School funding and resources Essay

These issues have not started today but have been in existence for a long time. One of the major issues is inequity and inadequacy. There is a funding difference between the tax wealthy district schools and the poor school districts that have tax capacity that is limited. This to some extent affects the education quality due to low financial resources (Crawford, 2006). Secondly there is the issue of political ideology. Politics affect the funding in schools greatly. Politics affect the budgeting that takes place in schools. The schools have limited authority on imposing extra taxes for educational purposes unless they gain full support of the legislature. Level of funding is dependent on the resources available for these resources to be fully utilized the legislature must be in full support. Another major issue facing funding in schools is the social influence. The influence that comes from the surrounding environment of the schools matter a lot to how the resources are utilized and how funding takes place. If there is negative social influence then the issue of funding becomes very difficult. Positive social influence is important both in urban and suburban areas (Bartolomeo, 2004). The problem of inequity and inadequacy can be addressed by ensuring that all schools receive funding depending on their size and location. It can also be solved by ensuring that the schools with little resources get extra funds. The strengths of these solutions are such as it will upgrade schools that are at low levels. However the weakness is that it is difficult to give some schools more funds than others and call that equity (Crawford, 2006). To solve the problem of political ideology the schools should be allowed to tax some extra fee when necessary for school funds. Also the legislature should not be playing a role on determining the amount to be taxed. The strength of this solution is that the schools will have a chance to make funding decisions better while the weakness it has is that it could lead to poor budgeting. The solution to negative social influence is ensuring that the surrounding individuals are not too involved in school funding matters. Also ensuring that the school is not affected by external factors when it comes to funding could help. The strength of these solutions is that funding will be easier. Its weakness is that schools could loose on some other aspects it gains from social influence (Bartolomeo, 2004). References Bartolomeo, C. (2004). The funding divide. American Teacher, 6-7. Crawford, C. (2006). The Critical Issue of Financing Schools. the Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 22-26.

Lao-Tzu, Machiavelli, and the American Government

Lao-Tzu's â€Å"Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching† and Machiavelli's â€Å"The Qualities of a Prince† both have the ultimate goal of making better leaders. The tactics that each writer chooses to present as a guide for the leader are almost opposite of each other. Today's American government would benefit from a combination of the two extreme ideas. Lao-Tzu's laissez-faire attitude towards the economy, as well as his small scale, home defense military is appealing to a liberal person. Machiavelli's attitude towards miserliness and lower taxes, while being always prepared for war, would appeal to a conservative person. The writers are in agreement on some issues, such as taxes, but other ideas, such as government involvement in the everyday lives of citizens are completely opposed to one another. Lao-Tzu believes in moderation and small government. He states that a leader should stay within his country and govern his people only. Lao-tzu and Machiavelli are political philosophers writing in two different lands and two different times. Lao-tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher from 6th century BC, the author of Tao-te Ching, and Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher who lived 2000 years after Lao-tzu's time, author of Prince. They are both philosophers but have totally different perspective on how to be a good leader. While both philosopher's writing is instructive. Lao-tzu's advice issues from detached view of a universal ruler; Machiavelli's advice is very personal perhaps demanding. Both philosophers' idea will not work for today's world, because that modern world is not as perfect as Lao-tzu described in Tao-te Ching, and not as chaotic as Machiavelli illustrated in Prince. In comparing and contrasting the governmental philosophies of the great thinkers Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli, I have found a pleasant mix of both of their ideas would be the best for America today. Lao-Tzu's laisse-faire attitude towards the economy, as well as his small scale military is appealing to my liberal side, while Machiavelli's attitude towards miserliness which causes low taxes appeals to the right wing. These great thinkers contradict the popular saying â€Å"all great thinkers think alike. † They have several ideas, such as taxes, that are the same, while other ideas, like the involvement of government in citizens' everyday lives are totally opposite. I shall start with the ideas of Machiavelli, then move on to Lao-Tzu's, and finally a comparison and application into American life. Niccolo Machiavelli believes in a strong government. The leader should be strong and feared. I believe he gets this idea from the fear of God.

Internship Midterm Report

Bad is a non-profit organization that publishes magazines and provides counseling services such as phone counseling, email counseling, face to face counseling. My mall Job responsible Is to writing articles and phone counseling, other than that, there are some minor responsible for the Job, such as help Administrative Department if needed. In phone counseling section, I need to record the cases, my suggestion and my analysis of the cases, for the purpose of follow up when other counselors pick up the phone.For certain cases, we are referring to some centers to follow up or In need, such as unmarried mother. Except phone counseling, another opportunity of this job is able to write articles regarding counseling. I have to come out a topic about some issue regarding youth, such as financial management, thanksgiving, and etc. While the time that writing articles, I have to collect some resources from various area, for example, online websites, magazines, and some books.Articles writing a lso required some technique that different from assignments and report. When I writing an articles, that prefer to SE the word â€Å"we† rather than â€Å"you† or â€Å"them† in order to bring a closer distant to reader and similarity as well, and also, there Is no blaming Issue happen by using word â€Å"we† so that we are not bring offend towards anyone. 2. 0 VALUE 2. 1 Person-centered Therapy The most common therapy matter being used nowadays Is Person-centered Therapy, in which the people are the center of the counseling section.Even we learned it from very beginning, but there are mistakes that I make subconsciously, like blaming fault. Even some mistakes that I know very well and trying to avoid, but cause of never realized that, I been made all those mistakes that shouldn't make In any condition. Fortunately, my â€Å"teacher† is there to tell me where I make mistakes. As my supervisor told me, they can't make adjustment for every word from my mouth towards people, and yet, that might cause their disappointment towards phone counseling If I not doing In a good way. 2. Practical Counseling Technique Every words that we say in counseling section is directly transfer to people, there is no time to consider what therapy matter to use during that time. The things that we can do are analyze what the people say and find out the root of the problem, and then, we take all useful Information to help people to solve their problems. Sometimes, they are troubled because they don't know what to do with the problem, and they call for a solution. That might break the rule of not giving any opinion or 1 OFF know what to do.Therefore, we will give some unavoidable opinion in certain situation, and we try to minimize the space to people to ask for opinion, even though they ask, we are not giving if that can be avoid. According my supervisor, we should ask people to step out the first step if possible, for the first step is the important action to solve problem. Without the first step, there is no further to move on. 2. 3 Selective Attention Every counselor will be facing the same problem during counseling section, the client/patient talk many things and yet not everything related or useful.Therefore, we need to filter out some â€Å"rubbish information† or repeated phrase. Selective attention is what we need within the counseling section, as we have limited time to hold the hone counseling. Within about 20-30 minutes, we have to know what the problem(s) is/are and get as much useful information as we could to examine the problem(s), so we can guide people to a right way to solve the problem. Indeed, selective attention is the useful element for counseling section that to eliminate the information that not helping in solving the problem(s). . 4 Multitasking skill Due to hearing phone counseling and article writing in the same time, I may apply multitasking in the situation. There is no sign to know hotlist wi ll ring during I doing y other works such as writing article, therefore sometimes that may required multitasking skill to handle the situation. To remember what the people say and come out with a suggestion at the same time required not only multitasking skill alone, that may also recall short term memory.Sometimes, there are more than Just two things to handle if I'm alone in the office while others went out or doing things, that time is the best time to practice multitasking skill for future. A man who can handle multiple things at the same time may not be qualified to enter a good ignition, but that easily to be put in consideration as many Jobs required multitasking skill. There are some expectations for every Job; The Bridge Communication Sad Bad is not the exception.I have 2 expectations when I decided to start my internship in The Bridge Communication Sad Bad. 3. 1 Practical Counseling Technique Every student who enters a counseling organization or department may expect to ga in some practical counseling techniques to equip ourselves for future path. Even though we learned many theories and matters from textbooks in class, but to practice t is never same like Just an assignment. In counseling department, I would like to learn how to have a counseling section with all the things I learned.That is a truth for everyone who been working in counseling services, what we learn and what we practice can be very different. During counseling, there is no therapy matter but only some rules to be aware, such as no offend or blaming, always request people to take a first step. 3. 2 Articles Writing Skill As expect before internship start in The Bridge Communication Sad Bad for articles writing been mentioned as one of the Job description, I excited to have this as part of my work.Most of the organization didn't manage to offer articles writing to internship students, even employees since they have no magazine publication within the organization. This would be the inte resting Job description for an internship student to learn more through writing articles, in which I can improve and corrected patients for that may bring either positive or negative effect towards them, yet, that lead a perception of counseling towards people.

Pity or Positive Disabled advertising today Essay

Pity or Positive Disabled advertising today - Essay Example This essay "Pity or Positive? Disabled advertising today" outlines the image of the disabled people in the media and commercials and their visibility. Studies and reports have found that it is advantageous to mainstream disability and to include disabled people in advertisements. Reports also reveal that mutual benefits can be gained when companies use ads that feature people with disabilities. Advertising (2001) reports: These ads were breaking fresh ground, partly because they were not from charities or rights commissions, but less expectedly from commercial organizations that were using disability to convey a message about their brand. By choosing disability as its subject, the Co-op Bank ad was reminding people of its ethical values. The Coca Cola ad was giving the brand, not known for having roots in football, real credibility among football fans. Freeserve was using a disabled person as a metaphor for capability and accomplishment. But in using images of disability to convey su ch messages about their brands, these advertisers also broke ground in the subtext about what they said about disability.† Many have grasped the negative perception caused by the lack of exposure of disabled persons in the media. Hence, they fear that they will feel uncomfortable around those with disabilities. When advertisements show disabled individuals in everyday surroundings and situations, these fears are alleviated. The audience starts to see the truth—that those with disabilities are really not that different from those who do not have these disabilities.

