Advertising Bias Essay Example for Free

Advertising Bias Essay Marketing and advertising companies are constantly playing on gender roles and stereotypes. Both men and women are portrayed in certain ways to help make products seem more attractive to the same or opposite sex. Men are pictured as lazy, dumb slobs while women are pictured as gentle, beautiful, sexual, and submissive. In children’s ads, boys are shown as rough and interested in action games while girls are more quiet and interested in dolls. Though these stereotypes are not always true, they are what Americans have come to accept about gender and society. Advertisements depend upon painting evocative pictures about these stereotypes in order to entice the consumer to buy the product. Many ads use a sloppy, idiotic, couch potato to appeal to women in products that are commonly used by women such as cooking items and cleaning products. By using the male stereotype, women tend to feel empowered or that they have the upper hand when the usually â€Å"dominant† male is depicted as inferior. While downplaying the male role has become more accepted as a show of politically correct sexism, it is still politically incorrect to do such to women. See more: My Writing Process Essay Some view this as an unfair double standard. Role reversal is often utilized in advertising with women as the focus of the ad. The most common use of stereotyping with women is ads is using them to promote or sell a product through sexual appeal. Whether to a male or female audience, women are portrayed as extremely beautiful and sexy and often in suggestive poses. It attracts men for the obvious reasons, and attracts other women because they aspire to be a certain way or have a certain beautiful quality or feature. Women are also advertised as gentle and submissive in contrast to males. Feminists are against these types of stereotyping because they believe it itemizes women. In society males and females are picked on for their underlying qualities. These qualities have become so widespread and commonplace, today they are considered stereotypes. Companies use these to attract buyers with the idea that they are somewhat better than the opposite sex in some way. The underlying nature in ads points out flaws of men and women and uses them to exploit certain behaviours or mannerisms that will help sell a product with its image.

Evaluation of the commercialization Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of the commercialization Essay This paper discusses and evaluates both the negative and positive aspects and raised controversial issues regarding Bt-Corn, a transgenic maize developed through genetic engineering and biotechnology methods, and will finally conclude that the commercialization of Bt-Corn breeds for the past 14 years have been both economically advantageous and beneficial for the environment. The purpose of this paper is to further educate and inform the general audience regarding issues relating with genetically modified organisms and will try to disprove negative speculation and ambiguity with statistical data and experimental evidence. Introduction Recent development and advances in the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering has enabled scientists today to improve crop varieties through alteration of their most fundamental building blocks, their DNA. These alterations of the genetic material allow scientists and researchers to develop ‘new species’ and breeds of organisms which posses certain altered favored traits, which would not otherwise naturally exist in the organism. (Peairs, 2007) However, there is much ambiguity and controversies surrounding the whole field of genetic engineering of organisms and their commercialization. Bt-corn, a breed of transgenic maize whose genetic material has been altered to include the ability to produce a certain toxin that has specific insecticidal property against pests, has been commercialized now for several years in the US and also in several other countries such as Canada, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Honduras, South Africa and the Philippines. (Wu, 2006) The prefix ‘Bt’ from Bt-Corn originates from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a species of soil bacterium that produces the insecticidal crystal protein or delta endotoxins, toxins that kill crop pests. Genetic engineering has allowed scientists to take the single gene that controls the production of the delta endotoxins from Bt, create a modified version of it and synthesize it with the DNA of selected corn species using recombinant DNA technology. This new set of ‘genetic code’ allows the plant to produce the delta endotoxins by itself; hence it is able to repel crop pests by itself. This newly acquired attribute is like a miracle for farmers, not just corn farmers since the insecticidal attribute of ‘Bt’ has also been implemented in several other crops such as Bt-potatoes and Bt-sweet corn. However, there have been several issues raised against the commercialization of Bt-corn in recent years due to investigations, which reveals how Bt-corn pollen proves to be lethal to other species of organisms that are not considered as pests. (Peairs, 2007) This paper will discuss, evaluate and finally demonstrate how the commercialization of Bt-Corn breeds is overall both economically efficient and beneficial for the environment through the following points: * Origins of Bt and Bt-Corn * Mode of action of Bt toxins Economical and environmental advantages of Bt-Corn * FDA regulations on genetically modified organisms * Controversies and issues raised * Evaluation Origins of Bt and Bt-Corn As previously stated above, Bt-Corn is a breed of transgenic maize whose genetic material have been altered and combined with the insecticidal crystal protein-producing trait of the common naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. Shigetane Ishiwata, a Japanese biologist, was the first to discover Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in 1901. However, it was not until Ernst Berliner rediscovered it in 1911 in Thuringia, Germany, that the bacterium was named Bacillus thuringiensis. In 1938 a French company started commercially producing the combination of the bacterium and its toxin crystals as a pesticide, calling it Sporeine, and in the 1950’s American organic farmers started using Bt on their crops as a way to control pest. (Aroian) As research methods improved (1960’s) and new Bt species were found producing thousands of other specific toxic proteins, more and more farmers started to use Bt. However, it was not until advancements in genetics and genetic engineering in the 1990’s that researchers were able to detect and isolate the specific genes that trigger production of the toxins and transfer it into certain species of crops, such as Bt-Corn. The first Bt crop that was registered with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), which allowed for its commercialization, is the Bt-Corn. (Aroian) In 2004, Bt-Corn comprises more than ? of the total acres of cornfields in the United States itself. Wu, 2006) According to Clive James, the chair of the ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications), today (2002) the total Bt-Corn fields in the world approximates to 25 million acres. (James, 2002) Mode of actions of Bt toxins Bacillus thuringiensis produces certain proteins, categorized as crystal proteins, which are very specific, well known for its ability to target and inhibit specific metabolic processes of certain speci es of organisms, mainly insects. Investigations have revealed that most of these insecticidal crystal proteins, when activated (when they come into contact with their specific host), attaches itself to the epithelium cells of the gut of the insects and causes the generation of pores in the cell membranes. These pores in the membranes of the epithelium cells, outermost cells that line the surfaces of structures, such as the gut, of organisms, disrupts the osmotic balance of the cells, causing them to swell and lyse. (Hofte, 1989) In simpler terms, basically these proteins (toxins) cause imbalance of water absorption (osmotic imbalance) in the cells of the ‘organs’ of specific insects, which causes these cells to swell and break (lyse). They are also very specific and selective on the species of insects they are able to affect, making Bt toxins potent in eradicating pests while being relatively harmless towards other organisms. There is substantial evidence that the toxins (insecticidal crystal proteins) are not harmful to human health nor are they detrimental for the health of vertebrates (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, bony fish and sharks). According to Peairs, these toxins are considered to be very selective and very safe for humans and non-targeted organisms when compared to the most conventional and common pesticides used nowadays since they only attack certain groups of insects. (Peairs, 2007) Economical and environmental advantages of Bt-Corn It has been several years now, more than a decade, since the commercialization of Bt-Corn breeds and now more than ever, we are able to see statistical data and actual evidence that overall, using Bt-Corn is both economically efficient and beneficial for the environment. Economic advantages of Bt-Corn According to a study by Brookes, there have been substantial net economic benefits at the farms, totaling up to $5 billion in 2005 and $27 billion during the first decade (1996-2005) of the commercialization of genetically engineered crops. For the genetically engineered maize species, including Bt-Corn and other forms of genetically modified corn, boosted farm incomes by over $3. 