how chlorophyll makes glucose essays

how chlorophyll makes glucose essays Chlorophyll is the green pigment inside of plants that give them their characteristic green color. Chlorophyll absorbs violet -blue and orange- red light from the sun needed for photosynthesis. Composed mostly of carbon and hydrogen it is a necessary compound used in the complex process that allows for much of the human life on earth to take place. Photosynthesis is the procedure by which green plants use the energy of light to convert carbon dioxide and water into the simple sugar known as glucose. In the process it creates breathable oxygen and depletes poisonous carbon dioxide. Without chlorophyll there would not be enough oxygen to sustain life on earth, nor would the be much of the sweetness that you taste in todays food. All this is thanks to chlorophyll and the product it creates called glucose which is made through photosynthesis. The main place in which plant photosynthesis occurs is in green leaves and stems within specialized cell structures called chloroplasts in plants. Chloroplasts occur in most cells of a green plant that are exposed to light. One leaf which contains tens of thousands of cells can contain hundreds of thousands of chloroplast. Photosynthesis relies on flows of energy and electrons initiated by light energy. Photosynthesis begins when light strikes pigments in the leaf and excites their electrons. Next during photosynthesis carbon dioxide enters the stomata, a small opening inside the leaf which allows air to move in and out of the leaf. Chloroplasts in the cells of the plant convert solar energy into chemical energy contained in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Meanwhile carbon dioxide and water from oxygen combine to form glucose a type of simple sugar. Fresh oxygen then leaves from the stomata and glucose dissolved by water is then carried throughout the plant transported by veins. The glucose is finally used as energy an...

12 Things You Should Never Say At Work

12 Things You Should Never Say At Work At work, we sometimes speak without thinking especially when feeling stressed or overwhelmed. The words being said can be taken out of context and can get you on bad terms with both your employer and co-workers. Here are 12 things you should never  say at work and the alternative of what you should  say instead.Source [ Headway Capital ]

Tattoo Discrimination in the Workplace Annotated Bibliography

Tattoo Discrimination in the Workplace - Annotated Bibliography Example These associations and stereotypes may, however, not be particularly useful as generation Y moves into the workplace – this generation has a more general relationship with tattoos and other body modifications (Hawkes, Senn & Thorn, 2004). Additionally, research shows that almost a quarter of individuals between 18 and 50 living in the U.S. have at least one tattoo (Kosut, 2000), meaning that employers that are restrictive on this front may be losing out on a significant proportion of the potential workforce. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current research on appearance in the workplace, with a particular focus on tattoos and other body modifications to uncover if and why tattoos are looked down upon in the professional workplace. Additionally, a focus will be held on what employers can do to become less discriminatory towards those with tattoos and why this move may be desirable or even essential. Overall, an analysis of workplace-related literature suggests that whilst tattoos and piercings are becoming more common overall, there is still a high degree of workplace discrimination with respect to body modification. The history of tattoos is an interesting one. The term â€Å"tattoo† refers to the use of indelible ink to insert a permanent (or sometimes semi-permanent) design into the dermis of the skin (Trautner & Kwan, 2010). This practice has several origins within several cultures, and can still be found amongst indigenous hunter-gatherer populations today (Trautner & Kwan, 2010). However, many believe that the origin of tattoos comes from either Polynesian tribes or Ancient Japanese culture (Trautner & Kwan, 2010), and many tattoos found in popular culture today draw their roots from these traditions.

Leadership and Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership and Management - Assignment Example Conflict in business organizations is a common phenomenon that can arise from various reasons and in between different members of the organization, be it between the leaders and the employees, among the co-workers, or between the organizational members and the customers (Ingram 2013). Need for conflict management through effective leadership and management is thus highly essential for every business organization. The present study focuses on an understanding of conflict handling in business organizations through effective leadership and management, based on a scenario of conflict in a chosen business organization. Scenario: ABC Company Limited is a software company performing more than a decade and has successfully achieved its position in BPOs and software development companies. The financial and technical background of the company is very strong and the skilled manpower of the company is focused on to providing its customers with the best of software products and services. Thus com mitment and goodwill are two essential factors that the management team of the company takes significant concern of. A, B, C, D and E are the members of the organization and hold different positions. ... According to E, while B provided them with all instructions for the completion of the project they were working on, D was arrogant and acting as a boss when B was not around. E also complained that D treated E in a manner as if E was working under D and not as another team member. E was highly disappointed and wanted to get out of the particular project as he thought he was nothing less in capabilities than D, and that if B was the project head, E was only supposed to follow B. A found that the project should not get hindered for any such conflicts among the members, and asked B and C to immediately resolve all issues, such that the work on the project could continue. Since the completion of the project was very important, B and C decided to separate D and E, and put E on a different project, where the other member working was new in the company, and hence were expected not to create any issue. The interactions between the members are provided in Appendix A. Conflict Handling  œ Management Theories: Conflicts in business organizations, as the above mentioned scenario describes, occur when two or more individuals working together differ in their behavior and attitudes that are reflected in their opinions and actions, affecting the others. Conflicts in interpersonal relationships need to be handled strategically otherwise which the relations might be affected, affecting the organizational goals as a whole. It is extremely essential that organizational employees have respect for each other (Managing Conflict in Interpersonal Relationship at Workplace 2013). The Conflict Process: There are usually many stages that complete the conflict process. Sources lead to the conflict that is followed by different

