Rene Descartes and the scientific revolution Research Paper

Rene Descartes and the scientific revolution - Research Paper Example The Bible taught that the Earth was a special planet because God has deliberately set it at the center of the others; a clear sign of its importance to God. However, past the 16th Century, some scientists began challenging the existing way of thinking by replacing the past assumptions with new theories. This change in the European thought about the natural world is what is commonly referred to as the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was a foundation stone upon which Rene Descartes developed the scientific method approach. The breakthroughs in the scientific revolution were championed by Copernicus who observed that the stars and all the planets revolved around the sun. The thoughts were sparked off by an ancient Greek idea that the sun was at the center of the universe. Copernicus indeed found this to be true after 25 years of studying planetary movements. Though revolutionary, the theory had a limitation in that it never explained why the planets behaved the way they did. Another problem was that it contradicted ancient studies and religious views. For fear of persecution and possible ridicule, the scholar did not publish his findings until 1543; the year of his death. Despite his death, Copernicus’ ideals withstood the test of death and were a good foundation for other like-minded scientists. Brahe, an astronomer from Denmark, made careful and accurate records of the planets’ movements over many years. The scientist produced volumes of accurate data recorded from his personal observations. With his death imminent, it was left to his followers to make the mathematical inferences from the data. Johannes Kepler, his assistant, studied the data and inferred that some mathematical laws governed the movements in the universe. According to Hellyer, (2003) Descartes’ findings disapproved the belief that the planets orbited in circular motions. In contrast,

Suicide and Friend Essay Example for Free

Suicide and Friend Essay Teen suicide is something we all know about; some of us more than others. It is a horrible murderer that takes away our friends, brothers, sisters, cousins†¦and what does it leave behind? The sad memory and wonder of if we could have helped is all that lingers when it takes away the ones close to us. Only two months ago, there was a girl that is known to most teenagers in Georgia. She was outgoing, friendly, helpful, sweet, hilarious, and seemed to light up a room. I never had the pleasure of actually becoming close to her. This girl and I maybe talked twice and she reminded me of myself. She was a bubbly girl, but behind the mask of happiness and a bouncy girl. was the face of a sad girl wanting help. Maybe that’s why I could relate to her. I, too, was like that when we’d talked. Just as I was reaching my breaking point, the girl reached hers. Rachel was her name. She’d attempted to take her life and, two weeks later, died on October 29th, 2009. Like all teen suicides, it affected everyone. Her parents were destroyed, her ex-boyfriend felt guilty to the point of which he wanted to die, her friends missed her and took their anger out on all the wrong people, and it resulted it horrible events. The reason I chose this topic of teen suicide isn’t because it is the 3rd leading cause of death for teens or because of mere stories of it. I chose this because not only do I know the facts, I’ve personally experienced situations where I almost lost a friend and I did lose a girl that could have been like a sister to me. When teens want to die, almost nothing will stop them . It may seem selfish to say, â€Å"Live for me† when they had to live through pain, but what they don’t understand is the pain will pass. There’s an organization especially made for teaching the teenagers that there’s something to live for. It is called, To Write Love On Her Arms. The name has it’s own story behind it, as does the reasoning for the organization being founded, and it’s helped many teens escape the choking grip of suicide. A hotline I had used was an easy one to remember. It was 1-800-SUICIDE. The hotline gave me two operators and they personally helped me. My friend was considering suicide and this hotline helped him. Before you down the idea, let me tell you about it. The friend was given the help he needed and talked down without being taken to the mental institute. Just because someone is suicidal, it doesn’t mean they’re crazy. Think of this: 27% of teens at one high school admitted to secretly wanting to commit suicide and 8% of them did it. That’s proof that suicidal teens are not crazy teens. Why else would a teen commit suicide every 100 minutes? Does that mean that the world is full of lunatics? No. It means that the world is full of teenagers with problems and no answers to them As some of you take teen suicide as a joke, others take it as a personal stab to the heart. We’ve lost friends and family to this horrid killer, but there is only one way to stop it. We have to be understanding, yet helpful . Your friend may get mad if you try to help, but would you rather have the friend dislike you for a little while and be alive or have them love you and dead? As for those that are suicidal, don’t think that the world will be better without you because it won’t. In this world, you are one of a kind. Each and every one of us is unique. If you’re gone, people WILL miss you. It may seem to be the end to your problems, but it’s the beginning to others’ pain.

