Epithelial Tissue Observations Essay Example

Epithelial Tissue Observations Essay Data Table 1 – Epithelial Tissue Observations TISSUE TYPE OBSERVATIONS Simple Squamoussingle layer, flattened cells Simple Cuboidalsingle layered, cube shaped cells Simple Columnar (stomach)single layered, elongated cells Simple Columnar (duodenum)long columns in â€Å"S† shapes Stratified Squamous (keratinized)many layers, top cells flattened Stratified Squamous (non-keratinized)flat long strands with nucleus Pseudostratified Ciliated Columnarcells together in a column structure, single layer, elongated cells Transitionalmany layers of cube shaped and elongated cells We will write a custom essay sample on Epithelial Tissue Observations specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Epithelial Tissue Observations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Epithelial Tissue Observations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Stratified Cuboidal (online)2-3 layers, cube shaped cells Stratified Columnar (online)top layer of elongated cells, lower layers of cubed shaped cells Questions A. Why is the study of histology important in the overall understanding of anatomy and physiology?Histology allows us to examine the structure and composition of all our tissues B. How are epithelial tissues named? They are categorized by the size and shapes of their cells C. Why are some epithelial tissues stratified? It’s because the stratified epithelial tissue is multilayered, as opposed to the monolayered simple epithelial tissue. D. Unlike squamous cells, cuboidal and columnar cells have large, open cytoplasm. Which functions of epithelial tissue are supported by having such big cells? The large round cells allow it to slide or move past each other. It also allows the tissue to stretch . Questions A. What is the primary function of connective tissue? It connects the epithelium to the rest of the body. It also provides structure (bone), stores energy (fat), and transports material (blood). B. What can the shape of the cells in a particular type of tissue tell about the function of that tissue? Epithelial tissue comes in different shapes and sizes, for example there is ciliated epithelial tissue, which has cilia that helps it move objects around. This kind of tissue can be found in the respiratory tract, where it sweeps to clean dust and germs trapped in mucus. Other epithelial tissues such as stratified squamous epithelial tissue is found in areas prone to abrasion because its structure is irregular and can prevent cuts and scrapes. C. What is matrix? Why do some tissues have more matrix than others? Matrix is the extracellular fibers and ground substance of a connective tissue. Some tissues have more matrix because the cells fibers are not as tightly packed. D. What do collagen fibers provide? Collagen is strong and flexible and resists force in one direction. It is stronger than steel when pulled. Ligaments and tendons are collagen fibers. E. Tendons, ligaments and cartilage have limited blood supply. Explain how this might affect the ability of these tissues to heal after an injury. If there is limited blood supply it means the nutrients and supplies to heal an injury in this area are not that readily available. 5. Repeat the above steps 2 through 4 for the smooth and cardiac muscle slides. Questions A. What kind of muscle would you find in your stomach? Smooth muscle tissue B. How is smooth muscle structure different from that of skeletal and cardiac muscle? Smooth muscle can contract on their own. Smooth muscle tissue has no striations. C. Why do we say that skeletal muscle is voluntary? Skeletal fiber muscle do not contract unless stimulated by nerves and the nervous system provides voluntary control over their activities. D. What  is unique about cardiac muscle? These muscles are involuntary striated muscle which are only found in the wall of the heart. This is specialized muscle that can contract, cardiac muscle, like other muscles, can contract, but it can also carry an action potential (i.e. conduct electricity) like the neurons that constitute nerves. Furthermore, some of the cells have the ability to generate an action potential, known as cardiac muscle automaticity. Questions A. What is the function of nervous tissue? Nervous tissue conducts electrical impulses. It also rapidly sense internal and external environment . they process information and control responses. B. Why are the cell bodies of neurons elongated into cell processes? Neurons are elongated because they need to transfer a signal from the periphery to the center. C. If all nerves respond to stimuli why cant your eyes hear sound and your ears see light? All that any nerve can do when simulated if fire off electrical impulses. It’s how the brain interprets the impulses that cause us to perceive light or sound. D. How is a nerve different from a neuron? Neurons are specialized for intercellular communication through changes in membrane potential and synaptic connections. Nerves refer to a structure made up of many neurons. Conclusions Explain the purpose of these exercises and why studying histology is important to your understanding of how the human body functions. The purpose of the exercise and studying histology is important to know because it gives us a better understanding of the branch of anatomy concerned with the study of the microscopic structures in our bodies.

