Historical Institutionalism Summary and Analysis

Historical Institutionalism Summary and Analysis Introduction In this essay I will argue that Historical Institutionalism offers a superior and more comprehensive view of change than the Sociological Institutionalism or Rational Choice Institutionalism alternatives. Is important to point out that the definition of change considered for this essay is the intended or unintended consequences of a strategic set of actions taken in a precise and determined time and space, in contrast to other possibilities in the same context (Hay and Wincott, 1998). To do this I will compare the competing views of Institutional Change that are presented in Rational Choice Institutionalism, Sociological Institutionalism and Historical Institutionalism to unveil that the view of the latter is more comprehensive than the other two due to the wide scope of the concept of change and the versatility provided by the cultural and calculus approaches included in the branch. I will examine the proposal of Rational Choice Institutionalism, first. Describe shortly what this new form of Institutionalism introduces to the discipline and evaluate what the scholars of this form consider that institutional change is. Then I will show how and why their vision is narrowed and cannot really explain most of institutional change on its own. Secondly, I will analyse Sociological Institutionalism, mentioning the elemental characteristics that separates it from the other two forms of New Institutionalism. Following I will explain the engine of change for sociological institutionalism and I will point out why there is not enough comprehension of how context affect the outcomes and why it is inherently contradictory by denying Rational Choice assumptions, yet assuming rationality in the way organizations operate. Lastly I will describe Historical Institutionalism to recognize their originality and explain the ambidexterity it possesses between Rational Choice Institutionalism and Sociological Institutionalism. I will clarify the calculus and cultural approaches to understand how they bring concepts of the two previously mentioned into the historical study. On the last part I will explain why is the analysis of change superior under the branch of Historical Institutionalism than both Sociological and Rational Choice Institutionalisms by pointing out how scholars on the first one have surpassed the critiques and flaws of the other two. Rational Choice Rational Choice Institutionalism is predicated on the idea that the individuals composing a society seek utility maximization (Tsebelis, 1990). In a process of rational negotiation, individuals consciously enact the rules determined to act upon every member of society. In that way, they choose rationally the characteristics that will shape their institutions (Shepsle, 1989). In other words, institutions are, for this approach, a set of rules, agreed by society in order to set the correct behaviour under certain circumstances and in specific situations. This way conflicts are prevented and the social costs of collective actions are contained and reduced (Hall and Taylor, 1996). To understand more about this current, we need to point out that the genesis of the Rational Choice Institutionalism is the study of congressional behaviour in the United States as a way of expanding classical Rational Choice into matter that did not fit the models provided up until then by the discipline, like stability of congressional outcomes (Hall and Taylor, 1996). When referring to change in institutions, Rational Choice does not offer much explanation or even -some would argue- does not consider the existence of a possibility that institutions might change. The term renegotiation-proof must come into consideration now. This concept defines the situation where none of the actors with considerable power to change an institution are willing to do so. Since the core affirmation is that institutions are selected rationally by rational thinkers that seek to optimize their benefit within society, it is logical to understand that there was a previous negotiation process prior to the adoption of such institution, in which all the related subjects to the institution where discussed and approved by the individuals.   According to Selten (1975) an institution must be the proof of renegotiation since that particular and central characteristic provides society with the consistency that precludes any deviation of the expected behaviour, therefore eli minating the cost of instability. Since the utility and effectiveness of institutions is locked to its capability to regulate the behaviour of the members of society, changes would bring instability, confusion and unexpected set of affairs that would increase social costs. It is, thusly, understood that one of the main duties of the state and the higher governmental apparatus is to maintain the institutional arrangement among the individuals, utilizing the processes of cooperation and socialization, (i.e. education) to inculcate this and minimize the virtual perception that institution do not serve the common good (Seznick, 1949; Lipset and Rokkan, 1967; Eisenstadt and Rokkan, 1973; Widavsky, 1987; Sunstein, 1990; Greber and Jackson, 1993 in March and Olsen, 1996). Instead of changing institutions, according to Rational Choice, it is expected that institution, when faced to different context from which it emerged, apply a pre-arranged framework that can support the inclusion of the new ideas and perceptions of the society but keeping the fundamental attributes of the institution itself. Therefore we may say that beforehand, institutions provide a plan of change that is intrinsic to the institution itself, preventing the transition from one to the other but not impeding the transformation of the original one, meaning that this variations are included in the starting vision of the institution (Shepsle, 1989) In other words, institutional change would only consist of institutions following the pre-set plan. For this reason, it is my consideration that the Rational Choice Institutionalism concept of change, should be replaced and referred more precisely as Institutional Evolution since it does not contemplate the substitution of one institution for another nor a transformation that suits better for reality or for the societys need, rather than the morphology of the existing ones according to the original projection. In brief, institutions do not really want to change, those who can change it rather reaffirm it through education to avoid the costs of uncertainty and re-adaptation. Therefore, we can state that Rational Choice Institutionalism studies the ways in which an institution is reinforced and reproduced within the members of a state, by sustaining the idea that spontaneous change or diversity has more cons than pros. Also it is comprehended in this argument the idea that a functional society works better with a faulty institution than without institutions. On the other hand, Rational Choice Institutionalism face the undeniable modification of an institution, it is assumed by this view that all transformation occur within the evolutionary plan of an institution, so that it is not viewed as a change, rather than a natural development through time. And, more importantly, departing from the point that institutions are rationally constructed for the benefit of an organised society, one might al so ask, as a valid criticism, cui bono from this arrangement. Sociological Institutionalism The second current of the new institutionalism is the one that arose from organizational theory in the field of sociology. Since the work of Weber, the sociologists