How to Bypass Your Internal Editor

How to Bypass Your Internal Editor How to Bypass Your Internal Editor How to Bypass Your Internal Editor By Michael When you edit your first draft, youll have all sorts of ideas of what to change. But when you write your first draft, you want to turn off the internal editor in your mind, that super-ego that looks over your shoulder and criticizes everything you do. Editing is different from writing. Most people cant successfully do both at the same time. And when you do your first draft, you need to focus on writing. Here are some tips on disabling your internal editor until youre ready to hear from it: Make a personal policy to never hit the backspace key more than one. Then you will be able to fix typos but nothing else. If that doesnt work, refuse to hit the backspace key at all. Unless youre a really bad typist, you will still be able to recognize the word you typed. Ive actually written entire chapters in the dark, lying in bed with my ultra-light Alphasmart 2000 keyboard. And in the morning, almost everything I had typed was understandable. If you have to, dont write at all. Dictate onto a recording and type it up later. Dont edit yourself as you speak, either. Never stop talking. If you cant think of what to say next, just say anything until your train of thought returns to you. Start writing with the easy part. Write about what you know best or what you are most passionate about. For example, if youre writing a brochure or website for your business, start with the story of how and why you began the business or learned your skills. Before you know it, you may discover that youve also written about your product line and your unique selling proposition (USP). Set yourself a speed goal. Tell yourself that you have to write a certain number of words a minute. Dont judge the quality of your output. It may be hard at first, but it will get easier. What if you hate what you wrote, and cant stand to edit it? In that case, write it again. You wrote it fast the first time, right? You wont lose much by doing it again. Just start from the beginning, or from where you got off the path, and keep going. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingHow to Pronounce Mobile"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?

Dress for Success to Excel in Medicine

Dress for Success to Excel in Medicine Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.You’ve likely heard this advice before–when you put your best self forward, people around you will treat you with professionalism and respect.  This philosophy is especially true for health care professionals, and to understand why, you can take it one step further: Dress to be the medical professional you’d want in your time of need.Think about it: people turn to you for guidance and knowledge in their darkest hours. They need to feel that you are pulled together and ready to help in when they need it most.  Patients don’t know or care that you’re coming in on a Saturday, fresh from a day at the park with your family. It doesn’t matter to the parents of a sick child that today is your last day on call before a vacation. They just want and need a staff of professionals to put them at ease–just like you would if you were in their shoes.Can you give solid medical advice in jeans and a flannel shirt? Of course. But a pulled-together image and presentation helps convey a sense of authority people need when they put their lives and the lives of their loved ones in your hands.Casual Fridays Don’t Have a Place in MedicineRead More at Kevin MD–

Long term debt alternatives for hospitals Article

Long term debt alternatives for hospitals - Article Example Hospital financing has never been so easy. With lots of options to choose from and government’s encouraging policies to back upon, the financing part of the hospital has become organized and comfortable for all the involved parties.Once the proposed hospital’s capital has been decided, the desired method of the capital funding needs to be determined. In the US hospital industry, approximately 50% of the assets are financed through equity and 50% through debt. Long term debt financing is available from at least four major sources: tax-exempt revenue bonds, Federal Housing Administration insured mortgages, public taxable bonds, and conventional mortgage financing.To obtain debt financing, hospitals must maintain a certain level of financial performance as measured by various ratios of assets to liabilities or income to expenses.The two prominent long term debt alternatives for hospital are:1. Conventional mortgage: A mortgage in which the interest rate does not change during the entire term of the loan and that is not insured or guaranteed by the government. Interest rate is the rate which is charged or paid for the use of money. An interest rat e is often expressed as an annual percentage of the principal. It is calculated by dividing the amount of interest by the amount of principal. Interest rates often change as a result of inflation and Federal Reserve policies. For example, if a lender (such as a bank) charges a customer $90 in a year on a loan of $1000, then the interest rate would be 90/1000 *100% = 9%. 90/1000 *100% = 9%. Lenders typically require a down payment of at least 20 percent on a conventional loan, although you can get a loan with a down payment of 3 percent or even less if you are willing to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI protects the lender if the owner defaults on the loan. Conventional mortgage loans are typically fully amortizing, meaning that the regular principal and interest payment will pay off the loan in the number of payments stipulated on the note. Most conventional mortgages have time frames of 15-to-30 years and may be either fixed-rate or adjustable. While most mortgages require monthly payments of principal and interest, some lenders also offer interest-only and biweekly payment options. 2. Taxable bonds Over the past 15 years, hospitals have invested large sums of money in physician practices and various joint ventures with physician groups. However, these funds come with a catch: control over whatever the hospital has invested in typically is required to stay with the hospital. In many cases, this has created a lot of tension between the two entities -- and this is where bond financing comes in to play. Bonds carry lower rates of interest than bank loans and permit physicians to retain control over their operations. Bonds are a form of debt which has a principal amount (or par value) payable at maturity and bears interest (the coupon rate) payable at certain intervals. Bonds are similar to loans from a bank, except that bonds are typically longer in maturity (20 to 30 years) and are usually sold to third-party investors. Bonds can be taxable or tax-exempt depending on the tax status of the borrowing entity. A not-for-profit 501(c)(3) hospital can borrow on a tax-exempt basis (which affords lower interest rates) due to its nonprofit tax status, whereas, for-profit, private physician groups borrow on a taxable basis. Taxable bonds are issued by a physician group and sold to investors (by the group's investment banker) based on the promise of the group to repay the principal of the bonds and all interest. Since third-party investors will probably not be familiar with the particular physician group, a commercial bank with a good credit rating serves as an intermediary to provide a credit and liquidity guaranty to the investors. The bank then