Commonly Confused Word Pairs in English

Commonly Confused Word Pairs in English Here, from our Glossary of Commonly Confused Words, are 20 tricky word pairs that look and sound alike but have different meanings. (For examples and practice exercises, click on the highlighted words.) Advice and AdviseThe noun advice means guidance. The verb advise means to recommend or counsel.All Together and AltogetherThe phrase all together refers to people or things gathered in one place. The adverb altogether means entirely or wholly.Baited and BatedA hook, witness, or animal is baited (lured, enticed, tempted). Breath is bated (moderated).Cite and SiteThe verb cite means to mention or quote as an authority or example. The noun site means a particular place.Complement and ComplimentComplement means something that completes or brings to perfection. A compliment is an expression of praise.Discreet and DiscreteThe adjective discreet means tactful or prudent self-restraint. Discrete means distinct or separate.Eminent and ImminentThe adjective eminent means prominent or outstanding. Imminent means impending, about to occur.Flair and FlareThe noun flair means a talent or a distinctive quality or style. As a noun, flare means a fire or a blazing light. Similarly, the verb flare mea ns to burn with an unsteady flame or shine with a sudden light. Violence, troubles, tempers, and nostrils can flare. Formally and FormerlyThe adverb formally means in a formal way. The adverb formerly means at an earlier time.Hardy and HeartyThe adjective hardy (related to hard) means daring, courageous, and capable of surviving difficult conditions. The adjective hearty (related to heart) means showing warm and heartfelt affection or providing abundant nourishment.Ingenious and IngenuousThe adjective ingenious means extremely clevermarked by inventive skill and imagination. Ingenuous means straightforward, candid, without guile.Lightening and LightningThe noun lightening means making lighter in weight or changing to a lighter or brighter color. Lightning is the flash of light that accompanies thunder.Mantel and MantleThe noun mantel refers to a shelf above a fireplace. The noun mantle refers to a cloak or (usually figuratively) to royal robes of state as a symbol of authority or responsibility.Moot and MuteThe adjective moot refers to something that is debatable or of no practical importance. The adjective mute means unspoken or unable to speak. Prescribe and ProscribeThe verb prescribe means to establish, direct, or lay down as a rule. The verb proscribe means to ban, forbid, or condemn.Rational and RationaleThe adjective rational means having or exercising the ability to reason. The noun rationale refers to an explanation or basic reason.Shear and SheerThe verb shear means to cut or clip. Likewise, the noun shear refers to the act, process, or fact of cutting or clipping. The adjective sheer means fine, transparent, or complete. As an adverb, sheer means completely or altogether.Stationary and StationeryThe adjective stationary means remaining in one place. The noun stationery refers to writing materials. (Try associating the er in stationery with the er in letter and paper.)Track and TractAs a noun, track refers to a path, route, or course. The verb track means to travel, pursue, or follow. The noun tract refers to an expanse of land or water, a system of organs and tissues in the body, or a pamphlet containing a declarat ion or appeal. Whose and WhosWhose is the possessive form of who. Whos is the contraction of who is.

Human Resource Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resource Questions - Essay Example hor further asserts that communication also allows human resources to channel the problems that may be facing in their work environments (Smith, 2013). Minus proper communication frameworks, employers rarely understand what human resources require to feel comfortable in their working environments. At this point, labor unions provide a solution that may seem the best alternative to the human resources. Another significant strategy is providing human resources that are considerate to their need in the working environment. Fredericks (2014) is of the assumption that upon employment the perception of the employee on their organization is developed. For this reason, the terms of the employment contract may influence their decision to whether or not join a labor union. For instance, working hours stated in the contract should be reasonable. In an instance where an employee would be required to work for long hours, the compensation should be worth the requirements (Lim, 2012). With proper consideration of employee needs in creating employment contracts on matters such as payment, incentives, working hours and conditions minimize the probability of the human resources to later join labor unions (Lim, 2012). Negotiations between labor parties may be undertaken from different resolution alternatives. Employees may decide to strike to increase the willingness of the employer to address their needs (Maas, 2010). On the other hand, the employer may develop a more peaceful and non-weapon negotiation frameworks. For instance, mediation between conflicting parties and the use of arbitration to solve the problem (Maas, 2010). The mediation process involves creation of a proper communication framework between conflicting sides. Through proper communication a common ground between the conflicting parties may be found (Rahim, 2015). The process may be done by representatives from both parties. However, the process may have disadvantages. Firstly, the superior nature of one party

Manager should be considered a stakeholder Essay

Manager should be considered a stakeholder - Essay Example Thus, in 1984 Freeman offered a stakeholder theory, claiming that an organization can maximize its value only through common benefits of all the relevant persons and groups. Not only stockholders should complete control over a firm, while investors, employees and suppliers also take part and risks in creation of the business’s success. Stakeholder theory is based on doctrine of Fair Contracts, Feminist Standpoint Theory, and ecological principles. R. Edward Freeman shares his observations concerning business ethics, pointing out to the facts that: â€Å"organizations without a history of mutually accepted shared values tend to come apart during stress†, while â€Å"people in touch with core values can deal with change, ambiguity, stress, and tough times†. He also suggests that â€Å"people tend to avoid the ambiguous yet that is what tends to be the most rewarding† and that â€Å"individuals need organizational support to act morally† (Freeman 1984) . Freeman, Wicks, Parmar (2004) state that capitalism should be understood as â€Å"creating value for stakeholders† (p.366). At that â€Å"the goal of creating value for stakeholders is decidedly pro-shareholders†, while a manager creates shareholder value through creating qualitative products and services for customers, offering excellent jobs for employees, building favorable relationships with suppliers and competitors, and being a good citizen in the community. Finally, under such conditions an organization is not likely to have problems with governments. Creating stakeholder value managers are able to assume potential entrepreneurial risks. First of all, considering all the possible interests and stakeholders you avoid potential conflicts. Further, it is possible to cooperate with suppliers and customers to jointly test new products and services. Working in the name of increased profitability for the shareholders