1 billion since 1996. In the United States alone genetically modified maize crop income benefits accumulates to a little under $2. 3 billion, which is about 88% of the world GM maize crop income. (Brookes, 2006) The main reason for its economic advantage is its ability to produce higher yields of the same, or even better, quality of produce compared to ‘organic’ corn because two reasons. The first reason is that since pests are not lured to the crop, they unhindered and are able to flourish and produce more yields. The second reason is that the ability to self-pro duce insecticidal toxins allows farmers to cut down costs to maintain the crop since they do not have to purchase massive amounts of pesticide. This also means that less time will be spent on crop walking and the application of pesticides and herbicides, less usage of energy associated with less spraying, savings in costs of machinery and machinery usage (from less spraying and reduced harvest times) and also the unseen benefits in the health and safety of farm workers that is caused by handling pesticides. (Brookes, 2006) Environmental advantages of Bt-Corn The usage of Bt-Corn allows farmers to stop the usage of environmentally hazardous chemicals, may it be pesticides or herbicides. Overall between the years 1996 and 2005, GM crops have caused the net reduction in the environmental impact on the cropping area by 15. 3% while the total volume of active ingredient usage has also been reduced by 7%. Specifically in the GM maize sector there have been a net reduction in the environmental impact on the cropping area by 4. 6% through the reduction of pesticide usage and another net decrease in 4% in the environmental impact through the usage of more environmentally benign herbicides. Brookes, 2006) There has also been a decrease in greenhouse gasses emission; excess greenhouse gasses emission is a factor contributing to global warming. Brookes states in his article, that the two main reasons for the decrease in green house gasses emission is due to two factors. The first being reduced fuel usage from the less frequent need of using pesticides and herbicides applications (machinery used for spraying). From 1996 to 2005, it is estimated that there has been a reduction i n carbon dioxide emission of 4,613 million kg, calculated from the reduced fuel usage of 1,679 liters. In comparison, the permanent carbon dioxide savings from reduced fuel usage from 1996 to 2005 by planting GM crops is equivalent to the removal of 2. 05 million cars from the road for one year, assuming that a car does an average of 15,000 km per year, producing 2,250 kg of CO2 per year based on the fact that an average family car produces 150 grams of CO2 every km. (Brookes, 2006) FDA regulations on genetically modified organisms With the development in genetic engineering and biotechnology there is urgency and a need to both control and oversee products and methods used, especially relating with food products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are the three main supervisors of genetically modified foods. The FDA, the official government agency in charge of regulating food, drug and cosmetic laws and ensuring safety of food (other than meat), food additives, medicines, medical devices, veterinary drugs, cosmetics and genetically modified food products, plays the major role in the actual ‘screening’ of products that are available for the public. The FDA categorizes genetically modified food products under the ‘GRAS’ list; the GRAS list comprise of products that are ‘generally recognized as safe’, which demands the manufacturers to be responsible for the safety of their own products, allowing them to place products into the market without pre-approval of the FDA because whole foods are GRAS. Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed or unrefined such as unprocessed meat, poultry and fish, fruits and vegetables, and non-homogenized milk (basically unprocessed milk; straight from the animal). The manufacturer bears responsibility for ensuring the product is not adulterated or misbranded. However if there is proof that the product is adulterated, or detrimental to human health (animal health for animal products), then the products may be taken back from the market and the manufacturer may be prosecuted. (Gertsberg, 2009) Controversies and issues raised The development and continuation of research in the whole issue regarding genetic engineering of any organisms itself raises much issues. However, most of the issues raised within the field of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are issues regarding perspective and ethics, since there is much fear and ambiguity that most people feel when they think and speak about this issue. Controversies with genetic engineering There are not enough, if there are any, substantial, academic, plain physical experimental proof that genetically modified organisms are hazardous to both the health of humans and the environment. The main issues raised regarding GMOs are that there is a risk there new allergens will arise from the ‘unknown’ effects of combining different DNA sequences with each other, increased toxicity levels in organisms do to a faster metabolism, the possibility of unwanted/unintended gene transfer between different species, loss of biodiversity and basically unknown possible effects on different organisms related. (Turner, 2007) There are also several other ethical issues raised, such as the monopoly of world food production by several ompanies, problems with intellectual property and non-mandatory labeling, which is the case in the United States. Non-mandatory labeling violates the rights of consumers to choose between ‘organic foods’ and genetically engineered foods. Monarch butterfly issue and Bt-Corn Several years ago, an issue was raised regarding how non-pest (non-targeted) species of organisms, the Monarch butterfly species in this case, were affected by t he delta endotoxins contained in the pollen of a certain species of Bt-Corn. The issue revolves around how Monarch butterflies population was in danger of being killed through the poisoning by the Bt toxins. Monarch butterflies would migrate and lay their eggs on areas near the Bt-Corn fields. Their larvae feed on milkweed plants, a species of plants that grow in same regions as the Bt-Corn. However, Bt-Corn pollen would scatter throughout the area and lay on these leaves. Several investigations revealed some mortality in Monarch butterfly caterpillars that consume these pollen-covered milkweed leaves. (Peairs, 2007) Following the recent controversy, a number of private parties assembled and conducted workshops and investigations regarding this issue sponsored by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States. Scientists and researchers were assembled from U. S. and Canadian universities, ARS members and several other environmental organizations, in a joint effort to prove whether the issue has a scientific basis. (Hellmich, 2008) Laboratory experiments done with pure Crystal toxins (Bt toxins) mixed with artificial diets revealed that a certain type of Cry toxin, Cry1Ab, was harmful to Monarch caterpillars but other types of the Cry toxins were not toxic to them. Field studies done along with lab experiments conclude that there were not any adverse effects observed on the Monarch caterpillars who fed on milkweed leaves dusted with natural levels of the commonly found Bt-Corn pollen species. All but the single Cry toxin proved to be safe. The results of this experiment caused for the termination of the production of Bt-Corn species 176, which expressed high amounts of Cry1Ab toxins. (Hellmich, 2008) Several other studies were conducted to compare between the mortality of Monarch caterpillars in agricultural and non-agricultural habitats, where there aren’t any Bt-Corn species in the area. Results from this experiment show no significant differences in mortality rates of the caterpillars. (Hellmich, 2008) Another study conducted compared the mortality rates of Monarch caterpillars exposed to Bt-Corn species and ‘organic’ corn species with the commonly used pesticide, cyhalothrin. Experimentations revealed how, â€Å"†¦nearly all monarch larvae on milkweed plants inside the field were killed. † Hence Bt-Corn is safer than traditional commercial insecticides and pesticides. (Hellmich, 2008) The final risk assessment brought forth by Hellmich regarding the Monarch population and Bt-Corn is that the risks are negligible since exposure of the Monarch caterpillars to Bt-Corn pollen is low. Furthermore, the current commercially available Bt-Corn species and hybrids revealed low toxicity. Hellmich concludes that, â€Å"The bottom line from these studies is that all commercial Bt corn hybrids have negligible effects on populations of monarch butterflies, especially when compared with traditional insecticides. † (Hellmich, 2008) Evaluation In conclusion, through research and investigations conducted by researchers across the world, we can see how the commercialization of Bt-Corn for past 14 years have significantly benefitted both society and the environment through the ability of farmers to cut down costs, usage of energy, fuel and CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, increase in yields and decrease in the use of harmful chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides. We also see that most of the issues raised surrounding the issue of Bt-Corn and genetically engineered organisms are mostly just a matter of perspective and preferences. Lack of education and an open perspective regarding genetically modified organisms is the main hindrance towards improvements in the current agricultural field.

