UK Protection of Interest of the Rights Holders

UK Protection of Interest of the Rights Holders INTRODUCTION In the 17th century, the economic investments of publishers and printing press where threatened by unlicensed copyist who were involved in unauthorised printings and reproduction of copyrighted material.[1] At that time, the common-law remedies were very in effective making the publishers to labour in vain. The introduction of the 1709 Statute of Anne put a landmark in the protection of copyright in literary works in the form of statutory monopolies and regulations, giving the authors exclusive rights and used to control the distribution of books by publishers.[2] The act provided a copyright which lasted for 14 years and if the author were still alive during the period of its expiry, the right will be returned to him for another 14 years, giving a total of a 28-year period.[3] The law on copyright started to develop and included things like sculptures, engravings and some others. The law of intellectual property (IP) has been closely linked with economic development and innovation. The case of Donaldson v Beckett established that copyright is considered to have a dual purpose.[4] The first purpose is to protect the interest of the right holders so they are encouraged to publish their works and make gains from it. The second purpose is to encourage creativity and innovation and the sharing of knowledge so that the public can have access to copyrighted work for learning purposes. As copyright developed a key issue arose which is need for legislators to strike a balance between the protection of the interest of the right holders and the promotion of innovation and creativity of the public at large. Legislature has worked hard to achieve a good balance as the size of the statute has increased over the years. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), is the current act which attempts to create the balance. These groups of conflicting interest argue that its interest should be prioritised by the legal framework but legislature should not prioritise any interest to achieve a balanced system.[5] This paper will discuss the current situation on how the UK achieves an effective balance between the protection of interest of the rights holders and the encouraging of innovation and creativity, by using the scope of copyright to find how it is necessary for economic growth. It will look at issue concerning the duration of copyright in UK. Finally, this paper takes a critical look at defence of fair dealings in the UK and compares it to fair use in US. This essay concludes that the law on copyright does not create an effective balance between the interest or the right holders and the encouragement of innovation and creativity. SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT Lessig defines the scope of copyright as the range of rights granted by the law.[6] The law of copyright has expanded and tried to adapt because of development in technology. In modern times, the law on copyright does not only cover publishing, printing of a creative work it extends to derivative works and all the steps previously taken by taken by authors to protect their works have been abolished by the rule that imposing authors to accept the protection offered by the law.[7]ÂÂ   Copyright work covers a wide range of materials and output and does not require any form of registration like patents or designs. To illustrate the extent to which copyright goes, in the case of Elanco v Mandops, the court established that the label with instructions on a barrel of herbicide is a literary work that is subject to copyright.[8]ÂÂ   The law tries to create a balance by making provisions for adequate protection and adequate access. The idea of this balance originated from the 1709 S tatute of Anne where it was established that the purpose of the act was for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such Copies.[9] It was also established in the 1774 case of Donaldson v Beckett, where it saw the nature of copyright as distinct from traditional forms of property mainly because of its underlying social function.[10] Copyright work needs to be accessible and this can be explained in the following ways as the development of human society is based on derivation of the works of others. First, the public needs to have access to copyright work so that they can access the ideas of the works. The use of the idea is free from copyright infringement if the user will not copy the expression of the idea for the author. Second, the public involves two groups of people, which are the users who use the work as a source of learning and the potential authors who borrow ideas from them. If the works of the author are not a vailable, he will receive monetary rewards without contributing to the society and hindering economic development.[11] The protection of copyrights of the right holder is based on the basic idea of why should someone reap benefits from the work of another. Copyright has been closely linked with the economic principle of monopoly, it is often criticized to be harmful to the public interest in a free and open competition. They claim that it will give monopolist the power to increase the prices and they will make it difficult for these rights to be accessed. Adherents of this principle of monopoly have suggested that the monopoly exists in a temporary form to creators and innovators, and it incentivises for creativity through the offer of time limited on innovative investment and economic rewards.[12] In a system with poor IP rules where consumers can use goods without paying for them, no one will want to invest in innovation as it will put them at a competitive disadvantage and the output of useful works will start to diminish having a negative impact on the knowledge base of the society. THE DURATION OF COPYRIGHT In considering the extent to which the UKs law achieves a balance in copyright law, the duration of the law is an important factor to be considered. It is important because it determines when the work will be open to the public domain, if the term of copyright is too short it will have a negative effect on the right holders as they will not be motivated to create works when they cannot reap the benefits.