A Game of Thrones Chapter Fourteen

Catelyn Ned and the girls were eight days gone when Maester Luwin came to her one night in Bran's sickroom, carrying a reading lamp and the books of account. â€Å"It is past time that we reviewed the figures, my lady,† he said. â€Å"You'll want to know how much this royal visit cost us.† Catelyn looked at Bran in his sickbed and brushed his hair back off his forehead. It had grown very long, she realized. She would have to cut it soon. â€Å"I have no need to look at figures, Maester Luwin,† she told him, never taking her eyes from Bran. â€Å"I know what the visit cost us. Take the books away.† â€Å"My lady, the king's party had healthy appetites. We must replenish our stores before—† She cut him off. â€Å"I said, take the books away. The steward will attend to our needs.† â€Å"We have no steward,† Maester Luwin reminded her. Like a little grey rat, she thought, he would not let go. â€Å"Poole went south to establish Lord Eddard's household at King's Landing.† Catelyn nodded absently. â€Å"Oh, yes. I remember.† Bran looked so pale. She wondered whether they might move his bed under the window, so he could get the morning sun. Maester Luwin set the lamp in a niche by the door and fiddled with its wick. â€Å"There are several appointments that require your immediate attention, my lady. Besides the steward, we need a captain of the guards to fill Jory's place, a new master of horse—† Her eyes snapped around and found him. â€Å"A master of horse?† Her voice was a whip. The maester was shaken. â€Å"Yes, my lady. Hullen rode south with Lord Eddard, so—† â€Å"My son lies here broken and dying, Luwin, and you wish to discuss a new master of horse? Do you think I care what happens in the stables? Do you think it matters to me one whit? I would gladly butcher every horse in Winterfell with my own hands if it would open Bran's eyes, do you understand that? Do you?† He bowed his head. â€Å"Yes, my lady, but the appointments—† â€Å"I'll make the appointments,† Robb said. Catelyn had not heard him enter, but there he stood in the doorway, looking at her. She had been shouting, she realized with a sudden flush of shame. What was happening to her? She was so tired, and her head hurt all the time. Maester Luwin looked from Catelyn to her son. â€Å"I have prepared a list of those we might wish to consider for the vacant offices,† he said, offering Robb a paper plucked from his sleeve. Her son glanced at the names. He had come from outside, Catelyn saw; his cheeks were red from the cold, his hair shaggy and windblown. â€Å"Good men,† he said. â€Å"We'll talk about them tomorrow.† He handed back the list of names. â€Å"Very good, my lord.† The paper vanished into his sleeve. â€Å"Leave us now,† Robb said. Maester Luwin bowed and departed. Robb closed the door behind him and turned to her. He was wearing a sword, she saw. â€Å"Mother, what are you doing?† Catelyn had always thought Robb looked like her; like Bran and Rickon and Sansa, he had the Tully coloring, the auburn hair, the blue eyes. Yet now for the first time she saw something of Eddard Stark in his face, something as stern and hard as the north. â€Å"What am I doing?† she echoed, puzzled. â€Å"How can you ask that? What do you imagine I'm doing? I am taking care of your brother. I am taking care of Bran.† â€Å"Is that what you call it? You haven't left this room since Bran was hurt. You didn't even come to the gate when Father and the girls went south.† â€Å"I said my farewells to them here, and watched them ride out from that window.† She had begged Ned not to go, not now, not after what had happened; everything had changed now, couldn't he see that? It was no use. He had no choice, he had told her, and then he left, choosing. â€Å"I can't leave him, even for a moment, not when any moment could be his last. I have to be with him, if . . . if . . . † She took her son's limp hand, sliding his fingers through her own. He was so frail and thin, with no strength left in his hand, but she could still feel the warmth of life through his skin. Robb's voice softened. â€Å"He's not going to die, Mother. Maester Luwin says the time of greatest danger has passed.† â€Å"And what if Maester Luwin is wrong? What if Bran needs me and I'm not here?† â€Å"Rickon needs you,† Robb said sharply. â€Å"He's only three, he doesn't understand what's happening. He thinks everyone has deserted him, so he follows me around all day, clutching my leg and crying. I don't know what to do with him.† He paused a moment, chewing on his lower lip the way he'd done when he was little. â€Å"Mother, I need you too. I'm trying but I can't . . . I can't do it all by myself.† His voice broke with sudden emotion, and Catelyn remembered that he was only fourteen. She wanted to get up and go to him, but Bran was still holding her hand and she could not move. Outside the tower, a wolf began to howl. Catelyn trembled, just for a second. â€Å"Bran's.† Robb opened the window and let the night air into the stuffy tower room. The howling grew louder. It was a cold and lonely sound, full of melancholy and despair. â€Å"Don't,† she told him. â€Å"Bran needs to stay warm.† â€Å"He needs to hear them sing,† Robb said. Somewhere out in Winterfell, a second wolf began to howl in chorus with the first. Then a third, closer. â€Å"Shaggydog and Grey Wind,† Robb said as their voices rose and fell together. â€Å"You can tell them apart if you listen close.† Catelyn was shaking. It was the grief, the cold, the howling of the direwolves. Night after night, the howling and the cold wind and the grey empty castle, on and on they went, never changing, and her boy lying there broken, the sweetest of her children, the gentlest, Bran who loved to laugh and climb and dreamt of knighthood, all gone now, she would never hear him laugh again. Sobbing, she pulled her hand free of his and covered her ears against those terrible howls. â€Å"Make them stop!† she cried. â€Å"I can't stand it, make them stop, make them stop, kill them all if you must, just make them stop!† She didn't remember falling to the floor, but there she was, and Robb was lifting her, holding her in strong arms. â€Å"Don't be afraid, Mother. They would never hurt him.† He helped her to her narrow bed in the corner of the sickroom. â€Å"Close your eyes,† he said gently. â€Å"Rest. Maester Luwin tells me you've hardly slept since Bran's fall.† â€Å"I can't,† she wept. â€Å"Gods forgive me, Robb, I can't, what if he dies while I'm asleep, what if he dies, what if he dies . . . † The wolves were still howling. She screamed and held her ears again. â€Å"Oh, gods, close the window!† â€Å"If you swear to me you'll sleep.† Robb went to the window, but as he reached for the shutters another sound was added to the mournful howling of the direwolves. â€Å"Dogs,† he said, listening. â€Å"All the dogs are barking. They've never done that before . . . † Catelyn heard his breath catch in his throat. When she looked up, his face was pale in the lamplight. â€Å"Fire,† he whispered. Fire, she thought, and then, Bran! â€Å"Help me,† she said urgently, sitting up. â€Å"Help me with Bran.† Robb did not seem to hear her. â€Å"The library tower's on fire,† he said. Catelyn could see the flickering reddish light through the open window now. She sagged with relief. Bran was safe. The library was across the bailey, there was no way the fire would reach them here. â€Å"Thank the gods,† she whispered. Robb looked at her as if she'd gone mad. â€Å"Mother, stay here. I'll come back as soon as the fire's out.† He ran then. She heard him shout to the guards outside the room, heard them descending together in a wild rush, taking the stairs two and three at a time. Outside, there were shouts of â€Å"Fire!† in the yard, screams, running footsteps, the whinny of frightened horses, and the frantic barking of the castle dogs. The howling was gone, she realized as she listened to the cacophony. The direwolves had fallen silent. Catelyn said a silent prayer of thanks to the seven faces of god as she went to the window. Across the bailey, long tongues of flame shot from the windows of the library. She watched the smoke rise into the sky and thought sadly of all the books the Starks had gathered over the centuries. Then she closed the shutters. When she turned away from the window, the man was in the room with her. â€Å"You weren't s'posed to be here,† he muttered sourly. â€Å"No one was s'posed to be here.† He was a small, dirty man in filthy brown clothing, and he stank of horses. Catelyn knew all the men who worked in their stables, and he was none of them. He was gaunt, with limp blond hair and pale eyes deep-sunk in a bony face, and there was a dagger in his hand. Catelyn looked at the knife, then at Bran. â€Å"No,† she said. The word stuck in her throat, the merest whisper. He must have heard her. â€Å"It's a mercy,† he said. â€Å"He's dead already.† â€Å"No,† Catelyn said, louder now as she found her voice again. â€Å"No, you can't.† She spun back toward the window to scream for help, but the man moved faster than she would have believed. One hand clamped down over her mouth and yanked back her head, the other brought the dagger up to her windpipe. The stench of him was overwhelming. She reached up with both hands and grabbed the blade with all her strength, pulling it away from her throat. She heard him cursing into her ear. Her fingers were slippery with blood, but she would not let go of the dagger. The hand over her mouth clenched more tightly, shutting off her air. Catelyn twisted her head to the side and managed to get a piece of his flesh between her teeth. She bit down hard into his palm. The man grunted in pain. She ground her teeth together and tore at him, and all of a sudden he let go. The taste of his blood filled her mouth. She sucked in air and screamed, and he grabbed her hair and pulled her away from him, and she stumbled and went down, and then he was standing over her, breathing hard, shaking. The dagger was still clutched tightly in his right hand, slick with blood. â€Å"You weren't s'posed to be here,† he repeated stupidly. Catelyn saw the shadow slip through the open door behind him. There was a low rumble, less than a snarl, the merest whisper of a threat, but he must have heard something, because he started to turn just as the wolf made its leap. They went down together, half sprawled over Catelyn where she'd fallen. The wolf had him under the jaw. The man's shriek lasted less than a second before the beast wrenched back its head, taking out half his throat. His blood felt like warm rain as it sprayed across her face. The wolf was looking at her. Its jaws