Role of music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Role of music - Essay Example Music genre is a convectional category that identifies pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Due to the artistic nature of music, these classifications are often complained to be arbitrary and controversial. Music genres are diverse and at times sound distinct. For example, comparing classical music to rock music (Richard 89). I aim to expound on classical music. Classical music is understood to be music rooted in Western European traditions performed by trained musicians in formal settings like concert halls, opera houses, and churches. When we hear of classical music, the image that forms in our minds is that of a large number of people with violins, an orchestra, performing in front of an audience. Classical music is the art music of the Western world. If popular music is written just to entertain, classical music is written to express something significant or great. Classical music's roots lay in the chant melodies of medieval religious rites. Classical music trends include trends of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras in their sound worlds and conception. Popular classical music artists include Yo-Yo Ma, Glenn Gould, Philip Glass, and John Adams. Classical music may also include avant-garde music( Hutchings 99). Avant-Garde is taken from the French for "vanguard," which is the part of the armed forces that alwa ys stands at the front of the rest of the army.

Chapter 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 11 - Essay Example Overall, their impact on national and global economies has been benign. Irrespective of the cyclical booms and busts of technology driven economies, they tend to improve the standard of living for people. 3. Many people believe that the government should regulate business with respect to privacy online, but companies say self-regulation is more appropriate. Which approach would benefit consumers most? Business? A self-regulatory approach will be a better option, for it frees online businesses of cumbersome governmental regulation, which would have thwarted technological progress. Moreover, consumers can take care of their own interests, in that they can promote or condemn a particular brand based on the quality and safety it offers. So allowing businesses to self-regulate would be the best option. Intellectual property is the concept of ownership associated with a creative work. This work could either be technological innovation or artistic creation. Owners of intellectual property can protect their rights by taking a patent or copyright for their work, which will give them legal protection against theft and false claims of ownership. Bioethics refers to the field of inquiry pertaining to ethical and moral dimensions of biological research. Since most of the moral principles are derived from a human standpoint, it is possible that the rights to existence and fair treatment of lesser species are taken lightly. Of late, the advent of stem-cell research has opened up new dimensions of ethical dilemma, as it entails human cloning. Given the controversies surrounding GM foods, it is prudent to label them as such. So far, no extensive studies have been done on the effects of prolonged consumption of GM foods for humans. And till such a time comes when the safety of the GM variety is firmly established, it is an ethical imperative for agricultural companies to forewarn consumers of possible risks. A strategic

Human Resource Management in China. Performance Appraisal Dissertation

Human Resource Management in China. Performance Appraisal - Dissertation Example Edvinsson’s explication of intellectual capital in his book signifies the importance of human resource management to an elevated extent. Human resource is one of the most fundamental and important function for the development of an organization. The workforce of an enterprise plays the most crucial role for the firm to thrive in the market in a successful and appropriate manner. The goals and objectives of an organization are intrinsically dependent upon the efficiency of its employed individuals. This task comes under the shadow of the human resource management which is required to operate in the most appropriate manner for the corporation in any industry (Price, 2011). The most successful business corporations in the west tend to put immense attention upon the operating workforce to remain the best in business. The dependency of an organization in order to attain the aims is the most upon human resource management because the efficiency or deficiency of the employees directl y affects the finance of organization. Human resource management as being an essential and vital element of any business corporation fundamentally deals with the employment of individuals that is recruitment and selection of candidates to be added into the workforce in the most suitable manner (Sims, 2006). In addition to enlarging or replacing the work team, it also deals with the training and development of recruited employees by which the organizational development is directly associated. With all of the other responsibilities of human resource management, there is critically a significant task which human resource management is responsible for. This task is related to the performance of employed individuals in concordance with the aims, objectives and regulations of the organization. The reason for this task being critical for any organization and its human resource management is the fact that the performance of employees directly affects the performance of the organization in t he market (Price, 2011). Human resource management is one of the most authoritative departments in the organizational management because it deals with the hiring and firing of employees on the basis of their performance in the work force (Sims, 2006). The most visible and clear way to deal with a low performing employee is to fire that individual from the workforce and recruit the better individual in the team on the basis of his skills and capabilities. The performance of employee is directly associated to the revenue that is generated by any organization. If the human resource of a company works efficiently and appropriately then the revenues of certain company is necessarily going to be increased and vice versa. In industry from aviation to food industry, the human resource management plays a vital role regarding the graph of performance of the work force on individual as well as on the group level. The firing and hiring of employees is strictly dependent upon the performance of individuals which is assured by the human resource department to any firm (Price, 2011). Employees’ Performance and Corporations Corporations are formed with certain business objectives underlying every official activity of that corporation. The most important and certain objective which each business firm decides is the maximum generation of revenue and making the maximum profit out of its capital and resources. From production to service providence and from apparel to food chains, every business organizational dealings are fundamentally dependent upon these two objectives. In all of the resources of a company in any industry, the hum

Sports Laws and Anti-Doping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sports Laws and Anti-Doping - Essay Example The paper gives detailed information about individuals who find difficult to adjust to the set rules hence apply dubious methods to achieve success. Some, however, have gone against the set policies in their attempts to curb certain impairments that may have been experienced during their career to lead them down career failures. A country may, however, possess a power to intervene into some decisions that these institutions make especially if they affect the welfare of decisions made in the sport or go against specific sport law provisions. Doping in sport is an entity that various countries have made attempts to eradicate and anti-doping organization have been formed where sports men/women are controlled to inhibit the heinous practice. Doping has been witnessed in various instances where an athlete uses various ability enhancing substances to achieve their success. The specific body that controls the sport normally passes judgment on the implication of doping. However, there may be provisions that may involve the government to interfere with certain decision in their attempts to protect their citizens. The independent bodies may be internationally formed, for example, FIFA, which oversee the football affairs across the globe. Inside FIFA, there are certain provisions that limit the actions of the country’s government to interfere with their affairs. Though independent there have been attempts to limit the restrictions of the independent tribunals, especially evident rulings on doping cases. Sports Laws and Anti-Doping Sporting activities have grown famous among individuals over the past few decades and has seen many individuals growing into becoming perfectionist in their specific talented area. Many venture into sport for fun and articulate it as being a leisure activity. However, recent statistics has shown that the sport industry is increasingly becoming commercialized with many individuals not only entering the event for fame but for the financial packages that the modern sports entail (Aketch, 2008). The athletes have applied their talent to gain the favor to apply the sporting activities as a source of livelihood and the majorities have grown up without accessing any form of education to substitute their trade. The financial entity of the sport industry has driven the majority of sport personnel to cheat and apply doping techniques to advance in their career. The rule in any sporting activity is to be the best among competitor and therefore through applying various skill advancing methods, many have gained favor to advance before their rivals. However, there have been massive anti-doping measures that have rooted out the course of this action singling individuals with drug addiction problems and still participate in the sport. These actions have led to a lack in interest from most fans with the majority losing favor towards their once known excelling competitors. This eventually leads to a lack in interest and favor towards the sport. There has since emerged various sport organizations to promote the eradication of doping and unfair play. Examples are FIFA and IOC that oversee the actions in football and Olympics respectively. These organizations share no relation or any form of direct influence from national law and have set their own independent rules that members must follow to gain merit in participating

Compare and Contrast Michelangelo Buonarroti with Modern Artist Assignment

Compare and Contrast Michelangelo Buonarroti with Modern Artist - Assignment Example The paper "Compare and Contrast Michelangelo Buonarroti with Modern Artist" explores the similarities and differences of Michelangelo Buonarroti and modern artists. Considering the portrayal of people on the images of both artists, it should be emphasized that both Michelangelo and Bouguereau regarded people as the key theme of their art. While Michelangelo made emphasis on biblical and mythological subjects, Bouguereau created images of the ordinary people as well. Nevertheless, these ordinary people look like angels and goddesses due to the color spectrum used, and to the softness of curves and lineaments. In fact, the depiction of putti, children, as well as women’s statures cannot be performed with rough features. Michelangelo, in his turn, in the strive for realism created images with visible, and, almost tangible relief. However, his female characters are not always soft and tender. Hence, Sibyls by Michelangelo look tough, massive, and even beefy, while even peasant wom en by Bouguereau look like nymphs, with their childish lineaments, soft curves, and mild tones. The works by these two masters have lots in common; however, the differences are essential. Bouguereau’s colors look milder; however, it is hard to define the initial quality of Michelangelo’s colors. Anyway, both artists managed to create realistic images of the human faces and statures. Therefore, sculpture-like Michelangelo’s characters look almost three dimensional, while Bouguereau relies on realistic embodiment of the divine characters.

Slavery and Racism in Early American History Essay

Slavery and Racism in Early American History - Essay Example The second part of the paper is based on the following sources: Senator Lincoln's speech of September 18, 1858, and Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" In both parts of the paper the following fact is made clear: racism is closely related to slavery; the relationship between these two concepts is so strong that, often, the terms of their interaction are too difficult to be identified. Moreover, the following issue needs to be highlighted: both racism and slavery have been highly developed in America; the intervention of these concepts in the country’s social and political life is still high. The elimination of racism and slavery would be required for securing social justice. The terms of elimination of racism and slavery in America would be differentiated across states because of their different legal framework, at least up to a level, compared to the legal rules of federal government. Racism seems to be well established in the American history. In any case, the historical development of racism has been related to slavery. In order to understand the role of these two concepts in the American history, it would be necessary to refer to the initial perceptions of Englishmen on blacks. According to Winthrop (3) the first visit of Englishmen in West Africa took place about at 1550; it was then that Englishmen had their first contact with blacks (Winthrop 3). However, it seems that at that period, Englishmen did not perceive blacks as potential slaves but rather as buyers of goods (Winthrop 3). This phenomenon continued up to the mid seventieth century (Winthrop 3). However, it seems that the color of natives has attracted the interest of Englishmen (Winthrop 3), meaning that the difference in regard to physical characteristics implied also differences in terms of physical performance. Also, the difference in color implied the existence of other characteristics, meaning especially the dirt (Winthrop 3). It was in this co ntext that the first ideas on the low social status of blacks were developed; the potential use of blacks as slaves followed (Winthrop 3). However, slavery, as a social phenomenon, has not appeared before the 17th century, a period where the initial cases of use of blacks as slaves were reported. Indeed, as Winthrop notes, the enslavement of blacks has started almost since their arrival in America (Winthrop 26). Indeed, the first blacks arrived in Virginia in 1619 (Winthrop 26). A few years later, approximately by 1640, the first signs of enslavement appeared (Winthrop 26). In fact, it is noted that ‘between 1640 and 1660 there is evidence of enslavement’ (Winthrop 26). Reference is made to ‘the statute books of colonies’ (Winthrop 26), as evidence for proving the appearance of slavery in America. Through the decades, slavery was highly expanded across America (Winthrop 148), up to the elimination of the particular phenomenon due to its prohibition by the l aw (Winthrop 148). The term racism, as a term reflecting the rejection of equality among human no matter their physical characteristics (Winthrop 15), has appeared much later, approximately at 1950s (Winthrop 15), a point where the study of Winthrop (15) is aligned with that of Stannard (270). According to the issues discussed above, racism and slavery have been common concepts in American history. At this point, the

