Henry David Thoreau, Less is More, and Fenway Park Essay

Henry David Thoreau, one of America’s most well-known New Englanders, would most probably be disappointed with recent proposals to dismantle Fenway Park in order to construct a more profitable baseball park. The past two decades have witnessed a pervasive sports trend in which professional sports franchises have sought to maximize revenues by abandoning or tearing down old stadiums in order to construct modern stadiums that incorporate a variety of other income-generating facilities into the larger sports stadium design. In Toronto, for instance, hotels and department stores have been attached to the baseball stadium in order for the owners of the Toronto Blue Jays to generate more profits through the creation of hotel and shopping markets. In the Bronx, to take another example, the venerable Yankees of New York made a decision to abandon the mythical park known as Yankees stadium in order to construct a larger and more extravagant baseball stadium right next to the old stadium. Many times, the pursuit of greater profits in this respect involves the use of essentially extortionary methods by greedy owners of sports franchises in order to force municipalities to allocate scare tax dollars toward the renovation or construction of sports facilities under a threat that the sports franchise will move to a new city willing to spend tax dollars on their behalf. The role that greed plays in this trend cannot be denied; indeed, with respect to the Red Sox, they have recently broken the curse of the Bambino by finally prevailing in the World Series and consistently sell the majority of their tickets in addition to substantial amounts of merchandise. It is unquestionable, for instance, that â€Å"The ballpark was packed with avid fans, as it always is† (Dreier 18) and that the Red Sox are one of America’s most recognizable brand names. Nonetheless, despite an extraordinarily loyal fan base and a baseball park considered one of the most aesthetically pleasing in all of sport, the Red Sox ownership is determined to raze Fenway Park in order to construct a completely new stadium. The ownership’s primary rationale is that â€Å"the current park, with 33,871 seats (the smallest in the major leagues), is â€Å"economically obsolete† and that they need the additional revenue from luxury boxes, stadium seats, and the other frills of newfangled stadiums in order to â€Å"compete† with teams that have them† (Dreier 18). Proposals for renovations have been rejected by Red Sox ownership on the grounds that a new stadium is cheaper than renovations. What emerges from proposals to destroy Fenway Park in order to construct a new stadium is fundamentally a portrait of greed. Ownership is not satisfied with current profits, even though they have proven more than adequate to compete, and one is left to wonder how much is too much and whether the smaller park might be a critical reason underlying the Red Sox mystique. Thoreau would likely be highly critical of such proposals and the proffered rational. Thoreau: Personal Style, Less is More, and Simplicity Henry David Thoreau’s mystique is intimately connected to his highly personalized writing style and his philosophical orientation. In terms of his writing style, for instance, Thoreau prefers to speak directly to his readers rather than to rely on third person narrative techniques. To this end, Thoreau rather consistently writes in the first person in a way that creates a type of conversational dialogue between the writer and the reader. In creating the context of his work Life in the Woods, Thoreau employs this first person conversation style by writing â€Å"When I wrote the following pages†¦I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from my neighbor, in a house which I had built myself† and further that â€Å"I earned my labor by the work of my hands alone. I lived there for two years and two months† (n. p. ). In addition to employing a heavily dependent first person type of narrative, Thoreau also relies on personal observations and experiences in order to test and to support his theories and his conclusions. His is a uniquely hands-on type of narrative in which he derives his insights from personal experiences rather than from hearsay taken from the observations and experiences of other people. To be sure, Thoreau does at times reference the theories and the works of other people. He is obviously a well-read writer and he cites proverbs and theories from people as diverse as famous Buddhists, Hindus, and Western writers. All of these outside references, however, are structurally subordinate to his own observations, theoretical premises, and proffered conclusions. This type of first person narrative gives rise to what is extraordinarily analogous to a type of personal and philosophical quest in which Thoreau appears to be challenging conventional wisdom in several respects. Thus, in addition to a writing style that is deeply personal, Thoreau also succeeds in allowing the reader to share in his journey or quest. This is because his writing is richly descriptive in a way that makes it nearly impossible to sever the descriptions of New England’s natural environment from the philosophical and economic assumptions and conclusions that he is simultaneously addressing, considering, and commenting upon. At the same that he discusses the economics of constructing his house he also describes in excruciating detail the type of natural materials used for the construction and the benefits of understanding the qualities of these raw materials in order to most effectively construct his new home. Nature, in effect, represents both a source of intellectual illumination and a liberty to live life in a manner than obviates destructive human characteristics such as greed and desperation in the face of perceived deprivations. He remarks in this respect that I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself (n.  p. ). Thoreau’s writing style, in sum, is deeply personal and it invites the reader to join his search for meaning in a world in which human existence cannot be severed from nature. Although he is most well-known as a literary philosopher, a careful review of Thoreau’s writing also demonstrates that he comments to a great extant on economics as well. He basically argues that human beings have made daily life too complicated. It has become too complicated because people desire things such as fame, money, and extravagance in ways that have no limitation. There is no final stage of happiness, people always want more, and as a result people are destined to be unhappy because there is no comfortable or moderate level of accomplishment. He states in this respect that â€Å"Most men†¦through mere ignorance or mistake, are so occupied with the facetious cares and superfluously coarse labours of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them† (n. p. ). People therefore need to set modest goals consistent with nature in ways that will result in contentment and moderation. He characterizes this as a simple approach to life in which happiness is best achieved by avoiding extreme desires. Desperation, whether in terms of fame or profit, is therefore a destructive and should be avoided. In addition to being well-known as a philosopher, there is much economic discussion and wisdom in Thoreau’s writings. The fundamental economic theme advocated by Thoreau is that â€Å"When it comes to economic consumption, less is more† (Cafaro 26). A desperate desire for public acclaim and wealth wastes natural resources and is unnecessary to the attainment of a successful and happy life. In short, Thoreau’s personalized writing style functions as a type of personal appeal for human beings to become happier and more self-sufficient by using resources wisely and by being content with reasonable limits in daily life rather than pursuing ever higher levels of artificial accumulation. Fenway Park through Thoreau’s Eyes Upon learning of the proposed demolition of Fenway Park, I decided to pack up my backpack with some clothes and camped in the visitor’s bullpen. It was my desire to learn whether the players and the fans were happy with the stadium. I spent afternoons in the parking lot, attending tailgate parties with fans, and evenings in my perch in the bullpen chatting with home and visiting players. I did not have to purchase tickets, the owners of the Red Sox having invited me to live in the bullpen for a month hoping that I would lend their proposals a vote of confidence after personally witnessing the ostensibly decrepit state of the famed stadium, and I crafted a tent from practice uniforms and baseball bats in the evening to shield me from the chilly climate of Boston’s evenings and early mornings. Shelter and access secure, I turned my attentions to warming my body and found that the natural confines of Boston were more than adequate for purposes of sustenance. The fans offered hot dogs during games, hamburgers during tailgate parties, and vendors were always kind enough to provide me with care packages on days that the Red Sox played away or had open dates. I was, in sum, housed and fed and free to engage in my observations of the fans and players in Fenway Park. Most players and fans seemed genuinely happy and content, subject of course to the scores of individual games, and as I sat in the bullpen I thought I began to understand. It is true that Fenway Park is an extraordinarily old baseball stadium, that it is not as shiny or polished as other stadiums in the league, and yet there was a natural and pristine quality that seemed in many ways to transcend contemporary baseball. The morning dew clung to the outfield grasses of green and contributed to the firm natural turf in a way that allowed the outfielders to maintain a firm footing rather than sliding or slipping in pursuit of line drives slapped by hitters into the gaps. The grass dried in the afternoons and was soft enough to cushion a player’s fall if diving for a pop-up became necessary. The grasses of Fenway were both aesthetically pleasing, a part of Boston’s natural environment, and friend rather than for players tumbling to the ground. It occurred to me one early morning that other stadiums had torn up their natural grass and replaced it with Astroturf and other forms of artificial grass. The motives were fundamentally economic in nature, premised in an accountant’s calculation that maintenance fees would be cheaper so that profits could be maximized, and the results were disappointing. These artificial turfs faded in color and peeled. Fans and players complained. The sun glared off the turf and blinded fans who had paid good money for tickets. The smell of the grass was gone and the fields became plastic stages rather than natural turfs. More, the comforting textures of grass fields torn up, players began to suffer more injuries and more serious types of injuries on artificial turf. Under the turf, another cost-saving measure, was a concrete and hard-rubber base. Players suffered ligament tears previously uncommon on grass fields and bones were more frequently broken when players have fallen on the grass. The turf is unnatural, it is unforgiving, and it does not interact naturally with the human body. This illustrates the danger of change premised on profit without a due regard being given to other salient factors. The artificial turf denigrated the visual aesthetic of watching a baseball game in person and led to decreased ticket sales; in the same way, increased injuries led to more expensive medical bills and lost playing time that imposed costs far in excess of the initial savings envisioned when the grass was torn out and the artificial turf was installed. Alterations have consequences and it is difficult to imagine fixing something that is not broken. The grass in Fenway represents the purity of the game and is firmly etched in the minds of all that have visited as fans or played as players at Fenway Park. Fans and players are satisfied, the quality of the game is intact, and the ownership’s preoccupation with profit must be analyzed in light of the downfalls experienced in the case of artificial turf. There is more to baseball, both as a sport and as entertainment, that size and glamour. The beauty is in the finer details and the owners would be well-advised to consider the risks of destroying a beautiful thing for profit alone. It would also be wise to consider the consequences of replacing the lovingly certain with the uncertain. A peek into the stands demonstrates fans who are committed, loyal, and knowledgeable. There is a sea of Red Sox colors, families cheering and grimacing, and a uniformity of aspiration that seems difficult if not impossible to attain in outside settings. These fans are possessed with a common cause, the success of their beloved Red Sox, and this singularness of purpose transcends differences in their individual lives and diverse backgrounds and personalities. Fenway is a unifying force, it has since its inception been a unifying force for the people of New England generally and Bostonians more specifically, and this unity has been cultivated and reinforced by human fascination by such structures as the Green Monster in left field and such Red Sox heroes as Ted Williams. One might copy the Green Monster, a short but towering fence in left field, but it would never be the same in a new field. More, given ownership’s perverse fascination with profit, it is plausible that the new left field fence would be lowered to accommodate more seats capable of selling more tickets. A new park would become standard rather than distinctive and one of the park’s major draws would be eliminated. The same is true with the way in which memories of past heroes would be dished; ted Williams batted over . 400 while walking and running within the confine of Fenway Park; his memory would fade with the demolished park. Heroes and physical attractions are attached to Fenway park and cannot be duplicated. Finally, there are questions pertaining to audience; as a writer, I am well aware of the fact that audiences are truer indicators of fame and reception than profits. What quality of fan, for instance, shall be attracted to a modern stadium with modern and non-baseball related amenities? Will the common man be priced out of attending Red Sox games in a sport cathedral dedicated to profit rather than community and sport? These are questions worth considering; they are worth considering because, in truth, the fame of the Red Sox is dependent on its natural environment. This natural environment, in turn, includes the history of the franchise, the intimacy that Fenway Park cultivates between fan and franchise, and an audience that is fervently dedicated to the team. Removing Fenway Park may very well destroy these symbiotic relations and taint the brand value of the Boston Red Sox. Tearing down Fenway Park for a new stadium is like tearing down the forests for a new housing development. Nothing will ever be the same.

