heard such quiet in Crypto. There’d always been the low hum of the generators. But now there was nothing, only the great beast heaving and sighing in relief. Crackling, hissing, slowly cooling down. Susan closed her eyes and prayed for David. Her prayer was a simple one-that God protect the man she loved. Not being a religious woman, Susan had never expected to hear a response to her prayer. But when there was a sudden shuddering against her chest, she jolted upright. She clutched her chest. A moment later she understood. The vibrations she felt were not the hand of God at all-they were coming from the commander’s jacket pocket. He had set the vibrating silent-ring feature on his SkyPager. Someone was sending Commander Strathmore a message. Six stories below, Strathmore stood at the circuit breaker. The sublevels of Crypto were now as dark as the deepest night. He stood a moment enjoying the blackness. The water poured down from above. It was a midnight storm. Strathmore tilted his head back and let the warm droplets wash away his guilt. I’m a survivor. He knelt and washed the last of Chartrukian’s flesh from his hands. His dreams for Digital Fortress had failed. He could accept that. Susan was all that mattered now. For the first time in decades, he truly understood that there was more to life than country and honor. I sacrificed the best years of my life for country and honor. But what about love? He had deprived himself for far too long. And for what? To watch some young professor steal away his dreams? Strathmore had nurtured Susan. He had protected her. He had earned her. And now, at last, he would have her. Susan would seek shelter in his arms when there was nowhere else to turn. She would come to him helpless, wounded by loss, and in time, he would show her that love heals all. Honor. Country. Love. David Becker was about to die for all three. Chapter 103 The Commander rose through the trapdoor like Lazarus back from the dead. Despite his soggy clothes, his step was light. He strode toward Node 3-toward Susan. Toward his future. The Crypto floor was again bathed in light. Freon was flowing downward through the smoldering TRANSLTR like oxygenated blood. Strathmore knew it would take a few minutes for the coolant to reach the bottom of the hull and prevent the lowest processors from igniting, but he was certain he’d acted in time. He exhaled in victory, never suspecting the truth-that it was already too late. I’m a survivor, he thought. Ignoring the gaping hole in the Node 3 wall, he strode to the electronic doors. They hissed open. He stepped inside. Susan was standing before him, damp and tousled in his blazer. She looked like a freshman coed who’d been caught in the rain. He felt like the senior who’d lent her his varsity sweater. For the first time in years, he felt young. His dream was coming true. But as Strathmore moved closer, he felt he was staring into the eyes of a woman he did not recognize. Her gaze was like ice. The softness was gone. Susan Fletcher stood rigid, like an immovable statue. The only perceptible motion were the tears welling in her eyes. â€Å"Susan?† A single tear rolled down her quivering cheek. â€Å"What is it?† the commander pleaded. The puddle of blood beneath Hale’s body had spread across the carpet like an oil spill. Strathmore glanced uneasily at the corpse, then back at Susan. Could she possibly know? There was no way. Strathmore knew he had covered every base. â€Å"Susan?† he said, stepping closer. â€Å"What is it?† Susan did not move. â€Å"Are you worried about David?† There was a slight quiver in her upper lip. Strathmore stepped closer. He was going to reach for her, but he hesitated. The sound of David’s name had apparently cracked the dam of grief. Slowly at first-a quiver, a tremble. And then a thundering wave of misery seemed to course through her veins. Barely able to control her shuddering lips, Susan opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came. Without ever breaking the icy gaze she’d locked on Strathmore, she took her hand from the pocket of his blazer. In her hand was an object. She held it out, shaking. Strathmore half expected to look down and see the Beretta leveled at his gut. But the gun was still on the floor, propped safely in Hale’s hand. The object Susan was holding was smaller. Strathmore stared down at it, and an instant later, he understood. As Strathmore stared, reality warped, and time slowed to a crawl. He could hear the sound of his own heart. The man who had triumphed over giants for so many years had been outdone in an instant. Slain by love-by his own foolishness. In a simple act of chivalry, he had given Susan his jacket. And with it, his SkyPager. Now it was Strathmore who went rigid. Susan’s hand was shaking. The pager fell at Hale’s feet. With a look of astonishment and betrayal that Strathmore would never forget, Susan Fletcher raced past him out of Node 3. The commander let her go. In slow motion, he bent and retrieved the pager. There were no new messages-Susan had read them all. Strathmore scrolled desperately through the list. SUBJECT: ENSEI TANKADO-TERMINATED SUBJECT: PIERRE CLOUCHARDE-TERMINATED SUBJECT: HANS HUBER-TERMINATED SUBJECT: ROCIO EVA GRANADA-TERMINATED†¦ The list went on. Strathmore felt a wave of horror. I can explain! She will understand! Honor! Country! But there was one message he had not yet seen-one message he could never explain. Trembling, he scrolled to the final transmission. SUBJECT: DAVID BECKER-TERMINATED Strathmore hung his head. His dream was over. Chapter 104 Susan staggered out of Node 3. SUBJECT: DAVID BECKER-TERMINATED As if in a dream, she moved toward Crypto’s main exit. Greg Hale’s voice echoed in her mind: Susan, Strathmore’s going to kill me! Susan, the commander’s in love with you! Susan reached the enormous circular portal and began stabbing desperately at the keypad. The door did not move. She tried again, but the enormous slab refused to rotate. Susan let out a muted scream-apparently the power outage had deleted the exit codes. She was still trapped. Without warning, two arms closed around her from behind, grasping her half-numb body. The touch was familiar yet repulsive. It lacked the brute strength of Greg Hale, but there was a desperate roughness to it, an inner determination like steel. Susan turned. The man restraining her was desolate, frightened. It was a face she had never seen. â€Å"Susan,† Strathmore begged, holding her. â€Å"I can explain.† She tried to pull away. The commander held fast. Susan tried to scream, but she had no voice. She tried to run, but strong hands restrained her, pulling her backward. â€Å"I love you,† the voice was whispering. â€Å"I’ve loved you forever.† Susan’s stomach turned over and over. â€Å"Stay with me.† Susan’s mind whirled with grisly images-David’s bright-green eyes, slowly closing for the last time; Greg Hale’s corpse seeping blood onto the carpet; Phil Chartrukian’s burned and broken on the generators. â€Å"The pain will pass,† the voice said. â€Å"You’ll love again.