were red and wet and its eyes glowed golden in the dark room. It was Bran's wolf, she realized. Of course it was. â€Å"Thank you,† Catelyn whispered, her voice faint and tiny. She lifted her hand, trembling. The wolf padded closer, sniffed at her fingers, then licked at the blood with a wet rough tongue. When it had cleaned all the blood off her hand, it turned away silently and jumped up on Bran's bed and lay down beside him. Catelyn began to laugh hysterically. That was the way they found them, when Robb and Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik burst in with half the guards in Winterfell. When the laughter finally died in her throat, they wrapped her in warm blankets and led her back to the Great Keep, to her own chambers. Old Nan undressed her and helped her into a scalding hot bath and washed the blood off her with a soft cloth. Afterward Maester Luwin arrived to dress her wounds. The cuts in her fingers went deep, almost to the bone, and her scalp was raw and bleeding where he'd pulled out a handful of hair. The maester told her the pain was just starting now, and gave her milk of the poppy to help her sleep. Finally she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they told her that she had slept four days. Catelyn nodded and sat up in bed. It all seemed like a nightmare to her now, everything since Bran's fall, a terrible dream of blood and grief, but she had the pain in her hands to remind her that it was real. She felt weak and light-headed, yet strangely resolute, as if a great weight had lifted from her. â€Å"Bring me some bread and honey,† she told her servants, â€Å"and take word to Maester Luwin that my bandages want changing.† They looked at her in surprise and ran to do her bidding. Catelyn remembered the way she had been before, and she was ashamed. She had let them all down, her children, her husband, her House. It would not happen again. She would show these northerners how strong a Tully of Riverrun could be. Robb arrived before her food. Rodrik Cassel came with him, and her husband's ward Theon Greyjoy, and lastly Hallis Mollen, a muscular guardsman with a square brown beard. He was the new captain of the guard, Robb said. Her son was dressed in boiled leather and ringmail, she saw, and a sword hung at his waist. â€Å"Who was he?† Catelyn asked them. â€Å"No one knows his name,† Hallis Mollen told her. â€Å"He was no man of Winterfell, m'lady, but some says they seen him here and about the castle these past few weeks.† â€Å"One of the king's men, then,† she said, â€Å"or one of the Lannisters'. He could have waited behind when the others left.† â€Å"Maybe,† Hal said. â€Å"With all these strangers filling up Winterfell of late, there's no way of saying who he belonged to.† â€Å"He'd been hiding in your stables,† Greyjoy said. â€Å"You could smell it on him.† â€Å"And how could he go unnoticed?† she said sharply. Hallis Mollen looked abashed. â€Å"Between the horses Lord Eddard took south and them we sent north to the Night's Watch, the stalls were half-empty. It were no great trick to hide from the stableboys. Could be Hodor saw him, the talk is that boy's been acting queer, but simple as he is . . . † Hal shook his head. â€Å"We found where he'd been sleeping,† Robb put in. â€Å"He had ninety silver stags in a leather bag buried beneath the straw.† â€Å"It's good to know my son's life was not sold cheaply,† Catelyn said bitterly. Hallis Mollen looked at her, confused. â€Å"Begging your grace, m'lady, you saying he was out to kill your boy?† Greyjoy was doubtful. â€Å"That's madness.† â€Å"He came for Bran,† Catelyn said. â€Å"He kept muttering how I wasn't supposed to be there. He set the library fire thinking I would rush to put it out, taking any guards with me. If I hadn't been half-mad with grief, it would have worked.† â€Å"Why would anyone want to kill Bran?† Robb said. â€Å"Gods, he's only a little boy, helpless, sleeping . . . â€Å" Catelyn gave her firstborn a challenging look. â€Å"If you are to rule in the north, you must think these things through, Robb. Answer your own question. Why would anyone want to kill a sleeping child?† Before he could answer, the servants returned with a plate of food fresh from the kitchen. There was much more than she'd asked for: hot bread, butter and honey and blackberry preserves, a rasher of bacon and a soft-boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a pot of mint tea. And with it came Maester Luwin. â€Å"How is my son, Maester?† Catelyn looked at all the food and found she had no appetite. Maester Luwin lowered his eyes. â€Å"Unchanged, my lady.† It was the reply she had expected, no more and no less. Her hands throbbed with pain, as if the blade were still in her, cutting deep. She sent the servants away and looked back to Robb. â€Å"Do you have the answer yet?† â€Å"Someone is afraid Bran might wake up,† Robb said, â€Å"afraid of what he might say or do, afraid of something he knows.† Catelyn was proud of him. â€Å"Very good.† She turned to the new captain of the guard. â€Å"We must keep Bran safe. If there was one killer, there could be others.† â€Å"How many guards do you want, rn'lady?† Hal asked. â€Å"So long as Lord Eddard is away, my son is the master of Winterfell,† she told him. Robb stood a little taller. â€Å"Put one man in the sickroom, night and day, one outside the door, two at the bottom of the stairs. No one sees Bran without my warrant or my mother's.† â€Å"As you say, m'lord.† â€Å"Do it now,† Catelyn suggested. â€Å"And let his wolf stay in the room with him,† Robb added. â€Å"Yes,† Catelyn said. And then again: â€Å"Yes.† Hallis Mollen bowed and left the room. â€Å"Lady Stark,† Ser Rodrik said when the guardsman had gone, â€Å"did you chance to notice the dagger the killer used?† â€Å"The circumstances did not allow me to examine it closely, but I can vouch for its edge,† Catelyn replied with a dry smile. â€Å"Why do you ask?† â€Å"We found the knife still in the villain's grasp. It seemed to me that it was altogether too fine a weapon for such a man, so I looked at it long and hard. The blade is Valyrian steel, the hilt dragonbone. A weapon like that has no business being in the hands of such as him. Someone gave it to him.† Catelyn nodded, thoughtful. â€Å"Robb, close the door.† He looked at her strangely, but did as she told him. â€Å"What I am about to tell you must not leave this room,† she told them. â€Å"I want your oaths on that. If even part of what I suspect is true, Ned and my girls have ridden into deadly danger, and a word in the wrong ears could mean their lives.† â€Å"Lord Eddard is a second father to me,† said Theon Greyjoy. â€Å"I do so swear.† â€Å"You have my oath,† Maester Luwin said. â€Å"And mine, my lady,† echoed Ser Rodrik. She looked at her son. â€Å"And you, Robb?† He nodded his consent. â€Å"My sister Lysa believes the Lannisters murdered her husband, Lord Arryn, the Hand of the King,† Catelyn told them. â€Å"It comes to me that Jaime Lannister did not join the hunt the day Bran fell. He remained here in the castle.† The room was deathly quiet. â€Å"I do not think Bran fell from that tower,† she said into the stillness. â€Å"I think he was thrown.† The shock was plain on their faces. â€Å"My lady, that is a monstrous suggestion,† said Rodrik Cassel. â€Å"Even the Kingslayer would flinch at the murder of an innocent child.† â€Å"Oh, would he?† Theon Greyjoy asked. â€Å"I wonder.† â€Å"There is no limit to Lannister pride or Lannister ambition,† Catelyn said. â€Å"The boy had always been surehanded in the past,† Maester Luwin said thoughtfully. â€Å"He knew every stone in Winterfell.† â€Å"Gods,† Robb swore, his young face dark with anger. â€Å"If this is true, he will pay for it.† He drew his sword and waved it in the air. â€Å"I'll kill him myself!† Ser Rodrik bristled at him. â€Å"Put that away! The Lannisters are a hundred leagues away. Never draw your sword unless you mean to use it. How many times must I tell you, foolish boy?† Abashed, Robb sheathed his sword, suddenly a child again. Catelyn said to Ser Rodrik, â€Å"I see my son is wearing steel now.† The old master-at-arms said, â€Å"I thought it was time.† Robb was looking at her anxiously. â€Å"Past time,† she said. â€Å"Winterfell may have need of all its swords soon, and they had best not be made of wood.† Theon Greyjoy put a hand on the hilt of his blade and said, â€Å"My lady, if it comes to that, my House owes yours a great debt.† Maester Luwin pulled at his chain collar where it chafed against his neck. â€Å"All we have is conjecture. This is the queen's beloved brother we mean to accuse. She will not take it kindly. We must have proof, or forever keep silent.† â€Å"Your proof is in the dagger,† Ser Rodrik said. â€Å"A fine blade like that will not have gone unnoticed.† There was only one place to find the truth of it, Catelyn realized. â€Å"Someone must go to King's Landing.† â€Å"I'll go,† Robb said. â€Å"No,† she told him. â€Å"Your place is here. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell.† She looked at Ser Rodrik with his great white whiskers, at Maester Luwin in his grey robes, at young Greyjoy, lean and dark and impetuous. Who to send? Who would be believed? Then she knew. Catelyn struggled to push back the blankets, her bandaged fingers as stiff and unyielding as stone. She climbed out of bed. â€Å"I must go myself.† â€Å"My lady,† said Maester Luwin, â€Å"is that wise? Surely the Lannisters would greet your arrival with suspicion.† â€Å"What about Bran?† Robb asked. The poor boy looked utterly confused now. â€Å"You can't mean to leave him.† â€Å"I have done everything I can for Bran,† she said, laying a wounded hand on his arm. â€Å"His life is in the hands of the gods and Maester Luwin. As you reminded me yourself, Robb, I have other children to think of now.† â€Å"You will need a strong escort, my lady,† Theon said. â€Å"I'll send Hal with a squad of guardsmen,† Robb said. â€Å"No,† Catelyn said. â€Å"A large party attracts unwelcome attention. I would not have the Lannisters know I am coming.† Ser Rodrik protested. â€Å"My lady, let me accompany you at least. The kingsroad can be perilous for a woman alone.† â€Å"I will not be taking the kingsroad,† Catelyn replied. She thought for a moment, then nodded her consent. â€Å"Two riders can move as fast as one, and a good deal faster than a long column burdened by wagons and wheelhouses. I will welcome your company, Ser Rodrik. We will follow the White Knife down to the sea, and hire a ship at WhiteHarbor. Strong horses and brisk winds should bring us to King's Landing well ahead of Ned and the Lannisters.† And then, she thought, we shall see what we shall see.