Natural Fires

When we speak of large scale fires, we often associate it with destructive forces that could burn properties and structures down to ashes or commit many lives. What we don’t realize is that large-scale fires have existed way back in the history of our planet, and that these fires are considered as natural occurrences. It is just our perception that lead us to our conceived meaning of fire, but truly, there are more benefits in it rather than the destruction if brings. Nature utilizes these large-scale fires for various reasons, both destructive and beneficial. We often think of fire as an evil force that consumes both living and non-living things in the environment. But besides this, we are oblivious to the fact that these fires are agents of natural change. These fires are considered as herbivores, because they consume plants and transform them to a more useful material (Bond and Kee). Most plants however, are inedible or just difficult to consume, like towering trees and the like. In order to put this into good use, fires act as herbivores that would devour an entire forest of inedible trees. They are consumed in order to transform the ecosystems into better ones, which the various creatures of our environment could live into (Pyne). No matter how man intervenes with the way the environment works, nature would always find its way with things. This is true for the occurrence of these large scale fires. Man has struggled and was somehow successful in suppressing these fires from devouring trees and other vegetations. Because of this, nature has somehow managed to adapt by increasing the temperature of the environment lately (Westerling et al.). Because of this increase in temperature, the trees in the forests become more susceptible to these fires. They easily get burned with just a little nudge, like a lit cigarette thrown into the woods, or a boy playing with some matchsticks. Works Cited: Bond, William J., and Jon E. Kee. â€Å"Fire as a Global ‘Herbivore’: The Ecology and Evolution of Flammable Ecosystems.† TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution Vol.20.No.7 (2005). Pyne, Stephen J. â€Å"Pyromancy: Reading Stories in the Flames.† Conservation Biology Vol. 18.No. 4 (2004). Westerling, A. L., et al. â€Å"Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity.† American Association for the Advancement of Science Vol. 313 (2006).      

Long Star

John Sayles’s Long Star (1996) is a movie about what Nietzsche called the tyranny of history, or, as the character of Wesley Birdsong (played by Gordon Tootoosis) suggests, about the struggle that faces those people struggling to forget an old name, literally and metaphorically, in order that they might learn a new one.   It is a film, in other words, that despite its sleepiness takes on an issue of epic importance as it explores with unflinching intelligence and open-mindedness the lines and borders that cut wide and frequently destructive paths across individual lives. On the one hand, a vibrant and richly detailed history of Frontera, Texas, a small and intensely-corrupt town that straddles the cultural, economic, and psychological border with Mexico, this film is, on the other, a profound anti-history, a dismantling of the easy binaries that we have traditionally secured at the center of a collective understanding of the past.   As the character of Otis Payne (Ron Canada) states without equivocation, this is a film that focuses on the dynamics of the border itself, of living in a world in which easy divides collapse into a kind of post-modern re-imagining of the potentialities of living a border life. As Payne suggests: â€Å"It's not like there's a line between the good people and the bad people. It is not like you're one or the other†; put simply, living on the border leaves individuals living, ultimately and passionately, in a world distanced from the easy answers, the stable questions, and the knowable, comfortable horizons of the familiar.   These are characters trapped perpetually on the liminal, on the threshold of one emotional state or another, of one epistemological condition or another, and, inevitably throughout the film, of one moral dilemma or another. The impetus for this penetrating dance along border life erupts full force for the townspeople with the unearthing of the remains of Charley Wade (Kris Kristofferson).   A symbol of the town’s racist and casually corrupt past, Wade’s decomposing body establishes a kind of trajectory for the varied border-crossings that accrete during the course of the film, most notably for the current sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), whose own father, Buddy (Matthew McConaughey), was Wade’s premier deputy. But as Sam’s investigation begins, so, too, does his inability to dance the fine lines that he needs to in order to keep his intensely compartmentalized life (his border-less life) in tact. Even moving barely below the surface of   this historical case (buried in the past, Wade was also murdered in the past) soon opens outward to include other stories of other â€Å"pasts† that Sam cannot anticipate and, more tellingly, cannot keep from bleeding over into his current investigations, most notably the history of racial discrimination (against blacks and Hispanics, especially) that implicates all members of the town; the troubled memories that Sam still carries with him as the son of the infamous Buddy Deeds; and the emotional repercussions of his â€Å"reunion† with Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Pena), his first love but also a love that is bordered off (or so society is led to believe) by the moral and genetic taboos placed on such relationships. Or is it?   In such a relativist borderland as Frontera, even this intense stricture can be skirted as simply, it seems, as agreeing that it doesn’t matter since no one knows.   What goes on in the past stays in the past in this case, or, put in terms with which Sayles might concur, what goes on in the present is actually an un-bordered past rising again through interpretations, tellings, and re-tellings. If the discovery of Wade’s body makes Lone Star a murder mystery, the Deeds-Cruz relationship turns this into a film that crosses borders in terms of genre as well as in terms of geography and psychology; murder blends readily with romance; the authority of the sheriff’s department crosses over with its own anti-thesis, as Buddy Deeds gradually emerges from the shadow of the past to become the prime suspect in the murder of his former boss. As the minor character Chucho Montoya (Tony Amendola) underscores in a film that challenges the very idea that any character in any story can ever be seen as minor, as much as this is a film that dances its precarious balance along its various borders, it is also a film that dismantles the very nature of border-ness.   Nowhere is this more clearly articulated than in a scene in which Montoya challenges the younger Deeds’s faithful belief in the lines that serve as the defining characteristics of borders: Chucho Montoya: You're the sheriff of Rio County, right? Un jefe mui respectado. [Drawing a line in the sand] .   Step across this line. You're not the sheriff of nothing anymore, just some tejano with a lot of questions I don't have to answer. A bird flying south, you think he sees this line? Rattlesnake? Javelina? Whatever you got. You think halfway across that line they start thinking different? Why should a man? Sheriff Sam Deeds: Your government's always been pretty happy to have that line, the question's just been where to draw it. Chucho Montoya: My government can go fuck itself, and so can yours! I'm talking about people here. Men. Borders are made by men and recognized by men, Montoya underscores, but are, in the end, unnatural constructions that serve more as barriers to a fully integrated understanding of the town and of the individuals in it.   More importantly, Montoya’s comment implies, it is our individual faithfulness in the stabilizing and restorative powers All of this flux does not mean that Lone Star meanders aimlessly or that the characters are denied always a kind of peaceful â€Å"ordering† to their lives.   The fluid editing of the film allows the various stories to flow together almost seamlessly, erasing borders between scenes, between characters, and between past and present.   As these final two bleed together, the tyranny lifts ever so slightly.   As the characters come to understand that their presents are connected by the various interconnections crisscrossing their pasts, they begin to recognize slowly that it is what they do with this knowledge in the present that means the most. Life is for the living, not the dead, and life is lived in the present not in fear of the bordered off worlds that find their footings deep in years gone.   This does not mean, by any stretch of the bordering lines, that Sayles’s film invokes a grand statement or grander meaning.   As the character known only as the Indian Shop Owner observes in a moment of profundity that resonates through the various layers of this film: â€Å"This stretch of road runs between nowhere and not much else.†Ã‚   In the end, perhaps that is all that can be hoped for as one dances along the border of his own life.   