[13] The duration of copyright has been controversial and there have been debates on the topic of how long copyright should last.[14] In the CDPA 1988, the length of copyright is the life time of the author with an additional 70 years for literary works. The length was initially lower by 20 years which was argued to be more than adequate. The question of why the copyright law has given such extended timeframe was answered in 1991 by The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and it was also suggested in connection with a possible Protocol to the Berne Convention. The justification for length of copyright here was stated in the Preamble to the draft Directive saying: The Commission stresses the need to harmonise copyright and neighbouring rights at a high level of protection since these rights are fundamental to intellectual creation and their protection ensures the maintenance and development of creativity in the interest of authors, cultural industries, consumers and society as a whole.[15] The protection provided for authors is of positive value but by providing them with endless monopoly rights is detrimental to the security of the good of the public.[16] It can be argued that there was once a balance in 1790, where the Congress passed the first copyright law that was available for 14 years and renewable for another 14 years for works they wanted. The enactment of the new law has caused the public domain to be eroded rather than enriched.[17] The increase in the duration has caused a reduction in the creativity and causes problems that are harmful to its own purpose and welfare. From the economic perspective, extended periods of copyright will bring about an increase costs to the consumers by the additional payment and the cost of collection.[18] It can also be argued that this extended periods for copyright are not necessary to protect the commercial exploitation of works as they are rapidly exploited, they may be sold to gain part of gain from part of the royalties. [19] The length of copyright terms has deprived the public of creative inspiration and puts the public at a loss, which is the opposite of a motivation for further creation. With the situation in the UK it has become clear that the long-lasting copyright is cannot work in favour of the public, which is its main objective. FAIR DEALINGS Since the introduction of Copyrights Act in 1911, there have been different statutory defences that have been existing in relation to copyright infringement, and fair dealing is the most important of them all. Fair dealing in the UK is similar to the Fair use in USA. Fair dealings have been recognised by case law prior to the 1911 Act, which tries to strike a balance between the interest of the right holder and interest of the user for encouragement of innovation and creativity. This was supported in the Governments Green Paper which stated that: These exceptions are of obvious importance in that they seek to establish a proper balance between the legitimate interests of copyright owners and the legitimate desires of users of copyright material. [20] It covers three main areas which include private study and research, review and criticism and news reporting. Fair dealings for research and private study can be found in s29 of the Act. If the relevant conditions are met there will be no infringement of copyright for the purpose of research. The rule fair dealing also applies to dramatic, literary, musical or artistic works for research purposes but there must be no commercial benefit from it. An example of this is the case of Green Amps, where the High Court decided that there was a breach of the non- commercial restriction when copying took place in a non-commercial research which the end-product was a commercial product.[21] Fair dealings for criticism gives permission to the use of the work of others for criticising and reviewing work as long sufficient acknowledgement is given. The work must be published through an authorised act for this defence to apply. Fair dealings for the purpose of reporting current events applies to all works apart from photographs The term fairness does not have any defined meaning and it must be defined by the court. To determine fairness the court has a set of tests which it uses. There are 3 main factors for this test but they are not fixed.[22] The first is if the fair dealing is commercially competing with the authors exploitation of his work. The second factor is whether the work has been published to the public in some form, but still leaves the possibility of fair dealings with unpublished works. The third factor is the amount and the level of importance of the work that has been taken. It indicates that work should not be taken beyond what is reasonable or appropriate.[23] Other relevant factors have been set out in the case of Fraser-Woodward by Mann J, which list the factors above and others of relevance like the intended use of the work, whether the work has unreasonably prejudiced the interest of the author.[24] The UK law on fair dealings is often criticised as being inflexible, restrictive and impedes innovation and undermining its primary purpose of facilitating creation and the exchange of new works. On several occasions, it has been directly compared with the Fair use system adopted in US. The fair use has been described to be a flexible system, although it may have its disadvantages one of which is the uncertainty in the law,[25] it can still be argued to be a better system than that in the UK. The test for fair use in the US includes, first the purpose and character of use, the nature of the copyright work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used and the last relevant factor is the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.