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine Essay Example for Free

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine Essay The conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the annual gas transactions and dealings has been mostly intermittent. This presents the gravity of the matter, alongside the fact that the conflict has mainly been seen to transcend the two parties so as to largely affect European countries that heavily rely on this gas. The negative effect of the war stems from the fact that the gas is clearly seen to be Russian, and the transiting route for this gas is Ukraine. Substantial lists of those countries that are hurting as a result of this state of affair are the actual EU member states and the potential EU member states. The situation at the moment continues to aggravate, given the fact that these countries are in the verge of facing an acute disruption of oil supply, a situation that experts such as Adamski, Johnson and Schweiss (2006)[1] say is likely to culminate into a dearth in security in energy supply. This state of affair only means that European Union is to undergo a lot of repercussions and has a lot of vested interests in the ongoing discussions on the common energy policy. At the moment, it is true that the incumbent conflict has placed the issue of solidarity among the EU member states into the limelight. Herein, there is a rush being made at a full throttle by EU nations to ensure a steady supply of gas individually so as to ward off cases of disruptions. Similarly, these countries in Europe are trying to ensure redistribution from non affected member states, to those that are affected. However, the tenability of this rule is called to questions severally, owing to the diversity of interests that the member states have. Apart from the above effects, sundry types of effects the gas clamor has wrought on European countries are addressed heretofore. Bilateral and Multilateral suspicion among European nations and the plummeting of Gas Supply It can be said with some degree of lucidity that the Russian- Ukrainian conflict has taken a new twist into this affair that is causing spiraling degree of tension in the entire Europe. January 6th 2008 marked a new phase in this affair as the chief Ukrainian gas company, Naftogaz accused publicly, the Russian gas giant, Gazprom of making cuts to Europe by at least two-thirds.   As a rebuttal to this, the deputy Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev, made stark indictments of the Ukrainian government for having shut down, at least three fourths of its export pipelines (Carr, 2007)[2]. At the moment, the underlying issue is that Russia has assuaged the level of supply for her natural gas, meaning that two-fifths of EU’s total gas imports have been extirpated. Because of this, predominantly Eastern European countries remaining dependent on Russian imports have remained consistently susceptible to questionings over energy dependence. Similarly, EU has been grilled too, on the account that its policy makers have always talked of finding and securing recourse to Russian gas continually without any achievement to show for it. On a domestic front, since January 6th, Eastern Europe countries have remained subjected to gas rationing, following announcements by the OMV, an Austrian energy company that its daily supply of natural gas had plummeted by 10%. According to LeCoq and Paltseva (2008)[3], this was followed by Romania reporting a reduction in natural gas supplies by 75%, followed by Hungary’s 25%, and Bulgaria’s 15%.   In the same vein, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Poland reported diminishing amounts of gas supply, albeit on a smaller scale. Stalling Growth of the European Countries’ Economy It is pointed out by political scientists and economists such as Scott (2009)[4] that the present standoff over gas between Ukraine and Russia is only bound aggravate the economic crunch in countries of Eastern Europe. This is because; many of these countries are presently facing exorbitant prices in fuel commodities too: a situation that means that even the cost of electric power has skyrocketed of late. The above state of affair, leading to high cost of production, only means that commodity prices are also likely to take a nosedive. These glaring facts are well underscored by the fact that Slovakia announced on January 7th 2009, that it was facing a state of emergency, due to dwindling reserves. Similarly, whereas Hungary can barely breathe due to stifled gas consumption by industrial users, Croatia, Turkey and Slovenia now have their gas supplies totally severed.   Nonetheless, according to Pierre Noel’s calculations, the most affected countries are: Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Hungary (Scott, Ibid). Stunted Development in the Industrial Sector It is pointed out by economists such as Lacolizado (2003)[5] that the current situation is also likely to subject a lot of Eastern European countries to industrial stagnation. This development comes in the wake of the revelation that smaller countries in Eastern Europe are witnessing foreclosures in the industrial sector, following two reasons: the minimal and deficient supply of gas in the oil- dependent industrial sector; and the rising prices in gas and gas products, owing to the miniscule supply and the increased demand. As a state, Slovakia remains the most express epitome of the above scenario, as it is making indictments over the dwindling reserves that has entrenched a state of emergency in this country.   Hungary also reports inefficient industrial supply of gas in the industrial sector, as a factor that has inculcated retrogressive tendencies in the industrial sector. Loss of Credibility by the EU One of the issues that undercut the continual standoff between Russia and Ukraine is the fact that EU itself cannot come to the rescue of many nations in this situation, given the fact that although having a clear grasp on what the oil war portends, yet, EU lacks the moral authority to â€Å"correct† either side. Neither can EU simply coerce Ukraine to resume transportation, nor can it side with Ukraine against Russia. In 2006, EU which has been supporting Ukraine traditionally as a fledgling democracy; accused Russia of political patronage and espionage towards Ukraine (Scott, Op ct). Apart from the fact that pushing Russia to resume oil transportation and supply would confirm fears of EU’s lopsidedness against Russia, EU knows so well that the current impasse is not due to Russia’s machinations. Compelling Ukraine to resume her gas transit obligations would hurt her as a democratic and economic youngling.   The only recourse left for EU is to keep issuing general statements and to keep calling sides for negotiations. It is by the virtue of this EU’s apparent failure that it scored a mere 33% in 2008 in votes from citizens in EU member countries, as far as its credibility is concerned. Conclusion By extension of the above Eastern Europe gas crises, researches point out that in the next decade, the world is going to witness an intensified wave of dependency on major powers in Eastern Europe by relatively smaller economies such as Lithuania, Latvia, Turkey, Slovenia and Poland. These major powers in the Eastern block are bound to be only two- Germany and Russia. This is because, Russia herself monopolizes the supply of gas, while Germany on the other hand, has a separate energy deal with Russia. Apart from the fact that these two countries are the most developed in Eastern Europe, their accessibility to gas while their neighbors suffer lack, is bound to widen the industrial chasm between these two sides. References Adamski, J., Johnson, M. and Schweiss, C. (2006). The Evolution of Europe and New Security Threat. Colorado: Ashgate Publishing. Carr, A. (2007). The Gas Conflict in Europe. California: University of California. Europa Publications. (1999). The Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe. Europa Publications. Lacolizado, A., et al (2003). The Position of Russia in Eastern Europe. New York: Rutledge. LeCoq, A. and Paltseva, P. (2008). Ascertaining Security and External Supplies in the EU. Retrieved From: http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:LZaiqxBpVawJ:www2.hhs.se/site/policybriefs/Russia_Ukraine%2520comment.pdf+HOW+THE+GAS+CONFLICT+IN+RUSSIA+AND+NEAR+COUNTRIES+AFFECTED+EUROPEcd=2hl=enct=clnkgl=ke Scott, M. (Jan 6th 2009). Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Besets Europe: Business Week. Retrieved From: http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:MM8_mTzwy2QJ:www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/europeinsight/archives/2009/01/russia-ukraine.html+HOW+THE+GAS+CONFLICT+IN+RUSSIA+AND+NEAR+COUNTRIES+AFFECTED+EUROPEcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=ke