History of Western Tradition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Western Tradition - Essay Example The Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation are a unified, interconnected whole since the former brought about a new exchange of knowledge and ideas, and with the invention of the printing press enabling the dissemination of these knowledge, individuals start to challenge their devotion and belief to the Catholic Church finally resulting in the Protestant Reformation. The Renaissance and Protestant Reformation brought about numerous changes which marked the way people view various features of modern life. The revival of religion, architecture, and art encouraged the most important developments in the world. The Renaissance ignited developments in architecture and arts. Individuals learned the concept of individualism; they demanded to gain personal recognition of their own actions rather than gaining credit for their dedication to God. Numerous architectural styles were created during the Renaissance period. The Renaissance created questions concerning the way to salvation by intr oducing new insights, specifically the importance placed on individualism, which was a belief that individuals have the capability of differentiating right from wrong, and deciding whether to act morally or immorally. The Catholic Church, passionately promoted the knowledge that salvation can only be attained through the Church, but when Martin Luther read the passage in the bible declaring ‘just shall live by his faith’1 to imply that genuine belief or faith is the only way to salvation he started to question the all-powerful foundation of the church. In one of Luther’s table talk, against Catholicism in 1535, he stated one of his major disputations: The chief cause that I fell out with the pope was this: the pope boasted that he was the head of the Church, and condemned all that would not be under his power and authority; for he said, although Christ be the head of the Church, yet, notwithstanding, there must be a corporal head of the Church upon earth. With th is I could have been content, had he but taught the gospel pure and clear, and not introduced human inventions and lies in its stead.2 The Christian cleric Luther was very troubled over the existence of indulgences, or the religious practice of giving money to the church, hence he created his book of disputes referred to as the ‘Ninety-Five Theses’.3 This document is an effort to explain and elaborate on the issue. Yet, because of the invention of the printing press during the Renaissance period, the document of Luther became a general text and was quite interesting to thinkers and philosophers who also oppose the religious institution. The Renaissance also contributed greatly to the Protestant Reformation when Luther attributed his interpretation of the Bible to his personal perspective of religion, thus he persevered to translate the Bible into the German language in order for more people to understand it. Yet again, the Renaissance printing press helped in the dissem ination of the translated Bible, and also in the circulation of guides that persuaded many to follow the teachings of Luther and Protestantism. The Renaissance basically was a period where new knowledge was recognized, and was still accepted after it ended. This acceptance of knowledge enabled the principles of Luther to cope, alongside a large number of Protestant branches to emerge. A French intellectual, John Calvin, abided by the teachings of Luther but instead of giving emphasis on salvation he persuaded the population to acknowledge the justice,

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Discussion Question - Assignment Example I recommend an equity based rewards program. An equity based reads program is not the same as an equal rewards program. In an equity based rewards program the rewards outcomes are not equal for all employees. Instead the rewards are apparently fair in terms of the contributions made by the employees, or groups of employees, such as teams. Thus, in the rewards program recommended by me the pay is not equal for employees, the raise in pay is not equal across all employees, the perks received are not the same, and promotions are not based on any time scale that makes the opportunities for promotion the same for all employees. In my recommended rewards program, all these elements of a rewards program are dispensed on the basis of contribution to the performance of the company. In other words, the employees or group of employees that contributes more gets more. In the development of my rewards program I have drawn support from the equity theory in the distribution of rewards to employees. Employees do not feel that they are being discriminated against in the distribution of rewards, when it is clear to them that the employees or groups of employees who have received more are the same employees who have made larger contributions to the performance of the organization (Phillips & Gully, 2011). Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program. (2008). Making Teamwork Rewarding. Retrieved from, Good Company, 2(4), Web Site: http://www.phwa.org/resources/goodcompany/newsletter/article/48 (Accessed April 26,

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EPL - Dissertation Example The proposed research study intends to examine the issue focusing specifically upon the English Premier League as it has been found from the analysis of the premier hiring records that the conception of internationalization of players is deeply embedded in the British soccer league and for many years, the foreign players are frequently hired in the teams and as the time passes, the ratio of international players is increasing in the EPL players. The proposed research study aims to investigate the evolution of the practice of hiring foreign players in the team and describes the conceptions and theories associated with this trend. The research study aims to illustrate the implication of the described literature and theories in to the English premier league’s traditions of inviting foreign players in the team and their performances after becoming part of EPL.  It is also revealed that the foreign players are commonly hired in the team against high fees because they are expected to gear up the performance level of the team carrying it towards the victory stand. Thus, the economic aspect of the management decision to hire foreign players is also an important point of focus for this research study that would be covered by discussing the amount spent by the English soccer team on the foreign players.  The practice of internationalization of football players has become very common in most of the western countries and alon g with England, some other countries like Spain, Germany and France also use to hire the services of the players from other countries.  

How museums institutions shape the art world and in turn, how art and Research Paper

How museums institutions shape the art world and in turn, how art and artists have critiqued and sometimes transformed these institutions - Research Paper Example t goes back to the early 1866 in Paris when a group of Americans decided to create an institution and gallery of art so that the art and art education could reach to the people of America. The New York State Legislation then incorporated the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the Incorporation Act in 1870. The purpose of this act was to allow the Metropolitan Museum to serve as a Museum and Art Library in the city and further encourage and develop the study of fine arts and the application of arts in advancing the general knowledge. Eastman Johnson was the artist who acted as the co-founder of the museum, and the former Civil War Officer was the first director under the guidance of whom the holdings of the museum consisted of a roman stone sarcophagus and 174 European paintings. Since its formation, Metropolitan Museum of Art had many additions to its outside view and the building. It also had many additions in its collection of Art works, and is now holding some of America’s best art contributions. There are seventeen separate departments for the collections in Metropolitan. Each of the departments has specialised staff and a department of scientific research and conservation. The permanent collection that the museum holds includes paintings and sculptures of almost all the European masters, American and modern art, and also holding of the African, Asian, Oceanic, Islamic and Byzantine Art. Furthermore, the museum also has a collection of musical instruments and weapons from all around the world. The museum holds more than 13,000 artworks currently. Despite the controversies in 2009 related to the book Rogue’s Gallery by the journalist Michael Gross, and the criticisms that the museum faced, they plan to expand their collections and area in the future. The Metropolitan Museum of Art works under the policies of the State and acquires the world-class paintings. They have acquired artworks that hold immense value and have added to the contribution of promoting

Recruitment, selection, and retention challenges Essay

Recruitment, selection, and retention challenges - Essay Example f mismatch between job description and job requirement, the organization might be forced to cancel the recruitment results and conduct fresh recruitment. The organization might also decide to train the employee to make sure he/she can carry out the duties associated with that job requirement. Most organization use job interviews and resumes to get information about job applicants. Technology may be used to conduct job interviews via live video conferencing (Billsberry, 2007). It is important to ensure that the organization selects a job applicant who will feel comfortable and will be successful. This can be achieved if you assess your organizations culture, define the candidate you are looking for and taking time to learn about the applicants working style and personality. Managers need to select candidates based on occupational qualifications. The selected applicant should possess the necessary skills required to be successful when carrying out the requirements of the job. The law prohibits any form of discrimination during the recruitment process. It is illegal to discriminate against sex, age, marital status, ethnicity or religious affiliation (Billsberry,

Impact of Technology on Recruitment and Selection Process Essay

Impact of Technology on Recruitment and Selection Process - Essay Example 45-89). Therefore, there have always been new methods and techniques of recruitment as the time changes. Recruitments in the past and in the present have different aspects but still the motive of both remains one, which is to get the best out of thousands. In the past, companies used to advertise vacant positions through newspaper, internal recruitment, or through simple postings in the main plant. Mostly, the most qualified applicants would not be aware of these job vacancies, so the companies often having no other option had to fill the positions with people that did not have sufficient qualification and skills to cope up with requirements of the position (Bergiel, 2008, pp. 20-78). Today in the world of corporate organizations, technology has captured a huge attention and importance. It has acquired this much attention because of its vast and diversified applications that organizations can utilize to make minimal use of capital to make maximum amount of capital. Technology process es and methods are often very flexible, automatic and give quick responses. Technology can record, communicate, and react to a number of data put in by users. It can help organizations in number of processes such as inventory cycles, advertising, financial statements, and other financial processes, record keeping of customers and employees and managing information. Now companies have also started using technology in recruitment process through websites, online portals etc. One of the major advantages of technology is ease and flexibility in recruitment process of organizations. This paper will discuss in detail about the impacts of technology on recruitment (Bowen, 1986, pp. 371-383). Firstly, there are five types of recruitments. In-house recruitment and recruiters look for executives and other top positions. Besides, niche agencies take care of specialized recruitment, employment agencies and job search engines or recruitment websites. Using technology, all kind of recruitment age ncies and employers allow job portals on websites to advertise their open position so that job seekers can see it and submit their resume. Online job search engines have various pricing models; advertisement is there on each job listing. The companies pay money to Job Search Engines for every click on their advertisements (Cascio, 2003, pp. 20-89). The most common method of advertising is still rooted in location, resume views, and duration of the job posting. Some niche engines generate income merely from advertisements because people large number of people is always in the search of good jobs. For this reason, they look into every option available and click on every advertisement they see. Due to current global recession, employers usually get large number of applications for advertised positions and find it difficult to handle all of them and find the best one. For this reason, some of the organizations such as IBM and Volkswagen have created certain web forms for receiving appli cations. In these web forms, applicants enter their basic information, which the company requires in order to preselect the candidates (Dineen, Ash, and Noe, 2002, pp. 723-734). Based on this information, companies preselect few candidates with an automated system. After this employers proof the testimonials of experience and education, they

