Women In Iran Essays - Family Law, Family, Gender,

Women In Iran Organized and Institutionalized Sexual Exploitation and Violence Policy and Law The Press Law and Women Bill was ratified into law on the 13th of August 1998 in Iran; it is the Fifth Amendment of Article 6 of the press law. The bill states that, commercial use of women's image and texts declaring women's issues, humiliation, insult, propagation of formality, use of ornaments, and defending women's beyond the bounds of legal and religious law is forbidden. Violators of the law will be punished with lashes and imprisonment, as well as losing their publication license. Consequences of Press Law and Women Bill include: ? According to this amendment, supporting or defending the rights of women in any publication is strictly banned because it is believed that such arguments create more contention and adversity between men and women. However, men are excluded from the above law. This encourages a culture of male chauvinism. ? The ratification of this bill does not allow any criticism advocacy, in the press, of the laws governing women's rights. ? This bill will ban all female images, texts, or arguments for modification of the existing law. Therefore, women's issues are completely invisible in the media. ? This bill will create conflicts between the clerical community and the press because the law has never defined commercial use of women's image and text. Therefore, the subject is completely left at personal interpretation and judgment. Because of the fanatic nature of Islamic rulers, this amendment means complete elimination of women from public media. Married Iranian women require their husband's permission to apply for a passport, according to Article 18 of the passport law. In case of an emergency or absence of the husband, the public prosecutor's office can issue the permit within 3 days from the date of the application. Islamic government does not recognize the divorces and the marriages administered in foreign countries unless they are endorsed by Iranian embassies, consulates, or the rituals are repeated in Iran. The consequences are: ? If an Iranian married couple immigrate to a foreign country and divorce according to the laws of that country, the divorce is not legitimate for the woman. The process must be repeated in the Islamic embassy or the consulate. If each of the spouses remarries separately after the divorce in the overseas country and travels to Iran, the wife could be arrested and tried for committing adultery. The punishment for adultery is burying the woman in the ground and stoning her to death. However, this does not apply to the man. By law, the man is not in marriage violation. ? If a couple have children, and the court granted custody of the children to the mother, if they traveled to Iran, the husband could take the children away from his ex-wife because husband is the sole custodian for the children. No custody privilege is granted to women under any circumstance. If a couple divorce in a foreign country and then travel to Iran to finalize their divorce proceeding, the divorce process for the woman might take years because the consent of the husband is always necessary to finalize the divorce. The husband may go ahead and marry another woman while his case is pending with the first wife. Under laws imposed after the 1979 revolution, women: ? Must cover all parts of their bodies (including their hair) except for the face and hands, with loose-fitting garments. ? Must not wear any make-up. ? Unrelated couples are not allowed to socialize at all. The penalties for violating these rules, imposed in the name of preventing social vice, vary from simple reprimands to lashes and payment of fines, and even execution by stoning in the case of illicit sexual relationships. The Iranian Human Rights Working Group (IHRWG) maintains that these laws are in violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), to which Iran is a signatory. Official Response and Action On May 18, 1998, some 20 women and girls were arrested by the Iranian police in Tehran for socializing with unrelated men or failing to observe the strict dress code that is mandated for women. These types of arrest have occurred regularly since 1980. In April,