Philosophy and Empire in Ancient China

The late Zhou period of, also known as the Age of a Hundred Schools of thought, was a turbulent era in Chinese history. Although these schools all contended against each other, they had the same basic goal. To unify China. The three most influential schools of thought that existed were Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Although ultimately it was legalist principles and methods that ended the Period of the Warring states, through the eyes of the Confucian thinkers, Qin Shihuandi's legalist policies may have been a harsh and overtly utilitarian way of unifying China. Confucianism is a school of thought that developed from one mans want for a more â€Å"moral way † of ruling. Kong Qiu, as he was named before history posthumously named him Kong Fuzi which was later â€Å"Latinized into Confucius, was born into an â€Å"aristocratic but impoverished family â€Å". His experience with rituals of his native state of Lu in Northwestern China, led him to embark upon a â€Å"14 year period of wandering with his students â€Å". Confucius traveled to various small courts attempted to convince their leaders to adopt his philosophies of life and government. He hoped his ideas would return China to a â€Å"state of harmony and justice â€Å". Confucius later returned to his home and remained teaching, believing himself a failure, until his death in 479. In actuality he was far from a failure. His ideas spread throughout the kingdom and played a profound role in shaping Chinese civilization. We must remember that the School of a Hundred thoughts took place during the Period of the Warring states. This was a particularly turbulent period of history where philosophers were trying to come up with anything they could to bring peace and confident rule to China. Many thinkers, such as Confucius, looked to the past to provide examples of for improvement. The past, especially the Zhou dynasty, was largely mythicized and believed to be a â€Å"Golden age of harmony and prosperity â€Å". Confucius believed the Sage kings had it essentially right. A ruler should be like a father figure to his people and lead by example, not by fear. Confucius also drew upon other age-old Chinese virtues such as filial piety or xiao, a moral humanity or ren, and ritual courtesy or li. Confucian thought emphasizes the principle that humans are generally moral creatures and are â€Å"by fact, obliged to comport themselves humanely and with integrity. While Confucianism preached preached a â€Å"doctrine of benevolent reform † based on the virtues of the past, Legalism contrarily emphasized a strict utilitarian regime. Leaders in legalist thought, realized that with the extreme disorder of their present day, new and drastic measures were necessary. For a governing body to succeed, it would depend on a effective system of rewards and punishments. To ensure his power, the ruler had to keep his officials in line with strict rules and regulations and his people obedient with predictably enforced laws. Shang Yang, Han Feizi gathered that the base of a state's strength was its armed forces and its agriculture. They then tried to dissuade people from being merchants, scholars, philosophers, or artists because these careers did not â€Å"advance the interests of the state â€Å". Legalist's imposed a strict regime with clearly and strictly defined laws and expectations. Failure to comply even to the most negligible of laws resulted in severe punishment. Legalist thought was that this fear of their leaders would inspire compliance with the laws that govern the state as a whole. Although the harsh ideals of the legalist school of thought may have later been smoothed out by adopting certain Confucian ideas, they originated as vastly different systems. We can see the legalist polices that Sima Quian recorded in his expansive history of China as they were enforced by Qin Shihuandi. Confucians such as Mencius would have likely disagreed with this style of rule. There are many discrepancies we can see when comparing Sima Quian's writings and the Analects recorded by students of Confucius. Qin Shihuangdi had a tower built on Mount Langya with clear inscriptions for his people to live by. One inscription reads † Great are the Emperor's achievements, men attend diligently to basic tasks, farming is encouraged, secondary pursuits discouraged. It is made clear that the â€Å"great emperor † wants to suppress his peoples desires to pursue anything but â€Å"basic tasks † that serve the greater good. This would sound preposterous for a Confucian thinker. How can the people build a better society if they are dissuaded from education? They may be forced to build walls or fight wars for the Emperor. Confucians did not believe in â€Å"governing with decrees and regulating with punishments â€Å". They believed that the â€Å"people will evade † their forced work and will have â€Å"no sense of shame â€Å". They believed the better way to govern would be to lead by virtue and example. Whereas Qin Shihuangdi may promote a crooked aristocrat to oversee the building of walls, a Confucian would promote an â€Å"upright â€Å"citizen who was knowledgeable and educated. While the crooked man may punish insubordination with violence to scare others into working, the straight man would â€Å"preside over them with dignity, [and his people] will be reverent; if [he] is filial and loving. His subordinates would want to work for a man who believes in them and they would encourage each to work harder through their respect for one another. â€Å"As for sageness and humanity, how dare i claim them? But to learn it insatiably and instruct others indefatigably-that much may be said of me, that is all†,† humbly stated master Confucius. Humility also must have had a different meaning for Qin Shihuangdi as he was quoted â€Å"in his sagacity, benevolence and justice to have said: â€Å"I humbly propose that all records but those of Qin be burned. If anyone who is not a court scholar dares to keep the ancient songs, historical records or writings or writings of the hundred schools, these should be confiscated and burned†¦ Those who in conversation dare to quote the old songs and records, should be publicly executed, those who use old precedents to oppose the new order should have their families wiped out. This is a stark contrast to the Confucian beliefs that were composed of many older ideals. Confucians studied ancient texts such as the Book of Documents, and the Book of Songs. The ideals they upheld emphasized the importance of education which came in part from these ancient texts. How was a man to educate himself and raise his family out of poverty without an education. As Confucius says â€Å"If he learns, he will not be benighted â€Å", or ignorant of the rituals that make a virtuousin shi. In a legalist China, where â€Å"no evil or impropriety is allowed† and where â€Å"kinsman care for each other â€Å", people who were often held to the principle of collective responsibility. All family members were expected to observe others closely, â€Å"forestall any illegal activity† and report it. Even if it was against their own family or community members. If there were such people who knew â€Å"of such cases but [failed] to report them, [they] should be punished in the same way. This also is a far cry from the benevolent practice of xiao. In fact, it is fundamentally opposite of the superior teachings of Confucius. Whereas legalist theory believes that children who rebel against their wrongdoing parents will grow to be upstanding citizens, Master You states that â€Å"those who are not apt to defy their superiors, but are apt to stir up a rebellion simply do not exist. † Although this is only a theory, I would say that it should hold more water than Qin Shihuangdi's. If the state practices â€Å"filial piety and brotherly obedience†¦ [being] the roots of humanity†¦ and the government conducts itself â€Å"with [a] virtue likened to the North Star † one could surmise that it would be a fairly pleasant society to live in. Also inscribed upon Qin Shihuangdi's stele was the phrase, â€Å"The common people know peace and have laid aside weapons and armor; kinsmen care for each other, there are no robbers and thieves: men delight in his rule. † A Confucian might believe this to be quite an exaggeration for to them there were no â€Å"common † people. Only people who should be treated how you yourself would like to be treated. In a society of people who are more encouraged to cultivate their own knowledge, and attainment of skilled judgement there would be less of a need for strict rules and guidelines as the people should conduct themselves according to the virtues and morals they have attained through education. The utilitarian procedures of legalism were largely responsible for the general lack of education among the common people of China. As a opinionated Confucian scholar under the reign of Qin Shihuangdi, I would be one of the people getting together to â€Å"slander the laws † and practices set in place by my legalist ruler. While might be able to agree that a legalist doctrine was responsible for building a unified state with a large-scale political organization that established a tradition of centralized imperial rule, i could speculate that China may have been a very different place had more Confucian values been implemented. As evidenced by the rule of Shang Yang, legalist politics were successful simply through the fear they instilled in the common people. While road work and agriculture was flourishing throughout the dynasty, so was unrest. Shang Yang was quickly executed upon the death of his patron, his body mutilated and his family annihilated. In the case of Qin Shihaungdi, there were many who welcomed the stability his reign brought, yet still many outspoken scholars, philosophers and others who criticized his regime. As the First Emperor didn't want his people to be confused with the old teachings of scholars, he demanded that the books be burned and had hundreds of scholars executed. We may never know what China would be like had more of the Confucian teachings survived but i believe that their history might be a little bit less bloody.

Assessing Factors Of National Security

Assessing Factors Of National Security Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Assessing Factors Of National Security National security is the necessity to maintain the endurance of the state through the use of political power, the exercise of diplomacy, economic and military. The idea developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II. Originally focusing on military might encompasses a broad range of facets all of which impose on the military or economic security of the nation and the values espoused by the national society. Therefore, in order to possess national security, a nation needs to possess environmental security, economic security and energy security etc. Security threats involve not only conventional foes such as other nation-states but also non-state actors such as violent non-state actors, narcotic cartels, multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations; some authorities include natural disasters and events causing severe environmental damage in this category. Measures taken to ensure national security include: us ing diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats marshalling economic power to facilitate or compel cooperation maintaining effective armed forces implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures (including anti-terrorism legislation) ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information using counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats Slide 4 – Who defines national security? State/Government/group of elites determines the main objectives of security based on the nation’s sovereignty, integrity of the state and economic prosperity. As the source of political authority, the government defines security, and this definition generally encompasses the broader spectrum of values held dear by the majority. â€Å"Since the future racial peace in this country depends on how well the gove rnment handles the sensitive issues, it is suggested that the NSC shall be the body to look into the matter†. Slide 5 – Scope Slide 6 – Factors Of National Security Slide 7 – Economy Historically, conquest of nations have made conquerors rich through plunder, access to new resources and enlarged trade through controlling of the conquered nations’ economy. In today’s complex system of international trade, ‘ by multi-national agreements, mutual inter-dependence and availability of natural resources etc., the freedom to follow choice of policies to develop a nation’s economy in the manner desired, forms the essence of economic security. Economic security today forms, arguably, as important a part of national security as military security. Slide 8 – Military This is traditionally, the earliest recognised form of national security. Military security implies the capability of a nation to defend itself, and/or deter military aggr ession. Alternatively, military security implies the capability of a nation to enforce its policy choices by use of military force. The term â€Å"military security† is considered synonymous with â€Å"security† in much of its usage. One of the definitions of security given in the Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, may be considered a definition of â€Å"military securityâ€Å": A condition that results from the establishment and maintenance of protective measures that ensure a state of inviolability from hostile acts or influences. Slide 9 – Politic The political aspect of security has been offered by Barry Buzan, Ole Wà ¦ver, Jaap de Wilde as an important component of national security. Political security is about the stability of the social order. Closely allied to military security and societal security, other components proposed in a framework for national security in their book â€Å"Security: a new framework for analysis†, it specifica lly addresses threats to sovereignty. System referent objects are defined, such as nation-states, nations, transnational groups of political importance including tribes, minorities, some religious organisations, systems of states such as the European Union and the United Nations, besides others. Diplomacy, negotiation and other interactions form the means of interacion between the objects.