Use Case: An Analysis

Use Case: An Analysis Use Case A use case diagram depicts the units of functionality of the system as well as the actors capable of carrying out these functions. An actor is a person within the system needed to carry out a particular function. A function is depicted by an oval text box and is referred to as a use case as well, use case in this terms meaning unit of functionality. A Use Case diagram is a compilation of Use Cases to form a system. There are four actors within the MPP system. This does not suggest that only four literal people are responsible for operating the entire system. An actor is a classification of a person. In essence an actor refers to something general such as a job title as in this example the four actors are Secretary, HR Manager, Accountant and Staff Member. This use case diagram suggests that the classification of actors are responsible for the duties they are connected to. As such all persons holding that job title will be required to fulfil the duties depicted. The duties or use cases are explain further as use case specifications and the actors are details as classes in task two. Use Case Specifications Number: UC0001 Name Create Employee Actors Secretary, HR Manager Goal: To add a new member of staff Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Secretary, HR Manager Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Secretary gives member a form 2 Member fills form an returns it to secretary 3 HR Manager reviews form and approves employee 4 Secretary notifies employee 5 HR Manager confirms details Alternatives Index Actor Event A 1/1 Person Not Approved A 1/1.1 HR Manager disapproves person A 1/1.2 Secretary notifies person A 1/2 Invalid Data A 1/2.1 Person confirms data invalid A 1/2.2 HR Manager edits details A 1/2.3 Person confirms details This use case specification explains the procedure to be undertaken when adding a new member of staff to the MPP payroll. This process involves both the HR manager and the secretary in terms of the system. The secretary initially distributes a form to the potential employee to fill within which the applicants qualifications and contact information is kept on file. The details mentioned within the specification encompass all the personal information of the applicant inclusive of contact information as well as personal details. This information is then sent to the HR manager to review where a decision is made to approve the employee for an interview. This decision dictates whether the secretary contact the applicant to inform them of an upcoming interview or to inform them that their application has been rejected. The assumption here is that MPP only hires members of the party to become staff members. Number: UC0002 Name Create a Member Actors Secretary Goal: To add a new member to the MPP party Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Secretary Create an Election Candidate Create a Member of Parliament Create a Regional Assembly Member Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Person requests membership 2 Secretary creates new member record 3 Secretary confirms persons details to be accurate 4 Member is added to membership list Alternatives Index Actor Event A 2/1 Incorrect Details A 2/1.1 Secretary enters incorrect details A 2/1.2 Secretary edits details A 2/1.3 Person confirms details This use case specification depicts how a new member of MPP is added to the system. There is an estimated fifty thousand members of the party whom which information is needed to be stored as they are relied on during election time when the party is campaigning for election. The political party most probably doesnt discriminate the right of membership by any one person. Seeing that not much clerical data needs to be manipulated the secretary is fully capable of adding a member to the party. The process begins as a person requests membership to the party. The secretary then enters the members personal information especially their contact information as given by the applicant. Once the member confirms the information to be accurate the record is saved and thereby added to the membership list of MPP. Number: UC0003 Name Create an Election Candidate Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a new Election Candidate Use Case Relationships Extend: Create a Member Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member elects Member to become candidate 2 Staff Member contacts Member 3 Member confirms 4 Staff Member adds member to shortlist 5 Staff Member changes member position to EC Alternatives Index Actor Event A 3/1 Member Disapproves A 3/1.1 Staff Member elects another Member to become candidate This system assumes that only existing members of the party are elected to become election candidates for a particular seat. A member therefore can be classified as an election candidate once their name has been added to a shortlist, which is a list of potential election candidates for a particular area. Using this assumption a member position classification was created within the member file an as such a member may have many classifications ranging from volunteer represented as VOL and election candidate represented as EC. Once an election candidate wins an election for a post they may be contending their position will be changed to Member of Parliament or Regional Assembly Member respectively as will be discovered. Number: UC0004 Name Create a Member of Parliament Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a new Member of Parliament Use Case Relationships Extend: Create a Member Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Candidate is voted member of parliament 2 Staff Member changes member position to MOP Alternatives Index Actor Event A 4/1 Member Looses Election A 4/1.4 Staff Member changes Member position to VOL Number: UC0005 Name Create a Regional Assembly Member Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a new Regional Assembly Member Use Case Relationships Extend: Create a Member Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Candidate is voted Regional Assembly Member 2 Staff Member changes member position to RAM Alternatives Index Actor Event A 4/1 Member Looses Election A 4/1.4 Staff Member changes Member position to VOL Both the Create a member of parliament and Create a regional assembly member use cases rely on the Create a member use case. Once a member looses an election his position within the party is reassigned to a volunteer. Number: UC0006 Name Add Member to shortlist Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a Member to a shortlist Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Member approves to become a candidate 2 Staff Member adds member details to shortlist 3 Staff Member changes Member position to EC Alternatives Index Actor Event A 4/1 Member Steps Down A 4/1.1 Member notifies Staff Member A 4/1.2 Staff Member removes member from shortlist A 4/1.3 Staff Member edits Member position A staff member is responsible for adding a member to the shortlist thereby creating an election candidate. The shortlist is a record of potential election candidates of the MPP. Editing of the shortlist is as simple as editing a table. A staff member is responsible for this responsibility. This use cases is used in conjunction with the Create an election candidate use case within which adding a member to a shortlist is referred to. Once a member agrees to become an election candidate their personal information is added to a list of potential candidates for a particular seat within a respective area. Number: UC0007 Name Contact Members Actors Staff Member, Secretary Goal: To contact members of the party Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member/Secretary queries member details 2 Secretary/Staff Member contacts Member Alternatives Index Actor Event A 7/1 Contact Unavailable A 7/1.1 Contact unavailable at given contact A 7/1.2 Use another form of contact given by the member This use case the procedure to be undertaken when contacting a member of the party. As shown, only full time workers and secretaries contact members. There are many uses of this unit of functionality beyond the boundry of this system. The political party requires that sufficient contact information is stored on each member as individual members are relied on during the campaigning process to organise meetings and assist with advertisement. The contact information that is stored on an individual member of the party includes a telephone contact, home mailing address and email address. The staff members as well as the secretary therefore have three options in which to utilise when contacting a member. Number: UC0008 Name Record Income Actors Staff Member Goal: To record income generated by MPP Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member records Invoice Number 2 Staff Member records income Details 3 Staff Member records the ID number 4 Staff Member records the Amount 5 Staff Member records the date generated Alternatives Index Actor Event A 8/1 Incorrect Record A 8/1.1 Income is recorded incorrectly A 8/1.2 Staff Member confirms details with Invoice A 8/1.2 Staff Member edits details The member of the party responsible for