A History of The Rolling Stones

A History of The Rolling Stones The longest-performing rock band of all time, the Rolling Stones have greatly influenced rock and roll throughout the decades. Beginning as part of the British Rock Invasion of the 1960s, the Rolling Stones quickly became the â€Å"bad-boy† band with an image of sex, drugs, and wild behavior. After five decades together, the Rolling Stones have amassed eight #1 singles and ten consecutive gold albums. Dates: 1962-Present Also Known As: The Stones Original Members: Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonicaKeith Richards - guitar, backing vocalsCharlie Watts - drumsBrian Jones - guitar, harmonica, sitar, backing vocalsIan Stewart - pianoBill Wyman - bass guitar, backing vocals Current Members: Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonicaKeith Richards – guitarCharlie Watts – drumsRon Wood - bass guitar Overview   The Rolling Stones were a British band, begun in the early 1960s, influenced by American rhythm and blues artists such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino, as well as jazz musician Miles Davis. However, the Rolling Stones eventually created their own sound by experimenting with instruments and writing rhythm and blues mixed with rock and roll. When the Beatles hit international stardom in 1963, the Rolling Stones were right on their heels. While the Beatles became known as the good-boy band (influencing pop rock), the Rolling Stones became known as the bad-boy band (influencing blues-rock, hard rock, and grunge bands). Important Friendships In the early 1950s, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were elementary-school classmates in Kent, England, until Jagger went to a different school. Nearly a decade later, their friendship was rekindled after a chance encounter at a train station in 1960. While Jagger was on his way to the London School of Economics where he was studying accounting, Richards was commuting to Sidcup Art College where he was studying graphic art. Since Jagger had a couple of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records under his arm when they met, talk quickly turned to music. They discovered that Jagger had been singing adolescent â€Å"love frustration† songs in underground clubs in London while Richards had been playing the guitar since the age of 14. The two young men once again became friends, creating a partnership that has kept the Rolling Stones together for decades. Looking for an outlet to try out their musical talent, Jagger and Richards, plus another young musician named Brian Jones, began to occasionally play in a band named Blues Incorporated (the first electric RB band in Britain). The band embraced aspiring young musicians with an interest in this type of music, allowing them to perform in cameo appearances. This is where Jagger and Richards met Charlie Watts, who was the drummer for Blues Incorporated. Forming the Band Soon, Brian Jones decided to start his own band. To get started, Jones placed an advertisement in Jazz News on May 2, 1962, inviting musicians to audition for a new RB group. Pianist Ian â€Å"Stu† Stewart was the first to respond. Then Jagger, Richards, Dick Taylor (bass guitar), and Tony Chapman (drums) joined as well. According to Richards, Jones named the band while on the phone trying to book a gig. When asked for a band name, Jones glanced down at a Muddy Waters LP, saw one of the tracks named â€Å"Rollin’ Stone Blues† and said, â€Å"Rollin’ Stones.† The new band, named Rollin’ Stones and led by Jones, played their first performance at the Marquee Club in London on July 12, 1962. The Rollin’ Stones soon secured a residency at the Crawdaddy Club, bringing in younger audiences who were looking for something new and exciting. This new sound, a renaissance of blues performed by young British musicians, had kids standing on the tables, rocking, dancing, and shouting to the sound of electric guitars with a provocative singer. Bill Wyman (bass guitar, backing vocals) joined in December 1962, replacing Dick Taylor who went back to college. Wyman wasn’t their first choice, but he had an amplifier the band desired. Charlie Watts (drums) joined the following January, replacing Tony Chapman who left for another band. The Rolling Stones Cut a Record Deal In 1963, the Rollin’ Stones signed with a manager named Andrew Oldham, who had been helping to promote the Beatles. Oldham saw the Rollin’ Stones as the â€Å"anti-Beatles† and decided to promote their bad-boy image to the press. Oldham also changed the spelling of the band’s name by adding a â€Å"g,† making it â€Å"Rolling Stones† and changed Richards’ last name to Richard (which Richard later changed back to Richards). Also in 1963, the Rolling Stones cut their first single, Chuck Berry’s â€Å"Come On.† The song hit #21 on the UK singles chart. The Stones appeared on the TV show, Thank Your Lucky Stars, to perform the song while wearing matching houndstooth jackets to appease television producers. Their second hit single, â€Å"I Wanna Be Your Man,† written by the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo of the Beatles, reached #12 on the UK chart. Their third single, Buddy Holly’s â€Å"Not Fade Away,† hit #3 on the same chart. This was their first American hit that went to #48 on the American chart. Parents Hate the Stones The press turned an eye toward the Rolling Stones, a group of brash punks upsetting the status quo by playing black music to young white audiences. A March 1964 article in the British weekly Melody Maker titled, â€Å"Would You Let Your Sister Go With a Stone,† created such a stir that 8,000 kids showed up at the Rolling Stones’ next gig. The band decided the press was good for their popularity and thus purposely started shenanigans such as growing their hair and wearing casual, mod-style (modified) suits to receive more media attention. The Rolling Stones Roll into America Becoming too big to perform in clubs by early 1964, the Rolling Stones went on a British tour. In June 1964, the band rolled into America to perform concerts and to record at Chess Studios in Chicago as well as the Hollywood RCA Studios, where they captured the vibrant, earthy sound they desired due to better acoustics. Their American concert in San Bernardino, California, was well received by excited schoolboys and screaming schoolgirls, even without a major hit record in the States. But the Midwest concerts proved spotty because no one had heard of them. Crowds picked up again at the New York concert. Once back in Europe, the Rolling Stones released their fourth single, Bobby Womack’s â€Å"It’s All Over Now,† which they had recorded in America at Chess Studios. A fanatical Stones cult began to form after the song hit #1 on the UK charts. It was their very first #1 hit. Jagger and Richards Start Writing Songs Oldham urged Jagger and Richards to start writing their own songs, but the duo found that writing blues was harder than they expected. Instead, they ended up writing a type of morphed blues-rock, a hybrid of blues with a heavier melody than improvisation. On their second trip to America in October 1964, the Rolling Stones performed on the Ed Sullivan TV show, changing the words to â€Å"Let’s Spend the Night Together† (written by Richards and Jagger) to â€Å"Let’s Spend Some Time Together† due to censorship. That same month they appeared in the concert film the T.A.M.I. Show in Santa Monica, California, with James Brown, the Supremes, Chuck Berry, and the Beach Boys. Both venues greatly improved their American exposure and Jagger began to mimic the moves of James Brown. Their Mega Hit The Rolling Stones’ 1965 mega-hit, â€Å"(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,† with Richards’ fuzz-guitar riff designed to imitate the sound of a horn section, hit #1 worldwide. Their musical attitude, a mixture of rebellion and irreverence using urgent guitars, tribal drums, forceful harmonicas, and sexually tensed vocals, seduced the young and alarmed the old. When the Rolling Stones had another #1 hit, â€Å"Paint It Black,† the following year, they had begun to secure their rock-star status. Although Brian Jones had started the band, the leadership of the Rolling Stones shifted to Jagger and Richards once they had proved themselves to be a strong songwriting team. Drugs, Death, and Citations By 1967, the members of the Rolling Stones were living like rock-stars, which meant they were abusing a lot of drugs. It was in that year that Richards, Jagger, and Jones were all charged with possession of drugs (and given suspended sentences). Unfortunately, Jones was not only addicted to drugs; his mental health spiraled out of control. By 1969, the rest of the band members could no longer tolerate Jones, so he left the band on June 8. Just a few weeks later, Jones drowned in his swimming pool on July 2, 1969. By the late 1960s, the Rolling Stones had become the bad boys they had once promoted themselves to be. Their concerts from this period, filled with teenagers from the growing counterculture movement (young people experimenting with communal living, music, and drugs), were raucous enough to lead to a number of citations against the Rolling Stones for causing concert violence. Jagger’s Nazi goose-stepping onstage didn’t help. Rolling Stones Gather No Moss in the 70s, 80s, and 90s By the early 1970s, the Rolling Stones were a controversial group, banned from many countries and exiled from Britain in 1971 for not paying their taxes. The Stones fired their manager Allen Klein (who had taken over from Oldham in 1966) and started their own record label, Rolling Stones Records. The Rolling Stones continued to write and record music, mixing in punk and disco genres inspired by new band member Ron Woods. Richards was arrested in Toronto for heroin trafficking, resulting in legal limbo for 18 months; he was subsequently sentenced to perform a benefit concert for the blind. Richards then quit heroin. During the early 1980s, the band experimented with the new-wave genre, but members began to pursue solo careers due to creative differences. Jagger wanted to continue experimenting with contemporary sounds, and Richards wanted to stay rooted in blues. Ian Stewart suffered a fatal heart attack in 1985. In the late 80s, The Rolling Stones realized they were stronger together. They chose to reunite and announced a new album. By the end of the decade, the Rolling Stones were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1993, Bill Wyman announced his retirement. The Stones’ Voodoo Lounge album won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995 and prompted a world tour. Jagger and Richards agreed that their drifting in the 80s attributed to their success in the 90s. They believe that had they stayed together, they would have broken up. The Stones Keep On Rollin into the New Millennium The Rolling Stones have endured waxing and waning popularity over the decades. While band members are now in their sixties and seventies in the new millennium, they still perform, tour, and record. In 2003, Jagger was knighted to Sir Michael Jagger, causing another riff between himself and Richards, especially, according to Richards, because the band’s message had always been anti-establishment. There was also a public outcry that questioned the appropriateness of knighting a former British tax exile. Documentaries regarding the band’s exceptionally long and controversial career capture the counterculture movement, perfecting the technology of recording records, and flamboyantly performing to live audiences. The band’s lips and tongue logo, designed by John Pasche in the 70s (a symbol of their anti-establishment message), is one of the most identifiable band icons in the world.

