Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods Essay

The Term â€Å"Genetically Modified (GM) foods† refers to crops produced for human or animal consumption using the recombinant DNA techniques. The world population is growing in a fast pace such that it is expected to double in the next 50 years. Supplying food to this growing population is a major challenge. GM foods can be considered as the major solution for the food security. These foods are produced by the modification of crop plants in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, mainly biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, improved nutritional content, etc. These traits were earlier carried out through conventional plant breeding, but these breeding methods are very time-consuming and often not very accurate. However, with recombinant DNA technology, plants with the desired traits can be produced, very rapidly and with greater accuracy. Process Recombinant DNA technology begins with the identification and isolation of a gene which expresses a desirable trait, with the aid of restriction enzymes. Then a recipient plant or animal is selected, and the gene is inserted and incorporated into its genome through a vector such as agrobacterium, through a gene gun shooting an elemental particle covered in plasmid DNA, electro oration, or a virus. Once part of the recipient, the newly inserted gene becomes part of the genome of the recipient and is regulated in the same way as its other genes. For example, we can isolate a gene responsible for conferring drought tolerance, introduce that gene into a plant, and make it drought tolerant. Crops can also be transformed using non-plant genes such as the use of Bt genes, in cotton and many other crops. Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal only to insect larvae. Bt crystal protein genes have been transferred into cotton, soya, corn, brinjal, enabling the plants to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the American bollworm, European corn borer. Bt genes are lethal only in the acidic medium, insect gut environment and do not get activated in an alkaline environment, prevalent in humans and other animals that feed on these plants. BENEFITS OF GM FOODS Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance: As the world population grows and more land is converted for housing instead of food production, farmers need to grow crops in non-arable land, previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salinity in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in large, barren wetlands/dry lands in our country. Pest resistance: Insect Pests are causing devastating financial loss for farmers, sometimes starvation. Indiscriminate use of pesticides is also a potential health hazard, and the run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers poisons the water supply and harms the environment. Ex: Growing GM foods such as Bt brinjal helps reduce the application of pesticides substantially, as 80 per cent of brinjal crop are infested with pests. Disease resistance: There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases and thereby contribute to yield loss. Plant biologists are working to create genetically engineered plants with resistance to these diseases. Ex: Developing sheath blight resistance in rice. Cold/heat tolerance: Farmers are facing the vagaries of weather, like unexpected frost or excess heat due to climate change. Researchers have identified an antifreeze gene from cold-water fish and introduced it into plants such as tobacco and potato to study the efficacy of the plant to withstand extreme temperatures. Also, research is on to identify plants that can survive excess heat, submergence tolerance etc. Nutrition: People in our country suffer from various nutrient deficiency diseases due to malnutrition. Most of the people rely on rice as a major staple food. But rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary micro and macronutrients. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins, iron and/or minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, MSSRF (M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation) are working on improving the iron content. Phytoremediation: Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in many parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees, brassica spp are being genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from soil contaminated with metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Concerns Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories Environmental hazards: Unintended harm to other organisms; reduced effectiveness of pesticides; gene transfer to non-target species are some of the concerns of the environmental concerns of GM crops. Human health risks: Allergenecity, unknown effects on human health are some of the main health concerns. For example, Pioneer Hi-Bred tested the allergenicity of a transgenic soybean that expressed a Brazil nut seed storage protein in hope that the seeds would have increased levels of the amino acid methionine. The tests (radio allergosorbent testing, immunoblotting, and skin-prick testing) showed that individuals allergic to Brazil nuts were also allergic to the new GM soybean. Economic concerns Environmental activists, religious organizations, non-governmental organizations have criticized agribusiness for concentrating on profits through GM Foods without concern for potential hazards. They also criticized the government for failing to start a regulatory body. All GM crops should be subjected to thorough regulatory processes and toxicology and allergenicity tests data needs to be shared with the regulatory authorities prior to commercialization. Government Role Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. So, bringing GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process. This is a genuine concern and therefore it is important for the government to fund and support public sector research in reputed universities or agriculture institutes to ensure quality research and also keep prices under check. Conclusion Government should check all the hazards, environmental, health and economic concerns and then decisions should be taken to commercialize a GM product. Though ambiguity during the process, once they get regulatory approve, it implies that they have been subjected to stringent scrutiny and are safe for commercial release. So, the governments around the world are hard at work to establish an effective regulatory process to monitor the effects of and approve new varieties of GM plants. According to M S Swaminathan, the chairman of the National Commission on Farmers, GM foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems, and can protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling.

Implications of Islamic finance for securities law in New Zealand Essay

The global growth and development of Shari’ah compliant financial products has been more pronounced in the last three decades, when several countries already had established laws and regulations governing finance and securities. The materialization of variety of capital market products, compounded by progression of market activity, not confined to the traditional jurisdictions in Asia and the Middle East and the development and advancement of technology has led to global trade in Shari’ah compliant products not limited by the geographical boundaries, whereas New Zealand has laws governing investment and finance, what are the implications of Islamic finance for securities law in New Zealand? Furthermore how has the development of Shari’ah compliant financial products occurred in New Zealand and what is the regulatory treatment of these products? Introduction Islamic capital securities and Shari’ah compliant products, which were previously predominantly viewed as a preserve of Middle East and East Asia, has received geographical expansion beyond the traditional spheres of activity. The global impacts of Shari’ah compliant products resulted to the recognition of such products, hence International Organization of Securities Commissions hence creating Islamic Capital Market Task Force to access the compatibility of IOSCO? s core principles with the products and practices of Islamic finance. The securities of several countries were created and implemented before the global recognition of Islamic laws concerning finance and securities. In New Zealand, several laws which govern securities were implemented long before IOSCO’s creation and recognition of Islamic Capital Market Task Force, these laws include The Securities Act 1978, Securities Regulations 1983, The Securities Markets Act 1988, Securities Act (Contributory Mortgage) Regulations 1988, Financial Reporting Act 1993, Securities (Fees) Regulations 1998 and the Securities Markets (Fees) Regulations 2003. The growth of compliant financial services as experienced global growth and several measurement metrics have been recognised, such as FTSE Global Islamic Index Series, Global Dow Jones Islamic Market Index , FTSE Shari’ahh Global Equity Index , Bursa Malaysia Hijrah Shari’ahh and EMAS Shari’ahh indices, FTSE SET Shari’ahh Index, FTSE SGX Shari’ahh Index Series and the FTSE SGX Shari’ah Index Series which on critical analysis reveals that the global performance of Shari’ah compliant financial services has been on the positive trend, however New Zealand does not have Islamic compliant Series and as such, whereas the laws have been amended and changed several times, the global influence of Shari’ah compliant products is bound to have adverse impacts on the securities law in New Zealand. Literature Review The Islamic finance sectors in terms of Shari’ah compliance incorporate diverse spectrum of financial services such as securities, banking, insurance, non-bank monetary arbitration and capital markets where these products are influenced by the common Shari’ah legal maxim where any action is permitted unless expressible prohibited by law According to El-Hawary, Grais & Iqbal the growth of Islamic finance in the 1980’s and 1990’s involved mainly the augmentation of banking and trade-related financing activities. The Islamic finance sector is a product of Shari’ah laws, which are founded on Qur’an, Ahadith , Ijma, Qiyas, and Ijtihad, the laws however traverse the Islamic way of life in entirety, where associated influence of rules, laws and interpretations of Shari’ah is demonstrated in the religious, cultural, social, political and communal aspects of Muslims. According to Muhammad Ashraf , the convergence of the country’s regulatory laws, and the Shari’ah compliancy should be based on the principle of concordare leges legibus est optims interpretandi modus which dictates that the best mode of interpreting laws is to make laws agree with laws. New Zealand being a member of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) which mandated the formation of an Islamic Capital Market Task Force (ICMTF) is envisioned to embrace fully and conform with international defined standards of Shari’ah compliancy, however the Securities Act 1978, which regulates primary markets in New Zealand forms a basis of regulation, Securities Markets Act 1988 regulates secondary markets, furthermore there exists legislations that impact on securities such as Unit Trusts Act 1960, Financial Reporting Act 1993, KiwiSaver Act 2006, and Companies Act 1993, these acts come in force before the prominence of Shari’ah compliant financial products. Mansoor H Khan , and argues that the implications of Islamic finance on laws are a challenge based on divergence of Islamic banking courts and conventional court systems, where disputed cases of the Islamic banks are subjected conventional legal system while in essence the nature of the legal system of Islam differs, he further argues existing laws, are repugnant to injunctions of Islam, yet they are expected to promulgate Shari’ah compliant legal cases and products. This supports the argument by Yong-Jae Chang , and Jun-Hee Choi , where existent laws are identified as inhibitors to development of Shari’ah compliant products, and advocates amendment of existing laws since Islamic banking resembles universal banking, consequently, laws and regulations need to be amended accordingly to provision for the universal approach, this complies with Securities Act 1978, which grants the Securities Commission leeway to co-operate with similar bodies overseas. The connotation of Islamic finance are disposed by the Shari’ah laws governing finance and investment, which are bound to have influence is the principle of materiality where financial transactions should bear material in terms of actual monetary transaction. In this case Shari’ah compliancy in terms of financial reward achievement is based on musharaka, in terms of joint ventures, where risks and financial results are shared by the contributing partners and mudaraba centred on trust financing where the outcome of business venture is shared by capital contributor and the managing partner. Shari’ah laws also prohibits predetermined interest rate, referred as riba or usury set ex ante, in this regard banks are disallowed from charging additional interests, which do not equally benefit the client, consideration of New Zealand laws, Securities Markets Act 1988 , requires brokers and investment advisers offer customers written disclosure statement and forbids market manipulation, hence agreeing with Shari’ah. With the principle of risk-sharing, the finance provider as well as the loaned party share risks, in exchange of profits and losses, the attractiveness of such arrangement has enhanced the growth of Shari’ah compliant especially to risk averse investors, regulations however have to be modified to suit such an arrangement. The Securities Act 1978 & Securities Regulations 1983 allows clients to cancel allotment of security midterm as a result of misleading information, on the Islamic perspective, Shari’ah dictates murabaha (mark-up financing), which occurs in terms of Basic Murabaha, Commodity Murabaha and Reverse Murabaha in which a financing institution buys products for a client and sells them on on a deferred basis, adding an agreed profit margin , however the agreement can be cancelled midterm, this conforms with existing laws on securities and can foster development of Shari’ah compliant products. Ijara which governs operating Lease and Ijara wa Iqtina which governs finance Lease are also products which demand less amendment of existing laws, since they are modelled on conventional sale agreements where the financial institutions acquire assets and leases them to a customer who may purchase the said assets at a later date, this is also exhibited in Diminishing Musharaka. On contrast however, qard hassana which prohibits charging interest on loans and bai’salam or bai’salaf is based on delivery or the purchased commodity, are different from the conventionally accepted principles of financial institutions which are geared towards achieving profits by charging interests. According to IOSCO report, Shari’ah law prohibits gharar or improbability or speculation, in actual sense however, financial markets are laden with vibrant and fickle behavior, whereas Shari’ah principle states that complete disclosure of information is a requisite and disallows indiscretion of information in a contract, while allowing improbability with controllable on the society, in New Zealand, the Financial Reporting Act 1993 , agrees with the Shari’ah laws and further defines the terms of compliance by defining the punitive measures against truant financial institutions. Conclusion The global pace of market development hint on interest to offer Shari’ahh compliant financial products by financial institutions globally, the fact that regulatory bodies such as International Organization Of Securities Commissions distinguishes these products means that global recognition and regulation of Islamic finance is eminent, with collaboration, information exchange and thematic work by financial institutions globally, New Zealand financial institutions will be compelled to offer Shari’ah compliant products, in essence this shall contribute to altering of the country’s laws to accommodate the new product.

