Skin Cancer and Expert Knowledge free essay sample

The danger of being hit by an oncoming vehicle is always present, but manageable by recalling safety advice like the popular safety advice â€Å"Stop, Look and Listen†. However, some risks are not always obvious and we are dependent upon different types of knowledge generated by experts to help reveal them, but sometimes this expert knowledge can be contested and interpreted by lay people in society. The aim of this report is to explore the claim that the role of expert knowledge is disputed between experts and the lay public and will do so by drawing on useful evidence to help support the claim. 2. What is meant by ‘risk’? The word risk refers to a state in which there is a possibility of known danger or harm, which if avoided may lead to benefits (Carter and Jordan, p. 59). To elaborate, here is an example that illustrates the definition of risk: †¢ Someone who rides a bicycle may be aware of the risk associated with manoeuvring through traffic alongside vehicles moving at fast speeds and manages the possibility through the use of hand signals and reflectors and lights. We will write a custom essay sample on Skin Cancer and Expert Knowledge or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They may also wear a helmet to reduce the risk of head injury. However, they also manage the risk by weighing it against the benefit of healthy exercise associated with cycling. . Risk Society Sociologist, Ulrich Beck (1989), is a very influential theorist in the debate of risk in the social sciences and his theory of risk society stresses that as we have made the transition from industrial society to contemporary society, we are also in a period of transition toward a ‘risk society’ where we are dependent upon expert knowledge to identify and outline risks that are sometimes beyond the direct powers of human perception (Carter and Jordan, p. 79). Beck uses the events of the Chernobyl disaster to illustrate his theory. Here are a few key points about his theory: †¢ Beck argues that the as the cloud of nuclear radiation that spread through Europe, people who lived in the ‘fallout’ zones were heavily dependent on the knowledge of experts to identify the risk. †¢ Within a risk society, personal experience not longer enough in order to judge danger or harm. †¢ However, while Beck’s theory highlights the publics need of expert knowledge to define risks and the possible danger it poses for them, one of his key concerns is that the role of expert knowledge goes on to cause worry and anxiety for us all. This theory of risk is very useful in exploring the claim that expert knowledge in managing and understanding risk is disputed, because we can apply it to numerous other examples of everyday material risk. 4. Evidence of risk in contemporary society There are a large number of examples of material risk in contemporary society that we can apply Beck’s theory to. Here are just two of them. 4. 1 Allotment Example This example or risk involves the soil of an allotment which was said to be poisoned, how with the use of scientific tests the soil was in fact safe, and uncertainties were created when a different body of expert knowledge revealed that the original tests demonstrated too much variation and so was contested. †¢ After a four year wait, Tim Jordan and his family were given an allotment close to their home in which they grew vegetables and happily ate them. However, they received a letter from the local authorities stating that the soil on the allotment was poisoned with lead and arsenic, and was therefore unsafe. After months of consultations, the local council sent off samples of the soil to multiple laboratories to get it analysed. The results of which tests deemed the levels of toxins in the soil to be low enough not to prove a threat to human health, and so normal gardening was resumed in the allotments. †¢ Jordan and his family decided to give up the allotment because ex pert knowledge in the field of science was reliant on assumptions about the soil and they were uncertain of the risks posed by the poisoned soil. But the validity of the scientific tests was questioned by the UK Government’s environmental agency (EA) who claimed that the results of the tests were questionable because the tests seem to find differing levels of toxins, and so the EA submitted the same samples to nine laboratories in the UK and Wales, to one in the USA, and one in the Netherlands. The results they produced demonstrated enough variation between the laboratories to suggest that such tests may be underestimating the poisons. By applying the fundamental points of Beck’s risk theory to this example, we can see that expert knowledge did in fact bring the risk of poison in the soil to the attention of the public, but also it also shows that while scientific expertise identified the potential danger to human health, it was also contested by a different body of scientific knowledge. 4. 2 Sun tanning example In this example, we examine how the lay public interpret medical advice using personal experiences and cultural practices in order to make sense of the risk involved in sun tanning. This case study was conducted as part of a larger study funded by the Medical Research Council, with respondents aged between 20 and 35 years old and it is important to note that they were from Glasgow, a city where exposure to the sun is often a rarity. †¢ The respondents could all easily recall medical advice about exposure to the sun, but measured it against the notion of a healthy tan. †¢ Many of the respondents explained that by getting a tan they looked and felt healthier in themselves. The sun can be begin to see that the effects the sun’s rays have on the body are both a source of material risk, from cancers, and a symbolic risk, such as being pale and unhealthy looking (Carter and Jordan, p. 76). This example shows how expert knowledge in the form of medical advice tells us to keep our skin covered so as to prevent exposure from the sun that could cause skin cancer, and how this is interpreted by society using the cultural practice of booking holidays and ho w they balance the material risk of skin cancer with the symbolic risk of getting a tan in order to look and eel healthier. 5. Conclusion In conclusion, risk is all around us in our material lives, but through the use of expert knowledge that is mediated to us in a variety of different ways and helps us to shape our understanding of risk, we are better able to negotiate how to avoid it. In looking at Beck’s theory, risk society, we can also see that expert knowledge is depended upon to bring risks that are not obvious into society consciousness, but at the same time expert knowledge can also be a great cause of worry and anxiety. Lastly, the way that the public reinterpret exert knowledge through personal and cultural practices, like balancing the idea of poisoned soil with health benefits of growing their own organic vegetable, or balancing the material risk of getting skin cancer from prolonged exposure to the sun with the symbolic risk of getting a healthy tan so that they look and feel healthier suggests that although we know and are able to recall simplified messages conveyed by experts, sometimes we don’t always follow it to the letter. Therefore, we can see that the role of expert knowledge in understanding in managing risk is far from straight forward and is disputed. 6. References Carter, S, and Jordan, T. (2009) ‘Living with risk and risky living’ in Bromley, S. , Clarke, J. , Hinchliffe, S. , and Taylor. (eds) Exploring Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. ‘A risky world? ’ (2009) Exploring Social Lives [Audio CD 1], Milton Keynes, The Open University. Self Reflection How are you managing your time and coping with the study schedule? Generally I am managing my time by planning my studies around my work commitments and it appears to be working fairly well. I am also coping with the study schedule quite well although I do feel that I could spend more time on making notes that help to jog my memory if I get a little confused with subjects within the module materials.