Black Friday: Tornado In Canada :: essays research papers

Black Friday: Tornado in Canada "The roof was caving in and I thought I was going to die. It was like your worst nightmare!" said Mary Grandish. Most people think they will die when they see,or hear of a tornado heading their way. Although all the details of the formation of a tornado are not yet understood, it is known that tornados are the result of great instability in the atmosphere and often appear during severe thunderstorms (see appendix #1 for a scientific explaination on how it really starts). Strong updrafts present in severe thunderstorms result in a rotational momentum. Falling rain and/or snow probably drags air from aloft when it comes falling down. The combination of severe thunderstorms and sweltering heat are the breeding grounds for a tornados' formation. The first sign of a tornado is a strong dust whirlwind along with a funnel growing from the storm cloud. A more organized funnel descends farther from the cloud, sometimes even touching the ground. Funnel winds generally move counterclockwise and the funnel can move slowly or at about 100/ft per second. Eventually the tornado becomes fragmented and dissipates causing the end of the tornado. Tornados are the cause of great destruction and devistation in the area in which they occur. For example the Tri-State Tornado of 1925 occured in the Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas States. This tornado was one of the largest tornados recorded in history. It killed nearly 625 people. However, the tornado which strikes closest to home has occured on what Canadians have come to know as "BLACK FRIDAY". The tornado of "Black Friday" touched down on July 31st, 1987 at 2:59 pm. (See appendix #2 for the torndo path). (See appendix #'s 4&5 for maps locating the disaster sights). 27 people were killed; 25 people died during the tornado and 2 died later in the hospital. Hundreds of other people were injured and thousands were left homeless. Edmontonians faced a horrible natural phenomenon which destroyed homes, farms, and businesses. (See appendix #3 for a picture of what it looked like after the tornado struck up the street). More than 25 auto dealers faced a loss of more than $100,000 worth of cars, which were struck by hail measurihg at up to 10 inches in circumference. Not only were auto dealers' cars affected, but many other privately owned cars were damaged to varying degrees. The Kennedale storm sewer overloaded and outfall collapsed, which caused many people to call in complaining of flooded basements. Damage estimites were listed at between $150-$300 million dollars. $20 million dollars damage was done to Evergreen Mobile Home Trailer Park; $50-$70 million dollars