[26] The system in the US is more flexible and it is more of a general defence than the fair dealings as it gives the court the opportunity give room for new exceptions or the modification of existing ones as we conti nue to experience development in technology.[27] In a system with an open-ended defence there is less need to worry about the changes that might occur in the future as the flexibility of the law is enough to adapt to changes. The current state of fair dealing can also be seen to restrict the development of scholarly works. The British Library commissioned a paper that criticised UKs copyright law saying it has to be redefined as it brings about difficulty in licencing works, as permission is needed from the right holder.[28] If the source cannot be found, the work cannot be used and this reduces the quality of research.ÂÂ   The law regarding fair dealing are not in line with the interest of the users and the creatives. They are illegitimate and they restrict innovation. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the area of law which copyright should cover is forever increasing, so the legislative body of the law must stay in tune with these changes and it is left with the task to strike a balance between the interest rights holder and the encouragement of innovation and creativity. The scope of copyright law is very broad and almost any right material could fall under this therefore making it difficult to control and strike a balance in the law. The imbalance in the law will hinder the encouragement of creativity and will have an effect on economic development. The duration of the copyright has been an issue and will always be. Its excessive length is an interruption to the process of creativity and innovation. Although it has a long list of problems it still has not found a reason to start rethinking alternatives. The fair dealing is another important area of copyright law and in the UK, it is very rigid compared to that of the US and it does not cover works that may come about in the future. There might need to be a reform in this area of the law. The law in UK has been making a conscious effort to strike a balance between the interest of the shareholders and the encouragement of creation and innovation of the public but it is argued here to be inadequate. BIBLIOGRAPHY Calum Docherty, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Reforming Fair Dealing in English Copyright Law, Law School GDL Christopher John Adduono, Rebalancing Copyright Law [2015], Faculty of Business and Law, 1-355 Duke, Copyright Should Fair Dealing be replaced by Fair Use? 2011 Eva Garmpi, Alternatives to Copyright [2006] KLS LLM Gillian Davies, Copyright and the Public Interest [1997] Hua, J. J. (2013). Toward a more balanced approach: rethinking and readjusting copyright systems in the digital network era. Chapter 2 Laddie, Justice, Copyright: over-strength, over-regulated, over-rated? E.I.P.R. 1996, 18(5), 253-260 Professor Ian Hargreaves, Digital Opportunity, A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth [2011] CASES Donaldson v Beckett [1774] 4 Burr. 2408 Elanco Products ltd v Mandops (Agrochemical Specialist) Ltd [1979] FSR 46 Fraser-Woodward Ltd v BBC [2005] EWHC 472 (Ch), [2005] 28(6) IPD 11 Green Amps [2007] EWHC 2755 (Ch) [21]-[23] PCR Ltd v Dow Jones Telerate Ltd [1998] EMLR 407, [1998] FSR 170 [1] Laddie, Justice, Copyright: over-strength, over-regulated, over-rated? E.I.P.R. 1996, 18(5) [2] Ibid. [3] Hua, J. J. (2013). Toward a more balanced approach: rethinking and readjusting copyright systems in the digital network era. Chapter 2 [4] Donaldson v. Beckett [1774] 4 Burr. 2408 [5] Christopher John Adduono,2015, Rebalancing Copyright Law, University of Southampton Faculty of Business and Law, pp. 1 [6] Eva Garmpi, Alternatives to Copyright [2006] KLS LLM [7] Ibid. [8] Elanco Products ltd v Mandops (Agrochemical Specialist) Ltd [1979] FSR 46 [9] Hua, J. J. (2013). Toward a more balanced approach: rethinking and readjusting copyright systems in the digital network era. Chapter 2 [10] Donaldson v Beckett [1774] 4 Burr. 2408 [11] Hua, J. J. (2013). [12] Professor Ian Hargreaves, Digital Opportunity, A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth [2011] [13] Ibid. [14] Davies G, Copyright and the Public Interest (VCH, 1994), Page 194 [15] ibid, page 198 [16] Eva Garmpi, (2006) Alternatives to Copyright, KLS LLM Dissertation [17] ibid, page 12 [18] Professor Ian Hargreaves 2011, Digital Opportunity A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth [19] Eva Garmpi, (2006) Alternatives to Copyright, KLS LLM p.11 [20] Gillian Davies, Copyright and the Public Interest [1997] [21] [2007] EWHC 2755 (Ch) [21]-[23] [22] Duke, Copyright Should Fair Dealing be replaced by Fair Use? 2011 [23] PCR Ltd v Dow Jones Telerate Ltd [1998] EMLR 407, [1998] FSR 170 [24] Fraser-Woodward Ltd v BBC [2005] EWHC 472 (Ch), [2005] 28(6) IPD 11 [25] Duke, Copyright Should Fair Dealing be replaced by Fair Use? [26] Laddie, Justice, Copyright: over-strength, over-regulated, over-rated? [27] Ibid. [28] Calum Docherty, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Reforming Fair Dealing in English Copyright Law, Law School GDL

Personal Plan To Get Out Of Debt English Language Essay

