Theodore Kaczynski Essay examples -- essays research papers fc

I. Life Kaczynski was born on May 22, 1942 to Wanda and Theodore Kaczynski of Evergreen Park Ill, a tidy and middle class suburb of Chicago. The second son Ted’s brother, David was born in 1950. As children, both kids were very reclusive, not playing with any neighbor children and rarely seen outside of the house. At a young age Ted started to show signs of being a gifted learner, he skipped a year in elementary school and his junior year in high school. Ted spent most of his early life studying math and science alone instead of being social in any kind of way. Ted had a different side to him though, he had a love of explosives which he homemade with his know how in the fields that he studied. Kaczynski was accepted into Harvard at 16 years old but he was finished before turning 20. Next he became a professor at Berkley university. In 1969 Ted gave up the job to live with his parents. He became fed up with his family and left for Montana in 1971 to live on the 1.4-acre plot of land he and his brother had bought near Lincoln . Once there, Ted built a small one-room shack on this parcel of land surrounded by dense deciduous forest. The shack measured 10 feet by 12 feet and lacked electricity and plumbing. Kaczinski lived by farming a few vegetables in his small garden and venturing into town only when necessary. It is unknown when Kaczynski started to make his bombs for the purpose of killing but his motives, the FBI believe are his beliefs about today’s society being dest...

Euthanasia Should Be A Legal Option Essay -- Euthanasia Essays

Euthanasia is a controversial subject, not only because there are many different moral dilemmas associated with it, but also in what constitutes its definition. At the extreme ends of disagreement, advocates say euthanasia, also known as physician aid in dying, is a good or merciful death. Opponents of euthanasia say it's a fancy word for murder. There are reasons that would make a person lean toward the side of euthanasia, and there are also reasons that would turn someone away from euthanasia. The arguments against euthanasia include the church's view on the topic of suicide. The arguments in favor of euthanasia include the patients wish to have dignity. However, regardless of the patients wishes, suicide is against the law. If a person has a living will, it would allow the doctors to lawfully end any life preserving treatment. Without a living will this cannot be done. The decision to allow a patient to end his or her life is clearly not an easy one. The courts feel that unless there is a living will to state what the patient would want to be done, the authorities must try to save the patient. The law does not require that everything must be done to keep a patient alive. Some people feel that keeping a patient alive against his or her wishes is not only cruel and inhumane, but it is also contrary to law and practic e. However, for centuries now, physicians in training have been taking the ?Hippocratic Oath?. This oath is taken from the Greek physician Hypocrites who lived thousands of years ago. The ?Hippocratic Oath? imposes on two duties: to prolong life, and relieve suffering. The problems come about because these two duties are often in conflict. The question most of the time is to decide when prol... ...y four hours a day, and I knew my illness was incurable, I would probably want to put an end to that suffering. I would not want my family and loved ones around see me suffer. Also, I would want to die with as much dignity as possible. But then again, I am not in that situation, so I am not positive that is what I would want to do, you just have to be in the situation to make the best possible decision. Bibliography: 1. Friedman,Emily. Ethics Issues For Health Care Professionals. Baskerville: American Hospital Publishing, 1986. 2. Maguire,Daniel. Death By Choice. Garden City: Doubleday & Company,1984. 3. Reich,Warren. Quality Of Life. New York: Paulist Press, 1990. 4. Brody,Baruch. Life And Death Decision Making. New York: Oxford University Press,1988. 5. Chapman,Carleton. Physicians,Law,& Ethics. New York: New York University Press,1984.

Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E Portny

The â€Å"Dummies Series† book, Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E. Portny (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2001), is, in my opinion, a relatively easy-to-read (although also somewhat structurally fragmented in places), step-by-step â€Å"how-to† book, for either current or prospective project managers, with or without experience. In life, every individual has projects to complete – usually a never-ending series of them, in fact, and often more than one project to complete simultaneously. One's projects may be personal or professional; voluntary or required. They may be for our selves alone; for friends or family; for churches, clubs, or communities; special events; or for colleagues; companies, or employers. As the author concurs, in his â€Å"Introduction† to the text: Projects have been around since ancient times. Noah built the ark, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine – all projects. . . . Why then, is the topic of project management suddenly of such great interest today? The answer is simple. The audience has changed and the Management projects in particular, however, as Portny also points out, within Chapter 1, must meet three key criteria; they must have (1) â€Å"Specific outcomes†;(2) â€Å"Definite start and end dates†, and (3) Established budgets† (p. 10). Further, as that chapter mentions, project management â€Å"includes three basic operations† (p. 12), which are: (1)planning; (2)organizing; and (3) control (Portny). In management today, for managers at all levels, completing projects; meeting project goals; and meeting project deadlines, are more important, as skills, aptitudes, and professional achievements, than ever before, especially within today's super competitive business environment. As Portny also states at the outset: â€Å"Successful organizations create projects that produce desired results in established timeframes with assigned resources† (p. 9). Clearly, those who can successfully, skillfully, and within budgets and deadlines complete projects have an advantage over those who cannot. Many suddenly find themselves project managers, not by choice, but due to either changed or expanded job descriptions or expectations, or just plain company need. Increasingly, project management has increasingly become a ticket to job promotion and career advancement (or not). Moreover, if one has no previous formal training in project management, one may need to simply learn such skills on the job, and quickly. Project Management for Dummies is written for such individuals: those who would like to develop new project management skills (but also for those who desire to increase their current ones). The book is, I believe, potentially very useful for readers within either group. This book guides one through the beginning, middle, and ending project stages. It offers guidelines and tips on planning; navigating through ambiguities and uncertainties; teamwork; time management, organizational strategies; handling paperwork; staying on track; meeting deadlines, and bringing projects to a successful, satisfactory, and timely conclusion. Topics Project Management for Dummies covers include: making project schedules; building teams and sustaining teamwork; budgeting; coping with risks and surprises; optimally integrating technology into project management; and keeping team members motivated, on task, and within budgets and deadlines. Structurally, the book is divided into five parts (I-V). Each part consists of between three and six chapters, with 20 chapters in all. Chapter headings and topics covered include (to name but a few) â€Å"What is Project Management (And How Do I Get Paid Extra to Do It?)† (Chapter 1); â€Å"Estimating Resource Requirements† (Chapter 5); â€Å"Tracking Progress and Maintaining Control† (Chapter 10); â€Å"Dealing With Risk and Uncertainty† (Chapter 15); and â€Å"Ten Tips for Being a Better Project Manager† (Chapter 20). There are also two appendices (A and B) and an index. Chapter 2 covers defining and understanding what one is trying to accomplish with a project, knowing who and what one is doing a project for, and why that person or entity needs the project completed. This chapter also offers ways to avoid others' having unrealistic expectations of the project or oneself as manager. â€Å"Looking at the big picture† includes â€Å"figuring out why you're doing This project†; â€Å"identifying the initiator†; â€Å"identifying others who may benefit from your project† and â€Å"defining needs to be addressed† (pp. 29-32). In short, Chapter two focuses on defining the rationale(s) and parameters of the project; clarifying those for oneself and for all others involved; and laying the initial groundwork toward project completion. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 focus on â€Å"Getting from Here to There†; â€Å"You Want This Done When†; and â€Å"Estimating Resource Requirements†. Key ideas contained within these chapters, include knowing and planning all steps of a project, including making a â€Å"work breakdown structure†; â€Å"knowing how much detail is enough† (p. 49); â€Å"developing and analyzing a network diagram† (p. 71) and â€Å"assign your project's personnel needs† (p. 105). Chapter 5 in particular also stresses the importance of finding the right people to assist with the project. Portny observes â€Å"Your project's success rests on your ability to enlist the help of the right people to perform the necessary work† (p. 106). Portny also stresses that, toward that same end, â€Å"identifying skills and knowledge needed to perform your project's activities† (Project Management for Dummies) and Finding people who in fact possess all of those required skills will either make or break a project. One of the chapters I found most personally useful was Chapter 6, on â€Å"The Who and How of Project Management†. Here, Portny covers three main topics: (1) â€Å"Distinguishing the project organization from the traditional organization†; (2) â€Å"Clarifying the roles of different people in the matrix organization†; and (3) â€Å"Recognizing key tips for increasing the chances of success† (p. 137). As Portny also notes in this chapter, project management structure and atmosphere may be, and very often is, much different than overall company structure and atmosphere, and one is wise to be clear at the outset on the differences between the two. While projects are company activities, they nevertheless typically take on atmospheres, conflicts, and lives of their own. For example, one operates within both a centralized company structure and a functional departmental or area structure in most parts of one's job. However, project management may send one outside one's own functional structure into various other functional structures within the centralized one. Those areas outside one's usual functional structure become the unique â€Å"matrix structure† (p. 141) of the project. Understandably, the matrix structure of an individual project will spawn (and necessitate) much different communications; alliances; interrelationships; interactions, and interdependencies than will usual, more typical work activities. Key players in a project matrix environment, which obviously differs from one's overall work environment, will typically include the â€Å"project manager; project team members; functional managers; and upper management† (p. 143). Chapter 7 covers choosing and involving the â€Å"Right People† (p. 149) in one's project. Supporting ideas covered in this chapter include the importance of understanding one's project's audience (â€Å"any person or group that supports, is affected by, or is interested in your project† (p. 150). Each project also has â€Å"drivers†; â€Å"supporters†; and â€Å"observers† (p. 158) and it is equally important, Portny suggests, for project managers to identify and know each of them, and their respective roles. Of crucial importance to project success, also, is â€Å"Finding a project champion† (p. 159) or someone high up in one's organization that will support and encourages the project. Teamwork is crucial to successful project completion. Chapter 8 explains the importance of â€Å"defining team members roles and responsibilities† (p. 166), and making sure all team members are aware of their own and each others' roles and responsibilities. Therefore, lines of authority, responsibility, and accountability must be clearly established at the outset, and sustained throughout the project. This chapter also discusses strategies project managers can use should they have to deal with micromanagement from above, such as â€Å"setting up times to discuss interesting technical [or other] issues with the person† (p. 181). The book also covers ways of tracking progress and maintaining control (Chapter 10); ways of keeping everyone informed (Chapter 11), including sharing information both in writing and at meetings; and ways of encouraging peak performance in team players (Chapter 12), including providing rewards and helping players maintain motivation. Chapter 14 focused on handling risk or uncertainty, including ways of identifying possible risk factors; assessing risk impact, and preparing a risk management plan. Key advice of this chapter is to realistically assess risks to the project, and to have a risk management plan for handling them. Later chapters included advice on how to hold people accountable (Chapter 18); getting a project back on track (Chapter 19)and tips for optimal project management (Chapter 20). All in all, I benefited from reading and reflecting on the guidelines, strategies, and tips plentifully contained within Stanley E. Portny's Project Management for Dummies. The only aspect of this book that I found disappointing was that of that it had far fewer specific examples, of actual project management situations to illustrate major points and concepts, than I would have liked. I learn best and most easily from examples and discussion of how those examples illustrate theoretical concepts. I would have liked for Portny to do more of that in this book than he did. Major strengths of the book include its being thorough; comprehensive; well organized, and practical.

