Routine Activity Theory Essay Example for Free

Routine Activity Theory Essay Routine activity theory is a sub-field of rational choice[-0] and criminology[-1], developed by Marcus Felson[-2] and Lawrence E. Cohen[-3]. Routine activity theory says that crime[-4] is normal and depends on the opportunities available. If a target is not protected enough, and if the reward is worth it, crime will happen. Crime does not need hardened offenders, super-predators, convicted felons or wicked people. Crime just needs an opportunity. The basic premise of routine activity theory is that most crimes are petty theft[-5] and unreported to the police[-6]. Crime is neither spectacular nor dramatic. It is mundane and happens all the time. Another premise is that crime is relatively unaffected by social causes such as poverty[-7], inequality[-8], unemployment[-9]. For instance, after World War II[-10], the economy of Western countries was booming and the Welfare states were expanding. During that time, crime rose significantly. According to Felson and Cohen, this is because the prosperity of contemporary society offers so much opportunities of crime: there is much more to steal. Routine activity theory can also help explain the dramatic rise in crime during the 1960s. Due to the increase in female participation in the labor market, the homes are left without a capable guardian as adult caretakers at home during the day decreased. Furthermore, rapid growth of suburbs and the decline of more traditional neighborhood, led to the decline of informal controls that would have once existed with a tightly-knit neighborhood. Lastly, with the baby-boom generation[-11] coming of age in the 1960s to the 1980s, it amounted to an excessive number of motivated offenders and crime rate predictable increased in a similar manner. With such changes in the nuclear family, more and more youths were lacking supervision, especially when both parents worked outside the home; the number of temptations increased for youth to commit crimes. [1] Routine activity theory is controversial among sociologists who believe in the social causes of crime. But several types of crime are very well explained by routine activity theory including copyright infringement[-12], related to peer-to-peer file sharing[-13], employee theft[-14], and corporate crime[-15]. For crime to be committed, three aspects are needed: 1) A Motivated Offender 2) A Suitable Target 3) The Lack of a Capable Guardian Lack of a capable guardian can range to anything that would make a suitable target easier to victimize. From a person walking alone, to a poor police presence, to anyone else who would deter a motivated offender from offending in that circumstance. It should be noted that the guardian does not have to be a person at all, nor does the suitable target; there are many examples of objects and environmental designs that act as a guardians or security measures to deter motivated offenders as well. This branches into the realm of CPTED[-16] (crime prevention through environmental design) where seemingly small measures like the addition of lights, fences, better locks, open or visible areas and security cameras act as the capable guardian and can prevent crime against a suitable target, in this case a building, park or other areas. [1] Furthermore, crimes rate if generally proportional to the number of motivated offenders, such as teenagers and unemployed people, in the population. Of course, motivation can be lowered when legitimate means are available for offenders to achieve their goals. Motivation can increase, when the option of crime is the only viable choice available for an offender to achieve their goals. Another deterrence that influences the routine activities that produces crime is the moral beliefs and socialization of the offender. If a person has been socialized to hold conventional beliefs, even in the presence of criminal opportunities, offenders would refrain from crime. Such is the strength of social bonds that serve as a buffer to counteract the lure of criminal activities. A criticism of routine activity theory states that opportunities to commit crime by youth do not generally lead to a crime committed when the parental controls are missing. Also suggesting that routine activity fails to ignore other theories in relation to the causes of crime, such associal learning theory[-17]. Another criticism of this theory says that even though opportunities for crime are high when both parents are involved in the workforce, crime can also be displaced to an area where there is low supervision by parents. Meaning regardless of situation, crime will still occur.