Written Assignment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Written Assignment - Term Paper Example In classifying risk, one considers such as aspects of who should be released in pretrial, who to release under tight supervision in the community, who to release on parole and or under supervision release. Clinical assessment or actuarial tests are basic tools that assist in such risk classifications. For the clinical assessment, informal as well as non-observable tactics of determining the risk posed by a person to the community are employed while the actuarial approach undertakes thorough research in the determination. The actuarial approach involves research methodologies in being empirical or theoretical in determination of relation to recidivism. On the need principle, the main concern determined is what should be the main targets of human service aspects in rehabilitation programs. Interventions form what is called criminogenic needs and they are said to be deficits that relate to likelihood/propensity of an individual to commit crime. They are seen to be changed through programs of rehabilitation. The principle therefore addresses such attributes as pro-criminal attitudes, associates, weak socialization, impulsivity, low verbal intelligence (below average), risk taking, early antisocial behavior exhibit, low capacity to solve problems, poor parenting as well as educational deficits among others. Despite these factors being targeted in rehabilitation for their association with criminal activities, others are by no means related to crime (Jacobs, Davidson, Steiner & Hoge, 2002). Examples to these are self-esteem as well as self-control as they show weak relation to recidivism. It is understood that even offenders in some ins tances they exhibit high esteem and therefore rehabilitation would not be effective in targeting esteem. Another distinct feature of need principle is that the needs can be classified as static and or

English class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English class - Essay Example Even the quadratic formula would beat this. One day as I was sitting there, observing people, I noticed two guys walking quickly away from the cafeteria, looking around like they were going to escape from prison or something, and then quickly disappear into the woods. I had no idea where they had gone but I was curious. The next day at lunch I looked for them again. It seems like they saw me looking, and one of them approached me. We had a brief conversation and he told me that they had been hanging out in the woods behind the school to skip class. He asked me if I wanted to join them. While it was out of character for me to skip class a number of things went through my mind. I had experienced a difficult time making friends at the new school and I believed that skipping classes with these individuals might help develop a friendship with them. On a deeper level I also had begun to become frustrated at my current situation and school environment. At not being able to fit in to the sch ool and meet people I had begun to neglect my studies and feel that school was not important. I had started to fail seeing the ways that school would contribute to my long-term benefit. With these thoughts in mind I entered the woods scaled the fence surrounding the school and skipped class with the two people I had just met. As we made our way back towards the school and climbed the fence we had originally gone over, I glanced in front of me and the school’s resource officer was standing there watching us. He later claimed that he had followed us since the moment we entered the woods. I thought we would only get in trouble for skipping, but after we had climbed the fence we had entered private property and the owner had called the school complaining. The officer arrested us for trespassing. I sat in the front office for a long time, outside and watched the other students walk through. Eventually we went into see the school resource officer. It was a terrifying experience as I had never been in serious trouble before. The others actually stuck up for me and one of them even said that it wasn’t my idea and that they convinced me to do it. It didn’t make much difference though, we were all caught together and that was what mattered. Since I had no prior problems in school I only received community service and a two-day suspension. The two guys I went with were expelled. They had to transfer to another school and I haven’t heard from them since. As I sat in the lobby of the discipline office I learned that my frustration with life wouldn’t be overcome with stupid rebellious activities, and that I needed to accept personal responsibility for my own life and stop looking to others to give it meaning and save me from frustration. From then on I learned and understood that life is what you make it. When considering stories such as this that shaped my personal development I learned that the story we tell ourselves is constantly chang ed in ways that coincide with recent developments in our lives. However, there was something about this instance that not only shifted my perceptions towards a different, or ‘better’ path, but also removed so much of the elements of my past life. It was this experience that expanded my

Criminal justice Individual project & Discussion Board Essay

Criminal justice Individual project & Discussion Board - Essay Example hich has the guidelines for the prevention of juvenile delinquency (1), and Juvenile Justice Planning Committee, whose mission is â€Å"to provide resources for youth who are at-risk of becoming delinquent due to individual, school, family, peer or community factors. These resources will also provide services for youth who are delinquent, undisciplined or involved in the juvenile court process from intake through aftercare† (2). The United Nations Guidelines consists of some chapters: Fundamental Principals of the Guidelines, Scope of the Guidelines, General Prevention, Socialization Processes (in turn it consists of the following sections: Family, Education, Community, Mass media), Social Policy, Legislation and Juvenile Justice Administration, and Research, Policy Development and Co-ordination. The purpose of the United Nations programme is to underline the key-point factors of the juvenile delinquency prevention and the main issues to be researched and studied in this topic. The programme underlines that the prevention of juvenile delinquency is one of the main purposes of our society. A child must be in the center of the Guidelines orientation. All the means of community should be attracted to develop the processes of socialization and juvenile delinquency prevention: â€Å"Community-based services and programmes should be developed for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, particularly where no agencies have yet been established. Formal agencies of social control should only be utilized as a means of last resort† (1). The United Nations Guidelines appals to the work with youth and has the description of appropriate means concerning namely juvenile delinquency prevention. But in addition to that, it appals for adults – adult family members, teachers, other community subjects and mass media officials should be reliable for the youth development and their successful adaptation and socialization in our society. The programme links to school and other