Foreigners Changing China, 1850-1980 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Foreigners Changing China, 1850-1980 - Essay Example This particular frame of mind can be considered as the main cause of their resistance in adopting other cultures and their values for millennia. They assumed that they are self sufficient in all forms of society and do not require foreign intrusion. But in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century China has undergone various changes in many parts of their core infrastructures that include politics, language, economics, culture and society. This is believed to be largely under the influence of the foreign countries such as USA and Britain. So what are the basic forms of modifications that have been implemented and what has caused these changes to take place that was resisted before for such a long time? Answer to this question is the main notion of this discussion. Among all the considerable changes that were brought up by the foreign influence, changes in the politics are most important and should be emphasized in detail. Ancient Chinese Society: To understand or clearly apprec iate any change we need to view the original form that was present before that modification was made. As we know from history that China was considered as a kingdom led by the emperors. These emperors and their dynasties were not chosen on their relationship to the people of China but their origin was more religious and mythical (Foster 2010). Any ruler or dynasty corrupted with the evil will be reflected upon by the nature’s anger in the form of earthquake floods or droughts indicating the change were imminent (Kornberg et al 2004). This was in contrast to the west where democracy was laying foundation of a strong government bodies. Despite China’s ruling being based on such religious foundations, it continued for a very long time. Starting from the Hans dynasty in 206 BC it remained intact until Qing dynasty collapsed in 1911 (Zinzius 2004). Arguably there needs to be a solid bond that united this nation on single platform. By looking at a bigger prospective it can b e concluded that the main reason for sustenance of such establishment can be traced back to the strong social values that hold the structure together for centuries. No other nation has ever been close to signify the theme of middle kingdom like Chinese did for centuries. They were proud of their existence in the middle while the rest of the humanity revolves around them and learn from them (Ford 2010). There is no doubt that the social system in these ancient dynasties was more localized on the families and tribe as a distinct entity rather than on a single individual. So there was a strong concept of nuclear family and relationships were given highest regards. From the economic point of view China was a self sufficient civilization. Most of the Chinese emperors were not open for trades with the western world because of the hierarchical system in China. The theme of middle kingdom were so deep rooted that they considered that no one else is worthy of given an equal status to them. A lthough in the nineteenth century there was a great demand of China’s silk, spices and other items among the western consumers. Similarly westerns also wanted to introduce some of their unique items and offered many trade agreements to the emperors during that time but all were put down. As we know that trade creates a great influence on any society but China was virtually immune to it. Therefore, no significant foreign influence was detected in the Chinese empire due to their isolation from the rest of the world. Foreign Penetration and changes in the Politics: The difference between China’