Geopolitics in the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Geopolitics in the Middle East - Essay Example Despite the struggles of the advocates of change, with the neo-conservatives envisioning an end for the, sort of chaotic Middle East society, the fight leads to a different scenario than what was expected. Peace is still so elusive, terrorist threats still exist, and instability is still greatly felt. We examined the reasons behind the pitfalls of this political blitzkrieg based on the articles written by Jeffrey Goldberg entitled "After Iraq" and the article "Parties of God: The Bush doctrine and the rise of Islamic Democracy" written by Ken Silverstein. Goldberg generally expressed the fact that the political agenda of the US and its allies are contrary to what Iraq's minority groups and even the rest of the countries in the region are looking for. Silverstein in the other hand expressed the fact that the Bush doctrine and the western democratic system do not fit the Islamic cultures and ways. While the US and the rest of its allies are eyeing to push their own vested interests in the Middle East campaign, the Middle Eastern nations affected by the current transitions in the other hand are looking at it in a different perspective. The war on Iraq was generally aimed at ousting Saddam Hussein, a dictatorial leader, for the major reason of removing a danger to social equality in the region, which Hussein had proven to be a threat, and instate a unified democratic government. . The plans may have been understood plainly by both the allies and Arab compatriots, like the Kurds, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and the rest, and laid open for them to work through, but beneath the shadows of their support, the Middle eastern countries, and minority regions within Iraq, are hoping to push through with their own agenda, for their own people, for their leader's interest. Take for example the case of the Kurds. In a personal interview by Jeffrey Goldberg with Abdul Rahman Mustafa, the Kurdish-Iraqi governor of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, considered as domains of the Kurds, it appeared that the Kurds really wanted independence from Iraq (Goldberg 79). The article of Goldberg speak further of other regions in the middle east that wanted to be governed based on their own cultural minority principles such as the "Shiites did not want to be ruled from Baghdad by a Sunni minority"(78), and other minority groups from Egypt, Israel, and other areas want their own sovereignty. In other words, the zeroing in was just superficial. The question is why The answer perhaps lies on the cultural differences between the east and the west, and the way these two civilizations are molded through time. We agree on Goldberg's idea that western democratic strategies don't seem to fit with the Middle Eastern cultures, which are highly diverse. Islam, which is the main religion in the Middle Eastern countries, is a diverse religion with differing principles across different minorities. While the west is generally Christian, although differing in minor teachings, have common core values that has high regard to peace and order. There is no Christian jihad, to cite a particular difference, while the Muslim jihad is primarily exploited by Muslim extremists and used to push their ideals and principles. In the western world, as a common knowledge, governance in civic

Political or social issues Essay Example for Free

Political or social issues Essay Ethnocentrism refers to people’s habit of applying selfness in daily life activities by considering themselves just than others, pulling towards themselves and therefore make all judgments based on their own values, feelings, ideas, ideals, traditions and cultural practices. It is an aspect that brings issues of prejudices, hatred, ethnicity and stereotypic practices. On the other side, it strengthens and maintains belief structures and behaviors as well as creating rationale pride. It also creates personal volunteering spirit for one’s group or society aimed at collective benefits. The mostly realized effect of ethnocentrism is that it creates negative effects especially when it comes to communication and understanding one another. This is because people from different cultures have different opinions and perceptions when it comes to different issues in life such as cultural, political or social issues. It is therefore difficult for people to reach a consensus as everyone considers him/her right, thus misperceptions and misunderstandings (Felix, 2004). b. Explain the difference between individualistic cultures and collectivist cultures and your personal experiences with culture shock. Hofstede compared ethnocentrism American and Indian college students and came up with two major aspects which mostly deepened American’s student’s socio-cultural conformity. One of the aspects was individualistic culture, where a culture is developed to value oneself more than others and when it comes to a group; its members are considered more than non members. The other aspect was power distance dimension which mainly focused on societal equality and inequality. This is the view that high powered people are entitled to more privileges than the low powered. According to his research the above two aspects made America score 91% and India 48% of ethnocentrism in students. Collectivist culture is the culture in which benefit to all is the principle. It applies in countries or society where people value mutualism by caring for one another (Violet, 2001). Reference Felix, G. , (2004) Social Psychology. London, Blackwell Publishers Violet, T. , (2001) Sociological Theories and Approaches. West, CT, Praeger

Comparison of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X Essay They were black men who had a dream, but never lived to see it fulfilled. One was a man who spoke out to all humanity, but the world was not yet ready for his peaceful words. I have a dream, a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal. (Martin Luther King) The other, a man who spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change for the black race. Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if youre not ready to get involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means well have to change you. (Malcom X) While Martin Luther King promoted non-violence, civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, a man of the name of Malcom X dreamed of a separate nation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the conscience of his generation. A Southerner, a black man, he gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to free all people from the bondage of separation and injustice, he wrung his eloquent statement of what America could be. (Ansboro, pg. 1) An American clergyman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, he was one of the principle leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent protest. Kings challenges to segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s, helped convince many white Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States. After his assassination in 1968, King became the symbol of protest in the struggle for racial justice. (King, Martin Luther, Jr. , pg. 1) In 1964, Malcom X founded an organization called The Muslim Mosque, Inc. In an interview conducted by A. B. Spellman on March 19, 1964, Malcom speaks of his goals for this organization. The Muslim Mosque, Inc. will have as its religious base the religion of Islam, which will be designed to propagate the moral reformations necesary to up the level of the so-called Negro community by eliminating the vices and other evils that destroy the moral fiber of the community. But the political philosophy of the Muslim Mosque will be black nationalism, as well as the social and economic philosophies. We still believe in the Honorable Elijah Muhammands solution as complete separation. The 22 million so-called Negroes should be separated completely from America and should be permitted to go back home to our native African homeland. (Breitmaned, pgs. 5-6) Perhaps the key to these two African-Americans leaders opposing goals lay within their very different pasts. Malcom X was born in Omaha as Malcom Little. Malcoms faith, a Baptist minister was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey, the black nationalist leader of the 1920s. The family moved to Lansing, Michigan, and when Malcom was six years old, his father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Malcoms mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her eight children were taken by the welfare department. Malcom was sent first to a foster home and then to a reform school. After 8th grade, Malcom moved to Boston where he worked various jobs and eventually became involved in criminal activity. (Malcom X, pg. 1) In 1946, he was sentenced to prison for burglary. While in prison, Malcom became invested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammed, the leader of the black Muslims also called the Nation of Islam. Malcom spent his time in jail educating himself and learning more about the black Muslims, who advocated racial separation. When Malcom was released in 1952, he joined a black Muslim temple in Detroit and became the most prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam by the early 1960s. It was then that he took the name of Malcom X. (Malcom, pg. 1) Martin Luther King was born in Alanta, Georgia, the eldest son of Martin Luther King, Sr. a Baptist minister, and Alberta Williams King. King attended local segregated public schools, where he excelled. He entered nearby Morehouse College at age 15 and graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology in 1948. After graduating with honors from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951, he went to Boston University where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955. (King, Martin Luther, Jr. , pg. 1) Throughout Kings education, he was exposed to influences that related Christian theology to the struggles of oppressed peoples. At Morehouse, Crozer, and Boston University, he studied the teachings on nonviolent Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. King also read and heard the sermons of white Protestant ministers who preached against American racism. He was married in 1953, and in 1954, he accepted his first pastorate at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, a church of well-educated congretions that had recently by a minister who had protested against segregation. (King, Martin Luther, Jr. , pg. 1) Where as King was full of love, peace, respect, and compassion for his fellow white brother, Malcom X was full of hate, anger, and vengeance. He was a dark presence, an angry, cynical, implacable man whose good will or forgiveness or even pity the white race could neither earn nor buy. Coffee, he once remarked in an interview, is the only thing I like integrated. He also pleasantly mentioned that whites were inherently enemies of the Negroes and that integration was impossible without great bloodletting. Nonviolence was as he put it, a mealy-mouth, beg-in, wait-in, plead-in kind of action, and it was only a device for disarming the blacks. He also believed that everything we had heard to the contrary from the Martin Luther Kings and the Roy Wilkinses and the Whiteny Youngs was a deadly dangerous pack of lies. Thats etiquette, he said. Etiquette means to blend in with society. They are being polite. The average Negro doesnt even let another Negro know what he thinks, hes so mistrusting. Im black first- my whole objectives are black, my allegiance is black, my whole objectives are black. By me being a Muslim, Im not interested in American, because America has never been interested in me. (Goldman, pg. 5) Black blood, claimed Malcom X, is stronger than white. A person can have a teaspoon of black in him, and that makes him black. Black cant come from white, but white can come from black. That means black was first. If black is first, black is supreme and white is dependent on black. He meant to haunt whites, to play on their fears and quicken their guilt and deflate their dreams that everything was getting better- and he did. Americas problem is us. Malcom X told whites that if they argued that the sins of the past ought not to visited on them, he would reply: Your father isnt here to pay his debts. My father isnt here to collect, but Im here to collect, and youre here to pay. (Goldman, pgs. 6-9) Martin Luther King is known for his key role as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), the oganixation that directed the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomerys black community had long standing grievances about the mistreatment of blacks on the citys buses. Many white bus drivers treated blacks rudely, often cursing them and humiliating them by enforcing the citys segregation laws, which forced black riders to sit in the back of busses and give up their seats to white passengers on crowded busses. By the 1950s, Montgomerys blacks discussed boycotting the busses in an effort to gain better treatment- but not necessarily to end segregation. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a leading member of the local branch of the NAACP, was ordered to give up her seat to a white passenger. When she refused, she was arrested and taken to jail. Local leaders of the NAACP, especially Edgar D. Nixon, recognized recently arrived Kings public speaking gifts as great assets in the battle for black civil rights in Montgomery. King was soon chosen as president of the MIA, the organization that directed the bus boycott.