Study On Adaptive Delta Modulation And Demodulation Computer Science Essay

Study On Adaptive Delta Modulation And Demodulation Computer Science Essay A modem to improve communication system performance that uses multiple modulation scheme comprising modulation technique and encoder combinations. As communication system performance and objective change, different modulation schemes may be selected. Modulation schemes may also be selected upon the communication channel scattering function estimate and the modem estimates the channel scattering function from measurements of the channels frequency (Doppler) and time (multipath) spreading characteristics. An Adaptive sigma delta modulation and demodulation technique, wherein a quantizer step size is adapted based on estimates of an input signal to the quantizer, rather than on estimates of an input signal to the modulator. A technique for digital conferencing of voice signals in systems using adaptive delta modulation (ADM) with an idle pattern of alternating 1s and 0s has been described. Based on majority logic, it permits distortion-free reception of voice of a single active subscriber by all the other subscribers in the conference. Distortion exists when more than one subscriber is active and the extent of this distortion depends upon the type of ADM algorithm that has been used. An LSI oriented system based on time sharing of a common circuit by a number of channels has been implemented and tested. This technique, with only minor changes in circuitry, handles ADM channels that have idle patterns different from alternating single 1s and 0s. This method used for noise reduction. The modulator factor does not require a large amount of data to be represented. Representation is based upon a frequency domain function having particular characteristics. A preferred embodiment of the invention incorporates transform or sub band filtered signals which are transmitted as a modulated analog representation of a local region of a video signal. The modulation factor reflects the particular characteristic. Side information specifies the modulation factor 1.2. Aim: Digital techniques to wirelessly communicate voice information. Wireless environments are inherently noisy, so the voice coding scheme chosen for such an application must be robust in the presence of bit errors. Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM) and its derivatives are commonly used in wireless consumer products for their compromise between voice quality and implementation cost. Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) is another voice coding scheme, a mature technique that should be considered for these applications because of its bit error robustness and its low implementation cost. 1.3. Objective: To show the Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) voice coding scheme which is the best coding scheme procedure when compare to all other techniques. The main part of the procedure is illustrated. 1.4. Methodology: Getting knowledge over different modulation and demodulation techniques Understanding Delta modulation and Adaptive delta modulation. Studying Matlab-Simulink which is used for designing of circuit. Implementing the circuit in the lab. Tuning and fixing and calculating its efficiency CHAPTER I Delta Modulation: Delta modulation is also abbreviated as DM or Ά-modulation. It is a technique of conversion from an analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog signal. If we want to transmit the voice we use this technique. In this technique we do not give that much of importance to the quality of the voice. DM is nothing but the simplest form of differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM). But there is some difference between these two techniques. In DPCM technique the successive samples are encoded into streams of n-bit data. But in delta modulation, the transmitted data is reduced to a 1-bit data stream. Main features: * The analog signal is similar as a series of segments. * To find the increase or decrease in relative amplitude, we should compare each and every segment of the approximated signal with the original analog wave. * By this comparison of original and approximated analog waves we can determine the successive bits for establishing. * only the change of information is sent, that is, only an increase or decrease of the signal amplitude from the previous sample is sent whereas a no-change condition causes the modulated signal to remain at the same 0 or 1 state of the previous sample. By using oversampling techniques in delta modulation we can get large high signal-to-noise ratio. That means the analog signal is sampled at multiple higher than the Nyquist rate. Principle In delta modulation, it quantizes the difference between the current and the previous step rather than the absolute value quantization of the input analog waveform, which is shown in fig 1. Fig. 1 Block diagram of a Ά-modulator/demodulator The quantizer of the delta modulator converts the difference between the input signal and the average of the previous steps. The quantizer is measured by a comparator with reference to 0 (in 2- level quantizer), and its output is either 1 or 0. 1 means input signal is positive and 0 means negative. It is also called as a bit-quantizer because it quantizes only one bit at a time. The output of the demodulator rises or falls because it is nothing but an Integrator circuit. If 1 received means the output raises and if 0 received means output falls. The integrator internally has a low-pass filter it self. Transfer Characteristics A signum function is followed by the delta modulator for the transfer characteristics. It quantizes only levels of two number and also for at a time only one-bit. Output signal power In delta modulation amplitude it is does not matter that there is no objection on the amplitude of the signal waveform, due to there is any fixed number of levels. In addition to, there is no limitation on the slope of the signal waveform in delta modulation. We can observe whether a slope is overload if so it can be avoided. However, in transmitted signal there is no limit to change. The signal waveform changes gradually. Bit-rate The interference is due to possibility of in either DM or PCM is due to limited bandwidth in communication channel. Because of the above reason DM and PCM operates at same bit-rate. Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) Another type of DM is Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM). In which the step-size isnt fixed. The step-size becomes progressively larger when slope overload occurs. When quantization error is increasing with expensive the slope error is also reduced by ADM. By using a low pass filter this should be reduced. The basic delta modulator was studied in the experiment entitled Delta modulation. It is implemented by the arrangement shown in block diagram form in Figure Figure: Basic Delta Modulation A large step size was required when sampling those parts of the input waveform of steep slope. But a large step size worsened the granularity of the sampled signal when the waveform being sampled was changing slowly. A small step size is preferred in regions where the message has a small slope. This suggests the need for a controllable step size the control being sensitive to the slope of the sampled signal. This can be implemented by an arrangement such as is illustrated in Figure Fig: An Adaptive Delta Modulator The gain of the amplifier is adjusted in response to a control voltage from the SAMPLER, which signals the onset of slope overload. The step size is proportional to the amplifier gain. This was observed in an earlier experiment. Slope overload is indicated by a succession of output pulses of the same sign. The TIMS SAMPLER monitors the delta modulated signal, and signals when there is no change of polarity over 3 or more successive samples. The actual ADAPTIVE CONTROL signal is +2 volt under normal conditions, and rises to +4 volt when slope overload is detected. The gain of the amplifier, and hence the step size, is made proportional to this Control voltage. Provided the slope overload was only moderate the approximation will catch up with the wave being sampled. The gain will then return to normal until the sampler again falls behind. Comparison of PCM and DM When coming to comparison of Signal-to-noise ratio DM has larger value than signal-to-noise ratio of PCM. Also for an ADM signal-to-noise ratio when compared to Signal-to-noise ratio of companded PCM. Complex coders and decoders are required for powerful PCM. If to increase the resolution we require a large number of bits per sample. There are no memories in Standard PCM systems each sample value is separately encoded into a series of binary digits. An alternative, which overcomes some limitations of PCM, is to use past information in the encoding process. Delta modulation is the one way of doing to perform source coding. The signal is first quantized into discrete levels. For quantization process the step size between adjacent samples should be kept constant. From one level to an adjacent one the signal makes a transition of transmission. After the quantization operation is done, sending a zero for a negative transition and a one for a positive transition the signal transmission is achieved. We can observe from this point that the quantized signal must change at each sampling point. The transmitted bit train would be 111100010111110 for the above case. The demodulator for a delta-modulated signal is nothing but a staircase generator. To increments the staircase in positively a one should be received. For negative increments a zero should be receive. This is done by a low pass filter in general. The main thing for the delta modulation is to make the right choice of step size and sampling period. A term overloading is occurred when a signal changes randomly fast for the steps to follow. The step size and the sampling period are the important parameters. In modern consumer electronics short-range digital voice transmission is used. There are many products which uses digital techniques. Such as cordless telephones, wireless headsets (for mobile and landline telephones), baby monitors are few of the items. This digital techniques used Wirelessly communicate voice information. Due to inherent noise in wireless environments the Voice coding scheme chosen. For such an application the presence of robust bit errors must be. In the presence of bit errors Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM) and its derivatives are commonly used in wireless consumer products. This is due to their compromise between voice quality and implementation cost, but these are not robust schemes. Another important voice coding scheme is Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM). It is a mature technique for consideration for these types of applications due to its robustness in bit error and its low implementation cost. To quantize the difference between the current sample and the predicted value of the next Sample ADM is used. It uses a variable called step height which is used to adjustment of the prediction value of the next sample. For the reproduction of both slowly and rapidly changing input signals faithfully. In ADM, the representation of each sample is one bit (i.e. 1 or 0). It does not require any data framing for one-bit-per-sample stream to minimizing the workload on the host microcontroller. In any digital wireless application there should be Bit errors. In ideal environment most of the voice coding techniques are provided which are good in quality of audio signals. The main thing is to provide good audio signals in everyday environment, there may be a presence of bit errors. For different voice coding methods and input signals the traditional performance metrics (e.g. SNR) does not measure accurately in audio quality. . Mean Opinion Score (MOS) testing is the main important parameter which overcomes the limitations of other metrics by successfully in audio quality. For audio quality the MOS testing is used. It is a scale of 1 to 5 which tells the audio quality status. In there 1 represents very less (bad) speech quality and 5 represents excellent speech quality. A toll quality speech has a MOS score of 4 or higher than it. The audio quality of a traditional telephone call has same MOS value as above. The below graphs shows the relationship between MOS scores and bit errors for three of the most common voice coding schemes. Those are CVSD, ÃŽÂ ¼-law PCM, and ADPCM. A continuously Variable Slope Delta (CVSD) coding is a member of the ADM family in voice coding schemes. The below graph shows the resulted audio quality (i.e. MOS score). All three schemes explain the number of bit errors. As the no of bit errors increases the graph indicates that ADM (CVSD) sounds better than the other schemes which are also increase. In an ADM design error detection and correction typically are not used because ADM provides poor performance in the presence of bit errors. This leads to reduction in host processor workload (allowing a low-cost processor to be used). The superior noise immunity significantly reduced for wireless applications in voice coding method. The ADM is supported strongly by workload for the host processor. The following example shows the benefits of ADM for wireless applications and is demonstrated. For a complete wireless voice product this low-power design is used which includes all of the building blocks, small form-factor, including the necessary items. ADM voice codec Microcontroller RF transceiver Power supply including rechargeable battery Microphone, speaker, amplifiers, etc. Schematics, board layout files, and microcontroller code written in C. Delta modulation (DM) may be viewed as a simplified form of DPCM in which a two level (1-bit) quantizer is used in conjunction with a fixed first-order predictor. The block diagram of a DM encoder-decoder is shown below.   