Shanghais Education System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shanghais Education System - Essay Example Generally, Shanghai students have the confidence and zeal to work hard in achieving full potential. In disputing what had been termed as rote-learning in China’s education system, Shanghai students showed other skills that do not depend on cramming exams by demonstrating the application of knowledge learned in class in real life situation. A report showed that this was made possible given the fact that the teaching profession is highly valued in Shanghai. Teachers in Shanghai are well paid, offered opportunities to study abroad where they get the opportunity to learn from the best teachers and implement what they have learned in teaching back in schools in their country. It is, therefore, an indication that the Shanghai government values a teacher and is willing to invest in ensuring that students get the best teachers.Another factor that makes the Shanghai’s education system competitive to offer quality learning than most countries are the procedures and conditions put in place before a teacher begins to practice their profession. In Shanghai, teachers upon graduation have to undergo a further one and a half-year standardized training course before they can step in class to teach. They are also required to complete a 240-hour training in the first five years after qualification while in the profession. Apart from that, the teachers are required to attend each other's classes as a culture that reinforces the dissemination and sharing of ideas which creates positive competition.

Analysis of Hydrated copper sulphate Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Hydrated copper sulphate Essay Aim – To determine the molecular formula of hydrated copper sulfate. Requirements – Hydrous copper sulfate Electronic balance Evaporating dish Glass rod Tripod stand Bunsen burner Crucible Procedure – First I weighed 3g of hydrous copper sulfate on electronic balance and began heating it in an evaporating dish on top of a Bunsen burner. After the reaction was complete I measured the new weight to find a change in mass. Qualitative data – After the reaction was complete, the colour changed from blue to white due to a loss of water crystals. Faint green tinge became evident and fine white powder was formed from crystals. Continued heating led to formation of oliver green colour. Quantitative data – Original weight of hydrous copper sulfate – 3g Error in electronic balance  ± 0.001g (provided by the teacher) Data collection – Trial 1 1.96g Trial 2 1.87g Trial 3 1.94g Data Processing – To minimize the errors I conducted three trials and averaged the readings to find a more accurate answer. = 1.93 g  ± 0.001 Change in mass = (3  ± 0.001) – (1.93  ± 0.001) = 1.07  ± 0.002 The change in mass was due to the loss of water crystals. Water (H20) has a molar mass of 18g. Therefore the change in mass must be equal to the mass of water present in copper sulfate. No of moles of water evaporated = = 0.059  ± 0.002moles The molar mass of anhydrous copper sulfate is 159.6g. No of moles of = = 0.012  ± 0.001moles In the equation I took the no of moles of water as x because it is unknown. CuSO4.xH20 → CuSO4 + xH2O According to the equation the mole ratio between copper sulfate and water is 1: x. Therefore 1:x = 0.012  ± 0.001: 0.059  ± 0.002 x = = 4.9  ± 0.588 Conclusion – Hence the x value can be rounded off to 5 to get an integer answer. This means that in 1 molecule of hydrous copper sulfate there are 5 atoms of water present as crystals. The result is also equal to the literature value which was provided by the teacher and there seems to be no deviation because the answers are taken as integer and decimal points are excluded. The only systematic error present was in electronic balance. Moreover random error could have been caused during heating of the salt i.e. overheating or underheating. This error depends on the sight of colour change, therefore this is a very hard random error to eliminate. Evaluation – As the answer is taken as integer, there seems to be zero error however still a lot of errors are possible while conducting this experiment. During the heating of hydrous copper sulfate there maybe some water crystals still left due to inappropriate stirring and overheated or underheated salts could have also caused error. Main error which is inevitable is the hydration of crystals after being heated. The reaction is reversible and the after heating there could have been water vapour in the air which could have combined with the salt. Hence these can also lead to deviations in results. To improve upon these errors we must make sure that after the salt is heated, its weight must be measured immediately so that there is very less time gap between it. Furthermore proper stirring and care taken during heating can also minimize errors.

Law and morality

Law and morality Title: The ultimate basis for adhering to the positive thesis of the conceptual differentiation of law and morals is itself a moral reason. The point is to make sure that it is always open to the theorist and the ordinary person to retain a critical moral stance in face of the law which is. (MacCormick) Discuss. EXAM MODEL ANSWER Introduction This discussion focuses on the relationship between law and morality and the conceptual differentiation of the two paradigms. It is appropriate to begin with a definition of terms. Law can be defined as a body of rules and principles of procedure and conduct established and enforced by a political authority. Morality can be defined as a code of conduct advanced by a society or religion or adopted by an individual to guide his or her own behaviour[1]. In essence, as Kant asserts in Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals[2], morality is a personal concern, whereas law is a societal concern. There is a complex nexus between law and morality, the extent and depth of which has fluctuated over time and the appropriateness of which is the subject of considerable debate. The following commentary contains an analysis of the featured quote underpinned by observations from eminent authorities in the field. Law and Morality Law can be distinguished from morality on the grounds that a legal system is comprised of specific, written principles and rules interpreted by officials who are charged with the duty of applying appropriate penalties and awarding appropriate remedies. In very broad terms, the law and morality have a common goal, being the lessening of social harm or evil. There is undoubtedly a substantial overlap between the conduct governed by law and that governed by morality and laws are inevitably often judged against a moral matrix. As, for example, the current debate concerning the age of criminal responsibility for children illustrates, moral criticism is commonly the catalyst for reform of the law and as Dworkin argues in Law’s Empire, the interpretation of the law should delve beyond the black letter of the legal framework into the realm of morality[3]. This position is comparable to that of Raz in Legal Principles and the Limits of Law[4]. It is often difficult to chart a neutral path between the substantive theories of legal positivism and legal moralism, as Koller illustrated in The Concept of Law and Its Conceptions[5]. Debate on the issues of ‘natural law’ and ‘morality’ has been plagued by vague definition and incongruous terminology. Even those positivists who might be characterised as ‘soft’ or ‘inclusive’ have conceded that there is no obligatory connection between morality and law, although they often contend that moral criteria are referenced in determining the validity of legal principles, such as constitutional rights as put forward by Waluchow in The Weak Social Thesis[6]. The famous Hart/Devlin debate of the 1950s and 60s sparked by publication of the Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (the Wolfenden Report)[7] in 1957 concerned the proper relationship between morality and law. This debate eventually saw the arguments for the dislocation of law from private moral choices advanced by Hart win out over the conservative ideology of Lord Devlin, who was concerned to preserve the link for the ‘good’ of society. Hart put forward a theory of positive law, which has been considered in recent times by commentators such as Orts, who in Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas[8], has argued for exception from the thesis of the separation of morality and law along the lines of ‘systemic legitimacy’ drawn from the work of Habermas. It is certainly true that critical legality can be employed to contrast Hart’s own conception of â€Å"critical morality† and it is submit ted that Orts is well founded in his central contention that modern positive legal systems must maintain systemic legitimacy. MacCormick’s view is manifestly correct, although it is really stating little more than the obvious. A critical moral stance must always be retained in the face of the law and while the legal system is operated by human beings this will inevitably be the case. The law will always be guided, to some extent by a moral compass and morality will continue to influence decision-making and the day-to-day administration of justice in every corner of the legal system. Cases such as Pretty v United Kingdom (2002)[9] concerning the right to die and euthanasia, R v R (1991)[10] concerning rape in marriage, Re A (Children)(2000)[11] regarding the separation of conjoined twins and R v Brown (1993)[12] dealing with consensual acts of homosexual sadomasochism, illustrate that in practice (which overrides the abstract) the relationship between law and morality is indivisible. Concluding Comments Law governs conduct within our society. Morality influences personal decisions relating to individual conduct. The conceptual differentiation of law and morals is thus, at fundamental level, difficult to identify with precision. It is true to conclude that law can be divided into two components. Law consists of a body of basic concepts (its conceptual system) and of a body of general legal principles (its substantive system). The distinction between these two components is not easy to describe, but in essence the underlying conceptual system endeavours to distil the basic framework and superstructure of the paradigm of law, whereas the overarching substantive system lays down its morally-shaded, normative constituent parts. It is submitted that in what is a highly subjective and often abstract field of theory, there are no right answers, but some that are clearly ‘better’ than others. Rational natural law theory clearly anchors the contents of law firmly in morality and equates legal principle with moral principle. Therefore, while conceptual legal dogma separates law from morality (although this need not discharge itself into positive law), natural law forges a coalescence. This commentator supports the line taken by Puchta in Cursus der Institutionen[13], in drawing a distinction between law and morals which, in turn is in accord with the Kantian distinction between legality and morality. In this sense the law delineates the outer limits to be imposed on individual freedom of choice, while morality is confined to an internal, personal choice which is influenced by a subjective sense of obligation, conduct and social duty. This suggests that the primary connection between law and morality is that the law provides individuals with the possibility to make moral choices with certain parameters. THE END EXACT WORD COUNT INCLUDING TEXT OF ANSWER ONLY : 1002 Question text, footnotes and bibliography not included. BIBLIOGRAPHY Case law as footnoted to standard citation Dworkin R, Law’s Empire (Legal Theory), (1986) Belknap Press Kant, I., Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, (1967) Barnes Noble Koller, P., The Concept of Law and Its Conceptions, (2006) Ratio Juris Vol.19 Issue 2, pp 180 -196 Orts, E., Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas, (2007) Ratio Juris, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp 245 278 Puchta, G., Cursus der Institutionen, (2002) (reprint of 1850 edition), Adamant Media Corporation Raz, Legal Principles and the Limits of Law, (1972) 81 Yale Law Journal 823 Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution 1957 (London: HMSO) Cmnd 247 Wallace, G. and Walker, A. D. M., editors, The Definition of Morality, (1970) Methuen Waluchow W., ‘The Weak Social Thesis’ (1989) 9 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 23 Footnotes [1] See for insightful comment: Wallace, G. and Walker, A. D. M., editors, The Definition of Morality, (1970) Methuen. [2] Kant, I., Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, (1967) Barnes Noble. [3] Dworkin R, Law’s Empire (Legal Theory), (1986) Belknap Press [4] Raz, ‘Legal Principles and the Limits of Law’ (1972) 81 Yale Law Journal 823. [5] Koller, P., The Concept of Law and Its Conceptions, (2006) Ratio Juris Vol.19 Issue 2, pp 180 -196. [6] Waluchow W., ‘The Weak Social Thesis’ (1989) 9 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 23. [7] (1957) (London: HMSO) Cmnd 247. [8] Orts, E., Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas, (2007) Ratio Juris, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp 245 278. [9] (2002) 35 EHRR 1. [10] (1991) 1 All ER 759. [11] (2000) EWCA Civ 254. [12] (1993) 2 WLR 556. [13] Puchta, G., Cursus der Institutionen, (2002) (reprint of 1850 edition), Adamant Media Corporation.