Asian Tigers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Asian Tigers - Essay Example The growth of the ' Asian Tigers' in the 1960's In the 1960s, the Asian tigers were very poor thus labor was cheap, and in abundance. They then made educational reforms and coupled this with the cheap labor to establish productive work forces. In order to improve productivity, they focused on improving education at all levels with more emphasis on elementary education and compulsory high school education. College and university system was also improved by setting aside some money for the same. For economic development, they pursued an export driven model whereby they focused on the manufacture of goods for export to nations that are highly industrialized. They discouraged domestic consumption through government policies such as high tariffs. The economic growth of the Asian Tigers has been termed as the East Asian Miracle because of the supernatural increase of four economics. East Asia which comprises Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong has been the fastest growing are in the wor ld. They have been termed as the models for achievement for other rising economies. There have been several factors which led to the success of the East Asian countries. These include the macroeconomic discipline, their outward orientation, high investment and saving rates and public policies which were good. Although these may vary from region to region, the experience of east Asia, supported by recent research on growth, has convinced many observers that an on looking development strategy, particularly a dynamic export sector, is a conducive growth. The other factor that boosts their trade was greater openness which is conducive to growth and thus they embrace the policies that promote openness. They also used non-tariff and high tariff barriers to promote industrialization. Between 1965 and 1993, real gap in the East Asian economies grew at an annual average rate of nearly 9 percent more than twice as first as their Latin American counterparts. They all had common characteristics which include focusing on exporting to rich and industriali0sed nations. They also maintained a double increment for years. They were each non democratic and relative to authoritative systems for years. They had high tariff on imports and less valued currencies, and each held bond bonding of U.S. at a high level. Their savings rate was high. Current Growth The Asian Tigers are no longer growing so rapidly now. This is due to the Asian financial crisis that burst in 1997. Economies of unrestricted flow was opened which led to the erosion of their financial successes. This led to a volatile foreign investment which was dangerous. Many of the Asian Tigers were caught up in the currency depreciation game due to their focus on growth of exports. The policy decisions are being undertaken/can be taken to bring the economics out of the doldrums In order to bring the economics out of the doldrums, a model that has to guide towards a more stable, balanced, sustainable and coordinated growth has to be assumed. One major policy is that the government should chip in by introducing subsidies and large investments in the export sector though this is majorly based on the exports and not on local domestic demand. In order to touch on the domestic demand, a policy that has to be instituted is one that establishes a social security system which is a sufficient safety net so as to reduce household expenditures in order to save for their benefits on retirement.

Chicken Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chicken - Case Study Example Problems The increased advertising expenses forced the company to increase the net price of the products. In the article, the writers Belch and Belch point out that in the past 10years, the company paid out most of its promotional spending towards consumers in Free Standing Inserts (FSIs) in Sunday newspapers containing coupon offers. As a result, many consumers were found purchasing tuna from local brands or a brand which was on promotion or which offered the lowest shelf price. Chicken of the Sea as well as other major companies faces increasing competition from local brands which are usually priced lower than the national brands. The company’s call for ‘reduction in media advertising and increased emphasis on sales promotion’, as well as the development of local label brands resulted in a change in power from manufacturer to the retailers (Belch & Belch). The profit earning margin on canned tuna has gone down as retailers demand lower price and more trade allow ances. A big question aroused; whether the company could afford to preserve Jessica Simpson, a rising pop star as a spokesperson for the company since her fame and reputation were at peak so was her remuneration too.

Web-Based Travel Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Web-Based Travel Program - Essay Example Throughout the document, the purpose of the writing has clearly been shown. This is evident when the writer starts by discussing the various problems facing the company travel system e.g. increased travel expenditures, issues of transaction fees and customer services. After making us understand the problems facing the company, the writer then goes ahead and presents the possible solutions for solving these problems. The research is supposed to be about the benefits of a web based system. By first showing the problems, then followed by the solutions the purpose of the writing can be seen. The solutions for the problems are well presented. This is because the author has systematically presented the solutions for each of the problems stated earlier in the paper. The solutions are also well elaborated and discussed. Several sources of literature have also been integrated into the paper. The first source was effective since it made us aware that indeed company expenditure are increasing a nd something has to be done to reduce this spending. There are other sources cited in the paper that were also effective in strengthening the main points of discussion. One of the sources by Campbell emphasized on the use of management information sytem in successful management travel programs. The sources used in the paper therefore, are related to the topic and have been used to reinforce on the purpose of the paper.The author could improve the paper by adding the fact that online travel agencies provide more options for people to choose.

Enterpreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enterpreneurship - Essay Example An entrepreneurial mind is very innovative, and always comes up with new ideas of ventures which are thoughtfully planned. Entrepreneurs come up with ways of utilizing the available resources despite how few they may be, with the aim of making a profit. Uncertainty is a major trait of entrepreneurship since it entails coming up with something new which has not been existing in the market. Consequently, this means that as entrepreneur one has to be able to create market for what he has introduced, since he has the sole responsibility of ensuring business growth (McFadzean, O'Laughlin & Shaw, 2005, p. 350). Successful entrepreneurs have been found to be always positive as being negative may lead to the fail of a business opportunity. From the above understanding of entrepreneurship, I believe that I possess a few traits of an entrepreneur. I was able to exploit a few ideas while in college from which I was able to generate a small amount of capital. Particularly, since there was a lot of demand for photocopying services within the collage, I was able to start a photocopying shop (Parboteeah, 2000, p. 28). Though there were numerous shops within the college offering similar services, I did not give up. I aimed at locating the shop in a strategic position which was convenient and easily accessible to the students. The business lasted for a period of two years; when I moved out of that environment, on completion of my studies in search of greater opportunities (McFadzean, O'Laughlin & Shaw, 2005, p. 358). Despite the fact that the business was not able to generate a remarkable amount of profit, it gave me a significant amount of knowledge in the field of business. According to Parboteeah (2000, p. 32) the key aspect of entrepreneurship is coming up with new ideas, and this is what any business needs in order to grow. Innovation always keeps a company’s products in the market as the company will be able to beat its competitors through new strategies. Without c onstant innovations a company is likely to fail due to changes in technology, as well as market changes. Market changes within a short time hence, it is important for business managers to understand that what interests the market today, might not be of much interest come tomorrow (Johnson, 2001. p. 137). As a result, adding an entrepreneurial mind to a company is very important because the company will be assured of its survival and growth. Starting up a new business has many challenges and it requires one to be persevering, otherwise his whole business idea can be wasted (Parboteeah, 2000, p. 47). We all have weaknesses because we are human, and my biggest weakness is impatience as sometimes I feel like giving up. Also am not very good in multi-tasking since I feel that I have to accomplish one mission before venturing into another one. Moreover, I hate working under pressure because too much work may make me feel discouraged and instill a feeling of despair within me. I have paid for this weakness sometimes, however I have learnt to keep pushing on even when things seem very difficult (McFadzean, O'Laughlin & Shaw, 2005, p. 372). The most important strategy to the success of in business is to cultivate a positive attitude within you (Johnson, 2001. p. 140). Change all the self talk within you to appropriate positive talks that will drive you towards the attainment of your set goals. Focusing particularly on the lack of the ability to work under pressure, this might be due to laziness and the fear of stress. Stress comes as a result of one feeling that he does not have the capability of handling that amount of work. Stevenson, & Lundstrom (2002, p.235) explains that it is possible to overcome this through a change of attitude and putting more focus

HOW WE CAN HELP NATIVE AMERICANS AND THEIR FIGHT WITH ALCOHOLISM IN Research Paper

HOW WE CAN HELP NATIVE AMERICANS AND THEIR FIGHT WITH ALCOHOLISM IN THE NATIVE AMERICAN FAMILY ON A FEDERAL LEVEL - Research Paper Example Booker T. Washington in terms of overcoming addiction says, â€Å"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles one has overcome trying to succeed.† Therefore, Native Americans who are no doubt facing obstacles but they should get rid of their addiction with alcoholism by overcoming the obstacles. In America, Native Americans have been known to over-indulge in drinking more than any other ethnic groups in the country. As a result of this, statistics indicate that nearly 12% of all deaths among the Native Americans are a result of using alcohol (Schinke et al 319). Most cases of traffic accidents, liver and heart problems, and cases of homicide and suicide are related to alcohol use and to some extent other substance abuse by the ethnic group. The legacy of manifest destiny contributed to the high rates of alcoholism in Native Americans by forcing the Native Americans to highly secluded lands that limited their political voice as intended by the federal government; in totality creating a snowball effect that would lead the Native Americans to decades of self-destruction related to alcoholism. The federal government is now focusing on ways that it can reverse this effect on the Native Americans and see the society to a reformation. Alcohol was a medium of exchange for Native American goods by European settlers during the pre-independence period in America. Because of the easy availability, Native Americans got accustomed to using the drink quite freely. The European traders often tricked the Native Americans into over-indulging in the drink so that they could get unfair trade with them. The effects of the drink were new and widely acclaimed in America so that a number of Native Americans found it fashionable to drink. The trend, however, continued past American independence to date (Sherman 45). Scientists studying these phenomenological high drinking rates have linked the use of alcohol to genetics . Studies have shown that some individuals experience gene mutation, which cause significant reactions to over-drinking alcohol. Those who posses this gene suffer worse side effects when they drink such as nausea, increased heartbeats, headache, and extreme drowsiness. This gene is common among the Chinese and Japanese, explaining their less indulgence in the drink (Young 112). Other groups, such as the Native Americans, however, do not possess this gene that mutates, therefore, do not experience adverse effects associated with drinking. Besides this genetic point of view, the environment and cultural tendencies of the Native Americans have played a great role in making it appropriate for them to indulge. When the European settler moved in to America and took over their land, Native Americans became an oppressed group. The European culture clashed heavily with that of Native Americans, creating a major conflict and depression on the side of the Native Americans. The native culture w as presumed to be inferior to that of the dominant European group, and the Native Americans lost pride in their existence and developed a lack of will to protect their culture (Schinke et al 134). The