Personal Plan To Get Out Of Debt English Language Essay Summary: Based on the concepts of awareness, anticipation and action, my get out-of-debt plan is aimed at individuals who face financial difficulties and seem to be accumulating more debt instead of taking control of their finances. As a financial adviser, I highly value financial independence. Particularly, after the recent credit crisis that hit the economy forcing many firms out of business and millions of households into poverty, I consider financial freedom as a means to future success. Personally, I carry a debt of $7,500 in credit cards, a student loan of $2,000 and a car loan of $1,500. I pay monthly installments of $1,300 for this $11,000, and according to my amortization table I will be able to completely pay off my debt after 15 years. To get an idea of how an amortization table should look like, click here. The three As of My Get Out-Of Debt Plan To improve my financial situation within 2011, I have crafted a get out-of-debt plan that is aimed at individuals who face financial difficulties and seem to be accumulating more debt instead of taking control of their finances. If you are getting deeper into debt, have a look at my suggestions below. Maybe they can help you get your finances back on track again. My get out-of-debt plan is based on three concepts: awareness, anticipation and action. In the context of personal finance, these concepts are highly valued because they can offer guidance and financial stability in the long run. Awareness Some people complain about how they cannot get out of debt although they dont know how much their debt is. It is impossible to take control of your financial situation if you are not aware of it. List all your debt including credit cards, car loans, student loans, personal loans, and medical bills and sum them up including decimals for accuracy. Keep in mind that when adding many numbers decimals can generate a completely new figure, which will then be used in another arithmetic operation and produce an entirely wrong figure. At the end of the day, the picture you will have for your financial situation will be mistaken. Therefore, it is critical that your debt figures are 100% accurate. Other important steps in this stage include: Creating a debt allocation table After you have listed and summed up all your sources of debt create a debt allocation table to see how your debt is allocated in different sources, where you owe more and what the interest rate for each debt is. Your table can have three columns named Debt, Amount Owed and Interest Rate. In column Debt include each source of debt you have. If you have three credit cards, include each credit card in a separate line because your cumulative credit card debt may be $20,000, but each credit card has different interest rate and different terms of payment. In column Amount Owed include the correspondent amount in each source of debt. In column Interest Rate include the correspondent interest rate to each source of debt. To get an idea of how your debt allocation table should look like when completed, click here. With a grand total of $32,100 you need to 1) religiously stick to your monthly payments; 2) try to make more than the minimum credit card payments. I will explain more in the Action section. Creating a budget To create a successful budget you need to analyze your financial situation honestly and realistically. Figure out how much you earn on an annual basis and make sure to include all sources of income. It is critical to know exactly how much money you make because this is the money you can afford to spend. Then, include all sources of expenses in order to know how much money you spend on fixed expenses including rent or mortgage, gas, utilities, and insurance and adjust your variable expenses accordingly by spending less on groceries, entertainment or personal care. Make sure that your budget is realistic, accurate and flexible. By keeping a realistic budget you can cover your expenses, but most importantly, save money on a regular basis. Besides, an accurate budget gives you the freedom to enjoy your life without being deprived because you know you can really afford these purchases without putting your financial future at stake. Finally, a flexible budget enables you to make well-informed decisions about your finances. Anticipation Being able to anticipate sudden expenses allows you to stay within your budget. To achieve that, you have to be able to save as much money as possible. This might require some drastic changes in your lifestyle, but it will certainly help you become financially independent. Some important steps in this stage include: Controlling household spending If you dont control your household spending, not only you accumulate more debt, but you ultimately hurt the economy that cannot burden such high levels of consumer spending. You can control your grocery shopping by planning your meals, making a grocery list and stick to it, buy in bulk, keep food in your freezer, stock up non-perishable items, and use coupons. Besides, you can lower your energy bill by controlling your thermostat, using energy efficient appliances and bulbs and installing insulation. You can also use the envelope system to manage your cash. Identify your spending categories including groceries, gas, utilities, insurance etc., create an envelope for each category and allocate the proper weekly or monthly amount of cash to each. Once your balance is zero and the envelope is empty, you cannot spend anymore. Soon, you will spend only when you have to, cutting back on unnecessary spending. Set up an emergency fund By setting up an emergency fund you achieve two things at once: 1) you avoid borrowing from your IRA or liquidating your 401k, meaning you ultimately avoid taxation and 10 percent penalty and 2) you avoid borrowing from your already overcharged credit cards. It is tempting and possibly convenient to charge your credit card for a financial emergency, but the truth of the matter is that the infinite spiral of credit card charging accumulates more debt. Set three to six months worth of your living expenses aside in an emergency fund to cover up for a sudden job loss or a huge medical bill. Also, make sure to keep your emergency fund in a money market account (MMA), a regular interest-paying checking account or a certificate of deposit (CD). All these options allow you to withdraw money, with or without penalty, and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Action It took me quite sometime to take action on managing my debt mostly because I didnt exactly know what to do. Although my debt is not as high as in the example used in the debt allocation table, still I need 15 years to pay off