† Susan heard nothing. â€Å"Stay with me,† the voice pleaded. â€Å"I’ll heal your wounds.† She struggled, helpless. â€Å"I did it for us. We’re made for each other. Susan, I love you.† The words flowed as if he had waited a decade to speak them. â€Å"I love you! I love you!† In that instant, thirty yards away, as if rebutting Strathmore’s vile confession, TRANSLTR let out a savage, pitiless hiss. The sound was an entirely new one-a distant, ominous sizzling that seemed to grow like a serpent in the depths of the silo. The freon, it appeared, had not reached its mark in time. The commander let go of Susan and turned toward the $2 billion computer. His eyes went wide with dread. â€Å"No!† He grabbed his head. â€Å"No!† The six-story rocket began to tremble. Strathmore staggered a faltering step toward the thundering hull. Then he fell to his knees, a sinner before an angry god. It was no use. At the base of the silo, TRANSLTR’s titanium-strontium processors had just ignited. Chapter 105 A fireball racing upward through three million silicon chips makes a unique sound. The crackling of a forest fire, the howling of a tornado, the steaming gush of a geyser†¦ all trapped within a reverberant hull. It was the devil’s breath, pouring through a sealed cavern, looking for escape. Strathmore knelt transfixed by the horrific noise rising toward them. The world’s most expensive computer was about to become an eight-story inferno. In slow motion, Strathmore turned back toward Susan. She stood paralyzed beside the Crypto door. Strathmore stared at her tear-streaked face. She seemed to shimmer in the fluorescent light. She’s an angel, he thought. He searched her eyes for heaven, but all he could see was death. It was the death of trust. Love and honor were gone. The fantasy that had kept him going all these years was dead. He would never have Susan Fletcher. Never. The sudden emptiness that gripped him was overwhelming. Susan gazed vaguely toward TRANSLTR. She knew that trapped within the ceramic shell, a fireball was racing toward them. She sensed it rising faster and faster, feeding on the oxygen released by the burning chips. In moments the Crypto dome would be a blazing inferno. Susan’s mind told her to run, but David’s dead weight pressed down all around her. She thought she heard his voice calling to her, telling her to escape, but there was nowhere to go. Crypto was a sealed tomb. It didn’t matter; the thought of death did not frighten her. Death would stop the pain. She would be with David. The Crypto floor began to tremble, as if below it an angry sea monster were rising out of the depths. David’s voice seemed to be calling. Run, Susan! Run! Strathmore was moving toward her now, his face a distant memory. His cool gray eyes were lifeless. The patriot who had lived in her mind a hero had died-a murderer. His arms were suddenly around her again, clutching desperately. He kissed her cheeks. â€Å"Forgive me,† he begged. Susan tried to pull away, but Strathmore held on. TRANSLTR began vibrating like a missile preparing to launch. The Crypto floor began to shake. Strathmore held tighter. â€Å"Hold me, Susan. I need you.† A violent surge of fury filled Susan’s limbs. David’s voice called out again. I love you! Escape! In a sudden burst of energy, Susan tore free. The roar from TRANSLTR became deafening. The fire was at the silo’s peak. TRANSLTR groaned, straining at its seams. David’s voice seemed to lift Susan, guide her. She dashed across the Crypto floor and started up Strathmore’s catwalk stairs. Behind her, TRANSLTR let out a deafening roar. As the last of the silicon chips disintegrated, a tremendous updraft of heat tore through the upper casing of the silo and sent shards of ceramic thirty feet into the air. Instantly the oxygen-rich air of Crypto rushed in to fill the enormous vacuum. Susan reached the upper landing and grabbed the banister when the tremendous rush of wind ripped at her body. It spun her around in time to see the deputy director of operations, far below, staring up at her from beside TRANSLTR. There was a storm raging all around him, and yet there was peace in his eyes. His lips parted, and he mouthed his final word. â€Å"Susan.† The air rushing into TRANSLTR ignited on contact. In a brilliant flash of light, Commander Trevor Strathmore passed from man, to silhouette, to legend. When the blast hit Susan, it blew her back fifteen feet into Strathmore’s office. All she remembered was a searing heat. Chapter 106 In the window of the Director’s conference room, high above the Crypto dome, three faces appeared, breathless. The explosion had shaken the entire NSA complex. Leland Fontaine, Chad Brinkerhoff, and Midge Milken all stared out in silent horror. Seventy feet below, the Crypto dome was blazing. The polycarbonate roof was still intact, but beneath the transparent shell, a fire raged. Black smoke swirled like fog inside the dome. The three stared down without a word. The spectacle had an eerie grandeur to it. Fontaine stood a long moment. He finally spoke, his voice faint but unwavering. â€Å"Midge, get a crew down there†¦ now.† Across the suite, Fontaine’s phone began to ring. It was Jabba. How to cite Digital Fortress Chapter 100-106, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

The Internet of Things- Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Questions: 1.What does the statement "the best interface for a system is no User Interface"? 2.Compare the bandwidth, distance, interference rating, cost and security of a) twisted pair cable, b) coaxial cable and 3) fibre optic cable. 3.The three common ways to obtain information from IoT devices are sensors, RFID and Video tracking. Compare the three technologies by addressing the advantages, disadvantages, key requirements for the things. 4.Discuss the Issues associated with security and privacy in the context of the Internet of Things. 5.An IoT Water level monitoring application requires updates from a sensor periodically, using the command/response paradigm. 