USS Antietam (CV-36) in the Korean War

USS Antietam (CV-36) in the Korean War Entering service in 1945, USS Antietam (CV-36) was one of over twenty Essex-class aircraft carriers built for the US Navy during World War II (1939-1945). Though arriving in the Pacific too late to see combat, the carrier would see extensive action during the Korean War (1950-1953). In the years after the conflict, Antietam became the first American carrier to receive an angled flight deck and later spent five years training pilots in the waters off Pensacola, FL.   Ã‚   A New Design Conceived in the 1920s and early 1930s, the US Navys  Lexington- and  Yorktown-class aircraft carriers were intended to meet the limitations laid out by the  Washington Naval Treaty. This placed restrictions on the tonnage of various types of vessels as well as installed a ceiling on each signatory’s overall tonnage. This system was further extended by the 1930 London Naval Treaty. As the global situation began to deteriorate, Japan and Italy departed the treaty structure in 1936. With the collapse of this system, the US Navy commenced efforts to design a new, larger class of aircraft carrier and one which utilized the lessons learned from the  Yorktown-class. The resulting product was longer and wider as well as utilized a deck-edge elevator system. This had been employed earlier on  USS  Wasp  (CV-7). In addition to embarking a larger air group, the new class carried a greatly enhanced anti-aircraft armament. Construction began on the lead ship,  USS  Essex  (CV-9), on April 28, 1941. Becoming the Standard With the US entry into  World War II after the  attack on Pearl Harbor, the  Essex-class soon became the US Navys standard design for fleet carriers. The initial four ships after  Essex  followed the types original design. In early 1943, the US Navy ordered multiple alterations to improve future vessels. The most visible of these changes was the lengthening the bow to a clipper design which permitted the addition of two quadruple 40 mm mounts. Other alterations included moving the combat information center below the armored deck, enhanced ventilation and aviation fuel systems, a second catapult on the flight deck, and an additional fire control director. Colloquially known as the long-hull  Essex-class or  Ticonderoga-class by some, the US Navy made no distinction between these and the earlier  Essex-class ships. Construction The first ship to move forward with the revised  Essex-class design was USS  Hancock  (CV-14) which was later re-named Ticonderoga. It was followed by additional carriers including USS Antietam (CV-36).   Laid down on March 15, 1943, construction on Antietam commenced at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Named for the Civil War Battle of Antietam, the new carrier entered the water on August 20, 1944 with Eleanor Tydings, wife of Maryland Senator Millard Tydings, serving as sponsor. Construction rapidly advanced and Antietam entered commission on January 28, 1945, with Captain  James R. Tague in command.   USS Antietam (CV-36) - Overview Nation:  United StatesType:  Aircraft CarrierShipyard:  Philadelphia Naval ShipyardLaid Down:  March 15, 1943Launched:  August 20, 1944Commissioned:  January 28, 1945Fate:  Sold for scrap, 1974 Specifications: Displacement:  27,100 tonsLength:  888 ft.Beam:  93 ft. (waterline)Draft:  28 ft., 7 in.Propulsion:  8 Ãâ€" boilers, 4 Ãâ€" Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 4 Ãâ€" shaftsSpeed:  33 knotsComplement:  3,448 men Armament: 4 Ãâ€" twin 5 inch 38 caliber guns4 Ãâ€" single 5 inch 38 caliber guns8 Ãâ€" quadruple 40 mm 56 caliber guns46 Ãâ€" single 20 mm 78 caliber guns Aircraft: 90-100 aircraft World War II Departing Philadelphia in early March, Antietam shifted south to Hampton Roads and commenced shakedown operations. Steaming along the East Coast and in the Caribbean until April, the carrier then returned to Philadelphia for an overhaul. Leaving on May 19, Antietam began its voyage to the Pacific to join in the campaign against Japan. Stopping briefly in San Diego, it then turned west for Pearl Harbor.   Reaching Hawaiian waters, Antietam spent the better part of the next two months conducting training in the area. On August 12, the carrier left port bound for Eniwetok Atoll which had been captured the previous year.   Three days later, word arrived of the cessation of hostilities and Japans impending surrender.    Occupation Arriving at Eniwetok on August 19, Antietam sailed with USS Cabot (CVL-28) three days later to support the occupation of Japan. Following a brief stop at Guam for repairs, the carrier received new orders directing it to patrol along the Chinese coast in the vicinity of Shanghai. Largely operating in the Yellow Sea, Antietam remained in the Far East for most the next three years. During this time, its aircraft patrolled over Korea, Manchuria, and northern China as well as conducted reconnaissance of operations during the Chinese Civil War. In early 1949, Antietam completed its deployment and steamed for the United States.   Arriving at Alameda, CA, it was decommissioned on June 21, 1949 and placed in reserve. Korean War Antietams inactivity proved short as the carrier was re-commissioned on January 17, 1951 due to the outbreak of the Korean War. Conducting shakedown and training along the California coast, the carrier made a voyage to and from Pearl Harbor before departing for the Far East on September 8. Joining Task Force 77 later that fall, Antietams aircraft began mounting attacks in support of United Nations forces.   Typical operations included interdiction of railroad and highway targets, providing combat air patrols, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine patrols. Making four cruises during its deployment, the carrier generally would resupply at Yokosuka. Completing its final cruise on March 21, 1952, Antietams air group flew nearly 6,000 sorties during its time off the Korean Coast. Earning two battle stars for its efforts, the carrier returned to the United States where it was briefly placed in reserve.   Ã‚   A Groundbreaking Change Ordered to the New York Naval Shipyard that summer, Antietam entered dry dock that September for a major alteration. This saw the addition of a sponson on the port side which permitted the installation of an angled flight deck. The first carrier to possess a true angled flight deck, this new feature permitted aircraft that missed landings to take off again without hitting aircraft further forward on the flight deck. It also greatly increased the efficiency of the launch and recovery cycle.   Re-designated an attack carrier (CVA-36) in October, Antietam rejoined the fleet in December. Operating from Quonset Point, RI, the carrier was a platform for numerous tests involving the angled flight deck.   These included operations and testing with pilots from the Royal Navy. The result from the testing on Antietam confirmed thoughts on the superiority of the angled flight deck and it would become a standard feature of carriers moving forward. The addition of an angled flight deck became a key element of the SCB-125 upgrade given to many Essex-class carriers during the mid/late-1950s.   Later Service Re-designated an anti-submarine carrier in August 1953, Antietam continued to serve in the Atlantic. Ordered to join the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean in January 1955, it cruised in those waters until early that spring. Returning to the Atlantic, Antietam made a goodwill voyage to Europe in October 1956 and took part in NATO exercises.   During this time the carrier ran aground off Brest, France but was refloated without damage. While abroad, it was ordered to the Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis and aided in the evacuation of Americans from Alexandria, Egypt. Moving west, Antietam then conducted anti-submarine training exercises with the Italian Navy. Returning to Rhode Island,  the carrier resumed peacetime training operations. On April 21, 1957, Antietam received an assignment to serve as a training carrier for new naval aviators at Naval Air Station Pensacola.    Training Carrier Home ported at Mayport, FL as its draft was too deep to enter Pensacola harbor, Antietam spent the next five years educating young pilots. In addition, the carrier served as a test platform for a variety of new equipment, such as the Bell automatic landing system, as well as embarked US Naval Academy midshipmen each summer for training cruises. In 1959, following dredging at Pensacola, the carrier shifted its home port.   In 1961, Antietam twice provided humanitarian relief in the wakes of Hurricanes Carla and Hattie.   For the latter, the carrier transported medical supplies and personnel to the British Honduras (Belize) to provide aid after the hurricane devastated the region. On October 23, 1962, Antietam was relieved as Pensacolas training ship by USS Lexington (CV-16). Steaming to Philadelphia, the carrier was placed in reserve and decommissioned on May 8, 1963. In reserve for eleven years, Antietam was sold for scrap on February 28, 1974.