The dm_demo shows the use of Delta Modulation to approximate an input sine wave signal and a speech signal that were sampled at 2 KHz and 44 KHz, respectively. The source code file of the MATLAB code and the out put can be viewed using MATLAB. Notice that the approximated value follows the input value much closer when the sampling rate is higher. You may test this by changing sampling frequency, fs, value for sine wave in dm_demo file. Since DM (Delta Modulator) approximate a waveform Sa (t) by a linear staircase function, the waveform Sa (t) must change slowly relative to the sampling rate. This requirement implies that waveform Sa (t) must be oversampled, i.e., at least five times the Nyquist rate. Oversampling means that the signal is sampled faster than is necessary. In the case of Delta Modulation this means that the sampling rate will be much higher than the minimum rate of twice the bandwidth. Delta Modulation requires oversampling in order to obtain an accurate prediction of the next input. Since each encoded sample contains a relatively small amount of information Delta Modulation systems require higher sampling rates than PCM systems. At any given sampling rate, two types of distortion, as shown below limit the performance of the DM encoder.   Slope overload distortion: This type of distortion is due to the use of a step size delta that is too small to follow portions of the waveform that have a steep slope. It can be reduced by increasing the step size. Granular noise: This results from using a step size that is too large too large in parts of the waveform having a small slope. Granular noise can be reduced by decreasing the step size. Even for an optimized step size, the performance of the DM encoder may still be less satisfactory. An alternative solution is to employ a variable step size that adapts itself to the short-term characteristics of the source signal. That is the step size is increased when the waveform has a step slope and decreased when the waveform has a relatively small slope. This strategy is called adaptive DM (ADM). Block Diagram Adaptive Delta Modulation for Audio Signals: While transmitting speech for e.g. telephony the transfer rate should be kept as small as possible to save bandwidth because of economic reason. For this purpose Delta Modulation, adaptive Delta modulation, Differential Pulse-Code modulation is used to compress the data. In this different kind of Delta modulations and Differential Pulse Code modulations (DPCM) were realized to compress audio data. At first the principal of compressing audio data are explained, which the modulations based on. Mathematical equations (e.g. Auto Correlation) and algorithm (LD recursion) are used to develop solutions. Based on the mathematics and principals Simulink models were implemented for the Delta modulation, Adaptive Delta modulation as well as for the adaptive Differential Pulse Code modulation. The theories were verified by applying measured signals on these models. CHAPTER II Pulse-code modulation: Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals, which was invented by Alec Reeves in 1937. It is the standard form for digital audio in computers and various Compact Disc and DVD formats, as well as other uses such as digital telephone systems. A PCM stream is a digital representation of an analog signal, in which the magnitude of the analogue signal is sampled regularly at uniform intervals, with each sample being quantized to the nearest value within a range of digital steps. PCM streams have two basic properties that determine their fidelity to the original analog signal: the sampling rate, which is the number of times per second that samples are taken; and the bit-depth, which determines the number of possible digital values that each sample can take. Digitization as part of the PCM process In conventional PCM, the analog signal may be processed (e.g. by amplitude compression) before being digitized. Once the signal is digitized, the PCM signal is usually subjected to further processing (e.g. digital data compression). PCM with linear quantization is known as Linear PCM (LPCM). Some forms of PCM combine signal processing with coding. Older versions of these systems applied the processing in the analog domain as part of the A/D process; newer implementations do so in the digital domain. These simple techniques have been largely rendered obsolete by modern transform-based audio compression techniques. * DPCM encodes the PCM values as differences between the current and the predicted value. An algorithm predicts the next sample based on the previous samples, and the encoder stores only the difference between this prediction and the actual value. If the prediction is reasonable, fewer bits can be used to represent the same information. For audio, this type of encoding reduces the number of bits required per sample by about 25% compared to PCM. * Adaptive DPCM (ADPCM) is a variant of DPCM that varies the size of the quantization step, to allow further reduction of the required bandwidth for a given signal-to-noise ratio. * Delta modulation is a form of DPCM which uses one bit per sample. In telephony, a standard audio signal for a single phone call is encoded as 8000 analog samples per second, of 8 bits each, giving a 64 Kbit/s digital signal known as DS0. The default signal compression encoding on a DS0 is either ÃŽÂ ¼-law (mu-law) PCM (North America and Japan) or A-law PCM (Europe and most of the rest of the world). These are logarithmic compression systems where a 12 or 13-bit linear PCM sample number is mapped into an 8-bit value. This system is described by international standard G.711. An alternative proposal for a floating point representation, with 5-bit mantissa and 3-bit radix, was abandoned. Where circuit costs are high and loss of voice quality is acceptable, it sometimes makes sense to compress the voice signal even further. An ADPCM algorithm is used to map a series of 8-bit  µ-law or A-law PCM samples into a series of 4-bit ADPCM samples. In this way, the capacity of the line is doubled. The technique is detailed in the G.726 standard. Later it was found that even further compression was possible and additional standards were published. Pulse code modulation (PCM) data are transmitted as a serial bit stream of binary-coded time-division multiplexed words. When PCM is transmitted, premodulation filtering shall be used to confine the radiated RF spectrum. These standards define pulse train structure and system design characteristics for the implementation of PCM telemetry formats. Class Distinctions and Bit-Oriented Characteristics The PCM formats are divided into two classes for reference. Serial bit stream characteristics are described below prior to frame and word oriented definitions. Two classes of PCM formats are covered in this chapter: the basic, simpler types are class I, and the more complex applications are class II. The use of any class II technique requires concurrence of the range involved. All formats with characteristics described in these standards are class I except those identified as class II. The following are examples of class II characteristics: a. Bit rates greater than 10 megabits per second b. Word length in excess of 32 bits. c. fragmented words d. more than 8192 bits or 1024 words per minor frame. e. uneven spacing, not within the definition of sub commutation or super commutation f. Format changes. g. asynchronous embedded formats h. tagged data formats. i. packet telemetry j. formats with data content other than unsigned straight binary, discrete, or complement arithmetic representation for negative numbers such as floating point variables, binary-coded decimal, and gain-and-value k. asynchronous data transmission l. merger of multiple format types Demodulation: Demodulation is the act of extracting the original information-bearing signal from a modulated carrier wave. A demodulator is an electronic circuit used to recover the information content from the modulated carrier wave. These terms are traditionally used in connection with radio receivers, but many other systems use many kinds of demodulators. Another common one is in a modem, which is a contraction of the terms modulator/demodulator. Techniques: There are several ways of demodulation depending on how parameters of the base-band signal are transmitted in the carrier signal, such as amplitude, frequency or phase. For example, for a signal modulated with a linear modulation, like AM (Amplitude Modulated), we can use a synchronous detector. On the other hand, for a signal modulated with an angular modulation, we must use an FM (Frequency Modulation) demodulator or a PM (Phase Modulation) demodulator. Different kinds of circuits perform these functions. Many techniques-such as carrier recovery, clock recovery, bit slip, frame synchronization, rake receiver, pulse compression, Received Signal Strength Indication, error detection and correction, etc. are only performed by demodulators, although any specific demodulator may perform only some or none of these techniques. Some Attributes of Demodulated data One important attribute of demodulation (or demod) data is that it focuses on high frequency vibration. Using a high pass filter, low frequency data is filtered out and a data collector is able to zoom in on low level high frequency vibration. This means that some peaks that would otherwise be lost in the noise floor of a normal narrow band spectrum (much lower than the normal vibration a machine emits) can be detected using demodulation techniques. Another feature of demod, or of high frequency vibration in general, is that it is easily attenuated and does not travel well through a machines structure (termed the disco effect). As one moves away from a loud music source, one tends to hear only the bass, or low frequency sound, since the treble or high frequency sounds dissipate rather quickly. This implies that vibration detected with demod is usually produced locally. In the case of a motor driving a pump through a coupling, demod data collected on the pump end will usually reflect the vibration emitted by the pump end. Lower frequency vibration may be transmitted through the coupling and may even be amplified on the other end of the machine depending upon its mobility. CHAPTER III Results: Critical Analysis: CHAPTER IV Conclusion: Short-range wireless digital voice transmission is used extensively in contemporary consumer electronics. Products such as cordless telephones, wireless headsets (for mobile and landline telephones) and baby monitors are just a few of the items that use digital techniques to wirelessly communicate voice information. Wireless environments are inherently noisy, so the voice coding scheme chosen for such an application must be robust in the presence of bit errors. Pulse coded modulation (PCM) and its derivatives are commonly used in wireless consumer products for their compromise between voice quality and implementation cost, but these schemes are not particularly robust in the presence of bit errors. Adaptive delta modulation (ADM) is a mature technique that should be considered for these applications because of its bit error robustness and its low implementation cost. ADM is a voice coding technique that quantizes the difference between the current sample and the predicted value of the next sample. It uses a variable step height to adjust the predicted value of the next sample so that both slowly and rapidly changing input signals can be faithfully reproduced. One bit is used to represent each sample in ADM. The one-bit-per-sample ADM data stream requires no data framing, thereby minimizing the workload on the host microcontroller. CHAPTER V