3.Describe Nielson's Law. How does it relate to Moore's Law? What are the implications for the Internet of Thing? Answers: 1This is considered to the smarter and the simple system which is able to handle the useful setups that makes the life easy. Along with this, there is an easy elimination of the interface to embrace the different natural processes and work for the proper betterment of the messaging for the better user experience. The UI is set with the constant stream of new interface which is filled with the different menus and the buttons. This explains about the conversational apps and how the UI interaction is able to work with the advancement in the technology with the increased invisible apps that are set with the UI for the computer input. The designer need to manage the applications of the bank and then work towards the better brain computer interaction. (Cui, 2016). The examples related to this are the driving approaching the car, the taking of the smartphone out of the wallet, turning the mobile phone on, sliding the phone to unlock, switch off and sits in the car. The other example of the same is the shopper enters the shop, use his mobile phone and then checks it, buy grocery and get billing. There are different possibility where a person can reach to her destination. Hence, the no user interface is best. 2. Twisted coaxial Fibre Bandwidth 0-3.5 KHz 0 to 500 MHz 186 to 370 Thz Cost Medium More than twisted High Security Low Low High Interference rating Medium Medium Low distance 2km 1 to 9 km 40km 3.Sensors: Advantages This comes with the network benefits which are for the individual, society and the other business applications. The sensors are for the home security and for the controlling which could be through the remote manner or through the easy usage of the applications. The sensors are for the monitoring where there is a use of the wireless monitoring for the network. Disadvantages It is managed by the different technology where there are different vendors who are in it. The implementation of IoT is considered to be a major loss of the job for the people with everything on the applications. (Rifkin, 2014). The issues of the multiple technologies which leads to the consumption of time in the complex systems. with this, there is a possibility that IoT service provider have to pay hre for the hiring and for retention of employees. Key requirements The requirements are based on working over the IoT systems which includes the costs for the testing of device manufacturers and the network service providers. Applications This is needed in the cameras, security alarm or the door locks. RFID Advantages The RFID makes use of the electromagnetic fields to identify and track the tags which are attached to the objects. The passive tags are contained with the collect energy with interrogating the radio waves. The active tags are handling the local power source with the RFID reader to interrogate and handle the operations at the hundreds of meters. The barcodes are for the embedded subject with the tracked object. (Atzori et al., 2014). Disadvantages The issues are related to the fact that RFID could be used by the multiple people for the receiving and the transmission of the data which could lead to the interference and the radiation exposure as well. Key requirements The RFID is set for the cash, clothing and the possession with the implantations in animal and people. The concern is about the privacy and security set for handling the RFID cards, labels and the other form factors. Applications RFID tags include the automobile during production which could be used to track with the progress set under the assembly line. Video Tracking Advantages It is for the tracking of the objects with the use of camera. The variety of uses which includes eh security and surveillance, interaction, video communication and compression, augmented reality and traffic control. Disadvantages The disadvantage is about the objects that are relative to the frame rate with the tracking of the object change orientation over the time. Key requirements The requirements are for the checking of the target representation and the localization, using the blob tracking which is for the identification of the human movement. (Patton et al., 2014). Applications For the 3D objects and for the affined transformation. The video compression is also for the macroblocks. 4.The issues are related to the security problems where the focus is on the communication and the working over the users to handle the quality of the peoples live. The storage, processing phase with the processing is based on the different activities where the future behavior of the people is mapped to handle the data encryption or the access control mechanism. The privacy and security issues are set with the widespread usage with the wireless sensors that involve the access and the availability, accuracy and confidentiality problems. The issues are also related with the transmission, storage and the processing phase. The tracking of the lifestyle, activities, with the accessibility of the third and the unauthorized person. The issue is related to the threat and the attacker models 5.Request Trigger time = 1s Round trip propagation delay = 12 ms Request processing time = 3ms Application transportation time = 2ms Total time: 1s+12ms+3ms+2m+2ms = 1.019 s If the publish/subscribe communication model will be used, the request time of 1 sec will be removed, request processing time will be removed and the round-trip time will become half due to only one way transportation of data and hence, the total time will be: Time = 6ms+2ms = 8ms 6.Nielsen law of internet bandwidth includes the higher end connection speed which growth with the year. Hence, for this, there is a connection of the constant dot which works for the telecom companies. The users are found to be reluctant to spend the money on the bandwidth where the user base is tending to get broad. Here, there are low end users with the high end working for the average shift that is low. The designing applications are important for the computation with the web designs set for the optimized usability and for the availability of the speeds. (Patton et al., 2014). With this, there has been observation on Moores law about the computer processing which doubles every 18 months. There are high end users for the bandwidth growth in 50% with the 10% less than the Moore law. For the IoT, there is a need for the telecom companies to work with the time to update and handle the reluctance to spend the money on the bandwidth. References Atzori, L., Iera, A., Morabito, G. (2014). From" smart objects" to" social objects": The next evolutionary step of the internet of things.IEEE Communications Magazine,52(1), 97-105. Cui, X. (2016). The internet of things. InEthical Ripples of Creativity and Innovation(pp. 61-68). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Patton, M., Gross, E., Chinn, R., Forbis, S., Walker, L., Chen, H. (2014, September). Uninvited connections: a study of vulnerable devices on the internet of things (IoT). InIntelligence and Security Informatics Conference (JISIC), 2014 IEEE Joint(pp. 232-235). IEEE. Rifkin, J. (2014).The zero marginal cost society: The internet of things, the collaborative commons, and the eclipse of capitalism. St. Martin's Press.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

A Rose For Emily Essays (1123 words) - Emily Grierson,