American and Latino cultures Essay

What did I think the differences between American and Latino cultures are? For me personally, I don’t have any kind of experience with Latino people and Latino culture, but I had several thoughts about the Latino culture that I got from the media. About relationships in Latino culture, I always thought that relationships outside marriage are not acceptable especially for women, and of course I thought that any kind of freedom that is related to sexual activities like homosexuality is not acceptable. But in American culture, relashionships outside marriage could be accepted and homosexuality is an accepted fact for many Americans as America is a liberated country. For family in Latino culture, I used to think that Latinos in general are connected with their family members just like any traditional culture. But in American culture it is common that there are no close relationships between family members in general, and there is no high respect for the parents and many times people don’t see their families for a very long time. What I found after reading about differences between the two cultures? After reading, I found that there are many differences between the two cultures about family, relationships and religion. Firstly, the difference between American culture and Latino culture appears most obviously in family relationships. In Latino culture family bond is a very significant fact, and in contrast to the American culture the family in Latino culture is very bonded and includes† all relatives, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and padrinos (godparents)† (Beltran 23). Latinos feel safe in surrounding strong family bonds, Latinos usually return to their families in times of problems and they don’t commonly believe in including other parties to try to solve their problems because Latinos are raised to be committed to the family for life time (Beltran 23). According to what L. Michele Henline says in â€Å"Exploring the Latino Culture†, family has a unique structure in Latino culture because â€Å"Within the extended family, each member has a role. The grandparents have wisdom, the mother has abnegation, the father has responsibility, children should be obedient and godparents are to be resourceful†. But in American culture there is no focusing on strong family bonds, but personal life is what Americans mostly focus on with no big depending on the family role (Beltran 23). Secondly, there is a difference between the image and the rule of men and women in life between both cultures. The role of women in Latino culture is anything that is generally done inside the house like cleaning, cooking food, sweeping and taking care of children (Beltran 24). But the role of men is to earn money for living for their families and they are the highest authorities in their families, no one does anything without consulting the father. But nowadays this side of Latino culture is affected because of the financial problems that they face as well as the fact that women started to become workers (Beltran 24). In Latino culture as L. Michele Henline says in â€Å"Exploring the Latino Culture† men have so much power over women. Latino men have an image of a powerful male; they are the face of their families and they give their families everything they need in life. According to what L. Michele Henline says in â€Å"Exploring the Latino Culture†, in Latino culture it is not a wrong thing for a man to assault his wife physically, and most of times it is not safe for a woman to go to the police and tell them if her husband assaulted her because she† will be punished again by their spouse†. And also L. Michele Henline says in â€Å"Exploring the Latino Culture† that women in Latino culture are leaded by their men; they should be faithful, always obey them and take care of their homes and children. But in American culture there is no much big difference between men and women, taking care of home and earning money for household are jobs that could be done by a man or a woman because in American culture men and women are equal. Thirdly, the difference between the two cultures in social relationships can be seen in the fact that in Latino culture people in general make social connections, through these connections they take care of each other. They have so much respect and commitment to each other, sharing each other’s feelings, preferring others over themselves and they have so much awareness of the special space of the single individual (Beltran 24) Fourthly, there is a big difference between the two cultures when it comes to the religion. Latinos are usually committed to religion as it is a part of their culture and religion for them is a relationship between a person and God (Beltran 25). But in American culture many people don’t involve religion in their lives, and there are even people who don’t have religion and don’t believe in God. And there is even a difference when it comes to religious people as religion in American culture is not just a relationship between a person and God but it is also an â€Å"institutional† relationship (Beltran 25). What’s my reaction to what I’ve read? What I’ve read about Latino culture matches what I thought about them. Despite all the negativities in Latino culture like their violent nature, they have so many positive things that make Latino culture better than American culture in some sides like their high positive spirituals and their connected families. Despite all negativities in different cultures the difference between cultures in the world is not a bad thing, but it represents the variety in everything in this world. Works Cited Henline, Michele L. â€Å"Exploring the Latino Culture. † February 2000. Arizona School of Professional Psychology. 15 April 2008 Irma, Beltran S. THE RELATION OF CULTURE TO DIFFERENCES IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND COPING STRATEGIES: MEXICAN AMERICANS AND EUROPEAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS. Texas: U of Texas, 2005.