Reasons Why Catalonia Wants Independence

Reasons Why Catalonia Wants Independence Catalonia’s Pursuit of Independence â€Å"No podem ser si no podem ser lliures.† This quote from Catalan poet Salvador Espriu roughly translates to â€Å"We cannot be if we can’t be free† a statement that rings true for over half of Catalonia’s 7.5 million residents. The people of Catalonia have long been in a struggle with Spain to gain independence and feel that they should be their own nation. Recently the separatist views in Catalonia have come to the forefront of national news as the state makes a push to secede but there are those who question the likelihood and feasibility of this move. If the people of Catalonia achieve what they desire, Spain will lose one of its most well known states as well as one that provides a great amount of economic stability, but if they do not they will continue to fight for independence and their struggle could turn violent. The struggle for independence dates back to the 19th century during the Romantic age when nationalism surged. Catalan separatist fee l they have multiple reasons to secede from Spain but the main reasons are that they have their own culture, history, and language; have experienced a history of persecution as a result of Spanish rule; and that they are responsible for a large majority of Spain’s economic success. Catalonia is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, each region having its own executive, legislative, and judicial branch. It is located in the northern part of Spain on the border of France and is divided into a few different regions: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. According to a census performed in 2012 the population is roughly 7.5 million accounting for just over 16% of Spain’s total population. The city of Barcelona is the regions capital and is also the second largest city in Spain with a population of about 1.63 million (Generalitat de Catalunya). Catalonia has its own history, separate from the rest of Spain, rich with culture and tradition. They also speak a language different than is spoken in the rest of Spain known as Catalan. Catalan is not a dialect of Spanish but rather a language that was developed on its own with Latin origins and is recognized as one of the four official languages in Spain. 93.8% of citizens living in Catalonia can understand Catalan (Generalitat de Catalunya) and around 9 million people worldwide speak the language. There are laws in place within Catalonia in order to preserve the language and makes sure it lives on. Some examples of such laws are that all businesses must display their material in Catalan or risk being fined, doctors are required to speak and understand Catalan, and there are quotas in place to regulate Catalan media (Miley). While it is true that 98.8% of Catalan’s understand spanish, children in public schools must be taught in Catalan and can only receive a maximum of three hours per week in spanish training (Govan). This is because the people of Catalan have realized that for their language to survive the test of time it must be heavily involved in education of the youth. Catalan’s feel that their own language and culture deserve to be recognized by national borders and wish to govern the land as they see fit.   Catalan’s rich history and culture has not always been welcome in Spain and the rest of the European Union and the people of Catalan do not feel they receive the respect they deserve. There have been several distinct attacks on Catalan language throughout history but the most recent took place during the rule of General Francisco Franco between 1939 and 1975. Franco gained power over Barcelona following the Spanish Civil War with a goal of uniting Spain and removing those that attempted to differentiate themselves, including those that speak a different language. Throughout the time of his rule Catalan speakers and academics were persecuted and repressed. The autonomy that the Catalan’s had come to know was stripped away from them and Catalan nationalism was subdued. The Catalan language was banned from being used and was completely removed from the educational system. Along with this all remnants of the language were sought out and changed including media and street na mes. There was also a wave attacks on nationalist resulting in several thousand being killed or exiled. This persecution continued until Franco’s death in 1975 but the legacy of his rule has not been forgotten. Following the death of Franco in 1975 a new ruler took the throne, King Juan Carlos. Carlos was a fair ruler to the people of Spain and pushed to democratize the country. In 1978 the Spanish constitution was written and in it Catalan was officially recognized as the official language of Catalonia (Barcelona’s Languages). To this day the people of Catalonia cherish this victory as it represents the fortitude of the Catalan people and their ability to stand up to oppression. The people of Catalan, while happy to be recognised by Spain, feel they deserve more and wish to be an official language of the European Union. Catalan is a language similar in prevalence to Castilian Spanish, Swedish, and Czech (Mari 1). As expressed in the preceding paragraph, the Spanish government has neglected to serve or even defend the people of Catalonia in the past and many Catalan’s feel they must do so individually. There are many organizations throughout Catalonia whose mission it is to spread the language and culture on an international scale. One of these is the Consortium for Language Normalization, a program which aims to help foreigners that have recently moved to Catalonia learn the Language(Mari 2).   The people of Catalonia have long been in a struggle to make their voices heard on a national and international level and believe they have not been fairly represented by Spanish rule.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third and final reason Catalan’s wish to separate from Spain is that they are one of the wealthiest regions in Spain and believe they are not fairly compensated for the amount of money they generate for the country. Catalonia is known to be one of the wealthiest and advanced regions of Spain accounting for nearly thirty percent of Spanish exports and although its GDP per capita is slightly below average compared with other nations in the European Union, it is still about twenty percent higher than the rest of Spain (Alexopoulos). It is also estimated that Catalonia makes up for around twenty percent of Spain’s total GDP (Goodman), a contribution that would be sorely missed by the Spanish Government. Catalonia’s most popular export locations are too surrounding countries in the EU including Portugal, Germany, France, and Italy. There is also a large amount of products that are imported to the rest of the country which would make Spain one of Catalonia’s main importers if they succeed in independence. In recent years, Catalonia has grown its export rate by more than Germany, France, and the Netherlands, and in the technology sector saw an increase in exports of about 9% (Wharton University of Pennsylvania). Catalonia also asserts that it pays more in taxes to the central government of Spain than it receives back in spending on infrastructure and its citizens. Those pushing for independence say that Catalonia would be better off in the long run if it kept the money that is currently being sent to the Central Government and instead spent it themselves and provide its people with the necessary social and security services. Furthermore, a study performed by the Universit y of Edinburgh claims that independence could shift the competition for firms within Catalonia. If Catalonia were to become independent, firms would be protected from direct competition with Spain and those that would normally be pushed out of the market may be able to survive and thrive (Comerford). Although some experts believe an independent Catalonia is fiscally possible, there are many consequences that will be difficult to overcome for the people. Currently, the central government of Spain located in Madrid is opposed to any sort of independence and claims that Catalonia already has more autonomy than most places in Europe. The region is the only one in Spain that operates its own police force and also has a reasonable amount of control over other factors such as culture, transportation, education, and health (Goodman).   In recent years however the people of Catalonia have grown restless and are pushing harder and harder to gain independence. In 2006 the central government of Spain and the Catalan authorities agreed to transfer more power to the region, a move which was agreed upon by the Spanish National Parliament. In 2008, however, Spain entered an economic crisis during which many Catalan’s believe their wealth would be better served if it was only supporting the people of Catalonia and not the rest of Spain. In 2010 the constitutional court of Spain moved to strike dow key parts from the 2006 agreement stirring up the independence movement and causing over 1 million people to take to the streets of Barcelona in protest. This sparked pro-independence parties to win the regional elections. On November 9th, 2014 Catalonia held a referendum for independence, they later scrap the plan saying the vote was just an opportunity for Catalan’s voice their opinions regarding independence. Although less than half of all registered voters ended up casting ballots, more than 80 percent were in favor of secession which the national government dismissed as propaganda. In the fall of 2015 Catalonia’s pro-independence party won the majority of the regional seats and draft a pro-independence resolution. Later this same year, Spain’s constitutional court rules the resolution to be unconstitutional. In 2017 the fight for independence heats up as the national government bans the former Catalan president Artur Mas from holding any sort of public office, this coming two years after the 2014 vote. In June of 2017 Catalan President Carlos Puigdemont sets the date for a new independence vote stating that a new republic will be formed within 48 hours if a pro-independence vote wins regardless of voter turnout. One September 7th, about one month before the vote is set to happen, Spain’s constitutional court rejects the ballot following a challenge from the central government. Later that same month about a dozen Catalan leaders were arrested for organizing the referendum. Police also capture around 10 million ballot papers and the Constitutional Court of Spain tells Catalonia it will fine the electoral board daily for disobeying the court orders. On September 29th Spanish government pledges to block the referendum while Catalan leaders reaffirm their position to proceed forward with it. Protesters occupy schools to be used for voting while police tell them to either leave by the following morning, October 1st,   day of the vote,   or face the consequences. The following day, hundreds of people are injured as national police close in on polling locations but defiant Catalan voters still manage to cast their ballots. On October 3rd Spanish King, Felipe VI, accuse secessionists of tearing apart Spain but hours later Puigdemont responds claiming Catalonia will declare independence once all votes have been counted. Puigdemont does not make a formal declaration and instead enters into talks with Spanish central government. At this point Spain takes control of Catalonia and dissolves its political autonomy, firing the elected government and forcing an entirely new election. On October 27th Catalonia moves to declare independence from Spain in defiance of the central government. The move is seen as mostly symbolic as neither Spain or the international community is likely to view Catalonia as its own nation. Since the vote, Spain has taken complete control over Catalonia and has also arrested and jailed nine former Catalan separatists on charges of rebellion. It wasn’t until March 25th, 2018, however, that Puigdemont was arrested in Germany after an international warrant for his arrest was made. He will be charged with rebellion and sedition and embezzlement. In my opinion, Catalan should remain a part of Spain not only as a benefit to the rest of Spain but as a benefit to the people of Catalonia themselves. The economic consequences of leaving Spain will tear Catalonia apart. The first reason for this is that Catalonia will lose its EU status as well as all the protections that come with it. The EU has already made it clear that it will not accept an independent Catalonia and if Catalonia wishes to continue trading with member other members of the EU they will face trade tariffs that are not currently present. Furthermore it is expected that businesses headquartered in the region would be forced to move since they would no longer be able to benefit from the policies of the EU. One such example is the EU has eliminated all import/export duties between its members. There are no trade barriers and workers are free to move around without restriction. These policies are in place to promote a unitary marketplace where capital is free to move b etween states (Moussis n.pag). All Catalan companies would automatically lose these freedoms and may would most likely choose to relocate. Another economic consequence is trade with the rest of Spain. In other secessionist movements, such as Czech and the Slovak Republics or Slovenia and Croatia, it was noted that trade fell between the freshly separated nations by about 33 percent to 66 percent in the first few years after seperation (Alexopoulos). Catalan exports to the rest of Spain make up for nearly 36% of exports from Catalonia and if the past trend continues, which it has no reason not to considering the tension between the two, it can be expected that Catalonia will instantly lose a large segment of its export market. If trade falls and businesses decide to leave, unemployment rates will skyrocket and people in the area will suffer one firm, Credit Suisse, estimates that secession would cause the Catalan GDP to fall by roughly 20 percent which would greatly reduce the per capita income (Alexopoulos). Although I understand the plight of the Catalan people who wish to have their culture respected, I believe there is room in Spain for multiple cultures to thrive and flourish. The central government of Spain does not wish to destroy the Catalan culture but rather to protect the people living in the region from making emotionally charged decisions without first weighing all of the negative consequences. Catalonia is a region of Spain full of culture and tradition. They speak their own language, celebrate different holidays, and choose their own rulers. For many years throughout history Spanish rulers were not kind to the people of Catalonia attempting to suppress their culture in an attempt to create a unified Spain. What these rulers did not understand is that one of the reasons Spain is such a beautiful country is that it has such a diverse background. In recent years, however, this has not been the case and Catalonia has had political autonomy and freedom to practice their own traditions. For a large group of Catalans this freedom is simply not enough and they wish to become an independent nation. In the past few years the central government of Spain has blocked these moves citing the constitution and more recently has even taken away the political freedom Catalonia once had. While I understand the plight of the Catalan people who wish to have their culture respected by becoming its own nation, the decision is emotionally driven and the economic consequences would be to great for the nation to bear.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   References Generalitat de Catalunya. Catalonia. n.pag. Web. 21 February 2014 . http://web.gencat.cat/en Miley, Dr. Thomas Jeffrey. The Constitutional Politics of Language Policy in Catalonia, Spain. Adalahs Newsletter. October 2006. p 1-2. Web. 20 February 2014 . https://books.google.com/books?id=S6Ie_HYgjUwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=general+francisco+franco+catalonia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjP6K_Xt97aAhUBr4MKHaFjDckQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&q=catalonia&f=false Barcelonas Languages. Barcelona.de. n.pag. Web. 21 October 2013   Barcelona.de Mari, Bernat Joan I. The Cornerstones of Language Policy in Catalonia. Language Policy at the Government of Catalonia. p 1-2. Web. 20 February 2014 . Alexopoulos, Yiagos, et al. Catalonias Choice. Credit Suisse. 19 November 2012. p 2-11. Web. 24 February 2014 . Goodman, Al. Catalans to Link Up in Human Chain Today in their Call for Secession. CNN. 11 September 2013. n.pag. Web. 18 October 2013 Wharton University of Pennsylvania. Is Secession the Answer? The Case of Catalonia, Flanders and Scotland. 2 December 2013. n.pag. Web. 25 February 2014   Comerford, David, Nicholas Myers, and Jose V. Rodriguez Mora. â€Å"Measuring Costs and Benefits of Independence.† University of Edinburgh. 9 October 2012. p 15-20. Print. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/catalonia-s-bid-independence-spain-timeline-developments-n815091 Moussis, Nicholas. The EU Common Market. n.pag. Web. 27 February 2014  