Implementation Of The Library Management System Technology Essay

Implementation Of The Library Management System Technology Essay This report focuses on the design and implementation of the library management system. It deals with the complete processes on building and implementing it. It focuses in the technical aspects of the system starting with identifying the necessary components and building the relevant relationship between or among them as needed for the smooth and efficient operation of the system. The process starts with the entities involved in the system, with proceeding towards the ER Diagram in order to identify the meaningful relationship between the entities. Next is the table design which fulfils the normalization principle of relational database system and finally the physical tables are created with the necessary and relevant data in them. The system can keep track of the members joining and leaving the library, borrowing and returning of the books. Checking the availability of the books using different attributes as parameters. Finally checking of the overdue books and fines payable is another feature of the system. Abbreviation SQL Structured Query Language ER Entity Relationship ERD Entity Relationship Diagram DDL Data Definition Language DML Data Manipulation Language 1. Introduction: Library management system is a system that facilitates the easiness in using and tracking the library assets. It provides an instant real picture and process of all the activities that happens in a library commencing from the member joining the library and the same leaving the library with all the utilization and rendering of the library facilities in between. 1.1 Background: A library is a collection resources especially books that a wide range of individuals can access and share them. Library has been in use since 15th century as has been gone through several stages of improvisation and its been in the form as today. Library can be categorized into different types according to the organization that runs it as Academic library, public library, School library etc. Further more it can be classified according to the subject matter of the documents it contains as Medical library, Law library, Arts Library etc. Libraries are organized in a way to access the materials in an easy an effective way. There are several systems in practice which makes the library organized. Library is basically concerned about acquisition, preservation and administration of its resources. In order to carry out these tasks a system is implemented. All these process has been carried out manually before the advancement of new technologies. Now the computer automated system is in practi ce to carry out these systems which makes all these processes effective and efficient. These computer automated systems makes easy for the members to access the available resources where as it makes easy for the librarians to keep track and maintain the library resources. 1.2 Objective: The objective of the entire project Design and implement a library database. Construct the expandable search alternatives for the best handling of member queries, searching the books by book title, book author, ISBN. Construct the search option for the librarian to find the over due books and fine details. 1.3 Scope: The goal of this project is to design a database for a college library which will be implemented in the form of an online library which provides members a digitized catalog in order to search the books and browse information about the book. In the same time this system also enables the librarians to find the information of the book in a precise way especially the fine and overdue books. The summarized activities are as follows: Members registration Book issue and collection Book cataloging Collecting overdue book and fines 1.4 Technology Used: Technology used in this project is MYSQL. 2. Current system and its fallacy The library is managed, organized and run by the librarian. All the functions like managing books, issuing books, and finding the books for the members is carried out by librarian. This is where the time and effort is consumed. Whereas the members also find difficulty in finding availability the books and need the assistance of librarian in every step. The librarian also finds it tedious if s/he has to deal with several members at a same time. There is a difficult system 2.1 New system and its features The new system is also based on the daily routines of the library but the function carried out within it will be automated. Once all the data are stored in a database with a proper system both the librarian and members will be benefited over the traditional system as it is designed with the following features in mind: Effective The library system will streamline the library process which accelerates the effectiveness of the library. Efficacious The users are served in a reasonable time and are also able to search and select their required books. Efficient Members and Librarians are able to use the system quickly without any long procedures. Elegant Since the system is intuitive and comprehensive and is designed to be as effortless as possible 3. Literature Review This report focuses on the conceptual design of the system using ER i.e. entity relation ship diagram which is a diagrammatic representation of the entities and their relation with one another which is explained in the forth coming section. The ER is constructed using the UML. UML stands for unified modeling language. Software engineering uses UML as the standardized modeling language. It was created by Object management group. UML is a language used to present the blueprint of the system to be designed. It has got its own notations to represent the processes and objects involved in the software to be designed. ER Diagram is a graphical representation of the entities and relation between them in order to execute a system. This Diagram is constructed in some available ER Diagramming packages which is Visual paradigm community edition in this case. MYSQL has been chosen as the database system for this library management system. Since it is relational database available under the terms of GNU public license. Besides the ease of using through a variety of freely available tools as PHPMYADMIN makes a choice of most of database designers today. Besides it is the database of choice because of its high performance, high reliability and ease of use. Moreover it runs on maximum operating systems available in the IT fraternity like windows, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris, IBM . 3.1 Requirement Analysis The library management system should be able to fulfill the user requirements to all the extent and when analyzed are found as follows Member should be able to join and leave the library Member of a library should be able to borrow and return books Member of the library should be able to check book availability. Librarian should be able to check the overdue book and the fines payable. 4. New system Design The library management system with the goal to cover the requirements noted above needs to be developed in a system which has the proven track of implementing the same or same type of systems. So, a relational database system is chosen to carry out the task. The relational database system is basically a system where data is stored in a container called tables and the relational among them is also stored in the same form. The new system follows the waterfall model of the software development models. The processes in execution order in a water fall model are: Requirement analysis Software Design Integration Testing Deployment Maintenance 4.1 Conceptual Data Model The design of this data model is part of software design phase. After going through the requirement analysis the next step is the Software design and in it conceptual data model is the first among them. The conceptual data model identifies the necessary entities and establishes a relevant relation among them. In this design ER Diagram (Entity relationship diagram) is created to illustrate the relations between the entities. The diagrammatic conceptual representation of structured data is known as ER Diagram. Relational schema is used in this method for database modeling. The dominant method of database designing in the Software industry is the ER Diagram. Peter Chen invented the ER diagram in the early days to model the design of the databases from a more abstract perspective particularly for the academic research. Based on that, ER diagram was further elaborated and now is used worldwide in different forms. ER diagram deals with three major components of a database namely, Entity, A ttributes and Relation. Entity is nothing but a set of particular thing which shares common properties. Whereas attributes are the set of common properties which the entity share. The last but not the least component of an ER Diagram is a relation which is the model of association between one or more entities. Each relationship in ER Diagram has a cardinality which defines the degree of relationship between the two entities. In other words how the related entities has presence over one another. Cardinality is of three types: one to one, one to many and many to many. In an ER diagram the one occurrence of the entity is shown by a vertical line and many occurrence of the entity is shown by the crow foot. The relationship is established on the basis of several keys called primary keys and foreign keys. Besides there are other keys called candidate key and composite key. Primary key: The attribute which uniquely identifies a record in a table is called primary key. Foreign Key: As the name specifies this is the key which points the primary key of another table to which it is related. Candidate Key: The attribute that is identified to be unique for a given record is the candidate key. Composite Key: Primary key consisting of more than one attributes to identify the record uniquely is composite key. For the library system the constructed ER Diagram is shown below. 4.2 Logical Design The logical representation of the entities is drawn out in the logical design. It is a table prototype of the entities. Based on the conceptual Design above we do have following table and entities mapping. Member member_id (integer), member_fname (varchar), member_lname (varchar), member_address(integer), member_phone (varchar), member_email (varchar), member_type(integer) member_id is primary key and member_address and member_type are foreign keys to build the one to many relationship between address table and member table and member table and member_type table respectively. Member_Type member_type_id(integer), member_type_name (varchar), member_type_allowed_day (integer), member_type_fine (integer) member_type_id is primary key. Address address_id(integer), address_description (varchar), postcode (varchar) address_id is primary key. Postcode postcode_id (integer), postcode_description (varchar), postcode id is primary key. Books ISBN (integer), book_name (varchar), book_status (varchar), book_type_id (integer), book_publisher(integer) ISBNis primary key, book_type_id, book_publisher are the foreign keys which relates the the book table with book type with one to many, and with publisher table in one to many relation ship as well. Book_Type book_type_id(integer), book_type_name (varchar) book_type_idis primary key. Publisher publisher_id (integer), publisher_name (varchar) publisher_idis primary key. Author author_id(integer), author_fname (varchar), author_lname (varchar), author_email (varchar) author_idis primary key. Librarian librarian_id(integer), librarian _fname (varchar), librarian _lname (varchar), librarian _address(integer), librarian_phone (varchar), librarian_email (varchar) librarian idis primary key, librarian_address is the foreign key which establishes the one to many relationship with address table. Book_Author ISBN(integer), author_id(integer) ISBN is the foreign key which maintains one to many relation with books table and author_id is the foreign key which establishes the one to many relationship with author table. Thus in this way Many to Many relationship is established between Book and Author table. Borrow borrow_id(integer), member_id(integer), ISBN(integer), librarian_id(integer), borrow_date (date), return_date (date), expected_return_date (date) borrow_id is the primary key and memer_id, ISBN, librarian_id are the foreign keys. Member table and borrow table shares one to many relationship, Books table and borrow table shares one to many relationship and librarian table also shares one to many relation with borrow table involving the mentioned foreign keys. In other words many to many relation ship occurs between these entities i.e. many to many between librarian and books, member and books. Fine fine_id(integer), borrow_id(integer), librarian_id(integer), fine_amount (float), fine_id is the primary key and borrow_id, librarian_id are the foreign keys. Fine is associated with borrow in one to one relation whereas librarian is associated in one to many relation. 