The Darfur Crisis Essay Example for Free

The Darfur Crisis Essay According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 , human rights are described â€Å"as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping constantly in mind(the declaration), shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. † These conventions were agreed upon by the general assembly which consisted of all the member states at the time. According to the articles, the rights of the individual are described in detail the first one being that â€Å"human beings are born free with equal rights, dignity reason and conscience† (Universal Declaration Of Human Rights) Today human rights are a hot contentious issue as abuse of human rights is much more visible, thanks to media and information technology. Contemporary human rights issues according to amnesty international range from: extrajudicial executions where either confirmed or possibly carried out in at least 47countries in 1998 and still continues in some countries especially developing countries; disappearances of people from previous years has been noted in at least 37 countries across the globe; torture and ill treatment perpetrated by security forces, government agencies and police was reported in more than 125 countries plus inmates subjected to inhuman conditions leading to death was also reported as rampant in 51 countries; prisoners of conscience either suspected or confirmed have been held in the past years in more than 78 countries; Unfair trials of suspects is common was noted in 35 countries in 1998; detention without trail of activists and opposition members has been noted in 66 countries; death penalty still being practiced by many countries in the world was carried out in 38 countries and sentences handed out to prisoners in 77 countries. Armed opposition groups are perhaps the most recent notorious of the human rights abuses. Deliberate and arbitrary killings, torture, maiming and hostage taking of civilians has been noted in at least 37 countries and the numbers are growing every day. This paper will deal specifically with human rights abuses connected to the armed resistance groups in the Darfur region of Sudan, showing the background, level of interest, the belief principle behind the actions and the characteristics. I will further look at the consequences and how the issues can be resolved and finally the outcome of such attempts to resolve the issues. Human rights have been traditionally a function of the government to regulate the relation between the state and the individual (UNHCR). This does not however mean that the role of observing human rights is purely a states function. According to the Icelandic Human Rights Centre, it means â€Å"’ every individual and every ‘organ of society’ has an obligation to contribute to an atmosphere conducive to the enjoyment of human rights. This obligation is universal and concerns all state and non-state actors. †(IHRC) The actors in this case can be government agencies such as the military, the police intelligence agencies, as well s NGOs, indigenous groups and minority groups paramilitary groups human rights defenders (semi-) autonomous groups; international territories, terrorists, autonomous area, multinational groups and individuals. All of them capable of either upholding or flouting the human rights. (IHRC) An armed resistance is a movement which is born from oppression and firmly rooted in eternal quest for equality and freedom. Though brought about by a natural desire to be free, it is illegitimate because it breaches the laws of the land and seeks to supplant it. However it acquires legitimacy and becomes â€Å"lawful† through exhibiting success and growth not because the ends it seeks to achieve are just but because its control and capture of a territory justifies the means by which the goal is achieved (Satyendra, 2007) Africa Africa has had its fare share of armed resistance groups most of which evolved from disgruntled groups feeling they got a raw deal from the African led governments which inherited the oppressive colonial ruling style. In Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Democratic republic of Congo, Sudan Ethiopia and Nigeria are some of the glaring examples of armed resistance groups which seriously flout human rights. Somalia however is a case of its own because it has no government. Most of these armed groups were after political and economical autonomy and yet others were keen on overthrowing the government to hold power. In Africa the longest war waged by an armed resistance group was that of the Southern Sudan People Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) which lasted more than two decades since its inception in 1983. Since the end of the war and formation of the unitary government all the human rights abuses by the group on its own people such as forced child soldiers and torture seem to be water under the bridge. However there are still other insurgencies going on around in Africa though none has caught the attention of the media like that of the LRA in Uganda. Since war between the group and government broke out in 1986 atrocities against children have been a characteristic of LRA. Children have been abducted and forced to trek thousands of miles to fight in Sudan / Uganda border, forced to commit atrocities against themselves such as shooting and maiming and girls used as sex slaves for the LRA commanders. â€Å"According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the LRA and other rebel groups have abducted approximately 65000 persons since 1986; however with its leader Joseph Kony still on the run though his warrant of arrest has been issued by the International Criminal Court he continues to wreck havoc in the communities in northern Uganda. (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 2006 March 6, 2007). Though LRA are definitely on the wrong end, the state owned /sponsored armed resistance groups have also been notorious for abusing human rights. In Western Sudan, the Darfur region has seen the Janjaweed, an outfit supported by the Northern Sudan Islamic government reign terror on the Black Muslim population using sophisticated heavy weapons and firearms. The case is similar in Uganda where the Government forces have been used to torture dissidents and conduct arbitrary arrests and beatings. For example Security forces have been blamed for â€Å"a number of deaths in custody, some due to torture. Some people suspected of being allied to rebel forces have been tortured to death in military custody in Kololo, a Kampala suburb, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. † (UN News) Sudan Sudan, before the formation of the joint government between the state of southern Sudan and central government in Khartoum, was presumably an Arab Islamic state. It had membership in the Arab league and subjugated the people of Southern Sudan for more than 2 decades before the end of the civil war in 2004 Sudan has a population of not more than 40 million according to CIA fact book, since no official census has been carried out since the end of the civil war. It covers an area of 2. 376 million square kilometers, slightly more than one quarter of the United States. It is the largest country in Africa bordering 8 other countries on all sides. It has rich reserves of oil and minerals which has been the source of the prolonged wars between the Khartoum government and rebel forces. Though it is also a member of the AU African Union, Sudan like many of the African countries has a despotic leader who has been named in various human rights violations and is currently facing a warrant of arrest by the ICC International court of justice in Geneva. Darfur Darfur covers a larger area of the western side of Sudan which is approximately the size of France. It borrows its name from the Arabic Language where ‘Dar’, meaning house was combined with the name ‘Fur ‘the local people who are the predominant tribe in the area. The country has had a long civil strife with two wars raging in the South and West following the departure of the British who had left everything under the control of the Arab dominated government in Khartoum. The disparities between the regions in the south north east and west were too wide to allow a common religion language or culture. Soon a civil strife was born on the mature ground of racism, social and economic injustice perpetrated by the Khartoum government. This was further aggravated by the introduction of the Sharia law which sent the south and the Khartoum government in a long protracted war of autonomy from 1983 to the late 2003 when a peace agreement was signed and a new federal government formed. Soon after, the Western part of the country, Darfur was thrown into tumult. This cropped from the confrontation and competition for resources between the nomadic herders of Arabic descent and African tribes who mainly practiced crop farming. Given that the area is sparsely populated and limited in resources, both sides of the divided find themselves competing for fertile land for their livestock and crops. The Arab side of the divide forcefully invaded the fertile brooks and valleys which were the homes of the majority â€Å"black† African tribes, in order to get access to water for their animals. This gave way to a conflict which the government intervened on the side of the Arabs and supported the Arab militia (Janjaweed) militia men against the black population. With no choice but to defend themselves, the black African tribes took up arms against the government forces and the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed retaliated. They attacked non-Arab tribes burning their houses, raped and defiled young children, killed adults and drove the survivors to death and oblivion in the desert. (Everything. com) The Janjaweed were able to perform such acts to a pin point precision using help enlisted form the government, both military and intelligence. The black tribes were forced into refugee camps in neighboring countries such Chad . behind, them the Janjaweed burned their crops to the ground ensuring that no one survive without food. Even in the refugee camps the Janjaweed followed them and surrounded the camps and regularly raped women and killed men whenever they strayed out of the camps. The rebel groups supporting the black tribes have continued to launch serious attacks on the government facilities which the Janjaweed use as their bases. For instance in 2008, they attacked a government army barracks and completely destroyed artillery and supplies. This sent a warning sign to the government that thought the group was not entirely well endowed in military equipment; it was able to dismantle government military facilities (Everything . com). By the time international media had started paying attention to the Darfur crisis, genocide had already began. El-Bashir the president of Sudan had already relinquished some of his executive military powers, the first ever action by a sitting head of state, to one of his aides governing the north Darfur region. The systematic killing of the black people began in earnest. Human Rights violations The humanitarian situation in Darfur is grave. Many people have turned a blind eye on the atrocities being committed by both sides of the divide especially the government sponsored Janjaweed. The Sudan government continues to supply the Janjaweed with military equipment imported form China and Russia who are major trading partners with Sudan. China relying on Sudan’s oil, has chosen to separate politics from trade by finding no connection between weapons they supply to Sudan and the deaths of millions of people from the same weapons transferred to the Janjaweed. The President himself has appeared before national television â€Å"after a massacre in which 225 peasants were killed to declare [that he] †¦ will use all available means, the Army, the police, the Mujahideen, the horsemen, to get rid of the rebellion. . He later firmly denied his government association with the militia and sought to blame the killings on some tribal faction fighting in the area. Though a lot of light has been shed on the issue since, human rights violations continue till today. The rebels like any other armed group in history have sorted to using children as child soldiers to advance their course. These and many more human rights violations would not have been known had it not been the works of actors such as the United Nations, NGOs, relief and human right s organizations which played a big part in giving first hand information of the situation on the ground (Sudan Watch n. d). Children are being used and abused by the militia men in Sudan. The activities of Joseph the wanted rebel leader fighting the government of Uganda is evident in thousands of children being abducted and sold to fighters in Darfur. According to Koffi Annan the then Un secretary general, †¦Ã¢â‚¬  child soldiers are used in the Darfur by the Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, which has killed, maimed and committed grave sexual violence against children. † (Sudan watch n. d) According to the Washington post Tuesday, July 3, 2007, the raping of Darfur women is not sporadic or random, [but is a systematic action aimed at psychologically making the women inferior, and] is inexorably linked to the systematic destruction of their communities. † (Boustany 2008) In testimony given by one of the victims in the rape cases to reporters, the Janjaweed used racial slurs such as â€Å"I will give you a light-skinned baby to take this land from you, in order to make them feel racially inferior (Boustany 2008). This was also echoed by relief organizations such as World Vision which work in the area. The inhuman treatment of the black African tribes is dehumanizing. Young boys who are mostly targeted by the Janjaweed to