Essay --

In 2006, Felipe Calderà ³n- former president of Mexico launched a joint operation with the United States in an effort to massively crackdown against drug trafficking and their organizations. According to the LA Times, upwards of forty thousand people have been killed in drug-related violence as of June 2011 since it’s meager beginnings in 2006. While the United States has supplied funding and labor in order to support Mexico in undertaking the war on drug trafficking, their primary focus has been more closely focused on increase border patrolling. For decades and decades drug trafficking organizations, henceforth known as cartels, have been using their strong and dangerous influence in order to transform Mexico’s tight-knit government and groups of citizens into a state of country-wide corruption that has ensured protection for cartels doing illegal practices. Since the time President Calderà ³n took his oath for office in 2006 with a pledge to eliminate these traffic king institutions, drug violence has rose quickly and it is moving extremely aggressively, but Calderà ³n and his administration worked quickly in order to promote laws that were part of a strategy made specific in order to handle the situation. This trafficking from Mexico to the United States is starting to become a major player in the role that drugs are playing in America. Mexico is one of the prime contributors of heroin to the U.S. market, and undoubtedly the largest foreign supplier of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. Mexican production of all three of these drugs have increased alarmingly since 2005, proportionately with the total of all drugs seized at the border between both countries, according to a 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Justice. While ma... ...s number is growing as territories expand across the world and as the success of the drug trafficking means better money to many of the citizens the poverty-stricken Mexican towns who make the bare minimum (if that) wages. Usually those that are electing to participate in these trafficking jobs are young men with hardly any education, most are drop-outs that come from under privileged economic backgrounds with an average age of eighteen with higher social and monetary aspirations than they can satisfy by working legally and morally. Drug trafficking creates an annual revenue of four hundred billion, and in turn represents eight percent of the world's trade. With a problem so massive that it affects two continents and billions of people, it comes as no surprise that coming to a place of peace and understanding is one of the most difficult things about this situation. Essay -- In 2006, Felipe Calderà ³n- former president of Mexico launched a joint operation with the United States in an effort to massively crackdown against drug trafficking and their organizations. According to the LA Times, upwards of forty thousand people have been killed in drug-related violence as of June 2011 since it’s meager beginnings in 2006. While the United States has supplied funding and labor in order to support Mexico in undertaking the war on drug trafficking, their primary focus has been more closely focused on increase border patrolling. For decades and decades drug trafficking organizations, henceforth known as cartels, have been using their strong and dangerous influence in order to transform Mexico’s tight-knit government and groups of citizens into a state of country-wide corruption that has ensured protection for cartels doing illegal practices. Since the time President Calderà ³n took his oath for office in 2006 with a pledge to eliminate these traffic king institutions, drug violence has rose quickly and it is moving extremely aggressively, but Calderà ³n and his administration worked quickly in order to promote laws that were part of a strategy made specific in order to handle the situation. This trafficking from Mexico to the United States is starting to become a major player in the role that drugs are playing in America. Mexico is one of the prime contributors of heroin to the U.S. market, and undoubtedly the largest foreign supplier of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. Mexican production of all three of these drugs have increased alarmingly since 2005, proportionately with the total of all drugs seized at the border between both countries, according to a 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Justice. While ma... ...s number is growing as territories expand across the world and as the success of the drug trafficking means better money to many of the citizens the poverty-stricken Mexican towns who make the bare minimum (if that) wages. Usually those that are electing to participate in these trafficking jobs are young men with hardly any education, most are drop-outs that come from under privileged economic backgrounds with an average age of eighteen with higher social and monetary aspirations than they can satisfy by working legally and morally. Drug trafficking creates an annual revenue of four hundred billion, and in turn represents eight percent of the world's trade. With a problem so massive that it affects two continents and billions of people, it comes as no surprise that coming to a place of peace and understanding is one of the most difficult things about this situation.

With Independence Comes Greater Responsibility.

â€Å"With independence comes greater responsibility. † Ring! Ring! the alarm clock wakes me up at precisely 7:30 am on the first day of summer. My parents rush into my room yelling at me to get up. I’m oblivious to what’s happening because my eyes are still half closed. As I regain my senses I see that my parents are wearing tank-tops and shorts. Instantly I remember that we’re going to China for the summer. After that commotion my parents left the room leaving me with two empty bags to be filled with my belongings that would last me two months. It’s inevitable that I’ll forget something, I mean I always do.Every summer we go to vacations and I always forget to bring the right amount of underwear or my prescribed cream because usually my mom does it for me. This time it’s different, I’m older and I should be able to do it myself. I arbitrarily put everything in my bag. From every item of clothing, every pair of shoes plus the t hings in between. Next thing you know I’m at the airport with my parents unloading our luggage onto a cart. Inside, at the terminal desk the woman behind the counter was telling us that they were overbooked causing us to get upgraded to first class, but there was a problem.There were only two spots available, and one of us had to wait for the next flight. I told my parents that i wanted to stay behind, i mean, i wanted to prove to them that i was responsible enough plus it was kind of romantic for them to be alone. They actually listened to what i had to say and gave me what i wanted. Fast forward to the plane being boarded i was watching my parents leave without me, i had a little anxiety because it would be the first time that my parents let me go alone.Soon after they left i went to my gate with the help of the airport employees because i didn’t have a clue where anything was. I was on my own and i felt a little heartache watching the families around me having fun a nd bonding. We were being called onto the plane. First they called first class, seniors then it was my turn. I handed over my ticket and showed her my passport she noticed the tenseness in my body language and said â€Å"you look nervous, are you okay? †. I managed to let out a quiet â€Å"yes† even though i was telling a lie.I entered the plane and found my seat and sat down. After everyone settled down the plane started to move. It was doing circles around the driveway to warm up it’s engine. Then it stops and i could hear a huge roar from the engine. Before lift off my dad would always give me gum before liftoff so my ears wouldn’t pop. He would always buy juicy fruit but this time he wasn’t here and i didn’t have any. I forced myself to withstand the pressure. After the successful liftoff my moms lap would be my pillow and my mom would ask for a blanket.I was getting cold and tired so i asked the stewardess for a pillow and a blanket, ju st like how my parents would ask if they were with me. The blanket and pillow were amazingly comfy and i quickly fell asleep. Excuse me sir! Excuse me sir! It was the flight attendant asking me if i want beef or chicken. My parents would usually get my food for me and let me sleep longer. They weren’t here so i just picked what the guy beside me picked, beef. The airplane food was gross, i never liked it.I could see the family across from me and how they were all enjoying their meals and pretending that they were at their dinner table exchanging stories that happened to them. I sat quietly eating my meal. Then the guy beside me started to talk to me about the show i was watching. I usually never talk to anyone on the plane, but this time i thought i would give it a try. So i talked to him and he seem to be an interesting person to talk to. We talked the whole way before the seat belt sign went on. This is when we start landing and at that point my body started to shiver.I was always afraid of landing. My mom would usually hold my hand to keep me calm, but she wasn’t here. The guy who had become my friend saw me shiver and asked me what's wrong with me. I manned up and told him nothing’s wrong. Those last few seconds as the plane started to descend were the scariest time of my life. I kept my composure, and stayed calm. I knew i could do this , i know i can, I can, I can, I can. The heart was beating super fast. Then i heard â€Å"SCREECH† and i was safe. I knew my parents were waiting for me and i couldn’t wait to get off to see them again. I was so proud of myself.

Learning about Computers Essay

Learning about Computers Essay Learning about Computers Essay In the first lesson I learned that Databases are generally organized into individual entries or records of data, each of which include certain categories of data or fields. Records would be individual words and fields would be how it is pronounced or spelled. In the second week with, I learned that a database can be used to look up individual plants not only by scientific name and common name, but by the various plant characteristics. In the 3rd lesson, I learned that there is case sensitivity for example "home" is different from "Home" which are both different from "HOME". Also a wildcard search symbol is a *. The fourth week I learned that The Dublin Core has a basic set of 15 Metadata Elements and they are: Title, Creator, Subject, Description, Publisher, Contributor, Date, Type, Format, Identifier, Source , Language, Relation, Coverage , and Rights. The fifth lesson I learned that in a spreadsheet you have the option to filter data. This will temporarily remove unwanted records from view. The records still exist, the filter just needs to be removed in order to bring the records back. The sixth lesson I learned that, different types of charts are better suited for data. For Instance if showing data on a percentage, it would be better to use a pie chart. I also learned that some data could be misrepresented and that too much data can confuse a person looking at a chart. In the next week we learned about record management. I learned how important records were

Ocd

Ocd Obsessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that involves characteristics such as obsessions or compulsions. To be diagnosed with OCD, you must exhibit one of those characteristics. An obsession is characterized as reoccurring and unwanted thoughts or feelings. A compulsion is characterized as constant reoccurring behaviors. For example, an obsessive thought could be a person overly worried about germs on their hands; a compulsion behavior could be a person repeatedly washing their hands with soap. The reason people act obsessive compulsive is so they can reduce the anxiety or distress.It has been assumed that 3.3 million Americans are currently suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. OCD is most common in young adults, and it is equally present in males and females. The causes of OCD have not been identified but many people believe that a severe trauma or medical problems could have sparked the symptoms of OCD. It is also believed that 20% of OCD sufferers also have m otor tics.canine lick granuloma / acral lick dermatitis; sel...Tics are characterized by repeated and involuntary body movementsThe symptoms are obsessions or compulsions that cause significant distress or interference with every day life, and are not related to medical illness or drug use. The person recognizes that the behavior is excessive or unreasonable, yet the person has no control over it. Usually, the person's own description of their behavior can lead a diagnosis of OCD. Psychologists also make use of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale to determine if a person has OCD.OCD is treated using medications and psychotherapy. The first medication considered is usually an SSRI antidepressant. If SSRI is proven to be ineffective, psychotherapy may be the next response to cure OCD. Psychotherapy may occur on an individual basis or in a group setting, which is used to reduce anxiety, resolve inner conflicts, and provide...