recording income will be a full time employee of the party. Since there are several offices each of which generate individual incomes there must be persons within each regional office to account for funds the party may receive, either by subscriptions received or from other sources such as donations from persons interested in supporting the party and its objectives. The person receiving income distributes an invoice through which a record is kept of individual payments to the party. This invoice must contain all the information needed on the transaction such as what the payment was for, whether it is a subscription or donation. The invoice also contains who made the payment, how much money was paid to MPP and what date was the payment made. In the instance of a donation a record is kept of the donor personal information so they are kept on record an assigned a donor identification number. This is to ensure full accountability of the finances reaching the party. This donor number is entered into the â€Å"ID Number† field in the income table. Where a member pays their annual subscription to the party their member ID is stored within the same field. This ensures accountability for the transaction as well as a record of the subscription received for that individual member. Number: UC0009 Name Record Expenditure Actors Staff Member Goal: To record expenditure incurred by MPP Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member records Receipt Number 2 Staff Member records expenditure Details 3 Staff Member records the ID number 4 Staff Member records the Amount 5 Staff Member records the date incurred Alternatives Index Actor Event A 9/1 Incorrect Record A 9/1.1 Expenditure is recorded incorrectly A 9/1.2 Staff Member confirms details with receipt A 9/1.3 Staff Member edits details Full time employees are also responsible for recording the expenditure incurred by the party. The operation of any political party requires a host of expenses in which to organise and manage the party properly. The individual offices of the party will incur expenses for each office it maintains. The main expenses that must be accounted for include payment of rent for the various offices that the party operates. Salaries must also be accounted for as MPP employs over a hundred individuals which accounts for a major portion of the partys expenditure. A major part of any election campaign is advertising which as for MPP includes television advertising as well as leaflets that need to be distributed by the partys members. Along with these major expenditures the party may also incur miscellaneous expenses in order to keep the offices running such as telephone bills and mailing expenses, all of these are classified as sundry expenses. Whenever any expenditure is incurred all receipts given to the party is filed and documented. These receipts are used to document all the expenditure incurred by the party as the amount, dates and to whom payments are made are documented on the receipt. Each office, member and advertiser are assigned an ID number so that a level of accountability can be maintained as to whom payments are made. Number: UC0010 Name Generate Financial Report Actors Staff Member, Accountant Goal: To generate a financial report for each office Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member/Accountant selects Financial Report table 2 Staff Member/Accountant print Financial Report Alternatives Index Actor Event A 10/1 Incorrect Report Printed A 10/1.1 User selects correct report A 10/1.2 User prints correct report Each regional office is expected to produce a financial report to account for its activities. This will make for easier planning and budgeting by the national officers responsible for this such as the accounts department of the party. Therefore both party members as well as the national accountant can generate a financial report. To ensure the legitimacy of the financial reports the political party is expected to employ an internal as well as external auditor that examines the financial reports and compares them to the income and expenditure of the party. The financial report entails the total income generated as well as the total expenditure incurred for a particular office. These s can be used to determine the General Reserve available for funding the partys activities. Activity Diagrams An Activity Diagram the logical flow of data within a particular use case. The following diagrams show the Create a Member use case but in two different activity diagram formats. The first diagram simply the logical order in a flow chart fashion. The second diagram the same use case with the implication of swim lanes. Class Diagram Class diagrams are used to identify the objects of the system and show how they relate to each other and their attributes. The class diagram used to analyse the objects associated with the MPP and depict their relationships with each other. Everything is related to each other through the MPP class. It is an empty class but is there to show that the generalisation relationship exists between the Regional Office and Head Office Class and the MPP class. Most other relationships within this diagram are generalisation relationships depicted by the empty arrow head. This diagram is structured in a hierarchal format. A generalisation relationship allows the subclasses of any parent class to inherit the properties of the parent class. This feature is also show in the diagram by the empty boxes within the Secretary, Staff Member, Accountant and HR Manager classes. This does not suggest that these classes dont have any attributes but that they inherit the attributes of their parent class. The other relationships depicted is; the relationship between the Staff Member class and the Income, Expenditures and Financial Report classes, and between the Accountant class and the Financial Report class. These relationships show an association relationship as the classes interact with each other on some level of their functionality. The individual classes are explained in detail within their respective CRC card. CRC Cards A tool used to document the purpose and capability of a class is the CRC card. CRC stand for Class-Responsibility-Collaboration, as will be discovered, is exactly what the cards depict along with several other features of the class. The CRC cards represented in this section depict the classes identifies in the MPP system and show how they relate to each other. Name: Regional Office ID:1 Type: Concrete Description A MPP office representing a region of Contentedland Associated Use Cases: Record Expenditure Responsibilities Collaborators Full Time Employee Employee Attributes Relationships Office ID Generalisation: MPP(super class) Region Member (subclass) Address Donor (subclass) Monthly Rent Employee (subclass) Aggregation: Other Association: Full Time Employee Expenditure The regional office class is a subset of the MPP as a whole. There are several regional offices namely; Northland, Southland, Eastland, Westland and Central. Each office will possess the same characteristics as the other and as such are represented by a single regional office class within the class diagram. Distinction between classes is possible through the attributes of the class utilised and as such can be uniquely identified. The assumption made is that the entire system is divided into regions and as such all corresponding members and records are also presented in that regional office category. Name: Member ID: 2 Type: Abstract Description A Member of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create Member, Create an Election Candidate, Create a Member of Parliament, Create a Regional Assembly Member Responsibilities Collaborators Full Time Employee Income Attributes Relationships Member ID Address Generalisation: Regional office(concrete class) Last Name E-mail Aggregation: First Name Office Other Association: Full Time Employee Title County Secretary Date-of-Birth Position Telephone The member class comprises all the attributes of all the members of MPP. The assumption is that, regardless of hierarchal qualification all members of the party share common attributes and inevitably are all members of the party. This assumption gives way for the â€Å"position† attribute within the member class. A member according to the party can be a volunteer that assists the party in some way for no charge. Members are also election candidates who contend regional and national elections. The member doesnt change their nature only their position when they are elected and become either a Member of Parliament or a Regional Assembly Member. As such the member class depicts that it is associated with the creation of all members of the party as they relate to their appropriate use cases within the system. Sufficient contact information is stored on members of the party as they may need to be contacted during election time when the party wishes to implement a rigorous advertising campaign. The email contact of each member may be a useful attribute as it is more efficient to send a mass email to all members than to individually contact them. Name: Donor ID:3 Type: Abstract Description A person other than a member