The legalization of gay marriage Research Proposal

The legalization of gay marriage - Research Proposal Example The primary reasons for banning gay marriage in the USA are religious, ethical, and moral. â€Å"American freedom... is attached to a set of communal responsibilities and dependant on the individual’s ability to confirm in compliance with a moral, ethical and religious standard.† Thus the freedom of self shall not come in clash with the freedom of America, which comes with a set of responsibilities of individuals towards community. The issue of legalizing gay marriage might be a personal problem faced by many gays living together and seeking some sort of state-sanctioned marriage. The community can no way benefit from their marriage- in fact, it has created a cultural war in America between those that believe in the traditional form of marriage and those that are proponents of gay marriage. People from different social and political backgrounds have mixed views regarding the legalization of gay marriage and they can influence the decision of the courts through ballot ca mpaigns against gay marriages. In Washington this year, a ballot campaign will be held and if the required numbers of votes are gathered, the move would be nullified and gay marriage will be banned in Washington. â€Å"There is precedent in California for handling such a situation. California's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2008, only for voters to approve a constitutional amendment six months later defining marriage as between a man and a woman.†

The case of christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The case of christ - Essay Example From this movement has come the Christian apologetics who, according to The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, are a group of people that â€Å"use logic and evidence to defend Christianity and promote the truth of the Bible†(Slick, 2011). Perhaps one of the most influential books from the Christian Apologetics movement is The Case for Christ which proposes a myriad of evidence that supports the existence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Lee Stobel and Jane Vogel, authors of the Student Version of The Case for Christ, provide a summary of who Jesus Christ was. At the very core of the argument is that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God (Strobel and Vogel, 23). His role on Earth was to save the sinners which was accomplished by sacrificing himself and dying on the cross for everyone’s sins. One of the important aspects of this that the authors take on is the fact that Jesus did not explicitly state that he was God: â€Å"Some of Jesus’ statements a s they are recorded in the Bible don’t seem to be clear claims that Jesus is God†(Strobel and Vogel, 23). However, Strobel provides several scriptures that support the claim that Jesus believed he was God and through conversations with disciples, followers, and others stated as much. Some of the evidence included Matthew 16: 15-17 where Jesus asks Peter who he (Peter) thinks Jesus is and Peter replies â€Å"You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God†(Strobel and Vogel, 23). Strobel present very convincing evidence that Jesus was in fact the Messiah by way of presenting Isaiah 53 which is in essence a prophecy of who the Messiah would be. Strobel claims that Jesus matched the prophecy and that many of these aspects could not be manipulated by Jesus in order to make them match such as birthplace, family, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and the guards that gambled over Jesus’ clothes when he was dying on the cross(Strobel and Vogel, 44-4 6). Since Isaiah 53 was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the argument that Jesus was indeed the Messiah is extremely convincing. The next step in presenting the case for Christ is to delve into the reliability of the Gospels which are the books of the Bible that detail Jesus Christ and his life. Strobel presents evidence that indicates that these books are quite reliable. The biggest piece of evidence is the differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Although many people would say these contradictions make the books less reliable, Strobel disagrees stating that â€Å"the idea is that if the writers were lying, they’d make sure to get their stories straight—and they’d agree in every detail. What seems to be a contradiction is often the same event viewed from different perspectives†(Strobel and Vogel, 54). Additionally, Strobel brings up an interesting point about the timeline of Christ’s death and the teachings of Paul. Accor ding to Strobel, the timeline suggests that Paul came to learn about Christ dying on the cross for the world’s sins and his resurrection within 2-5 years of it occurring. Strobel makes the argument that the fact Christianity was already teaching this aspect about Christ suggests that â€Å"that’s far too fast for legend to have developed and wiped out a core of historical truth†(Strobel and Vogel, 60). This is compelling evidence since it is widely thought that the time

National Branding vs Private Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

National Branding vs Private Branding - Essay Example It is different from private or local branding, since private branding involves the name of the retailer. Most of the products in the world are recognized in the form of national branding. The producer follows the pattern of national branding since the producer intends to promote his brand by way of marketing and branding it. It is imperative on the part of the manufacturer or the producer of the product to follow this kind of branding as this allows the producer to sell its name directly to the consumers, which holds the greatest effect on their minds. The work done by national branding in promoting the brand of the producer or the manufacturer is unprecedented. The national branding is the ultimate and real from of branding. It enthralls the people and allows for greater importance among the people who focus on the brand. â€Å"A brand placed on products that a large manufacturer has created for a smaller retailer. The smaller retailer places their own private brand label on the f inal good which was created by a third party manufacturer. Private branding is a cost effective way to gain access to producing a product without requiring a large manufacturing or design team.† The retailer to market the retail organization does private branding. Let us look at an example. The company known as Apple sells Apple computers. When the products are shipped, the brand value carries the logo of Apple. However, once the company ships the products to the retailer, the retailer themselves add the label of their brand upon the box of the product. This form of branding done by the retailer is known as Private Branding. National branding and private branding are different sides of the same coin. Some companies offer both types of branding for their products in order to provide end-to-end services. Apple is a prime example of this kind of category. They are providing an ecosystem, which includes retailing as well as production of the products.

History of the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of the European Union - Essay Example This Schuman Declaration was adhered by six states, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, thus forming the European Coal and Steel Community on 1951(EU Timeline). This community placed Franco-German steel production under a common "High Authority", putting into effect an intergovernmental cooperation with supranational authority (McGoldrick, 9). Treaties were signed as well to establish European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community. With an enhanced institutionalized nature, the European Economic Community had four main bodies namely the Council of Ministers, European Commission, Court of Justice and Parliamentary Assembly (McGoldrick, 10). Up until 1985, the Community increased the number of its members progressively; Greece was actually the 10th member of this group. The now ten members of the group agreed in a European Council meeting held at Luxembourg to revitalize the process of European integration by drawing up the Single European Act (EU Timeline). The Act as could be seen, extended EC competence, made greater provision for qualified majority voting and laid down the objective of achieving an internal market by 1992 (McGoldrick, 10). Subsequent years witnessed further enlargement of the community and at the same time deeper integration of the Community. For example, with the German unification, the Community had to agree on a common approach to the effects of such event and its relations with Central and Eastern European countries as well. So that in a European Council held at Ireland, they concurred to establish the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the mechanism that would provide financial s upport to Central and Eastern European Countries. At some point, they even reached a decision to establish the European Economic Area between the EEC and EFTA member countries (EU Timeline). While economic goals were apparently met, political goals remained unfulfilled (McGoldrick, 12). On February 7 of 1992, the Treaty of European Union was signed in Maastricht by the Foreign and Finance Ministers of the member states, and while the ratification of the said treaty was voted against when put into referendum in Denmark, it was eventually ratified the second time and the treaty came into force on November 1993. The European Community formally evolved to the European Union. Earlier that year, on January, the Single European Market entered into force and accession of more states ensued (EU Timeline). Changes were introduced upon the evolution of the Community to the Union. The structure of the treaty of the European Union organized the Union's activities in three fields or subsequently called three pillars: European Community, Common Foreign and Security Policy and Judicial and Home Affairs (McGoldrick, 16). The European Union also introduced the subsidiary policy, in which the EU would only take action if