Menos Paradox :: essays research papers

What is Meno’s Paradox? First, who is Meno? The Meno is one of the earlier Platonic writings, which include Socrates and which look to try to define an ethic, in this case virtue. Meno himself is seemingly a man who is greedy for wealth, greedy for power, ambitious, and a back-stabber who tries to play everything to his own advantage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Meno starts by questioning Socrates. Can virtue be taught? Socrates says to Meno, well, what makes a virtue a virtue. Meno comes to the borrowed point that virtue is â€Å"to find joy in beautiful things and have power†. Socrates retorts by saying â€Å"do you think men desire just good things?† While explaining themselves they came upon what becomes Meno’s Paradox. Is virtue something learned and can we learn things without already knowing them?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates defends the philosophy that if a man can recall one fact only, as long as he does not get tired of searching for it, then searching and learning are as a whole, a recollection. Meno does not understand this argument. Socrates uses a discussion with a Greek boy you explain this to Meno. â€Å"Do you know that I square figure is like this†, Socrates asks. â€Å"I do† the boy replies. He then asks, â€Å"Is a square is a four sided figure with equal sides?† Yes, he replies. Socrates questions the size, the lines and comes to asking that if the figure is two feet this way and one foot that way then the line would really be two feet. The boy agrees. Now if its also two feet the other way, then it would be four feet total. The boy agrees. Then he adds a figure the same size, this would make it eight feet. Boy agrees. He asks the boy to explain how long each side of the wall is. He responds with twice the length. Socrates then tells Meno tha t he didn’t teach anything; just questioned until the boy reached the answer he wanted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This brought them back to virtue. It is a type of knowledge; clearly able to be taught says Meno’s. They both question virtue. Does is make us good? Yes. Beneficial? Yes. It comes from the soul, Socrates states. He doubts that virtue is knowledge, therefore unteachable and coming from within. To really say who is virtuous, and if it cannot be taught, then there can’t be teachers because who is virtuous enough to teach it?

Why Christians Should Watch the Big Bang Theory

Sarah Blair 10/11/12 Final Draft Lipscomb Seminar Why Christians Should Watch â€Å"The Big Bang Theory† The Big Bang Theory is a show about adult nerds who happen to be prodigies at science. In every episode something enviably goes wrong, or a conflict arises. Five main characters makeup the core cast in the Big Bang Theory. These characters are Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Rajesh Koothrappali, and Penny. The dynamics and interactions between these characters are what helped this show win an Emmy, GoldenGlobe, and consistently attract 16 million weekly viewers.The first season aired in 2007 and has been signed to keep producing seasons through 2014. Because of the Big Bang Theory’s large following, Christians should watch the show because it will help them understand specific social groups through humor and grow a greater understanding of how Christians are perceived in the secular world. For a Christian it is important to see how outcasts are t reated. Sheldon, with all of his quirkiness, tends to be socially awkward. People within Sheldon’s group of friends are usually accepting, but the rest of the world does not seem to know how to handle him.Sheldon and his friends fit within the mold of nerds and often time’s people find it hard to relate with them because they are different from the rest of the world. This show brings to life the reality that certain groups of people might not always get along. But that no matter what social affiliation a person may belong to, Christians should seek out a relationship because Jesus called them to be all things to all people. If Christians are only interacting with people who it is easy to talk with, then they are avoiding what God has called them to do.In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Paul writes, â€Å"Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law, so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. †(Bible). Here Paul talks about being all things to all people. A Christian should read this and use it as an example of how they should live their life. That is why the Big Bang Theory is a good show for Christians to watch. The Big Bang Theory helps Christians understand nerdy people and how to connect with them, so that when they come across someone who exhibits those personality traits they will know how to be â€Å"all things† to them. In the beginning of each episode evolution is mentioned.No matter what, the show always has a prevailing message of evolution and a disbelief in God. The w ay evolution is mentioned is through the discussions on science and Big Bang Theory’s theme song. Here are the lyrics to the song called The Big Bang Theory by the Barenaked Ladies, â€Å"Our whole universe was in a hot dense state, then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait†¦? The Earth began to cool, the autotrophs began to drool,? Neanderthals developed tools,? We built a wall (we built the pyramids),? Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries,?That all started with the big bang! † (Lyrics To Barenaked Ladies). A Christian can see the evident message of evolution and the theory of the big bang in how the producers chose the theme song. Another obvious scientific significance that the show is conveying is the name of the show, the Big Bang Theory. The name of the show serves to attract interest and to focus in on the main themes. For the show, the Big Bang Theory, the title attracts interest because believing in the theory of the big b ang has become one of the most popular views of creation.The Big Bang Theory’s title focuses on the how the shows emphasizes the theory of the big bang and the disbelief in God through any and all means of scientific methods. Christians usually do not believe in evolution, to be more specific, macroevolution. An example of Macroevolution would be a fish evolving into a land animal. Many Christians do not believe that this can happen, but do believe in microevolution. Microevolution can be seen through how there are many types of dog breeds. Dogs vary in size and traits, but at the same time their all still considered dogs.This is the type of evolution used to describe varying trait differences in dog breeds. Even Christians, who do believe in the theory of the big bang, see