These Are -Some Adjectives

These Are -Some Adjectives These Are â€Å"-Some† Adjectives These Are â€Å"-Some† Adjectives By Mark Nichol The suffix -some has one of three functions. The most common function, the adjectival one, helps us enrich our vocabulary, and in some cases (especially when -some is attached to a heretofore unacquainted noun to create a nonce word) provides a whimsical or otherwise humorous tone. The adjectival use of -some (stemming ultimately from the Old English word for some) aids in characterizing something tangible or intangible. Some -some words are ubiquitous; others may be new to you. Here’s a nearly comprehensive list. 1. Awesome: This term, tragically weakened by hyperbolic usage, originally had the potent sense of â€Å"something inspiring awe.† (Awe, â€Å"a combination of wonder, dread, and profound respect,† came to us from the Old Norse word agi.) As a result, it is best avoided except in the most casual contexts. 2. Adventuresome: In Middle English, aventure meant â€Å"chance, risk† (ultimately from Latin adventus, â€Å"to arrive†). Adventuresome is a close synonym of adventurous, â€Å"inclined to undertake risks.† 3. Blithesome: Blithe, which comes down to us unchanged from Old English, means â€Å"happy† or â€Å"heedless†; blithesome refers to the former sense. 4. Bothersome: Bother’s etymology is unknown, but its meaning and that of bothersome is clear: A bother is a worry or an annoyance, and something bothersome arouses those feelings. 5. Burdensome: Burden (from the Middle English word byrthen, â€Å"something born, or carried†) is a load or a responsibility, and the connotation is usually negative, so a burdensome task or duty is an unpleasant one. 6. Chucklesome: This expression, based on the root word chuckle, â€Å"laugh† (itself derived from chuck, a variant of cluck, meaning â€Å"a click of the tongue†) means â€Å"inclined to laugh,† or â€Å"humorous.† 7. Cuddlesome: To cuddle (etymology unknown) is to hug, and something cuddlesome is worthy of such attention. 8. Cumbersome: The use of this term’s root word (â€Å"hinder, clutter,† from the Middle French word combre, â€Å"dam†) is rare, though encumber is more familiar. Cumbersome itself means â€Å"unwieldy† or â€Å"ponderous.† 9. Dolesome: This synonym for doleful is based on an archaic synonym for grief and means â€Å"sorrowful.† 10. Fearsome: Though this word can mean both â€Å"causing fear† and â€Å"feeling fear† (or, more accurately, â€Å"timid†), the former usage prevails. However, a third sense, also more common than the latter, is â€Å"extreme,† as in â€Å"fearsome ambition.† 11. Flavorsome: This synonym of flavorful is based on the term ultimately derived from the Latin word flatus, â€Å"breath† (which glad you asked is also the origin of flatulence). 12. Frolicsome: The root word, a borrowing from the Dutch word vroolijk, â€Å"happy,† means â€Å"playful† in English, so frolicsome refers to someone in such a mood. 13. Fulsome: This term, a combination of full and -some, is one of a class of words that have unfortunately acquired contradictory or confusing senses. Actually, fulsome started out that way, with the senses of â€Å"abundant, generous, well developed† competing with â€Å"offensive, overdone, effusive.† Although the negative senses long prevailed, they have been overtaken, though not thoroughly, by the positive ones. The result: Unless the context is clear, your readers may not know which sense you intend to convey. 14. Gladsome: This word, whose root is the word that means â€Å"expressing happiness or joy,† is a synonym for cheerful. 15. Gruesome: This word for something frightening or repulsive stems from the Middle English word gruen, â€Å"to shiver.† The root word is seldom used on its own, usually in horror fiction. 16. Handsome: Of all the some words, this one has perhaps the most interesting etymology. It originated in Middle English when hand, the word for the extension of the arm, was attached to -some to mean â€Å"easy to use.† The meaning was extended to â€Å"appropriate,† and from there is wasn’t too much of a leap to the sense of â€Å"attractive.† 17. Irksome: To irk is to weary or irritate, and something irksome arouses those feelings. 18. Lithesome: Lithesome and its variant, lissome, mean â€Å"nimble, flexible,† from an old English word for â€Å"slow.† 19. Loathsome: The root word now has a sense of â€Å"reluctant, unwilling,† but the Middle English word loth, from which it stems, means â€Å"evil,† and the modern definition of loathsome is â€Å"disgusting.† 20. Lonesome: This word means â€Å"feeling lonely.† 21. Lovesome: This term means â€Å"winsome† (see below) or â€Å"affectionate.† 22. Meddlesome: Meddle (from the Latin word miscere, â€Å"to mix†) means â€Å"to interfere,† and a meddlesome person, therefore, is a busybody. 23. Mettlesome: The previous term should not be confused with this word for â€Å"spirited,† from mettle, an alteration of metal with the connotation of â€Å"strength, stamina.† 24. Nettlesome: This synonym for irritating is based on nettle, the name for any of various plants that sting or have prickly parts. 25. Noisome: The root word for this synonym for harmful or objectionable is not noise but Middle English noy, â€Å"annoyance.† However, considering that noise ultimately stems from the Latin word nausea, which English borrowed directly, perhaps they’re related after all. 26. Quarrelsome: Quarrel (from the Latin word querela, â€Å"complaint† which is also the source of querulous but not of query) means â€Å"to struggle or dispute,† and a quarrelsome person is one inclined to fight or argue. 27. Tiresome: This word’s meaning stems from the senses of tire meaning â€Å"to fatigue or bore.† A tiresome person or situation is one that causes fatigue or boredom. 28. Toilsome: Toil means â€Å"strenuous labor,† and a toilsome task is an unusually laborious one. 29. Toothsome: This synonym for attractive or delicious, with a reference to the toothsome person or provender’s impact on the teeth as an extension of the sense of taste, may seem a fairly recent coinage, but it is in fact hundreds of years old. 30. Troublesome: Trouble (ultimately from the Latin word turbulentus, from which turbulent is also derived) is the root of this word meaning â€Å"difficult, causing trouble.† 31. Venturesome: The root word of this term is an alteration of adventure, and venturesome is a synonym of adventuresome (see above), but it has an distinct sense of â€Å"hazardous† as well. 32. Wearisome: This word’s root is a synonym for tired, and wearisome is, likewise, another word for tiresome (see above). 33. Wholesome: The root word is whole (from the Middle English word hool, â€Å"healthy, unhurt, entire,† ultimately from Old English hal, from which we also derive hale), but the word means not only â€Å"healthy† but also â€Å"proper, prudent, safe.† It is the only word on this list with an antonym formed simply by appending the prefix -un. 34. Winsome: The meanings of winsome are â€Å"charming† or â€Å"cheerful,† but the root is derived not from the Old English predecessor of win, as in â€Å"to achieve victory† (winnan, â€Å"struggle†) but from the same language’s term wynn, â€Å"joy.† (However, both winnan and wynn probably ultimately stem from the Latin word venus, â€Å"desire.†) 35. Worrisome: A worrisome thought or deed is simply one that provokes worry, or concern. The other, more pedestrian uses of the suffix -some are to attach it to one of several numbers to indicate a group of people, as in twosome, threesome, and foursome (fivesome and sixsome are also listed in at least one unabridged dictionary, but the suffix is not applied to larger numbers) or to convey an approximation, as in â€Å"Twenty-some people attended the meeting.