The Analects of Confucius trans. by Arthur Waley . pp. 83-114 Essay

The Analects of Confucius trans. by Arthur Waley . pp. 83-114 - Essay Example His emphasis lay on the morality aspect of life that is based on sincerity, justice and the right way to lead ones life. His system of philosophy came to be known as â€Å"Confucianism†. In his Analects, Confucius takes himself to be a sort of â€Å"transmitter who invented nothing†. (The Analects, 479 BCE – 221BCE, VII.1) Since he belonged to the ancient ordered society, he was very conservative and had a high vision of personal as well as social perfections. He wanted to create a revival that was based on a unified royal state where its rulers earned their power on the basis of their own sincere moral merit, not their parentage. â€Å"The Way† that Confucius speaks about is the exemplification of ones own self by sheer virtue of morality and not by any set rules or regulations. His ideals and teachings are not conveyed in a direct manner because he made use of allusions, tautology and innuendo. As Arthur Waley explains his famous anecdote – When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court, Confucius said, â€Å"Was anyone hurt?† He did not ask about the horses. (Analects X.11, tr. A. Waley) Even though the horses were much more expensive than stablemen, yet he chose to ask about the stablemen instead proving that he valued humans much more than property. In ancient Confucianism, there are two terms â€Å"Yi† and â€Å"Li† that are closely related to each other and is translated to mean righteousness. Both these terms compliment each other and means doing the right thing for the right reason. The term â€Å"Yi† is again complimentary to the term â€Å"Ren† which is based on the virtue of completing one’s responsibilities perfectly to other human beings. Arthur Waley denotes this as â€Å"Goodness† with a capital â€Å"G†. Confucius desired that all the people should follow the Way or the Path that enhanced goodness and selflessness instead of just following the set of rules of â€Å"Yi†. Both â€Å"Yi† as well as

Marketing Report -- Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing Report -- Case Study - Essay Example Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 4 Marketing Situation 4 Marketing Strategies 5 Motivation of Employees 6 Building Blocks of Internal Marketing 6 Implementation of Internal Marketing Activities 7 Current Marketing Strategies 9 Alternative Strategy and Their Impact 9 1. Centralized Strategic Planning Resource 9 2. Senior Management Participation 10 3. Performance Appraisal Criteria 10 Recommendation 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Marketing Situation In today’s competitive market, customer satisfaction is an important factor that should be undertaken by every organization. The theoretical context of customer satisfaction was first operationalized in the year 1985. Customers can be satisfied once the organization is able to identify the expectation level of the customers. The company will be able to achieve the expectation level of the customer only if the internal employees are happy and satisfied. The employees are internal customers for the organization, thus, it is neces sary to take care of their staffs or employees because they are involved in assisting the customers. In ING Direct call centre department, the calls are answered by their employees. The employee motivation is also an important way to meet the customers’ expectation and therefore the company will be able to achieve the sustainable growth. ... ING Direct is also highly dependent on the employees’ satisfaction as the company provides financial services where the employees have the responsibility to interact with the customers for generating their faith and trust (Rafiq & Ahmed, 2000). Marketing Strategies The strategies are the plans of an organization to achieve goals and objectives which show direction to the organization. The strategies are developed at different levels such as corporate, business, divisional and departmental level. All the strategies are integrated to form a plan for the organization as a whole. The support from the other components of business unit function such as production, finance and R&D are necessary to achieve the marketing objectives. Every department is inter-related and has to combine together in an integrated manner while taking a strategic decision (Corey, 2003). Marketing strategies mainly focus on long term competitive and consumer advantages and are composed of different elements. These are the strategies related to selection of product and market, deciding the price of a product, finding out the best possible distribution system, i.e. wholesale or retail channel and creating awareness of the product to different customers through advertisement in newspaper, television and others (Corey, 2003). The strategies are driven by cost, technology, distribution, service or other competitive advantages of the firm to turn out to be successful, but the company is required to be consistent with customers’ needs, perception and preferences (Wind & Robertson, 1983). According to Mornay Roberts-Lombard (2007), internal marketing emphasizes on the teamwork of the employees in developing and retaining successful business strategies. The internal marketing means that