be used as soldiers try to escape capture by traveling from one refugee camp to another. The United nations says that more than 30,000 children have become ‘travelers’, moving from one location to another if only to avoid capture. For these children school is something they’ve never heard of, and are therefore illiterate. Education, being one of the basic human rights, is an integral pert of ensuring proper development of the child and a better future. Even the children in Darfur are able to survive this on going genocide; there is no guarantee to a bright future. Apart from rape and child soldiers, Darfur has also witnessed mass killings. Some of the ‘independent’ local media deny even that there has been rape, torture and killing of innocent Africans. According to the Sudan vision an ‘independent Daily’, a report filed by a committee of the United Nations investigating the possibility of existence of a genocide in Darfur in January 2005, showed that†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ despite the serious violations of human rights in Darfur there was no genocide or any existence of genocide in the region†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the paper argued that the allegations of killings and rape were based on a small number of isolated cases which were backed by evidence from relief workers. In fact, the paper alleges that rape and killings and the Janjaweed are a creation from the west and do not really exist. The paper further explains that the information given by the relief workers to western media is biased because if it wasn’t then the aid workers would not be afraid of talking to local media about their findings. The arguments put forward by the paper are self defeating because the neighboring countries like Chad and CAR would not be experiencing the influx of refugees from Darfur in the thousands every day. Secondly the paper, by citing the report by the United nations committee to the security council in 2005, is actually acknowledging the fact that serious human rights violations were taking place at the time; this is usually a pre-cursor to serious war crimes or is just the top layer of the deep rot that is planned wipe out of a group of people. Finally the fact that the aid workers were afraid to talk to the local media goes along way to show how gagged the local media was by the government; there was obviously no protection of the source and it was almost a guarantee that the information would not be shared with the general public or the rest of the world. To really make their story believable, then the Sudan Vision should try and back up their defense by action. What would be the harm of allowing the western media to freely access the area and cover stories of the local people if there’s nothing to hide? According to Amnesty International (2004), in a 43 page report filed with the United Nations, â€Å"massive abuse of human rights in the region†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦many people killed for no reason â€Å"should be reason enough for the international community to lay sanctions against Sudan. The governments attempt to end the conflict using the Janjaweed is obviously failing. The Janjaweed and the Darfur based militia groups are threatening the lives of over six million inhabitants of the region. Acts of arbitrary bombings, torture and killing of victims, planned abductions and rape are mostly perpetrated by the government forces and their hired goons- the Janjaweed. The nature in which most of the killings are carried out as explained by survivors is akin to extrajudicial killings and summary executions styles. Amnesty international further criticizes the government for keeping mum on the killings going on and accuses the government of malice by its open support for the janjaweed militia. In fact President El- Bashir continues to use Arab convicts and prisoners in the Janjaweed by freeing them on condition that they join the militia group. It is these men who under the direct orders of the powers that be, who carry out the heinous, act of raping, killing and plundering of innocent people in the name of racial cleansing. Those who manage to escape to camps in neighboring Chad were still facing death in another form. The region being remote and with harsh climatic conditions was inaccessible to most of the relief and aid workers so the wounded malnourished and the sick cannot get help. Secondly, the Sudanese government using helicopters, dropped bombs in the border town of Tina that killed and wounded civilians in the very same camps they were supposed to be safe. According to the Human rights watch organization world report 2009, there are many impediments to establishing the magnitude of the true scale of human rights abuse in the region due to laxity by many nations to act on the preliminary reports by people in the field. The fact that that UJN has not been able to find evidence of genocide in Darfur has also dealt a big blow to the people of Darfur. Since the Darfur crisis began more than 5 years ago, more than 2. 5 million have been displaced and more than 70,000 killed according to figures released by the United Nations. However analysts point out hat this could be an underestimation because nobody knows how many have actually died. The fact that this figure is based only on a six month study and did not include deaths from violence, executions and fighting means that it could be a number of times more than what is given(BBC news, 2005). In the US analysts estimate the figure of the dead people in the region to be more than 340,000 up to the beginning of the year 2005. In the UK the estimated death rate is put at 300,000 because no data is available for people killed by the janjaweed, those who are missing or detained by the government One of the former workers in the region told BBC that â€Å"the reality is that we just dont know the scale of the problem, (BBC news, 2005). Efforts by people and organizations that have worked in the area and witnessed the atrocities of the militia men to get the international community to act have been thwarted by some very key members of the UN council in charge of security. The countries have challenged the legality of the arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan by the ICC by citing that he is a sitting head of state and should therefore not be summoned to the court until his term expires. A report by Human Rights Watch showed how governments choose to delay on human rights actions because of maintaining alliances with other countries. They mostly hide under the banner of sovereignty so as to escape the responsibility of chastising their neighbors. These governments make claims of regional solidarity or solidarity within the global South, but the solidarity that they have in mind is with abusive leaders, not their victims(HRW, 2009). Most of them try to run away from the problem by saying it’s a political issue which they have no say in but the reality is that in our world today the two are like different sides of the same coin. So what is being done to abate the situation? In Darfur the non state actors such as world vision, Amnesty international and other humanitarian agencies have been on the fore front to expose human rights abuses in the continent, however they have also face d difficulties from state owned armed groups such as the police who have reportedly beaten and even killed some aid workers because of revealing such injustices. In Sri-Lanka this is common to appoint where media has continually been locked out of conflict areas and the areas sealed off by the government as operation areas. Other bodies such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) work to offer the best expertise and support to the different human rights monitoring mechanisms in the United Nations system: In addition other UN charter based bodies also formed under the same office perform the functions though within certain areas of jurisdiction and ensure that the respect for human rights is observed. Law and human rights can be understood in practice as it is in the Security Council such that an armed group violating human rights today succeeding to form the next government will equally be responsible for the human rights violations of the movement that brought it to power. Though this has never actually been seen to work in practice, it is s good theoretical point of view to argue from. It is time to change our scope of thinking. Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International are reporting on these armed insurgents and pushing for reforms and respect for human rights obligations even beyond humanitarian law. Forced divorces and physical torture on members of the armed groups have been highlighted by activists, taking this to a more informative level with development of declarations, commitments, and memoranda of understanding and codes of conduct being adopted. This help in tailor-making standards, rules and obligations for a specific situation. Preliminary empirical work done in this area ‘‘suggests that where armed groups do commit themselves to written codes of conduct, this encourages them to respect human rights’’. A study of some of the important codes with regard to Burundi, Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, East and West Timor, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation revealed that the agreements state that the beneficiaries of humanitarian aid are to enjoy the following rights: ‘‘the right to live in security and dignity, the right to basic needs, the right to receive humanitarian assistance without discrimination and according to basic needs, the right to be involved in humanitarian activities of concern to them, the right to legal and effective human rights protection, and the right to protection against forced population transfer’’. Organizations are engaging with non-state actors in monitoring commitments made by such armed groups in the areas such as interpersonal mining for instance the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict works by obtaining and monitoring commitments not to recruit or use children in armed conflict. Geneva Call is such an organization (Clapham, 2006) It is argued that non-state actors such as armed opposition groups and private security companies have human rights obligations. Other non-state actors though not mentioned here, are present in times of armed conflict and have their own human rights obligations. It is important to mention international organizations their associated peacekeeping operations and Non security firms. Now that it is becoming apparent that the legal; framework has to be expanded to include non- state actors in resolving conflicts, lawyers need to widen their field of human rights obligations to include of non-state actors. This has in fact been noted in countries such as Guatemala Sierra Leon Sri Lanka Lebanon and Nepal. Sometimes governments have laid obstacles in the name of political mileage by accusing the humanitarian agencies of giving legitimacy to the armed resistance groups and thus threaten to halt their support. However humanitarian law has come in handy. No one can be accused of supporting terrorists by accusing them of flouting article 3 of the Geneva convections and this applies to o human rights law. Human rights do not only govern our relationship as individuals with the government but also the relationship we have between ourselves and between government and other illegitimate associations such as armed resistance groups without us risking giving them legitimacy by according them human rights. The simple act of ignoring human rights issues concerning these non- state actors means also that we are failing in protecting the rights of the victims of abuses perpetrated by these agencies. The solution therefore lies in how both the state and non- state actors ply their parts in the problem. Though reforms in the international law will go along way to improve the human rights of many people caught up in conflict areas, it still is not enough to guarantee that they will be strictly observed. Human rights do not just need strong legislation to make it relevant and enforceable. It also needs the goodwill on the part of the government non state players, commissioned bodies and commitment on the part of the state to ensure that human rights remain human rights whether in conflict situations or in peaceful situations. According to the resolution 1556 by the UN Security â€Å"on the crisis in the Sudanese province of Darfur, the Philippines ambassador to the UN remarked that ‘sovereignty also entails the responsibility of a State to protect its people. If it is unable or unwilling to do so, the international community has the responsibility to help that State achieve such capacity and such will and, in extreme necessity, to assume such responsibility itself’ â€Å"(Williams Bellamy, 2005). Hence if El- Bashir, having demonstrated that he has been unable to protect the citizens of his own country, needs to be forced to act or action taken against him. References Amnesty International (2004) Massive abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur Press release BBC News how many have died in Darfur? 16th Feb 2005 http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/4268733. stm Boustany R (April 2008): Rape in Darfur. UNICEF adviser says rape in Darfur, Sudan continues with impunity Washington post http://www. un. org/apps/news/story. asp? NewsID=12280Cr=darfurCr1= CIA world fact book www. travel-brazil. info/cia-world-fact-book-Sudan. html Clapham A (2006): Human rights Obligations of non- state actors: Vol. 88 No. 863 International Review of the Red Cross Journal Everything 2. com http://everything2. com/title/Darfur HRW: world report: 15th 2009 http://www. humanrightsblog. org/reports/archives/007743. html