Information Systems supporting Business Processes Research Paper

Information Systems supporting Business Processes - Research Paper Example In this regard, implementation of Information Systems (IS) like Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) and Management Information System (MIS) will be very effective ion achieving its next 5 years plan. The primary consideration in the betterment of Supply Chain Management, different levels of planning should properly organized through accurate decision makings. In this respect, daily transaction process and management information systems must be implemented properly. For TPS, IKEA should introduce RDIF technology in its inventory management for enhanced level of dialing activity with assured tracking system. In case of MIS, IKEA should follow ARIS framework that concentrates and related necessary business views. As RDIF and ARIS both are system-based technology, it requires the resources like software, hardware, proper communication, network, skilled labor, IT infrastructure and supporting organizational structure and culture. Table of Contents 1.Introduction 4 2.Importance Prevailing Inventory Management in IKEA 4 3.Business Process for IKEA to Manage Supply Chain 5 4.Information System for Supply Chain Management 7 4.1.Transaction Processing Systems and Management Information System 7 4.2.Requirement for IS for IKEA’s Supply Chain Management 9 5.Conclusion and Recommendation 10 Reference 11 1. Introduction The emergence of international trade that can be termed as major outcome of the globalization has led to increase the complexities of the prevailing business process. However, the prime reason behind such change is the availability of greater opportunities for market expansion and for higher scope of profitability. On the other that, these opportunities for rapid business growth has also caused in intensifying the competition in international level. As a result, in spite of the better scope for business growth, the profitability of the business has been hurting due to such fierce competition. The organizations with higher competitive advantage are the market leaders and they outperform the domestic and international players. Therefore, all the business organization within a specific market strives to gain sustainable competitive advantage by establishing core competencies. In this process, they have identified the use of technologies in their business processes as major tool to gain competitive advantage. Implementation of Information System (IS) in the multiple business process has been proved very effective in gaining competitive advantage in the international market. This paper will attempt to present the necessity and implementation of IS for supply chain management in IKEA’s global business. 2. Importance Prevailing Inventory Management in IKEA IKEA is one of the most popular global retail chains and it is mainly engaged in the retailing business of furniture, durable household items etc. Besides, it has also entered in food and restaurant business recently. However, it has been world famous for its furniture and dur able household products’ retailing business. IKEA offers highly innovative furniture and

A fiction short story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A fiction short story - Essay Example At 19, Gregg was 2 months the senior of Cynthia. Having just spent her birthday with her boyfriend of 6 months, Cynthia longed for the day in which they would not have to part and could continue to spend each and every moment together in the bliss she was certain must await the couple. Although neither of the two were especially well versed in life or the complexities which it presented, they felt the zeal and courage that is oftentimes so indicative of individuals their age. The past few days had been spent as it were – magically. Gregg had prepared, organized, and facilitated a weekend away for the couple that involved camping out in a state park within the foothills of the Carolinas. Even though the scenery was of seemingly little value to the star crossed pair, they spent the time they had hiking the footpaths, enjoying each other’s company around the campfire, and generally soaking up the sylvan landscape. As such, the time passed all too quickly and the pair found itself on the way back home to the realities that had driven them to leave in the first place. Along the bumpy of ill-repaired state road that led down from the mountain side, Cynthia let out an audible sigh. Turning to her in between keeping a careful eye on the road, Gregg said, â€Å"Yes babe – what is it?† Instead of turning to look into his eyes, Cynthia stared outwards onto the valleys, and silver lined rivers that glistened in the warm glow of the setting sun. Eventually after what seemed to Gregg like far too long a time for a positive answer to the question he asked, Cynthia said, â€Å"I just – don’t know how much longer we will be able to do this†. Visibly dismayed by such a response, Gregg continued leading his old and beaten down SUV around the narrow twists and turns that led down the mountain. After what seemed to Cynthia as a jarringly short amount of time, Gregg responded by asking â€Å"What do you mean†? This seemed as un necessarily annoying to Cynthia since it was obvious to her that Gregg knew full and well what she meant by such a loaded statement. However, rather than responding in a quick or offensive manner, Cynthia took another deep breath, remembering the perfection that the pair had experienced in the hours before, she thought better of such a snarky response. Instead, she reached for his hand in the empty seat that separated them at the moment. This time, turning from the window, she looked lovingly towards him and said – â€Å"Gregg, you know what I mean. I would love to continue this forever; but you must realize that if we are to do it, we cannot continue to live apart and will need to risk it all to be together†. Without giving her much of a chance to take a breath or to add anything additional to this thought, Gregg blurted out â€Å"But we will – I told you I just have to get a better job so that we will have a way to† She interrupted before he could finis h. â€Å"When will that be? You can’t imagine how hard it is for me to continue to survive the pain and criticism that we are both getting from both sides of our friends and family.† Visibly shaken by her response, Gregg decided that the best way to formulate any further response would be to thoughtfully consider her needs as well as their own prior to answering. Along this line of thought the two passed in silence as the miles passed by beneath their tires. Finally, and almost imperceptibly, Gregg looked to her and said, â€Å"I’m so sorry – I never intended it to be like with us – ya know?† â€Å"Of course I do†

A Short History and Summary of the Current Conditions in Chile and Its Geographical Situation Essay Example for Free

A Short History and Summary of the Current Conditions in Chile and Its Geographical Situation Essay Chile is a country situated on the west coast of South America. It is also known as The Republic of Chile. The size of Chile is 289,112 square miles with a width of less than 100 miles. It is basically a little larger than Texas. Chile is divided into three main parts, mainland and two territorial islands named Isla Sala y Gomez and Easter. Chile has an interesting history and it has seen many ups and downs in its economic development (Hudson, 1994). A description of the history of the 20th century of Chile and its current economic and political situation is presented below. The history of the 20th century of Chile is mainly focused on its entrance to the parliamentary system and thus it saw the changes in its political situation. In the beginning of the 20th century, Chile was stable despite of having lesser power in the hands of presidents. During this time, congress selected the president for the country. The presidents of this century mainly includes: German Riesco Errazuriz, Pedro Montt, Ramon Barros Luco, and Juan Luis Sanfuentes. During the 1920’s, there was an increasing gap between the middle class and lower class of society (Bizzarro, 1987). Due to this gap, the masses were dissatisfied and they called a new leader, Arturo Alessandri Palma, who brought the system of election for the selection of president. He brought other changes as well such as compulsory primary education and separation between the church and state. After a few months’ service of Alessandri, Carlos Ibanez came into power and promoted public works and industry; however, he is known as a military dictator. Electoral Democracy was there during the years of 1931 to 1971 in Chile. After a period of uncertainty in Chile, Alessandri came into power again. Alessandri ruled Chile almost like a dictator and restored the power of Constitution of 1925. Considering the presidency elections of 1958, it is found that there were three candidates and all were from different types of people. They were conservative, Christian Democrat, and Socialist (Zanartu, Kennedy, 1969). Jorge Alessandri Rodriguez won the election of 1858 and maintained a stable situation in Chile. Alessandri was sensible and with his ability to maintain the economic and political situation, he put a halt to the inflation in Chile; thus, contributed in the economic development of the nation. In 1964, Frei defeated Allende again. Frei was a Christian Democrat and took control over the copper industry of Chile. In the next elections, Allende came into power with his socialist view. Allende was the first elected Marxist in Chile. Allende brought new policies and changed the existing policies; such as, he finished the nationalization of the copper firms of the United States, nationalized banks, and sped up land distribution in the country. Some leaders in Chile were against the socialists programs of Allende. In 1973, with the help of the U.  S. , a military coup ousted Allende (after which he committed suicide). After Allende, Pinochet ruled untill 1990. He was mainly focused on privatization and returned the banks, factories and lands to the private owners, and put strict economic and social condition on the people of Chile (Weil, 1969). Overall, it can be said that Chile saw many different leaders in the history of the 20th century and developed in many directions. Current economic and political situation of Chile is described below in the paper. The Economic Situation During the 1970’s Chile saw the economic growth, but in the next decade it experienced recession. Pinochet was the president of Chile and he put some strict economic conditions on Chileans. Looking at the current economic condition of Chile, it can be said that it is a growing and prosperous economy. The government of Chile has a played an important role in the economic development of Chile. Peso is the official currency of the country. The government has intervened many times in the financial market of Chile to control the economic situation of the nation and promoted the social spending (Loveman, 1988). According to the current economic condition, the total GDP of Chile is U. S. $ 268. 3 billion and its GDP growth is 5%. Inflation in the country is 4 to 5% and its main industries include copper, iron, lithium, fish processing, foodstuffs, wood and woods products, cement, textile, etc. (Thomas White International, 2013). It is already discussed above that culture and history of Chile has affected the economic development of the country many times and its reflection can be seen in the economic system of Chile. Chile has seen both growth and recession (with the different economic treatments of its presidents) It is currently able to manage a decrease in the foreign debt and open for the foreign investment. The Current Political Situation The current political system of Chile is also stable. It is nation with multiparty. The country has three branches of executive, legislative, and judiciary. The cxecutive branch selects the president for the country and the legislative branch has two houses named Chamber of Deputies and Senate. The Supreme Court and other lower courts come under the judiciary system. There are many political parties involved in the Chilean Government and they are trying to maintain the social and economic condition of the country (Kelleher Klein, 2011). Analysis and Conclusions Concluding the paper it can be said that Chile has now become an important part of the global economy with its growing industries. Due to many changes in its political atmosphere in the 20th century, Chile faced many challenges in its economic development as it saw growth as well as recession. In 1990, the democratic government was again brought into Chile. A Christian democrat Eduardo Frei won the election in 1993. Currently, the condition of Chile is stable. Chile is facing some challenges in its development of having some problems between the military and the government. Also, there is a belief in the people of Chile that the income inequality is getting worse. Apart from the economic problems, the people of Chile are facing the problems of natural disaster. A devastating earthquake has affected the economic condition of Chilean. The newly elected president of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, is trying to control the challenges that the country is facing (Cynthia Crabtree, 2010).