Black People Essay Example for Free

Black People Essay Tar Baby Toni Morrison’s novel might for some be a novel of cultural awakening. One also might at their first reading and perhaps also by reading the different studies made on Tar Baby, restricted to an interpretation that sees Jadine, Morrison’s protagonist, as woman who has, consciously or unconsciously, lost her â€Å"ancient properties† (305) and internalized the values of a white culture. Jadine has totally disconnected herself from her racial identity and cultural heritage. This reading is supported by the fact that Jadine has got her education in Europe with the financial assistance of Valerian Street (her aunt’s and uncle’s employer). Paraphrasing Marylyn sanders Mobley – the characterization of the protagonist, Jadine, draws attention to a fundamental problem as one that Morrison wants to affirm the self-reliance and freedom of a black woman who makes choices for her own life on her own terms. She also seeks to point out the dangers that can happen to the totally self-reliant if there is no historical connection. While the conflict in Tar Baby is undoubtedly â€Å"between assimilation and cultural nationalism represented by the sealskin coat Ryk has given her and the pie table† (Rayson, 94), the limiting categories which Jadine is continually forced into do not come from the white characters but primarily from the black community in which she finds herself because she (Jadine) has embraced white stereotypes along with white culture. While Valerian is portrayed as the traditional master-figure in the novel, it is actually Son, Sydney and Ondine, and the folk past represented by the different women in different places that try to conquer and dominate Jadine, who retain and represent their culture in the very colour of their skin. On the other hand, one could argue that it is as a result of Jadine’s university education in Europe and her career that further draws her away from her culture and identity and therefore (paraphrasing Mobley in Toni Morrison critical perspectives past and present) contributes significantly to the emotional and spiritual uncertainty that plague her as well as the many different roles that are imposed upon her by her aunt and uncle as well as the ‘society’ that caused her to seek upward social mobility. Sydney and Ondine, Jadine’s uncle and aunt in the novel can be seen as representative of one of the tar pits for Jadine. They do not accept all black people equal in the community in which they live because they employ racial hierarchies. Ondine sees herself as the only woman in the house (209), while Sydney notes more than twice that he is a Philadelphia Negro, â€Å"the proudest people in the race† (61). They seem to have a clear vision of what they want for Jadine their niece. As the story progresses, though, it becomes clearer that it is not actually a question of what they want for Jadine but what they want of her or expect her to do. In addition to them wanting Jadine to provide them safety and credit for their race, Ondine admits by the end of the novel, â€Å"maybe I just wanted her to feel sorry for us [ ] and that’s a lowdown wish if I ever had one† (282). Jadine understands that Sydney and Ondine â€Å"had gotten Valerian to pay her tuition while they sent her the rest† (49) and Ondine keeps reminding that she â€Å"would have stood on her feet all day all night to put Jadine through that school† (193). Ondine sees Jadine as her â€Å"crown† (282), and she and Sydney are continually â€Å"boasting† (49) about Jadine’s success to the point that Margaret calls Ondine â€Å"Mother Superior† (84). In return, they seem to want Jadine to offer them safety for the rest of their lives as Ondine claims that â€Å"Nothing can happen to us as long as she’s here† (102). They are not comfortable with the idea of Jadine marrying Ryk, who is â€Å"white but European which was not as bad as white and American† (48), but they are terrified of her running off with a â€Å"no-count Negro† (193) like Son. Although their views on racial hierarchies seem to alter from time to time, on the outside they seem to want what is best for Jadine. Jadine refute Ondine’s views of black womanhood when she tells her some of the things that are expected of her from society Jadine tells Ondine that: â€Å"I don’t want to learn how to be the kind of woman you’re talking about because I don’t want to be that kind of woman† (282). This, according to Rayson (1998), might be interpreted as Jadine’s â€Å"rejecting the roles of mother, daughter, and woman to stay the tar baby† (Rayson, 95), however it marks her becoming aware of what kind of woman she is by the end of the novel. Jadine‘s inclination toward upward social mobility leads to her separation from the Afro-American roots and the tar quality that Morrison advocates. This kind of flaw in Jadine effectively disqualifies her as a black woman capable of nurturing a family and by large the community. Jadine‘s perception of an ancestral relationship from which she is estranged occurs when she sees an African woman in a Parisian bakery. When she is celebrating her success as model evidenced in her appearance on the cover of Elle, Jadine becomes nervous or perhaps uncomfortable by the African woman in yellow attire. She triggers an identity crisis in Jadine at the moment when she should have felt more secure with her professional achievement assured by beauty and education. In his African woman, Jadine catches a glimpse of beauty, a womanliness, an innate elegance, a nurturer, an authenticity that she had never known before: ? That woman‘s woman – that mother/sister/she/; that unphotographable beauty? (p. 43). By calling the African woman ? that mother/sister/she,? J. Deswal (online source â€Å"Tar Baby- Shodhganga) claims that â€Å"Morrison presents a threefold definition of womanhood which can thrive within the confines of family and community only. The three eggs she balances effortlessly in her ? tar-black fingers? (p. 44) appear to Jadine as if the woman were boasting of her own easy acceptance of womanhood†. Wendy Harding and Jacky Martin in A World of Difference: An Inter-cultural Study of Toni Morrison explain the importance of the African woman‘s presence as such: â€Å"Whereas Jadine has just been rewarded for her conformity to Western ideals of feminity, the African woman suggests a more powerful version of black womanhood. Like some fertility goddess, she holds in her hand the secret of life. She is the mother of the world in whose black hands whiteness appears as something as easily crushed as cared for (71). When Jadine measures herself by the idea of black womanhood that she sees in the African woman the insecurities of her rootless condition surface in her mind. The women in yellow makes Jadine confront her female role and her sexuality†. Jadine sees ? something in her eyes so powerful? (p. 42) that she follows the woman out of the store. The writers also claim that â€Å"As a symbol of repudiation of Jadine‘s westernized lifestyle, the African woman ?looks right at Jadine? (p. 43) and spits on the pavement†. Jadine hates the woman for her spitting, but what she cannot do is escape feeling ? lonely in a way; lonely and inauthentic? as she tells the readers on page 45. When the sense of self is based on the denial of one‘s ethnic roots, one is certain to experience mental chaos and alienation. So, the woman‘s insult to Jadine had the powerful effect of challenging Jadine‘s choices: her white boyfriend, her girlfriends in New York, her parties, her picture on the cover of Elle and the way she lived her life. One can say that it is as a result of the African woman that Jadine desided to visit her aunt and uncle on the island. Jadine is confused and even questions her plans to marry Ryk, her white boyfriend: I wonder if the person he wants to marry is me or a black girl? And if it isn‘t me he wants, but any black girl who looks like me, talks and acts like me, what will happen when he finds out that I hate ear hoops, that I don‘t have to straighten my hair, that Mingus puts me to sleep, that sometimes I want to get out of my skin and be only the person inside – not American – not black – just me? (p. 45) It is through Son, however, that Morrison offers Jadine the ultimate opportunity to ‘redeem’ herself to her heritage, adapt it and revive her womanhood. Son picks up from where the African woman left off in a sense by making Jadine confront her inauthenticity. Jadine and Son enjoys their stay in New York because it is the place where Jadine feels at ease. She feels loved and safe: ? He ‘unorphaned’ her completely and gave her a brand-new childhood? (p. 231). In turn, Son is encouraged by her need and by his apparent ability to redefine Jadine culturally and emotionally. Son insists that he and Jadine goes to Eloe his hometown where Jadine will see how Son is rooted in family and cultural heritage. He attempts to rescue Jadine from her ignorance and disdain for her cultural heritage, trying in a sense to mould Jadine into the image of his black female ancestors. Son assumes that a relationship with Jadine will mean that they will have children together. He presses claims for family and community: ? He smiled at the vigour of his own heartbeat at the thought of her having his baby? (p. 220). Thus, he wants Jadine to love the nurturing aspects of home and fraternity. He is fed on dreams of his community women. The dreams of ? yellow houses with white doors? and ? fat black ladies in white dresses minding the pie table? (p. 119) are nourishment to Son. Sandra Pouchet Paquet (The ancestors as foundation in their eyes were watching god and tar baby) observes: ? In Son‘s dreams of Eloe, the African-American male ego is restored in a community of black man at the center of a black community. But however appreciative Son is of the beauty, the strength, and the toughness of black women; his vision is of male dominance; of the black women as handmaiden? (511). The image feminity that Son cherishes – of the black woman taking passive role as a nurturer of the hearth – is flagrantly opposite to Jadine‘s perception of the modern black woman. This terrifies Jadine and narrows the possibility of their forming a family. The modern, educated black woman seems to snivel at the aspects of traditional female- specific role as the nurturer of hearth and home. Decadent white values and life style thwart the black woman’s vital roles of building families and raising children. The modern black woman cannot be a complete human being, for she allows her education to keep her career separate from her nurturing role. The black woman is increasingly becoming able to define her own status and to be economically independent. She tries to seek equality in her relationship with men. Robert Staples gives an insight into the faltering dynamics of modern couples: ? What was once a viable institution because women were a subservient group has lost its value for some people in these days of women‘s liberation. The stability of marriage was contingent on the woman accepting her place in the home and not creating dissension by challenging the male‘s prerogatives? (125). The black woman‘s intrinsic quality of ? accepting her place in the home? is Morrison‘s tar quality. However, in advocating the tar quality Morrison does not admonish the educational and professional accomplishments of the black woman. In fact, the black woman is expected to achieve a balance between her roles in the domestic and professional fields. â€Å"It is the historical ability of black women to keep their families and careers together. In an era where both the black male and female seek to fulfill individual desires, relationships falter and, consequently, the prospects of the propagation of a family are not too bright. Jadine‘s tar quality is submerged by the white-like urge for freedom and self-actualization. As a result, she finds the conventions of black womanhood antithetical to her own value system†. At Eloe, Jadine is determined to resist rigid male-female role categorization. Jadine cannot ?understand (or accept) her being shunted off with Ellen and the children while the men grouped on the porch and after a greeting, ignored her? (p. 248). While at Eloe, Jadine is provided with yet another chance to attain certain qualities that is for black women. She is accustomed to living an upper-class white lifestyle so she finds the people of Eloe limited and backward. Their stifling little shacks are more foreign to her than the hotel-like splendor of Valerian‘s mansion. She stays in Aunt Rosa‘s house where she feels claustrophobically enclosed in a dark, windowless room. She feels ? she might as well have been in a cave, a grave, the dark womb of the earth, suffocating with the sound of plant life moving, but deprived of its sight? (p. 254). It is in this very room where Jadine and Son were having sex that she had a second awakening vision, which is more frightening than the one she had in Paris about the African Woman. Here, Older, black, fruitful and nurturing women – her own dead mother, her Aunt Ondine, Son‘s dead wife, the African woman in yellow and other black women of her past – become a threatening part of Jadine‘s dreams: I have breasts too,‘ she said or thought or willed, I have breasts too. ‘ But they didn‘t believe her. They just held their own higher and pushed their own farther out and looked at her,? (p. 261) and ? the night women were not merely against her not merely looking superior over their sagging breasts and folded stomachs, they seemed somehow in agreement with each other about her, and were all determined to punish her for having neglected her cultural heritage. They wanted to bind the person she had become and choke it with their breasts. The night women?accuse Jadine for trading the ? ancient properties? (p. 308) of being a daughter, mother, and a woman for her upward mobility and self-enhancement. All these women are punishing Jadine for her refusal to define herself in relation to family, historical tradition and culture. As they ‘brandish’ their breasts before her eyes, they mock and insult her with their feminity. Jadine finds these women backward and sees no self-fulfilling value in the roles that they serve. However, she is constantly haunted by dreams of the black female image that she seems to have lost throughout life. Ondine express shame and disappointment over her lack of concern for her family, the African woman, at the Parisian bakery, spits at her in disgust and the night women, in the vision at Eloe taunt her with their nurturing breasts. Having refuted her own black culture and heritage, Jadine face the consequence of a divided consciousness and a mental death. Her decision to end the love affair with Son— ? I can‘t let you hurt me again? (p. 274) is an evidence of her shunning womanhood and losing her Afro- American roots as she chooses Ryk her white boyfriend over Son who refused to become the person or image that Jadine wants him to be . Jadine is compelled to make her choice and she decides that it is in Paris, away from Son, where there are prospects of financial success and personal independence. She doesn‘t want what Son and Eloe have to offer: To settle for wifely competence when she could be a beauty queen or to settle for fertility rather than originality and nurturing instead of building? (p. 271). Jadine makes it clear to the reader that she is self-sufficient and independent of men, family and community.