Anthrax Vaccination :: essays research papers

The anthrax vaccination is the only known defense available for United States Troops against the deadly anthrax virus. Many experts have said it is not effective against inhalation anthrax. Studies have not been conclusive in their findings. The chance of living if you have received the anthrax vaccination seems better. More studies should be conducted outside the Department of Defense, with their cooperation, before the process to vaccinate troops continues. Anthrax is a disease normally associated with plant eating animals (sheep, goats, and cattle) caused by the bacterium Bacillius anthracis. It is now controlled through vaccination programs throughout the world including the United States. Human infection with anthrax usually results from contact with infected animals or products. Anthrax was discovered by Robert Koch in 1876. An effective vaccine for animals was developed in 1881 by Louis Pasteur. In humans, the disease appears in both external and internal forms. The external form is contracted through cuts and breaks in the skin. The internal form is caught by inhaling anthrax spores, which invade the lungs and intestinal tract (Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1996). Russian scientists have created a new form of the anthrax virus by genetic engineering. Col. Arthur Friedlander , chief of the bacteriology division at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute states, †The evidence that they presented suggested that it could be resistant to our vaccine† (Riechman, Army Times 03-09-98). When anthrax is used as a biological weapon, people become infected by breathing the spores released in the air. Anthrax is 100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent. It is the preferred biological agent because it is easy to produce in bulk and the materials are low in cost. (B.D.Hawkins,Army Times) Dr. Jose Ramero Cruz, of the World Health Organization states,†Because anthrax spores are resistant to dryness and heat, they are relatively easy to grind and store†. U.S. officials say that as many as 12 countries including Russia, Iraq, and North Korea, have established capabilities to produce and load deadly anthrax spores into weapons (D.Funk, Army Times, 3-19-98). An anthrax loaded scud missile could kill 100,000 people in an urban area according to a 1993 study, â€Å"Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risks†, (J. Erlich, Army Times, 9-8-97). No country is known to have released the biological agent during wartime. Anthrax has the potential to cover large areas of the battlefield. It is not known what branch of service, front line, or rear area troops would be at greater risks. Defense Secretary William Cohen stated, â€Å"Anthrax is the poor man’s atomic bomb† (D.