Wii Mote Materials And Design Methodology Information Technology Essay

Wii Mote Materials And Design Methodology Information Technology Essay The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsofts Xbox 360 and Sonys PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As of March 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales and in December 2009 broke the record for best-selling console in a single month in the United States. A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detects movement in three dimensions. Another distinctive feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode. The Wii is Nintendos fifth home console, the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube, and able to play all official GameCube games. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 at Tokyo Game Show. At 2006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets. The company has given many reasons for this choice of name since the announcement however, the best known is: Wii sounds like we, which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion and no need to abbreviate. NEMS (Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) is being pitched as the eventual successor to the MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) motion sensing tech used by Nintendo in Wii MotionPlus. The latest NEMS breakthrough comes courtesy of a bunch of researchers at TU Delft in The Netherlands, who have succeeded in measuring the influence of a single electron on a vibrating carbon nanotube. Wii Remote The Wii Remote is the primary  controller  for the console. It uses a combination of built in  accelerometers  and  infrared  detection to sense its position in  3D  space when pointed at the  LEDs  within the  Sensor Bar. This design allows users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller connects to the console using  Bluetooth  and features  rumble  as well as an internal speaker. The Wii Remote can connect to expansion devices through a  proprietary  port at the base of the controller. The  Wii Motion Plus  was announced as a device that connects to the Wii Remote to supplement the accelerometer and Sensor Bar capabilities and enable actions to be rendered identically on the screen in real time. Nintendo also revealed the  Wii Vitality Sensor, a fingertip  pulse oximeter  sensor that connects through the Wii Remote.Nintendo-Wii.jpg Ultra-sensitive motion gaming The scientists, from the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience at TU Delft, have published their latest findings in the journal  Science. The experiments in the project took place in a cooled environment close to absolute zero and involved a suspended vibrating carbon nanotube, comparable to an ultra small violin string which starts to vibrate at a certain frequency as a result of a surrounding alternating electric field. The number of electrons allowed on the nanotube causes very slight changes in the vibration behavior of the tube. Thus the frequency at which the nanotube vibrates shifts very slightly each time an electron is added. The scientists have succeeded in charting the influence of the presence of just a single electron. The research is vital to the development of NEMS (Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) such as ultra small switches and measuring instruments, with applications of the technology including ultra sensitive motion controllers for games companies. Testing Accelerometer The test device is surface micromachine, force balanced three axis accelerometer with integrated CMOS circuitry. Each of the three accelerometers comprises a proof mass, proof mass suspension, capacitive pickoff mechanism, electronic servo loop, and signal digitizer. Each of the three proof masses is constrained to move in a single dimension orthogonal to the other two thus providing the input accelerations sensing along three mutually orthogonal axes, X, Y and Z. The X and Y axis accelerometers were implemented using a comb structure in which the fingers of a compliant comb are interdigital with fixed comb fingers to provide an output differential signal from the capacitive coupling between individual fingers. The Y axis comb structure is about half the mass of the X axis. The Z axis accelerometer is implemented differently with a hinged plate as a proof mass. The proof mass forms a capacitor with the ground plane polysilicon structure of the device. A fixed reference capacitor plate was designed into the Z axis channel to provide a differential output in conjunction with the moveable plate. The accelerometer die is shown below.untitled.bmp . The electrical output of an accelerometer channel is a pulse train. The acceleration sensed by the device is contained in the pulse density of the output pulses. By design an output or bias frequency is present even at zero input acceleration. The scale factor or density of output pulses per unit time per unit acceleration input is a function of the device clock frequency. Stability of the clock for the accelerometer directly affects accelerometer performance therefore maintaining good clock stability is essential for measuring accelerometer capability. Theoretical and Computational of Wiimote Accelerometer and Gyroscopic Accelerometers are manufactured using a relatively new technology called MEMS Technology also known as MicroElectroMechanical System. In the image below you can see a micro machined MEMS three axis accelerometer under a microscope. The average human hair is about 80 micrometers in diameter and you can see that this accelerometer is roughly 200 micrometers wide or three hair widths. The four maze looking parts in the corners are actually springs and as the device is moved the centre part of the accelerometer moves, expanding and compressing these springs. Meanwhile, electricity is flowing through these springs and as the springs expands or compresses the spacing changes, this in turn changes the capacitance which is an electrical property that can then be detected and outputted on the wires you see coming out of the chip. The device is quite fragile so a micro machined cover is placed over the accelerometer. Wii-Remote-4.jpg figure Figure 1: This micromechanical structure is the core of a 3 axis MEMS accelerometer. Such an open microstructure is very delicate, susceptible to degradation by dust, water, and almost any physical contact. Special tooling must be used to dice and package the chip, and hermetic packaging is required to ensure long-term reliability. Accelerometers use to pointing, senses orientation, vibration and shock. Meanwhile, it can accurately sense three axes of acceleration: up and down, left and right, forward and backward. accelerometer02.jpg Photo 2: Motion or controller The hardware that most people do not realize that there is actually a small infrared camera on the end of the Wiimote. The camera is locate as shown in the picture below, Wii-Remote-5.jpg Photo 3: Sensor in Wiimote The sensor bar is really not a sensor but in fact two infrared LED lights. When you point the Wiimote at your TV the infrared sensitive camera picks up the lights and uses this data to determine where you are pointing the Wiimote, rather than using the accelerometers. The reason for this is because accelerometers are good at detecting motion in the X, Y, and Z directions but they cannot detect rotational acceleration (as when you rotate the remote to move the cursor around on the screen). In order to detect rotational accelerations you need what is called a gyroscope (also based on MEMS technology). Gyroscopes are devices that measures or maintain an orientation of an object using the principle of angular momentum. Unfortunately gyroscopes are pretty expensive so engineers at Nintendo came up with the sensor bar idea to reduce the price of the controllers to an affordable level. Fabrication of Wiimote The  Wii Remote  is the Wiis main input device. It is a wireless device, using standard bluetooth technology to communicate with the Wii. It is built around a  Broadcom BCM2042  bluetooth System-on-a-chip, and contains multiple peripherals that provide data to it, as well as an expansion port for external add-ons. C:Documents and SettingswangMy DocumentsDownloadsWiimote WiiBrew_files200px-Wii_Remote_Broadcom.jpg Broadcom BCM2042 The Wii remote uses the standard bluetooth HID protocol to communicate with the host, which is directly based upon the  USB HID  standard. As such, it will appear as a standard input device to any bluetooth host. However, the Wii Remote does not make use of the standard data types and HID descriptor, and only describes its report format length, leaving the actual content undefined, which makes it useless with standard HID drivers. The Wii Remote actually uses a fairly complex set of operations, transmitted through HID Output reports, and returns a number of different data packets through its Input reports, which contain the data from its peripherals. Memory and Registers The Wii Remote includes a built-in  EEPROM memory, part of which is accessible to the user to store that. This user part is used to store calibration constants, as well as the Mii Data. Additionally, many peripherals on the Wii Remote have  registers  which are accessible through a portion of the address space. EEPROM memory There is a 128kbit EEPROM chip in the Wii Remote. Parts of its contents include code for the built in microcontroller, and a generic section which can be freely read and written by the host. This section is 0x1700 bytes long, and part of this memory is used to store the  Mii Data. It can be accessed by reading or writing to addresses 0x0000-0x16FF in the Wii Remotes virtual memory space, in the actual EEPROM chip, the data is located at 0x0070-0x176F. C:Documents and SettingswangMy DocumentsDownloadsWiimote WiiBrew_files180px-Wii_Remote_Flash.jpg EEPROM chip The  BCM2042  microcontroller built into the Wii Remote includes a large 108kb on-chip ROM section for storing firmware. If the EEPROM chip really contains code for the BCM2042 then this was probably done to make firmware updates possible, so there might be a way of accessing the other parts of the EEPROM via bluetooth as well. Input Features The Wii Remote has two input features that are controlled directly by the broadcom chip, a  Three Axis Accelerometer  and 11  Buttons. Additionally, it has an  IR camera  with an object tracking processor, and an expansion port that allows for external input features such as those contained in the nunchuk and the classic controller. Accelerometer The Wii Remote includes a three axis linear accelerometer located on the top suface of the circuit board, slightly left of the large A button. The integrated circuit is the  ADXL330, manufactured by Analog Devices. This device is physically rated to measure accelerations over a range of at least +/- 3g with 10% sensitivity. Since the accelerometer is measures the force exerted by a set of small proof masses inside of it with respect to its enclosure, the accelerometer measures linear acceleration in a free fall frame of reference. If the Wii remote is in free fall, it will report zero acceleration. At rest, it will report an upward acceleration (+Z, when horizontal) equal to the acceleration due to gravity, g (approximately 9.8 m/s ²) but in the opposite direction. This fact can be used to derive tilt from the acceleration outputs when the Wii Remote is reasonably still. C:Documents and SettingswangMy DocumentsDownloadsWiimote WiiBrew_files200px-Wii-Remote-Accel.jpg ADXL330 Accelerometer Buttons The Wii Remote has 11 buttons on its front face, and one trigger style button on the back. Of these, the Power button is special and is treated differently by the Wii Remote. All the other buttons are independently accessible through a two byte bitmask which is transmitted first in most Input reports. A button will report a 1 bit if pressed or a 0 bit otherwise. IR Camera The Wii Remote includes a 12896 monochrome camera with built in image processing. The camera looks through an infrared pass filter in the remotes plastic casing. The cameras built in image processing is capable of tracking up to 4 moving objects, and these data are the only data available to the host. Raw pixel data is not available to the host, so the camera cannot be used to take a conventional picture. The built in processor uses 8x subpixel analysis to provide 1024768 resolutions for the tracked points. The sensor bar that comes with the Wii includes two IR LED clusters at each end, which are tracked by the Wii Remote to provide pointing information. The distance between the centers of the LED clusters is 20 cm . C:Documents and SettingswangMy DocumentsDownloadsWiimote WiiBrew_files200px-Wii-Remote-Camera.jpg 12896 monochrome camera Feedback Features The Wii Remote sports three feedback features which are  Player LEDs,  Rumble, and the  Speaker. Player LEDs There are four blue LEDs on the front face of the Wii remote. During discovery and before initialization, these LEDs blink at a fixed rate. The number of blinking LEDs is proportional to the battery voltage, indicating battery charge. During game play with the Wii, one LED is lit to indicate the player number assigned to the Wii remote. However, the LEDs are independently controllable by the host, and can be set to display any pattern. They can also be modulated at a moderately high speed, enabling some brightness control at the cost of a lot of bluetooth bandwidth. Sigma delta modulation works reasonably well for this. C:Documents and SettingswangMy DocumentsDownloadsWiimote WiiBrew_files200px-Wii-Remote-LEDs.jpg Wii Remote Player LEDs Speaker The Wii Remote has a small low-quality 21mm piezo-electric speaker, used for short sound effects during gameplay. The sound is streamed directly from the host, and the speaker has some adjustable parameters. The speaker is controlled by using three output reports, together with a section of the register address space of the Wii Remote. Rumble The Wii remote includes a rumble feature, which is implemented as a small motor attached to an off center weight. It will cause the controller to vibrate when activated. The rumble motor can be turned on or off through any of the output reports. Setting the LSB (bit 0) of the first byte of any output report will activate the rumble motor, and unsetting it will deactivate it. However, this will also have the side effect of turning off all LEDs. Since there is no output report that only affects the rumble motor, and all of them do affect it, an implementation might need to store both the rumble and LED values