Care for children Essay Example for Free

Care for children Essay ‘’Child care (or childcare, child minding, daycare,or preschool) is the caring for and supervision of a child or children, usually from newborn to age thirteen. Child care is the action or skill of looking after children by a day-care centre, babysitter, or other providers. Child care is a broad topic covering a wide spectrum of contexts, activities, social and cultural conventions, and institutions. The majority of child care institutions that are available require that child care providers have extensive training in first aid and are CPR certified. In addition, background checks, drug testing, and reference verification are normally a requirement Family child care In home care is known as family child care it typically is provided by nannies, au pairs, or friends and family. The child is watched inside their own home or the caregivers home, reducing exposure to outside children and illnesses. Depending on the number of children in the home, the children utilizing in-home care enjoy the greatest amount of interaction with their caregiver, forming a close bond. There are no required licensing or background checks for in-home care, making parental vigilance essential in choosing an appropriate caregiver. Nanny and au pair services provide certified caregivers and the cost of in-home care is the highest of childcare options per child, though a household with many children may find this the most convenient and affordable option. Many nannies study towards childcare qualifications. This means they are trained to create a safe and stimulating environment for your child to enjoy and thrive in. Typically, au pairs or nannies provide more than routine child care, often assisting with daily household activities, including running errands, shopping, doing laundry, fixing meals, and cleaning house. Centre-based care[edit] Commercial care centres also known as daycares are open for set hours, and provide a standardized and regulated system of care for children. Parents may choose from a commercial care centre close to their work, and some companies offer care at their facilities. Active children may thrive in the educational activities provided by a quality commercial care centre, but according to the National Centre for Early Development and Learning, children from low quality centres may be significantly less advanced in terms of vocabulary and reading skills. [1] Classes are usually largest in this type of care, ratios of children to adult caregivers will vary according to state licensing requirements. Some positives of commercial care are children gain independence, academic achievement and socialization. Informal care[edit] Informal childcare is a variation of childcare that utilizes family members as a childcare system, for example grandparents and siblings. Informal childcare is an especially inexpensive form of childcare, and is utilized typically by those who are considered poor. Parents may need to utilize informal care for a variety of reasons. Typically informal childcare is necessary for families who do not have enough funds to finance placing their children in a more expensive child care facility. Those low income families are also more apt to work longer hours on an irregular and inflexible schedule, which ultimately makes using a childcare facility that has regular business hours unlikely’’ Taken from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Child_care#Family_child_care ‘’Childminders are Ofsted registered professional daycarers who look after children in their own homes. They offer a flexible service, caring for children aged from birth to sixteen years. They are only allowed to look after upto six children between the ages birth to eight (including their own). They can have more children if they work in partnership with other childminders or assistants. The service offered is unique to each family’s needs and many childminders provide evening, weekend and school holiday cover. All childminders will have completed a training course including paediatric first aid. Nanny/Home childcarers are carers, which look after children in the family home. They can fit in with unusual hours and working patterns. They can register with Ofsted on the Voluntary register, to allow families to take advantage of tax credits. This however is not compulsory. Day Nurseries can care for children aged from birth to five years and usually offer day care from 8am to 6pm, for most of the year. All day nurseries will be registered with Ofsted and inspected regularly. You can view inspection reports by visiting www. ofsted. gov. uk They can be run by private individuals, community groups, Montessori organisations, commercial businesses or by employers. Private Nursery Schools (aka Private Independent Schools) are owned privately and can offer sessional or full day care to children aged two to five. Some schools can offer a particular educational approach, for example Montessori. They may operate only during term-time or could open all year. They could be registered with Ofsted or the ISI (Independent School Directorate) (LEA) Maintained Nursery Schools offer full and part-time early years education places, typically between school hours. They are attached to primary schools. A child can attend for a full or half day. Nursery schools may also offer childcare after school (see out of school clubs). Pre-schools and playgroups offer care to children in their local community, either as a morning or afternoon session or as extended sessions including lunch. They are often run by voluntary groups but can also be run by private individuals. They care for children aged from two to five years and are usually open during term time. They differ from day nurseries in that they offer sessional based care and admit children from the age of two years old. They can be registered with Ofsted or unregistered. Independent Schools are owned privately and cater for children aged from three to sixteen. The schools are registered with Ofsted or the ISI but make their own arrangements concerning staff numbers qualifications and curriculum. If the school participates in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, it will be inspected by Ofsted. Out of School Clubs (aka Play Centres) provide safe and stimulating play opportunities for school age children at times when schools are not open. They can operate before school in the mornings, from the end of the school day and at the end of the working day, throughout the school holidays, or a combination of all three. They typically cater for children aged four to fifteen but some non-RBKC run clubs might look after younger children.