A Rose For Emily A Rose for Emily In A Rose for Emily, William Faulkners symbolic use of the rose is essential to the storys theme of Miss Emilys self-isolation. The rose is often a symbol of love, and portrays an everlasting beauty. The rose has been used for centuries to illustrate an everlasting type of love and faithfulness. Even when a rose dies, it is still held in high regard. Miss Emilys rose exists only within the storys title. Faulkner leaves the reader to interpret the roses symbolic meaning. Miss Emily was denied the possibility of falling in love in her youth, so subsequently she isolated herself from the world and denied the existence of change. Miss Emily was denied her rose, first by her father, then by the townspeople, and then Homer Barron. Through the explicit characterization of the title character, Miss Emily, and the use of the rose as a symbol, the reader is able to decipher that Homer Barron was Miss Emilys only rose. Miss Emilys father denied her the ability to establish a normal relationship because of their familys social position. She lost the will and the desire to do so, even after he died. The reader is aware that Miss Emilys chances of having a normal relationship are hindered by her fathers obstinace. Miss Emilys father was a prominent well-respected southern gentleman, and he would not allow his only daughter to be courted by just anyone. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau. As most little girls do, Miss Emily idolized her father, and held him in high regard, even though he was a strong and forbidding man, who did not allow her to experience life. Miss Emilys father robbed her of her ability to court during her youth, and therefore hindered her ability to grow emotionally. She refused to accept that her father was anything but the southern gentleman that he was. Miss Emilys first rose could have been her father, b ut he wasnt. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will. Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days. While the corpse of her father remained in the house for three days while Miss Emily refused to accept the her father was dead and that she was now left alone and a pauper, she had no idea what to do now that she was alone. She did not know how to accept the fact that she could now make her own decisions. So when she got to be thirty and was still single, we were not pleased exactly but vindicated; even with insanity in the family she wouldnt have turned down all of her chances if they had really materialized. The townspeople knew that Miss Emilys chances of a semblance of a normal life dwindled each day. They assumed because of Miss Emilys social status, and her age that she would be a spinster, and expected her to act as such. They were appalled when Homer Barron arrived, and he and Miss Emily were seen together in town. They even contacted out of town relatives to come and talk some sense into Miss Emily. They could not accept that Emily may be coming into herself, and that she may take on a personality that wasnt modeled after their expectations of her. When Homer Barron arrived in Jefferson, he knew nothing of the lonely woman in the old white house. Although he is not of Miss Emilys hierarchy social status, of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer. The townspeople wouldnt expect for Miss Emily to even be seen in public speaking with him, let alone gadding about the town. Presently we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the

Monday, November 25, 2019

Election of a President essays

Election of a President essays The process by which the United States follows according to the election of the commander in chief the president, is systematically implemented according to an official infrastructure of dynamics that are dictated by an array of sub-systems that are essentially of the people and by the people. These systems have constantly undergone growth and innovation as pertinent to the deployment of the amended laws and procedures that conform to the progression of the U.S. Government. Through the course of the ever-developing election process, every aspect of the electoral standards has proven circumstantial as basis for the current economical factors that have outlaid each election period. Through the history of the presidential elections, several oppositional sides, though both as mainframes encircling a democracy government; were developed into the constructs of separate parties with separate primaries that represent each sect. Often, through history the simple division has deployed according to two sides the democratic and republican parties. As the progression of the election processes developed, each of these political parties branched out within themselves to form separate components of each side, which are and have been structurally instituted by the varying political positions and opinions that create their divisions. Each of these sects and their oppositions produce a delegate that reflects the political opinions and agendas of those parties. Among these separate wings of the government makeup, the definitive attributions that discern the parties have varied in electoral systems of primaries and caucuses. The primary electoral system inherently display s the nepotism of specific states. Through the history of this system of determination and hopeful influence, the Electoral College system developed just as significantly. The Electoral College was developed to expend the votes of high populous areas that a...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Week 4 DB Sha Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 DB Sha - Essay Example Even though the captain allowed some of the firefighters to make use of the occasion to pick up women, some of the firefighters in attendance were on duty. As a result, the city is vicariously liable for the assault offences of its employees. The employer was directly negligent in allowing the employees to use the occasion pick up women which resulted in the sexual offense Some of the firefighters were on duty in case of any eventuality at the event. This implies that the firefighters were dutifully at the place to perform responsibilities authorized by the agent. As stated in American Federation vs. Equitable life, for respondeat superior to attach, the employee needs to have breached his duty to a third whilst acting in the scope as well as course of his employment. At the time of the sexual assault, one of the firefighters was on duty. This implies that the firefighter breached duty while acting in the course of his employment. The offence was committed within the time and space limits of the agency considering that one of the employees was on duty. Furthermore, sexual assault is a violation of the basic human rights and a criminal offense. In my view, the city is to have respondeat superior liability for the harmful acts of these