Secret Intelligence Service and National Security Essay Example for Free

Secret Intelligence Service and National Security Essay The revolution in military affairs has given rise to powerful strategic tools such as effects based operations (EBO), mirrored by the concept of intelligence-led policing in law enforcement. Some advocates of intelligence change argue that the role of intelligence be expanded to provide the analytical power-house for ‘whole of government’ decision-making in relation not just to traditional threats, but also to this new range of threats—a kind of EBO for the whole of government. This article argues for a more limited view of intelligence and its role—one that recognises the inherently human, and hence secretive, quality of intelligence as a means for dealing with human-generated competition. A nation’s intelligence apparatus is only one small part of the wider machinery for delivering policy and executive action. Traditionally, the role of intelligence within this wider structure was to counter threat from some kind of human collective opposition—whether a country, a crime group or a terrorist organisation. Intelligence was regarded as a highly specific undertaking to give advantage over that threat in the form of knowledge, insight and predictive capacity. According to this model, advantage was sought over a human threat capable of learning and adapting. Intelligence therefore needed to be secret to deliver an advantage. To protect the ‘intelligence advantage’, countries also developed counter-intelligence organizations such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and MI5 and encoding and decoding organizations such as the US National Security Agency and the Australian Defence Signals Directorate. Today there is broad consensus that the threats we confront have expanded beyond the typical military or counter-intelligence threats of the past, especially those of the Cold War. This expanded range of threat falls into a major category and two sub-categories. The major category can be termed ‘non-conventional’ threats, ones that do not fall into the state-on-state category. They include environmental threats, threats of pandemic disease, terrorism and transnational crime. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 55 Security Challenges This broad category of non-conventional threat can be further divided between those threats of a human agency (terrorism, crime, people smuggling and trafficking) and those of a non-human agency (climate change and other types of environmental threat, natural disasters, pandemic disease). These two sub-categories are, however, closely linked, as demonstrated by Thomas Homer-Dixon and others. 1 They are linked in two ways. First, they are linked in the sense that so-called non-human agency threats such as climate change can give rise to instability. Instability can in turn give rise to many of the human generated conventional and non-conventional threats mentioned above. Second, threats like climate change are also linked with human agency in that they are often caused by human intervention. Changes in human behaviour are therefore necessary to remedy such threats. Even though these two sub-categories of threat are linked, they give rise to very different implications for the role of intelligence. On the one hand, the role of intelligence in countering human-related, nonconventional threat is relatively clear-cut and traditional. It includes counterterrorism, police intelligence, customs intelligence, coast watch intelligence and so on. All of these intelligence activities are characterised by the fact that they involve secret information that would be compromised if it were to leak out, and through its compromise would give the opposition (or threat) an intelligence advantage, or sacrifice the advantage enjoyed by the state. On the other hand, the non-conventional threats such as climate change, natural disasters or pandemic disease, entail no such secret, tightly held intelligence response. On the contrary, to counter such threats, especially in a liberal democracy like Australia, governments need to engage in a public dialogue with experts on the threat, whether those experts are scientists, journalists, medical or other experts operating in the public domain. This dialogue has to be public because the public needs to be taken along with the broad strategic changes required to deal with this type of threat. It also needs to be public and transparent because the scientific method is evidence based and depends on the capacity for peer review. Moreover, it is often difficult to achieve major changes in attitude to such threats in liberal democracies unless there is some kind of ‘tipping point’, either in terms of the concrete effects of the threat (catastrophic drought, for example, in the case of climate change) or public consensus on the science, or both. The concept of threat needs to be actualised right through the 1 Thomas Homer-Dixon and Jessica Blitt (eds), Ecoviolence: Links Among Environment, Population and Security, Lanham, MD, Bowman and Littlefield, 1998, ‘Introduction: A Theoretical Overview’. 56 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges community before radical behavioural change can occur. This is because the political system of liberal democracies is usually geared to the short-term advantage of governments according to the political cycle rather than the long-term advantage of the nation. In order to move beyond populist politics, the whole community needs to be aware of the circumstances and prepared to make sacrifices to deal with the threat. Indeed, it is well known by intelligence specialists that long-term assessments, while they may eventually prove accurate, are almost never acted upon by policy. For example, nearly twenty-five years ago a leading Australian intelligence assessment agency employed a scientist—the only person in the organization working on scientific issues at that time. The scientist predicted that overpopulation, scarcity of water and climate change would result in vast changes for the worse in the Middle East, South East Asia and South Asia, forcing major, economically induced out-migration. Such events, he assessed, would eventually challenge Australia’s security. Today such an assessment would be commonplace. But at the time, no action was