Natural language processing

A survey of related studies was conducted by the researchers in order to provide more insight into the research in the field of an experimentation and to get support of the Borer-Moore string searching algorithm as a relevant string matching algorithm that can be integrated with Natural Language Processing method and why it creates a better string searching process. The available literature related to the research work has been reviewed and presented under two distinct heads biz.String Searching Algorithm ii) Natural Language Processing 2. 1. String Searching Algorithm There are many existing string matching algorithms, and each is efficient and effective in one way or another. It is worth noting that string is used interchangeably with text. It is a sequence of characters that may be a set of alphabet. The researchers have selected the Borer-Moore string matching algorithm because it is used in most software applications.String matching algorithms work by matching two strings, the m ain string and the pattern. The main string is larger than or equal to the pattern that is the text being searched. Borer-Moore String matching algorithm works by comparing from right to left. It is fast because it skips some of the characters. It is efficient because with each failed attempt to match between the search string and the pattern, it uses the gathered information from that attempt to rule out as many positions where the pattern does not match. REF_002] It becomes faster if the set of alphabet is larger and the pattern is longerThe current areas covered by natural language processing are automatic summarization, coherence resolution, discourse analysis, machine translation, morphological segmentation, named entity recognition, natural engage generation, natural language understanding, optical character recognition, sentence breaking, sentiment analysis, speech recognition, speech segmentation, topic segmentation, word segmentation, word sense disambiguation, information retrieval, information extraction and speech processing; some other are stemming, text simplification, text-to-speech, text-proofing, natural language search, query expansion, automated essay scoring and truncating

Destination Attributes

Investigating destination attributes, tourist motivation and travel values of the Bengali community in London to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh 2. Introduction: Today tourism has been considered as a great phenomenon Involving movement of Industry In the world. In tourism Industry, more than 235 million people employment opportunities generating around 9. 2% of global GDP (WTTC, 2010).The tourism Is sharply Increasing In spite of having global economic downturn, even during the first two months of 2010 worldwide the number of International tourist arrivals raised by % (WTO, 2010). The World Tourism 2020 Vlslon forecasted that the world tourist arrivals will reach to 1,561. 1 million In 2020. The fastest growing tourism regions are in the Third World countries and Bangladesh is one of them to be flourished and promoted significantly and effectively (Echtner and Prasad, 2002).Cox's Bazar, a place of tourist's paradise with natural and man-made artistic attractions is ready to welcome the touri sts around the globe. The increasing trend of tourism industry indicates some vital factors to the host community and tourists such as economic evelopment, greater scopes for understanding, making stronger regional bonding, exchange of cultural beliefs and values, refreshment and entertainment, education, spiritual enlightenment, sustainable development and many more. 3.Research aim and objectives: The aim of this research study is to explore three dimensions of tourist behavior regarding destination attributes, motivational factors and travel values of the Bengali community in selecting Cors Bazar as a tourist destination. There are some specific research objectives to carry out the aim which are as follows: i. To study about the tourism resources and attractions currently offered to the tourists, li. To analyze the push and pull factors related with the choice of a tourist destination, ill.To Investigate various travel values regarding destination attributes of the participants In selecting a tourist destination. 4. Statement of the research problem: The tourist market share and revenues are comparatively lower than neighbour countries even though Bangladesh Is endowed with enormous destination attractions due to the lack of promotional activities, the Ignorance about the motivational factors nd the overall apathy about the travel values of all the tourists vlsltlng Cox's Bazar (Patwarl, 1 993; Hossain, 1999; Hossain and Hossain, 2002). . Research questions and hypotheses: On the basis of the research problem, there are few research questions along with relevant hypotheses formulated which are given below: Q-1 : What are features of Cox's Bazar as a tourist destination? H-1: New, innovative and unique features of a destination always attract tourists. Q-1 : Are the destination attractions accessible for the tourists in electronically and physically? H-2: Knowing information prior about a ourist destination.Q-3: Is it offering both push and pull factors to me et the tourist's need, want and demand? H-3: Sometimes, tourists want to get rid of boredom and monotony while others prefer to visit friends, families and relatives. Q-4: How are the travel values Judged towards future tourism development and tourist's satisfaction? H-4: The feedback from the tourists focuses on the pros and cons of a tourist destination as an integral part of future development initiatives. 6.Rationale: There are different Journals and books studied and explored regarding tourism, ourist attraction, promotional tools and destination development especially in terms of different factors associated with destination attractions, tourist/travel motivation and travel values. The brief description of some of those literatures have been mentioned and discussed beforehand in the section of previous research studies. There are only a very few concerned literatures and research studies available about Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh especially in the field of tourist/travel motivati on and travel values.However, Meng et al. (2008) studied the effects of gender differences on the erceptions of destination attributes, tourist motivation and travel values and leading to further research opportunity in another location. In addition, Kim et al. (2002) and Hong et al. (2009) analyzed the relationship between push and pull factors in tourist/ travel motivation and revisiting a destination and indicates for future study opportunity on the interaction of tourist/travel motivation and travel values for tourist market expansion.Furthermore, there is also a further research opportunity to Justify the relationship between push and pull factors of foreign tourists for greater nderstanding about tourist behavior in a broad context studied by Bashar et al. (2008). Thus, this research study can assist to understand the tourist behavior in three main dimensions including destination attributes, tourist/travel motivation and travel values of the Bengali community in London to Cox 's Bazar, Bangladesh which could contribute to the body of knowledge.The above discussion highlights the further research scopes in different aspects of tourism especially to attract more tourists to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh for which this research study will be carried out to nhance the body of knowledge. In this study, the feedback will be evaluated from the tourists those who visited or visit Cox's Bazar about tourism amenities used in their stay as well as their feelings towards their overall satisfaction level.The promotional tools and feelings about the tourism resources will be assessed to find out more effective promotional methods and ways of further tourism resources development to meet the current and increasing tourism market demand. This is optimistic to achieve the desired objectives through this research study. 7. Literature review: Tourism is the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and h ost communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors (Goeldner et al. 2000). Moreover, the term tourism' means the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive primary focus on understanding tourist/travel behavior based on destination attributes, factors of tourist/travel motivation and travel values of the Bengali ommunity in London to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. 7. 1 Previous Research Studies: Tourism is a multifaceted industry and opens doors for both the host and tourist on behalf of a destination country as a medium of exchange.Tourism is an important tool for local economic development as well as infrastructural growth. Promoting the local residents and tourism-related stakeholders are essential to achieve a tourism- led development in a tourist destination area (Matarrita, 2010). Tourism is comprised with various components like accommodation, dining establishment s, recreational roperties, tourism attractions, travel intermediaries, transportation and other supporting sectors in which the people can be involved in different ways.These tourism elements act as destination attributes and have a great influential role in economic development, practicing cultural beliefs and values, environmental protection, preservation of historical sites, natural and artificial tourism attractions after all, to all of the destination attributes (Blake et al. , 2008; Tao et al. , 2009). In promoting destination attributes, the host government along with the involvement of nternational, national, regional and local organizations is required to be well coordinated to the potential tourists (Soshiroda, 2005).In this process, the tourism stakeholders are encouraged to take part in decision-making, sharing benefits, developing opportunities and utilizing the tourism resources for local and tourism industrys interests in a pro-active manner (Tosun, 2005). Education a nd training among local people can represent a good impression as part of destination attributes (Echtner, 1995; Sebele, 2010). Tourism attraction is a function of a site (destination attribute), a marker (an informative lement) and a tourist (Richards, 2002).However, the tourists are positively inclined to discounted facilities, promotional offers and take risk to those destinations but good knowledge can moderate this intention (Wong et al. , 2009). Many researchers have investigated tourist/travel motivation from different views like sociology, psychology and anthropology (Maslow, 1970; Cohen, 1972; Crompton, 1979; Dann, 1977). In this research study, the tourist/travel motivation focuses on the analysis of two different aspects namely push factors and pull factors that have been are ommonly accepted and practiced (Yuan et al. 1990; Uysal et al. , 1993). In these terminologies, push factors describe the internal forces of people for which they are pushed to travel whereas pull fa ctors state the external forces of destination attributes that appeal the potential tourists/travelers to travel there. Push factors include intangible or intrinsic aspirations of the individual tourist/traveler. On the other hand, pull factors consist of those elements which emerge the destination attractiveness as it is perceived by the tourists/travelers.These may contain tangible estination attributes, marketed image of the destination, tourist's perception and benefit expectation (Baloglu et al. , 1996). Push and pull factors in tourist/travel motivation are also influenced in different settings like nationalities, tourist destinations and events to select a destination finally Gang et al. , 2006). These intrinsic and extrinsic factors develop the perceptions of an individual tourist/ actual destination attributes and how the tourist/traveler processes information (Gartner, 1993; Dann, 1996; Baloglu et al. 1997). These motivational factors act ogether in a dynamic and evolving context in destination selection process (Correira, 2000) and the tourist/travel motivation is seen as a multidimensional concept that focuses on tourist decision (McCabe, 2000). Tourism is a paradigm of human beings and human nature and it is always a complex task to find out the reasons, needs and wants of the tourists for travelling to a particular destination (Yoon et al. , 2005).The tourists expect their participation in destination attractions (instrumental performance) and the psychological interpretation of a destination product expressive attributes) to fulfill their requirements and develop travel values (Noe et al. , 2003). In tourism industry, push and pull factors represent demand (tourist/ traveler's desires) and supply (tourist destination attributes). In some cases, higher cost of travel, government regulations, destination image and reputation, international political situations, personal safety issues, fear of terrorism, health epidemics play a vital in selecting a destination (Prideaux, 2005).The preconceived image of a destination (Bosque et al. , 2008), variety seeking tendency, gender ifferences (Meng et al. , 2008), partner's influence, satisfactory level of previous experience, personal feelings and preferences are closely related with the perceptions of destination attributes, tourist/travel motivation and travel values (Hong et al. , 2009). There is a need of well coordination among push and pull factors as like as the tourists/travelers would be benefitted based on their motives from the destination attributes in an effective manner.