of MPP that donates to the party Associated Use Cases: Record Income Responsibilities Collaborators Full Time Employee Income Attributes Relationships Donor ID Telephone Generalisation: Regional Office(Abstract class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Full Time Employee Title Office Income Date-of-Birth County Income is earned through subscriptions as well as through donations. People who donate to the party does not necessarily have to be a member. A person whos interests are aligned with the policies of the party may choose to donate to their campaign in a hope that they may win the election. Information needs to be stored on such individuals to account for the sometimes large sums of money they may give to the political party. It is also useful where the party wishes to contact these members for one reason or the other. A Donor share similar attributes to members however as they are not members of the party they do not require a position field. However sufficient contact information is kept on these individuals so the party can always keep in touch with them. Name: Employee ID: 4 Type: Concrete Description An Employee of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create a Staff Member Responsibilities Collaborators HR Manager Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: Regional Office(Abstract class) Last Name Address Secretary(sub class) First Name E-mail Staff Member(sub class) Title Office Aggregation: Date-of-Birth County Other Association: HR Manager Position The political party hires full time employees to coordinate their activities. These employees are classified under each regional office and withdraw a salary from the party. Employees include Staff Members whose hierarchal classification is determined within each regional office as well as Secretaries who attend to each office of MPP. Name: Secretary ID: 5 Type: Abstract Description An Employee of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create a Member, Contact Member Responsibilities Collaborators Create a Member Member Edit Member HR Manager Delete Member Staff Member Contact Member Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: Employee(Abstract class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: HR Manager Title Office Member Date-of-Birth County Staff Member Position The Secretary of the party is responsibilities include contacting members as well as adding members to the party. However they can only maintain volunteer records. Staff Members are responsible for the management of the other members of the party. Name: Staff Member ID: 5 Type: Concrete Description An Employee of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create Member, Contact Member, Add Member to Shortlist, Create an Election Candidate, Create a Regional Assembly Member, Create a Member of Parliament, Record Income, Record Expenditure, Generate Financial Report Responsibilities Collaborators Record Income HR Manager Record Expenditure Secretary Generate Financial Report Add Member Edit Member Delete Member Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: Employee(Abstract class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Income Title Office Expenditure Date-of-Birth County Financial Report Position HR Manager Secretary Staff members handle the brunt of the work within the party. Staff Members is a general term used to describe all the full time party workers who are employed within the regional offices of the political party. Staff members include all the party workers represented for each county of Contentedland. The duties of these members function similarly to clerical duties within an office. These staff members are allocated duties within the office structure oven though each member is responsible for their respective county that they oversee. Name: Head Office ID: 6 Type: Concrete Description The Head Office of MPP Associated Use Cases: Record Expenditure Responsibilities Collaborators National Officer HR Manager Accountant Attributes Relationships Office ID Generalisation: MPP (super class) Region National Officer(subclass) Address Aggregation: Monthly Rent Other Association: Staff Member Expenditure The Head Office posses the same characteristics as a regional office and it functions similarly as well. The difference between the head office and the regional office aside from its geography, is the employees that it houses. The assumption made is that the national officers within the head office function as managerial employees as would happen within a typical company. It should be structured in a way so that the ten national officers act as the managerial departments of the political party inclusive of the accounts department and the human resource department used within this scenario. Name: Accountant ID: 7 Type: Abstract Description The accountant responsible for the finances of MPP Associated Use Cases: Generate Financial Report Responsibilities Collaborators Financial Report Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: National Officer(concrete class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Financial Report Title Office Date-of-Birth County Position The accountant of the MPP is housed within the head office of the party. The accountant has the duty of managing the finances of MPP. The accountant is also responsible for generating the financial reports that are to be audited to produce a tax which the party must incur annually. This expenditure is classified as a sundry expense and must be accounted for within the finances of the party. The accountant is also responsible for ensure that proper control procedures are in place in terms of managing money the party receives. After all he is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the financial records and ensuring that they are in good standing with the laws of the country. Name: HR Manager ID: 8 Type: Abstract Description The HR Manager of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create a Staff Member Responsibilities Collaborators Add Employee Employee Edit Employee Delete Employee Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: National Officer(concrete class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Employee Title Office Accountant Date-of-Birth County Position In keeping with the assumption, the HR Manager is classified under the head office as this position is a managerial role. The human resource manager holds the same attributes as any other employee of MPP how ever his duties implicate him to be the one to manage the records of all the employees of the party. Name: Income ID: 9 Type: Abstract Description Revenue generated by MPP Associated Use Cases: Record Income Responsibilities Collaborators Print Staff Member Display Attributes Relationships Invoice Number Generalisation: Income Details Aggregation: ID Number Other Association: Staff Member Amount Financial Report Date Generated Income is generated through two sources in the party. The attributes of income allow for any sort of income to be documented, whether it is a subscription received from a member or a donation given to the party. A staff member is responsible for recording income into the system. The summation of the income table is exported to the financial report to form the net income . Name: Expenditure ID: 10 Type: Abstract Description Expenditure incurred by MPP Associated Use Cases: Record Expenditure Responsibilities Collaborators Print Staff Member Display Attributes Relationships Receipt Number Generalisation: Expenditure Details Aggregation: ID Number Other Association: Staff Member Amount Financial Report Date Incurred Expenditure is incurred from several means. A Staff Member is responsibl

Flouridation :: essays research papers fc

Flouridation In 1931 at the University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station M. C. Smith, E. M. Lantz, and H. V. Smith discovered that when given drinking water supplied with fluorine, rats would develop tooth defects. Further testing by H. T. Dean and E. Elove of the United States Public Health Service confirmed this report, and stated that what is known as mottled tooth. Mottled tooth is a condition in which white spots develop on the back teeth. Gradually the white spots get darker and darker until the tooth is eroded completely. This was believed to be caused by fluorine in drinking water (Behrman pg. 181).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A strong uproar was heard when this was released and people wanted all fluorine out of their water. But later tests concluded that communities with high levels of fluorine in their drinking water suffered less dental cavities. Further testing concluded that at least 1.0 parts per million of fluorine could help to prevent cavities, but more than 1.5 PPM would cause mottled tooth, so basically a little fluorine would be okay but a lot of fluorine would be bad (Behrman 182).