Examining The Study Of Rational Choice Theories Criminology Essay

Examining The Study Of Rational Choice Theories Criminology Essay Within the Criminal Justice field, the goal is to reduce crime by utilizing methods that may deter offenders from committing a heinous act. The aspects that are going to be explored in this manuscript will explain how Rational Choice Theory and crime prevention techniques refer to one another. Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) techniques will focus on different types of offenders, their crimes and the success rate of prevention in different levels of criminal activity. Furthermore, some case studies have been reviewed to give a comparison of preventive techniques of crime and its effects. The following research will discuss negative effects and its alarming concern for SCP techniques. Examining the study of rational choice theories and how useful it can be in crime prevention Academic Scholars, along with law enforcement officials review criminal activity in the event to develop methods for which crime may be prevented. Having an understanding of the theory reviewed will further explain the approach investigators take when apprehending perpetrators, interviewing witnesses, and interacting with victims. The research will explore many different views of scholars and the differences in crimes that can be committed. The theory that has been discussed is Rational Choice Theory. Rational Choice Theory is a perspective that criminality is a conscience choice that predicts that individuals choose to commit crime for the sole purpose of the benefits outweighing the cost of the crime (Schmalleger, 2006). This manuscript will provide information on the examination of Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) and how the examples of the methods given have been successful. Literature Review Verma (2007) wrote an article that discusses the approach of situational crime prevention and how it pertains to mass casualties. His article, with assistance of I.K. Mackenzie (1982) recommends a five stage action plan that may dissolve mass casualties before they start (to be discussed later). Verma argues that enforcement officials should work harder on strategies to better leadership skills in the event of a riot. Vance and Trani (2008) focus on crime prevent in white collar crimes. Many individuals in our society believe that white collar crime is not as heinous an act as other crimes. The issue Vance and Trani want to address is that white collar can be a larger issue if overlooked. Schmalleger (2006) is one of the many scholars who have developed books on criminology and its success in educating future scholars. He introduced to other scholars what situational Crime Prevention (SCP) truly means and how understanding crime better could assist in understanding the criminals. The debate that Schmalleger has with other scholars is the difficulty in which criminals are subject to become repeat offenders. Cullen and Agnew (2006) comprised a reading text called Criminological theory: past to present, 3rd edition. It discusses the comparison made by Clarke and Cornish of classical theory and economic theory and the strong connection these theories have to rational choice theory. Furthermore, the text continues to process this choice by defining two major stages that are important to know about rational choice theory. Ratcliffe (2006) developed a manuscript on video surveillance in public places that may deter criminal activity; in which he provided information about a closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system. He explains what CCTV is and how it was developed to prevent crime and also how the development of this system brought unintended consequences. A chart, established by Clarke outlined 25 techniques (Center for Problem Oriented Policing, 2010) that may be useful in the SCP theory. The chart is broken down into five categories and examines different parts of criminal activity. Clarke further breaks down the categories into subsections to explain the techniques correctly in accordance with the category. Several other studies have been reviewed and analyzed to provide information or examples of Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s SCP techniques (Center for Problem Oriented Policing, 2010). The crimes that will be incorporated with this study in further depth are the security needs of passenger on public transportation (Smith, 2008), closing off opportunities for crime with alley-gating (Bowers, Johnson, and Hirschfield, 2004), and crime in libraries incorporating all five of Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s SCP techniques (Cromwell, Alexander, and Dotson, 2008). For the entire criteria of Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s 25 techniques, see Appendix A. Discussion There are many different ways to explain Rational Choice theory and how it is incorporated to Situational Crime Prevention (SCP). Schmalleger (2006) defined SCP as a social policy that looked to develop a greater understanding of crime and with strategies concerning the organizational and environments that make crime possible. Other academic scholars go on to state that Rational Choice Theory is a choice process that occurs in two stages; First, the criminal will need to decide if he wants to engage in crime to satisfy his needs and second is when the decision is made to engage in criminal activity, what particular offense will he commit (Cullen, and Agnew, 2006). However, the best or most innovative explanation was developed by Clarke with his twenty-five techniques of situational crime prevention (Vance and Trani, 2008). The techniques in the chart give examples of SCP and how each category and sub sections apply to a criminal act. The categories of the chart are divided in to five groups, which are: increase the effort. Increase the risk, reduce the rewards, reduce provocations, and remove excuses. This manuscripts main focus is to discuss the two categories that are connected to rational choice theory and situational crime prevention. The first category happens to be increasing the efforts, which has a subsection of target hardening and deflecting offenders and the second category is increasing the risks, which has a subsection of extend guardianship and strengthening formal surveillance. Increase the Effort The Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) subsection category of deflecting the offender is applied by creating a separation for men and women in public surroundings, which in turn does not give offenders the opportunity to create a  ¿Ã‚ ½hot spot ¿Ã‚ ½ for their victims (Innes, 2003). For example, most sex offenders have a tendency to victimize certain women that appear to be vulnerable or less aggressive then they are. There was a study performed on several sex offenders and the process they go through in order to hunt their victims. The study discussed the rational choice the perpetrators make so that the outcome of the assault gives them pleasure. The starting point of the crime is where the offenders seek to benefit themselves by their criminal behavior; that this involves the making of decisions and of choices, however rudimentary on occasion these processes might be; and that these processes exhibit a measure of rationality (Beauregard, Rossmo, and Proulx, 2007). The separation that has been made for men and women in public places are the development of men and women restrooms and changing areas in department stores. With these adjustments, crime in public still occur but committing assault is in public would appear to be more difficult and offenders would have to make more of an effort to assault their victims. Everyone in America can remember what they were doing or where they were at the time of the September 11 attacks. Since the attack, transportation in this country and around the world has experienced some form of target hardening. When a passenger steps into an airport, bus or train station, the passenger is checked almost from head to toe. This policy is more abundant in airports but in major cities, passengers on a train or bus are still checked in an attempt to prevent another major attack since 9/11. There was an article by M. J. Smith (2008) that addressed the needs of women passengers taking public transportation. Smith goes on to address four key elements for analyzing the security need of women passenger, and they are: (1) women ¿Ã‚ ½s reported victimization, (2) issues related to calculating the risk of being a crime victim, (3) the rationality of women ¿Ã‚ ½s fear of crime and disorder, and (4) the need for effective and comprehensive crime prevention measures to address those security-related issues. These concerns and policies have made transportation more equipped with metal detectors, more uniformed and plain clothes officer stationed in subways, airports, and train stations, along with additional baggage tagging and inspections. Increase the Risks Strengthening the observations of society may help in preventing individuals from becoming a victim. For example, many crimes happen during the holiday season and for good reason because individuals get wrapped up in the three P ¿Ã‚ ½s, which are: presents, parties, and planning. Families are planning to go on vacations for the holiday season, friends are picking out outfits for all the parties they will be attending and presents will be exchanged among co-workers before the end of business day. The crimes that are more common during the holiday season are burglary and theft. Kane (2008) suggest that being aware of your surrounding and recognizing motivated offenders will help prevent individuals from becoming a victim during the holiday season. That does not mean taking matters into your own hands; it means to practice being alert when out enjoying the festivities of the holidays. One way to being more alert is to ask a neighbor or a friend to house sit for you while you are off on vacation. You can direct this individual to check on your house once a day or every other day in order to give off the impression that someone is home. If you live in a community with police patrol, you can ask for the officer or security to check on your home in your absence. Or you can develop a form of prevention that closes off opportunities for crime. Bowers, Johnson, and Hirschfield (2004) studied a recently introduced prevention technique in Great Britain that involved fitting a gate to several alleyways along the back of terraced properties to restrict access to local residents and reduce the offender ¿Ã‚ ½s opportunity to commit a crime. The study was performed on homes that were narrow in space and could be connected to other dwellings for the purpose of the experiment. The alley-gates could secure an entire block and all the houses within this radius. The gate will be a ccessible with a key for which only the residents will have and there will be a limit to the number each household can acquire. This study demonstrated that a small gated community had reduced its burglary attempts in comparison to communities that were not gated. Video surveillance is one way police can deter offenders from committing crimes. By upgrading the performance of surveillance, it is less likely that a criminal will want to commit a crime because of the risk of apprehension. When using the method of strengthening surveillance, one of the most employed surveillance technologies is closed-circuit television (CCTV). CCTV is a number of cameras connected to a loop or closed circuit, with images produced being sent to a monitoring station (Ratcliffe, 2006). Using this type of surveillance is predominately for large groups of people that congregate in areas that are too wide for regular patrol. For example, college ¿Ã‚ ½s campuses, sports arenas, department stores and major club venues are the kinds of establishments that CCTV systems are employed. The cameras are placed in locations that may be more prone for criminal activity which will allow the individual operating the camera access to see what the actual crime has or will be committed. There has even been an incident or two where the individual operating the cameras has given a warning to other individuals making them aware that they can be seen committing some type of foul play on camera. The primary g oal of utilizing video surveillance is to increase the perceived risk of capture in the hope that any measure of the offenders improprieties will have them reconsidering to commit a crime (Ratcliffe, 2006). SCP Application Among the Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) examples stated above, there have been several other studies that represented SCP and its effects on the prevention of crime. One study discussed the situational crime prevention approach when dealing with mass causalities or riots. This research suggested that riots could be prevented by aligning practical guidelines and theoretical considerations by a recommended five-stage action plan. The stages incorporated are: (1) attempt to identify, isolate and remove those individuals who precipitate the incident before the crowd begins to organize, (2) break the crowd into smaller groups to disrupt communications, (3) quickly deal with the crowds leaders and remove from the spot, (4) create diversions in other places, so there is no focus, and (5) do not let the crowd gain strength in numbers (Verma, 2007). In the article, Crime and Incivilities in Libraries, Clarke ¿Ã‚ ½s five SCP techniques are explored and further examined to uncover how crimes such as theft, vandalism, and assault have reared its head into the library. Cromwell, Alexander, and Dotson (2008) conclude that the crimes mentioned above, along with problems with disruptive patrons can be substantially reduced by the implementation of SCP strategies and a well-conceived security plan for staff training. The research discussed more incivilities that could occur while at or in a library, however they were not addressed in this manuscript. Unintended Consequences With any research or study, there are concerns that are discussed that will possibly bring about some negativity towards any technique, theory or experiment. Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) is not perfect and it has its concerns with an issue of displacement. Ratcliffe (2006) describes displacement as offenders moving their offending to a place that has less risk of being caught. For example, an offender may not want to rob a jewelry store if he can see that there is a camera system set in place to identify him. This is a concern for the perpetrators because in the rational choice theory, a criminal wants to seek the benefits from the act with the least amount of punishment. The turnout for unintended consequences are not high, however the concerns still prove that displacement can occur and using current SCP may reduce a higher percentage in the future. Conclusion Without the hard work performed by researches, investigators, and academic scholars the study of rational choice theory and its assistance in situational crime prevention (SCP) may not have been explored. SCP is an important and useful tool in the prevention of crime. The research and studies mentioned in this manuscript on the prevention of crime have been reviewed in all types of criminal offenses. The SCP techniques have assisted in giving steps to maintain order in riot situations, white collar crime and women passenger travel using public transportation. These SCP techniques may prevent criminal activity in places that offenders deem easier to victimize individuals but it does not deter criminals from seeking pleasure in other venues that are not affected by preventive solutions. References Beauregard, E., Rossmo D. K., Proulx, J. (2007). A descriptive model of the hunting process of serial sex offenders: A rational choice perspective. Journal of Family Violence. 22(6). 449-463. Retrieved October 20, 2010 from ProQuest database. Bowers, J. K., Johnson, D. S., Hirschfield, G. F. A. (2004). Closing off opportunities for crime: An evaluation of alley-gating. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. 10.285-308. Retrieved on October 15, 2010 from ProQuest database. Center for Problem Oriented Policing (2010). Twenty five techniques of situational prevention. Retrieved January 12, 2010 from http://www.popcenter.org/25techniques/. Cromwell, P., Alexander, G., Dotson, P. (2008). Crime and incivilities in libraries: Situational crime prevention strategies for thwarting biblio-bandits and problem patrons. Security Journal. 21. 147-158. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from ProQuest database. Cullen, T. F., Agnew, R. (2006). Criminological Theory: Past to present, 3rd edition. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company. Innes, B. (2003). Profile of a criminal mind: How psychological profiling helps solve true crimes. Pleasantville, NY/Montreal: Reader ¿Ã‚ ½s Digest Association, Inc. Kane, M. (2008). A Guide for a Safe and Crime-Free Holiday. Thrive Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2010 from Mountain State University. Ratcliffe, J. (2006). Video surveillance of public places. Washinton D. C.: U. S. Department of Justice. Schmalleger, Frank (2006). ¿Ã‚ ½ Criminology today: An integrative introduction, 4th edition. ¿Ã‚ ½ Columbus, OH: ¿Ã‚ ½ Prentice Hall. Smith, M. J. (2008). Addressing the security needs of women passengers on public transport. Security Journal. 21. 117-133. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from ProQuest database. Vance, N. Trani, B. (2008). Situational prevention and the reduction of white collar crime. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics. 9-18. Retrieved September 18, 2010 from ProQuest database. Verma, A. (2007). Anatomy of riots: A situational crime prevention approach. Crime Prevention and Community Safety. 9. 201-221. Retrieved September 20, 2010 from ProQuest database.

Essay --

Once considered taboo, tattoos have shed the social outcast stigma once associated with getting inked. One might even say tattoos have become trendy. The ancient art form traces back 4,000 years to the Egyptians. The oldest mummy ever found –dating back to the Bronze Age of Europe – had 59 tattoos. Tattoos have adorned the arms of kings, queens and czars, representing power and wealth. King Harold of England’s body was identified on a battleground by his tattoo, which featured the name Edith inscribed over his heart. King Edward VII of England had a dragon on his forearm. In Great Britain, tattoos were a sacred familial ritual as the Danes, Norse and Saxon tattooed their family crests on their chests. Tattooing spread in the United States as a way to memorialize fallen soldiers during the Civil War. Tattoos’ elite status symbol plummeted in 1891 when Samuel O’Reilly patented his tattoo machine in New York. Tattoos, which were previously available only to the upper class, became popular with the general public. By the early 1900s, tattoos became associated with the lower class,...