Writing and Free

Writing and Free Sample Essay Positive impression developed by teachers is a long term benefit for you and you can secure yourself by providing your own writings or submitting quality custom written papers. Sample papers provided on the writing websites are for your review only. It is mostly likely that they have already been used and submitted by other students. Therefore, any possible use of such sample papers can lead to dire consequences in your academic studies. People are quite confused about the reality and impact of using sample papers. There is a number of myths that have developed with time that force students to use free sample papers instead of placing order for custom written papers. Student sample papers can be of different types and students can use sample papers in almost all academic disciplines. 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New thoughts arise not because of sample papers, we must remember. Free sample term papers, sample research papers or sample essay papers motivate students to use them and to be caught at plagiarising as a result. Custom written papers, on the contrary, encourage students to work on their own and give an example of how a well-written and properly structured assignment should really look like. If you look for APA sample papers, MLA sample papers or MBA sample papers, you can locate thousands on websites; but if you need to have a quality paper, you need to get it customized for your original needs. Even the best sample papers cannot replace a custom written research paper. It is a great risk to submit a free sample paper to your teacher, as you might get accused of plagiarism. 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If you look for APA sample papers, MLA sample papers or MBA sample papers, you can locate thousands on websites; but if you need to have a quality paper, you need to get it c ustomized for your original needs. Even the best sample papers cannot replace a custom written research paper. It is a great risk to submit a free sample paper to your teacher, as you might get accused of plagiarism. So any of the pre-written sample term papers, sample research papers and sample dissertations/theses are not worth giving a try.†¨If you need to have a good paper custom written for you, contact a good writing company for this purpose. CustomWritings.com is the company that offers you the best customized solution against all types of sample papers including, sample dissertation, sample thesis paper, sample essay paper and free sample papers. Looking for a good sample paper may be rather difficult. 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If you look for APA sample papers, MLA sample papers or MBA sample papers, you can locate thousands on websites; but if you need to have a quality paper, you need to get it customized for your original needs. Even the best sample papers cannot replace a custom written research paper. It is a great risk to submit a free sample paper to your teacher, as you might get accused of plagiarism. So any of the pre-written sample term papers, sample research papers and sample dissertations/theses are not worth giving a try.†¨If you need to have a good paper custom written for you, contact a good writing company for this purpose. CustomWritings.com is the company that offers you the best customized solution against all types of sample papers including, sample dissertation, sample thesis paper, sample essay paper and free sample papers. Looking for a good sample paper may be rather difficult. There is no guarantee that you will find the needed type sample papers or a well-written sample paper on required topic.†¨If you need to have a good paper custom written for you, contact a good writing company for this purpose. CustomWritings.com is the company that offers you the best customized solution against all types of sample papers including, sample dissertation, sample thesis paper, sample essay paper and free sample papers. Looking for a good sample paper may be rather difficult. There is no guarantee that you will find the needed type sample papers or a well-written sample paper on required topic.