4.3 Normalization After the conceptual model the logical representation of entities are created and then before converting them into the tables with physical existence normalization is carried out. Normalization is process by which the data redundancy is nullified. This is achieved by disintegrating the single relationship with ambiguity into multiple smaller and precise relations. The tables holding such data are split into several atomic tables so that they become isolated and the data manipulations are carried out in a propagative way i.e. a change in an entry point data in a relation makes it triggered and reflected throughout the relations which frees tables from modification anomalies, i.e. insertion, updation and deletion anomalies. Several levels of normalization exist in database design and are called Normal Forms. They are First Normal Form (1NF), Second Normal Form (2NF) and Third Normal form (3NF). First Normal Form (1NF) First Normal form is concerned with multiple valued attributes. For the table to be in a first normal form it cannot contain multiple values for any attributes. Second Normal Form (2NF) For the table to be in second normal form the non key attributes of the table shouldnt be partial dependent on any single element of composite primary key. Third Normal Form (3NF) For the table to be in third normal form the non key attributes shouldnt have the transitive dependency on the primary key. The tables for the different entities are normalized in following manner: Books Table (without normalization): Fields (ISBN, book_name, book_status, book_edition, book_type, book_publisher, book_author) where ISBN is the primary key. books table before normalization In the above table the author value is repeated in the book_author table, for the table to be in 1NF, the table cell must contain a single value. The next is the value of book publisher and book type is repeated in multiple rows so it results in the update, insert and delete anomalies. To overcome this problem the author name and publisher entity are separated into multiple tables as shown below. The author table is created with author_id as primary key. Author Table: Fields (author_id, author_fname, author_lname, author_email) where author_id is the primary key. author_id author_fname author_lname author_email 1001 Max Godwell [emailprotected] 1002 Robin Hood [emailprotected] The relationship between book and author table is maintained in book_author table which is many to many as many a book has many authors and an author can write many books. This relation is established by creating a third table book_author which maps book to author and vice versa. This table contains two fields both as foreign keys which refer to book and author table respectively to establish one to many relationship on both sides. Book_Author Table : ISBN author_id 91238745654 1 91238745654 2 Publisher Table: Fields (publisher_id, publisher_name) publisher_id is the primary key. Similarly the repetition of publisher values in a book table is rectified by creating a publisher table as publisher_id as primary key which is then mapped as foreign key in books table to create one to many relationship, which rectifies the insert, update and delete anomaly thus creates 1NF in all cases. publisher_id publisher_name 1 Apress 2 Princeton Book_Type Table: Fields (book_type_id, book_type_name) book_type_id is the primary key. Similarly the repetition of book type values in a book table is rectified by creating a book_type table with book_type_id as primary key which is then mapped as foreign key in books table to create one to many relationship, which rectifies the insert, update and delete anomaly thus creates 1NF in all cases. Book_type_id Book_type_name 1 Computing 2 Economics The second normal form deals with the dependency of the non key columns with the primary key, i.e. no non key columns can depend upon another non key columns or no non key columns can depends on any one column in case of composite primary key. The conclusion is all the non key columns must be dependent on primary key strictly. Since this is also satisfied in all the tables above all the tables satifies 2NF as well. The third Normal form deals with transitive dependency of non key columns, since this is abolished in all the tables above all the tables are in 3NF as well. Books Table (Normalized): Fields (ISBN, book_name, book_status, book_edition, book_type, book_publisher) ISBN is the primary key, book_type is the foreign key referring to book_type table and book_publisher is the foreign key referring to the publisher table. Books table after normalization Member Table: Fields (member_id, member_fname, member_lname, member_phone, member_email, member_address, member_postcode, member_type, member_allowed_day, member_type_fine) member_id is the primary key. Member table before normalization The table above contains repeated address, repeated postcode, repeated member type, repeated member_type_allowed day and member_type_fine so this should be resolved to convert the tables in 1NF. Since there is no composite primary key there is no partial dependency as such so once the above table is resolved to 1NF it becomes 2NF as well. Since member_type_allowed_day, member_type_fine is dependent on member_type alone which is dependent in member_id it creates transitive dependency. So the table to be in 3NF this anomaly should be removed. Again to overcome these anomalies the tables are separated and the relation between them are established accordingly. The member, address, postcode and member_type tables are separated as below to convert into 3NF. To avoid the repetition of member type in member table the member type is separated in member_type table with member_type_id as primary key and member_type as foreign key in member table which creates one to many relation between these two tables. This also rectifies the transitive dependency existing on the member table formerly and thus resolves the table to 3NF. Member_Type: Fields (member_type_id, member_type_name, member_type_allowed_day, member_type_fine) member_type_id is the primary key. member_type_id member_type_name member_type_allowed_day member_type_fine 1 Student 14 10 2 Lecturer 30 5 The dependency of address in postcode also creates the violation of 2NF through the dependency of non key attribute in another non key attribute other than primary key so this is further resolved by splitting address and postcode table separately. The address table has address_id as primary key which is referred in member table as foreign key which establishes one to many relation between them. At the same moment the postcode table is created with postcode_id as primary key and is referred in address table as foreign key named postcode also creates one to many relation between postcode and address. Thus the 2NF violation in member table is abolished and further more all the resulting table satisfies all the Normal form conditions. Address Table: Fields (address_id, address_description, postcode) address_id is the primary key and postcode is the foreign key referring postcode_id in the postcode table which creates one to many relation between address and postcode table. Address_id address_description postcode 1 121 East Road 1 2 45 Parr Road 2 3 36 Jhon Road 3 4 23 Plashet Road 1 Postcode Table: Fields (postcode_id, postcode_description) postcode_id is the primary key. postcode_id postcode_description 1 E15 3QS 2 NW9 1NF 3 SE1 2NX Member Table (Normalized): Fields (member_id, member_fname, member_lname, member_phone, member_email, member_type, member_address) member_id is the primary key; member_type is the foreign key referring to member_type_id in member table to create one to many relations between these two table. member_address is the foreign key referring to address_id of Address table to establish another one to many relation. As in case of librarian the repeating fields in a table address and which caused the insert, update and delete anomalies so violated 1NF and this is resolved by creating the Librarian table with the foreign key mapped to address table thus maintaining one to many relationship and thus abolishes any Normalization violations and thus results in satisfaction to all the Normal forms. Library Table (without normalization) : Fields ( librarian_id, librarian_fname, librarian_lname, librarian_phone, librarian_email, librarian_address, librarian_postcode) librarian_id is the primary key. Library Table (normalized): Fields (librarian_id, librarian_fname, librarian_lname, librarian_email) librarian_id is the primary key and librarian_address is the foreign key which refers to address_id in the Address table to create one to many relationship. Borrow Table (without normalization) : Fields (borrow_id, member_id, ISBN, issuing_librarian, borrow_date, return_date, expected_return_date, returning_librarian, fine_amount) borrow_id is the primary key. Borrow table before normalization The above table violates the 1NF by repeating the librarian ids at the same once it is resolved all other normal forms conditions are satisfied. The borrow table is divided into one more table as Fine and the librarian is associated to Borrow and Fine table separately through one to many relationships in both cases. This eradicates the violation of normal forms and thus makes the form normalized up to 3NF. Fine table: Fields (fine_id, borrow_id, librarian_id,fine_amount) fine_id is the primary key and borrow_id is the indexed foreign key which is mapped to the borrow_id of the borrow table, so as to create one to one relationship between them. The relation ship is created one to one as one borrow can only have one fine and not more than once. fine_id borrow_id librarian_id fine_amount 1 1 1001 10 2 2 1002 15 Borrow table (Normalized): Fields (borrow_id, member_id, ISBN, librarian_id, borrow_date, return_date, expected_return_date) borrow_id is the primary key. member_id is the foreign key which referrs to the member_id of the member table thus creating one to many relationship in between. Similarly ISBN is the foreign key that refers to the ISBN in the book table thus creating one to many relation between them. Similarly librarian_id is the foreign key that is mapped with librarian_id of the librarian table to create one to many relationship again. Borrow table after normalization 4.4 Physical Design The physical design refers to the creation of the physical tables in the preferred database management system. In database management system there are the specific SQL called Data definition languages (DDL) to create the physical table and establish the relationship between the tables. They are CREATE, ALTER, And DROP. CREATE statement is used to create the physical structure of the table. ALTER statement is used to modify the existing structure of a table as adding and removing columns, constraints etc. DROP statement is used to delete a table. For instance we have to create the tables as per the requirement. Here are the DDL statements to create the tables as illustrated in the ER diagram CREATE TABLE Books ( ISBN INT NOT NULL , book_name VARCHAR( 100 ) NOT NULL , book_status CHAR( 1 ) NOT NULL , book_type INT NOT NULL, book_edition INT NOT NULL , book_publisher INT NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY ( ISBN ) ); CREATE TABLE Book_Type ( book_type_id INT NOT NULL , book_type_name VARCHAR( 50 ) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY ( book_type_id ) ); CREATE TABLE Author ( author_id INT NOT NULL, author_fname VARCHAR ( 50) NOT NULL , author_fname VARCHAR ( 50) NOT NULL , author_email VARCHAR ( 100) NOT NULL ); CREATE TABLE Publisher ( publisher_id INT NOT NULL, publisher_name VARCHAR (100) NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY ( publisher_id ) ); CREATE TABLE Book_Author ( book_id INT NOT NULL , author_id INT NOT NULL ); CREATE TABLE Member ( member_id INT NOT NULL , member_fname VARCHAR( 50 ) NOT NULL , member_lname VARCHAR( 50 ) NOT NULL, member_phone VARCHAR( 25 ) NOT NULL , member_email VARCHAR( 100 ) NOT NULL , member_email VARCHAR( 100 ) NOT NULL , member_type INT NOT NULL , member_address INT NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY (member_id ) ); CREATE TABLE Member_Type ( member_type_id INT NOT NULL , member_type_name VARCHAR( 50 ) NOT NULL , member_type_allowed_day INT NOT NULL , member_type_fine INT NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY (member_type_id) ); CREATE TABLE Address ( address_id INT NOT NULL , address_desc TEXT NOT NULL , postcode INT NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY (address_id ) ); CREATE TABLE Postcode ( postcode_id INT NOT NULL, postcode_description VARCHAR( 10 ) NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY (postcode_id ) ); CREATE TABLE Librarian ( librarian_id INT NOT NULL , librarian_fname VARCHAR( 50 ) NOT NULL , librarian_lname VARCHAR( 50 ) NOT NULL , librarian_address INT NOT NULL , librarian_phone VARCHAR( 25 ) , librarian_email VARCHAR( 100 ) , PRIMARY KEY ( `librarian_id` ) ); CREATE TABLE Borrow ( borrow_id INT NOT NULL , member_id INT NOT NULL , ISBN INT NOT NULL , librarian_id INT NOT NULL , borrow_date DATE NOT NULL , return_date DATE , expected_return_date DATE NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY (borrow_id ) ); CREATE TABLE Fine ( fine_id INT NOT NULL , borrow_id INT NOT NULL , librarian_id INT NOT NULL , fine_amount FLOAT NOT NULL fine_paid CHAR( 1 ) NULL , PRIMARY KEY ( `fine_id` ), INDEX (borrow_id) ); Once the table physical structures are created then the relation among them are established as per the ER diagram and normalization. Below are the DDL statements used to create the foreign keys so as to create the relationship between the tables as illustrated in ER diagram. ALTER TABLE Books ADD FOREIGN KEY (book_type) REFERENCES Book_Type (book_type_id) ; ALTER TABLE Books ADD FOREIGN KEY ( `book_publisher` ) REFERENCES Publisher( publisher_id ) ; ALTER TABLE Book_Author ADD FOREIGN KEY ( ISBN ) REFERENCES books( ISBN ) ; ALTER TABLE Book _ Author ADD FOREIGN KEY ( author_id ) REFERENCES Author( author_id ) ; ALTER TABLE Member ADD FOREIGN KEY ( member_address ) REFERENCES Address( address_id ) ; ALTER TABLE Member ADD FOREIGN KEY ( member_type) REFERENCES Member_Type( member_type_id ) ; ALTER TABLE Librarian ADD FOREIGN KEY ( librarian_address ) REFERENCES Address( address_id ) ; ALTER TABLE Borrow ADD FOREIGN KEY ( member_id ) REFERENCES Member( member_id ) ; ALTER TABLE Borrow ADD FOREIGN KEY ( ISBN ) REFERENCES books(ISBN) ; ALTER TABLE Borrow ADD FOREIGN KEY ( librarian_id) REFERENCES Librarian( librarian_id ); ALTER TABLE fine ADD FOREIGN KEY ( borrow_id) REFERENCES Borrow( borrow_id ); ALTER TABLE fine ADD FOREIGN KEY ( librarian_id ) REFERENCES Librarian( librarian_id ); ALTER TABLE address ADD FOREIGN KEY ( postcode ) REFERENCES Postcode( postcode_id) 5 Data Manipulation language Data manipulation language DML is SQL is the statement which used to insert, update, delete and retrieve the data from the table or multiple tables as per requirement. The INSERT statement is used to insert a record in a table. UPDATE statement is used to modify the value of the attribute in a record and DELETE statement is used to delete a record from the table. 5.1 DML to insert dummy records INSERT INTO Postcode (postcode_id ,postcode_description) VALUES (2, NW9 E5J); INSERT INTO Address (address_id ,address_desc ,po