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph ExamplesHyper and Hypo50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Evaluating web site audiences Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Evaluating web site audiences - Assignment Example In this way the designers present the intended audience of the brand. Firstly you may think that there are clothes only for women. It is the main idea of the designer who puts women on the top among the expected buyers. While exploring the site I saw that there were also collections for men, young people and children, so we see that this is the brand for all ages and genders. By writing prices near the goods the designers show that this brand is created for successful and high-income people. The second site is oriented for young women no more than 25. It is easy to see when you open it. The designers use energetic music and positive girls to represent the intended audience. So when you open the site you understand that it is for teenagers and for girls only. The site offers discounts and sales by means of which the creators try to attract people of middle income. The site of â€Å"Versace† introduces the new collections on top pages. It means that selling them is the main aim of the company. The site is designed in muted colors in order not to distract the attention of the customer. The web page of ‘Tally Weijl† uses discounts to attract people who are more interested in prices. That is why the site is very colorful and vivid. To make the site ‘Tally Weijl† easy and more comfortable in use they offer to choose the country you live in. After choosing the country the web page is displayed at your language. That is made for attracting people all over the world. There are two different styles which represent sites: classic style (â€Å"Versace†) and casual style (â€Å"Tally Weijl†). Classic style is typical for people engaged in different business spheres, open ceremonies and public interviews, while casual style is more appropriate for everyday life activities: shopping, walking, sport and so forth. Every page of â€Å"Versace† site contains logo which is an important part of the company image that is why it is easy to identify any

BPO and Cloud Computing (case study) Case Study

BPO and Cloud Computing ( ) - Case Study Example These applications range from external e commerce and business to business application to internal financial and human resources. An enterprise can have one or more than one data centers. The benefits of the data centers includes supporting business operations round the clock, rapid deployment of applications and consolidation of computing resources and maintenance for sustaining business functions. Enterprises make special arrangement of both the facilities that house the equipment and personnel required for such an operation. These facilities support high concentration of network infrastructure and server resources. A data center is based on the availability of power capacity, cabling, cooling capacity, temperature and humidity control, physical security like restricted access and surveillance systems, fire and smoke systems, rack space and raised floor. Data centers support high speed communication between servers, storage and devices of storage (Arregoces & Portolani, 2004, P.21) . It also increases the availability of mirroring, clustering and replication between database systems and storage devices. These facilities helps in storing the data in multiple locations thus lowering the chances of site failure that prevents chances of normal system operations. Site failures are recovered by the replica of data at different sites thereby creating the need for distributed data centers, distributed server firms and obvious transport technologies for enabling communication between them. Data centers can be local as well as one that is located overseas. A local data center does not rely on connectivity over the internet and therefore negates a possible failure point. Local data collection, correlation and processing are easier with local data centers. Corrective actions can be immediately taken to fix problems. The closer the management components are to the source of the problems, the3 more independent the firms can be for supporting their infrastructure. Corrective management activities can be taken even if the network to the management server is down. Continuous and autonomous monitoring is possible with the help of local data centers. A local database has access to all data sources which are not remotely accessible. In addition to remote interfaces like SNMP, scripting, WMI, the local data centers also have sensors for log files, discovery information, performance data sources- basically anything that is available locally. A local data centre can perform correlation which helps in reducing flood of data into meaningful set of events. Instead of sending thousand log file records over the network to the server for analysis, local data centers filters out extraneous information and allows important problems to be sent to a centralized event console. It helps in reducing false alarms and increases the productivity and efficiency as short term peeks are ignored and no time is spent in dealing with false alarms. It also helps in suppressing dupli cate events that is based on time interval, count of similar events or both. Identical messages that occur within a very short period of time are suppressed and the first event is only forwarded to management server (Murugesan & Gangadharan, 2012, P. 21). Local actions can be executed without the intervention from the management server. The disadvantage of local data center is that keeping each client side database in sync is very difficult. Programming, administration and maintenance of data become nearly impossible. Data integrity, security, data

Black and Minority Ethnic People in Prison

Black and Minority Ethnic People in Prison For every Afro-Caribbean male on campus there are two in jail. (Phillips, 2004). Sir Trevor Phillips memorable claim is interesting on two levels. First, in how it highlights the strong evidence that Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) persons form a disproportionately high section of the prison population in England and Wales. Secondly, as an example of the polemical terms in which this question is often debated. In this essay I will seek to get behind the rhetoric. Whilst Sir Trevor may have chosen (or embellished) his statistics for rhetorical purposes, there is a disproportionately high number of BME prisoners. Home Office statistics  [2]  show some 27% of the prison population in England and Wales identified themselves as being from ethnic minority groups  [3]. These figures should be approached carefully if one is trying to consider incarceration rates in the resident population. Foreign nationals accounted for 38% of the BME prison population (Ministry of Justice, 2009). However, even excluding the impact on the statistics of foreign nationals, the differences in incarceration rates are startling, particularly for British nationals who self-identify as Black  [4]  : 6.8 per 1,000 compared to 1.3 per 1,000 for White people  [5]   more than five times more Black people in prison per head of population than White people. Similarly, there were more people of mixed ethnicity in prison per head of population than White people, with a rate per 1,000 of 3.7. However, this substantial overrepresentation was not shared by other non-White ethnic groups. People from Chinese or Other Ethnic backgrounds were least likely to be imprisoned, with a rate of 0.5 per 1,000. The rate for people from Asian groups  [6]  was also higher than for White persons but significantly lower than for the Black or Mixed groups at 1.8 per 1,000 population. The differences in these rates are so marked that there is clearly a question to answer here: why are Black people, and certain (but not all) other ethnic minorities more likely to be incarcerated than their White fellow-citizens? Three broad explanations present themselves as possibilities: disproportionate criminality: that persons of BME ethnicity commit a disproportionately high percentage of crimes; disproportionate detection and prosecution: that they are disproportionately more likely to be caught, charged or prosecuted