my debt, which is a lot of time. Here are some suggestions to pay off your debt faster: Rather than paying off the low interest rate car loan first, it is wiser to pay off the credit card debt that has a higher interest rate. To do that, you have to make more than the minimum credit card payments. If the minimum payment is $80 then make an effort to pay at least $90. You probably wont notice the extra $10 but it will go directly onto your principal and reduce your debt even faster. If you have three credit cards, it would be $30 extra payment, but the difference you will see in your total balance will be worth the effort. If you cannot do it at once for all your credit cards, start by paying off the smallest bill. The extra money that you will have from the paid off credit card can be used towards paying off the next smallest credit card bill. By paying more money than the minimum installments, you will lower your principal (original amount borrowed) at a faster rate. Consequently, the total annual amount paid interest will be reduced at a faster rate. You can also quit using your credit cards and start using cash. By using cash for your transactions 1) you can control your finances because you know at any given time how much money you spend and how much money you have left in your wallet; 2) you dont incur any hidden fees or over-the-limit charges, no billing mistakes or overcharges on your bank account; and 3) you can get discount for paying in cash. On the contrary, credit card debt builds up exponentially and interest rates can head up really quickly. Moreover, by charging smalls amounts of money to your credit card you add to your credit card bill and you lose track of your spending. My Get Out-Of Debt Plan May Not Work For Your Situation Each situation is unique and even if you carry the same amount of debt, it doesnt mean that my get out-of-debt plan will certainly work for your case. However, I firmly believe that it can work as a guide to walk you through some vital steps that you need to take in order to understand exactly where you are today and most importantly, where you want to be in a few years from now. Regardless if you follow my suggestions, or if you choose to follow some other solution, be disciplined. This is perhaps the most important step you need to take. By focusing on your financial independence you are more likely to achieve it. Without discipline, even the best financial plan will fail because every little amount of money you will be saving it will be spent towards non-essential purchases. Every day we make decisions about money. And these decisions have a smaller or a greater impact on the quality of our lives. Being financially independent means different things to different people. To me, it means security, and the strength to take a step closer to my lifetime dreams. The steps to financial freedom may not give me immediate happiness, but they give me choice. Sources: http://getoutofdebt.org/1712/a-12-step-plan-to-get-out-of-debt-fast http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/credit-cards-credit-card-debt/2442-1.html http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/money-market-accounts.htm http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/checkingaccount.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/certificateofdeposit.asp http://www.fdic.gov/ More from this contributor How to Choose a Debt Relief Program How to Survive a Bankruptcy Filing What to Do when You Cant Pay Your Taxes

Building A Radio Empire :: essays research papers fc

"Media do not simply present cultural products for consumption; they provide much of the stuff of every day life through which we construct meaning and organize our existence."--Michael R. Real, Super Media DEFINING MOMENTS IN MASS MEDIA Newspapers. Media began with the written word . . . To date, the oldest existing written document dates back to 2200 B.C. By 500 B.C. Persia had developed a form of pony express and the Greeks had a  ¡Ã‚ §telegraph ¡Ã‚ ¨ system consisting of trumpets, drums, shouting, beacon fires, smoke signals, and mirrors; transmitting a form of communication to the masses. In 200 B.C. the Chinese circulated the first  ¡Ã‚ §newspaper, ¡Ã‚ ¨ the Tipao gazette, to government officials. Newsletters began circulating in Europe by 1450. Over 150 years later, in 1609, the first regularly published newspaper was circulated in Germany. Advertising began to shape the media industry by 1631 with the first classified ads featured in a French newspaper. And, in 1833 a New York newspaper was sold for one penny, enabling this media to reach a mass market. Radio. At first there was the print, and then there was sound . . . In 1821 an English man named Wheatstone reproduced sound. However, the future of radio didn ¡Ã‚ ¦t really begin until 1890 when Branly transmitted the first radio waves in France. In 1901 the American Marconi Company, the forerunner of RCA, sent radio signals across the Atlantic. And five years later,  ¡Ã‚ §a program of voice and music was broadcast in the United States. ¡Ã‚ ¨ In 1907 DeForest began a regular radio broadcast featuring music. In 1909 the first talk-radio format, covering women ¡Ã‚ ¦s suffrage, was broadcast. And in 1912, the United States Congress passed a law to regulate radio stations. In 1917 the first radio station, KDKA, was built; and in 1920 the first scheduled programs on KDKA were broadcast. The going rate for ten minutes of commercial airtime was $100. By 1924, the first sponsored radio program, The Eveready Hour, began. In that same year there were two and a half million radio sets in the United States. The 1930 ¡Ã‚ ¦s are characterized as the  ¡Ã‚ §Golden Age ¡Ã‚ ¨ of radio. In 1929 automobile manufacturers began installing radios in cars. In 1933 Armstrong discovered FM waves. And in 1934, the government passed the Communications Act, creating the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In that same year, half of all American homes had at least one radio set. In 1935 A.C.