Agents of Socialization Essay -- essays research papers

Agents of socialization in short are the people, groups, and social institutions, as well as the interactions within these groups that influence a person’s social and self-development. Agents of socialization are believed to provide the critical information needed for children to function successfully as a member of society. Some examples of such agents are family, neighborhood, schools, peers, religion, sports, the workplace, and especially the mass media. Each agent of socialization is linked to another. For example, in the media, symbolic images affect both the individual and the society, making the mass media the most controversial socialization agent. One of the most obvious places agents of socialization lay is in the malls of America. Malls are filled with advertisements and consumed by the mass media touching on all levels of society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No one is immune from the affect of the agents of socialization that exist in malls. Anyone and everyone who is part of a society is a product of socialization. Within every advertisement, clothing store, toy store, arcade, music store, etc, there is a gender preferred subliminal message being sent. The way toys are divided into male sections and female sections and the way advertisements portray all men and women in a certain way contribute to societies â€Å"norm† of gender roles. The mass media is one of the most influential agents of socialization and malls are surrounded by it. The messages given through the media act as the teachers of gender roles, values, ideologies, and beliefs, and individuals who pick up on these messages eventually take on, whats thought to be, the normative roles of society. Both boys and girls rely on society’s expectations in regard to both masculinity and femininity in order to interpret interaction and to develop exp ectations for themselves and those around them. It is because of these agents of socialization, that gender roles are created. Advertisements portray both men and women in characteristically stereotypical fashions that support the various institutions and socialization agents. The women depicted in these advertisements fit the stereotypical roles related to sexuality by focusing on beauty, body image, and physical attractiveness. They are skinny and tan, with teeth as white as paper and hair looking healthy and fresh. Girls in society look up to th... ...re much more scarce. For the more adult cards, those for women all had jokes pertaining to looks, weight and/or sex life, while the men’s cards had jokes pertaining to hair loss, blindness, beer belly’s etc. One card I noticed entailed for women had a picture of a gorgeous, tan, and muscular male with the â€Å"washboard stomach†, and on the inside was a joke saying something along the lines of how one would love this as her present. This send the message to guys that to be a desirable man, they need to be the typical â€Å"tall, dark, and handsome† prince of their dreams, and vise versa for the men’s cards. One card for a male had a picture of a â€Å"Bay Watch Babe† assuming that any typical guy would want a woman like that. This tells women that in order to be desirable to men they need to be skinny, gorgeous, and have a high sexual appeal. Wrapping paper is available to â€Å"fit† both sexes. In one bin there’s a collect ion of wrapping paper with trucks, tractors, bulldozers etc, and in the other there is a collection of wrapping paper with Barbie and friends, dolls, butterflies etc for girls. Anyone would get the message that one bin is entailed for males, and the other is entailed for females.

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde :: essays papers

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde In Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novel about dual identity, Dr. Henry Jekyll, an affluent surgeon, creates a potion by which he can transform into Edward Hyde, the physical manifestation of his evil side. After many months of thrilling nighttime criminal escapades through the streets of London, his antics under the cloak of Hyde get him in trouble when he slays prominent public figure Danvers Carew. Jekyll is so shocked by this deed of evil that he decides an end will be put to his transformations, a science he calls transcendental medicine. Much to his alarm, Jekyll finds that he now turns into Hyde without his wanting it, undeniably a side effect of the drug. After locking himself into his cabinet, in order to facilitate his use of the drug in case of spontaneous transformations, his concerned butler Poole alerts good friend Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer. Together, they break into the cabinet, only to find they body of Hyde, lifeless on the floor. The pair finds an envelope addressed to Utterson which shall supposedly explain why they cannot find the body of Henry Jekyll. The book finishes with the letter Jekyll wrote for Utterson being presented to us as though he is reading it. Utterson is to rejoin Poole in the house at the stroke of midnight, no later, in order to call the police and inform them of the murder. We will start the chapter three weeks after the discovery of the corps. Note: I have tried to make the style of writing alike to Mr. Stevenson’s as much as possible. The Incident of Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson Mr. Utterson, the lawyer, was not a man of weak stomach, but even his strength had restrictions. Although he was an individual of strict self-control, he did approve a known patience for others; an ability he had come by due to a singular resurfacing thread that seemed to wind it’s way through his life: he repeatedly had the luck (or misfortune, as one may see it) to be the last good influence in the lives of moribund men. And so, it seemed, that the thread had reappeared in his life by way of the troubling matter of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and that it was choking the willpower right out of poor Mr.