taken. Although the mandate of the organization was to predict long-term change, the political system was not equipped to deal with uncertain judgements about what was then considered the ‘deep future’. Nor could a secret intelligence report enable governments to deal with such predictions through debate in the public domain. Further, since threats like climate change constitute threats to the ‘global commons’, by definition they can only be addressed by global cooperation rather than competition. A ‘beggar your neighbour’ approach will only lead the globe deeper into trouble. The implications for intelligence are significant. In terms of threats like climate change, pandemic disease and catastrophic economic change, intelligence ceases to concern itself with achieving an advantage over an enemy or competitor. So the question therefore arises: are secret intelligence agencies appropriate organizations to advise on such threats? Despite the intrinsic problems associated with the use of intelligence to analyse threats of this nature, increasingly, intelligence agencies are being coopted to advise on them. For example, we learn from the Sydney Morning Herald of 10 April 2007 that the Office of National Assessments (ONA) has been commissioned by the government to determine the security implications of climate change. We further learn from the ABC news on 23 May 2006, which describes the ONA Director General being quizzed by the Senate Estimates Committee, that ONA has received multiple taskings of this nature. But the public are prevented from accessing the outcome on the grounds that the ONA is an intelligence organization operating in the secret realm. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 57 Security Challenges True, the ONA is being asked to look at the security implications. But to do so, it would need to make a sound assessment of the nature and extent of climate change. No doubt the ONA now has a few scientifically trained people working on this and similar issues. But no doubt also, it will be locked in earnest consultation with the Commonwealth Science and Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) and similar agencies and institutions. And it will also be carefully perusing the reports of the International Panel on Climate Change. In other words, ONA is not, in itself, able to report on this issue. Its role is, rather, to organize, validate and valorize all the noise out in the public domain concerning the issue. The same evidently applies in the US. According to Anne Harrington, Director of the Committee of International Security in the National Academy of Science in Washington, If you get the intelligence community to apply some of its analytical capabilities to this issue [climate change], it could be compelling to whoever 2 is sitting in the White House. But why should the Central Intelligence Agency suddenly have authority on this issue when the world’s leading scientific specialists, who have spent lifetimes working on the issue, have been studiously ignored—and some even silenced—by the White House for the past seven years? All this leads us to ask what, exactly, should be the role of intelligence in the so-called ‘new security environment’? And how should intelligence fit in with other government structures to provide an analytical capacity in these areas? Intelligence and Its Purposes The narrower view of intelligence agencies suggested above—that is, organizations that deal fundamentally with human competition and therefore by nature exist in the secret domain—has not so far been widely accepted. The advent of non-conventional threat has generated considerable discussion in the ranks of those advocating intelligence reform. Various commentators have called for a broadening of the informational base of the traditionally tightly held intelligence agencies and a more ‘whole-ofgovernment’ approach. However, very little of this discussion has drawn the distinction between human-induced and non-human induced threat in relation to the role of intelligence. Nor has it distinguished between longterm threat to society and the ‘global commons’ caused by environmental issues and short-term threat generated by problems such as transnational crime and terrorism. 2 Tom Allard, Mark Forbes and agencies, ‘US braces for global warring’, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 April 2007. 58 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges That is not to say that reform is not necessary, but rather that we need to be very clear what role intelligence should play in dealing with such threats and also where it should fit in to the wider ‘machinery of government’. Nor is it to claim that intelligence has no role at all in these matters: one very important role is to assess the security implications of issues like climate change, in order to prepare the state to meet those potential threats. Such a position does not imply, moreover, that some broader reform of the machinery of government would not be advantageous. But in deciding on the nature of that reform, we need to ensure that the tail of intelligence reform does not wag the dog of machinery of government reform. Nor is it to say that a discussion of intelligence reform should be considered in isolation from a discussion of wider issues to do with the machinery of government. Intelligence obviously has to be fitted in with the machinery of government, and how it fits in is important. Rogers correctly argues that the â€Å"practice of strategic intelligence is at its best when it is in counterpoise with strategic thinking [on the part of decision-makers and policy makers]†. 3 It follows that correct structure in the machinery of government should facilitate the connectivity between intelligence and policy on the one hand, and the consequent practice of strategic thinking in policy development on the other. But the problem here is that those involved with structuring intelligence do not necessarily have a say in the structuring of the machinery of government. And in any case, in a liberal democratic, federal structure such as Australia’s, a considerable proportion of government process is dictated by relatively immutable conventions and constitutions. We should also note that this issue of where intelligence sits in organisational structures is relevant both within a particular organization that uses intelligence, and also within the wider structures of state as supported by intelligence. In one case intelligence is embedded within the agency, in the other, it is embedded within the machinery of government. These two types and uses of intelligence may require very different structural approaches. In the case of the latter (intelligence agencies embedded in the machinery of government) it is the role of intelligence agencies to draw intelligence up and enable it effectively to be used in national policy-making. The structures used to ‘draw intelligence up’ are entirely proper considerations of a paper such as this on intelligence. This issue of the drawing up of intelligence covers the question of how a peak agency such as the ONA can best garner the wide range of intelligence that is required in today’s expanded threat environment. This expanded 3 Kevin Rogers ‘Developments in Australian Strategic Criminal Intelligence’ in Ratcliffe (ed) Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence (Sydney: The Federation Press, 2004), p23. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 59 Security Challenges environment requires that the entire range of agencies producing intelligence be included—agencies such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Customs, Immigration, Coastwatch, Quarantine and the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). Structures to support this expanded role were discussed in an earlier paper by this author. But (alluding to the issues raised above), the expanded role for intelligence does not—or rather should not—include agencies such as the CSIRO, ABARE, the Productivity Commission, Geosciences Australia, the Department of Health, and so on. Unfortunately, this distinction is not always recognised or agreed in discussions about intelligence reform. For example, some have begun to questio n whether concepts like effects based operations (EBO), which in turn have been spawned by the new intelligence environment and new technologies, cannot be applied in a ‘whole-of-government’ way. According to this view, the three-way relationship between intelligence, policy and operations could be seen to apply across the spectrum of government decision-making, thus incorporating all departments of state and agencies in an endeavour to achieve a strategic outcome. Although such a project would be ambitious, ‘whole-of-government’ possibly can and should be made to function in a strategic sense. But it should be recognised that intelligence is not central to the process in the same way as it is central to EBO in a military setting or to intelligence-led policing in law enforcement. Indeed, in the author’s view, intelligence is a highly specific function to do with human competition and human enemies. It is not only inappropriate for wider use, but such use could be positively harmful in terms of the needed outcomes in government decision making in a democratic setting. Certainly, good strategic intelligence should be suggestive of courses of action, but only suggestive in the sense that the knowledge brought forward is suggestive. Intelligence can also comment on implications of actions when specifically asked to do so, but should not go the extra step of recommending options. It is not the role of intelligence to present analytical options to decision-makers in the same way as that is the role of a department of state or ministerial staff. The temptation to use intelligence agencies to support a strategic, ‘whole-ofgovernment’ approach is quite strong, however. Traditionally, intelligence agencies have been very close to the seat of power. Indeed, they were born Sandy Gordon, ‘Re-Shaping Australian Intelligence’, Security Challenges, vol. 1, no. 1 (November 2005), pp. 27-58. Brice Pacey, ‘National Effects-Based Approach: A Policy Discussion Paper’, Working Paper, no. 381, Canberra, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, 2003, passim. Pacey is not, however, arguing for a central role for intelligence in this enterprise. . 4 60 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges of a one-to-one relationship, in which the intelligence chief sat at the leader’s right hand. This was both to provide immediacy and preserve secrecy. The idea of a separation between intelligence and policy is a relatively recent one. The only separation that was once required was that between master and servant. The temptation to use intelligence agencies as analytical determinants of policy is even stronger in situations where there is no real alternative to the analytical powerhouses that some intelligence agencies can bring to bear. Moreover, governments that use intelligence agencies to consider politically sensitive issues like climate change have the added advantage of keeping such consideration outside the public domain and the scrutiny of oppositions. This is because once a matter is within the purview of intelligence, governments can claim they can ‘neither confirm or deny’ questions in respect of them. But as argued above, this is essentially a misuse of intelligence. Intelligence in National Strategic Decision-Making At the moment in Australia, national intelligence exists within a relatively tight framework of the Australian Intelligence Community (AIC), oversighted by a small and powerful group of departments and ministers, particularly Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC), Defence, Foreign Affairs and AttorneyGeneral’s Department. This tight structure is reinforced by the restricted membership of the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSCC) and the Secretaries’ Committee on National Security (SCONS), which proffers advice to the NSCC. It is a structure that in its essence was bequeathed by the Cold War, with minor modifications as a result of the Flood Report and other developments. As such, it was designed to deal with state-on-state threat and the threat of spying and political violence rather than the broader range of threats we now confront. Such a tight structure has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that the intelligence agencies of the AIC are well plugged in to the Canberra policy environment and have a nuanced appreciation of what the government wants to know. Equally, this tight structure allows for rapid, consensus decision-making when needed. Further, the agencies of the AIC, particularly the ONA, represent a collection of individuals capable of high-level strategic thinking. The disadvantages of such a tight system are well known. The 9/11 Commission and Butler report chronicled the distortion of the intelligence process to serve particular policy needs, or at least perceived needs. Given the tight inter-relationship between the government, key departments and intelligence agencies in Australia, such distortions are also possible here. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 61 Security Challenges The Butler committee report also emphasised the dangers of a filtration system such as the UK Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) standing between the judgements of experts and policy-making bodies. Some of the worst errors evident in the so-called ‘Dirty Dossier’ arose because the expertise in the Defence Intelligence Staff was filtered out or distorted, either as a result of a classic ‘broken telephone’ situation or through pre-judging the policy bias on the part of the JIC. In Australia, the system would be equally vulnerable should the findings of organizations like ABARE and the CSIRO be filtered through a small, nonexpert (in the disciplines involved) organization like the ONA. How suitable is the present Australian structure in light of the changes to the regional, global and technological environments? Before considering this important issue, let us consider the needs of a system designed effectively to operate in the new environment. x As discussed above, such a system would need to delineate a specific role for intelligence, one that relates to human-on-human competition, and that in turn necessitates a secret approach to intelligence. Such a system would also need to be capable of melding the intelligence product with product from other agencies working on issues that do not require secret intelligence and with other open sources. It would need to be flexible. That is, it would need the capacity to draw to a greater or lesser degree on a ‘whole-of-government’ approach for supporting information and judgment, depending on the urgency and nature of the threat and degree of secrecy needed. In other words, it would need to have the administrative means to ‘slide up and down the scale’ between a narrow, decision-making capacity at the top and a broad consensus model below, one that included information and analysis from a range of agencies, not only intelligence agencies but also economic and scientific agencies. In some instances, it would need to shape decisions for the longerterm. Yet it would also need to be capable of making adjustments in light of the evolving evidence. Such decisions would need to be maintained well outside the life span of a typical Australian Government. At times it would need to draw in two, or perhaps even three, levels of government, as already evident in the case of terrorism and pandemic threats such as SARS and ‘Bird Flu’. It would need to be well connected internationally in order to draw on available information and assessment. x x x x 62 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges x Above all, it would need a powerful apex analytical and organisational capacity containing a range of expertise in order to bring together diverse lines of information, identify real problems, set priorities between them and devise viable strategies to deal with those priorities. This role should not be undertaken by existing intelligence agencies, because their role should be confined to the analysis and dissemination of intelligence. To use them in the dual role of policy advice and intelligence analysis and dissemination would be unduly to compromise the intelligence role. How well does the present system meet the needs outlined above? In some respects, quite well. It basically consists of a tight core capable of being expanded to meet a broadening of threat, with the NSCC providing a sort of ‘inner cabinet’, surrounded by a tight supportive framework consisting of key departments, SCONS and the AIC. It is a highly functional arrangement for an environment requiring a high degree of secrecy and relatively rapid decision-making. Where the nature of threat broadens, for example in the case of climate change, the current system is capable of rapid expansion. Members of Cabinet, such as the environment minister, can be brought into the NSCC where necessary. The AFP Commissioner, CEO of Customs and others can also be inducted into the SCONS when necessary. Within PMC, the National Security Division (established in 2003) provides a potential analytical unit that is not confined to intelligence, but that can range over the available government and non-government agencies, given its location on the ‘commanding heights’ of PMC. The present system falls down in a number of respects, however. It is deficient in that certain information deemed intelligence in the narrower sense outlined above is still not fully drawn into the AIC information network and database (AICNET). Nor are the organizations generating this intelligence (such as the AFP, Customs and the ACC) included in the tight deliberative network at the apex of government decision-making, at least not on a day-today basis. These exclusions cause a deficit in knowledge and a nalysis of non-conventional, but human-induced, threat. This deficit was discussed in greater detail in an earlier paper. 6 6 Gordon, op cit. At the time of final preparation of this paper, the government has announced a new system of combining the databases of Customs, Immigration and ASIO. One might well ask why this is only being done now, six years after the events of 9/11? Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 63 Security Challenges x It is not capable of adopting strategic thinking across all levels of government in the federal structure—the so-called ‘EBO of governance’. Because of the requirements of the liberal democratic federal structure, however, this problem may not be amenable to an entirely satisfactory solution. Even given the restraints imposed by our political system, there is inadequate capacity at the top to analyse, identify and give priority order to threat. Although the National Security Division of PMC seems to be set up to undertake this role, according to Pacey, the division is still limited by coordination roles and the need to deal with immediate crises rather than provide long-term analysis. 7 In counter-terrorism, for example, the role of PMC is to provide a multi-government and multi-disciplinary platform. One suspects that this demanding role diminishes its capacity to deliver long-term policy advice. In the absence of an appropriate analytical unit outside the confines of intelligence, there currently seems to be a growing de facto move to recruit the ONA for this top-level analytical role, as discussed above. But, as also argued above, the ‘heavy lifting’ on matters like climate change should not be conducted by a secret intelligence organization at all, but through transparent, evidence-based techniques that are well tried and understood in scientific organizations. Moreover, to place an organization like the ONA at the apex of the policy advice structure is, at least in a de facto sense, to bring it directly into the policy-making apparatus—hitherto considered anathema for an intelligence organization. x x Therefore, if we accept the more limited role for intelligence advocated in this paper, we are left with a potential deficit in terms of an apex analytical unit— the intellectual powerhouse of ‘EBO of governance’. The main candidate for fulfilling such a role seems to be the National Security Division of PMC. And in fact, more and more of the capacity relating to security in areas requiring a multi-disciplinary approach is now located in PMC. This includes terrorism, energy security, pandemic disease, nuclear energy and intelligence. Conclusion and Issues for the Next Government In light of the profound changes in the security environment we have witnessed in recent years, those responsible for shaping the way governments will deal with long-term structural change confront a choice. 7 Pacey, op. cit. , p. 5. 