The Invisible Black Cowboys :: American America History

The Invisible Black Cowboys For many Americans, the image of the cowboy evokes pleasant nostalgia of a time gone by, when cowboys roamed free. The Cowboy is, to many Americans, the ideal American, who was quick to the draw, well skilled in his profession, and yet minded his own business. Regardless of whether the mental picture that the word cowboy evokes is a correct or incorrect view of the vocation, one seldom views cowboys as being black. The first cowboy I met was from Texas and was black. After he told me that he was a cowboy, I told him that he had to be kidding. Unfortunately, I was not totally to blame for my inability to recognize that color has nothing to do with the cowboy profession; most if not all popular famous images of cowboys are white. In general, even today, blacks are excluded from the popular depiction of famous Westerners. Black cowboys were unheard of for almost a century after they made their mark on the cattle herding trade, not because they were insignificant, but because history fel l victim to prejudice, and forgot peoples of color in popular depictions of the West and Western history. Black Americans were in the West with Lewis and Clark, but this was never seen or published until the 19th century (Ravage 26). California was the section of the west that most blacks settled in before the Civil War. The largest concentration of blacks in the state was in Sacramento County, mainly because of the gold rush. Blacks would ride trade ships to the west coast and then desert, if they were slaves, or leave the ship, if they were free men, to settle there (Savage 12). Examples of early black settlers were two ex-slaves named Bob and Kanaska who came to San Diego in 1816 on the schooner Albatross. Thomas Fisher came to California around 1818 but was captured by pirates in Monterey that year. Another Fisher came to California in 1846 while serving on a whaling ship (Savage 13) Though present from the initial discovery of the West, blacks entered the West in earnest after 1850. Between 1850 and 1910, thousands of African Americans, lured by the promise of land, opportunity, and most importantly, racial justice migrated to the trans-Mississippi West (African Americans). This great migration occurred shortly after the civil war, as thousands of blacks moved West because they were unwanted in the North or South (Dick 30).