with such crimes; and disproportionate conviction and sentencing; that they are more likely to be convicted, or if convicted more likely to be imprisoned or imprisoned for longer. Of course, the truth could combine these explanations but it is important to establish which of them is most salient, and to delve more deeply into the causes underlying such explanation. Are BME people just more likely to offend than White people? The simplest explanation for the disproportionately high number of BMEs imprisoned is that BME individuals are more likely to commit crimes. If we assume that there is a direct relationship between arrests and criminality, and we accept police reported crime levels, there is strong evidence to suggest that BMEs are more likely to commit crimes than Whites. (Here we are using the Home Office crime definitions, encompassing violent crime, intimate violence, acquisitive crime, vandalism and criminal damage, fraud, racially or religiously motivated crimes, and drug offences.) In 2007-8, 82% of all arrests were of people of white appearance, with 9% Black, 5% Asian and 1% classified as Other (Ministry of Justice, 2009). This can be compared the governments estimates for the ethnic makeup of the general UK population in 2006/07 where 88.7% are White, 2.7% Black, 5.5% Asian and 1.5% Other (Gask, 2008). Whilst the arrest numbers for White, Asian and Other ethnicities were roughly proportional to their prevalence  [7]  in the population, Black people were 2.5 times more likely to be arrested than the population as whole. If we accept a strong correlation between arrest and criminality rates, then we may conclude that Black people, but not other ethnic groups, are more likely to offend than Whites. This requires an explanation and broadly three types of explanation have been propounded: socio-economic, family factors and historical/cultural factors (including policing strategies). The association between socio-economic disadvantage and involvement in crime is well-established (Home Office Report). According to Beckers (1968) analytical framework, crime rates reflect the risks and costs of being caught, and the disparity between potential gain from crime and the associated opportunity cost. Those with least to lose are more likely to offend. Economists have interpreted measures of income inequality as indicators of the distance between the gains from crime and its opportunity costs (Fajnzylber et al, 2002). This view is supported by statistics associating UK homicide rates with poverty (Dorling et al, 2005). Black African and Caribbean groups make up approximately 2.5 times the proportion of the population in the most deprived areas of the country as for England as a whole (Jacobs Tinsley, 2006). Relative poverty appears to provide a good explanation why Black people might be more likely to commit crime, and in particular economic crime  [8]. It seems likely also that the unemployed are more likely to engage in criminality. The adage that the devil makes work for idle hands is supported by the literature  [9]. It is therefore significant that Home Office statistics on unemployment rates found that Black men suffered almost three times more unemployment than White British or Irish men (Home Office, 2005). Poor educational achievement is a symptom and cause of socio-economic disadvantage. Some argue that educational underachievement is also independently a major cause of criminality. The failure of the education system to educate our black boys provides a breeding ground for disaffection that undoubtedly leads many (not all) to seek alternative means to obtain a good standard of living or gain respect from their peers (Home Office, 2003). Certainly poor education is associated with delinquency. Maguin Loeber (1996) showed through their meta-analysis of studies of this relationship that children with low academic performances offended more frequently, committed more serious offences, and persisted in their offending. However, whether poor education is an independent cause is not established the merely correlational role of education was argued by pioneering analysts in the 1830s (Feldman, 1993). It may be that poor education affects delinquency indirectly by limiting employment opport unities, which in turn leads to more probability of criminal behaviour. If educational underachievement causes criminality then it is pertinent that Blacks participate far less in higher education than Whites (Bhattacharyya et al, 2003)  [10]. Furthermore, Black people are far likelier to be excluded from school (Department for Education and Skills, 2006)  [11]. There is an established association between school exclusions and involvement in crime  [12]  and, whilst it is unclear whether criminality leads to exclusion from school or vice versa, either way the evidence of more school exclusions amongst Black people supports the proposition that Black peoples disproportionate incarceration arises from disproportionate criminality. If education is a factor, however, it is unclear whether fault lies with the educational opportunities available; the allegedly low value that Black (or more specifically Afro-Caribbean) males place on formal education or other factors. Family and parenting factors provide another possible explanation of the overrepresentation of BMEs in prison. BME children are more likely to grow up in single-parent households; for example, 54.5% of mixed White/Black Caribbean children grew up in lone-parent households (Home Office, 2003). This has been shown to have a negative impact on later life outcomes. Kellam et al (1982) found that Black children from mother-only families were more likely to be judged by their teachers as maladaptive, than other groups. More specifically, a high proportion of BME children are born to teenage mothers (Higginbottom et al, 2005).  [13]  Jaffee et al (2001)s 20-year longitudinal study showed that the offspring of teen mothers are at particular risk for adverse outcomes including early school leaving, unemployment, early parenthood, and violent offending. Another possible family factor is that, the high proportion of BME adults already in the criminal justice system may feed back into offend ing behaviours among young people. Criminal and antisocial parents tend to have delinquent and antisocial children  [14]. Furthermore, concentrated incarceration in impoverished communities breaks familial ties, weakens parents social-control capacity, weakens economic power, and sours attitudes towards mainstream society, increasing the likelihood of offending (Clear, 2007). Taken together these socioeconomic, educational and family factors seem to provide a fairly full explanation of any greater level of criminality among Black or BME groups. However this has not prevented other theories being advanced. One suggestion is that we should blame urban Black culture, especially music and film, for providing role models who glamorise violence, and encourage criminal lifestyles. The Home Office suggests (Home Office, 2003) that active social exclusion comes about when young people lay claim to particular identities and make choices about lifestyles which compound their disadvantage and their existence on the margins of society, and quotes evidence that the arrival of American TV on St Kitts led to a sharp rise in gang violence, drugs and murders  [15]  and of links between music videos and criminal behaviour, especially gang behaviours such as of South London gangs having music production arms advocating violence against rivals. Pitts (2006) reports how gangs film robberies and use the footage to promote their music. However, as an explanation this is not as convincing as those discussed above. It is not obvious why BME youths should be more susceptible than White youths to music glamo urising criminality. It seems more likely that a popular culture that gives endorses criminality is a reflection, rather than a cause  [16]. Others prefer to blame White society, or more specifically