God as the source of life behind everything. As a whole, Christians tend not believe in the most commonly thought of term â€Å"evolution† which often times is referring to macroevolution. This whol e view of evolution is what the show and its creators are forcing on their viewers. Another reason why Christians should not watch this show is because God is the one who made everything and the show does not support this form of creation.In Genesis 1:1 the Bible says, â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth†(Bible). Here the Bible says that God made everything and not evolution. If Christians believe in God then they should also believe that He created the world. Star Trek, Star Wars, World of Warcraft, comic books, religion, relationships, jobs etc. are just a few of the many topics that this show derives humor from. In one episode Sheldon lets Amy Farrah Fowler, the girl he has been seeing, go on a date with another man. After a short while Sheldon becomes paranoid by what he just allow to happen.Sheldon then decides to crash Amy’s date to the movies. Awkwardly, Sheldon sits himself in between the couple and proceeds to tell Amy that he wants th eir relationship to become an official, exclusive thing. Amy agrees and her relationship with Sheldon then becomes official and exclusive (CBS). Humor like this is what the Big Bang Theory is built on. Often times, people go looking for a laugh in the wrong places. In the world today people’s actions have a direct correlation with their own motives. People tend to get a laugh at another persons expense.But for Christians, it is not right to shame another person like this. However, God does have a sense of humor and He wants everyone to also be filled with joy and laughter. He simply wants the source of laughter to be wholesome. In Psalm 126:2 David wrote â€Å"then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them. ’†(Bible). Here David mentions laughter and joy when referring to a change in people. God wants everyone to experience humor and that is why Christia ns should watch the Big Bang Theory.The Big Bang Theory is a good source of laughter that is light hearted and lifts ones spirits. Christians should not watch the Big Bang Theory for its evolution standpoint, but also for how it condones excessive drinking. In many episodes of the Big Bang Theory, characters drink in excess, which lead them to becoming drunk. The character Raj is a man who has a hard time talking in front of women. However, when he is intoxicated he can actually hold a conversation with women. But being drunk is not a good way to glorify God. To be specific, Christians are called to not become drunk.The Bible says in Ephesians 5:18 â€Å"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,† (Bible). Through this scripture, a Christian can see how God does not want His children to become drunk. A person can argue that any form of alcohol is a sin, but the Bible only states that drunkenness is what is wrong. As a whole, if Christians are not strong enough to stop drinking before they become drunk, they should abstain from alcohol. Christians who do not approve of drunkenness should also not approve of this show.The Big Bang Theory is filled with many things that are not glorifying God and none of them should be taken lightly. The last reason why Christians should watch the Big Bang Theory is because it paints an interesting light on Christianity. Christians are viewed many ways, and this show tends to showcase them in a negative manner. However, the Big Bang Theory does show truth in their view of Christianity. The Big Bang Theory sees Christians as uptight, close-minded, condemning, self-righteous, and hypocritical. A website called www. hetvcritic. org also views Christians very negatively, but they do feel as if the Big Bang Theory treated Christianity â€Å"inappropriately†¦ (and that it) implied a level of pushiness and insensitivity†(TheTvCritic). The sad thing is that hypocrisy a nd other negative traits like this can be found in Christians. That is why it is important for Christians to understand how secular people view them. So that they can be how Christ wanted them to be. God never said that the world would love Christians and that life would be easy.He did call Christians to stand up for what is right, but He did not call Christians to be so pervasive. God called everyone to love each other. In an episode Sheldon’s mother comes to visit and she takes everyone on a church tour with her. Sheldon’s mother is a so-called â€Å"devout† Christian(CBS). However, she bad mouths everyone and puts herself on a holier than thou pedestal. Many Christians who watched this episode were greatly offended, but Christians should rather use this secular view of Christianity as a learning tool and source of personal growth of how to not act in their own lives.Christians need to remember Matthew 7:5 â€Å"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. †(Bible). This verse is something all Christians need to remember, to keep them humble, loving, filled with grace, and gentleness. That is why watching shows like the Big Bang Theory are not always easy, or make Christians feel good, but are necessary in order to keep a realistic view of the world. Sexual immorality happens to be another common occurrence that the show is complacent on.In many Big Bang Theory episodes, sexual topics are talked about or immoral intercourse happens. Many times this sexual act is referred to as coitus. Throughout the six seasons, two characters Leonard and Penny have had an interesting relationship where they have sex. Christians should not be in favor of this type of sexual interaction since Leonard and Penny are not married. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 the Bible says, â€Å"Flee from sexual immorality and all other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body,† (Bible).Here a Christian can read that this type of behavior is not moral or uplifting to God. This is why Christians should not watch the Big Bang Theory because if they were to do so, they would be supporting such actions. These are all reasons why Christians should watch The Big Bang Theory. The choice of characters in their socially awkward nerdy lifestyles will cause Christians to think outside of themselves and grow in order to find ways to reach the outcasts. The humor will lighten their day and have them enjoy the simple things God has created. But most of all, Christians will be aware of how the world views them.That if they are going to make a bigger impact in the world they need to truly love people for who they are and where they are at. Christians should give this show a chance; they might be surprised with what new thought they come away with.