Ethical Issues Of Computer Hacking

Ethical Issues Of Computer Hacking This report deals in classifying and recognising the ethical issues in the case of Kevin Mitnick and his computer hacking history, also the matter that the accusations and the way FBI prosecuted his case was correct or wrong. Each and every issue raised would be discussed further by using the three theories of consequence-Based, Duty-Based and Character-Based. Along with these explanations the general role of a computer professional will also be described in term of their knowledge and expertise leading to hacking. Hence this report will be divided mainly in two parts; the first part will focus on the highlights of ethical issues while the second would deal the computer professional part. A detail sketch of Kevin Mitnicks history of hacking is cited in the case scenario which is the part of the report described later. Firstly short introduction of ethics and its three theories are going to be discussed which will lead a way easy to understand and fair well to implement it on the Kevin Mitnick case. ETHICS: Ethics has been described in many different ways by different people over the man history including some great Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle and many more. Greeks typically defined ethics as the study of what was good for the infidel and the society. The simplest way to explain ethics is to differ and reflect a human character in the terms of good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair, also responsible or irresponsible. On conclusion it will lead a human being moral character to be in good conduct. Ethics can also be referred as to what humans are supposed to do when they have to follow the prescribed standards of rights and wrongs, which normally would lead him in terms of rights, his benefits to the society he lives, his obligations and so on. Also ethics can be referred as studying of moral character of human being and developing it to an ethical standard. [1] Ethics begins when elements within a moral system conflict. [1] Ethics survives in many forms in branches, eras, traditions, literature etc. All of them follow the root hub of ethics but the form of ethics which is described and followed in this case study is called Cyberethics. Cyberethics: To understand the meaning of Cyberethics a good knowledge of Cybertechnology is essential. Modern eras devices which are used in cyberspace such as handheld devices, personal computers, mainframes, networks and the most important the internet can be termed as a part of Cybertechnology. Cybertechnology in terms refers to a broad spectrum of technologies that ranges from standalone computers to the clustered of networked computing, information and communication technologies. [2] Various definitions of Cyberethics are there which are mostly dealing with ethical issues with certain types of online activities like pornography, gambling. It can be signified as certain laws which are not monitored by the judicial or law governing bodies but for an individual himself going beyond his moral values which would be something different from cyber law. Cyberethics can be defined as the field of applied ethics that examines moral, legal and social issues in the development and use of Cybertechnology [2] Ethical Theories As this report has to follow certain type of ethical theories in order to identify the ethical issues a short description of each ethical theories are as below. Consequence-Based As by its name, consequence based theories responsible for producing the most desirable outcomes. The ultimate standards for consequence of actions against which the moral decisions evaluates is highlighted in this theory. The goodness or right identified by consequence would be something considered as Consequence-Based ethical theory which responsibly gives outcomes for someone, but who should be benefitted from this outcome? This argument has mostly been provided by different utilitarian thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham, Henry Sedgwick and John Stuart Mill. The argument provided by these thinkers follows the theory that an act of some individual or a whole social policy would be acceptable if it will provide benefits for majority of individuals which result in the effection with the given policy or from the provided act by specific individual. Jeremy Bentham states that People are driven by their interests and their fears, but their interests take precedence over their fears, and their interests are carried out in accordance with how people view the consequences that might be involved with their interests. [3] Consequence-based ethics mainly describes that whatever happens the final results should be in benefitted to large number of population rather than that of a certain minority. Moreover it should provide happiness to everyone rather than just a single individual. Duty-Based Duty based ethical theory gives perception of Deontology which is derived from the Greek word Deon means Duty. Deontology is the approach which defines goodness and right that would be achieved by studying the act of an individual or social policy rather than the consequence it leads too. Immanuel Kant is considered to be a great Deontological thinker who always criticized Utilitarian thinkers describing that morality must be defined as the duty of an individual to one another despite consequence produced normally when a certain individual performs a specific type of action. He further said that happiness is not something which should be concerned in term of morality, the motives and goals of a human being are the qualities which make him able to choose right and wrong rather than consequences. W.D Ross a deontological thinker states: Utilitarianism seems to simplify unduly our relations to our fellows. It says, in effect, that the only morally significant relation in whom my neighbours stand to me is that of being possible beneficiaries of my action. They do stand in this relation to me, and this relation is morally significant. But they may also stand to me in the relation of promise to promisor, of creditor to debtor, of wife to husband, of fellow countryman to fellow countryman, and the like; and each of these relations is the foundation of aduty'[4] So in short a Duty-Based approach gives a clear conclusion that morality of a human being would be carried out by the acts he performs able enough to justify being right or wrong. Honesty, Justice, Violence etc. should be the characteristics for which he will be regarded his moral duty rather than getting happy by telling a lie. Character-Based Character Based theory is something different which rejects the first two theories which were focusing on consequence and an act, despite this theory focuses on an individual character and is widely known as Virtue Ethics. The main concerns are the individuals moral character which does not rely on duties and consequences. It has very old history rages back to some great Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato who contended that each person has to obtain a right virtue as everyone will have a certain virtue in him which will be his strength and excellences leading toward good and bad moral character. Virtue ethics is also considered to be an agent oriented rather than the first two which are action oriented and rule oriented. It is only by mean of the idea of Virtue than any judgment done for a moral worth or its if its opposite possible, everything which are good and are not based on morally good disposition is simply nothing but pretence and glittering misery. [5] Background Our case study is about a person named Kevin Mitnick who is considered to be the first hacker in computer world to reach the FBI most wanted list. His arrest was taken place on 15 Feb 1995 by FBI in which he was accused of number of acts which included breaking into computer systems and networks all over the world and altering information which put damage to the company by investing more into new security measures and also for the charge of violations of his terms and conditions of his period of probation for his previous computer crimes. Mitnick was caught by the help of a Japanese computer security expert Tsutomu Shimomura whose system was hacked by Kevin Mitnick in San Diego Supercomputer centre which made him furious to track and help FBI. This was Mitnicks school days when for the first time he got fascinated with computers and start hacking. He was having strong passion of technology which made him learn quickly and he shortly managed to Hack LA public school districts computer. When Mitnick was just 17 he hacked into Pacific Bell and altered phone bills there, and in the same year he jumped into San Francisco Companys network where he got access to some information valued of $200,000. But he was caught and prosecuted which earned him a probation period of 6 months. He didnt sit idle in probation period and hacked into the telephone company again and disconnected the probation officers phone and accessed a credit service computer and altered the computerised record of the judge on his case. Interestingly police caught the fact that the system has been accessed from outside. During this time he also convicted of stealing software from a company in Santa Cruz, California. NORAD, a missiles monitoring company in states, was his next victim, which could have catastrophic effects as NORAD is a part of an early warning system and responsible for monitoring possible missile attacks directed toward United States. In 1988 he was accused of two more crimes, firstly accessing MCI network for long distance calls and secondly stealing some computer security system from a Digital Equipment Corporation causing a damage of $4 million in total. This time the judge decided to put Mitnick in jail without bail. During his bail attempts prosecutor presented evidence that he had penetrating a national security agency in Washington. He also planted a false story about a bank describing some heavy loss and where he was about to get job, the story was detected and Mitnick was accused responsible and denied for job. This was March 15 1989 when Mitnick pleaded guilty for the two crimes and sent to jail for one year with six months of psychological counselling and also with three years of probation. In 1992 FBI suspect Mitnick of hacking into Pacific Bell system again, his work place as searched, he disappeared and evidences were found later. While searches were carrying on for Pacific Bell more evidences were found that Mitnick hacked California Driver Licence records to set up a false identity for himself and also posed as a police officer to collect some information. Warrant of arrest was issued against him but each time he managed successfully to flee from police raid. Finally found and arrested in 1995 and was charged with various new crimes and violations of his parole. His bail was denied and it was ensured that no more computer equipment is handed to him in jail. His phone calls were closely monitored and in 1997 Mitnick was sentenced for 22 months after pleaded guilty. This sentence was followed by 3 years of probation period in which he was ordered to stay away from any Hi-Tech equipment. He was released in January 2000 and his probation was ended in January 2003. [6][7][8] Ethical issues: There are number of Ethical issues in the given case study, their discussion in the light of above theories. * Hacking into the networks of different companies by gaining access to unauthorized files or data. Was it ethical to access private files and data or even just breaking into a computer network? By applying the consequence based approach breaking in a computer network illegally and/or gain access to private files had benefited Mitnick only nor anybody else. Utilitarism states that the majority must gain happiness on the base of consequence but in the case of Mitnick he himself only gain happiness and not the majority, so it concluded that this act is going to be wrong for Mitnick that it is not ethical for him to gain or break into someone private computer network. The duty base approach and deontology theory would easily say this was wrong. Mitnicks act can be easily considered wrong to gain access to another computer networks. The ten commandments of ethics which was defined in 1992 states that all companies would have secure file and data and would not be breached by an unauthorized outsider. Hence this was completely wrong by Mitnick to do so. If the current study case would be judged through character based ethical approach so it would be obvious that Mitnick break into computer networks for his passion of technology and for the sake of fun. His thirst of knowledge forced him to continue in breaking into computer networks and gain more knowledge which was a great fun for him. But if considered morally this is completely wrong. By virtue ethics Mitnicks adopted path was not legitimate and he should have chosen the right path. * Kevin Mitnick never done hacking for any financial purpose instead his hacking was just for the sake of challenge or sometime taking revenge from people. Was it Ethical to hack for any reason and to take challenges and getting revenge from people? If this is to be dealt by consequence based theory , the answer would be definitely NO in this case totally because of the fact that extracting revenge from someone or going to win a challenge to prove his ability was beneficial for Mitnick only and majority of people would not be happy from this outcome. Duty based approach would state again NO as seeking revenge or damaging or doing any kind of unauthorized steps of which someone is not authorize to do. Mitnick was not supposed to do as this is not something an individual should act like. Character based or Virtue ethics justify in picking good habits of ones moral character and to leave the odd ones out to be a good human being for himself. In this case Mitnick has done good for himself by causing harm to others which isnt something good for an individual character. * Mitnick got access to his school computer network system and hacked Pacific Bell for altering phone bills. Was it ethically right for him to break into a computer of his school and Pacific Bell to alter phone bills while he was only 17 years old? Consequence ethical approach would again say NO as this is something he totally done for himself. This is something he for his own benefit for his own good and not for anybody else. The alteration in the phone bills will lead to create losses for the phone company which might turn up into large number as well. Thus this was something completely wrong to do so. Duty based ethical approach in this case would again lead to conclusion of NO as there is no actor policy which allow Mitnick to break into school system or into Phone Company to alter his phone bills. Based on the outcome his act was considered to be totally wrong. In the light of Character based approach, it leads to the fact that morally Mitnick knew that it was wrong in doing so but still he preferred to adopt his bad habit, which concludes that the outcome will be again NO. * Mitnick was in his probation period when got access to telephone company and disconnect his parole officers phone, he also altered the computer record of the judge of his case in a credit service computer. Was it ethical for Kevin to do such an act? Applying consequence based approach to this case will once again lead to NO because the result of what he done was bad for his parole officer and the judge. This is a kind of act which is considered as have done for his own satisfaction, being on probation he should have avoided such strong illegal moves but he didnt. Duty based approach would not go in favour of Mitnick in this issue. His act was definitely wrong as the judge would have very bad impact of him and as well parole office too must have been unhappy. While on probation one should be very careful about law and should not go against it but Mitnick do for his own feud. Character based ethical theory never permit someones moral character to take revenge and to hurt someone , in this case according to this law it will again go for NO. Thinking of revenge and hurting someone is considered to be very bad habit and also if an act leading to something which is not taken morally good with the assurance that law is not allowing such deeds, so a good moral character will never allow someone to go against law to hunt for his own happiness. * Mitnick found guilty in stealing software from a company in Santa Cruz California but at the same time there was not any convection record FBI database. Was it ethical to steal and alter record? Consequence based theory would not tolerate stealing or altering. Stealing is something really bad which is not allowed in any circumstances and even if assumed it does it would be something advantageous to majority, but in this case as it is obvious no beneficial for majority so the answer is NO. Duty based ethical approach strongly oppose act of stealing or altering which wont be considered good , so once again in comparisons of acts the answer is again NO. Character based believes that stealing is one of the bad habits of a human being and unauthorized alteration of records is also of the same category. Mitnick was convicted of such bad deeds so the answer will be again NO this time. * Convicted of breaking into North American Air Defence Command (NORAD) missiles defence system. Was it ethical for Mitnick to break into a defence system of a country? Judging the study case through Consequence based ethical approach, it would be a high dispute because getting access to such sensitive system could have catastrophic affects on millions of people. It would be extremely dangerous if such files to be changed or harmed. So the answer for this case will be NO The duty based ethical approach would not allow any such policy or rule for someone who want to have unauthorized access to such delicate system as the outcome can be extremely dangerous. So the answer is NO. The third approach of Character based would consider it to be worse habit of one moral character in doing so as the outcome can be something very harmful to large number of people. So its a NO. * Mitnick accessed MCI network for long distance calls and in another case he caused $4 million damage to Digital Equipment Corporation. Was it ethical to illegally access MCI and cause damage of worth $4 million to a company? The Consequence theory would say NO because again the minority gets benefit which is Mitnick and the majority faces damages which is the MCI network also the Digital Cop lost lots of money which is again the majority in damage. The Duty theory will again have no support for Mitnick as the case describes the huge losses for both the companies from what the Mitnick done with them. There is no such policy or act which can allow an individual to do so in any circumstances. So the answer is simply NO. Character based theory is again on its answer with NO and the reason for that is as stated above many times that alteration of records and damaging any private and confidential files cause harm to others which is considered a bad deed or bad habit. * In 1988 Judge denied him bail and ordered him to be held in jail. Was the judge ethical in doing so? This period lasted for eight months in solitary consignment for Mitnick. Now there is an additional act which is the Judge, Consequence based ethical theory has support with this act because Mitnick was responsible for causing harm to large majority of people but there is some conflict in the case as well, as Mitnick was put in jail for 8 months without bail and at that time it was not proved that these had been done by him, so this is a bit harsh on Mitnick, so here Mitnick get some support from Consequence theory. In duty base Judge gets support which is from the reason that Mitnick had caused harm to major companies and people but still the decision was too harh for him as he deserved at least a trail. As from Character based theory here the Judge lost his support as it was a fact that Mitnick was notorious but he deserved a trail and even if the Judge though he didnt, it was a wrong decision to put him in a solitary consignment. Mitnick would have come to good way by putting him in a normal jail as it was very harsh to put him in a solitary consignment. * While FBI was doing their most to catch Mitnick, he flee from the authorities on a number of occasions for two years by using fake identities to hide himself from the authorities. Was it ethical for him to do so? Mitnick at this point again done everything for his own good and during this period he caused damage to majority with his activities, so Consequence based theory would not support him on this issue. Using fake identities and staying on run for two years is not something good but a way to misguide law, which would not be supported by Duty based. Using fake identities by damaging other people identities to keep himself safe is something taking law in his own hands. It is not a good deed so according to Character based theory the answer will a definite NO. * Shimomura helped FBI to catch Mitnick, Was it ethically right for him to do so? All the three ethical theories Consequence, Duty and Character based would support Shimomura, as ethically he is right. It is duty of everyone to help the law to catch someone who has been causing harm to the community, and it is morally right for every individual to help to catch law breakers like Kevin Mitnick. * From 1995 till 1997 Mitnick was held in federal prison without bail and trail by FBI, was it ethically right to do so? Consequence based ethical theory in this case is going to support FBI as Mitnick was harm to many Firm companies and people but the support is going through only if Mitnick was charged after trial to stay in prison. As it has been described a number of times that law is superior than anything else, so in Mitnicks case again FBI should have run the case under law and should have allowed a fair trial to convict Mitnick, which has not been done, so this time the Duty base approach is supporting Mitnick and the answer is yes as FBI were ethically wrong in doing so. Character based would not support FBI as it is out of law to keep someone in prison for 2 years without fair trail and the chance for bail. At least he deserved fair trail and if found guilty then should have faced whatever he deserved. Role of a Professional A simple definition of a professional can be done like that, anyone who hold a degree in any particular field of education and then uses that knowledge in his relative field and making sure that professionalism follows the code of ethics including the terms Behaviour, society , confidentiality etc. At the time when a professional is hired, normally a contract or a bond is created between the two to follow certain defined acts and rules of policy and to keep high level of security by keeping the data safe and to avoid by missing any kind of data of the organization. Organization which is totally related to Information Technology or having an IT department also maintain a specified policy between its engineers and themselves. In this particular case the role of a software engineer, hardware engineer or an application engineer have to follow those rules and policies but also IEEE CODE OF ETHICS which is considered to be the main source of ethics code for any IT professional should be followed by any IT professional related to any field of Information Technology and in this case being software, application and hardware engineer. [9] Use of Knowledge for Hacking by a Professional It is quite disastrous when a computer professional use his knowledge for hacking. By taking each of different IT professionals individually and considering hardware engineer first to discuss, it is coming obvious that hard ware engineer can use his knowledge both in right way or the wrong way, as hardware devices manually build are quite useful in hacking mainly portable devices which is something like which Kevin Mitnick used for hacking. A question arises here that is it right to do so? The answer is quite simple NO because its against the code of ethics which exists in many forms of Cybertechnology. Same rules and principles applied for software engineer and application engineer as software and application level technical support is quite useful to build or modify codes of program and make its own custom made to be useful for something negative, which is not appreciated in society because of it harmful nature to many. A very technical question sometime being asked, Can all this knowledge be used in positive way? Can hacking be positive? The answer to these question is YES and is something called Ethical Hacker. Ethical Hacker vs. Hacker Hacker is someone who uses his knowledge on negative side and breaks in system, while an ethical hacker is someone who is doing hacking which is called penetration testing and hacks into different systems in order to identify security holes and then inform companies with or without solutions. Such kind of work is normally being done by security firms who is licensed to do so and has authorized to do so. An individual, who is not a part of a security firm and have no pre confirmed authorization, breaking into system would be consider a crime. Ethical hacker has the duty of catching hackers as well. In our case study Tsutomu Shirmomura is an ethical hacker who used his knowledge to catch a hacker Kevin Mitnick. Time has changed now, Kevin Mitnick is no more hacker, rather he is ethical hacker now who runs his own security company and does penetration testing for various organizations by accessing their systems, but this time the access is legal, authorized and paid. Conclusion Like many other technologies Information technology has also had good and bad impacts. Hacking is considered to be a negative act in the world of Cybertechnology. Kevin Mitnick curiosity for technology made him a Hacker, first started with a fun but then turned up quite disrupting. However if the case is studied with some realistic fact, it is seem to be very unfair when FBI holding him solitary confinement for 8 months without bail and trail. It unfair for a person like Kevin Mitnick calibre as from the case study its quite obvious that he was a genius. And for sure if a genius is treated like this way he is bound to go on run. This leads to a situation that if he is suspected in the future and he has not committed that crime, he would be afraid of facing the same thing happened with him by putting him in prison without bail and trail. In a documentary movie on the life of Kevin Mitnick Freedom Downtime Life of Kevin Mitnick the reports from psychologist stated that it was an event which every individual will want to run away and then his bad part took over him of which he evaded FBI for two years. Putting Mitnick in jail for 2 years between 1995 and 1997 with not access to bail is again something wrong. A fair trail is a right of every individual when one does something wrong then why not this applied on Mitnick. There are statements from Lawyers that even murderers get bail and trail then why Mitnick didnt? Whatever Mitnick had done he deserve to be punish for that as that were totally unethical with the time but if FBI would have used the law in sincere and fair way he wouldnt end up that way and he would have only been sentenced for the time period he deserved. One of the most interesting part of American Judiciary is that Kevin Mitnick is the longest held person in history without trial or bail which can be considered as to be totally unfair for him. Mitnick has changed his life after ending his 3 years of probation in 2003, Mitnick has started a securit y consulting company and now offering a role of ethical hacker and using penetration which test to check his client security flaws and using the code of ethics quite well. Kevin Mitnick is now using his professional skills toward his clients and himself which leads to the fact that his knowledge is now being used for positive way to secure his reputation and prove to the entire world that he is a genius.