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Personality characteristic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personality characteristic - Essay Example It used to be, before modern psychoanalytical studies on personality were done, that leadership and the ability to lead was pretty much a matter of the old adage, â€Å"leaders are born not made.† Great leaders it was assumed possessed certain unique traits. They were natural born leaders with characteristics apart from the common man. The idea stemmed from a socio-analytical perspective that placed those in the upper echelons of society automatically in the category of leaders, awarding them in a similarly automatic and autocratic way leadership roles. Peons, as it were, were peons. They simply did not have the traits necessary to be leaders. Those traits included the ability or willingness to exhibit initiative, the integrity, intelligence, or for that matter, perception to be a true leader of men. (Leadership: Traits and Process Approaches, para. 1) To dispute this, Krames (2004) in his introduction to the U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual, writes, â€Å" The United States Army has created scores of exceptional leaders from every rank and file† (v). As time went on research conducted on more scientific and empirical level cast serious doubt on these most unscientific and biased conclusions. Trait theory as defined is the measurement of traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion. According to this perspective, traits are relatively stable over time. However, it is not only traits that define a person’s ability to be a leader. Some leaders surprise even the experts. Studies do indicate the near necessity for certain leadership traits when it comes to the success or failure of given activities. As might be assumed, individuals with leadership personality and tendencies would exhibit an extroverted personality. Assumptions, however, can be deceiving. We can often find present some interesting and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Organization Learning Disabilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organization Learning Disabilities - Essay Example Limitations and opportunities of organizational learning should be considered in learning organizations which are those where individuals continually broaden their capability to achieve the results they seek while nurturing new and expansive thinking patterns. The creation of a competitive advantage for companies is dependent on learning at the individual and the organizational level and people but there are a number of barriers that result in organizational learning disabilities which may hinder this. Some organizational learning disabilities that are faced by various organizations include: I am my position: In this case individuals have a tendency to connect to their positions, for instance, a janitor will think that he is a janitor while a teacher will also have the same line of thinking. In this situation of organization learning disability, people have a propensity to forget that they are human beings. Their specialization into their positions results in the people losing their human aspects in the organization. The enemy is out there: This is a familiar case where the people in the organization always blame someone else for problems. For instance, the marketing department may blame their production counterparts, while the production department may blame the purchasing department for problems being faced in the organization. This has resulted in the development of cross functional teams and individuals across supply chains are collaborating more closely(Wallace, 2007). The fixation on events: In this case, the people in the organization find themselves thinking only in terms of specific events such as when sales dropped by a particular margin, when they have a shortage of staff or when the number of customers is declining. This creates a scenario where people concentrate on specific issues at any particular time. This form of near sightedness results in reactionary policies that eventually lead to worse situations and

Friday, November 15, 2019

Social Work Reflective Essay

Social Work Reflective Essay Introduction Reflection forms a central part of social work practice and education, and it is particularly important for social workers in placement settings or newly qualified social workers (Dcruz et al, 2007; Parker, 2010). In its simplest terms, reflection provides us with an opportunity to review our decisions and decision-making processes however, in practice, reflection is a far more complex concept (Trevethick, 2005: 251). It is essential that social workers have the confidence to question their own practice, the organisation that they work in, and dominant power structures in society at large (Fook, 1999). Reflection, and in particular critical reflective practice, forms a key part of this, as social workers are called on to reconsider and reconstruct the dominant social discourse. In this essay I will explore my experience of reflection during my practice placement, and in particular in relation to a specific case study. I will start by outlining my practice setting, and the details of the particular case study. I will then explore my experience of reflection, and how reflective practice supported me to apply theory to practice. Finally take a critical look at my practice, and suggest things that I could have done differently. Although I engage with and explored multiple models of reflection during my placement, the model of reflection that I found most useful was Schons theory of reflection (Schon, 1983; 2002). Schon advocated 2 types of reflective practice. Firstly, reflection-on-action, which involves reflecting on an experience that you have already had, or an action that you have already taken, and considering what could have been done differently, as well as looking at the positives from that interaction. The other type of reflection Schon notes is reflection-in-action, or reflecting on your actions as you are doing them, and considering issues like best practice throughout the process. Due to the limits of the current medium, I will be focusing mostly on reflection-on-action. However, appropriate use of this type of reflection should inform future practice, and encourage appropriate reflection-in-action when presented with a similar situation again. Practice Setting My placement was based at a not for profit mental health agency, where we provided psycho-social support for people who have experienced mental health difficulties. Many of the people that we worked with had been subject to section 2 or 3 orders under the Mental Health Act 1983/2007, and were now experiencing aftercare under section 117. Referrals to the agency could come from social services, GP surgeries, and other not-for-profit organisations. The people with whom we worked usually had a multitude of presenting issues and concerns, and I was aware from the onset that complex settings like this require social workers to be reflective in their practice in order to be able to deal with a variety of situations (Fook and Gardner, 2007). However, it soon became clear to me that the fast-paced working environment, where at times paperwork was promoted over practice, meant that reflection could potentially be ignored in favour of bureaucracy and targets (DCruz et al, 2007). This type of difficulty and uncertainty around reflection is common in placement settings and when starting a new role (Knott and Spafford, 2010). Reflection was particularly important when making the transition from university learning to the learning experienced in a placement setting. Social workers are provided with some guidance in