Partisan Control of Redistricting Essay

Redistricting is forming new boundaries of the state due to population change which might have increased or reduced due to certain factors such as immigration and migration. A country or state decides to modify its current districts to try and balance the population. This helps in distribution of countries resources in a fair manner thus improving the countries welfare. Though redistricting helps the country to check on the welfare of its citizen it can be disadvantageous if used in the wrong manner. It is evident that most districts of a country are formed by the legislators of the government and they may tend to use this opportunity to their advantage. A countries democracy can be affected by the Partisan redistricting process, it may be negatively or positively influenced since this process of redistricting can increase or decrease election competition. From the states where Partisan redistricting is evident most of the party members stay in power for a long period of time because they are always re-elected due to lack of competition, thus the Partisan control of redistricting is responsible for the uncompetitive nature of election. As I explain my theory I will constantly refer to the state of America to base my argument because Partisan control of redistribution is highly evident and well displayed there. Partisan control of redistricting is highly influenced politically and the majority boundaries formed are created so as to benefit the legislators during the election time. The districts created are inhabited mostly by the supporters of the legislatures . Therefore during the elections the legislators will have an advantage over any opposing force that may come up since he has the majority’s votes. For instance in America the majority of people who reside in one district is either republicans or Democrats. In such a case less opposing forces will rise thus contributing to uncompetitive elections. This is because even if more parties rise up they will all end up supporting the current incumbent therefore all campaigns will be geared into one direction and thus no competition in the elections will rise up. This can be seen in the 2004 US elections where approximately 98% of the incumbents won back their seats and only 5% lost their seats to the opposition. In California many parties had come up but all ended up supporting the incumbent . There was not enough force to oppose him thus the elections were not competitive. In Indiana between 1992 and 2002 all the incumbents won back their 32 US seats . This is opposed to Abramowitz, Alexander and Gunning’s theory that the Parisian control of redistricting in America has not contributed to the uncompetitive nature of the elections. They say that the Parisian redistricting has not affected the decreased the election competition but other factors such as geographical influences which include migration and immigration and lack of a good financial ground to carry out campaign effectively is what has caused the uncompetitive nature of the elections . Most of the district formed are inhabited by a majority of citizens who have the same preference on the party they support, thus are satisfied with their congress and legislative constitution. Therefore none of them will have the need of electing another incumbent or forming opposing powers against the incumbent. This shows that there will be no competition during the campaign and thus the nature of uncompetitive elections is depicted. This can be proved by the gerrymandering theory, of legislatures using the redistricting process in their own favour to win elections . McDonald also supports my theory that redistricting has greatly contributed to uncompetitive nature of the elections. He says that redistricting has born many people who support the incumbent and thus decrease the number of votes of the others who oppose the incumbent . Lack of competition at the lower levels of elections like the local election for councils is another factor that supports my argument that the Partisan control of redistricting has contributed to uncompetitive elections. There are limited electoral seats to be campaigned for and those present support the incumbent. Thus no competition will be forthcoming and that is why most of the councils are re-elected back into their positions. In America the election of the councils is in fact the least competitive