Intelligence oversight Essay

Introduction: MEK Overview The Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) is also known as the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI). MEK has been sporadically active in attempting to overthrow the Iranian government since the early 1960s, and its members have used a variety of tactics to achieve their political ends including political campaigning, subversion, and violent attacks targeting civilians. Due in part to their targeting of American civilians living in Iran during the 1970s and their support of Saddam Hussein, the United States State Department has listed MEK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. In October 2012, the U.S. State Department will decide whether to remove MEK from the FTO list based on MEK’s denouncing terrorist tactics and devotion to diplomatic means to gain power versus violent attacks (Masters 2012). Origins, Ideology and Goals MEK was born out of a student-group resistance to Shah Pahlavi in 1965. The founding members of MEK in Tehran regarded the Shah as a U.S. puppet, and they felt that his westernization of Iran went against Iran’s traditional Islamic values. They believed in a violent overthrow of the Shah to return Iran to Islamic rule. In 1979, the group aligned itself with Ayatollah Khomeini in hopes that it could run for office after Shah Pahlavi’s exile, but Ayatollah Khomeini succeeded in overthrowing the Shah and he crushed any opposition to his new government. Since 1979, MEK has been trying to gain the opportunity to run for office in Iran’s government by shifting alliances and violently attacking the forces, which have prevented its political ambitions (Goulka 2009). In 2003, the group publically denounced violence in an attempt to foster global political support, but its place on the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list is blocking it from achieving its desired glob al support. According to MEK, it has â€Å"strived for freedom and human rights, first against the despotic reign of Shah, and now the theocratic tyranny of the ayatollahs† (MEK n.d.). It is â€Å"an anti-fundamentalist Muslim  organization which believes in a democratic, progressive, and tolerant interpretation of Islam, according to which elections and public suffrage are the sole indicators of political legitimacy. The PMOI endeavors for a secular, democratic, and non-nuclear republic, and is committed to free elections, gender equality, and abolition of all discrimination against national and religious minorities† (MEK n.d.) â€Å"Non-nuclear† is a key consideration for the United States and other western powers. Iran has increasingly taunted the world with its nuclear program and refuses to deescalate military tensions. In bold statements of aggression, in 2012 alone, Iran has announced two new missiles, an air defense site, and a fleet of ultra-fast gun boats designe d to zip into battle against larger western fleets. In a twist of fate, MEK’s future may lie in the hands of the United States. The United States has until October 1, 2012 to decide if it will delist MEK from the FTO. If MEK is delisted it will enjoy much more freedom of movement around the world and it will be able to legally receive funds from U.S. based sympathizers. It is not unreasonable to think that the U.S. will delist MEK in an effort to undermine the Iranian Government, much like Saddam Hussein offered MEK a home in 1986 to undermine Iran during the Iran Iraq war. Leadership, Funding and Capabilities Most of MEK’s original leadership was arrested and executed in 1971, but Massoud Rajavi escaped death and remains a leader of MEK. Though he has not been seen publicly since 2003, his wife, Maryam Rajavi, â€Å"is the public face of the MEK in her role as president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran† (Jones 2012). In the past four decades the group has used several methods to raise funds for its campaign. Some methods have made the group infamous and add to the list of reasons that the U.S. and several other nations have classified it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. MEK has long been skilled in deception and has used that skill to affect its fund raising efforts. For example, its solicitation of funds for Iranian refugees, child welfare, and children’s medical services proven to be fraudulent (FBI n.d.). Until 2003, MEK had a substantial armory due to its previous relationship  with Saddam Hussein. Its inventory often included artillery, tanks, aircraft, rocket launchers, rifles, mortars, shells, rockets, land mines, and bullets (FBI n.d.). In 2003, the United States bombed MEK camps and bunkers based on their relationship to Saddam Hussein and the idea that they posed a significant threat with their armaments. MEK members no longer have easy access to such large stockpiles of arms. MEK is now facing deportation from its Iraqi camp Ashraf and remains disarmed. Operating Bases, Support Bases, Strengths MEK has moved its headquarters over the years as a necessary part of survival. Originally founded in Tehran, it moved to Paris after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The group had allied with the Ayatollah Khomeini, but Khomeini forced the group out in fear of opposition. In 1986 Saddam Hussein invited the group to relocate to camp Ashraf. Iraq was at war with Iran, and relocating the group from Paris to Iraq was Hussein’s method of undermining Iran. At the start of the U.S. led war in Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom, the group was classified as enemy combatants and subsequently confined to Camp Ashraf, where approximately 3,000 MEK now live (Carter 2011). The new government of Iraq has declared that all members of MEK must leave the country, and the U.N. is currently working to resettle the group elsewhere. For the moment MEK enjoys limited support from sympathizers around the world, but it is stateless which is both a strength and a weakness. The U.N., citing international law, will not allow the Iraqi government to force members to leave Iraq or force repatriation until members have a suitable place to live. This predicament brings MEK some publicity and sympathy for their cause, but Iraq’s determination to expel MEK could not have occurred at a worse time. With June 2013 elections nearing, increasing tension with western military powers, and an imminent Israeli preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear targets, MEK leadership must act swiftly to ensure its place in the 2013 elections. PART II – RED TEAM ANALYSIS Why Use Red Team Analysis? Given the complex dynamics of the Iranian situation, analysts should use  the Red Team Analysis technique in order to best predict what course(s) of action MEK leadership will take to assume control of the government. By empathizing with the MEK leadership analysts can gain better insight to most likely courses of action. The end state of this analytic technique is to provide Congress and the President with an accurate forecast of MEK’s courses of action so that the United States may apply the appropriate short and long term foreign policy in the Middle East. Since MEK desires a peaceful, tolerant Iran that can only be legitimized via free elections and public suffrage, it cannot take control of the nation by force. Therefore, MEK’s options are limited and it must patiently await the 2013 elections regardless of the growing concern of military action and economic sanctions. As President Ahmadinejad continues to escalate military tension with western nations and Israel, through missile, nuclear, and naval programs (Torbati 2012). MEK leadership must carefully calculate how to win popular Iranian support, world support, and financial backing – all without ever appearing to be influenced by western powers as previous Iranian leaders had. Restate Current MEK Goals Red Team Analysis must begin with placing oneself in the shoes of MEK leadership. The key to determining any viable course of action is to outline clear goals or milestones. With clear goals, analysts can categorize what actions and strategies are available and likely. According to MEK’s official website, its current goals, rather, solution to the western-Iranian strife is to â€Å"rid the region and the world of the nightmare of the Islamic fundamentalists armed with nuclear weapons [by] democratic change in Iran by the people and the Resistance† (Rajavi 2010). This stated goal remains largely unchanged from its 1970s goal. The main difference now is that MEK is more tolerant of western aid, albeit, so long as they do not become overly influenced by it. Key Assumptions Check Paramount to the analytic process is a key assumptions check. This step allows analysts to clearly document the start point of their cognitive map as well as allowing time to consider information that challenges cognitive  biases. The key assumptions must be listed in such a way that analysts feel like MEK leaders would if trying to decide how to realize their stated goal of taking control of the Iranian government. Below is a list of key assumptions in this Red Team Analysis. Previous Failures. All previous attempts to control government have failed beginning with the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. This assumption is critical because the MEK believed the Ayatollah Khomeini was their ally. They were betrayed. They banded together only to be exiled within two years and many members were arrested and executed while Khomeini consolidated power. The experience likely taught MEK to distrust any potential allies within the current regime. History of Violence. During the 1960s the Shah used force and violence against government opposition. Uprisings in the 1970s culminated in the exile of the Shah, but into the 1980s MEK fought the new Iranian government. During the Iraq-Iran war that began in the early 1980s, MEK settled just north of Baghdad and fought a cross border