Prologue Essays

Prologue Essays Prologue Essay Prologue Essay Thesis Rorers sin for seeking revenge is worse than Hester and Urethras adultery sin because Roger took it upon himself to seek Justice in an inhumane way that lead to the death of Arthur, Pearl without a father, and Hester alone to raise Pearl without the love of her life. Although Hester and Arthur committed adultery sin, which is punishable by death, Rorers sin to seek revenge is even worse because he decided someone elses faith for them, when the Puritans believed only God can control that. The towns people were convinced Dry. Chlorinating moved into Arthur Damselflys mom to be his caretaker; only Hester knew his real reasoning behind being Urethras doctor. While Dry. Chlorinating was collecting herbs for his medicine Hester decided to confront him: muff hound him every waking moment, give him false medical advice, to increase his discomfort, and cause him to die a living death each day. Hester has figured out Rorers purpose to deteriorate Urethras health is the ultimate revenge he hopes to accomplish for Hester cheating on him. Roger has given Arthur the wrong medication Just so he can watch the reverend die slowly and painfully. In the end of the story with his last breath Arthur comes clean about his sins to the town and wishes God can forgive Roger because he has deeply sinned. In contrast to Rorers sin, Arthur was set free for telling the truth and died in peace. During this time the Puritans abided by laws from the bible; only God controls faith. Because Roger became evil he decided Urethras faith by lying and giving false medical advice. For that he has sinned more deeply than Hester and Arthur because they told the truth about their secrets while Roger has defied God.

Film Critique Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film Critique - Movie Review Example The three main women characters in the film are: Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), Gertrude (Malin Akerman) and Grandma Annie "Gammy" (Betty White). One can easily identify that these female characters are different in their roles. For instance, Margaret Tate is dominating, Gertrude is down to earth, and Grandma Annie represents the upper crust. But Krevolin (2011), points out that â€Å"For an example of an energeiac structure that didn’t work, take the Sandra Bullock romantic comedy, The Proposal† (p. 69). This comment does not prove that the film was a flop within the film field. A. Margaret Tate Margaret Tate, working as an editor in a book publishing company is the central female character in the film. One can easily identify that her life is fully immersed in the field of book publishing industry. Her role in the film is as a dominating character that is able to control all her subordinates including Andrew Paxton, her subordinate. Etaugh & Bridges makes clear that â€Å"Many women seek to achieve success and better their own lives through individual efforts† (p. 467). Her attitude towards her subordinates irritates them but she does not consider changing her attitude. In the film, her function is to be a bold lady with immense power to control her subordinates according to her will. Meanwhile, she came to know that the authorities are going to deport her to Canada. But she was not ready to give up and decided to seek the help of her subordinate, Andrew Paxton. But Etaugh & Bridges makes clear about gender equality that â€Å"As more and more women attain levels of power currently held by men, gender equality will begin to affect other areas† (p.461). Later, she went to Sitka to prove that she is married to Andrew Paxton. This incident proves that Margaret Tate is ready to face challenges in her life. In the opening of the film, Margaret Tate is presented as an arrogant lady. When the film continues, more and more positive elemen ts in the character Margaret Tate is revealed. For instance, she was ready to discuss Andrew Paxton’s relationship with his father. Moreover, she was ready to reveal her personal details with Andrew Paxton. In the end, she hesitates to drag Andrew Paxton to a sham marriage. Besides, she reveals to Andrew Paxton that her parents were dead and that incident deeply influenced her attitude towards life and behavior towards others. This proves that she was not aware of the importance of family in one’s life. When she came to know more about Andrew Paxton’s broken love affair with Gertrude and his relationship with his father, she realizes that drawbacks are usual in relationships and family life. Claire Mortimer (2010), compares the film The Proposal with another film The Ugly Truth as â€Å" The Proposal and The Ugly Truth are similar in their representation of successful career women as damaged and dysfunctional, needing the love of a man to recover their humanity and femininity† ( p. 1333). As a woman Margaret Tate was forced to face a number of issues in her personal life and career. For instance, her subordinated were not ready to accept her as their boss. In her personal life, she was forced to marry her subordinate to escape from deporting to Canada. At last, she realized the importance of love and family life in one’

WALNA Assessment- Year 7 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WALNA Assessment- Year 7 - Article Example Part B includes problems like simple and somewhat complex calculations. Simple multiplication sums are too easy for a student in year 7 and should be eliminated from the assessment. Of course, a year 3 student can also do it. Fractions and decimal questions are well constructed and properly placed. Diagrams have properly been used to make the question clearer. The literacy assessment contains questions related to a magazine given to the students. They have to tell the title of the magazine which is a very easy question and does not have anything to do with the assessment. There are questions related to different topics in the magazine, such as, telling the right statement for which the students have to go through the relevant topic. This is a good way to assess the students’ understandability of what they have read. Questions like what the writer means when he says a particular thing is very appropriate and assess whether the student has comprehended the actual idea of the subject in question. All the questions are in the good sequential pattern and appropriate for year 7. The spelling part of the spelling and writing assessment deals with the students’ knowledge about correct spellings of what he fills in the blank spaces. It assesses whether they are able to fill in the correctly spelled words inappropriate places or not. But there are no choices of words given which make the task somewhat difficult for year 7 students. The writing part asks the students to write a story based on the given idea and should include the setting, characters, events and the conclusion of the story. This is a very proper means to assess the students’ writing capability.  Ã‚  

No Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

No - Essay Example Understanding the time value of money is of utmost importance to investing. Time value of money is a series of concepts that allows you to compare different options: Is it better to receive $40,000 today or $50,000 one year from today? If you understand the concept of discounted values, you can easily perform a calculation and come up with the right decision. The DDM model is based on the basic valuation technique and discounting principle. It combines the time value of money and future discounted cash flows considering time preference and rationality of the investors. This method indicates to you that if you buy at $60, the $3 annual dividend will ensure you receive a 5% return on your investment. If Stock ABC is trading below $60 right now, its a buy. If its trading above $60, we should wait for the price to come down. Considering, if Stock XYZ has the probability to grow its dividend? This isnt an unreasonable assumption at all. As long as a company can grow its margins, it should be able to grow its dividend. Lets assume we think Company ABC can grow its dividend by 2% every year. To calculate the dividend at year 1, all we need to do is multiply the current dividend ($3) by the dividend growth rate (2%): D1 = $3* (1 + 0.02) = $3.06. Now we can plug it into the formula with the rest of our assumptions:- The P/E ratio is the rock star of valuation ratios and gets most of the attention. The P/E ratio is popular because it’s easy to understand. Imagine a stock price is $30 a share, and the company earned $1.50 a share. That means investors are paying a price that’s 20 times higher than the company’s earnings. If the price of earnings, or P/E, is high, it means that the earnings are very valuable to other people, usually because they expect the company to grow

Making sure that your answers are concise yet complete Essay

Making sure that your answers are concise yet complete - Essay Example According to Daniel Bell, the postindustrial period heavily relies on the intellectual class that has the inclination in scientific, managerial, and administrative faculties to sustain the stable operation of the economy. He argued that knowledge was drastically included as a commodity (Bell as cited in Kivisto, 1999: p. 40-41). To augment Bell’s premise, C. Wright Mills formulated the class structure of advanced industrial societies which hosted the new middle-class or the white-collar professional; this latest social class does not execute manual labor unlike the blue-collar workers, instead they employ mental labor to a large extent (Mills as cited in Kivisto, 1999: p. 37-38). The outcome of this reallocation of consumer demands is the exclusion of the importance of high-paid manufacturing jobs such as Ford Company’s auto workers and others that rely on mechanized services. This recent economic trend elevated the significance of the service sector vis-Ã  -vis indust rial economies (Smart 28-29). Another concept, which is closely related to post-industrialization, is also discerned by some economists as the underlying factor behind the reductions of employment in manufacturing. Some analysts assume that deindustrialization is the end product of globalized capitalism and the increasing trade between the global North and South (Rowthorn para 5). The invention of the microchip increased the deep-seated automation of the global economy. As chips were produced on a dramatic scale which therefore boosts output, the importance of human labor decreased (Chomsky, 2008: para 13). Furthermore, free trade between the North (advanced societies) and the South (developing nations) displaced the workers of the North due to the rapid growth of painstaking labor in the manufacturing industries of the South (Rowthorn para 1). Playing between the boundaries of post-industrialism and

Write a report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write a report - Essay Example Quality needs to go upstream because of the shared responsibility of every player in the supply chain. Deming’s TQM philosophy encompasses not just the visible aspects of the sales process but also the unseen tasks that contribute towards the quality of a product. The traditional method of quality control was laborious and unproductive because it slowed down output and was also very unreliable at getting rid off defective products. The new way of thinking is to locate defective products earlier in the supply chain, which saves valuable time and resources. Increasing quality upstream only works to a point. Quality needs to be located all throughout the supply except with an emphasis upstream. Rework can not only be expensive for a firm, but it can demoralize employees because their efforts are seen to go to waste. Communication between top management and workers is crucial to ensure that rework is only used when it is vital to the objectives of the organization. Crown Audio has recognized the effect that rework can have on employees, and so the company has attempted to make everyone throughout the organization focus on producing high quality products, and if products need to be reworked, then employees are informed about

School counseling website review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