and no considerable attention is given to them since their outcome is always known to the extent that some of the council elections are not carried out. The Partisan control of redistricting influenced the inhabitants in a district to either be supporters of the Republican or Democrats. This has drawn a sharp line between districts. Citizens in a certain district prefer to vote for the current incumbent because he is their preference rather than compete with to run him down and take his seat. They do this so as to maintain their reputation of being either Republican or Democrat supporters and do not vote according to their preference. In the long run there is minimal campaign competition in the district thus the overall reduction in the election competition . Schleicher wrote an article giving the dangers brought about by lack of competitive elections caused by the Parisian redistricting system. I also tend to support him because the system harmed the democracy of the America state by ignoring the rights and wants of the minority voters such as creation of more job opportunities in the district are not recognized, this is because majority of the inhibitors of the districts have the same party preference and will not vote to get their wants fulfilled but will vote to retain the incumbent whom they support. Also reforming the district is a real nuisance since this initiative will not be supported by the voters as by reforming one will be changing the districts mechanism to retain the incumbent they want . In Ohio many reform actions have come up but all have been shut down because it is either the republican or democrat leader who has the minority voter turnout who comes with the effort but is shun down by the other counterpart who has the most votes. For example in the year 2005 many organization came together and formed the Reform Ohio Now (RON) movement to reform Ohio. This movement constituted mainly Democrats and very few Republicans. The move was not welcomed by the voters since the present incumbent was a Republican and therefore the majority votes came from the Republican supporters . To be able to increase election competition redistricting should be done putting into account the population of the district and the citizens needs so as to distribute the wealth of the country evenly and in a fair manner that considers everyone without considering which party or who they support. Also a new organization that will form the new districts should be elected and they should not be politically influenced or should not be linked with politics at all. This will enable fair districts which will exhibit high competition during the election to be formed, thus enabling democracy of a country or state to prevail. The period in which redistricting is done should be extended to be a long period probably after ten years to prevent the boundaries of the districts being changed to suit the desires or preference of the person forming them. This will also in the long run create competition during elections as the inhibitors of the district will have known their preference and when voting will vote wisely to be represented by an incumbent who will listen to their woes and carry out his activities in a way that he will enable him to full fill his voter’s needs. Word Count: 1272 Bibliography Abramowitz, Alan, Brad Alexander and Matthew Gunning. 2006. Don’t Blame Redistricting for Uncompetitive Elections. PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January): 87-90 Butler, David, and Bruce . E. Cain. 1992. Congressional Redistricting: Comparative and Theoretical Perspectives. Macmillan: New York. Jacobson, Gary . C. 2001. The Politics of Congressional Elections. Longman: New York. McDonald, Michael . P. 2004. A Comparative Analysis of U. S. State Redistricting Institutions. State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Monmonier, Mark. 2001. Bushmanders and Bullwinkles: How Politicians Manupilate Electronic Maps and Census Data to Win Elections. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. New York Times. 2004. Elections With no Meaning. February 14, A-14. Owen, Guillermo, and Bernard N. Grofman, 1998. optimal partisan Gerrymandering. Political Geography Quarterly 7 (1): 5-22. Stonecash, Jeffrey . M. , Mark . D. Brewer and Mack . D. Mariani. 2003. Diverging Parties: Social Change, Realignment and Party Polarization. Westview Press: Boulder, CO.