practice to support this process. The Practice Competency Framework (PCF) domains provide some direction about what areas social workers are expected to emphasise in practice, and what needs to be evidenced in order to successfully complete a placement. Values and ethics are central to this framework, and comprise domain 2. Critical reflection is also part of this framework, making up the entirety of domain 6. However, it is essential that social workers do not become complacent in their personal reflection, and they cannot fall back on these types of guidance and procedures as a shield against engaging in reflection on complex ethical subjects (Banks, 2006). Case Study Many of the service users that we worked with had a dual diagnosis (problems with mental health and addiction). These service users particularly challenged me, as I found their intersecting issues usually stretch well beyond their dual diagnosis, to other areas like housing or physical health. I have, therefore, chosen to discuss one such case, where I engaged in substantial reflection. The background to this case study, and my involvement with him, will now be discussed. JK is a man in his 50s who was born in Nigeria but moved to the UK at a young age. When I worked with him, he lived in a housing project that was specifically meant to house ex-offenders. Although JK had a lead key-worker at my agency who was a permanent member of staff, I was responsible for the majority of the key working sessions with JK during my time on this placement. JK had a long history of substance misuse and mental health problems. He was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and dealt with significant anxiety and depression. He received depot injections monthly for his mental health difficulties, and he found these instances particularly distressing. JK also had a substantial history of criminal activity, which he said became necessary in order to maintain his addiction to certain illicit drugs. I would meet JK in a location of his choosing. Although usually this would mean either in our office or in his room, sometimes we went for a walk and I accompanied him to appointments at times also. This more informal working setting was where he felt he could speak most openly to me. Although I will discuss my involvement with JK more broadly,I will focus on one particular key working session that we had, where JK was most descriptive about all his concerns and the issues that were effecting him (session A). This is significant because reflection is particularly important when a critical incident like this has been experienced, and a less reflective approach could lead to a less holistic or even inadvertently oppressive account of what had transpired (Ruch, 2002). Reflective Practice Different models of reflection supported me throughout the reflective process. Gibbs Model of Reflection (1988) and Atkin and Murphys Model of Reflection (1994) both promote a cyclical approach to reflection, whereby reflection is ongoing and not a linear process. I found this to be the case, as I did not move through stages of refection one after the other, but moved between them, often returning to my conceptual starting point multiple times before settling on a holistic understanding of an event or situation that incorporates all systems influencing that scenario. Keeping a reflective diary of critical issues and my own thought process encouraged me to construct my understanding of the work I was doing, and justify what actions I had taken (White, 2001). Support from colleagues and supervisors was also invaluable in this process (Ruch, 2002). Yip (2006) aptly notes that models like those described above are most useful when starting out the reflective process, and I quickly adapted and developed a model of reflection that was most appropriate for me. Social work has traditionally been constructed as the professional knowing best, and continues to be practised in a way where the practitioner holds most of the power (Holmes and Saleeby, 1993). The power dynamics are slightly different in a non-statutory setting like I was working in. However, these power dynamics cannot be ignored, and underline all social work practice.I acknowledged the inherent power dynamics from the inception of my interactions with JK. I recognised that where unequal power dynamics exist in a relationship, it is usually the partner with the most power that benefits most from the interaction (Milner and OByrne, 2002). This is why it is important for social workers to listen to the perspectives of the people with whom they work, and be willing to accept different paradigms than their own or the dominant paradigm (Milner and OByrne, 2002). When working with JK, I was made aware of his engagement with mental health services, usually provided through the medical professions. He had an allocated community psychiatric nurse (CPN) who would visit occasionally, and at times he also met with a psychiatrist. Throughout my social work education, the difference between the medical model and the social model of experiencing mental illness has been stressed to me, and I clearly saw this when working with JK. The historically oppressive nature of mental health services is widely recognised in literature (Szasz, 1961; Foucault, 1967), and JK expressed to me at times that he felt that he was not listened to by medical professionals, and just moved from service to service having things done to him, rather than with him. Tew (2005) noted that the in the social model of mental distress, core values required include looking at the person and their situation holistically, removing the us and them thinking that tends to dominate mental health services, listening to what people really have to say, and being committed to anti-oppressive practice. I found these to be very helpful in working with JK. During Session A, the fact that I chose to explore JKs mental distress alongside the other issues that were going on in his life allowed me to identify that his physical health, including intense back pain that he has been experiencing, was having a substantial effect on his mental health, and I encouraged him to seek help and support with this. JK clearly appreciated my anti-oppressive approach, where I tried to work with him in partnership, and he was always keen to know when we would meet next. There is a stigma attached to having a mental illness, and even when contact with services has ceased, that stigma usually persists (Miles, 2005). JK had clearly been the subject of this stigma throughout his life. Tew (2005) believes if mental health services were more receptive to the social model of looking at mental distress, then significant amounts of this stigma and the resultant oppression would be removed. Applying Theory to Practice An important part of reflection in social work is the application and consideration of theories in practice (Trevethick, 2012). The theory base of social work is essential to all the work that we do in practice (Teater, 2010). Social