64 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges On the one hand, they can advocate an expansion of the role of intelligence to cover the broader nature of the threat we now confront. In a de facto sense, the current arrangement seems to be drifting toward this kind of arrangement. On the other, they can continue to regard intelligence as an essentially secret function designed to give advantage and deny advantage in terms of human competition, whether of the state-on-state variety or threats from criminal and terrorist groups. In this paper we have argued the latter position. We have done so because of concerns about the nature of intelligence and how it differs from policy analysis, the nature of scientific inquiry and the democratic need for debate and consensus. We have further argued that, while it may be possible to achieve something close to a strategic process on a ‘whole-of-government’ basis, such a process cannot be driven by intelligence; and nor is it correctly placed within a discussion of intelligence and its role. We are of the view that additional analytical capacity required to support ‘EBO of governance’ should exist in the form of an expanded staff specifically advising the NSCC. While the National Security Division of PMC would seem to be the logical candidate for such a role, several changes would be needed to provide the kind of analytical capacity described above. Ideally, a unit of this nature should be administratively removed from the day-to-day, short-term contingencies and coordination functions normally undertaken by a division of PMC. That is not to say that the unit should be entirely administratively removed from PMC. But it might be a statutory body linked in a similar way to the ONA. Or it might be more directly associated with the Cabinet Division. Further, the unit would require an expanded ability to provide advice on a ‘holistic’ basis, with a range of expertise covering scientific, health, intelligence, economic and defence issues. Already the germ of such a capability is contained within National Security Division. The existence of such a support unit would act as a buffer between the Cabinet and intelligence agencies and ensure that the latter continue to function as providers of intelligence rather than strategic advice. It would provide the capacity to meld factual and analytical work from both the intelligence agencies and those agencies outside the AIC, such as the various government scientific and economic agencies and non-government agencies. Its interface with such agencies would be far easier than between intelligence and outside agencies, given the role of intelligence in protecting information from human competition. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 65 Security Challenges In light of this position, the following issues emerge for the next government: x Australia’s national intelligence database should be expanded more fully to incorporate information and intelligence from agencies outside the AIC, such as the AFP, Customs, Coastwatch and the ACC. Details of how this might be accomplished are set out in an earlier paper by this author. 8 Leaving aside the security aspects of issues like climate change, pandemic disease and radical economic change, government should recognise that such issues in themselves are not conducive to analysis and advice from intelligence agencies. Rather, a ‘whole of government’ analytical and strategic capacity should be incorporated into the advice mechanisms serving the NSCC. This unit should incorporate the work of intelligence agencies, but also range far more broadly across government and non-government agencies. It should posses a ‘holistic’ capability— that is, it should include scientific, health and economic professionals as well as national security experts. It should not be constrained by the day-to-day needs of servicing a busy department like PMC. x Sandy Gordon joined the Australian Public Service in 1977, subsequently working in the Office of National Assessments, AusAID and as Executive Director of the Asian Studies Council and Australian Literacy Council. In 1990 he became a Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, where he worked on South Asia and the Indian Ocean. In 1997 he was appointed head of intelligence in the AFP, a position he held until 2000. He then became Co-Chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Transnational Crime Working Group and a member of the National Expert Advisory Committee on Illicit Drugs. Between 2003 and 2005, he lectured on terrorism and transnational crime at the Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales. He is currently Associate Professor, Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, University of Wollongong. [emailprotected] com. au. 8 Gordon, op. cit. 66 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007)

Reports of Gods Death Are a Bit Premature Essays -- Philosophy essays

The Reports of God's Death Are a Bit Premature      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arguing the death of God is a debate that will last until eternity. Regardless of exploration or religious zeal there are far too many human viewpoints leaning towards the idea of and the strong need for faith. Believing in God for some is as natural as walking upright and it would seem that through such unquestionable faith God would somehow still be alive. But perhaps He is only surviving with the help of life support.    For example, it would be difficult to tell a passionate Fundamentalist Christian that God was not alive in his or her heart. Therefore, Nietzche's claim of God's demise would fall on deaf ears, for he or she would, in a sense, be keeping God alive with their faith. However, for the sake of Nietzche's favorite subject and perspectivists everywhere, suppose God has in fact died. According to the "madman" we are all responsible (Kaufman 126), but how did it happen and what do we do to solve the problem? Even more curious, is it a problem? So there they are, like some sort of bad movie, standing around with a body lying on the floor. It is nighttime and the classic storm is occurring outside complete with pouring rain, thunder and lightning. Those present stare at the figure in disbelief. Some, however, are not surprised. Others shake their heads at the inevitability of it all. A few cry, but what is on all of their minds is this: who is it?! His death has left him slightly disfigured, n ot in a morbid sense, but just enough to make him hard to identify, not only for who he is, but what place he held in all of their lives. There is no question that he once held a position of great power and esteem, and that he once had a profound effect on generatio... ... the first time ever, we as humans hold God's fate in the balance. Perhaps this is not only Nietzche'sperspective, perhaps this is truth. We are all, in fact, responsible for His survival. But like Mark Twain's famous quote about himself, the reports of God's death are a bit premature.    