Cleopatra Essay example -- essays research papers

History is full of reputable individuals. The stories of their lives will forever live in our history books. Whether being remembered for their strength, courage, or honor, or even for their treachery, we remember those who came before us. If one character could stand out in Egyptian history, none other would be so worthy as Cleopatra would. Cleopatra was an intelligent, political, and ambitious woman who changed the history of Egypt. She was only seventeen years old when, by the will of her father, Ptolemy XI, she was forced to inherit and share the throne of Egypt with her twelve year old brother, Ptolemy XII. In accordance to Egyptian law, the two were also married. Disagreement between the two began early in their reign. Julius Caesar, seizing the opportunity to take over Ptolemy's forces during this moment of weakness, soon defeated the young king and befriended Cleopatra. She had wanted the throne to herself, believing that she was "the successor of the pharaohs and like them descended from the sun god Ra. (CAV 166)" Egypt and Cleopatra are terms so closely related they are almost synonymous. However, Cleopatra did not have any Egyptian blood in her; she was purely Greek. Cleopatra would become the last ruler of the Ptolemy dynasty, which was founded by Alexander the Great, a Macedonian general who strived to unite the East and West under one great empire. Cleopatra wish...

Blood In Macbeth Essay -- essays research papers

William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is about a struggle for power in Scotland. Macbeth, the main character, gets prophecies from three witches about his future accomplishments that will come to him. One of his prophecies is that Macbeth will become king, Macbeth hearing this he becomes ambitious and later kills the current King Duncan, making himself the new king. A tragic ending comes to Macbeth when the people leave him and his world collapses around him. Blood is a recurring theme in this play; the theme of blood shows the setting of the play at that time and the different moods and emotions acquired by the characters. This idea of blood in the characters mind reverse from the beginning of the play to the end. Blood traverses the play Macbeth.King Duncan is the first to bring up blood in the play. Scotland at this time is fighting Norway; Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, lead the Scottish forces to victory. The blood brought up by Duncan shows the honor and the heroic deeds done by Macbeth. "What bloody man is that?" Duncan asked to which Malcolm tells him it is the sergeant who had saved him and fought honorably. The sergeant shares his story of how Macbeth has fought so honorably even outnumbered "carv’d out his passage." This valiant story with the bloody sergeant being weak from his war injuries enhances Macbeth’s heroic appearance. Duncan’s response to the story shows his respect for Macbeth and realization of Macbeth’s honor, "O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!" Blood as it shows the good also shares the evil.Lady Macbeth portrays the evil side that blood offers to contrast with the good. Lady Macbeth hears from a messenger that the king shall arrive at the castle tonight. Lady Macbeth is the evil one of the pair while Macbeth seems full of good in this world Lady Macbeth sees opportunity. The only problem she finds wrong with herself is that she is a woman; she wishes that her weak female body change, "unsex me her, / and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full/ of direst cruelty!" With this change she wants her blood to become thick, thick blood would help Lady Macbeth become strong and let her kill without regret, "make thick my blood, / stop up th’ access and passage to remorse." Macbeth soon finds out what the word blood is to him.Macbeth after he has killed Duncan is in shock, h... ...ks, her maid and a doctor observe her. She rubs her hands together as if she was washing them. She continues to "wash" King Duncan’s blood away until she reminds herself of the bell she rang to summon her husband. "Out damned spot! out, I say!" When Lady Macbeth thought of Macbeth being king she thought that no one could oppose his power and killing Duncan wouldn’t cause any harm to her. "What need we fear who knows it, what none can call our power to account? —Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?" She although adds that Duncan has a lot of blood and this reminds her of her guilt. This guilt plagues her and she is devastated in her dream when she realizes that, "Here’s the smell of blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." Lady Macbeth’s perspective changed at this point on blood and she will later commit suicide.Imagery is a useful tool used by many authors. Shakespeare used "blood" as an image throughout his play to show the emotions and actions of characters as well as the mood for that part of the play. This imagery is useful because it describes the characters

Computer Laboratory Monitoring System Essay

Introduction Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information as a project progress. It is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a project or organization. It is based on targets set and activities planned during the planning phases of work. It helps to keep the works on track and can let management know when things are going wrong. If done properly, it is an invaluable tool for good management, and it provides a useful base of evaluation. It enables in determining whether the available resources are sufficient and are being well used, whether the capacity is sufficient and appropriate and whether doing the planned to do. Under monitoring we look at the process on organization could go through to design a monitoring system (Shapiro, 2008). Monitoring system is now in need by businesses and other industry. The system is introduces because of the arising problems and needs of different industries when it comes to maintenance of their facilities or equipments. With the use of such monitoring system, as explained by CMC industrial Electronics, operational efficiency is ensured. A lot of time delaying errors such as mechanical, human or Symantec errors will be avoided. Efficiency is also the key in allowing the company to evolve and develop. As the saying, being too careful will provide quality service that everyone would want, but it would take up a lot of time. By having a monitoring system to follow, the company is able to save time and provide maximum assistance and satisfaction to all the employees and clients. In education, the computer laboratory is usually monitored, Due to the high number of computers in a lab; technicians are having difficulties in monitoring computers. Institutions implement proper maintenance of computer laboratories with the help of a monitoring system. Iowa State University is an example. There are many computer labs on campus, including both public labs and college department labs. Public labs are accessible to everyone at the university, funded by the student computer fee paid by all students and managed by the Computation Advisory Committee (CAC). Iowa State University  uses monitoring system wherein problem experienced with hardware or software in a computer laboratory can be reported online. Computer laboratory monitoring system helps the instructors and the laboratory administrators to check and monitor all the hardware and software components of each computer inside a certain laboratory. Most of the computer laboratories are usually monitored in a manual way, they uses a logbook to list all their findings in a certain laboratory then an in charge person will confirm all the findings and make a solutions for the problems (Adamson, 2010). A computer laboratory, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster (a term also used for server clusters) is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use. Computer labs can be found in libraries, schools, government buildings, science labs, community centers, companies with IT departments that requires such a place for their employees to do their jobs, and research centers. They are distinct from Internet cafes in that the usage of the computer lab is typically free for those with access. Printers, scanners, and other peripherals may augment the lab setup. Inside a computer laboratory room, students are able to apply the things they have learned during their lecture classes. A learning procedure called â€Å"Hands-on† is needed so that students can apply all the things that they’ve learned during their lecture. This computer hands-on can open the mind of the students to help them to face the civilization in real world, it’s like an office training where in the instructors are the bosses and the students are the employees, these employees must accomplish a certain task given by their boss. This will serve as their preparation before they are going to the real field in work (Otis, 2010). Nowadays, it is very visible that gadgets are everywhere. People use these gadgets in their daily life. Old man or young man, poor or rich people have their own gadgets specifically a cell phone. Most of the people depend on their phone not only in communicating but in other way just like the applications installed on it. Some of these cell phone applications are used  by the students, and some of these applications are made for school stuffs for their work. School stuff such as class instructors is using an application to do his work easier. According to Bucki (2010), a mobile device is a generic term used to refer to a variety of devices that allow people to access data and information from where ever they are. This includes cell phones and portable devices.According to an article in the website of ITBusinessEdge, an IT Business Edge Site, a mobile phone is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network. By contrast, a cordless telephone is used only within the short range of a single, private base station. In addition to telephony, modern mobile phones also support a wide variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming and photography. Mobile phones that offer these and more general computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones. In this study, the reseachers are going to develop and design a Colegio de Dagupan Computer Laboratory Monitoring System using Mobile Technology to improve the existing process in monitoring and recording the status of each computer laboratory. Colegio de Dagupan, formerly Computronix College, was first established as a computer-electronics training center offering short term courses in computer programming and repairs. The institution provides different colleges and one of those is the College of Information and Computing Studies. The CHED also awarded the college as one of the Center of Development in Information Technology last 2007. Since the institution offers computer related courses, it provides computer laboratories for the students. Colegio de Dagupan uses the manual way of recording the result in monitoring their computer laboratories. The instructor uses a computer laboratory report form in reporting computer laboratory problem then submits the form to the technician to repair what has been reported however if the technician  can’t solve the problem he will consult the administrator to find solutions and fix the problem accordingly. The technician will submit the report forms to be noted by the administrator then record the data at the logbook. Using their manual process, problems are encountered such as time consuming in requesting computer resource problems, delayed action in fixing computer problems, time-consuming, inefficient and unreliability in preparing technicians report. CdD-CLMS using Mobile Technology is necessary in Colegio de Dagupan in order to have a centralized repository for the problem reports about hardware and software defects and other problems they encounter. It will enable them to monitor the most problems occur, about hardware defects and other peripheral devices inside the computer laboratories and the causes. Assuming that all computer laboratory IT instructors are using android phones for reporting purposes The mobile serves as the main device for creating a report regarding computer laboratory problems and assuming that the router used by the school has a large network coverage. The router serves as a bridge to provide a connection between the Android phone and the server. Conceptual framework In order to organize the way on how and why a project takes place and to understand its activities, prior research will be conducted. The developer has developed a conceptual framework that will be use to map and assess the research findings. The framework shown in Figure 1 identifies the inputs, activities or processes, the output and it shows the expected relationship among these components. The diagram of the framework summarizes how the study resumed to work. The input contains the existing manual process of Colegio de Dagupan in terms of monitoring computer laboratories, the hardware and software requirements in the development of the system and the functional requirements from the stakeholders. The process includes the methodology used which is the RAD Methodology. By the use of this method, the proposed project will yield a faster, reliable and high-quality system that will meet the needs of the clients and users.