How to Use Graphics in Technical Writing

How to Use Graphics in Technical Writing In technical business writing, the graphics – such as engineering drawings, tables, and process diagrams – complement and are integrated with the text, to inform or even to entertain the reader, depending on the writer’s objective.In this post you will learn how to correctly and incorrectly use graphics in your technical business writing. Integrate Graphics with Text Integration is bidirectional: An effective graphic enhances the text, and effective text enhances the graphic. In other words, we want to go beyond simply pointing to the graphic in the text, which we would not consider â€Å"integration.† We also want to explain the graphic to the reader in the text. Indeed, depending on the subject matter, it’s a good practice to create the graphic first, to bring together some of the relevant concepts, and then walk the reader through the graphic to make sure all readers will have a common understanding of the graphic and its significance. Using this technique, we can instantly create pages of explanatory text that helps the reader understand and helps us tell the story. (Please note that we are not talking about how to choose among various kinds of graphics, e.g., organization charts, flow diagrams, and the like; that issue could be a subject for another blog. We simply want to explore the relationship between the graphic and the te xt.) hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(41482, '2355e67d-04bb-46d6-b8a7-b271b3acdfe9', {}); For example, suppose we are writing a contribution to a business blog. (Where did that idea come from, I wonder?) Figure 1 shows an overview of the blog writing process. Figure 1: Blog Writing Process. The figure answers several questions for the reader: What are the steps in the writing process? What is the sequence of steps? What are the respective responsibilities of the writer and publisher? At the same time, many questions that could be raised are left unanswered: For example, what activities are involved in â€Å"pre-write† or â€Å"pre-publish†? The figure doesn’t say; the narrative needs to describe the activities. Alternatively, we could have listed the component activities of each process step in the process box. We could have added the following to the pre-write box in the graphic: Audience analysis Article objective Preliminary research Of course, instead of simply listing the activities, we would also expect to elaborate, so that the reader ultimately understands the scope and objective of each activity. This elaboration is certainly not advisable in the graphic under any circumstances; it’s too much detail. A good default practice is to provide just the big picture in the figure, as shown, and then provide details in the supporting narrative, thereby integrating the graphic and the text. Indeed, in the given example, because of the missing detail, the reader, looking at the graphic, is implicitly encouraged to ask questions and to look to the text to fill in the blanks. For the writer, the high-level graphic is a wonderful organizing mechanism. Given Figure 1 as a starting point, the writer is now in a position to rattle off the details in the supporting text. Without the figure, the task of describing the flow in words, and then adding detail, is substantially more difficult. You may be interested in beginner guide:How to Become a Technical Writer Integrating Tables and Text The question of level of detail may be answered differently for a table, which is inherently a text-intensive form of graphic. You should strive to make the table fairly self-explanatory, leveraging the table structure for showing the reader relationships among data elements. As with other graphics, the table is intended to augment the narrative – typically to strengthen an argument or to illustrate a relationship among data elements. You still need to make the connection for the reader between the table and the argument, or between the table and the relationship being illustrated. For example, consider Table 1a and Table 1b. Let’s suppose we are a contractor bidding on a government solicitation, requiring three labor categories, with the minimum experience and education levels for each category shown in Table 1a. We want to show that our proposed candidates for each category meet the experience and education thresholds, as shown in Table 1b. It may be evident to the reader who examines the two tables carefully that each candidate meets the minimum education and experience requirements of the appropriate category. However, we want to make that point explicitly in the narrative, to make sure the reader understands it. Again, we are integrating the table with the narrative. Report formatting is one of the skills we teach in our technical writing course [Learn More]. Avoid Decoration A decoration is defined as a graphic that seems to have a vague relationship to the subject of the given article, but is actually content-free – it adds absolutely nothing to the reader’s understanding of the subject at hand. For example, in an article discussing the job description of a software developer, an illustration like Figure 2, taken from a free imagewebsite, would be considered a decoration. Figure 2. A decoration is a content-free graphic. (Incidentally, such a decoration could do more harm than good in today’s politically fraught environment. For example, does the photo imply that women and persons of color don’t qualify as developers? Is that a message that we want to convey?) Make Sure the Graphic is Legible Figure 3 is actually a copy of Figure 2, but very hard to read. The gray text on the light blue background offers insufficient contrast; the type size is only seven points (vs. 10 points in Figure 1); all of the text is in upper case (vs. upper and lower case in Figure 1). You can ruin a good piece with poorly designed graphics. Figure 3. A poorly designed graphic. This issue of graphic legibility is particularly significant when the graphic is a screen shot. How often do you see a screen shot illustrating use of some software tool, or showing the result of a user action, that is totally unreadable? One way to solve the problem is to zoom in on a portion of the screen, so that the text is large enough to be legible. Another is to replace the screen shot with a drawing of the screen that has readable text. What other methods would you use to make your screen shots legible? Let us know in the comments section below!