How Jurors Are Chosen in the U.S. Court System

How Jurors Are Chosen in the U.S. Court System If youre trying to get out of jury duty at the federal or state levels, your best chance of doing so is by never registering to vote or canceling your current voter registration. As important as the right to vote is, many Americans opt out of voting to avoid being called for jury duty. However, keeping your name off the voter rolls does not guarantee you wont be randomly chosen for jury duty. Thats because many  state federal  court  districts also pull prospective jurors from lists of licensed drivers and tax records to  supplement their stable of potential juror from  voter lists.  So that means you could be called for federal jury duty in some federal court districts if youve got a drivers license. Nonetheless, voter rolls remain the primary source of prospective jurors. And as long as they remain so, your best chance of avoiding jury duty at the state or federal is to stay off the list of voters in your county and federal court district. Or to get a job as a professional police officer or firefighter, or even run for elected office in your town or state. Simply complaining about having to work wont cut it. How Prospective Jurors Are Chosen in Federal Court Potential jurors are chosen for federal court from a jury pool generated by random selection of citizens names from lists of registered voters, the federal court system explains. It also may use lists of registered drivers. Each judicial district must have a formal written plan for the selection of jurors, which provides for random selection from a fair cross-section of the community in the district, and which prohibits discrimination in the selection process. Voter records - either voter registration lists or lists of actual voters - are the required source of names for federal court juries, according to the federal court system.   So if youre not registered to vote, youre safe from jury duty, right? Wrong. Why You Still Might Be Picked For Jury Duty Canceling your voter registration card of never registering to vote at all doesnt mean youre exempt from jury duty everywhere, and heres why: Many courts supplement voter lists with other sources  including  lists of licensed drivers.   According to the Federal Judicial Center: Congress requires that each district court develop a plan for selecting jurors. Generally, the selection process begins when the clerk of court randomly draws names from the list of registered voters in the judicial district, and sometimes from other sources, such as the list of licensed drivers. Only in Ohio and Wyoming do state courts use only the list of registered voters to build jury pools, not drivers lists or tax rolls. That means you can avoid jury duty in county and state court by simply staying out of the voting booth. Everywhere else? Youre likely to end up in a jury pool at some point in your life if you drive a car or pay taxes. Is That Really Fair? There are lots of people who believe drawing prospective jurors from voter-registration lists is wrong because is discourages people from entering the political process. Some academics argue that the connection between voter registration and jury duty represents an unconstitutional poll tax. As of 2012, 42 states used voter registration as the principle means of choosing prospective voters, according to a research paper by Alexander Preller of Columbia University. Jury duty is a burden, but not one which a concerned citizenry should gladly bear. However, jury services should not be allowed to parasitically burden other civil rights, Preller wrote. The economic burdens of jury duty do not pose  constitutional problems so long as they remain separate from voting; the problem is the link itself. Such an argument claims the current mechanism for choosing jurors forces many Americans to abandon their most precious civil right to carry out a civic obligation.  But other experts believe the wider and more racially and economically diverse the jury pool, the fairer the justice system is. The whole point is for the master jury list to be as inclusive as possible, Greg Hurley, a lawyer and senior analyst with the National Center for State Courts, told the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper. Whos Exempt From Jury Duty There are some people who will never have to report for federal jury duty, regardless of whether they are registered to vote or not. The federal Jury Act, which requires the random selection of citizens names from voters lists, states that members of the military serving in active duty, police officers, professional and volunteer firefighters and public officers such as elected officials at the local, state and federal levels do not have to report for jury duty. Some courts also exempt the elderly and people who have served on a jury in the previous two years. If youve got another reason you think jury duty represents an undue hardship or extreme inconvenience, the courts might consider granted you a temporary deferral, but these are determined on a case-by-case basis. The other people who dont have to serve on a jury are: Non-citizens who have lived in their judicial district less than a year.People who cannot speak English or read, write or understand English with a degree of proficiency necessary to fill out a qualification form.The mentally ill or physically infirm.People charged with a felony crime that is punishable by more than a year in prison.Those who have been convicted of a felony and have not been granted a pardon, which restores their civil rights.Minors.