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Simple Machines   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A windmill is a machine that uses the wind to turn a wheel of adjustable vanes, slats or sails. As the wheel turns, it turns a shaft, wheels, and gears that power machinery. It is more properly called a â€Å"wind pump,† but most people call it a â€Å"windmill.† Windmills have been used for hundred of years to power machinery used to grind grain such as wheat and corn. Today we also have windmills, called â€Å"wind turbines,† that generate electricity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All machines are a combination of several simple machines or modifications of one. A simple machine is one that is moved by just one force. The six types of simple machines are the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge, and the screw. A lever is a long plank, beam or bar that is used to move heavy loads. Examples of a lever are seesaws, scissors, broom, tweezers, and ice-tongs. A wheel is a cylindrical object that rotates about axis of the cylinder. Wheels are on cars and trains. Some wheels turn other wheels, like geared wheels on a bicycle or a clock. Some wheels turn together like the doorknobs, or the knobs on a televisions. A pulley is a grooved wheel. A rope is fitted into the grove and turns the wheel when pulled. An inclined plane is a very simple machine. It has a sloping surface that makes it easier to pull, push, or roll heavy objects. Examples are wheelchair ramps or a stairway. The screw is an inclined plane wound at its edge on a cylinder or cone. Examples of a screw includes faucets,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Saizan 2 screw-in bulbs, and screw-on bottle tops. The wedge is essentially an inclined plane such as knives, blades, nails, needles, pins, wood and axes.

Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing Essay -- Aristotle Philosophy Philoso

Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing Aristotle describes three types of life in his search for human flourishing: lives of gratification, politics, and contemplation. He contends that there is a single Idea of Good that all men seek, and he finds that happiness, or eudaimonia, best fits his criteria. Aristotle investigates the human purpose to find how happiness is best achieved, and finds that a life of activity and contemplation satisfies our purpose, achieving the most complete happiness in us. Aristotle is correct regarding the necessity of activity, but restricts the theory to only the life of study. We will reject this restriction, and instead allow any life of virtue and productivity to substitute for Aristotle’s life of study. One primary means of remaining active to achieve happiness includes loving friendships, which only happen to the virtuous. Thus human flourishing is living a life of virtue, activity, and productivity. Aristotle proposes that we have a single Idea of Good which is both complete and self-sufficient, chosen entirely for itself, and that end is happiness. He must establish these three claims: Idea of Good Claim 1) We have ends which we choose for themselves. Idea of Good Claim 2) That there is only one such end. Idea of Good Claim 3) That end is happiness. He argues for Idea of Good Claim 1) as follows (Irwin 173): 1.1. If we choose everything because of something else, desire will be empty and futile. 1.2. We have a gut feeling that some desires are not empty and futile. 1.3. Therefore, we do not choose everything because of something else. 1.4. Therefore we choose something for its own sake. 1.5. What we choose for its own sake, therefore, must be the best good. Th... ...nt role in helping us remain active and virtuous. We can apply a broader application of this search for happiness by allowing lives other than that of study and contemplation to be pursued, as long as virtue and loving friendships are present. To arrive at this conclusion we postulated two of Aristotle’s premises (see Postulate 1 and Postulate 2); allowing these lead us to a worthwhile map of how one may reach eudaimonia, the Idea of Good which follows from the postulates. Overlaying a life of productivity for Aristotle’s requirement of study, we have achieved a valid argument, assuming the postulates, for a means of human flourishing. One should live one’s life with virtue, activity, and productivity. Work Cited: All references are made to Nicomachean Ethics, written by Aristotle, translated by Terrence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1999.

“Little boy crying” by Mervin Morris Essay

Mervin Morris writes â€Å"Little boy crying† making reference to the relationship between a kid and an adult, who in this case is his father. Throughout the poem different feelings and emotions are expressed, not only of the child but also of the man. The little boy turned his â€Å"recently relaxed† face into â€Å"tight† because of that â€Å"quick slap struck† his â€Å"guilty† father gave him. But despite the fact that the kid took his father as a â€Å"grim giant† because of hitting him, this man’s intention was not to make him suffer of pain or anything like that; it was just an unwanted but necessary little punishment, perhaps for a prank or misbehaviour. In fact the father felt â€Å"guilty† and full of â€Å"sorrow†. Mervin introduces an allegory of a rather famous story called: â€Å"Jack and the beanstalk†. The child imagined his father as an â€Å"ogre†, who climbed a huge tree. â€Å"He hates him†. He imagined himself â€Å"chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down or plotting deeper pits to trap him†, as it happens in â€Å"Jack and the beanstalk†. The relationship between the â€Å"three-year-old† full of â€Å"frustration† child and the adult seems to be bursting of complications because the kid is quite capricious and the man has to punish him, so that he learns not to do whatever he wants without evaluating the consequences before. But he â€Å"cannot understand, not yet† how his â€Å"easy tears† affect his father who is wishing to â€Å"curb† boy’s sadness. Even though an ogre can punish you, you know that he loves you and that you have to learn the â€Å"lessons† from him, because you know, very deep inside, that ogre is your father. That last sentence can summaries the moral of the poem. This particular poem uses words to make the reader feel he or she is â€Å"seeing† it, or being part of it: â€Å"the quick slap struck†, this last sentence is composed of monosyllabic words that imitate the sound of the hit. Another example of this â€Å"trying the reader to feel part of the poem† is the use of the â€Å"you†; it is a kind of conversation between the writer and the reader. Other images that facilitate this process are made by the use of words or phrases suggesting movement or sound, like â€Å"chopping† and â€Å"scrambling down†. But in this poem is not all about the kid, and his feelings, the other character has a very important role. He has to pretend being something is not; â€Å"behind that mask† there is a man who suffers the situation more that the kid, but he has to be seen as a strict authority, as any parent must. This poem reflects nothing but the truth of an ordinary relationship between any father and his son during the growing and maturing process of the kid; but it does not end there: in the last paragraph, which is also the last line, there is a nine words long sentence emphasized by being left alone, that carries a moral in it: â€Å"you must not make a plaything of the rain†. This is a metaphor that could be translated as: â€Å"you must not cry just because† (the rain represents the tears).