Althea Gibson - Biography of Tennis Pioneer

Althea Gibson - Biography of Tennis Pioneer Tennis, which first came to the United States in the late 19th century, by the middle of the 20th century had become part of a culture of health and fitness. Public programs brought tennis to children in poor neighborhoods, though those children couldnt dream of playing in the elite tennis clubs. Dates:  August 25, 1927 - September 28, 2003 Early Life One young girl named Althea Gibson lived in Harlem in the 1930s and 1940s. Her family was on welfare. She was a client of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She had trouble in school and was often truant. She ran away from home frequently. . She also played paddle tennis in public recreation programs. Her talent and interest in the game led her to win tournaments sponsored by the Police Athletic Leagues and the Parks Department. Musician Buddy Walker noticed her playing table tennis  and thought she might do well in tennis. He brought her to the Harlem River Tennis Courts, where she learned the game and began to excel. A Rising Star The young Althea Gibson became a member of the Harlem Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, a club for African American players, through donations raised for her membership and lessons. By 1942 Gibson had won the girls singles event at the American Tennis Associations New York State Tournament. The American Tennis Association - ATA - was an all-black organization, providing tournament opportunities not otherwise available to African American tennis players. In 1944 and 1945 she again won ATA tournaments. Then Gibson was offered an opportunity to develop her talents more fully: a wealthy South Carolina businessman opened his home to her and supported her in attending an industrial high school  while studying tennis privately. From 1950, she furthered her education, attending Florida AM University, where she graduated in 1953. Then, in 1953, she became an athletic instructor at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Gibson won the ATA womens singles tournament ten years in a row, 1947 through 1956. But tennis tournaments outside the ATA remained closed to her, until 1950. In that year white tennis player Alice Marble wrote an article in American Lawn Tennis magazine, noting that this excellent player was not able to participate in the better-known championships, for no reason other than bigotry. And so later that year, Althea Gibson entered the Forest Hills, New York, national grass court championship, the first African-American player of either sex to be allowed to enter. Gibson Takes on Wimbledon Gibson then became the first African-American invited to enter the all-England tournament at Wimbledon, playing there in 1951. She entered other tournaments  though at first winning only minor titles outside the ATA. In 1956, she won the French Open. In the same year, she toured worldwide as a member of a national tennis team supported by the U.S. State Department. She began winning more tournaments, including at the Wimbledon womens doubles. In 1957, she won the womens singles and doubles at Wimbledon. In celebration of this American win and her achievement as an African American New York City greeted her with a ticker tape parade. Gibson followed up with a win at Forest Hills in the womens singles tournament. Turning Pro In 1958, she again won both Wimbledon titles and repeated the Forest Hills womens singles win. Her autobiography, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, came out in 1958. In 1959 she turned pro, winning the womens professional singles title in 1960. She also began playing professional womens golf and she appeared in several films. Althea Gibson served from 1973 on in various national and New Jersey positions in tennis and recreation. Among her honors: 1971 - National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame1971 - International Tennis Hall of Fame1974 - Black Athletes Hall of Fame1983 - South Carolina Hall of Fame1984 - Florida Sports Hall of Fame In the mid-1990s, Althea Gibson suffered from serious health problems including a stroke, and also struggled financially though many efforts at fund-raising helped ease that burden. She died on Sunday, September 28, 2003, but not before she knew of the tennis victories of Serena and Venus Williams. A Lasting Legacy Other African American tennis players like Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters followed Gibson, though not quickly. Althea Gibsons achievement was unique, as the first African American of either sex to break the color bar in national and international tournament tennis at a time when prejudice and racism were far more pervasive in society and sports.

Working Capital Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Working Capital - Coursework Example Inventory forms a major component of the working capital accounting process and hence is considered to be an asset for the company that will generate additional cash flow when cash flow is realized (Mulford & Comiskey, 2005). Working capital and inventory have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship where inventory is accounted within the current assets side of the working capital measurement formula (Schroeder, Clark & Cathay, 2011). Working capital is measured as current assets minus current liabilities. Organizations that have large amounts of sales are often left with huge inventory positions. This brings in a huge change in the working capital position of the company. Hence we understand how inventory can be used to manipulate liquidity position while calculating working capital (Narayanan & Nanda, 2004). It is argued that inventory should not be included while calculating for working capital to determine the liquidity positions of the company. A far better representation of company’s liquidity is the quick ratio where inventories are removed. The rationale behind such argument is as below. Inventory is generally considered on the asset side of the balance sheet under the current asset subhead. The logic behind being that inventories are finished goods or work in progress that shall get sold and liquidated soon and shall there by generate revenue causing a positive cash flow to the business. However, certain corporations also consider inventory as current liability. Their argument is that inventories can be used in exchange of bills payable and such other short term loans which becomes a liability for the business unless it is paid off. Also as per the ASB opinion 9, current liabilities are classified as obligations theta are expected to be liquidated within a period of one year or the normal operating cycle (US GAAP, n.d.). Hence inventory inclusion might also create