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1938, with this information, Dr. Gerald Cox of the Mellon Institute began to promote the addition of fluoride to public water systems, claiming that it would reduce tooth decay, however there were two major obstacles in his path, The American Medical Association, and The American Dental Association. Both associations wrote articles in their journals about the dangers of fluoridation of water supplies. The American Dental Association wrote the following in the October 1, 1944 issue: â€Å"We do know the use of drinking water containing as little as 1.2 to 3.0 parts per million of fluorine will cause such developmental disturbances in bones as osteoslcerosis, spondylosis and osteoperosis, as well as goiter, and we cannot afford to run the risk of producing such serious systemic disturbances in applying what is at present a doubtful procedure intended to prevent development of dental disfigurements among children.† (Yiamouyiannis pg. 138)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite these warnings Dr. Cox continued to promote fluoridation of water supplies and even convinced a Wisconsin dentist, J. J. Frisch to promote the addition of fluoride to water supplies in his book, The Fight For Fluoridation. Frisch soon garnered the support of Frank Bull. Frank Bull organized political campaigns in order to persuade local officials to endorse fluoridation. This began to apply heavy pressure on the United States Public Health Service and the American Dental Association. (Yiamouyiannis pg. 139)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1945 before any tests had been proven to show that fluoride reduced cavities, it was added to the drinking water supply of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Buddhism Essay examples -- Papers Religion India Essays Religious

Buddhism Works Cited Missing Buddhism is the religion of about one eighth of the world's people (Gaer 27). Buddhism is the name for a complex system of beliefs developed around the teachings of a single man. The Buddha, whose name was Siddhartha Gautama, lived 2,500 years ago in India. There are now dozens of different schools of Buddhist philosophy throughout Asia. These schools, or sects, have different writings and languages and have grown up in different cultures. There is no one single "Bible" of Buddhism, but all Buddhists share some basic beliefs. Buddhism is a Western word. The religion is known in the East as the Buddha-Dharma, or the teachings of the Buddha (Kelen 10). These teachings, based on his personal experience of Enlightenment, or Awakening, form the foundation of Buddhism. For every Buddhist the religion is both a discipline and a body of beliefs: that is, Buddhists share beliefs about the nature of the world and how to act within it. Budh in the Indian Sanskrit language means "to wake up, to know." Buddha means "the Awakened or Enlightened One," and all Buddhist teachings try to share the Buddha's experience of awakening to truth. Having led an â€Å"indulgent life as a young man,† (Stryk 15) Siddhartha Gautama decided to pursue â€Å"a course of bitter self-denialâ€Å"(Stryk 18). Yet he felt that this brought him no closer to the truth he sought than the rich life he had led. One day he felt close to reaching his truth, and he sat down under a tree now known as the Bo tree. There he attained the bliss and knowledge he had been seeking. Legend has it that, though tempted by evil demons, he sat quietly under the tree for 49 days. This became known as the Immovable Spot. Once Siddhartha Gautama was ... ... have achieved Nirvana, total bliss† (Kelen 90). He is shown as calm and loving, usually with a soft smile and radiant energy ( Kelen 93). Some scenes show the Buddha at key moments of his life, for example, sitting under the Bo tree. Others illustrate his teachings. There is a story that tells of the Buddha offering his body as food for a hungry mother tiger and her cubs because he felt that all life was sacred. This scene is a popular visual theme in the cave temples of China and Japan. Other Buddhist paintings illustrate the sacred writings, as stained glass windows were created to illustrate the Bible in many Christian churches. Since Buddhists believe that anyone can be on the path toward Enlightenment, these visual images of the Buddha along his own path are a helpful addition to the writings that people study. They make the texts more personal and inviting.

What are Ontology and Epistemology? Essay -- Philosophy, Truth

What are ontology and epistemology and why are they important in social science research Introduction The study of any particular science involves embracing particular and specific ontology, epistemology and methodologies that are different from each other. Ontology is the concept that defines and explains the essential types of truth (Blaikie 2009). Every field of science constitutes its own ontology and in most cases two types of ontology exists: formal ontology and domain ontology (Blaikie 2009). Formal ontology type of research always postulates something general related to reality while on the other hand domain ontology postulate something specific with regard to different types of truths (Blaikie 2009). On its part epistemology constitute a science concept that defines how human and the general population of the world know and reason the particular truth. The two concepts are differentiated by particular assumptions that are associated with each of them. For instance assumptions associated with ontology include: shallow realist, conceptual realist, cautious realist, depth real ist and idealist (Blaikie 2009). On the other hand assumptions related to epistemology include: empiricism, rationalism, falsificationism, neo-realism and constructionism (Blaikie 2009). Therefore the purpose of this essay will be to define objectivism and inteprativism as related to ontology, define positivism and interpretavism as related to epistemology, explain how ontology and epistemology are linked and how they influence each other, before lastly looking at how important ontology and epistemology are. Objectivism and interprativism in ontology Blaike (2000) asserted that ontology to involve, â€Å"claims and assumptions that are made about natur... ...oherent research practice functions to collect and communicate information about the world, a scenario enabled by key concepts of ontology and epistemology. Conclusion Social reality in general is viewed as a complex of causal relations between events that are depicted as patchwork of relationships between variables. Generally, causes of human behavior are regarded as being external to the individual and knowledge is seen to be derived from sensory experience by means of experimental or comparative analysis and concepts and generalizations are summaries of particular observations. In reality, claims have been made about what is observed with the senses is what is real and that scientific laws are similar with empirical regularities. In summary, key concepts of ontology and epistemology have played important role in shaping and guiding social research processes.

Poem and Short Story Essay

Mill of the Gods (Estrella Alfon) Among us who lived in Espeleta – that street that I love, about whose people I keep telling tales – among us, I say, there was one named Martha, and she was the daughter of Pio and Engracia. To all of us, life must seem like a road given us to travel, and it is up to Fate, that convenient blunderer, whether, that road be broad and unwinding, or whether it shall be a tortuous lane, its path a hard and twisted mat of dust and stones. And each road, whether lane or avenue, shall have its own landmarks, that only the traveller soul shall recognize and remember, and remembering, continue the journey again. To Martha, the gods gave this for a first memory: a first scar. She was a girl of twelve, and in every way she was but a child. A rather dull child, who always lagged behind the others of her age, whether in study or in play. Life had been so far a question of staying more years in a grade than the others, of being told she would have to apply herself a little harder if she didn’t want the infants catching up with her. But that was so dismal thing. She had gotten a little bit used to being always behind. To always being the biggest girl in her class. Even in play there was some part of her that never managed to take too great a part – she was so content if they always made her â€Å"it† in a game of tag, if only they would let her play. And when she had dolls, she was eager to lend them to other girls, if they would only include her in the fascinating games she could not play alone. This was she, then. Her hair hung in pigtails each side of her face, and already it irked a little to have her dresses too short. She could not help in her mother’s kitchen, and could be trusted to keep her room clean, but she was not ready for the thing her mother told her one night when she was awakened from sleep. It was a sleep untroubled by dreams, then all of a sudden there was an uproar in the house, and she could hear her mother’s frenzied sobbing, and it was not sobbing that held as much of sorrow as it did of anger. She lay still for a while, thinking perhaps she was dreaming, until she could hear her father’s grunted answers to the half – understood things her mother was mouthing at him. Then there were sounds that was clearly the sound of two bodies struggling