Uranium/ special nuclear material :: essays research papers fc

SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIA L "Special nuclear material" (SNM) is defined by Title I of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as plutonium, uranium-233, or uranium enriched in the isotopes uranium-233 or uranium-235. In 1789, Uranium was discovered in the mineral called pitchblende, by a German chemist named Martin Klaproth. It was named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years earlier. Uranium-233 and plutonium are formed in nuclear reactors because they do not occur naturally. It has to be taken from highly radioactive spent fuel by chemical separation. Uranium-233 can be produced in special reactors that use thorium as fuel. Only small quantities of uranium-233 have ever been made in the United States. No U.S. commercial plutonium reprocessing plant is currently licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for operation. Uranium enriched in uranium-235 is created by an enrichment facility. The NRC regulates two gaseous diffusion enrichment plants operated by the U.S. Enrichment Co rporation. The gaseous diffusion process is the current method used by the United States to enrich uranium. There are two gaseous diffusion plants in the United States. One is located in Portsmouth, Ohio but was shut down in March 2001, and the other is in Paducah, Kentucky. This plant has produced enriched uranium continuously since November 1952. It is operated by the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) which was created as a government corporation under the Energy Act of 1992 and privatized by legislation in 1996 Natural uranium contains 99% U238 and only about 0.7% U235 by weight. Gaseous Diffusion The uranium enriched in uranium-235 is required in commercial light water reactors to produce a controlled nuclear reaction. Gaseous diffusion is one way to enrich uranium. The gas separates by slowly flowing through small holes. (molecular effusion) In a vessel containing a mixture of two gases, molecules of the gas with lower molecular weight travel faster and strike the walls of the vessel more frequently. The walls of the vessel can be penetrated, so more of the lighter molecules flow through the barrier than the heavier molecules. The gas that escapes the vessel is enriched in the lighter isotope. One barrier isn’t enough to do the job, though. It takes many hundreds of barriers, one after the other, before the UF6 gas contains enough uranium-235 to be used in reactors. At the end of the process, the enriched UF6 gas is withdrawn from the pipelines and condensed back into a liquid that is poured into containers.

Kant Political Leader :: essays research papers

Kant held that nothing was good in itself except good will. In other words, no action, in and of itself, was either wrong or right. Only the motive of the actor lent the action its morality. If a person acted out of a vested interest (because of a possible consequence) then the act was non-moral—it had no moral implications whatsoever. But, if a person acted because she thought she was doing the right thing, then she was acting out of good will and the act was a moral act. In Kant’s view, actions have true moral worth only when they spring from a recognition of a duty and a choice to discharge it. For example, using Kantian logic, an advertiser who avoided untruthful advertising because he was afraid of getting caught and fined would not necessarily be acting morally. However, if the advertiser recognized a duty to his constituents to tell the truth, and that is the reason he didn't lie, then the act would be a moral act. Kant defined good will as the uniquely human capacity to act according to one's principles, not out of an expectation of potential consequences. In fact, Kant had learned through the writings of the Italian philosopher and royal counselor, Niccolo Machiavelli, that basing decisions solely on likely consequences could excuse any action, even the most abhorrent. In his famous treatise, The Prince, Machiavelli had proposed that any action taken by a monarch should be based on an assessment of the best outcome for the monarch himself. Under this guideline (which is also known as egoism), actions such as murder could be excused if they are in the best interest of the person making the decision. Like other Enlightenment theorists, Kant believed that human beings were endowed with the ability to reason, and reasoning would logically lead to an understanding of how to construct moral rules to live by. Rational beings would, then, logically abide by the rules they set for themselves. In this, he was in accord with the social contractarians. Rules arrived at in this manner would also become morally obligatory, and Kant saw obligation (or duty) as the overriding determinant of morality. He believed that we would recognize our duty when we saw it because we could reason, and reason would lead us logically to recognition. For Kant, there were two obvious types of duties: perfect duties and imperfect duties.