School counseling website review - Essay Example In specific, the researcher has carried out critical analysis of different websites related to school counseling, and this paper now includes discussion of related concepts and personal perspective regarding the same.Particularly, school counseling, a vital constituent to students’ accomplishment is a ‘comprehensive program that helps students learn through personal/social development inside the school setting.’ In this regard, analysis of Columbia Public Schools’ website (CPS, 2011) indicated that professional school counselors have a smallest of a master's stage in school counseling. In alignment to help the development of all scholars, they have introduced a broad variety of therapeutic interventions in the form of a ‘comprehensive school improvement plan’ (CPS, 2011) encompassing school guidance on topics, for instance, parent involvement, high qualified staff, and governance that will enable the schools to improve their efficacy on a five- year planning. Besides Columbia, review of website of Massachusetts Department of Education (MDESE, 2011) identified their efforts on different aspects of counseling, such as disquiet administration, assembly and one-by-one counseling, vocation checking and designing, parent and educator discussion, and advocacy for schemes change. Research on this website showed that these services have been playing a critical role in advancing students’ learning success. ... different assessment procedures such as ‘ELPA (English Language Proficiency Assessment), MEAP-Access (alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement), etc’ (MDE, 2011). Another website included during the review was of the Education Trust (2011) that seems to be advocating the significance of school counseling in an efficient and interactive manner by components of Transforming School Counseling, such as â€Å"guidance curriculum, counseling, vocation development, conferring, coordination of assets, authority and advocacy, advancement of a protected and polite weather, responsibility, administration of lawful and ethical matters, and expert development† (Education Trust, 2011). Moreover, scrutiny of the Education Trust’s website pointed that this occupation has amplified and refocused over the 100 years to rendezvous the desires of scholars, they have evolved a kind of interventions. The four prime interventions encompass ‘counseling, lar ge-group guidance, discussion, and coordination’ (Education Trust, 2011). Although counselors enlisted in this website for one-by-one counseling with scholars, it would be inefficient, if not unrealistic, for counselors to supply one-by-one counseling to large figures of students. Consequently, the same website (Education Trust, 2011) indicated that assembly methods have been evolved to rendezvous certain characterized scholar desires, for example, contending with end wedding ceremony, evolving an affirmative body likeness, or advancing communal skills. Moreover, the website has emphasized importance of large-group guidance, which boosts educators to incorporate guidance data into their living curricula, comes to an even larger number of students. In addition, consulting and collaborating with educators,

Making sure that your answers are concise yet complete Essay

Making sure that your answers are concise yet complete - Essay Example According to Daniel Bell, the postindustrial period heavily relies on the intellectual class that has the inclination in scientific, managerial, and administrative faculties to sustain the stable operation of the economy. He argued that knowledge was drastically included as a commodity (Bell as cited in Kivisto, 1999: p. 40-41). To augment Bell’s premise, C. Wright Mills formulated the class structure of advanced industrial societies which hosted the new middle-class or the white-collar professional; this latest social class does not execute manual labor unlike the blue-collar workers, instead they employ mental labor to a large extent (Mills as cited in Kivisto, 1999: p. 37-38). The outcome of this reallocation of consumer demands is the exclusion of the importance of high-paid manufacturing jobs such as Ford Company’s auto workers and others that rely on mechanized services. This recent economic trend elevated the significance of the service sector vis-Ã  -vis indust rial economies (Smart 28-29). Another concept, which is closely related to post-industrialization, is also discerned by some economists as the underlying factor behind the reductions of employment in manufacturing. Some analysts assume that deindustrialization is the end product of globalized capitalism and the increasing trade between the global North and South (Rowthorn para 5). The invention of the microchip increased the deep-seated automation of the global economy. As chips were produced on a dramatic scale which therefore boosts output, the importance of human labor decreased (Chomsky, 2008: para 13). Furthermore, free trade between the North (advanced societies) and the South (developing nations) displaced the workers of the North due to the rapid growth of painstaking labor in the manufacturing industries of the South (Rowthorn para 1). Playing between the boundaries of post-industrialism and

School counseling website review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

School counseling website review - Essay Example In specific, the researcher has carried out critical analysis of different websites related to school counseling, and this paper now includes discussion of related concepts and personal perspective regarding the same.Particularly, school counseling, a vital constituent to students’ accomplishment is a ‘comprehensive program that helps students learn through personal/social development inside the school setting.’ In this regard, analysis of Columbia Public Schools’ website (CPS, 2011) indicated that professional school counselors have a smallest of a master's stage in school counseling. In alignment to help the development of all scholars, they have introduced a broad variety of therapeutic interventions in the form of a ‘comprehensive school improvement plan’ (CPS, 2011) encompassing school guidance on topics, for instance, parent involvement, high qualified staff, and governance that will enable the schools to improve their efficacy on a five- year planning. Besides Columbia, review of website of Massachusetts Department of Education (MDESE, 2011) identified their efforts on different aspects of counseling, such as disquiet administration, assembly and one-by-one counseling, vocation checking and designing, parent and educator discussion, and advocacy for schemes change. Research on this website showed that these services have been playing a critical role in advancing students’ learning success. ... different assessment procedures such as ‘ELPA (English Language Proficiency Assessment), MEAP-Access (alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement), etc’ (MDE, 2011). Another website included during the review was of the Education Trust (2011) that seems to be advocating the significance of school counseling in an efficient and interactive manner by components of Transforming School Counseling, such as â€Å"guidance curriculum, counseling, vocation development, conferring, coordination of assets, authority and advocacy, advancement of a protected and polite weather, responsibility, administration of lawful and ethical matters, and expert development† (Education Trust, 2011). Moreover, scrutiny of the Education Trust’s website pointed that this occupation has amplified and refocused over the 100 years to rendezvous the desires of scholars, they have evolved a kind of interventions. The four prime interventions encompass ‘counseling, lar ge-group guidance, discussion, and coordination’ (Education Trust, 2011). Although counselors enlisted in this website for one-by-one counseling with scholars, it would be inefficient, if not unrealistic, for counselors to supply one-by-one counseling to large figures of students. Consequently, the same website (Education Trust, 2011) indicated that assembly methods have been evolved to rendezvous certain characterized scholar desires, for example, contending with end wedding ceremony, evolving an affirmative body likeness, or advancing communal skills. Moreover, the website has emphasized importance of large-group guidance, which boosts educators to incorporate guidance data into their living curricula, comes to an even larger number of students. In addition, consulting and collaborating with educators,

National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius Essay Example for Free