Wedding Dance

Our third posting on a short story by an author from the Philippines will be on a writer from the Ilocos province, Amador Daguio. Dagui was born in 1912 in the Ilocos province. His father was an officer in the national police of the Philippines. He lived with his uncle in Manila while attending high school as there were no high schools in his home area. During this period he became very lonely and was driven to write poetry to express his feelings, one of which was published in a national publication while he was still in high school. In 1932 he graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines.He returned to the area where he grew up and worked as a teacher and married a local woman. During WWII he joined the resistance and would eventually publish a well regarded collection of poems about his experiences during the war years. He is primarily known as a poet but also wrote some wonderful short stories. In 1953 he received a Fulbright grant to study at Stanford University in California where he studied the short story. For Twenty Six years after returning from the USA he taught at the University of the East and the University of the Philippines.He passed away in 1966 and in 1973 he was awarded the National Cultural Award. â€Å"The Wedding Dance† was first published in 1953 by Stanford University in an annual publication of works by participants in their literary programs. It is a very moving and beautifully written story that lets us see a way of life most know little about and is set in a nearly forgotten culture, that of the tribal people of northern Luzon. Marriage in this culture was seen as more or less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing children.If after seven harvests, there is no child, either party is free to break the bond and seek another spouse. A childless couple was seen as a very sad matter and often the masculinity of the husband was considered suspect. As the story opens the man is telling his beloved wife he is sorry this has to happen, he is sorry he must take another wife as she has proved barren (leaving aside medical fact it might be him). He offers her part of their land but she refuses. He tells her she should go to the wedding dance for his new marriage to show she is accepting of what is happening.She refuses all but some beads he gave her. She is still the most attractive woman in the community, the best homemaker and the best at growing crops. It is really a heartbreaking story as I could sense the man did not want to do this but community pressures and cultural norms were driving him to divorce a woman he truly loved for one he cares little about. The ending is beautifully done and leaves opens what will happen to the wife. She really seems like a â€Å"perfect wife† and one cannot help but feel the man is foolish and to make it worse, he knows it. ? The Wedding Dance by Amador T.Daguio is about Awiyao and Lumnay, a long married couple from the Mountain tribes. Awiyao is going to marry another woman, Madulimay, because Lumnay was not able to give him a child. Awiyao went back home to see Lumnay because he didn't find her among the dancers at his wedding. He wanted Lumnay to dance at his wedding for the last time but she cannot. On their moment, there are many flashbacks about how Lumnay did her best to have a child, through offering to the god, Kabunyan; and how Awiyao and Lumnay's love was as strong as the river; but â€Å"it is just that a man must have a child†, and he had to leave her.He promised her that if he fails to have a child, he will come back to her. She wanted to protest against the written rule that a man can marry another woman, so Lumnay went to the wedding dance. But while seeing her husband married to another woman, she could not take it anymore and just went to the mountain to clear away the beans she had thought about. And so Lumnay, waiting for Awiyao a long time, thought of Awiyao's promise as she cle ared away the growing bean plants. ? Wedding Dance Our third posting on a short story by an author from the Philippines will be on a writer from the Ilocos province, Amador Daguio. Dagui was born in 1912 in the Ilocos province. His father was an officer in the national police of the Philippines. He lived with his uncle in Manila while attending high school as there were no high schools in his home area. During this period he became very lonely and was driven to write poetry to express his feelings, one of which was published in a national publication while he was still in high school. In 1932 he graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines.He returned to the area where he grew up and worked as a teacher and married a local woman. During WWII he joined the resistance and would eventually publish a well regarded collection of poems about his experiences during the war years. He is primarily known as a poet but also wrote some wonderful short stories. In 1953 he received a Fulbright grant to study at Stanford University in California where he studied the short story. For Twenty Six years after returning from the USA he taught at the University of the East and the University of the Philippines.He passed away in 1966 and in 1973 he was awarded the National Cultural Award. â€Å"The Wedding Dance† was first published in 1953 by Stanford University in an annual publication of works by participants in their literary programs. It is a very moving and beautifully written story that lets us see a way of life most know little about and is set in a nearly forgotten culture, that of the tribal people of northern Luzon. Marriage in this culture was seen as more or less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing children.If after seven harvests, there is no child, either party is free to break the bond and seek another spouse. A childless couple was seen as a very sad matter and often the masculinity of the husband was considered suspect. As the story opens the man is telling his beloved wife he is sorry this has to happen, he is sorry he must take another wife as she has proved barren (leaving aside medical fact it might be him). He offers her part of their land but she refuses. He tells her she should go to the wedding dance for his new marriage to show she is accepting of what is happening.She refuses all but some beads he gave her. She is still the most attractive woman in the community, the best homemaker and the best at growing crops. It is really a heartbreaking story as I could sense the man did not want to do this but community pressures and cultural norms were driving him to divorce a woman he truly loved for one he cares little about. The ending is beautifully done and leaves opens what will happen to the wife. She really seems like a â€Å"perfect wife† and one cannot help but feel the man is foolish and to make it worse, he knows it. ? The Wedding Dance by Amador T.Daguio is about Awiyao and Lumnay, a long married couple from the Mountain tribes. Awiyao is going to marry another woman, Madulimay, because Lumnay was not able to give him a child. Awiyao went back home to see Lumnay because he didn't find her among the dancers at his wedding. He wanted Lumnay to dance at his wedding for the last time but she cannot. On their moment, there are many flashbacks about how Lumnay did her best to have a child, through offering to the god, Kabunyan; and how Awiyao and Lumnay's love was as strong as the river; but â€Å"it is just that a man must have a child†, and he had to leave her.He promised her that if he fails to have a child, he will come back to her. She wanted to protest against the written rule that a man can marry another woman, so Lumnay went to the wedding dance. But while seeing her husband married to another woman, she could not take it anymore and just went to the mountain to clear away the beans she had thought about. And so Lumnay, waiting for Awiyao a long time, thought of Awiyao's promise as she cle ared away the growing bean plants. ?