locally and use the same Output Report for both. Another possibility would be using the status request report (0x15). The rumble bit needs to be set properly with every single report sent, to avoid inadvertently turning the rumble motor off. C:Documents and SettingswangMy DocumentsDownloadsWiimote WiiBrew_files200px-Wii_Remote_Rumble.jpg Wii Remote Rumble Wii Mote Materials and Design Methodology One of the main features of Wii mote is its motion sensing capabilities, which allow the user to interact with and manipulate items on the screen via gesture recognition and pointing with the help of a few sensors materials which are optical sensors technology and MEMS sensors technology. By using MEMS Accelerometer, it able to provide three axis motion signal processing, the accelerometer is used to sense motion of the user in three dimensions of freedom, which are forward backward, left right, and up down, when the Wii mote is picked up and manipulated, it provides a quick element of interaction, sensing motion, depth and positioning dictated by the acceleration of the Wii-mote itself. Besides the accelerometer, there is another MEMS sensor used in Wii mote is the MEMS Gyroscope used to detect rotational accelerations which combined with accelerometer and result out highly accurate representation of the Wii mote in three dimension space, which allow real 1:1 three dimension control. A gyroscope is a basic inertial sensor, which can measure an external angular rate. The MEMS gyroscope is an inertial angular rate sensor fabricated using MEMS technology. When an external angular rate is applied to the MEMS gyroscope, the proof mass vibrating at resonant frequency is forced to vibrate in orthogonal direction due to the Coriolis force. The angular rate can be estimated by measuring the amplitude of the orthogonal oscillation. The Wii mote is a breakthrough design remote control unlike the traditional gamepad controllers of the previous consoles as Wii mote design for single handed remote controller. This was done to make motion sensitivity more intuitive, as a remote design is fitted perfectly for pointing, and in part to help the console appeal to a broader audience that includes non-gamers. The body of the Wii mote measures 148 mm (5.83 in) long, 36.2 mm (1.43 in) wide, and 30.8 mm (1.21 in) thick. The Wii mote model number is RVL-003, a reference to the project codename Revolution. The controller communicates wirelessly with the console via short range bluetooth radio, with which it is possible to operate up to four controllers as far as 10 meters away from the console. However, to utilize pointer functionality, the Wii mote must be used within five meters (approx. 16 ft) of the Sensor Bar. The controllers symmetrical design allows it to be used in either hand. Wii mote design used the Analog Devicess model ADXL330 MEMS accelerometer sensor in it, as Mr Genyo Takeda, Senior Managing Director/General Manager, Integrated Research Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd. Said We selected the ADXL330 because its accuracy, small size, and extremely low power consumption were critical to the Wii Consoles design objectives and key for a wireless controller that will revolutionize the gaming industry. Nintendo relied on their experience with Analog Devices iMEMS Motion Signal Processingà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ technology. Mr Genyo Takeda also mention that For the industrys first mainstream game controller using MEMS acceleration sensors, we turned to Analog Devices, an industry leader whose acceleration sensors are used by Nintendo The ADXL330 three axis accelerometer sensors is a small, thin, low power, complete 3 axis accelerometer with signal conditioned voltage outputs, all on a single monolithic IC. The product measures acceleration with a minimum full scale range of  ±3g. It can measure the static acceleration of gravity in tilt sensing applications, as well as dynamic acceleration resulting from motion, shock, or vibration. The ADXL330 is available in a small, low profile, 4 mm ÃÆ'- 4 mm ÃÆ'- 1.45 mm, and 16 lead.16 pin 01.jpg untitled.bmp Figure 1 Functional Block Diagram of ADXL330 The ADXL330 provided three sense axes in a 4 mm ÃÆ'- 4 mm ÃÆ'- 1.45 mm LFCSP package. An X-ray of the ADXL330 package, which contains a single integrated chip, is presented in Figure 2. Figure 3 shows that the ADX330 MEMS sensor was fabricated as a single chip, with the MEMS structure in the centre of the die, beneath a hermetic cap, and the ASIC circuitry around the outside edge. The ASIC circuitry uses a single metal, single poly 3  µm BiCMOS process, while the MEMS is fabricated using three layers of polysilicon, with the top 4  µm thick poly 3 being used to form the MEMS structures, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 show the ADXL330 Die. http://www.memsindustrygroup.org/images/newsletter/Oct2009/fig1ADXL330_x-rays_side.jpg Figure 2 ADXL330 Package X-Ray http://www.memsindustrygroup.org/images/newsletter/Oct2009/fig3209_caps_tilt.jpghttp://www.memsindustrygroup.org/images/newsletter/Oct2009/fig21_overview.jpg Figure 3 Decapsulated ADXL330 Chip Figure 4 ADXL330 MEMS Structures DIE.jpg Figure 5 ADXL330 MEMS Die Wii mote design also used inven sense IDG-650 Integrated dual axis MEMS Gyroscope sensor to enhance its response accuracy.   The accelerometer is only capable of measuring movement velocity along the X, Y, and Z axis only linear acceleration without rotation. The problem is that acceleration due to gravity can easily be confused with linear motion when using the device. And though the accelerometer can track gravity, it cannot measure horizontal rotation. This results in a jittery representation of the interpreted data which, when combined with subtle hand movements, makes for an oft-inaccurate picture of what is going on with the remote. Gyroscopes, on the other hand, measure rotation directly. These sensors are very responsive and do not amplify hand jitter, but cannot respond to the linear movement that accelerometers specialize in. When a gyroscope and an accelerometer are combined, the pair of sensors affords the ability for highly accurate representation of the control device in three dimensional spaces.  Mr Genyo Takeda, General Manager of Nintendos Integrated research and development Division said Nintendo selected the IDG-650 for its ability to measure large dynamic motions, high shock resistance, and accuracy for sensing the fast moving arm and hand motions required to support exciting new game titles. The IDG-650 is the worlds first integrated dual axis MEMS rate gyroscope designed for high performance game controllers and A/V remote controllers which require wide dynamic range motion processing, high impact shock resistance and low cost. An innovative vibrating dual mass in plane sensing configuration senses the rate of rotation about the X and Y axis, resulting in a highly integrated dual axis gyro with guaranteed by design vibration rejection and high cross axis isolation. The IDG 650 also includes an integrated AutoZero feature for minimizing bias drift over temperature. D1650.jpg Figure 6 A diagram of the IDG-650, the InvenSense chip on Wii-mote Aspects of Accelerometer and Gyroscopic Accelerometer are utilized in the field of various engineering application such as automotive industry, robot system, electronics appliances and toys due to their small size, low prize and high performance. Meanwhile it can include a sensor to sense the movement and proof mass. The electric capacity type accelerometer can have an advantage in require less power and space and it have high sensitivity. Of course it also have it weakness which is they are affected by electromagnetic interference and parasitic of electromagnetic. Gyroscopic are use to control apparatus and systems. It can produce torque that will influences behavior of an object. One of the advantages is in connection with controlling the attitude of satellites or vehicles operating in outer space. However, there have a weakness it may encounter which is due to the presence of undesired counter-acting torques resulting when gyroscopic attempts to produce torque Process Integration Simulation What is process integration? Process Integration has the objective of the design and optimization of integrated chemical manufacturing systems.   Process Integration starts with the selection of a series of processing steps and there interconnection to form a manufacturing system to transform raw materials into desired products. Simulation  is the imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system. Process Integration of NMEMS  Accelerometer MEMS technology and the drive for cost reductions continue to evolve. Examples of cost reduction include die size reduction, yield improvement, and integration. The accelerometer contains an interface IC and transducer die packaged in a Small Outline Integrated Circuit (SOIC) 16 lead package. The g-cell transducer is constructed using surface micromachining techniques. The signal conditioning of the accelerometer channel begins with a capacitance-to-voltage conversion followed by a 2 stage switched capacitor amplifier. The 2 stage amplifier has adjustable offset and gain trimming. The accelerometer device has a 4 pole, low-pass, switched capacitor Bessel filter with options for a cut-off frequency of 400 to 700 Hz. The output of the filter is amplified by the output stage, which buffers the signal to the external Vout pin and contains the temperature compensation for sensitivity. The EPROM trim state is valid from 4.4 to 5.5 V with 4.75 to 5.25 V considered the normal operation range for VDD. A self-test voltage can be applied to the electrostatic deflection plate in the transducer resulting in a known output. The product has several fault checks for low voltage detection (LVD), clock and/or bias monitoring, and a check of the stored even parity of the EPROM trim register. Process Integration of NMEMS Gyroscopic Companies like InvenSense of Santa Clara have devoted themselves entirely to fabricating dual-axis gyroscopes that integrate with handheld devices. InvenSense is working with their patented manufacturing system, to integrate two very low-cost X-axis and Y-axis MEMS gyroscopes  in order to not only simplify but also reduce costs associated with the production process typically needed for gyroscopes of any kind. Company leaders have transferred much of their production energy to a high-output MEMS foundry that can create thousands of MEMS gyroscope sensors alongside other essential consumer electronics devices, all on the surface of a single 6-inch silicon wafer. Their research and development teams are hard at work on continually shrinking the size of this wafer as well as integrating applications and functions performed by electronics hardware so that every day one device can be used to do the work of two, thereby taking up less space on the chip and reducing the eventual size of the end product. And as we all know, if theres anything consumers typically want out of their handheld electronics, it tends to be a consistently smaller and sleeker design that still delivers an increase in functionality. They can combine these gyroscopes on a single chip, making it easier for the main electronics manufacturer to then install the technology into their devices. A single wafer bonding process utilizes existing aluminium from standard CMOS to achieve a hermetic seal on thousands of devices while simultaneously providing hundreds of thousands of electrical interconnects between the MEMS sensing electrodes and CMOS electronics (see photo).http://invensense.com/images/technology_clip_image002_0004 This creates cost and performance advantages for InvenSense versus its competition. Alternative approaches are more costly and inefficient, including the addition of a silicon cap with a glass-frit seal, residual gas getters for vacuum reliability, hermetically sealed ceramic packages, and multi-chip assembly of the MEMS and CMOS at the package level. Furthermore, additional cost advantages are derived from the simple 6-mask bulk silicon Nasiri-Fabrication process, which enables high-speed calibration and electrically integrated MEMS system-level testing. Another key enabling technological advantage for InvenSense is its patented, out-of-plane resonating structures, which are the cornerstone of a vibrating, dual-mass, tuning fork design that surpasses the competition by its ability to serve the low-cost consumer electronics market. Vibratory mass gyros are based on the transfer of energy between the two resonating modes of a structure due to Coriolis acceleration, which arises in a rotating reference frame, and is proportional to the rate of rotation. Vibratory mass gyros generally contain a pair of vibrating masses that are driven to oscillation with equal magnitude and in opposite directions. When the gyro device is rotated, the Coriolis force creates an orthogonal vibration force proportional to the rate of rotation, which is measured using capacitive sensing techniques. http://invensense.com/images/process-flow.gif Conclusion The Nintendo Wii  have revolutionized the way we know gaming but now it seems they are taking the same to the next level. Now how about a mind controlled game that Nintendo is proposing?  T3 gives a little clue that all you have is a  headset accessory  that uses brainwaves to control characters and features immersing in ear headphones. So just imagine a streamlined Wii emote with just one button, which you point and press and rest your brain takes over. Though brain-wave technology has already become a reality with Emotive pioneering in game systems, but soon it seems Nintendo will come out with the first mind-controlled console on the market.futuristic nintendo wii 2010 Future Work Future work with the WiiMote will include methods for user control via the various inputs on the WiiMote. These inputs could be used to better define a fall and allow the user to put the device into sleep mode in order to conserve batteries while sleeping or resting in a stationary position and to ensure that their inactivity is not considered as a fall. Other devices will be explored for integration with the WiiMote to provide a more robust solution by monitoring additional parameters such as heart rate, voice or sound and etc. Additionally, the threshold values in the detection algorithm will be made dynamic or adaptive in order to be more effective for different subjects with different levels of mobility. Furthermore, the calibration routine will be automated by estimating the offset value during use.