workers need to be prepared to critically reflect on the theory that they are bringing to practice. It has been noted that the theory base of social work is dominated by euro-centric discourse, meaning that certain paradigms or perspectives may be excluded unintentionally (Trevethick, 2012). Being from Nigeria originally, and coming from a different cultural background than myself, meant that I had to be particularly careful in applying theory to the work that I did with JK.However, it is also clear that practice cannot just be based on routine or habit, with no basis in evidence (Thompson, 2009). The increasing influence of post-modern theory, which does not promote one paradigm over another, but focuses on the subjective nature of truth, has helped to alleviate these issues in social work to some extent (Fook, 2012). Our agency worked with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable members of society, and engaging in uninformed work with these types of service users is a dangerous undertaking (Collingwood et al, 2008). Through active engagement with reflection, I was able to work with JK using an eclectic theory and knowledge base, but was also careful to note if JK was not comfortable with some aspects of my approach, and adjusted the approach accordingly. Working closely with JK over a period of several months supported me to be able to identify any issues quickly, and by the time I we were engaged in Session A, we had a good working relationship. Of particular importance when working with service users who have a dual diagnosis was systems theory, and I found this theory to be particularly important when reflecting on Session A. Healy (2005) has recognised that systems theory have been highly influential on the knowledge base of social work. As noted above, people experiencing problems with addiction tend to have other issues in other areas of their lives (Tober and Raistrick, 2004).I was able incorporate specific applications of systems theory for the service user group I was working throughout my placement, and in particular with JK. The Six Cornered Addictions Rescue System (SCARS) was useful in that it took into account a person who was dealing with an addictions situation holistically, rather than just focusing on the addiction in isolation (McCarthy and Galvani, 2004). In Session A this allowed me to see how JKs addiction and mental health problems were also linked to issues with accommodation, physical health, relationships and employment. What could have been done differently? I have discussed my work with JK, and reflected on specific incidents and issues with him. However, returning to Schon (1983), he notes that reflection takes place within our own understanding and the meaning that we attribute to an event, rather than within the event itself. Therefore, social workers need to look at their own underlying assumptions, as well as dominant social narratives, in order to shape their holistic understanding and experience of a given incident. Dewey (1993) recognised the importance of discovering new information in reflection. This can come from both internal sources (personal reconsideration) and external sources (professional support or research), and this new information can completely re-construct the way that an incident or event is considered, and change the narrative that we are engaged in. This is helpful in reconsidering an event, and determining whether something could have been done differently or better. In relation to Session A, one area that I reflected on was that I may have focused too much on theory when working with JK. It has been recognised in literature around theory in practice that overly focusing on theory when working with service users can actually hinder the work being done, as the service user can feel depersonalised (Parker, 2010). As noted above, this was particularly important in the case of JK, who was from a different culture than me. More time could have been spent on listening to JK and his perspective, rather than trying to fit him into a theory or model for the sake of evidencing my own case notes or reflective journals. I worked with JK very much in isolation. Although I met his CPN and his drug worker, at no stage was a multi-agency meeting held that I was invited to. To some extent, this was the fault of the other professionals, who did not consult me on the work they were doing with JK, and literature has noted that collaboration is particularly difficult when working with dual diagnosis service users, as mental health and addiction services can disagree over the correct course, or who should take the lead (Clement et al, 1993; Champney-Smith, 2004). However, I could have made more of an effort to engage with them, or at least discuss with JK how much consultation he would like me to have with those other workers. Suter et al (2009) have found that a willingness to communicate is a key characteristic needed for effective collaboration, and after the other professionals were not active in engaging with me, I lost this willingness, potentially to the detriment of my work with JK. It has to be noted that reflection is not always recognised as a self-evidently positive mechanism. There are critics of the way reflection is promoted in current practice environments, with some bemoaning the cult following that has developed around reflection in the social work sphere (Ixer, 1999: 513). Boud and Knight (1996) equally describe how reflection has come to be seen as self-evidently worthwhile without significant critique (p.32). Ixer (1999) recognises that focusing too much on assessing reflection can lead to a prescriptive approach to reflection that is uncompromising. I found this to be the case at times, when I was expected to write my reflections at a certain time, and have reflective supervision in a certain way. As well as this, having someone essentially assessing my reflection made this even more difficult, as I was not able to reflect in a way that was personal for me. Parker (2010) has noted that reflection is not something that can be assessed based on traditional reductionist techniques. Therefore, I found it important to not just reflect on my work and the working environment, but also the process of reflection itself. Conclusion The issues that social workers are engaged with, and that I have discussed here, do not only reflect the concerns of the service user, but are a reflection of the issues that are inherent in wider society (Davis, 2007). Unequal power dynamics, concerns around oppression and issues with stigma are all societal problems that social workers need to engage with not just on a micro-level, but also a macro-level. To some extent this is an area that I found reflection lacking in. I was able to look at my own practice, and my own assumptions and narratives; however, I was unable to determine how best to address wider inequality and societal oppression of people like JK. In this reflective essay, I have explored my practice setting in relation to a