Polygamy reasons in Islam Essay

Polygamy is a Greek word that means the practice of multiple marriages. Polygamy was considered to fulfill men’s desires on the grounds of strong cultural considerations. Nowadays, Polygamy is considered in Islamic countries and some rural areas around the word. However, it was difficult to provide statistics on the issue of polygamy because of the lack of communication. The man can marry up to four wives. Each wife constitutes a separate household with the husband visiting his wives in turn. Human Rights: Human rights deny gender differences and strive to maintain equality in social rules. Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. Human rights discourse prohibits polygamy and the act of practicing it. Human rights theory is against the notion of polygamy. Human rights discourse states that polygamy is against the dignity of women and their human rights. Polygamy violates the right of equality between men and women; indeed, by allowing men to have more than one wife but preventing women from doing it, the right of equality is violated. In addition, human rights discourse is against the practice of polygamy. It violates women’s right of spending enough time with their husband and children’s right to be raised within a stable family. The idea of allowing the husband to choose polygamy is not considered as slavery or exclusion of the women’s right to decide; on the other hand, it is considered as traditional family life in which the husband is the head of the family. However, the wife can take the place of her husband as the head of the family when the law deprives his civil rights, as if the husband is in jail. On the other hand, polygamy violates the rights of children. Men that have more than one wife do not have enough time to spend it with their children compared with men that have one wife. In addition, their wives try to compete with other wives in order to impress and entertain the man. As a result, children will not have enough time to spend it with their parents. Polygamy requires a lot of time and money; indeed, the man is ordered to fulfill the needs of his wives equally. That will decrease his financial status and this will result in a decrease in health and educational status. Kent acknowledges that polygamists refuse the common life styles and beliefs they live apart from public scrutiny or association, and are more vulnerable to violating civil rights (Kant, 2006). Canadian civil marriage act (2005) defines marriage as â€Å"the lawful union of one two persons to the exclusion of others†. This definition of marriage excludes polygamy. Even though there were laws in Canada prohibiting polygamy before 2009, Winston Blackmore and James Oler were the first polygamists arrested in Canada in January 2009. The maximum penalty for polygamists is 5 years in jail. Although Canadian law assures freedom of religious expression, Polygamy is prohibited. Legal experts say the case promises to pit Canada’s antipolygamy law against the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees freedom of religious expression. Divine Command: Divine command theory in Islam respect gender differences and it maintains equality between men and women. However, it is different in some cases. Divine command explains gender differences as being compatible to each other, which explains the differences in some cases. One of these few cases is polygamy. Islamic law allows polygamy as stated in the quran â€Å"And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course† (4:3). There are several conditions to be maintained in order for the man to marry more than one woman. The first and most fundamental condition is justice, the man have to maintain equality between his wives. He has to be equal in the time spent with the wife and the financial matters, but not his heart inclination. The man can love a wife or her children more than the other but he should keep that to himself and do not show it to his other wives by his behavior. A man should have a reasonable issue to have more than one wife, he should not have more than what he wants. As a result, if two women are enough their husband does not have to marry a third wife and so on. In addition, the man should be able to aid his family, so he cannot marry more than one wife if he is not able to satisfy all of his wives equally. There are several types of aid: financial aid that extends to his children, the ability to satisfy the wives sexual desires. If the man is not able to satisfy the sexual desires of one wife, then he is not allowed to marry more than one. If a women states that her husband does not satisfy her sexual desires, she has the right to ask for divorce. To sum up, the man has to apply justice in the concepts of expenses, sex, and treatment in order to be eligible to have more than one wife. Polygamy is allowed in Islam due to several reasons. First of all is increasing the population. Although one says that increased population causes problems on the society, it results in increased labour, which will increase economy. For example, China has the largest population in the world and they have a strong economical force. Another reason is the increased number of women compared with men in some countries. For example, an official statistic in Germany shows that in 1990 there were approximately 2.7 million more females than males; moreover, the incidents of dying men are more then women. This means that there will be many women without a husband that will lead to a decrease in the population and an increase in adultery and sexually transmitted disease. Childs of adultery are missing the traditional family life and that will reverse it on their behaviour. There are many men that can not handle their sexual interactions and they need more than one women, so if they had more than one that will prevent them from adultery. In addition, men are prohibited to have sex during menstruation or confinement due to its medical harm. The most reason that makes men marry is to make a family, but this dream is impossible if the woman is infertile or has an illness. As a result, it is fair to marry another fertile women. One says that polygamy will cause problems to the family and the wives will be competing with each other. The response for this critique is that problems can occur in every family even if there is one wife. Moreover, each wife has the right to live in her own house and the man can not force them to live in the same house. Another one argues that if polygamy is allowed for men, it should be allowed for women as well. The response to this critique is that women are the carrier of the off spring and by having sex with more than a man the child’s identity will be lost. The children will not be able to recognize their father and it will confuse the society. In addition, the ties of the fatherhood with the children are going to be weak. On April 15th, 2009 Afghanistan women protested in a Shia mosque in the country’s capital city because of a new law that was passed which forbid women to leave their homes without permission from a male relative and these women were also not allowed to refuse to have sex with their husbands. The 300 women who protested were young and organized by women’s rights activists. These Afghan women believed this new law was unacceptable and was a return to Taliban rule. Many local men were outraged by the protesting of these women and threw gravel and small stones at them. As a result, polygamy will decrese these problems. Conclusion: From my point of view, I think that polygamy have more advantages and disadvantages. We can adapt and solve the disadvantages to make polygamy more successful. For example, one can spend more time with his family to make sure that the women and children are satisfied. On the other hand, polygamy should not be allowed without its provisions. Indeed, courts should make sure that polygamy conditions are accomplished, especially the right of justice and equality. References: Kent, S. (2006, August). A matter of principle: fundamentalist Mormon polygamy, children, and human rights debates. Nova religio, 10(1), 7-29. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials database. Polygamists arrested for first time in Canada. (2009, February 10). Christian Century, Retrieved June 18, 2009, from Humanities International Complete database. Polygamy Is Against Women’s Human Rights and Their Dignity, Experts Say, (2000). Retrieved June 14, 2009, from http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/51DA40508951B238C1256988002EE12E?opendocument Polygamy reasons and conditions in Islam, (2007). Retrieved June 17, 2009, from http://akhawat.islamway.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=49647 Polygamy reasons in Islam, (2002). Retrieved June 14, 2009, from http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Article&iw_a=view&article_id=218#(1)

War Letters essays

War Letters essays War Letters is evidence of the heroic contributions and astonishing literary voices of common soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors, as well as war nurses, journalists, spies, and chaplains. Andrew Carroll began with the belief that soldiers letters sent home during wartime were important as both historical documents with detailed descriptions of battles and as personal reminders of what war really is. He received over 50,000 war letters, from attics, basements, scrapbooks and old trunks. Carroll founded the Legacy Project with the idea of remembering Americans who have served this nation in wartime by seeking out and preserving their letters. The best of these letters are assembled in this book, giving us a look into the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. Most of these letters are dramatic accounts of combat written immediately after the most horrific or hardest battles American troops have faced. Many love letters from husbands and sweethearts; humorous anecdotes and complaints about bad conditions; thoughtful reflections on the nature of warfare; and perhaps most devastating, a startling number of last letters penned just hours or days before the sender was killed. War Letters, written by Andrew Carroll was a very emotional book. I enjoyed reading it very much. These historic letters capture the full fury and intensity of warfare, and they reveal in great detail what the servicemen and women of America have experienced and sacrificed on the front lines. It is a tribute to those who have fought for this country, and a celebration of the enduring power of personal letters. Andrew Carroll assembled a collection of previously unpublished letters that show the emotion of wartime. It made the emotions very real to me. I cannot think of a better way to understand the horrors of war than to read the words of those who were caught in its grasp. These letters offer some of...