Changes in Gwinnett County :: hometown environment

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over time things change. Some things change for the better while other things change for the worse. One thing that’s bound to change though is your environment. Personally I have seen my hometown go through many changes during the eleven years that I have resided in Gwinnett County. A few of the accounts which have changed in my hometown throughout time have been the population including diversity, architecture, and the aspect of the people that grew up with me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I first moved to Gwinnett in Nineteen-Ninety Four. At which time I attended elementary school. Now at that time school mostly consisted of African Americans and Caucasians. Now eleven years later you can go back to that same school and now you will see all type of diverse ethnicities in the school such as Bosnians, Haitians, Mexicans, etc. Towns are bound to see new diversities in their area because over time the population will increase. Gwinnett took a drastic increase in population as it was Georgia’s fastest growing County. As you take a look around the community now you can see that there are all different types of ethnic stores and not just Chinese. Now there are Caribbean restaurants as well as Jamaican and Thai. When new cultures move into an area it’s good for the younger population as it teaches them to be more diverse and understand other people.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Architecture is a huge role in my hometown. Since Gwinnett was such a hot County at the time growing up meant that it would bring in a lot of architectural work, which it did. When I first moved here the only stores I can remember besides the gas stations were Winn Dixie, Eckerd, and OZ Video. Now Over the time that same area has went through a drastic change. Now Winn Dixie is Save Rite, OZ video is closed. Along with Eckerd are CVS and Walgreens within a half mile. Another example is that in the beginning the only entertainment was Town Center Cinema which is now a dollar movie and Mardi Gras Arcade which is now gone. When you look around now the area includes AMC theaters as well as the construction of two malls, Discover Mills and The Mall of Georgia. What I am trying to point out is with more population comes more development and my town has seen plenty of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last part of my hometown which has changed is the safety so to speak.

Essay --

1. The SEC issued SAB No. 101, which provides guidance on recognizing, presenting and disclosing revenue in financial statements. SAB No. 101 is based on the principle that in companies’ financial reporting, revenue should not be recognized until it is realized or realizable and earned. Before revenue is recognized, the following criteria and conditions must be satisfied: notes that GAAP requires the following conditions to be satisfied: 1) Persuasive evidence of an arrangement must exist; 2) Delivery must have occurred or services been rendered; 3) The seller’s price to the buyer must be fixed or determinable; 4) The collectability should be reasonably assured. 2. Longeta recorded $5.8 million in revenue for the year ended September 30, 2009 out of the actual shipment of software product. The shipment of the software product to Magicon was made prior to the year-end, so Longeta treated the revenue associated with the sale of software as a current sale on the income statement. On the other hand, Longeta recorded the remaining $1.2 million as deferred revenue given that Longeta was liable to provide software support services in the future periods. Since the delivery of support services had not occurred, Longeta recorded the portion of the contract related to support services as deferred revenues. For the support services to be provided over the next 12 months, Longeta would record the present deferred revenue as a current liability on the balance sheet. If there were a commitment to provide services after 12 months, Longeta would record deferred revenues as a long-term liability on the balance sheet. 3. The separate letter issued by the vice president of sales exhibited that neither Longeta nor Magicon had agreed to the term... ... transaction with Magicon has violated GAAP related to revenue recognition. The reasons are listed as below: 1) There was no evidence showing that an arrangement existed. Neither Longeta nor Magicon had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of the sale. 2) There was no indication that the earnings process was complete or nearly complete. The separate agreement gave Magicon the right to cancel the order and relevant obligations. It could be inferred that no exchange of assets has taken place, since Magicon did not make any commitment to provide Longeta with anything. 3) Magicon was given the right to cancel its payments to Longta if no terms could be reached, which meant that no collection would be generated. In sum, neither the recording of the $5.8 million in revenue nor the $1.2 million in deferred revenue was in accordance with the principles of GAAP.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I stand before you tonight because of love — love that was given to me and displayed in its purest, sacrificial form. This evening, I would like to share with you how that love has changed my life. When my parents enrolled me at Milkins Academy 13 years ago, they recognized the fact that the value of a Christian education is far greater than a new house or car. The material possessions that they have forfeited through the years have allowed me to remain in an environment in which I can see Christ lived out every day. For the sacrificial love that my parents have displayed, together with the parents of all my class members, I am exceedingly grateful. The teachers here at Milkins display love to us students as well. Whether in getting a little extra math help before a test or receiving a needed hug after English class, we experience the love our teachers have for us. Thank you, teachers — all of you. We know that you constantly pray for us, encourage us and reprimand us when we need it. Your love, humility and desire to know Christ have been a brilliant example of what you long to see demonstrated in our lives. God is at work in you, and we pray that everyone here is able to see Christ in us as well. However, although the love of our parents and teachers has greatly influenced our lives, their love is insignificant compared to the love of the One who first loved us. He is the source of all true love and is the ultimate example of sacrifice. One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Romans 5:1-8, which states, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in th... ...blameless died, And through it all was tested, shunned, and tried. His life on earth, as all, was but a breath, Yet lived he true until his awful death And after, for although he was but man, He was held in God’s almighty plan, And was truly God in human form; By his death the temple veil was torn. And he calls us all to follow him, Turning from a life of vile sin To perfection by a God all pure; His grace is that of which we can be sure. Blameless Jesus lived and blameless died, And he can be forevermore our Guide. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Thank you all for coming tonight, and have a lovely evening.