war with the clerical regime for twenty more years. Only at the turn of the century did MEK publicly denounce violence and terrorist tactics. The significance is that, while MEK members are accepting of risk and violence, they have matured and realize that they do not operate in a vacuum. MEK understands the need for global acceptance. HUMINT Value. MEK can offer HUMINT to the U.S. No other organization with detailed knowledge of Iran and its military and political system is willing to provide such information to western powers. The U.S. has had extremely limited success installing or recruiting agents in Iran because of extreme scrutiny that outsiders face, and CIA informants are usually discovered due to poor tradecraft (Hosenball 2011). MEK however, has family, friends, sympathizers and safe houses inside Iran. As well, since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 MEK has received training, equipment and funds to carry out attacks inside Iran and to collaborate with U.S. and Israeli intelligence services (Joshi 2012). MEK’s HUMINT value is possibly the most important aspect for western powers. MEK leadership understands the power they hold and must leverage it wisely. Knowledge of U.S. Tactics Techniques and Procedures. MEK leaders are aware of U.S. TTPs at the small unit tactics level up through executive branch policymaking. They will play on the American and Israeli fears of a nuclear armed Iran while leveraging their HUMINT and political value to affect their delisting from the FTO. Once  delisted they will be able to receive more funding from international sources, thus requiring less U.S. support and will become less responsive to U.S. demands. Western Support: Critical For Financing, Opposite of Ideology Being listed on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization list impedes MEK’s financing efforts. In order to gain power they must be delisted – decade long endeavor thus far. Its members have cooperated with Israeli and U.S. intelligence services since 2003 in an effort to gain support and take over the political regime in Iran, but its original ideology was very much opposed to any western influence. MEK must exercise extreme caution to ensure that the group does not appear to be another puppet regime of the U.S and especially not in collaboration with Israel. If threatened with defeat, the current regime will likely try to depict MEK as a puppet regime, and if the U.S. loses influence it may also try to publicize MEK’s cooperation in an effort to decrease its credibility among Iranians. Enormity of the Situation. MEK is currently stateless. Though the U.N. has petitioned several governments to accept MEK members, most have declined to accept them. With nowhere to go MEK is desperate to gain power in Iran because it belongs to no other state. If they fail the Iranian regime will likely execute them, despite President Ahmadinejad’s amnesty offer. Data Collection Options Of the many collection options the United States has at its disposal, a handful stand out as being the most practical. HUMINT may be the best collection option because it offers an inside look at MEK and the status of the Iranian nuclear and defense programs as well as the mentality and plans of regime leaders. For example, an undercover agent, code named Wally, joined the Revolutionary Guard in the 1980s and gave the CIA plans, ideology, weaponry etc, and he was able to recruit several more members of the Revolutionary Guard to turn informer for the CIA (Zucchino 2012). OSINT is another extremely useful collection option, which can provide detailed atmospherics and help depict the support, or lack thereof, of the general public to the current and possible successor regimes. OSINT can also offer information on Iran’s defensive and offensive capabilities as depicted  in the recent revelation that Iran has cloned a fleet of ultra-fast gun boats. Originally produced in England, the Bradstone Challenger (Bladerunner) is a speedboat with a revolutionary hull design that affords it great stability at high speeds. Iran illicitly purchased a Bladerunner in 2009, reverse engineered the design, and manufactured its own fleet which the Navy modified to launch torpedoes and missiles at full speed. The Bladerunner fleet, combined with â€Å"an array of heavily armed small craft, including unmanned high-speed Ya Mahdi vessels, Bavar 2 flying boats, Seraj-1 high-speed patrol boats and Zolfaghar fast attack craft† (Stock 2012) poses a significant thr eat to the Strait of Hormuz and western naval forces with much larger and slower vessels. SIGINT and MASINT will likely have to wait until military confrontation begins in order to be relevant. MEK’s equipment inventory is very limited, so SIGINT and MASINT should not be a top priority. GEOINT is relevant in that it depicts the correlation of key terrain to strategic targets and political issues. For example, GEOINT can depict which routes MEK would likely take in order to transit to Tehran or flee Iraq in other ways. It also helps answer contingency operation questions such as, â€Å"what if MEK takes control of the military and attempts to hold the Strait of Hormuz ransom?† In a more tactical situation GEOINT can provide detailed dimensions of hideouts and buildings for the U.S. to plan an attack should the need arise. Use of the Intelligence Community The CIA is the best is the best agency to use to handle collection on MEK. The agency has more than half a century of experience in working with sources and is best trained in managing counterintelligence and misinformation techniques. Already, the CIA has worked with MEK members since 2002 when MEK publicized Iran’s underground Uranium enrichment program. Training MEK members in tradecraft techniques and supporting their cross-border subversion tactics allows the CIA to wage a proxy war with Iran while strengthening its relationship and gaining more human intelligence on both MEK and Iran. No other agency within the United States has the resources to foster this type of relationship with MEK. Most Effective Intelligence Analysis Strategies The effective intelligence strategy to use for evaluating MEK and forecasting its actions is to begin with Analysis of Competing Hypotheses and follow those results with the Devil’s Advocacy method. Analysis of Competing Hypotheses. ACH is ideal for evaluating MEK because there are diverse dynamics involved in forecasting MEK actions. Considering that the U.S. must decide to keep or delist MEK from the FTO on October 1, 2012, ACH would provide decision makers with a documented line of reasoning to support an Intelligence Forecast. Devil’s Advocacy. The prevailing consensus in Washington is that MEK has morphed from a militant group to a political group in the past decade and will be a more western friendly regime if it comes to power. But what if MEK is playing the west to gain power now, while secretly planning to spread its 1979 revolutionary ideology across the Middle East and North Africa in an attempt to reestablish Persian dominance? It seems that the west is focu sed first on countering a nuclear threat and second on countering any blocking of the Hormuz Strait. No additional talking points regarding Iran or MEK have received much publicity since 1979. Conclusion MEK is a wild card in the Iran standoff. The United States and other western powers, as well as Israel, must carefully consider how to proceed with MEK relationships. The organization has shown a history of changing allies in order to advance its goals, making it predictable in the sense that they can be counted on to do whatever it takes to survive and take control of the Iranian government. To brush MEK aside may mean dealing with a nuclear armed Iran later, and to support MEK may mean dealing with a provoked Iran now. No matter the decision, each carries its own implications for U.S. foreign policy. Washington must ultimately decide between the lesser of two evils. Bibliography Carter, Chelsea. â€Å"U.N., Iraq agree to temporary relocation of Iranian exiles.† CNN, December 26, 2011. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-26/middleeast/world_meast_iraq-camp-ashraf-re location_1_camp-ashraf-ashraf-residents-mek/2?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST (accessed July 28, 2012). FBI. â€Å"Seven Plead Guilty to Providing Material Support to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.† FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/losangeles/press-releases/2009/la042809a.htm (accessed July 29, 2012). Goulka, Jeremiah, et al. â€Å"The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum.† RAND Corporation: Santa Monica, 2009. Hosenball, Mark. â€Å"Hezbollah, Iran uncover CIA informants.† Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/21/us-cia-hezbollah-idUSTRE7AK2MQ20111121 (accessed August 23, 2012). Jones, Owen Bennet. â€Å"An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?†BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17615065 (accessed July 30, 2012). Joshi, Shashank. â€Å"Iran and the Mujahedin e Khalq (MEK).† Harvard University Department of Government. http://shashankjoshi.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/iran-and-the-mujahedin-e-khalq-mek/ (accessed August 24, 2012). Masters, Jonathan. † Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) (aka People’s Mujahedin of Iran or PMOI).† Council on Foreign Relations, July 18, 2012. http://www.cfr.org/iran/mujahadeen-e-khalq-mek-aka-peoples-mujahedin-iran-pmoi/p9158 (accessed July 24, 2012). MEK. â€Å"Camp Ashraf: About Us.† MEK. http://www.campashraf.org/about/camp-ashraf/ (accessed July 30, 2012). Rajavi, Maryam. â€Å"Comprehensive sanctions is the essential first step, regime change is the final solution.† People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. http://www.mojahedin.org/pagesen/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=9551 (accessed August 22, 2012).