in terrible fury with each other. She stood up, and like a child, cried into the night. Mother? She wailed the word, in her panic finding a little relief in her own wailing, Mother? And she heard her mother’s voice call her, panting out, saying, Martha, come quickly, come into this room! Martha got up and stood at the door of the room, hesitating about opening it, until her mother, the part of a terrible grasp, said Martha! So Martha pushed in the door, and found her mother and her father locked in an embrace n which both of them struggled and panted and had almost no breath left for words. Martha stood wide – eyed and frightened, not knowing what to do, just standing there, even though she had seen what it was they struggled for. A kitchen knife, blade held upwards in her mother’s hand. Her arms were pinioned to her sides by her husband, but her wild eyes, the frenzy with which she stamped her feet on his feet, and kicked him in the shins, and tried to bite him with her teeth, these were more terrible than the glint of that shining blade. It was her father who spoke to her saying urgently, Martha, reach for her knife, take it away. Yet Martha stood there and did not comprehend until her mother spoke, saying No, no; Martha, your father deserves to be killed. Then it was Martha who realized what she was to do, and slowly, hesitantly, she went near them, her fear of both of them in this terrible anger they now presented making her almost too afraid to reach up for the knife. But reach up she did, and with her child’s fingers, put her mother’s away from the weapon. And when she had it in her hands she did not know what to do with it, except look at it. It wasn’t a very sharp knife, but its blade was clean, and its hilt firm. And so she looked at it, until her father said. Throw it out of the window, Martha and without thinking, she went to a window, opened a casement and threw it away. Then her father released her mother, and once her mother had gotten her arms free, she swung back her hand, and wordlessly, slapped him; slapped him once, twice, three times, alternating with her hands, on alternate cheeks, until her father said. That’s enough, Engracia. And saying so, he took her hands in his, led her resisting to the bed, and made her sit down. And Martha was too young to wonder that her father, who was a big man, should have surrendered to the repeated slapping from her mother who was a very small frail woman. Her father said, â€Å"Aren’t you ashamed now Martha has seen? † And immediately her mother screamed to him, â€Å"Ashamed? Me, ashamed? I’ll tell Martha about you! † Her father looked at Martha still standing dumbly by the window out of which she had thrown the knife, and said, â€Å"No, Aciang, she is just a child. † And to her: â€Å"Martha, go back to bed. † But now her mother jumped up from the bed, and clutched at Martha, and brought her to bed with her. And deliberately without looking at Martha’s father, she said, Martha you are not too young to know. And so, the words falling from her lips with a terrible quiet, she told Martha. The words that were strange to her ears, Martha heard them, and listened to them, and looked from her mother to her father, and without knowing it, wetting her cheeks with her tears that fell. And then her mother stopped talking, and looking at her husband, she spat on him, and Martha saw the saliva spatter on the front of the dark shirt he wore. She watched while her father strode over them, and slowly, also deliberately, slapped her mother on the cheek. Martha watched his open palm as he did it, and felt the blow as though it had been she who had been hit. Then her father strode out of the room, saying nothing, leaving them alone. When her father had gone, Martha’s mother began to cry, saying brokenly to Martha, â€Å"It is that woman, that woman! † And making excuses to Martha for her father, saying it was never completely the man’s fault. And Martha listened bewildered, because this was so different from the venomous words her mother had told her while her father was in the room. And then her mother, still weeping, directed her to look for her father and Martha went out of the room. Her father was not in the house. The night was very dark as she peered out of the windows to see is she could find him outside, but he was nowhere. So she went back to her mother, and told her she could not find her father. Her mother cried silently, the tears coursing down her cheeks, and her sobs tearing through her throat. Martha cried with her, and caressed her mother’s back with her hands, but she had no words to offer, nothing to say. When her mother at last was able to talk again, she told Martha to go back to bed. But it wasn’t the child that entered who went out of that room. And yet the terror of that night was not so great because it was only a terror half – understood. It wasn’t until she was eighteen, that the hurt of that night was invested with its full measure. For when she was eighteen, she fell in love. She was a girl of placid appearance, in her eyes the dreaming stolid night of the unawakened. She still was slow to learn, still not prone to brilliance. And when she fell in love she chose the brightest boy of her limited acquaintance to fall in love with. He was slightly older than herself, a little too handsome, a trifle too given to laughter. Espeleta did not like him; he was too different from the other young me n on the street. But Martha loved him. You could see that in the way she looked at him, the way she listened to him. Martha’s pigtails had lengthened. She now wore her braids coiled on the top of her head like a coronet, and it went well with the placid features, the rather full figure. She was easily one of our prettier maidens. It was well that she was not too brilliant. That she did not have any too modern ideas. The air of shyness, the awkward lack of sparkling conversation suited her Madonna – like face and calm. And her seriousness with love was also part of the calm waiting nature. It did not enter her head that there are such things as play, and a game. And a man’s eagerness for sport. And so when she noticed that his attentions seemed to be wandering, even after he had admitted to a lot of people that they were engaged, she asked him, with the eager desperation of the inexperienced, about their marriage. He laughed at her. Laughed gently, teasingly, saying they could not get married for a long time yet; he must repay his parents first for all that they had done for him. He must first be sure to be able to afford the things she deserved. Well turned phrases he said his excuses with. Charming little evasions. And if she did not see through them while he spoke them, his frequent absences, where his visits had been as a habit; his excuses to stay away when once no amount of sending him off could make him stay away; these but made her see. And understand. And then the way neighbours will, they tried to be kind to her. For they could see her heart was breaking and they tried to say sweet things to her, things like her being far too good for him. And then they heard that he had married. Another girl. And they saw her grief, and thought it strange that a girl should grieve over an undeserving lover or so. She lost a little of the plumpness that was one of her charms. And into her eyes crept a hurt look to replace the dreaming. And Espeleta, with all the good people, strove to be even kinder to her. Watched her grief and pitied her. And told her that whatever mistakes she had committed to make her grieve so, to make her suffer so, they understood and forgave. And they did not blame her. But now that she had learned her lesson, she must beware. She knew her own father as much as they knew about him. And it was in the Fates that his sins must be paid for. If not by himself, then by whom but she who was begotten by him? So, didn’t she see? How careful she should be? Because you could, they said it to her gently, kindly, cruelly, because she could if she were careful, turn aside the vengeance of the implacable fates. And she believed them kind although she hated their suspicions. She believed them kind, and so she started, then, to hate her father. And that night long ago came back to her, and she wished she had not thrown that knife away. Espeleta saw Martha turn religious. More religious than Iya Andia and Iya Nesia, who were old and saw death coming close, and wanted to be assured of the easing of the gates of heaven. Espeleta approved. Because Espeleta did not know what she prayed for. Because they saw only the downcast eyes under the light veil, the coil of shining hair as it bowed over the communion rail. Yet Martha’s mother and father still lived together. They never had separated. Even after that night, when she was twelve years old and frightened, and she had called for him and looked for him and not found him. The next day he had come back, and between her mother and him there was a silence. They slept in the same bed, and spent the nights in the same room, and yet Martha and Espeleta knew he had another bed, another chamber. Espeleta praised Martha’s mother for being so patient. After Martha had fallen in love, when she began hating