Emirates Airline: Penetrating the North American Market

Emirates Airline is known for going against conventional thinking when running its business. Thus far, this strategy has been profitable for the company. In November 2001, the airline announced that it would begin a 13 ? non-stop flight from Dubai to New York starting in June of 2003. However a postponement in the delivery of the Airbus A380-800 aircraft that would service the new route has caused a delay. This will be Emirates’ attempt at penetrating the North American market. In the current politically charged climate there is debate as to whether or not it will be profitable to expand service to this new route from Dubai to New York. Tensions between Washington and the Arab world create restraints as to when Emirates will be able to expand service. However, the main question currently facing Emirates is whether it should expand to New York at this point in time. Unlike many other airlines, Emirates sees no threat surrounding the tensions in the Middle East. The climate has been this politically charged for the past ten years. In fact, during the first Gulf War in 1991, Emirates Airlines was the only airline that did not cancel any of its flights. They continued flying to Kuwait when a majority of its competitors stopped. Emirates continued business as usual and picked up additional business from those airlines that downsized and stopped flights in the region. This strategy exemplifies how Emirates has gone against conventional thinking and come out ahead. Country Risk Analysis Middle East Region Overview The Middle Eastern region is characterized by economies that are over-dependent on oil; however, they differ on size, wealth, and political agendas. A few of the key players in this region include: Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Of these countries, the United Arab Emirates is quite comparable in many aspects to its neighbors. The UAE and Qatar are not expected to suffer from as much government instability in the threat of war as the other countries. Iran and Iraq, however, have had their share of political unrest, which has drastically affected their oil exports and prices. To counterattack these effects, Iraq has put pressure on the other OPEC countries to increase oil prices and decrease oil exports to the US and Great Britain. As a result, the GDP of all Middle Eastern countries will decrease due to the heavy reliance of oil revenues in exports and as a percentage of GDP. While oil is what makes these countries wealthy, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar enjoy higher GDP per capita over Iraq because of their political situations. Dictatorial governments in Iraq allocate funds to programs that will not necessarily aid the country in the long-run. Literacy rates of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, and the UAE have increased steadily over the past decade. This is mostly owed to government beliefs that educated citizens will 3 augment the status of the country in all aspects. All five countries export to and import from similar countries including; Japan, Italy, China and the US. The main export for these countries is oil and the main imports are machinery and equipment, chemicals and food. United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located in the Middle East between Oman and Saudi Arabia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The country is slightly smaller than the state of Maine, which makes it a very small country within the Middle East region. The population of the UAE is approximately 3,480,000 people. The literacy rate for the UAE is 79. 2% for the total population above 15 years. When categorized by sex, men and women have comparable literacy rates, a rarity in the Middle East region. The population is predominantly Muslim (96%), with the remaining 4% of the population consists of Christians, Hindus and others. Although Arabic is the official language of the country, Persian, English, Hindi and Urdu are also spoken. The UAE is a federation state formed on December 2, 1971 and is composed of seven emirates. The emirates included in the UAE are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ras AlKhaimah, and Umm Al-Qaiwain. Prior to the formation of the federation state, the UAE existed as the Trucial States that belonged to the British for the previous 150 years. The Rulers and the British signed a Perpetual Treaty of Maritime Truce in the 1850s that guarantees peace and protection from external threats. In exchange, the British had direct involvement in its foreign affairs and external defenses. When the British intended to withdraw from the Gulf in 1968, the rulers of the seven emirates came together and formed the federation state with hopes to increase their role in global politics. Economic Environment United Arab Emirates’ economy is heavily dependent on oil production. Abu Dhabi is the largest producer, followed by Dubai, and to a much lesser extent, the remaining emirates. Although oil’s contribution to GDP has been declining in the past few years, government revenue and the non-oil economy continue to be heavily reliant. GDP for the year ending 2001 was 67. 6(US$bn) and 21,000(US$bn) per capita, and 70% of government revenue resulted from oil production. Fluctuations in oil prices impact the growth and volatility of the UAE’s economy. The UAE is a member of the WTO, but has been slow to comply with its requirements for liberalizing trade and competition. The banking sector is closed to foreign investment and other ventures must be 51% owned by a local partner. The exceptions to these rules are in free zones, where 100% foreign ownership is permitted. The limitations on foreign direct investment deter the process of economic diversification. Abu Dhabi is the most resistant to opening its economy, but it has pursued private sector involvement to improve infrastructure regarding water and power. Dubai has chosen to focus its efforts on expanding its services sector by creating Dubai Internet City (DIC) and Dubai Media City (DMC), which are free zones where investors can retain 100% ownership. Dubai also allows foreign investors to own property and purchase shares in UAE listed companies. The UAE typically runs a budget deficit, and the 2002 budget projects one of Dh2. 17bn. Federal spending is expected to increase by 2. 2%, and revenue is expected to grow by 3%. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the UAE Central Bank are the main contributors to the federal budget.

Facts about tamil language Essay

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of South India and North-east Sri Lanka. It has official status in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Tamil is also a national language of Sri Lanka and an official language of Singapore It is legalized as one of the languages of medium of education in Malaysia along with English, Malay and Mandarin. It is also chiefly spoken in the states ofKerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands as one of the secondary languages. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was the first Indian language to be declared a classical language by the Government of India in 2004. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius, Canada, South Africa, Fiji, Germany, Philippines, United States, Netherlands, Mauritius, Indonesia, and Reunion as well as emigrant communities around the world. Tamil is one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world. It has been described as â€Å"the only language of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical past.† and having â€Å"one of the richest literatures in the world†. Tamil literature has existed for over 2000 years. The earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from around the 5th century BC. The earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is dated from ca. 300 BC – AD 300. Tamil language inscriptions written c. 1st century BC and 2nd century AD have been discovered in Egypt, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The two earliest manuscripts from India, to be acknowledged and registered by UNESCO Memory of the World register in 1997 and 2005 were in Tamil. More than 55% of the epigraphical inscriptions (about 55,000) found by the Archaeological Survey of India are in the Tamil language. According to a 2001 survey, there were 1,863 newspapers published in Tamil, of which 353 were dailies. It has the oldest extant literature amongst other Dravidian languages. The variety and quality of classical Tamil literature has led to its being described as â€Å"one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world† Facts about language: Tamil is the oldest language in the world. It is the mother of all Indo European languages including Sanskrit. Recent archaeological (Adhichanalloor and Indian ocean) evidence shows that the language is related to sumerian and that Tamil was spoken in South India more than 5000 years ago. Tamil legend says speaks of a lost continent, â€Å"Kumari Kandam† which is believed to be submerged under Indian Ocean. Recent excavations in Indian Ocean seem to support this legend. Kumari Kandam is a legendary sunken kingdom sometimes compared with Lemuria. In Tamil tradition, Kumari Kandam is referred to as the Land of Purity, a sophisticated kingdom of higher learning, located south of Kanyakumari Sangam literature describes about Kumari Kandam, which lay to the south and east of the Tamil country, which had been lost to the sea in two successive inundations. The two inundations are said to mark the division between the three sangam periods. Geological features described in the literature include two main rivers of Kumari Kandam as the Pagruliyaru and the Kumari. It is also believed to have had numerous great cities with great monuments and the foremost among those cities were the two first and second cities of Madurai. Both the first and the second Tamil literary Sangam Eras, the Muthal Sangam and the Idaii Sangam, were said to have been held in those two respective cities of Madurai. Dravidian Traditions give the two Sangamperiods antiquities ranging in tens of thousands of years with a timeline of about 10,000 B.C to the second. Both the Sangam Eras were supposed to have been terminated by deluges which submerged Tamil lands. The Epics Shilappadikaram and Manimekhalai describe the submerged city of Puhar. The timeline will make a better understanding: * 200,000 to 50,000 BC: evolution of â€Å"the Tamilian or Homo Dravida† * 200,000 to 100,000 BC: beginnings of the Tamil language * 50,000 BC: Kumari Kandam civilisation * 20,000 BC: A lost Tamil culture of the Easter Island which had an advanced civilisation * 16,000 BC: Lemuria submerged * 6087 BC: Second Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king * 3031 BC: A Chera prince in his wanderings in the Solomon Island saw wild sugarcane and started cultivation in Kumari Kandam * 1780 BC: The Third Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king * 7th century BC: Tolkappiyam (the earliest known extant Tamil grammar) Knowledge and Status of Tamil Language at present: Tamil is the oldest living language of India and the world. It belongs to the Dravidian group of languages. Tamil is the official language of the state of Tamil Nadu, and also has official status in Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil ranks 17th amongst the top twenty of the world’s most spoken languages. Tamil has a literary tradition of over two thousand years. Tolkappiyam, the oldest known literary work in Tamil, has been dated variously between second century BC and fifth century AD. Tamil was declared a classical language of India by the Government of India in 2004 and was the first Indian language to have been accorded the status. The Tamil script consists of 12 vowels, 18 consonants and one special character, the aytam. The vowels and consonants combine to form 216 compound characters, making a total of 247 characters.