MLA 7 is finally here! Our new release.

MLA 7 is finally here! Our new release. MLA 7 is finally here! Our new release. – Blog We’re proud to announce that we’ve finally updated with the MLA 7th edition guidelines. It’s taken us a greater part of 6 months and we’ve added a lot of new stuff in the process. So what exactly did we update? Here’s what’s new: MLA 7 guidelines   – you may notice   lots of changes to your citations for MLA. First, titles are no longer underlined and instead are italicized. Secondly, citations now display the medium in which they originated (e.g. Print, Web).   If you omit certain pieces of information, like publisher or pages, an abbreviation will be inserted in their place (n.p., n. pag.). Although the new MLA guidelines no longer require URLs in your citations, we have not removed them from your website citations, as we understand their importance to a lot of our users. There lots of other changes, but they are too long to list here. Which leads me to our next big change†¦ Revamped Citation Guide page – you can now review specific guidelines and citing situations for each source type for each formatting style. And we give you lots of example citations to guide you. Additionally, we’ve included Turabian formatting guidelines into the Citation Guide for the first time!   This new design is much more user friendly and conducive to learning in the classroom. New form fields and citing possibilities – we’ve added a bunch of new fields to each source type to expand our citing capabilities†¦ Book – you can select whether you are citing an entire book or just a chapter, and you can now enter a specific edition of the book. Magazine – you can now cite magazines that you found from a database. Newspaper – you can enter the location of the newspaper (city/state/country), indicate if the newspaper is nationally well-known, and cite newspaper that you found from a database. Website – you can now enter a sponsor/publisher and a version number. Film – you can select whether you are citing an entire film or just a chapter/commentary, and you can now indicate whether the film is a re-release. Interview – you can now cite interviews from books, magazines, and magazines. Lecture – you can choose what type of lecture you are citing. Radio/TV – you can choose whether you are citing an episode, a series, or an individual broadcast, as well as if you are citing a transcript of the program. Encyclopedia – you can now choose whether you are citing an encyclopedia or a dictionary, as well as if you are citing a specific article or the entire reference book. You can also indicate whether the encyclopedia is well-known and if entries are alphabetically arranged. Photograph – you can now choose a file type for a self-taken digital photograph, and you can also cite photographs from books, magazines, and newspapers. Print-friendly pages – we have gotten a lot of requests to make our pages printable and in response, we’ve formatted our pages, particularly our Bibliography Maker and Citation Guide pages, to be print out well for users. Internet Explorer compatibility – we identified some visual bugs that we’re occurring in Internet Explorer and we’ve fixed a lot of those. Various bug fixes – many bugs that you emailed us about have been fixed. Website citations can now be edited properly. ISBN book searches now accept hyphens and still return the proper search results. New help topics – we’ve gotten a lot of emails and questions about certain topics and in response, we’ve added new questions to our Help FAQs page.