The Persistence of Memory

Looking at the picture The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, people can see an abstract aesthetic deep within. The landscapes associated with his childhood have become an inspiration for his paintings. When he grew up, Dali still spent his time to painting the Catalonia’s landscape elaborately. Completed in 1931, The Persistence of Memory became one of his well-known paintings. This famous artwork is called â€Å"Dali ‘s hand painted dream photographs†, and it is simultaneously read as a painting depicting landscape, still life, and self-portrait. As I find curious in this abstract, I use many researches in reference book and Internet in order to look for the meaning of this picture so far. One interesting idea is about the melting watches that inspire randomly. In one hot August afternoon in 1931, as Dali was having lunch on his work bench, suddenly an idea of paranoiac hallucinations came to his mind. He took his pencil and slid under a bit of Camembert cheese, which was softer by the heating of summer weather, and started drawing. Dali came up with an idea about the melting watches as the main subject. These soft melting watches convey Dali’s primary philosophy about the â€Å"softness† and the â€Å"hardness†. The melting watches are one symbol that is commonly associated with Salvador Dali's Surrealism. They are literally meant to show the irrelevance of time. According to the Wikipedia website, one famous art history professor named Dawn Ades wrote, â€Å"The soft watches are an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time, a Surrealist meditation on the collapse of our notions of a fixed cosmic order. In addition, there are some interesting subjects appearing in this painting such as the craggy rocks of Catalonia spreading out further away. This is the place where he grew up, and also indeed the association with his painting The Persistence of Memory. It shows a typical Dalinian landscape with his beloved Cape Creus (a peninsula and a headland located at Mediterranean) in the background. In the foreground, there is an orange clock at the bottom l eft of the painting, which is covered in ants. Beside, the figure in the middle of the painting can be recognized as a human figure in a dream state that Dali uses to represent himself, as the artwork became a self-portrait, maybe. Looking closely as the details, we see the abstract form has one closed eye with curvy eyelashes, as it falls into a dream state. The melting clock laid on top symbolizes the passing time experienced in a dream. The bottom left of a painting usually is a death spot; people perceive a painting by reading the focus elements, then following the direction it points too. Sometimes leads to death point. But in this picture, the plate is oval to top right, leading the viewers up back to the watches that can make viewers focus on the foreground. As the technique of drawing, the painting presents a linear perspective. The tree, the table, the clocks stand out in the foreground, but they are colored with a darker color. This lets the bright yellow cliffs and the blue water shinning in the background as it helps to emphasize the landscape of Dali’s childhood. The contrast of bright and dark color also creates the intensity of â€Å"real† and imagination of the â€Å"composition† Well, in my opinion, I perceive things rights at this part because dark color means dark reality, and bright color means dreamy, but in this picture is the opposite. Dark color is unrealistic world; bright color may be his memory on the beautiful land. His reality now is dark and shallow that represents the watch is the time has passed in his life. As the choices of color, this artwork has used a bright white and blue in the top left hand corner and then fading up into the darkness. There is an orange clock in the bottom left hand corner sticks out of the brown and black foreground. The cool colors include the sky, and three melting watches that are harmony with the rest of landscape’s color. This painting represents a linear perspective. The objects in front of the piece, the tree, the clocks, the table stand out more than the objects that the artist wants the viewers to notice like the mountain, the sky, the ocean, and the rocks in the background. Even though they are the main points in this painting, they are less of focusing than the melting clocks in the foreground. Dali interpretation gives much confusion for critics and art lovers. Partly because Dali’s work is to convey a concept of two different sides: real and imagination. For example, The Persistence of Memory is a landscape painting produced based on the landscape that Dali saw in his childhood. In the background is a beach with sand and water, rock and cliffs. These details represent real subjects in life. Yet, in the foreground, there are some melting watches and an unrecognizable figure sliding over the rocks in the center of the painting. The melting watches and the strange figure can be seen as products of his imagination, and the cliffs which is a place in Catalonia depicts Dali’s childhood memory. The Persistence of Memory is named itself. It resembles for Port Lligat, the home of Salvador Dali. He tried to expose his hometown with sand, beach, branch tree, rock and cliff. Still, there are many interpretations in this painting. Some we can understand, others are hard to explain. Perhaps the images of the melting watches are really nothing more than the ideas that Dali was inspired by the Camembert cheese melt in a warm sunny day. As I find Dali’s artwork intriguing and repulsive, his painting looks really realistic, creative, and stunning. He was the person that could put the photorealistic images on a canvas. His style noted as a Surrealist, which was influenced by famous psychologist who led him to explore his fears and fantasies, or possible, a crazy idea. This is the reason I choose his artwork because through them, he brings me a new concept that looks abnormal at firs but then really intense as I discover deepen into its meanings. Salvador Dali was a great artist, a man who is not ashamed to show his feeling. Through The Persistence of Memory, I felt like it is a perfect example for Dali’s style, very surrealist and realistic. No matter what is said about the painting, this work has stood the test of time as it has a great influence on pop culture today. Salvador Dali has become an icon for a generation that is interested in the abstract and distortion of reality.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-five