Essay on Human Nature and The Canterbury Tales -- Canterbury Tales Ess

Human Nature and The Canterbury Tales  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   When Geoffrey Chaucer undertook the writing of The Canterbury Tales, he had a long road ahead of him. He intended to tell two stories from each of thirty pilgrims on the way to Canterbury, and then two more from each pilgrim on the way back from Canterbury. Of these, he completed only twenty-four. However, in these tales, Chaucer depicts both the pilgrims and their stories with striking realism. In "The Nun's Priest's Tale," "The Canon's Yeoman's Tale," "The Friar's Tale," "The Reeve's Tale," and "The Cleric's Tale," Chaucer demonstrates his remarkable insight into human nature. By comparing and contrasting these tales, one can see the universality of human nature as shown by Chaucer. One human trait apparent in these selections is greed. Avarice drives the hearts of many men, whether they may be a common miller or a summoner or a supposedly religious canon, and Chaucer was aware of this. In the tales which contain these three characters, Chaucer depicts the greed of these characters. The Reeve tells his fellow pilgrims in his tale of a miller who "was a thief ... of corn and meal, and sly at that; his habit was to steal" (Chaucer 125). The summoner in "The Friar's Tale" "drew large profits to himself thereby," and as the devil observes of him in this tale, "You're out for wealth, acquired no matter how" (Chaucer 312, 315). The canon in Part 1 of "The Canon's Yeoman's Tale," as well as the Yeoman himself, had been driven by the goal of converting base metals into gold, and "though we never realized the wished conclusion we still went on raving in our illusion" (Chaucer 478). The second canon of which the Yeoman speaks is many times worse than his own canon and mas ter, using h... .... Works Cited Balliet, Gay L. "The Wife in Chaucer's Reeves's Tale: Siren of Sweet Vengeance." English Language Notes 28.1 (1990): 1-5. Baylor, Jeffrey. "The Failure of the Intellect in Chaucer's Reeve's Tale." English Language Notes 28.1 (1990): 17-19. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Trans. Nevill Coghill. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1960. Dictionary of Literary Biography: Old and Middle English. Ed. Jeffrey Helteman and Jerome Mitchell. Detroit: Sale Research, Inc., 1994. Edden, Valerie. "Sacred and Secular in the Clerk's Tale." The Chaucer Review 26.4 (1992): 369-376. Fehrenbacher, Richard W. "'A Yeerd Enclosed Al About': Literature and History in the Nun's Priest's Tale." The Chaucer Review 29.2 (1994): 134-148. Whittock, Trevor. A Reading of The Canterbury Tales. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1970.      

Pros and Cons of India’s vote in the US sponsored UNHRC Resolution against Sri Lanka.

India finally has taken a stand and voted for the US sponsored resolution at the United Nations top Human Rights Body (UNHRC). Every decision taken has its own value. So let us take a look at the Pros and Cons of India’s vote in the UNHRC Resolution against Sri Lanka along with some viable alternatives. The important positive aspect of the voting in favour of the resolution is that, the Government of India has finally proved that India stands alongside the Sri Lankan Tamils and they will be ‘there’ for the benefit of the people. It is a welcome stand by the Government, even though it happened after a tough political lobbying between the regional parties of Tamil Nadu. It also shows that India acts in its own show its commitment to shun violence against the unarmed civilians and for their rehabilitation. As the whole Tamil Community people were looking forward for India to act, the GoI (Government of India) did the right thing to garner their support. It may also put an end to the Zigzag diplomacy followed by the Rajapaksha’s Government (Giving a Commitment when Foreign minister of India reaches in Sri Lanka due to pressure from the Tamil Nadu politicians and when he boards the flight, commitment will be in dustbin). May be there is a minute possibility of taking Rajapaksha’s Government to the ICC (International Criminal Court) for the war crime. But what is the resolution in the UNHRC really intends to do to the Sri Lankan Government. To be frank it achieves nothing, rather it HUMILIATES Sri Lanka in the World Political Scenario. The Humiliation is thought to do wonders in the country, which has been proven wrong many a number of times (There are more than 200 resolutions passed against Israel for its action against Palestine, though no solution have been found). The resolution draft which has not been released officially by the UNHRC, is intended to contain only recommending the Government to act according to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), with the coordination and active support of the member States of the UNHRC (affecting the sovereignty of the country, like eg: USA dictating India how to control Naxalism and monitoring every move made by the State forces). As India had voted in favour of the US sponsored UNHRC resolution, the whole geographical hegemony is shifting underneath India. With this vote GoI has deliberately distanced itself from Sri Lanka in the International Scenario, since Sri Lanka has always been toeing India in all major International