Student Welcome Letter

Student Welcome Letter A student welcome letter is a great way to greet and introduce yourself to your new students and their parents. Its purpose is to welcome students and give parents an insight into what you expect as well as what students need to do throughout the school year. This is the first contact between the teacher and home, so include all essential elements to give a great first impression and set the tone for the rest of the school year. Elements of a Welcome Letter A student welcome letter should include the following: Personal informationContact informationA description of your classroom behavior planA brief description of your classroom environmentHomework policyA classroom supply listA brief statement of your teaching philosophy Sample Welcome Letter Below is an example of a welcome letter for a first-grade classroom. It contains all of the elements listed above. September 2019 Dear Parents and Students: My name is Samantha Smith, and Id like to welcome your children, and you, to my first-grade class. Your children have all just completed a busy and productive year of kindergarten, and Id like to assure you that their education will continue as we work to meet their individual and collective learning goals. First, a little about myself: I have been a first-grade teacher for 25 years, including the last 10 here at Spencer V. Williams Elementary School. I believe in student-centered approach to learning. That is, I feel its important that I get to know every student individually and develop individual education goals for each that tie into our classroom learning. I also believe that its important that we- your child, you the parent, and I- work together as a team to help your children succeed. This year, we will be focusing on district and state first-grade learning standards, which include: Math: Problem-solving, operations, and number senseReading: Basic sight-word recognition, first-grade reading, phonemic awareness with more complicated sounds like blends and digraphsWriting: Formal work on handwriting skills in addition to creative writing tasksVisual Arts: Identification of lines, colors, shapes, forms, and textures as elements  Other Areas: Including basic science concepts, social studies, and social skills These are, of course, only some of the academic areas we will explore and learn this year as a class. I will inform you soon of our back-to-school night date and details, as well as dates for parent-teacher conferences. But please dont limit your contact to those. I am happy to talk or meet with parents any afternoon after school or early mornings. I have attached a copy of my classroom behavior plan, homework policy (I assign homework every weeknight except for Fridays), and classroom supply list. Please retain those for your records. Also, please feel free to call or email me with any questions, thoughts, and even concerns. Sincerely, Samantha Smith First-Grade Teacher Spencer V. William Elementary (555) 555-5555 smithsvwilliams.net Importance of the Letter The letter will be slightly different depending on the grade level. For middle school or high school, for example, or even for upper elementary school years, youll need to emphasize different curriculum requirements. But the letters structure can be similar regardless of the grade you are teaching because it sends a clear and open invitation to parents to work with you and their child as a team. Sending out this kind of letter to parents at the start of the school will make your job as a teacher much easier and open up a dialogue with parents, an important step in helping each child succeed in your class.

The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culteral Term Paper

The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culteral - Term Paper Example Their misconduct is not only tolerated but accepted and defended. Whistle in an important little instrument in the life of policemen but when he does not blow it against a fellow policeman who deserves to be reprimanded and punished he adds one more brick to â€Å"The Blue Wall of Silence.† The difference between the politician and the policeman is, the job of the former is for a fixed term, and the latter will render disservice to the people till the age of retirement. The saving grace for this harsh observation is the statement is not applicable to all. A microscopic minority of honest people exists amongst the police personnel as well and the rare find of a duty-conscious, law abiding police hero excites the Hollywood movie-makers. Police force works under tremendous pressure. In every case fast results are demanded by the aggrieved party, but being part of the law enforcing agency it has to follow the rules and while doing so, an investigating officer has pressure building at the back of his mind, that his actions and reporting are liable for legal scrutiny. The greatest bane of working in the police department is the political interference in their day to day functioning. Every accused person is a voter and expects that his elected representative comes to his rescue, even if one has committed an act of offence. To face demonstrations and protests of the people is part of their life and every police officer is suspect and corrupt from the perspective of the public. Police service is not like any other service. In some details it is tougher than the army service. The army personnel are generally busy and work under perilous circumstances in times of war. War ends, and their harsh responsibility is over to a great extent. For the policemen, the call of duty is 24x7 hours and they have to deal with different types of personalities, of varying temperaments. They face pressure constantly to solve cases with breakneck speed, and receive rebuke from higher authorities who sometimes want them to perform the impossible. In the discharge of their duties, some mistakes are committed and they are naturally inclined to go to the rescue of their colleagues, who stray from the path of law, rules and regulations applicable to the police force, resort to illegal brutality especially when dealing with the hardened criminals and repeat offenders. They have no misgivings about their stance and quote offences committed by people like taking bribes, stealing goods and money. Police officers have their own convention of defending their colleagues and taking them to task when necessary. Taking money or property in the form of bribes and kickbacks is viewed seriously, as they affect the morale of the department, and such offences are reported to the appropriate authorities for action. Policemen have also been awarded strict punishment on use of excessive force and also against practice of racism. In November, 2012, a federal jury in Chicago gave a judg ment in favor of a complainant and against the city on a claim that the city had a persistently prevalent custom or practice of shielding officers from citizen complaints. The suit had been brought by a female bartender who had been beaten by an off-duty officer. Such a practice was concealment and suppression of investigations into police misconduct and it was an unwritten â€Å"