National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius Essay Life was different back in the 1880s. The telephone had just been invented, James Garfield was president, and doctors used heroin and cocaine as medicine. Alas, many doctors knew very little about medicine. Oftentimes unsafe and unsterile practices were used on patients. The NY Times reports that, â€Å"At least a dozen medical experts probed the President [Garfield]’s wound, often with unsterilized metal instruments or bare hands, as was common at the time. Historians agree that massive infection, which resulted from unsterile practices, contributed to Garfield’s death. One man suggested that they turn the president upside down and see if the bullet would just fall out. † Because of their usual lack of success, doctors did not charge very much for their services; it was very affordable most of the time, even for middle class families. However, as time and technology progressed, the cost of healthcare and medical instruments dramatically rose. In his â€Å"New Deal† package, President Roosevelt proposed a state-run healthcare system with compulsory health insurance for state residents, but states could choose whether to participate. The federal government would provide some subsidies and set minimum standards that the state had to adhere by. While the proposal did not pass, the idea of universal healthcare coverage for everyone stuck. Since Roosevelt, every single Democratic President elected into office has attempted to pass a version of universal health care, but none have achieved the feat. That is, until President Obama was sworn into office in January 2009. In his 2008 presidential campaign, he made healthcare reform a central issue. Both parties adopted their version of reform, but since Democrats held a majority in the House and the Senate at the time, their version was the one that passed. On March 23rd, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (dubbed by many Republicans as â€Å"ObamaCare†). According to the White House, it claims four key components of the law: stronger consumer rights and protections (which includes a ban on lifetime limits, a ban on denying children health insurance based on pre-existing conditions, and a ban on coverage cancellations), more affordable coverage (Private insurers must provide justification for double-digit increases in premiums), better access to care (Preventative screenings for cancer are now free), and stronger Medicare (Provides relief to seniors who cannot afford prescription drugs). Since insurance companies are required to provide care, it makes sense to buy insurance only when you need it. In other words, wait until you get sick to buy insurance, because they cannot turn you down. In order to combat this, the law includes an individual mandate, which requires anyone that can afford it to buy health insurance, or pay a penalty to the IRS. In essence, this is the part of the law that pays for it all. This is also the section many Republicans hate. In their philosophy, the government cannot force someone to buy something they may or may not need. They argued that this law was unconstitutional, and they sued in federal court to have the law nullified. There were three cases overall: one from the states (Florida v. U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Svcs. ), one from the federal government (U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Svcs. v. Florida), and one from the National Federation of Independent Business (Natl Fed. of Independent Bus. v. Sebelius). Due to conflicting rulings from the lower courts in different jurisdictions, the Supreme Court decided to hear the case to settle the differences. From March 26th to March 28th, 2012, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both sides. On the first day, the court heard argument over whether the Tax Anti-Injunction Act passed into law in 1867 barred the Supreme Court from even making a decision in this case. The Tax Anti-Injunction Act says, â€Å"No suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed. † Basically, it means that you cannot sue the government for a tax you believe is unfair, until you have already paid that tax. This was passed into law to prevent people from filing lawsuits against the government to avoid paying taxes. Potentially, this could mean that no one can challenge the constitutionality of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) until someone has actually paid the penalty. At the earliest, they could sue on April 15th, 2015. The Supreme Court held that since Congress specifically labeled the consequences of the mandate as a penalty rather than a tax, the Anti-Injunction Act did not apply to this case, and that the court had the authority to hear the arguments. On the second day, the court heard arguments over whether the ndividual mandate component of the ACA fell under the constitutional powers of Congress. There were two arguments from the Solicitor General’s side (the ones supporting the constitutionality of the ACA): the ACA was constitutional under the commerce clause, and that the ACA was constitutional under the taxing power of Congress. The states (the ones claiming the ACA is unconstitutional) argued that Congress could not create commerce for it to regulate, and that the law described the consequences of the mandate a â€Å"penalty†, therefore it is not a tax. On the third day, the court heard arguments on the severability of the law. They questioned whether the ACA could survive if the court struck down the individual mandate. In the end, in a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the individual mandate component of the ACA as a valid exercise of the taxing power of Congress. They concluded that a financial penalty for not buying something constituted a non-direct tax. Because it is a non-direct tax, it is not required to be apportioned among the several states. The justices that voted for the constitutionality of the law are the four liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and the conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. The justices that voted against the constitutionality of the law are the other four conservative justices: Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. John Roberts was the key swing vote. When asked why he voted for a law he is personally against, Chief Justice John Roberts responded, â€Å"The Framers created a Federal Government of limited powers, and assigned to this Court the duty of enforcing those limits. The Court does so today. But the Court does not express an opinion on the wisdom of the Affordable Care Act. Under the Constitution, that judgment is reserved to the people. In my opinion, I applaud the decision of the Court. From the beginning, I thought the penalty was a tax; I assumed it was called a penalty for political purposes. People would not like the idea of a tax increase. In reality, the penalty is collected in the same manner as a tax, so there are no real differences between the two. I have also gained a newfound respect for Chief Justice John Roberts. I think it is commendable to put the law in front of your personal beliefs. He has done exactly what is expected of a Supreme Court justice. If I were a Supreme Court justice, I would have made he same decision that he and the four liberal justices made. There are two types of consequences this law holds: political and provisional. The provisional consequences of the law are the ones directly stated in the law: a ban on lifetime limits, Medicaid expansion, etc. The political consequences of this law are not explicitly stated, however they can be inferred and speculated upon. There are three major political consequences. The first consequence is that Obama can claim a major victory. He can now say his law withstood a Supreme Court challenge and passed the constitutionality test. A defeat would have been bad for the administration and the campaign. Instead, he has a chance to re-energize his base and reinstate the flow of campaign cash. The second consequence is that now that the law is no longer a legal issue, it becomes a campaign issue. Both Obama and Romney must sell voters on Obamacare. The court ruling could have stir a shift in public opinion among independent voters, and both candidates must appeal to this shift. Obama will insist this law was the right thing to do, while Romney will propose a new healthcare reform bill. The third consequence is that the ruling will enrage Republicans and make them more eager to vote for Romney so he can repeal the law. Voter turnout is expected to be lower than it was in 2008, and anything that can increase the turnout will be beneficial for Romney. This law and its subsequent legal challenge have major political consequences. Whether you live in the 1880s or in the present day, chances are you will need health care at some point in your life. Ever since President Roosevelt proposed universal health care back in the 1930s, many politicians have tried to pass it into law. Until the ACA, it was considered politically impossible; the idea just did not appeal to voters. The law has withstood a major legal challenge, and it will be up to Obama and Romney to convince independent voters that their version of healthcare reform is the best. If Obama wins the election, in 2014 everyone that can afford it must buy health insurance, whether they want to or not. If they don’t, they will pay a tax equivalent to 1% of their income. If Romney wins the election, he will try to repeal the ACA and replace it with a reform package of his own. Only time will tell what will happen.