How to Say Hello in Mandarin Chinese

How to Say Hello in Mandarin Chinese The first step to starting a conversation in Mandarin Chinese is to say hello! Learn how to greet people in Mandarin Chinese with the help of audio files to ensure your pronunciation is correct. Audio links are marked with ââ€" º. Characters The Chinese phrase for hello is made of two characters: ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ ââ€" ºnÇ Ã‚  hÇŽo. The first character ä ½   (nÇ ) means you. The second character Ã¥ ¥ ½ (hÇŽo) means good. Thus, the literal translation of ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ (nÇ  hÇŽo) is you good.   Pronunciation Note that Mandarin Chinese uses four tones. The tones used in ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ are two third tones. When 2 first tone characters are placed next to each other, the tones slightly change. The first character is pronounced as a rising tone second tone, while the second character shifts into a low, dipping tone. Informal vs Formal Use ä ½   (Ç ) is the informal form of you and is used for greeting friends and associates. The formal you is æ‚ ¨ (nà ­n). Thus, the formal form of hello is ââ€" ºnà ­n hÇŽo - æ‚ ¨Ã¥ ¥ ½.   æ‚ ¨Ã¥ ¥ ½(nà ­n hÇŽo) is used when speaking to superiors, people in authority, and elders. The more casual ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ (nÇ  hÇŽo) should be used when speaking to friends, colleagues, and children.   China Taiwan The use of æ‚ ¨Ã¥ ¥ ½ (nà ­n hÇŽo) is more common in Mainland China than in Taiwan. The informal ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ (nÇ  hÇŽo) is the most common greeting in Taiwan, no matter what the rank of the person you are addressing. You may also be wondering why there are two Chinese written versions of this phrase: ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã¥â€"Ž and ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã¥ â€". The first version is in traditional characters which are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and many overseas Chinese communities. The second version is simplified characters, the official writing system in Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia. How Are You? You can extend ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½ (nÇ  hÇŽo) by adding the question particle Ã¥â€"Ž / Ã¥ â€" ââ€" ºma. The question particle Ã¥â€"Ž (traditional form) / Ã¥ â€" (simplified form) can be added to the end of sentences and phrases to change them from statements into questions. The literal translation of ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã¥â€"Ž? / ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã¥ â€" (nÇ  hÇŽo ma)? is you good?, which means how are you? This greeting should only be said to close friends or family members. It is not a common greeting for associates or strangers. The answer to ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã¥â€"Ž / ä ½  Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã¥ â€" (nÇ  hÇŽo ma)? can be: hÄ›n hÇŽo - Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¥ ½ - very goodbà ¹ hÇŽo - ä ¸ Ã¥ ¥ ½ - not goodhi hÇŽo - é‚„å ¥ ½ / è ¿ËœÃ¥ ¥ ½ - so so

Analytical Character comparison using epic similies Essay

Analytical Character comparison using epic similies - Essay Example Thesis Statement: The brilliance regarding the use of epic simile has emerged in the hands of Homer as an effective instrument though which he captured a complete impression of a situation, churned out the contrast among characters and finally led the audience to the layers of emotions dimensions of the character. The Use of Epic Simile to understand Ulysses’ character: The instances of Homer’s poetic magnificence regarding the use of simile to analyze the character, physical stature and emotional status of Ulysses are abundant throughout the Odyssey. However, in the book XI â€Å"The Descent into Hell† his craftsmanship has reached to its culmination. The character of Ulysses, in the Odyssey, has been presented by Homer in a unique way because the character, compared to the other epic heroes, does not appear to be invincible. While the humane side of his character has been presented through the shades of fear, deprivation, and agony, on the other hand, the stren gth of him has been projected through his courage, ruthlessness and anger. During his journey though the Hell, Ulysses has experienced several traumatic visions that evoked a sense of tremendous. However, the spontaneity of human morality and aspiration to overcome all the obstacles makes him a human being. Irrespective of the fact that he witnessed a fierce scene of human suffering in the Hell, however, the same could not stop him from rejuvenating his insatiable source of courage: â€Å"Now I the strength of Hercules behold, / A towering spectre of gigantic mould, / A shadowy form! for high in heaven’s abodes / Himself resides, a god among the gods;† (11. 741-11. 744). He feels himself in the same state like that of the great Greek God who is surrounded by â€Å"fowl†, â€Å"hovering ghosts† (11, 747). However, the prevailing evil though shrouded the divine glory but that could not stop him from fighting. The same courage that lurked in Hercules’ s heart, in the gloomy surrounding of the Hell Ulysses can feel the same: â€Å"Around his breast a wondrous zone is roll’d, / Where woodland monsters grin in fretted gold: / There sullen lions sternly seem to roar† (11. 751-11. 753). With the use of images from an array of references the poet has provided such an impression about Ulysses’ character that is empathetic in nature, gets troubled by the human angst and is ready to empathize with such situations. However, the moral strength of the character can be realized through his readiness to encounter all odds and through his confidence that with the traits of divine courage that every man possesses, he will be able to emerge as a triumphant against all evils; consequently he will be able to retain his dignity as a human being. Use of Epic Simile to understand Penelope’s character: Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, exists quite at a diametrically opposite pole compared to the features of her husband’ s nature as projected in the epic. Though the sings of respecting her self-dignity and empathy for other cannot be missed, however, Penelope seems to appear as a manifestation of traditional womanhood. Irrespective of