First Assignment Paper in English II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

First Assignment Paper in English II - Essay Example However, one can expect twists and differences in the narration if the story were told by some other member of the family (her father, mother, or brothers), depending on the changes in their perspectives and points of view. There are many narrative techniques such as the first person narration, the third person narration, and techniques such as the interior monologue and the stream of consciousness. While the third person omniscient is referred to as â€Å"having unlimited knowledge† (Schakel & Ridl 104) regarding the events, all the other narrative techniques have their own advantages and disadvantages. The narrator, in the story, is constructed by the author herself and the fact that Cisneros also â€Å"shared Esperanza’s sense of dislocation and lack of permanence† tend many to consider Esperanza as the ‘persona’ (‘first person narrator who seems to speak directly for the author’) of the author herself (Schakel & Ridl 101). A clear understanding of the point of view of the story calls for special â€Å"attention to the person telling the story and the perspective from which it is told† (Schakel & Ridl 101). The power of the story lies in the art of narration-narrating the story through a child’s perspective who is unaware of the actual problems the household faces such as poverty, class distinctions, housing patterns and the power of landlords (Schakel & Ridl 108). It is important to understand the ‘vantage point’ from which the narrator tells the story and an effective reader should be able to grasp the inside and outside of the narrator’s perspective. Similarly, the past events narrated by the narrator also are significant to understand the central idea or theme of the story. The narrator is somewhat happy that the house on the mango street is theirs and that they â€Å"don’t have to pay rent to anybody,