Court System of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico had a distinct legal system to that of American legal system till the American solders landed in 1898 . The Puerto Rico’s structure including civil law rules, institutions, procedures and legal culture were undergone important transformation. There is a change in the civil law jurisdiction to the civil law-mixed law and other areas such as legal structures, processes, culture and actors. This paper examines the current legal system of the Puerto Rico and critically examines 3 states (Virginia Islands, Hawaii and New Jersey) court structures.It also provides the proposal for the court structure of Puerto Rico on par with these 3 states. Brief introduction of Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth in association with the United States. The President is USA is the chief of state and elected Governor. It has control over the internal affairs and without the interference of the USA. The major differences between Puerto Rico and the 50 states include e xemption from some aspects of the Internal Revenue Code, its lack of voting representation in either house of the U.S congress (Senate and House of Representatives), the ineligibility of Puerto Ricans to vote in presidential elections, and its lack of assignation of some revenue reserved for the states. Judicial system in Puerto Rica is directed by Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is comprised of 7 judges (a chief justice and 6 associate justices) named by the Governor. The structure of Judicial System includes a Court of Appeals, Superior Court, a District Court (Civil & Criminal), and Municipal Court. There are 12 judicial districts.The Commonwealth of Puerto Rica also has a district court comparable to those of the state of US. Each district court has a least one district judge and can have more than a score of district judges, as well as a clerk, a United States Attorney, a United States Marshall, one or more United States Magistrates, bankruptcy judges, probation officers, cour t reporters, and their staff. The federal government, located in San Juan, is represented by 2 district judges and the procurator, who is named by the President of the United States. The Federal court has final authority of the ELA.Distinctive features of the American Judicial System includes the adversary system, the common law system, predefined rules for conducting litigation, reporting of judicial proceedings and the publication of court opinions. There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. The appeal courts take the appeals from the district courts located in the circuit and also from the federal administrative agencies.The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary . The judicial system of Puerto Rico is based upon Spanish Law upon which is based the on United States judicial system. The Puerto Rico legal court system includes a district court, a superior court, an appellate court and the Puerto Rico Supreme Court as apex court. Decisions of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court can be appealed to the Federal Court for Puerto Rico and to the U. S. Supreme Court as a lost resort. Hawaii state judicial system features appellate courts and trial courts.Appellate courts include the Hawaii Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals and the trial courts include the Circuit, Family and District courts and functions four judicial districts. The judicial system of Virginia Islands consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts . The structure of New Jersey's court system is very simple featuring Municipal courts, Tax Court, state Superior Court, which includes the trial courts, an Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court.All the above mentioned court systems such as Hawaii, Virginia islands and New Jersey has dif ferent set of court structures . Except in the criminal and constitutional fields, Puerto Rico’s legal system substantially remained that of the Spanish civil law . Puerto Rico state’s highest court: The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest court of the Puerto Rico, which is analogous to one of the U. S state supreme courts established in San Juan. The ultimate judicial authority lies within Puerto Rico for interpretation and deciding on the question of local commonwealth law.The Constitution and the laws of Puerto Rico determine the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and works similar way to the state Supreme Courts in the United States. It has concurrent jurisdiction to interpret federal laws, unless the Supremacy Clause requires otherwise. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico used the common law to resolve the private-law issues and later drifted to methodical research integrating the civil law into the civilian context . Comparison of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico with the Virgin Islands, Hawaii and New Jersey’s Supreme Courts.The Supreme Court of Hawaii hears appeals for writs of certiorari to the Intermediate Court of Appeals and applications for transfer from the Intermediate Court of Appeals. It also hears reserved questions of law from the circuit courts, the land court, and the tax appeal court, certified question from the federal courts, applications for writs, complaints on elections and it makes rules of practice and procedures for all state courts, licenses, regulates and disciplines attorneys and judges. The New Jersey Supreme Court composed of a chief justice and six associate justices.It takes up the appeals from the lower courts involving capital cases and cases in which a panel of appellate judges has disagreed. It also hears the cases of great public importance. The Superior Court has broad jurisdiction in addressing the legal needs of the Virgin Islands community. The Court hears all local trial matters including civil, criminal, family, probate, landlord-tenant, small claims and traffic. It also acts as a court of appeals for decisions of all governmental officers and agencies . Puerto Rico’s Appellate Courts: U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is the appellate court for the District of Puerto Rico.The Circuit Court of Appeals established in 1994 sits in San Juan and it is the intermediary level between the courts of first instance and the Supreme Court. With the consent of senate 33 justices were named by the Governor for the Circuit Court of Appeals. Most sittings are held in Boston, but the court sits for two weeks each year in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and occasionally at other locations within the circuit. First Circuit is the smallest of the thirteen United States courts of appeals Composition of U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is five active (six authorized) and four senior judges. Juan R.Torruella is the chief judge of the Puerto Rico duty station appoi nted by the Reagan. The established procedure for the eligibility of the Chief Judge is that he must be below the age of 65, serving court actively at least one year and have not served as a Chief Judge earlier. The appellate courts for the other states in comparison are U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for Hawaii. U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for Virgin Islands and U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for New Jersey. The Hawaii appellate courts are comprised of the Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals.The Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawaii hears all appeals from trial courts and state agencies in the State of Hawaii composed of 6 judges. It is having discretionary powers to hear cases without prior suit in civil cases or cases in circuit court or the tax appeal court and also when the parties agreed upon the facts of the controversy. The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for Virgin Islands composed of 14 active judg es. The chief judge should have the same eligibility criteria as if the Puerto Rico has. U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for New Jersey is composed of 14 active judges.Puerto Rico’s Municipal Courts Municipal courts have the jurisdiction to hear minor civil and less serious criminal cases with in the region under the powers conferred by the constitution and the other law . Puerto Rico’s municipal judges, serving for five years, and justices of the peace, in rural areas, decide cases involving local ordinances. Municipal Courts of New Jersey usually has jurisdiction to take cases such as motor vehicle and parking tickets, minor criminal-type offenses, municipal ordinance offenses and other offenses including fish and game violations.Municipal Court judges are usually appointed by the Mayor of the municipality, with the advice and consent of the council, and serve a term of three years and eligibility set by the statute and he should have 5 years of practice experience. The Municipal Court of the Virgin Islands’ was named as the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands and having jurisdiction over all civil actions and criminal matters. Territorial court is now changed to superior court by means of Bill No. 25-0213. Hawaii does not have Municipal Courts.County and local ordinance and traffic violations are tried in state circuit and district courts. Puerto Rico’s Major Trial Courts: The nine superior courts are the Puerto Rico’s Major trial courts. The term of the superior court judges is 12-years. The superior courts were divided into 13 districts in 2003 and have original jurisdiction of not exceeding $10,000 in civil cases and also in minor criminal cases. District courts also hear preliminary motions in more serious criminal cases . The Hawaii trial courts include the Circuit, Family and District courts.The courts are structured geographically: Puerto Rico constitutes one judicial district and held at Mayaguez, Ponce and San Juan according to United States Code Title 28, Part I, Chapter 5, Sec. 119. The Hawaii appellate courts are comprised of the Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals. The trial courts include the Circuit, Family and District courts. The Virginia's court structure has District Court, at the lowest level, to the Supreme Court at the highest level. The Circuit Courts is at the second lowest level, and the Court of Appeals at the next level.The Chief Justice and the Supreme Court will function as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system. Structure of New Jersey's court system is the simplest in among all the court structures. Municipal courts, Tax Court, state Superior Court, which includes the trial courts, an Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court are the basic type of the courts. Judges appointment: Justices for The Supreme Court, The Appellate Court, The Court of First Instance (composing of Superior Court and Municipal Court ) appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the consent (majority vote) of the Senate and retires at the age of 70.The Circuit Court of Appeals includes 33 justices. Justices and judges in US are appointed under the Article III of the constitution by the president of the US with the majority vote of senate for life time . Judicial and Attorney ethical standards The Code of Conduct for United States Judges According to the code of conduct duties of judge are 1. Upholding the integrity and independence of the judiciary. 2. Avoiding impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities. 3. Performing the duties of the office impartially and diligently. 4.Carrying out extrajudicial activities for improving the legal system and the administration of justice. 5. Regulating extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with judicial duties. 6. Regularly filing reports of compensation received for law-related and extra-judicial activities. 7. Refraining from politi cal activity . Attorney ethical standards 28 C. F. R. PART 77—ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR ATTORNEYS FOR THE GOVERNMENT The Department of Justice makes sure that its attorneys perform their duties in accordance with the highest ethical standards through implementing 28 U. S. C.530B and guide attorneys concerning the guidelines imposed on Department attorneys by 28 U. S. C. 530B. Conclusion: The Puerto Rico courts and legal structure had under gone a drastic transformation under the U. S rule. Now it has its own court structure with some limitations. In spite of very simple court system the New Jersey's legal system is effective. Two step appellate review process in Virginia court system is also a good for the better scrutiny of the case . The courts systems of Hawaii, Virginia Islands and New Jersey have a good court structure and can be ideal for the court structure of Puerto Rico.Reference: 1. Carlos R. Soltero, (2006) Latinos and American law: landmark Supreme Court cases, Univer sity of Texas Press. 2. William Miller, (2006), Evolving Internet reference resources, Haworth Press. 3. Virginia Courts†. Virginia Judicial System. 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-04. http://www. courts. state. va. us/courts/courts. html 4. State Court Caseload Statistics, 2003, Retrieved from http://www. ncsconline. org/D_Research/csp/2003_Files/2003_SCCS_Charts1. pdf 5. Juan R. Torruella, (1985), The Supreme Court and Puerto Rico: The Doctrine of Separate and Unequal, Editorial UPR.6. Vernon V. Palmer, (2001), Mixed jurisdictions worldwide: the third legal family, Cambridge University Press. 7. SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, Division of St. Thomas/St. John, Retrieved on April 2, 2009, http://www. visuperiorcourt. org/ 8. Timothy F. Fautsko, (2003), Workload assessment model for the Puerto Rico municipal court, Retrived on April,2. http://contentdm. ncsconline. org/cgi-bin/showfile. exe? CISOROOT=/spcts&CISOPTR=105 98. Puerto Rico – Judicial system, (2007), Advameg, Inc. Retrieved on April 2, 2009, http://www. city-data.com/states/Puerto-Rico-Judicial-system. html 10. Leonidas Ralph Mecham, The Federal Court System, in the United States, Retrieved from http://www. uscourts. gov/library/internationalbook-fedcts2. pdf 11. Leonidas Ralph Mecham, The Federal court system in the United States, Retrieved form http://www. uscourts. gov/library/internationalbook-fedcts2. pdf 12. Order No. 2216–99, 64 FR 19275, Apr. 20, 1999. 13. Marie Wayson (2008), Virginia Court System: Function and Purpose, Retived on April 2, 2009, http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/724285/virginia_court_system_function_and. html