organization, this action might ignite their passion to pursue their own interest or lean towards the ever growing Dragon Warrior (China). A mutual distrust will be created between the GoI and the Government of Sri Lanka (Even though the severity of the resolution has been diluted with active intervention of India). The Big Brother attitude of India in the South Asian region journeys in the downward swirl. India had always maintained a stature of Non Aligned Country and look to avoid any involvement in the internal affairs of other countries, but this voting pattern has severely dented that image which was carved and niched by Foreign Affairs expert Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It leads to the questioning of the India’s commitment to the NAM (Non Aligned Movement), SAARC and other regional organizations, who look upon India as a key player in the region. China has been provided with a golden opportunity to strengthen its â€Å"String of Pearls† strategy in Sri Lanka (eg: Habantota port developed by Chinese firms) (encircling India on all the sides diplomatically and strategically). The other important aspect is that the Tamilans in the Sri Lanka are now being portrayed as Enemy of the State (due to the humiliation of the country in the world arena) by the Sinhalese people, which will lead to the increase in the rift between the various communities, rather than improving their co existence and starting of the reconstruction of the nation. Even though India had taken a stand in the issue, GoI must actively participate in the rehabilitation of the Sri Lankan Tamil People with a â€Å"Solution oriented approach†. India has already provided a helping hand in the clearing of the Land mines in the Battle field, along with the building of the houses for the Tamil People. Infrastructure development projects (railways) are being mooted in the war torn areas (Even though the essential supplies sent from India is being rotten in the godowns in Sri Lanka). India must make a dedicated approach towards the Tamil Eelam issue, rather than succumbing to the pressures of the regional parties. Since India is a heavyweight in SAARC and NAM, diplomatic channels can be opened in coherence with these regional organizations to look into the rehabilitation of Tamil people in the Tamil Eelam region. It will provide a more conducive environment to the Government of Sri Lanka & the people, rather than being dictated by the high handedness of the Police of the World (USA). People are the pillars of the democracy, so the people to people contact between the various communities in Sri Lanka must be encouraged. Rajapaksha’s government must give in to the demand of the 13th amendment plus plea. This would provide the suitable platform for bringing in a federal structure in the country (dissolution of the power to the Chief Ministers as in the case of India), which is in the best interest of all the stakeholders or communities. Effective steps must be taken against the offenders who were responsible for the atrocities, set loose upon the unarmed civilians and they must be punished according to the rule of law. The one question which will always linger in the mooting of the resolution is the active role played by the USA, which dramatizes them as the champion of the Human Rights (Literally). The answer will be real simple that Uncle Sam was unable to place a firm foot in the Island nation, while the Government of Sri Lanka were fostering and nurturing their relations with countries which have been hostile with USA (Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, etc). This prompted USA to bring the Island nation to bring in order along with its favour, which has severely backfired the USA policy (the strong anti – American mood within the people). This incident outlines the incompetence in assuring that India would become a world power in the near future. If the Human Rights violation in the Sri Lanka had been taken seriously by the Government of India and intended to take action against the lax nature of the action proceeding against the offenders, GoI should have sponsored the resolution rather than backing a resolution which is sponsored by a nation which is totally alien to the Island nation, the responsibility holds up on the shoulders of India due to its geographical, ethnical, cultural and economic proximity to the country. War, would always leave a undeniable scare in the mind of the people along with the sorrows and despair, the Citizens of Sri Lankan have long been made the pawns due to the bad decision making at the time of Independence in the Island nation. Time is always a good healer. The War now over, the hatred sowed in the minds of the different communities must be weeded out and a mutual trust must be incorporated in the minds of the people, with whatever solution available. The International community must look in to the long term prospect of the building the nation to its zenith rather than involving in petty politics and gaining fame. Government of Sri Lanka must aptly remember that â€Å"United is Strength, Divided is to Fail†. Therefore the State must take any possible measure to unite the various communities in the country, even when it is to compromise on some basic ideals. Since ultimately it is for the people the Government is formed as â€Å"Democracy†.