Works Cited Kaufman, Gordon D., God the Problem Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Nietzxche, Friedrich. The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs New York: Vintage Books, 1974. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Soloman, Robert C. and Kathleen M. Higgens. Reading Nietzsche . New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Spinoza, Baruch. The Collected Works of Spinoza   Edited and translated by Edwin Curley. Vol. 1, The Ethics   Princeton: The Princeton University Press, 1985. Reports of God's Death Are a Bit Premature Essays -- Philosophy essays The Reports of God's Death Are a Bit Premature      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arguing the death of God is a debate that will last until eternity. Regardless of exploration or religious zeal there are far too many human viewpoints leaning towards the idea of and the strong need for faith. Believing in God for some is as natural as walking upright and it would seem that through such unquestionable faith God would somehow still be alive. But perhaps He is only surviving with the help of life support.    For example, it would be difficult to tell a passionate Fundamentalist Christian that God was not alive in his or her heart. Therefore, Nietzche's claim of God's demise would fall on deaf ears, for he or she would, in a sense, be keeping God alive with their faith. However, for the sake of Nietzche's favorite subject and perspectivists everywhere, suppose God has in fact died. According to the "madman" we are all responsible (Kaufman 126), but how did it happen and what do we do to solve the problem? Even more curious, is it a problem? So there they are, like some sort of bad movie, standing around with a body lying on the floor. It is nighttime and the classic storm is occurring outside complete with pouring rain, thunder and lightning. Those present stare at the figure in disbelief. Some, however, are not surprised. Others shake their heads at the inevitability of it all. A few cry, but what is on all of their minds is this: who is it?! His death has left him slightly disfigured, n ot in a morbid sense, but just enough to make him hard to identify, not only for who he is, but what place he held in all of their lives. There is no question that he once held a position of great power and esteem, and that he once had a profound effect on generatio... ... the first time ever, we as humans hold God's fate in the balance. Perhaps this is not only Nietzche'sperspective, perhaps this is truth. We are all, in fact, responsible for His survival. But like Mark Twain's famous quote about himself, the reports of God's death are a bit premature.    Works Cited Kaufman, Gordon D., God the Problem Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Nietzxche, Friedrich. The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs New York: Vintage Books, 1974. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Soloman, Robert C. and Kathleen M. Higgens. Reading Nietzsche . New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Spinoza, Baruch. The Collected Works of Spinoza   Edited and translated by Edwin Curley. Vol. 1, The Ethics   Princeton: The Princeton University Press, 1985.

Critical Views of Beowulf

Beowulf Critical views †¢One of the oldest and most important remains of the Anglo-Saxon literature is the epic poem of Beowulf. Its age is unknown; but it comes from somewhere between the 7th and the 10th centuries. It is like a piece of ancient armour; rusty and battered, and yet strong. The style of the epic poem is likewise simple- perhaps one should say, austere. Beowulf is indeed the most successful Old English poem because in it the elements, language, metre, theme, structure, are all most nearly in harmony.The author seems mainly bent upon telling us how his Sea-Goth slew Grendel and the Fire-drake. †¢The poem opens with an account of forefathers of Hrothgar the Scylding, king of Danes. He is the builder of Heorot, the hall where Beowulf contends with Grendel. The poem begins with the burial of Scyld, from whom the dynasty of Scyldings take its name. In ancient days, so ran the legend, scyld when he was child, was drifted in an open boat to the shores of Danes.When coming thus out of the secret of the Sea the bark touched the land, the folk found the naked child lying asleep in the midst of arms and gems and golden treasure, took him up and hailed him king. As he came alone and mysteriously out of the sea, so he passes away alone and mysteriously into the sea, and the introduction of the poem describes his burial. With as many treasures he brought, with so many they send him away when he died. And as the poem begins with this burial, so it ends with the burial of Beowulf.His burial is nothing mythic, nothing mystic surrounding it. Beowulf, dead after his fight with the dragon, and his gray hair lying around his hair, is borne to the top of the great cliff that overlooks the sea. The cliff has its own name, Whale’s Ness. †¢The epic is divided into three chief episodes. Yet these three episodes are well wrought and well diversified. They are not repetitions, exactly; there is a change of wrestling with Grendel in the night at Heorot and the descent underwater to encounter Grendel’s mother; while the sentiment of the Dragon is different again.But the great beauty, the real value, of Beowulf is in its dignity of style. †¢The word Grendel, as Lawrence points out, can be associated with the Old English grund, i. e. ground, bottom, or watery depths that we find the lurking-place of Grendel and his mother. †¢SIMILARITY WITH OTHER WORKS: Frederick Panzer in 1910 published the results of a careful study of over 200 folk-tales which have elements of resemblance to the Grendel story. These tales with all their variations of outline have enough in common. One of these is the tale of ‘The Bear’s Son’.From the varying versions of ‘The Bear’s Son, something like a central frame, or outline, can be reconstructed. An aged king builds a hall or house which is nightly haunted by a demon. The elder sons of the king are unable to overcome the invader, but the youngest son, formerly held in little esteem, wrestles with the monster and wounds him. The fight of the demon is marked by a trail of blood. An episode follows in which the hero fights in an underground lair of monsters often against a male and a female.His victory over them, sometimes by a use of a magic sword, frees captive maidens who return to the upper world. But the hero is abandoned by faithless companions, and must without aid contrive means of escape from the monster’s home. The tale often ends with the punishment of the traitors, and the marriage of the hero with one of the rescued maidens. Similarities in this outline to the Grendel episodes of the Beowulf are, of course, general rather than precise. But it seems clear that Panzer is correct in claiming that a relationship exists.