Witchcraft Essays - Witch Trials, Witchcraft, Magic, Folklore

Witchcraft Essays - Witch Trials, Witchcraft, Magic, Folklore Witchcraft In the modern world witchcraft is a form of nature religion that emphasizes the healing arts. The term is also applied to various kinds of magic practiced in Asian, African, and Latin American communities. Little is known about the history of witchcraft in Europe, and what is known comes from hostile sources. In traditional European society witchcraft was believed to be a kind of harmful sorcery associated with the worship of Satan, or the devil (a spirit hostile to God). The European doctrine of witchcraft was formulated in the late Middle Ages. Just how many of the beliefs about witches were based on reality and how many on delusion will never be known. The punishment of supposed witches by the death penalty did not become common until the 15th century. The first major witch-hunt occurred in Switzerland in 1427, and the first important book on the subject, the Malleus maleficarum (Hammer of Sorceresses), appeared in Germany in 1486. The persecution of witches reached its height between 1580 and 1660, when witch trials became almost universal throughout western Europe. Geographically, the center of witch-burning lay in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but few areas were left untouched by it. No one knows the total number of victims. In southwestern Germany alone, however, more than 3,000 witches were executed between 1560 and 1680. Not all witch trials ended in deaths. In England, where torture was prohibited, only about 20 percent of accused witches were executed (by hanging); in Scotland, where torture was used, nearly half of all those put on trial were burned at the stake, and almost three times as many witches (1,350) were killed as in England. Some places had fewer trials than others. In the Dutch republic, no witches were executed after 1600, and none were tried after 1610. In Spain and Italy accusations of witchcraft were handled by the Inquisition, and although torture was legal, only a dozen witches were burned out of 5,000 put on trial. Ireland apparently escaped witch trials altogether. Many witch trials were provoked, not by hysterical authorities or fanatical clergy, but by village quarrels among neighbors. About 80% of all accused witches were women. Traditional theology assumed that women were weaker than men and more likely to succumb to the devil. It may in fact be true that, having few legal rights, they were more inclined to settle quarrels by resorting to magic rather than law. All these aspects of witchcraft crossed over to the Americas with European colonists. In the Spanish and French territories cases of witchcraft were under the jurisdiction of church courts, and no one suffered death on this charge. In the English colonies about 40 people were executed for witchcraft between 1650 and 1710, half of them in the famous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Witch trials declined in most parts of Europe after 1680; in England the death penalty for witchcraft was abolished in 1736. In the late 17th and 18th centuries one last wave of witch persecution afflicted Poland and other areas of eastern Europe, but that ended by about 1740. The last legal execution of a witch occurred in Switzerland in 1782. Beginning in the 1920s, witchcraft was revived in Europe and America by groups that considered it a survival of pre-Christian religious practices. This phenomenon was partly inspired by such books as Margaret Murray's The Witch Cult in Western Europe (1921). Some forms of modern witchcraft follow the traditions of medieval herbalists and lay healers. The term witch-hunt is used today to describe a drive to punish political criminals or dissidents without regard for the normal legal rules.

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 39

Reading response - Essay Example Nevertheless, a writer should have the capacity to overcome the counterclaims on his argument. Olsson argues that Wal-Mart is one of the multinational companies that underpays, mistreats, and overworks its employees. She also argues that Wal-Mart has been fighting off unions that advocate for workers’ rights. Olsson argues that Wal-Mart employees must have a second job to survive unless an employee is a manager or has been working at the company for more than 20 years. According to Olsson, the company has been pushing employees to maximize all their potential to reap maximum benefits and cut costs without hiring more employees. The author supports the former and current Wal-Mart employees’ right to fight the company for violating wage-and-hour laws. Olsson accommodates counterclaims by recognizing Wal-Mart’s policies and views on employees’ treatment, compensation, and right to join unions. She also accommodates the company’s response to complaints of unpaid overtime. She stated, â€Å"Wal-Mart blames unpaid overtime on individual departmen t managers, insisting that such practices violate company policy† (Olsson, 2003). Olsson also considers the dominant complaints about understaffing and low pay as well as the company’s response on training and promoting female managers. However, Olsson addresses all the counterclaims by treating Wal-Mart as a unique case by considering its size and potential as well as the employees’ right to fair pay and treatment. She also refutes the counterclaims by quoting the wage-and-hour laws. In the reading â€Å"Progressive Wal-Mart. Really,† Mallaby argues that the anti-Wal-Mart campaign brewing in Maryland and across America is trivial, ironic, and comic. He argues that preventing the company from opening new branches will bring suffering to poor Americans since it will limit ordinary families from sharing the health benefits and food relief offered by the company. Mallaby argues that Wal-Mart

The implementation of law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The implementation of law - Essay Example In this regard, the abuse of office by the incumbent president may not breach the separation of powers. The functions of the executive are subject to oversight by the other two arms of government. Executive orders are always instructive regardless of the fact that they violate the law. This is because the executive arm of government is subject to politics, which makes the absolute adherence to set rules and regulations impossible. The executive powers also have privileges that surpass the other provisions in various clauses of the constitution. For instance, the provision of Null Presque presidential privilege usually contradicts the delivery of justice for the afflicted parties in the courts of law. In this regard, the executive’s orders are instructive. The president’s orders are instructive, given that their directives. The orders are supreme given the selection of the hold of the executive office. The election of the president is an influential exercise that makes t he populace consider the president as the supreme authority of the nation.History plays a major role in the understanding of the executive powers and the aspect of separation of powers. There are provisions that address the controversies existing in the legality and policy issues of executive mandates. The aspect of the separation of powers is traceable to the times of King George III. The reign of the King was full of controversies and delusion. The making of treaties with other nations is categorized under legislative and executive roles.