Eddard Lord Arryn's death was a great sadness for all of us, my lord,† Grand Maester Pycelle said. â€Å"I would be more than happy to tell you what I can of the manner of his passing. Do be seated. Would you care for refreshments? Some dates, perhaps? I have some very fine persimmons as well. Wine no longer agrees with my digestion, I fear, but I can offer you a cup of iced milk, sweetened with honey. I find it most refreshing in this heat.† There was no denying the heat; Ned could feel the silk tunic clinging to his chest. Thick, moist air covered the city like a damp woolen blanket, and the riverside had grown unruly as the poor fled their hot, airless warrens to jostle for sleeping places near the water, where the only breath of wind was to be found. â€Å"That would be most kind,† Ned said, seating himself. Pycelle lifted a tiny silver bell with thumb and forefinger and tinkled it gently. A slender young serving girl hurried into the solar. â€Å"Iced milk for the King's Hand and myself, if you would be so kind, child. Well sweetened.† As the girl went to fetch their drinks, the Grand Maester knotted his fingers together and rested his hands on his stomach. â€Å"The smallfolk say that the last year of summer is always the hottest. It is not so, yet ofttimes it feels that way, does it not? On days like this, I envy you northerners your summer snows.† The heavy jeweled chain around the old man's neck chinked softly as he shifted in his seat. â€Å"To be sure, King Maekar's summer was hotter than this one, and near as long. There were fools, even in the Citadel, who took that to mean that the Great Summer had come at last, the summer that never ends, but in the seventh year it broke suddenly, and we had a short autumn and a terrible long winter. Still, the heat was fierce while it lasted. Oldtown steamed and sweltered by day and came alive only by night. We would walk in the gardens by the river and argue about the gods. I remember the smells of those nights, my lord—perfume and sweat, melons ripe to b ursting, peaches and pomegranates, nightshade and moonbloom. I was a young man then, still forging my chain. The heat did not exhaust me as it does now.† Pycelle's eyes were so heavily lidded he looked half-asleep. â€Å"My pardons, Lord Eddard. You did not come to hear foolish meanderings of a summer forgotten before your father was born. Forgive an old man his wanderings, if you would. Minds are like swords, I do fear. The old ones go to rust. Ah, and here is our milk.† The serving girl placed the tray between them, and Pycelle gave her a smile. â€Å"Sweet child.† He lifted a cup, tasted, nodded. â€Å"Thank you. You may go.† When the girl had taken her leave, Pycelle peered at Ned through pale, rheumy eyes. â€Å"Now where were we? Oh, yes. You asked about Lord Arryn . . . â€Å" â€Å"I did.† Ned sipped politely at the iced milk. It was pleasantly cold, but oversweet to his taste. â€Å"If truth be told, the Hand had not seemed quite himself for some time,† Pycelle said. â€Å"We had sat together on council many a year, he and I, and the signs were there to read, but I put them down to the great burdens he had borne so faithfully for so long. Those broad shoulders were weighed down by all the cares of the realm, and more besides. His son was ever sickly, and his lady wife so anxious that she would scarcely let the boy out of her sight. It was enough to weary even a strong man, and the Lord Jon was not young. Small wonder if he seemed melancholy and tired. Or so I thought at the time. Yet now I am less certain.† He gave a ponderous shake of his head. â€Å"What can you tell me of his final illness?† The Grand Maester spread his hands in a gesture of helpless sorrow. â€Å"He came to me one day asking after a certain book, as hale and healthy as ever, though it did seem to me that something was troubling him deeply. The next morning he was twisted over in pain, too sick to rise from bed. Maester Colemon thought it was a chill on the stomach. The weather had been hot, and the Hand often iced his wine, which can upset the digestion. When Lord Jon continued to weaken, I went to him myself, but the gods did not grant me the power to save him.† â€Å"I have heard that you sent Maester Colemon away.† The Grand Maester's nod was as slow and deliberate as a glacier. â€Å"I did, and I fear the Lady Lysa will never forgive me that. Maybe I was wrong, but at the time I thought it best. Maester Colemon is like a son to me, and I yield to none in my esteem for his abilities, but he is young, and the young ofttimes do not comprehend the frailty of an older body. He was purging Lord Arryn with wasting potions and pepper juice, and I feared he might kill him.† â€Å"Did Lord Arryn say anything to you during his final hours?† Pycelle wrinkled his brow. â€Å"In the last stage of his fever, the Hand called out the name Robert several times, but whether he was asking for his son or for the king I could not say. Lady Lysa would not permit the boy to enter the sickroom, for fear that he too might be taken ill. The king did come, and he sat beside the bed for hours, talking and joking of times long past in hopes of raising Lord Jon's spirits. His love was fierce to see.† â€Å"Was there nothing else? No final words?† â€Å"When I saw that all hope had fled, I gave the Hand the milk of the poppy, so he should not suffer. Just before he closed his eyes for the last time, he whispered something to the king and his lady wife, a blessing for his son. The seed is strong, he said. At the end, his speech was too slurred to comprehend. Death did not come until the next morning, but Lord Jon was at peace after that. He never spoke again.† Ned took another swallow of milk, trying not to gag on the sweetness of it. â€Å"Did it seem to you that there was anything unnatural about Lord Arryn's death?† â€Å"Unnatural?† The aged maester's voice was thin as a whisper. â€Å"No, I could not say so. Sad, for a certainty. Yet in its own way, death is the most natural thing of all, Lord Eddard. Jon Arryn rests easy now, his burdens lifted at last.† â€Å"This illness that took him,† said Ned. â€Å"Had you ever seen its like before, in other men?† â€Å"Near forty years I have been Grand Maester of the Seven Kingdoms,† Pycelle replied. â€Å"Under our good King Robert, and Aerys Targaryen before him, and his father Jaehaerys the Second before him, and even for a few short months under Jaehaerys's father, Aegon the Fortunate, the Fifth of His Name. I have seen more of illness than I care to remember, my lord. I will tell you this: Every case is different, and every case is alike. Lord Jon's death was no stranger than any other.† â€Å"His wife thought otherwise.† The Grand Maester nodded. â€Å"I recall now, the widow is sister to your own noble wife. If an old man may be forgiven his blunt speech, let me say that grief can derange even the strongest and most disciplined of minds, and the Lady Lysa was never that. Since her last stillbirth, she has seen enemies in every shadow, and the death of her lord husband left her shattered and lost.† â€Å"So you are quite certain that Jon Arryn died of a sudden illness?† â€Å"I am,† Pycelle replied gravely. â€Å"If not illness, my good lord, what else could it be?† â€Å"Poison,† Ned suggested quietly. Pycelle's sleepy eyes flicked open. The aged maester shifted uncomfortably in his seat. â€Å"A disturbing thought. We are not the Free Cities, where such things are common. Grand Maester Aethelmure wrote that all men carry murder in their hearts, yet even so, the poisoner is beneath contempt.† He fell silent for a moment, his eyes lost in thought. â€Å"What you suggest is possible, my lord, yet I do not think it likely. Every hedge maester knows the common poisons, and Lord Arryn displayed none of the signs. And the Hand was loved by all. What sort of monster in man's flesh would dare to murder such a noble lord?† â€Å"I have heard it said that poison is a woman's weapon.† Pycelle stroked his beard thoughtfully. â€Å"It is said. Women, cravens . . . and eunuchs.† He cleared his throat and spat a thick glob of phelm onto the rushes. Above them, a raven cawed loudly in the rookery. â€Å"The Lord Varys was born a slave in Lys, did you know? Put not your trust in spiders, my lord.† That was scarcely anything Ned needed to be told; there was something about Varys that made his flesh crawl. â€Å"I will remember that, Maester. And I thank you for your help. I have taken enough of your time.† He stood. Grand Maester Pycelle pushed himself up from his chair slowly and escorted Ned to the door. â€Å"I hope I have helped in some small way to put your mind at ease. If there is any other service I might perform, you need only ask.† â€Å"One thing,† Ned told him. â€Å"I should be curious to examine the book that you lent Jon the day before he fell ill.† â€Å"I fear you would find it of little interest,† Pycelle said. â€Å"It was a ponderous tome by Grand Maester Malleon on the lineages of the great houses.† â€Å"Still, I should like to see it.† The old man opened the door. â€Å"As you wish. I have it here somewhere. When I find it, I shall have it sent to your chambers straightaway.† â€Å"You have been most courteous,† Ned told him. Then, almost as an afterthought, he said, â€Å"One last question, if you would be so kind. You mentioned that the king was at Lord Arryn's bedside when he died. I wonder, was the queen with him?† â€Å"Why, no,† Pycelle said. â€Å"She and the children were making the journey to Casterly Rock, in company with her father. Lord Tywin had brought a retinue to the city for the tourney on Prince Joffrey's name day, no doubt hoping to see his son Jaime win the champion's crown. In that he was sadly disappointed. It fell to me to send the queen word of Lord Arryn's sudden death. Never have I sent off a bird with a heavier heart.† â€Å"Dark wings, dark words,† Ned murmured. It was a proverb Old Nan had taught him as a boy. â€Å"So the fishwives say,† Grand Maester Pycelle agreed, â€Å"but we know it is not always so. When Maester Luwin's bird brought the word about your Bran, the message lifted every true heart in the castle, did it not?† â€Å"As you say, Maester.† â€Å"The gods are merciful.† Pycelle bowed his head. â€Å"Come to me as often as you like, Lord Eddard. I am here to serve.† Yes, Ned thought as the door swung shut, but whom? On the way back to his chambers, he came upon his daughter Arya on the winding steps of the Tower of the Hand, windmilling her arms as she struggled to balance on one leg. The rough stone had scuffed her bare feet. Ned stopped and looked at her. â€Å"Arya, what are you doing?† â€Å"Syrio says a water dancer can stand on one toe for hours.† Her hands flailed at the air to steady herself. Ned had to smile. â€Å"Which toe?† he teased. â€Å"Any toe,† Arya said, exasperated with the question. She hopped from her right leg to her left, swaying dangerously before she regained her balance. â€Å"Must you do your standing here?† he asked. â€Å"It's a long hard fall down these steps.† â€Å"Syrio says a water dancer never falls.† She lowered her leg to stand on two feet. â€Å"Father, will Bran come and live with us now?† â€Å"Not for a long time, sweet one,† he told her. â€Å"He needs to win his strength back.† Arya bit her lip. â€Å"What will Bran do when he's of age?† Ned knelt beside her. â€Å"He has years to find that answer, Arya. For now, it is enough to know that he will live.† The night the bird had come from Winterfell, Eddard Stark had taken the girls to the castle godswood, an acre of elm and alder and black cottonwood overlooking the river. The heart tree there was a great oak, its ancient limbs overgrown with smokeberry vines; they knelt before it to offer their thanksgiving, as if it had been a weirwood. Sansa drifted to sleep as the moon rose, Arya several hours later, curling up in the grass under Ned's cloak. All through the dark hours he kept his vigil alone. When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon's breath surrounded the girls where they lay. â€Å"I dreamed of Bran,† Sansa had whispered to him. â€Å"I saw him smiling.† â€Å"He was going to be a knight,† Arya was saying now. â€Å"A knight of the Kingsguard. Can he still be a knight?† â€Å"No,† Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. â€Å"Yet someday he may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king's council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the SunsetSea, or enter your mother's Faith and become the High Septon.† But he will never run beside his wolf again, he thought with a sadness too deep for words, or lie with a woman, or hold his own son in his arms. Arya cocked her head to one side. â€Å"Can I be a king's councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?† â€Å"You,† Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, â€Å"will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.† Arya screwed up her face. â€Å"No,† she said, â€Å"that's Sansa.† She folded up her right leg and resumed her balancing. Ned sighed and left her there. Inside his chambers, he stripped off his sweat-stained silks and sluiced cold water over his head from the basin beside the bed. Alyn entered as he was drying his face. â€Å"My lord,† he said, â€Å"Lord Baelish is without and begs audience.† â€Å"Escort him to my solar,† Ned said, reaching for a fresh tunic, the lightest linen he could find. â€Å"I'll see him at once.† Littlefinger was perched on the window seat when Ned entered, watching the knights of the Kingsguard practice at swords in the yard below. â€Å"If only old Selmy's mind were as nimble as his blade,† he said wistfully, â€Å"our council meetings would be a good deal livelier.† â€Å"Ser Barristan is as valiant and honorable as any man in King's Landing.† Ned had come to have a deep respect for the aged, white-haired Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. â€Å"And as tiresome,† Littlefinger added, â€Å"though I daresay he should do well in the tourney. Last year he unhorsed the Hound, and it was only four years ago that he was champion.† The question of who might win the tourney interested Eddard Stark not in the least. â€Å"Is there a reason for this visit, Lord Petyr, or are you here simply to enjoy the view from my window?† Littlefinger smiled. â€Å"I promised Cat I would help you in your inquiries, and so I have.† That took Ned aback. Promise or no promise, he could not find it in him to trust Lord Petyr Baelish, who struck him as too clever by half. â€Å"You have something for me?† â€Å"Someone,† Littlefinger corrected. â€Å"Four someones, if truth be told. Had you thought to question the Hand's servants?† Ned frowned. â€Å"Would that I could. Lady Arryn took her household back to the Eyrie.† Lysa had done him no favor in that regard. All those who had stood closest to her husband had gone with her when she fled: Jon's maester, his steward, the captain of his guard, his knights and retainers. â€Å"Most of her household,† Littlefinger said, â€Å"not all. A few remain. A pregnant kitchen girl hastily wed to one of Lord Renly's grooms, a stablehand who joined the City Watch, a potboy discharged from service for theft, and Lord Arryn's squire.† â€Å"His squire?† Ned was pleasantly surprised. A man's squire often knew a great deal of his comings and goings. â€Å"Ser Hugh of the Vale,† Littlefinger named him. â€Å"The king knighted the boy after Lord Arryn's death.† â€Å"I shall send for him,† Ned said. â€Å"And the others.† Littlefinger winced. â€Å"My lord, step over here to the window, if you would be so kind.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Come, and I'll show you, my lord.† Frowning, Ned crossed to the window. Petyr Baelish made a casual gesture. â€Å"There, across the yard, at the door of the armory, do you see the boy squatting by the steps honing a sword with an oilstone?† â€Å"What of him?† â€Å"He reports to Varys. The Spider has taken a great interest in you and all your doings.† He shifted in the window seat. â€Å"Now glance at the wall. Farther west, above the stables. The guardsman leaning on the ramparts?† Ned saw the man. â€Å"Another of the eunuch's whisperers?† â€Å"No, this one belongs to the queen. Notice that he enjoys a fine view of the door to this tower, the better to note who calls on you. There are others, many unknown even to me. The Red Keep is full of eyes. Why do you think I hid Cat in a brothel?† Eddard Stark had no taste for these intrigues. â€Å"Seven hells,† he swore. It did seem as though the man on the walls was watching him. Suddenly uncomfortable, Ned moved away from the window. â€Å"Is everyone someone's informer in this cursed city?† â€Å"Scarcely,† said Littlefinger. He counted on the fingers on his hand. â€Å"Why, there's me, you, the king . . . although, come to think on it, the king tells the queen much too much, and I'm less than certain about you.† He stood up. â€Å"Is there a man in your service that you trust utterly and completely?† â€Å"Yes,† said Ned. â€Å"In that case, I have a delightful palace in Valyria that I would dearly love to sell you,† Littlefinger said with a mocking smile. â€Å"The wiser answer was no, my lord, but be that as it may. Send this paragon of yours to Ser Hugh and the others. Your own comings and goings will be noted, but even Varys the Spider cannot watch every man in your service every hour of the day.† He started for the door. â€Å"Lord Petyr,† Ned called after him. â€Å"I . . . am grateful for your help. Perhaps I was wrong to distrust you.† Littlefinger fingered his small pointed beard. â€Å"You are slow to learn, Lord Eddard. Distrusting me was the wisest thing you've done since you climbed down off your horse.†