particular case study. I introduced the placement setting and the case study, and then looked at my experience of reflection within this setting. I discussed how I engaged with different models of reflection, experienced power dynamics, and explored different interpretations of mental distress. I then moved on to look at how reflection promoted me to engage with theory in practice, in particular in relation to systems theory. Finally, I used this reflection to look at things that I could have done differently, including a decreased focus on theory and engaging more with other services. This type of critical reflection should be ongoing for social workers in practice, and to some extent it would be difficult to work in a complex setting like I was without being reflective. Although I noted some areas I could have improved on in my interactions with JK, what was most apparent in my work with him was that my willingness to explore his paradigm and perspectives opened him up to engaging with me on a range of issues, that otherwise may have remained hidden. References Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) Reflective Practice, Nursing Standard8(39) 49-56. Banks, S. (2006) Ethics and Values in Social Work, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Cameron, A., Lart, R., Bostock, L. and Coomber, C. (2012) Factors that promote and hinder joint and integrated working between health and social care services, London: SCIE. Champney-Smith, J. (2004) Dual Diagnosis in T. Peterson and A. McBride (Eds.) Working with Substance Misusers: A Guide to Theory and Practice, London: Routledge. Clement, J., Williams, E. and Waters, C. (1993) The client with substance abuse/mental illness: Mandate for Collaboration Achieves of Psychiatric Nursing, 7(4), 189-196. Collingwood, P., Emond, R. and Woodward, R. (2008) The theory circle: A tool for learning and for practice Social Work Education, 27(1), 70-83. Davis, A, (2007) Structural Approaches to Social Work in J. Lisham (Ed.) Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory, London: JK. Dewey, J. (1993) How we Think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the education process, Boston: Health Publishing. DCruz, H., Gillingham, P. and Melendez, S. (2007) Reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social work: A critical review of the literature British Journal of Social Work, 37, 73-90. Fook, J. (1999) Critical reflectivity in education and practice in B. Pears and J. Fook (eds) Transforming Social Work Practice: Postmodern Critical Perspectives, St Leonards: Allen and Unwin, 195-208. Fook, J. (2012) Social Work: A Critical Approach to Practice, London: Sage. Fook J. and Gardner F. (2007) Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Foucault M. (1967) Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, London: Tavistock. Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Healy, K. (2005) Social Work Theories in Context: Creating Frameworks for Practice, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Holmes, G. and Saleeby, D. (1993) Empowerment, the Medical Model and the Politics of Clienthood, Journal of Progressive Human Services, 4(1), 61-78. Ixer, G. (1999) Theres no such thing as reflection British Journal of Social Work,29, 513-527. Knott, C. and Spafford, J. (2010) Getting Started in C. Knott and T. Scragg (eds.) Reflective Practice in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. McCarthy, T. and Galvani, S. (2004) SCARS: A new model for social work with substance misuse  Practice, 16(2), 85-97. Milner, J. and OByrne P. (2002) Assessment in Social Work Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Parker, J. (2010) Effective Practice in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. Miles, A. (1987) The Mentally Ill in Contemporary Society, Oxford: Blackwell. Parker, J. (2010) Effective Practice Learning in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. Ruch, G. (2002) From triangle to spiral: reflective practice in social work education, practice and research, Social Work Education, 21(2), 199-216. Schn, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner, New York: Basic Books. Schon, D. (2002) From technical rationality to reflection-in-action in R. Harrison, F. Reeve, A. Hanson and J. Clarke (eds) Supporting Lifelong Learning: Perspectives on Learning, London: Routledge. Szasz, T. (1961) The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, London: Harper and Row. Teater, B. (2010) An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Tew, J. (2005) Social Perspectives in Mental Health London: Kingsley. Thompson, N. (2009) Practicing Social Work: Meeting the Professional Challenge, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Tober, G. and Raistrick, D. (2004) Organisation of Services Putting it all Together in T. Peterson and A. McBride (Eds.) Working with Substance Misusers: A Guide to Theory and Practice, London: Routledge. Trevithick, P. (2012) Social Work Skills: A Practice Handbook, Maidenhead: Open University Press. White, S. (2001) Auto-ethnography as reflexive enquiry: The research act as self-surveillance, in I. Shaw and N. Gould (eds), Qualitative Research in Social Work, London: Sage. Yip, K. (2006)Self-reflection in reflective practice: A note of caution British Journal of Social Work, 36(5), 777-788.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Censoring Our Students :: Argumentative, Legal Issues, Social Issues

â€Å"Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates.† --Justice William Brennan For many years it has been debated whether students have the same amendment rights as any other person in the world. Many would say that they do not. They would say that by taking away those state given rights they are protecting the students from being exposed to negative things. Unfortunately the only thing that is being accomplished by this overprotection is the lack of understanding of the world they will soon be facing. â€Å"Why not stand firm as a public institution that expresses and explores the complex range of human experiences? Why be diplomatic and apologetic about the fact that we do not shy away from difficult, challenging, and complex topics? (Durbin)† There isn’t a more appropriate statement. Why not stand firm? Prepare students for the real world. Teach them how to survive. By censoring out issues or only allowing limited discussions of high profile topics, students are not being exposed to life skills that are crucial to the real world. Therefore setting them up for failure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The American public schools, for many years, have been faced with the problem of censorship. Many such problems have been fostered by groups who question the use of instructional materials that do not meet their moral, religious, political, cultural, or ethic values (Sherrow 38). By censoring topics such as homosexuality, religion, sex, racial issues, and other taboo topics it is not allowing the growth and expansion of student’s minds.