Framework For Understanding Organizational Ethics Commerce Essay

Framework For Understanding Organizational Ethics Commerce Essay Organizational ethics is one of the most important, yet perhaps one of the most overlooked and misunderstood concepts in corporate America and schools of business. Organizational ethics initiatives have not been effectively implemented by many corporations, and there is still much debate concerning the usefulness of such initiatives in preventing ethical and legal misconduct. Simultaneously, business schools are attempting to teach courses and/or integrate organizational ethics into their curricula without general agreement about what should be taught, or how it should be taught. Societal norms require that businesses assume responsibility and ensure that ethical standards are properly implemented on a daily basis. Such a requirement is not without controversy. Some business leaders believe that personal moral development and character are all that are needed for effective organizational ethics. These business leaders are supported by certain business educators who believe ethics initiatives should arise inherently from corporate culture and that hiring ethical employees will limit unethical behavior within the organization. A contrary position, and the one espoused here, is that effective organizational ethics can only be achieved by proactive leadership whereby employees from diverse backgrounds are provided a common understanding of what is defined as ethical behavior through formal training, thus creating an ethical organizational climate. In addition, changes are needed in the regulatory system, in the organizational ethics initiatives of business school s, and in societal approaches to the development and implementation of organizational ethics in corporate America. According to Richard L. Schmalensee, Dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management, the question is, How can we produce graduates who are more conscious of their potential . . . and their obligation as professionals to make a positive contribution to society? He stated that business schools should be held partly responsible for the cadre of managers more focused on short-term games to beat the market rather than building lasting value for shareholders and society (Schmalensee 2003). This introductory chapter provides an overview of the organizational ethical decision making process. It begins with a discussion of how ethical decisions are made and then offers a framework for understanding organizational ethics that is consistent with research, best practices, and regulatory developments.Using this framework, the chapter then discusses how ethical decisions are made in the context of an organization and poses some illustrative ethical issues that need to be addressed in organizational ethics. Defining Organizational Ethics Ethics has been termed the study and philosophy of human conduct, with an emphasis on the determination of right and wrong. For managers, ethics in the workplace refers to rules (standards, principles) governing the conduct of organization members. Most definitions of ethics relate rules to what is right or wrong in specific situations. For present purposes, and in simple terms, organizational ethics refers to generally accepted standards that guide behavior in business and other organizational contexts (LeClair, Ferrell, and Fraedrich 1998).1 One difference between an ordinary decision and an ethical one is that accepted rules may not apply and the decision maker must weigh values in a situation that he or she may not have faced before. Another difference is the amount of emphasis placed on a persons values when making an ethical decision. Whether a specific behavior is judged right or wrong, ethical or unethical, is often determined by the mass media, interest groups, the legal system, and individuals personal morals. While these groups are not necessarily right, their judgments influence societys acceptance or rejection of an organization and its activities. Consequently, values and judgments play a critical role in ethical decision making, and society may institutionalize them through legislation and social sanctions or approval. Individual vs. Organization Most people would agree that high ethical standards require both organizations and individuals to conform to sound moral principles. However, special factors must be considered when applying ethics to business organizations. First, to survive, businesses must obviously make a profit. Second, businesses must balance their desire for profits against the needs and desires of society. Maintaining this balance often requires compromises or tradeoffs. To address these unique aspects of organizational ethics, society has developed rules-both explicit (legal) and implicit-to guide owners, managers, and employees in their efforts to earn profits in ways that do not harm individuals or society as a whole. Addressing organizational ethics must acknowledge its existence in a complex system that includes many stakeholders that cooperate, provide resources, often demand changes to encourage or discourage certain ethical conduct, and frequently question the balancing of business and social interest s. Unfortunately, the ethical standards learned at home, in school, through religion, and in the community are not always adequate preparation for ethical pressures found in the workplace. Organizational practices and policies often create pressures, opportunities, and incentives that may sway employees to make unethical decisions. We have all seen news articles describing some decent, hard-working family person who engaged in illegal or unethical activities. The Wall Street Journal (Pullman 2003) reported that Betty Vinson, a midlevel accountant for WorldCom, Inc., was asked by her superiors to make false accounting entries. Ms. Vinson balked a number of times but then caved in to management and made illegal entries to bolster WorldComs profits. At the end of 18 months she had helped falsify at least $3.7 billion in profits. When an employees livelihood is on the line, it is difficult to say no to a powerful boss. At the time this chapter was written, Ms. Vinson was awaiting sentencing on conspiracy and securities fraud and preparing her 12 year old daughter for the possibility that she will be incarcerated. Importance of Understanding Organization Ethics Understanding organizational ethics is important in developing ethical leadership. An individuals personal values and moral philosophies are but one factor in decision-making processes involving potential legal and ethical problems. True, moral rules can be related to a variety of situations in life, and some people do not distinguish everyday ethical issues from those that occur on the job. Of concern, however, is the application of rules in a work environment. Just being a good person and, in your own view, having sound personal ethics may not be sufficient to handle the ethical issues that arise in the workplace. It is important to recognize the relationship between legal and ethical decisions. While abstract virtues such as honesty, fairness, and openness are often assumed to be self-evident and accepted by all employees, a high level of personal, moral development may not prevent an individual from violating the law in an organizational context, where even experienced lawyers debate the exact meaning of the law. Some organizational ethics perspectives assume that ethics training is for people who have unacceptable personal moral development, but that is not necessarily the case. Because organizations are comprised of diverse individuals whose personal values should be respected, agreement regarding workplace ethics is as vital as other managerial decisions. For example, would an organization expect to achieve its strategic mission witho ut communicating the mission to employees? Would a firm expect to implement a customer relationship management system without educating every employee on his or her role in the system? Workplace ethics needs to be treated similarly-with clear expectations as to what comprises legal and ethical conduct. Employees with only limited work experience sometimes find themselves making decisions about product quality, advertising, pricing, hiring practices, and pollution control. The values that they bring to the organization may not provide specific guidelines for these complex decisions, especially when the realities of work objectives, group decision making, and legal issues come into play. Many ethics decisions are close calls.Years of experience in a particular industry may be required to know what is acceptable, and what is not acceptable. Even experienced managers need formal training about workplace ethics to help identify legal and ethical issues. Changing regulatory requirements and ethical concerns, such as workplace privacy issues, make the ethical decision-making process very dynamic. With the establishment of values and training, a manager will be in a better position to assist employees and provide ethical leadership. Understanding Ethical Decision Making It is helpful to consider the question of why and how people make ethical decisions. Typically it is assumed that people make difficult decisions within an organization in the same way they resolve difficult issues in their personal lives. Within the context of organizations, however, few managers or employees have the freedom to decide ethical issues independently of workplace pressures. Philosophers, social scientists, and various academics have attempted to explain the ethical decision-making process in organizations by examining pressures such as the influence of coworkers and organizational culture, and individual-level factors such as personal moral philosophy. Figure 1.1 presents a model of decision making. This model synthesizes current knowledge of ethical decision making in the workplace within a framework that has strong support in the literature (e.g., Ferrell and Gresham 1985; Ferrell, Gresham, and Fraedrich 1989; Hunt and Vitell 1986; Jones 1991; Trevino 1986). The model shows that the perceived intensity of ethical and legal issues, individual factors (e.g., moral development and personal moral philosophy), and organizational factors (e.g., organizational culture and coworkers) collectively influence whether a person will make an unethical decision at work. While it is impossible to describe precisely how or why an individual or work group might make such a decision, it is possible to generalize about average or typical behavior patterns within organizations. Each of the models components is briefly described below; note that the model is practical because it describes the elements of the decision-making process over which organiza tions have some control. ________________________________________________________________________ Figure 1.1 Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in the Workplace Individual Personal moral factors philosophy Stage of moral development factors Ethical issue intensity Organizational factors Organizational culture Coworkers and superiors Opportunity Ethical/Unethical, Decision ________________________________________________________________________ Ethical Issue Intensity One of the first factors to influence the decision-making process is how important or relevant a decision maker perceives an issue to be, that is, the intensity of the issue (Jones 1991). The intensity of a particular issue is likely to vary over time and among individuals and is influenced by the values, beliefs, needs, and perceptions of the decision maker; the special characteristics of the situation; and the personal pressures weighing on the decision. All of the factors explored in this chapter, including personal moral development and philosophy, organizational culture, and coworkers, determine why different people perceive issues with varying intensity (Robin, Reidenbach, and Forrest 1996). Unless individuals in an organization share some common concerns about specific ethical issues, the stage is set for conflict. Ethical issue intensity reflects the sensitivity of the individual, work group, or organization, and triggers the ethical decision-making process. Management can influence ethical issue intensity through rewards and punishments, codes of conduct, and organizational values. In other words, managers can affect the perceived importance of ethical issues through positive and negative incentives (Robin, Reidenbach, and Forrest 1996). If management fails to identify and educate employees about problem areas, these issues may not reach the critical awareness level of some employees. New employees who lack experience in a particular industry, for example, may have trouble identifying both ethical and legal issues. Employees therefore need to be trained as to how the organization wants specific ethical issues handled. Identifying ethical issues that employees might encounter is a significant step in developing employees ability to make decisions that enhance organizational ethics. New federal regulations that hold both organizations and their employees responsible for misconduct require organizations to assess areas of ethical and legal risk. Based on both the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the United States Sentencing Commission guidelines, there are strong directives to encourage ethical leadership. If ethical leadership fails, especially in corporate governance, there are significant penalties. When organizations communicate to employees that certain issues are important, the intensity of the issues is elevated. The more employees appreciate the importance of an issue, the less likely they are to engage in questionable behavior associated with the issue. Therefore, ethical issue intensity should be considered a key factor in the decision-making process because there are many opportunities for an organization to influence and educate employees on the importance of high risk issues. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, boards of directors are required to provide oversight for all auditing activities and are responsible for developing ethical leadership. In addition, court decisions related to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations hold board members responsible for the ethical and legal compliance programs of the firms they oversee. New rules and regulations associated with Sarbanes-Oxley require that boards include members who are knowledgeable and qualified to oversee accounting and other types of audits to ensure that these reports are accurate and include all information material to ethics issues. A boards financial audit committee is required to implement codes of ethics for top financial officers. Many of the codes relate to corporate governance, such as compensation, stock options, and conflicts of interest. Individual Factors One of the greatest challenges facing the study of organizational ethics involves the role of individuals and their values. Although most of us would like to place the primary responsibility for decisions with individuals, years of research point to the primacy of organizational factors in determining ethics at work (e.g., Ferrell and Gresham 1985). However, individual factors are obviously important in the evaluation and resolution of ethical issues. Two significant factors in workplace integrity are an individuals personal moral philosophy and stage of moral development. Personal Moral Philosophy Ethical conflict occurs when people encounter situations that they cannot easily control or resolve. In such situations, people tend to base their decisions on their own principles of right or wrong and act accordingly in their daily lives. Moral philosophies-the principles or rules that individuals use to decide what is right or wrong-are often cited to justify decisions or explain behavior. People learn these principles and rules through socialization by family members, social groups, religion, and formal education. There is no universal agreement on the correct moral philosophy to use in resolving ethical and legal issues in the workplace. Moreover, research suggests that employees may apply different moral philosophies in different decision situations (Fraedrich and Ferrell 1992). And, depending on the situation, people may even change their value structure or moral philosophy when making decisions. Individuals make decisions under pressure and may later feel their decisions were less than acceptable, but they may not be able to change the consequences of their decisions. Stage of Moral Development One reason people may change their moral philosophy has been proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg, who suggested that people progress through stages in their development of moral reasoning. Kohlberg contended that different people make different decisions when confronted with similar ethical situations because they are at different stages of what he termed cognitive moral development (Kohlberg 1969). He believed that people progress through the following three stages: The pre-conventional stage of moral development, in which individuals focus on their own needs and desires. The conventional stage of moral development, in which individuals focus on group-centered values and conforming to expectations. The principled stage of moral development, in which individuals are concerned with upholding the basic rights, values, and rules of society. Obviously there is some overlap among these stages, such that cognitive moral development should probably be viewed as more of a continuum than a series of discrete stages. Although Kohlberg did not specifically apply his theory of cognitive moral development to organizations, its application helps in explaining how employees may reason when confronted with an ethical dilemma. Kohlbergs theory suggests that people may change their moral beliefs and behavior as they gain education and experience in resolving conflicts, which in turn accelerates their moral development. A question that arises is whether moral philosophy and moral development can predict ethical behavior in businesses and other organizations. Fraedrich and Ferrell (1992) found that only 15 percent of a sample of businesspersons maintained the same moral philosophy across both work and nonwork ethical decision-making situations. One explanation may be that cognitive moral development issues that relate to a persons nonwork (e.g., home, family) experiences are not the most significant factors in resolving ethical issues within an organization. The ethics and values of an individuals immediate work group, rather than his or her moral development, may be the most important consideration in determining ethical conduct in organizations. Nevertheless, most experts agree that a persons stage of moral development and personal moral philosophy play a role in how values and actions are shaped in the workplace. This may be especially true for top managers, who usually set the formal values of an organization. However, the informal use of these values and expectations plays a major role in the daily decisions that employees make. Many of these informal rules comprise the organizations ethical climate in the context of its corporate culture. Former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski set the leadership tone at his company and stood trial for allegedly taking $600 million in unauthorized bonuses, loans, stock sales, and other payments from the company. In his trial, the court wanted to know what the board of directors was doing while Kozlowski furnished his luxury Manhattan duplex with millions of dollars in rugs, china, and bookcases, and spent $1 million for his wifes birthday party-all billed to the company. Kozlowskis personal ethics were on trial, but his ethical leadership influenced everyone in the organization (McCoy 2003). Organizational Factors Although individuals must make ethical and legal decisions at work, it is also true that they often make these decisions in the context of committees and group meetings, and through discussions with colleagues. Decisions in the workplace are guided by an organizations culture and the influence of others-coworkers, supervisors, and subordinates. Organizational Culture Organizations, like societies, have cultures that include a shared set of values, beliefs, goals, norms, and ways to solve problems. As time passes, an organization comes to be seen as a living organism, with a mind and will of its own. Although most organizational cultures reinforce ethics, some organizations, like Tyco, create a culture that supports unethical decisions. If a company derives most of its profits from unethical or illegal activities, individuals who join this organization will have a difficult time surviving unless they too participate in these activities. For example, even though Enron had a code of ethics and was a member of the Better Business Bureau, the company was devastated by unethical activities and corporate scandal. According to Lynn Brewer, former Enron executive and author of House of Cards: Confessions of an Enron Executive, many Enron managers and employees knew the company was involved in illegal and unethical activities. Many executives and board members at Enron did not understand how organizational ethical decisions are made and how to develop an ethical corporate climate. They did not realize that top executives and boards of directors must provide ethical leadership and a system to resolve ethical issues. In the case of Enron, managers eventually paid for these ethical lapses through fines and imprisonment. The ethical climate of an organization is a significant element of organizational culture. Whereas an organizations overall culture establishes ideals that guide a wide range of member behaviors, the ethical climate focuses specifically on issues of right and wrong. The ethical climate of an organization is its character or conscience. Codes of conduct and ethics policies, top managements actions on ethical issues, the values and moral development and personal moral philosophies of coworkers, and the opportunity for misconduct all contribute to an organizations ethical climate. In fact, the ethical climate actually determines whether certain issues and decisions are perceived as having an ethical component. Organizations can manage their culture and ethical climate by trying to hire employees whose values match their own. Some organizations even measure potential employees values during the hiring process and strive to hire individuals who fit within the ethical climate rather than those whose beliefs and values differ significantly. As previously mentioned, some business leaders believe that hiring or promoting ethical managers will automatically produce an ethical organizational climate. However, individuals may have limited opportunity to apply their own personal ethics to management systems and decision making that occurs in the organization. Ethical leadership requires understanding best practices for organizational ethical compliance and a commitment to build an ethical climate. Over time, an organizations failure to monitor or manage its culture may foster questionable behavior. Sometimes entire industries develop a culture of preferential treatment and self- centered greed. The once conservative mutual fund industry found itself in a major scandal in 2003 related to allowing large customers to engage in short-term and after-hours trading, in violation of their own organizations rules. The mutual fund organizations gave hedge fund customers the right to make frequent trades in and out of funds, a practice not accorded ordinary investors. Firms such as Janus, Alliance Capital, and Pilgrim violated their own rules and now have legal problems. Another example of an unethical industry culture is reflected in New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzers settlement in which 10 major Wall Street firms were collectively fined a total of $1.4 billion because their investment bankers had exerted undue influence on securities research to enhance relationships with their investment banking customers (Anonymous 2004). Small investors were the victims of these unethical and illegal cultures of preferential relationships with certain customers. The Influence of Coworkers and Supervisors Just as employees look for certain types of employers, they are also particular about the people with whom they work. Managers and coworkers within an organization help people deal with unfamiliar tasks and provide advice and information in both formal and informal contexts on a daily basis. A manager may, for example, provide direction regarding certain workplace activities to be performed. Coworkers offer help in the form of discussions over lunch or when a supervisor is absent. In fact, one often hears new or younger employees discussing some fear about approaching the boss on a tough ethical issue. Thus, the role of informal culture cannot be underestimated. Numerous studies (e.g., Ferrell and Grisham 1985) confirm that coworkers and supervisors have more impact on an employees daily decisions than any other factor. In a work group environment, employees may be subject to the phenomenon of groupthink, where they go along with group decisions even when those decisions run counter to their own values. They may take refuge in the notion of safety in numbers, when everyone else appears to back a particular decision. Indeed, coworker peers can even change a persons original value system. This value change, whether temporary or permanent, is likely to be greater when a coworker is a supervisor, especially if the decision-maker is new to the organization. Employees may also resolve workplace issues by unquestionably following the directives of a supervisor. In a company that emphasizes respect for authority, an employee may feel obligated to carry out the orders of a superior even if those orders conflict with the employees values of right and wrong. Later, if a decision is judged to have been wrong, the employee is likely to say, I was only carrying out orders, or My boss told me to do it this way. Supervisors can also have a negative effect on conduct by setting a bad example or failing to supervise subordinates. ClearOne Communications Inc. relieved its CEO and CFO of their respective responsibilities after they were named as defendants in a complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission (Wetzel 2003). A civil complaint alleged that they directed sales personnel to push extra products to customers beyond their orders to inflate sales and earnings. Eliminating such unethical managers within an organization can help improve its overall ethical conduct. In this case, it was alleged that the CEO and CFO not only directed unethical actions but also contributed to an unethical corporate climate. Finally, it should be mentioned in passing that individuals also learn ethical or unethical conduct from close colleagues and others with whom they interact regularly. Consequently, a decision maker who associates with others who behave unethically will be more likely to behave unethically as well. Opportunity Together, organizational culture and the influence of coworkers may foster conditions that limit or permit misconduct. When these conditions provide rewards for financial gain, recognition, promotion, or simply the good feeling from a job well done, the opportunity for unethical conduct may be encouraged or discouraged. For example, a company policy that does not provide for punishment of employees who violate a rule (e.g., not to accept large gifts from clients) provides an opportunity for unethical behavior. Bellizzi and Hasty (2003) found there is a general tendency to discipline top sales performers more leniently than poor sales performers for engaging in identical forms of unethical selling behavior. Neither a company policy stating that the behavior in question was unacceptable nor a repeated pattern of unethical behavior offset the general tendency to treat top sales performers more leniently than poor sales performers. A superior sales performance record appears to induce more lenient forms of discipline, despite the presence of other factors and managerial actions that are specifically instituted to produce more equal forms of discipline. Based on their research, Bellizzi and Hasty concluded that an opportunity exists for top sales performers to be more unethical than poor sales performers. Opportunity usually relates to employees immediate work situation-where they work, with whom they work, and the nature of the work. The specific work situation includes the motivational carrots and sticks that supervisors can use to influence employee behavior. Organizations can improve the likelihood of compliance with ethics policies by eliminating opportunities to engage in misconduct through the establishment of formal codes and rules that are adequately enforced. However, in the sales person example, it is possible that the codes and rules were not adequately implemented. It is important to note that opportunities for ethical misconduct cannot be eliminated without aggressive enforcement of codes and rules. One important conclusion that should be drawn from the framework presented here is that ethical decision making within an organization does not depend solely on individuals personal values and moral philosophies. Employees do not operate in a vacuum, and their decisions are strongly affected by the culture and ethical climate of the organization in which they work, pressures to perform, examples set by their supervisors and peers, and opportunities created by the presence or absence of ethics-related policies. Organizations take on an ethical climate of their own and have a significant influence on ethics among employees and within their industry and community. Ethical Issues This section briefly describes three highly visible ethical issues facing corporate America. The issues are presented to provide concrete examples of the types of misconduct that should be identified and prevented through organizational ethics programs and ethical leadership. An ethical decision is a problem situation requiring an organization or individual to choose among several actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical. Ethical issues are presented that have been associated with the major ethical scandals of the early 21st century.2 Conflict of Interest A conflict of interest exists when individuals must choose whether to advance their own interests, the interests of their organization, or the interests of some other group or individual. An illustrative alleged conflict of interest is when Citigroup made a $1 million donation to the 92nd Street YMCA nursery school as an alleged quid pro quo so that financial analyst Jack Grubmans children could attend the exclusive nursery. Grubman, an analyst for Salomon Smith Barney, supposedly upgraded his rating for ATT stock after Sanford Weill, CEO of Citigroup, the parent company of Salomon Smith Barney, agreed to use his influence with the nursery to gain admission for Grubmans children. Although Grubman denied elevating his rating for ATT to gain his childrens admission, they were in fact enrolled (Nelson and Cohen 2003). To avoid conflicts of interest, employees must be able to separate their private interests from their business dealings. Likewise, organizations must avoid conflicts of interest when providing goods and services. Arthur Andersen served as the outside auditor for Waste Management, Inc. while simultaneously providing consulting services to the firm. This led the Sec