her father truly then also she began despising her mother. You did not know it to look at Martha. For her coil of braided hair was still there, and the shy way of speaking, and the charming awkwardness at conversation. And Martha made up her earlier lack of lustre by shining in her class now. She was eighteen and not through high school yet. But she made up for it by graduating with high honours. Espeleta clapped its hands when she graduated. Gave her flowers. Her mother and father were there, too. And they were proud. And to look at Martha, you would think she was proud too, if a little too shy still. Martha studied nursing. And started having visitors in her mother’s house again. Doctors this time. Older men, to whom her gravity of manner appealed, and the innate good sense that seemed so patient in her quiet demeanour. Espeleta was now rather proud of Martha. She seemed everything a girl should be, and they cited her as an example of what religion could do. Lift you out of the shadow of your inheritance. For look at Martha. See how different she is from what should be her father’s daughter. But what they did not know was that all of these doctors Martha had to choose someone slightly older than the rest. And where the girl of eighteen that she had been almost a child unschooled, now she was a woman wise and wary. Where the other nurses knew this doctor only as someone who did not like their dances as much as the younger ones, who did not speak as lightly, as flippantly of love as the younger ones, Martha knew why he didn’t. Between the two of them there had been, form the very start, a quick lifting of the pulse, an immediate quickening of the breath. From the very start. And where he could have concealed the secrets of life, he chose the very first time they were able to talk to each other, to tell her that he was not free. He had a wife, and whether he loved her or not, whether she was unfaithful to him or not, which she was, there had been the irrevocable ceremony to bind them, to always make his love for any other woman, if he ever fell in love again, something that must be hidden, something that might not see light. She was a woman now, Martha was. Wise and wary. But there is no wisdom, no weariness against love. Not the kind of deep love she knew she bore him. And as even she him, she found within herself the old deep – abiding secret hate. Against her father. Against the laws of man and church. Against the very fates that seemed rejoiced in making her pay for a sin she had not committed. She now learned of bitterness. Because she could not help thinking of that night, long ago, when her mother had sat on the bed, and in deliberate words told her just what kind of a father she had. It had been as though her mother had shifted on to her unwilling, unready shoulders the burden of the sorrows, the goad of the grief. Espeleta, that was so quick to censure, and to condemn; even Espeleta had taken the situation in Martha’s house as something that could not be helped. And as long as there was no open strife, Espeleta made excuses for a thing that, they said, had been designed by Fate. Martha’s father came home. Acted, on the surface, the good husband. And since he was married to Martha’s mother, so must Martha’s mother bear it, and welcome him home again. Because she would rather he came home, then went to the other one, wouldn’t she? Espeleta cited heavenly rewards. For Martha’s mother. And Martha went to church regularly, and was a good nurse. And still called her father, Father. You have heard that one of course, about the mill of the gods, how they â€Å"grind exceedingly fine, and grind exceedingly slow. † Espeleta hadn’t heard that one, nor had Martha. But Espeleta of course would have a more winded version of it. Anyhow, one day at the hospital, Martha was attendant nurse at an emergency case. A man had been shot. There were three bullets through his chest, but he was still alive. Martha laughed queerly to herself, saying I must be dreaming, I am imagining that man has my father’s face. It was the doctor she loved who was in charge. With a queer dreaming feeling, she raised her eyes to meet his, and was shocked to see him drop his gaze, and over his face steal a twist as of pain, as of pity. They were instantly their efficient selves again, cloaking themselves in the impersonal masks of physician and nurse. It was as if he who lay there beneath their instruments and their probing fingers was any man, the way it could be any man. Not her father. But all while, training and discipline unavailing. Martha said to herself, but it is my father. He died on the table. He never gained consciousness. Martha drew the sheet over his face and form. And watched as they wheeled him out of the room. She still had the instruments to put away and the room to put in order. But this did not take long and when she went out into the corridor, she found her mother weeping beside the shrouded form on the wheeled table. There was a policeman beside her awkwardly trying with gruff words to console the little woman over her loss. Beside the policeman stood also the doctor, who passed an arm around the shoulder of Martha’s mother, saying simply, we tried to save him. Martha joined them, knowing that she should be in tears, yet finding that she had none to shed. It would ease the tightness within her, would loosen the hard knot in her heart to cry. But you cannot summon tears when you feel no grief, and the pain you feel is not of sorrow but of the cruel justness of things. She could not even put her arms around her weeping mother. When the doctor told her that she would be excused from duty the rest of the day, that he would arrange it for her, she did not thank him. She did not say anything for indeed she no longer had any words, nor any emotions that required speech. Or should be given speech. For one cannot say, how right! How just! When one’s father has just died. Her mother and she took a taxi together to accompany the hearse that took her father home. There was a crowd awaiting them. Espeleta in tears. Espeleta crying condolence and opprobrium in the same breath. It was from them – their good neighbours, their kind neighbours – that Martha learned how â€Å"God’s justice had overtaken the sinner. † Colon is not as intimate as Espeleta. For it is a long street and broad street. But where the railroad crosses it, the houses group together in intimate warmth and neighbourly closeness and its families live each other’s lives almost as meddlingly as Espeleta does. And is as avid for scandals as Espeleta is. Among the people in Martha’s house were some from Colon. And it was they who supplied the grimmer details, the more lucid picture. In that other woman’s house – and Martha did not even know the other woman’s name there had existed the stalemate state of affairs that had existed in Martha’s house. Only where in Martha’s house it had been a wife who was patient, in that other woman’s house it had been the husband who had bided his time. And yet the neighbours had thought he had not cared. For indeed he had seemed like a man blind and deaf, and if he raised his voice against his wife, it was not so they could hear it. Yet today, he had come home, after he had said he was going away somewhere. And had come upon Martha’s father in the house, and had, without saying anything, taken out his revolver, and shot at him. Martha heard all these. And thought you know often life seems like an old – fashioned melodrama, guns and all. And yet the gun had not gone off. It had jammed, and Martha’s father had been able to run. And running, even as he seemed far enough from the house to be safe, the gun in the husband’s hand had come right again. The man had gone out in the street, aimed at the fleeing figure. That explained why the bullets had gone in through his back and out through his chest. They said that the street was spattered with blood and where he fell, there was a pool of gory red. The killer had surrendered himself at once. But everyone knew he would not pay with his life he had taken. For the woman was his wife and he had come upon them in his own home. Martha stayed with the kind condolers only a while. She left her mother for them to comfort as best as they could. They would have praises like â€Å"The good God knows best;† they would have words like, â€Å"Your grief is ended, let your other grief commence. † She went to look at her father lying well arranged now in his bier. Already in spite of the manner of his death, there were flowers for him. Death had left no glare in the eyes that the doctor at the hospital had mercifully closed, over the features lingered no evidence of pain. And Martha said, Death was kind to you. In Martha’s room there hung a crucifix. Upon the crossed wood was the agonized Christ, His eyes soft and deep and tender, even in his agony. But as Martha knelt, and lighted her candles, and prayed, in her eyes was no softness, and on her lips no words appealing for pity for him who had died. There was only the glitter of a justice meted out at last, and the thankfulness for a punishment fulfilled. So she gave thanks, very fervent thanks. For now, she hoped, she would cease to pay.