colonialism. During the 1960s Fanon popularised a model which conceptualised the relations between Blacks and Whites in post-colonial societies (Fanon, 1963). The model has recently become revived by scholars such as Agozino (2003) and Gabbidon (2010). The colonialist model argues that past colonial repression, can cause crime in the present. Tatum (1994) argues that the victims of social, economic and political oppression will develop feelings of alienation to which the criminality and violence is an adaptive response. The model predicts that the colonised will become estranged from their own culture, and begin to self-hate both as individuals and at the group level. Racial groups become estranged from each other, and racial violence increases, based on a mutual lack of trust and as individuals try to fight back and reclaim their culture and identity (Tatum, 1994). Pouissant (1972) argues that this internalisation of anger c an explain the increasing Black on Black violence in Afro-American societies in particular. It is certainly easy to see that past colonialism, can be linked to social structures of oppression that persist into the present (Feagin Feagin, 2003, p. 35). Past economic, political and social subordination has left lasting imbalances in post-colonial societies and these differences in status, cause segregation, which leads directly to a negative impact on crime and perception of crime level (Massey Denton, 1993). Crime rises as the ethnic minority becomes increasingly separated from good basic services and employment opportunities (Wilson, 1998). However, it seems easier (and to accord better with the principle of Occams razor) to attribute greater criminality to greater disadvantage, and the greater disadvantage to history than to rely on group-wide psychological theories based on historic grievances. Direct tests of the components of the colonial model only show limited support (Austin, 1983) for the theory (although proponents of the theory argue that colonialism should be seen as an antecedent variable, and thus these tests may lack reliability (Bosworth Flavin, 2007)). Besides the difficulty testing this theory, the colonial model does not explain the diverse responses different groups have to similar forms of alienation why would ethnic minorities feel more alienated than lower-class Whites? Nor do they explain why a society that produces Malcolm X can also produce a Martin Luther King. Are black and ethnic minority individuals more likely to get caught and charged with criminal offences? After exploring reasons why BMEs might commit disproportionately high levels of crime, it is important to note that the statistics showing disproportionate criminality are highly contested. I began the previous section with the important caveat If we accept a strong correlation between arrest rates and criminality rates, but this proposition is contentious. Any statistics generated by criminal justice agencies provide only partial information about the nature of offenders, as the vast majority who commit crime are never caught or processed by the criminal justice system: individuals diverted from the criminal justice system will not feature in such statistics (Ministry of Justice, 2009). There is evidence to suggest that there is reporting bias in the reporting of certain crimes amongst certain ethnic minorities. Although some authors have suggested that mistrust of the criminal justice system may lead to less reporting of intra racial crimes, especially within ethnic minority groups, other evidence suggests that racial biases lead to disproportionately greater crime reporting in BME groups. For example, statistics suggest a higher propensity for black women to report sexual offences. Although this could indicate higher levels of sexual crime in Black communities, equally it could reflect lower tolerance of sexual misbehaviour by Black women or underreporting of sexual offences in the wider community (Home Office, 2003). Furthermore, statistics are also often skewed by the focus of law enforcement. A crack down on street crimes in BME-dominated areas, will distort the statistics (Chambliss et al, 2004). One way to evaluate the validity of the arrest data, and answer our second question is to consider discrepancies between self-reported and official crime rates. If such discrepancies are found, the most likely explanation would be a racial bias in the police force or Crown Prosecution System. Unfortunately the evidence here is inconclusive. Sharp Budd (2005)s analysis of the 2000 Offending Crime and Justice Survey seems to evidence a disparity between self-reported, and official criminal activity: White respondents and those of mixed ethnic origin generally self-reported the highest levels of offending  [17]. Asians and those from Other ethnic groups reported significantly lower levels of offending  [18]  than Whites, or those of mixed ethnic origin, on all offences, except robbery (Sharp Budd, 2005: 9). Black respondents were significantly less likely to self-report offending than White respondents across all offence categories, except burglary and the supply of drugs  [19 ]. White respondents and those of Mixed ethnic origin self-reported overall similar levels of offending, but those of mixed ethnicity were more likely to be serious offenders 27% versus 21%, although this may be subject to some non-response bias (Sharp Budd, 2005: 9). However, such self-report surveys suffer conceptual and methodological difficulties. Respondents may be untruthful and there may be an ethnic bias to the extent to which answers are honest. Whilst in the UK it is generally accepted that self-report surveys are reliable and valid measures of delinquency (Farrington, 2001), studies elsewhere suggest that ethnic minority groups are less likely to provide accurate answers to questions on criminality. Hindelang et al (1981) found that Black males were three times less likely to admit to offences, even when they were already known to the police. To overcome this problem Sharp Budd (2005) asked respondents how truthful they had been in completing the survey. Although there was little difference by ethnicity in the percentage of respondents claiming to have been honest (around 95%), slightly fewer older Black respondents said they were totally truthful, and overall, Black individuals were less likely to report honesty when answering problem s about drug use. Of course, answers to these questions could themselves be affected by a social desirability bias individuals may not want to admit to lying but, these general trends replicated the findings of other self-report studies, such as Flood-Page et al (2000). Another flaw in this evidence is that it shows only the percentage of individuals involved in any kind of crime. It may be that the smaller than expected percentages of BME individuals admitting to offending, commit a greater percentage of crime and therefore provide more opportunities to be caught. The evidence, therefore, is not strong but does suggest that BME people are less likely to be involved in criminality than Whites and yet are arrested disproportionately. We must ask then why would BME individuals be more likely to be caught and charged with criminal behaviour? Bowling Phillips (2002) suggested that this could be explained by institutional racism amongst the police. The charge of police racism has been levelled particularly at the Metropolitan Police.  [20]  The finding of institutional racism made at the Stephen Lawrence enquiry was generally accepted and TV documentaries such as the Panorama series have helped establish this as a wide-spread perception that is obvious and self-evident. For example the former Home Secretary, Jack Straw pronounced: Any long-established, white-dominated organisation is liable to have procedures, practices and a culture that tends to exclude or disadvantage non-white people. (Straw, 1999) Other commentators dismiss the idea that the police are institutionally racist. The earlier (1981) Scarman report supported a bad apple theory: that racial prejudice occurred amongst only a minority of officers (Neal, 2003). Racial prejudice does manifest itself occasionally in the behaviour of a few officers on the street. It may be only too easy for some officers, faced with what they must see as the inexorably rising tide of street crime to lapse into an unthinking assumption that all young black people are potential criminals (Macpherson, 1999: 16). Whilst the bad apple theory is not now prevalent, it is important to be careful not to extrapolate individual (or group action) or racism towards the whole institution. Some argue that reports such as the Morris Report (2004) have conflated individual racism to institutional racism (Lea, 2000; Stenson Waddington, 2007). Lea argues that the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, in particular, examined the specific actions of individual officers a nd unscientifically extrapolated from this a conclusion that the police force itself is racist. It has been argued that the negative interpretation of institutional racism has further increased tension between police and ethnic minorities (Foster et al, 2005). In fact, the direct evidence that institutional racism leads to disproportionate arrests of BME people is mixed. Jefferson, Walker Seneviratne (1992) studied differences in treatment in individuals arrested in Leeds, and found conflicting evidence. By analyzing the (police-perceived) race, sex, age, offence and address of everyone arrested or stopped in the city over 6 months in 1987, they found that Blacks were over-represented (7% of those arrested, compared to 3% in the population), Asians were proportionately represented and Whites were under-represented. However, when the neighbourhood ethnic balance was controlled for, Blacks were only over-represented in White areas. In Black-dominated areas, Whites were in fact over- represented. However, the information was based on where offenders lived, not where they offended. Furthermore, the low Black arrest rate in Black areas maybe due to mistrust of police in intra-racial crimes (Jefferson et al, 2002). If we turn to indications of differential treatment by the Police in relation to actions other than arrest, patterns do emerge. Newburn, Shiner Hayman (2004) analysed the propensity to be strip-searched in custody, finding that on average, Afro-Caribbeans suffered twice the number of strip-searches as Whites, whilst Arabic or Oriental people had a virtual halving of the probability of being strip-searched (Newburn et al, 2004: 689). Other studies have considered possible police ethnic biases in relation to stop-and-search arrests. Overwhelmingly the data suggest that BMEs are significantly more likely to be stopped than Whites. In 2006/2007 Blacks were seven times more likely to be stopped and searched, and Asians were twice as likely to be stopped as Whites (Jones Singer, 2008). However, the validity of these findings can be questioned. Bennetto, 2009 observes that police officers may just be more likely to record stops made of BMEs than those conducted on White people, but it seems unlikely that such misrecording would persist so consistently across forces, and over the last five years, particularly with the strong incentives on the police not to display racism. A more telling criticism is that stop-and-search data involves an invalid comparison it compares the ethnicity of the whole population with that of those stopped, rather than looking at the proportion of those stopped within the available population those who are out at times, and in places where stops are likely to occur (Fitzgerald Sibbitt, 1997). Indeed, Jefferson et al (1992) found a statistically significant low-to-moderate correlation (r=0.20) between number of evenings out and annoyance with police. Although Pavey (2008) counters this by arguing that it is unlikely that Black people are mo re available to be stopped in some areas than others, it is not outlandish to suggest that in some cultures may be more normal than others for people (particularly young men) to hang round on the street rather than staying in. Others counter this criticism by observating that, even if the ethnicity mix where and when the searches are made is different to that in the general population, it does not disprove police racist motivation the police might have chosen when and where to conduct such stops is based on where BME youths congregate (Home Office, 2003). This argument would be convincing if it could be backed by evidence that police decisions on where to operate are based on something other than their assessment of when and where crimes are most prevalent, but I am not aware of any such evidence. Are Black and Ethnic minorities unfairly dealt with by the justice system? The evidence of institutional racism in the justice system is also mixed at best. Although Hood (2008) argues that the over-representation of Afro-Caribbeans in prisons is a direct product of their over representation among those convicted of crime and sentenced in the Crown Courts, a recent study of almost 16,000 jurors found that although BME individuals are 3.5 times more likely to face a jury verdict, relative to their representation in the global population, jury verdicts showed only small differences based on defendant ethnicity (Thomas, 2010)  [21]. This indicates that one stage in the criminal justice system where BME groups do not face persistent disproportionality is when a jury reaches a verdict. The evidence that BMEs are likely to suffer more punitive sentences than White people is superficially more persuasive. Black young offenders accounted for 11.6% of custodial sentences, despite only accounting for 6% of total offences (Home Office, 2003). However this does not prove unfairness whilst it could reflect biased sentencing, it could equally have other causes, perhaps that BMEs are likelier to commit crimes that justify a custodial sentence. Jefferson et al (1992) found that apparently racially-based differences in outcome of arrest could be otherwise explained. Although in juvenile cases, Blacks were twice as likely to be tried in a Crown Court as Asians or Whites, most were being tried jointly with an older co-defendant, necessitating the Crown Court, and six of the twelve Black subjects included in this data were arrested in one incident. Also the Home Office statistics say nothing about prior convictions, which may affect sentencing. Although evidence that Whites are more likely to re-offend  [22]  suggests that this may not explain disproportionate custodial sentences for BME people, studies which take account of prior convictions find no evidence of racially biased sentencing. Mair (1986) found that Blacks and Wh ites who had committed similar offences, and had similar criminal records, had the same chance of a custodial sentence. Jefferson et al (1992)s regression analysis of data collected in their Leeds study found that when offence type and previous convictions were taken into account, there were no differences in sentencing or length of custodial sentence between different ethnic groups  [23]. Furthermore, once imprisoned, there is evidence to suggest that there is no racially-explained difference in the availability of parole. Although Hood Shute (2000) found that both Blacks and Whites were less likely to be granted parole than South Asian/Chinese prisoners, this is not necessarily due to ethnic bias. Moorthy et al (2006) argued persuasively that this could be better attributed to other characteristics associated with release. The clearest explanation of the disparity in sentencing is that BME individuals are likely to be engaged in different types of crimes than Whites, and more specifically are more likely to be engaged in crimes that have a high likelihood of incarceration, or even mandatory prison sentences. Young people of different ethnic groups do appear to have different profiles of offending behaviour. Jefferson et al (1992) found that BME individuals were more likely to be arrested under charges of violence and theft, whereas, Whites were more likely to be charged with burglary or damage. This is corroborated by Home Office statistics which suggest that. BME individuals seem to be overrepresented for certain crimes notably robbery and drugs offences (Home Office, 2003), and are more likely to be involved with firearms and gang violence, whereas white people are more likely to commit and be convicted of less serious offences, for example criminal damage or property offences like burglary. The pro pensity for BMEs to be engaged in drug offences in particular goes a long way towards explaining the relatively high percentage of custodial sentences given to BMEs. Drug offences typically have longer custodial sentences than those for even the most violent crimes, even for importing relatively small amounts of drugs.  [24]  There is a substantially higher proportion of Black inmates serving drug-related sentences (Home Office, 2003).  [25]  This is particularly true for female prisoners (Chigwada-Bailey, 2003)  [26]. Of the women in prison for all offences, 40% were convicted of drug offences (Home Office, 2003). Furthermore, this is not only the case for foreign nationals; over half of all Black British women prisoners incarcerated in 2005 were due to drug offences (Fitzgerald, 2007: 56). Although levels of drug use among 16 24 year olds are lower for Black youths than those from White or mixed backgrounds, there is evidence to show that Black people disproportionately misuse certain drugs, specifically crack cocaine (Sangster, Shiner, Sheikh, Patel, 2002). Almost half of arrestees reported using crack cocaine are Black: young White offenders at Feltham Young Offenders Institute are more likely to have opiate problems, whereas Black youths are more likely to have problems with crack cocaine (Home Office, 2005). There is also evidence that cannabis misuse is a particular problem among ethnic minority communities. The 2001/2 British Crime Survey found that people from a mixed white and black Caribbean background were also most likely to have used cannabis in their lifetime (54%), compared with only 30% of Whites (Home Office RDSD, 2008). Furthermore, there is evidence that BME people are disproportionately more likely to be involved in supplying drugs. Despite accoun ting for only 11% of all Londoners, 67% of those accused of supplying crack cocaine are Black (Home Office, 2007). Conclusion The relationship of race to criminality is perplexing. Many commentators in the field have a particular political point to make, and much of the debate is conducted in terms that are more interested in promoting a particular agenda than reaching the truth. Often statistics are gathered for particular reasons. Since 1991, the Criminal Justice Act has required police officers to monitor the ethnicity of people they stop and search and these have been gathered in the context of a force desperately keen to shrug off a racist label. It is difficult to see that this would not have had an effect on the quality of the data. In other contexts, data are deliberately withheld or not collected, for example the Press is discouraged from referring to ethnicity when reporting crime  [27]. Where information is collected, different studies categorise ethnic groups in different ways, some including and some excluding foreign nationals. However with all these caveats, the conclusion that best seems to fit the facts is that in England and Wales, BMEs do as a group disproportionately commit crimes that are more likely to lead to custodial sentences than other ethnic groups but this disproportionality all but disappears if we factor in socio-economic disadvantage, educational levels reached, and family factors, and there is no need to reach for more complex explanations such as post-colonial angst or police racism. In particular, the evidence supporting the pervasive view that police racism causes disproportionate arrests is unconvincing, especially as if it were true it would mean that we would need to find explanations why BME groups must have a lower level of criminality than one might expect given the socio-economic disadvantage, educational levels and family factors that apply. Astonishingly, there seems to be no paper that directly looks at crime rates by race, when socio-economic status is controlled for. Such a paper would be a major step forward to moving this debate from the polemical onto a scientific basis. Of course su

Mary Oliver Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The jellyfish, a dangerously stunning underwater creature, can adequately symbolize the phenomenon that is nature. Nobody denies the â€Å"medusa† of its attractive features, such as, its dazzling pink color, elegant frame, and most important, its transparent body that displays running electricity. However, touch it underwater and experience the wrath of its devious abilities. Its colorful stingers have the power to inject an electrical toxin into their prey. It can kill. Furthermore, Mary Oliver, the writer of â€Å"Owls†, successfully delineates the two-faced personality nature is affiliated with. In this rich excerpt, Oliver makes it a priority to point out that nature can be both miraculous and corrupt at the same time. Like the jellyfish, nature can bring â€Å"immobilizing happiness†, but it can also be complex, and bring forth â€Å"death.† From the get-go, Oliver uses Vonnegut-like imagery to create a distinct contrast between the â€Å"terrifying† and the fascinating parts of nature. For instance, when Oliver describes the great horned owl and the fields full of roses. According to Oliver, the great horned owl has a â€Å"hooked beak† that makes â€Å"heavy, crisp, and breathy snapping† sounds, and a set of â€Å"razor-tipped toes† that â€Å"rasp the limb.† Not only that, but this mystical creature is characterized as â€Å"merciless†, and as a dark creature that would â€Å" eat the whole world† if it could. The fields full of roses, on the other hand, are used to symbolize happiness. They are described as sweet, lovely, and â€Å"red and pink and white tents of softness and nectar.† Through Oliver’s creative use of descriptive imagery, she begins to explain the incomprehensible mysteries of nature. In the same fashion, Oliver uses vivid and flamboyant   diction to emphasize nature’s intricate ways. To describe the darkness of nature, Oliver uses words such as, â€Å"hopelessness†, â€Å"headless bodies†, and â€Å"immutable force†. On the contrary, for the awing parts of nature, Oliver’s passage includes words like, â€Å"exquisite†, â€Å"luminous wanderer†, and â€Å"sheer rollicking glory†. As a result, her impressive style presents a clear image of how Oliver is â€Å"standing at the edge of mystery, and ultimately, â€Å"conquered.† Finally, Oliver uses her intimate appreciation for nature to relate to the audience and drive her claim home. First, Oliver uses an anaphora to talk about the field full of roses. Oliver begins eight consecutive phrases with the word â€Å"I.† Thus, implying the impact nature has on her as an individual, and alarming the reader of the love she has towards this prodigy. Oliver then acknowledges that â€Å"the world where the owl is endlessly hungry and endlessly on the hunt is the world in which† she lives too. Correspondingly, she mentions that nature’s curiosities involve the audience of this excerpt, as well as everyone else on planet earth. Indeed, in this lyrical excerpt, Mary Oliver uses her impressive style to describe how nature can be convoluted, charming, and over-powering. One can’t help to acknowledge the creative way Oliver uses the English language to successfully contrast the positive and negative parts of the environment. In addition, Oliver strives to make her nuanced writing and allegory for the complexity of nature. When looking at the big picture, it is easy to see how Oliver’s writing may exhibit to all how one might share whatever it is they feel passionately about.