THE DISCURSIVE DEFICIT :: Essays Papers

THE "DISCURSIVE DEFICIT" Moravcsik and the European Union â€Å"Sidentrop’s most fundamental error—one he shares with many in the European debate—is his assumption that the EU is a nation-state in the making,† Andrew Moravcsik writes in his â€Å"Despotism In Brussels?† However, Moravcsik makes the same error himself, if a bit more circuitously. In his articles â€Å"Despotism In Brussels?†, â€Å"Federalism in the European Union: Rhetoric and Reality,† and â€Å"In Defense of the ‘Democratic Deficit’: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union,† Moravcsik denies the existence of a â€Å"democratic deficit† within the European Union. His claim itself, however, is not legitimate: he attempts to legitimize to the European Union by granting it authority on the basis of state-based democratic standards while simultaneously denying that the EU is, in fact, a democratic entity similar to the modern state. â€Å"The European Union lacks every characteristic that grants a modern European state†¦its authority,† Moravcsik states. Yet he asserts that â€Å"constitutional checks and balances, indirect democratic control via national governments, and the increasing powers of the European Parliament are sufficient to assure that the EU policymaking is, in nearly all cases, clean, transparent, effective, and politically responsive to demands of European citizens.† This assertion relies heavily on what is the most salient characteristic of authority in the â€Å"modern European state†Ã¢â‚¬â€the democratic system—to make any sense at all, and thus the contradiction in Moravcsik’s argument emerges. In order to examine the intricacies of this contradiction, we shall now analyze the three endemically democratic concepts that Moravcsik claims legitimize EU authority, his assertion that each is not part of a state structure as used by the EU, and his contradictory validation of these concepts by state-employed democratic principles. Constitutional checks and balances. Moravcsik claims that the presence and use of the Treaty of Rome as a â€Å"stable, overarching structure of political authority in Europe† should dispel Euroskeptics’ fears about the development of a European â€Å"superstate.† He proceeds to assert that while a true Constitution does not (as yet) exist, a relatively firm â€Å"de facto constitution for Europe† does indeed exist. That â€Å"constitution,† he claims, is characterized by â€Å"a set of substantive fiscal, administrative, legal, and procedural constraints on EU policymaking† that serve to limit the EU in its policymaking power.