Fire and the Dying Flames of the American Dream Essay

Fire and the Dying Flames of the American Dream - Essay Example The fantastical element within the story occurs without the expected excitement. Bears discover fire, the local news station (the narrator is never sure which one) document footage, but essentially the lives of the characters are utterly unaffected by the seemingly outstanding phenomenon. A reader can interpret this one of two ways. First, that the characters within the story are capable of accepting bears as higher, more evolved beings within their daily life—something vaguely interesting but will soon become too commonplace to worry about. Or, second, that the bears discovering fire signal a much deeper significance within the main story arch: that the bears parallel the narrator’s personal discovery that life has passed him by and he was never able to achieve anything more significant than being adept at changing tires; a remarkable matter when it becomes clear within the first few moments that his skill is a dying art and he is now replaceable by â€Å"stuff called FlatFix†¦$3.95 the can† (Bisson 523) The reader experiences the same encroaching depression, as â€Å"weak [and] flicker† (523) as the flashlight that refuses to light the narrator’s way, as he becomes relevant only within his own life. A pivotal moment in the story occurs when the narrator is sitting across the fire from a group of bears and he is impacted by a revelation about the nature of the human-like creatures. Though they have come together in a social group to utilize the benefits of fire, only a few bears seem to have the ability to control it â€Å"and were carrying the others along† (529). He reflects that â€Å"isn’t that how it is with everything?† (529). The narrator’s revelation is entirely unresolved, but the author was, perhaps, leading a reader to their own conclusions about how people work within social groups. A few people have the skill to make fire, cook meals, make repairs, etc, while others are being carr ied along because they do not possess said skill. Yet, the group still functions. The narrator is at once struck by the beauty of the fire, the â€Å"little dramas were being played out as fiery chambers were created and then destroyed in a crashing of sparks† (529). This moment, as miniscule as it may seem to the reader, serves to highlight the deeper theme of how the American Dream has been lost for the narrator. Life is full of â€Å"fiery chambers† that dance and envelope a person still capable of maintaining the passion to reach for their dream. But as with many who have held a dream and let it go (for reasons of life, love, or accident), that dream is â€Å"destroyed† exactly like the blazing cherubs of hope within the pit of fire. Outside his own imagination, he looks across the fiery circle â€Å"at the bears and wondered what they saw. Some had their eyes closed. Though they were gathered together, their spirits still seemed solitary, as if each bear w as sitting alone in front of its own fire† (529). Struck by the solitary nature of the animals, he has found that though they work together as a group for the benefit of their survival, they are entirely independent from the group as a whole. Essentially, they are still in a form of hibernation, separated from the whole by their own

International Law & Institutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

International Law & Institutions - Essay Example This obligation, as it applies to the acts of a single nation, and the rather restrictive exceptions to it are known as the rules on unilateral use of force. At the same time, there is the concept of collective security, which allows the community of nations to arise and oppose an aggressor nation together. This is regulated by the rules of collective security. Therefore, there are many situations where disputes between nations can break down into open conflict, and such conflict may still be completely legitimate under international law. 'All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of an State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.'4 This builds on the preceding provision which places an obligation on Members to settle disputes peacefully5 which in turn follows from the very purposes and reasons for the United Nations, that being the maintenance of peace and security and the prevention and removal of threats thereto.6 De Arechega describes Article 2(4) as 'the cardinal rule of international law and the cornerstone of peaceful relations among States.'7 This altered the age-old rule, applying up till 1949, that use of force was a legitimate remedy of last resort in all international disputes. While the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Briand-Kellogg Treaty condemned the 'resort to war' this was interpreted as only covering an all out declaration of war, and not uses of force short of war, which became in practice, all out war so long as no declaration of such was made. Article 2(4) therefore refers to 'force' and not 'war' and it expressly includes the threat of force. Force has been interpreted as armed force of all kinds, but not political pressure or economic sanction. The wording of Article 2(4), although a marked improvement on predecessors, is still open to arguments as to interpretation. Probably the most obvious is the apparent qualification of the obligation only to cases where 'territorial integrity or political independence' is challenged. In the Corfu Channel Case (Albania v United Kingdom)8 the United Kingdom Navy entered Albanian waters to sweep mines. The ships did so and then left the Albanian waters. The United Kingdom argued that since its action threatened neither the territory nor independence of Albania, it did not breach 2(4). The International Court of Justice decided however that the action of the United Kingdom was an unlawful use of force.9 Article 2(4) can therefore, as far as it goes, be seen as a legal obligation on states to genuinely refrain from the use of force. However, despite its legal validity, it may not have been quite so successful in practice. If Article 2(4) can be seen as a failure, I think the clearest demonstration of this is seen in the context of the Cold War. The Cold War attacked the resolve of 2(4) in two ways. The first was by changes in technology and the scope and effects that warfare would take on in the post nuclear