turn their attention to the bureaucracies that shaped structures in different societies. Whether that was on state level, private enterprises, educational organizations, etc. Later in the 1970s, the need to separate those who study organizations from those focused on culture related analysis was explicit. But opposing to this, the new form of institutionalism arrived. It stated that the way bureaucracies where organized was not predicated on the premise of the greater efficiency, but they were often shaped to its core by the particular culture surrounding the structure in question. They found that this mandatory resemblance to the cultural identity was, in that way, in order to secure and support the complex process of cultural transmission. From this perspective, we can say that it seeks to answer the question of why do certain organizations take a particular shape and form (Hall and Taylor, 1996). Sociological Institutionalism is concerned with the legitimacy of organizations and bureaucracy. This branch of institutionalism considers that legitimate institutions get bureaucratized essentially following the norms that culture imposes. That is to say, institutions are shaped by culture, to the point that it is difficult to find two with a perfect resemblance since they must be adapted to the context in which they are reproduced or take place. Although certain degree of affinity can be found, for example, in the education systems of different countries, which researchers of this form of new institutionalism call isomorphism. If it is so that culture is the ultimate determinant of the shape of organizations and the structures of institutions, then there would be no room in this current for this type of isomorphism, but said concept is cleverly explained by the natural similarity of the needs of every human community in the world. Since we all have the same basic needs, and advance s in those specific areas have been done to make them more efficient, it is logical to think that structures in some degree will copy a functioning model (Meyer and Rowan, 1977). The most important factor for a social behaviour to be transformed into an institution and ultimately bureaucratized is the legitimacy gained among the actors of the society (Finnemore, 1996). The State is considered to be the ultimate example of such phenomenon. Finnemore (1996) argues that institutions are constantly challenged because of the contradictions within the dominant cultural norms, pointing at their constant need to refresh and renew their legitimacy to ensure endurance. In this idea lies the concept of institutional change according to the sociological discipline. They argue that organizations often adopt and promote new institutional practices, leaving aside the rational concern of efficiency and cost reduction, to increase the legitimacy of such organization (Hall and Taylor, 1996). Ironically, though, following Finnemore (1996), institutionalized bureaucracies are rationally substituted for other institutionalized bureaucracies for reasons that go against a rational scope. As for my opinion, sociological institutionalism does not really focuses on explaining the change in institutions but rather excuses the fact that institutions change by saying it is all a matter of the legitimacy of the organizations trying to stand the test of time. If it is so, that organizations have the power to shape the structural context of behaviour in such way as to regulate what is considered wrong and right behaviour, then there would be little stopping organizations from assuming total control of society they indirectly direct. Further, it is clear that they deny strongly the grand rational assumption that individuals act rationally (which I consider an appropriate critique) upheld by Rational Choice Institutionalism, yet they reinforce with the same effervescence the rational claim that all organizations act rationally in pursue of their interest moulding institutions accordingly. Finally, for a branch of new institutionalism that claims that context is the key concept in the development and understanding of the institutions, saying that change is only promoted by organizations, is undermining the possibilities of cultural diversity, as proven recently by the Arab Spring or , not so recently, the communist revolutions on the beginning of the 20th century. Historical Institutionalism Since the 1990s there has been an increment in the importance that ideas, economic interest and political institutions have and the relation between them. This has led to a great transformation of the historical institutionalism school trying to explain political outcomes (Bà ©land, 2005). Historical Institutionalism took great influence from structural functionalist, but for a change, they reject the idea that psychological, cultural, social or any individual trait could be extrapolated as a general characteristic of the system that contains them. Instead they suggest that institutional organizations shape the behaviour of the collective, thus generating political outcomes (Hall and Taylor, 1996). In this analysis they include the factor of rationality of the individual and the organizations but under an historical interpretation of the culture in order to decode the interpretation of both the norm and what was considered rational in such a context (Ferejohn, 1991; Thelen, 1999). This way, Historical Institutionalism has a pivotal approach that comprehends and exceed the previously two analysed (Hall and Taylor, 1996), specifically when one analyses the cultural and calculus approaches. Hay and Wincott (1998) argue that Hall and Taylor (1996) are trying to propose a dialogue between the Sociological Institutionalism and the Rational Choice Institutionalism by incorporating the cultural and calculus approaches to the Historical branch. The calculus approach assume that in every period of time, individuals tend to act strategically to maximize their gain, and institution provide a frame to make it easier to predict and limit the set of actions possible to take place. Now the Historical Institutionalism part in this approach is that the possibilities are reviewed into the historical context surrounding the decisions taken. The cultural approach contrast the calculus without denying it, analysing the degree on which individuals leave aside the rational decision, and lean to familiar structures or established routines. But for that it is necessary to comprehend the historical and contextual rational decision that was left aside and the familiar structures and established routines of such individual in that precise time (Hall and Taylor, 1996). The main contribution of Historical Institutionalism leads logically to the concept of path dependency. This is the assumption that the same processes can generate different results on different places because there are no two equal circumstances, an assumption that can be considered axiomatic, and therefor problematic (Hall and Taylor, 1996). One way to look at it is that the specific order in which things occur affect how they occur (Hay and Wincott, 1998; Fioretos, 2011). Following Fioretos (2011) the particular timing and sequence in which a phenomenon takes place contributes to four characteristics that remark the importance of context: i) unpredictability, by which it is expected that outcomes on similar events vary in great manner; ii) inflexibility, the idea that as more time passes, it gets harder to reverse the effects of such event; iii) nonergodicity, the probability that this effects can stand the test of time; iv) inefficiencies, the fact that abandoned ideas and altern atives might have produced more efficient outcomes but are out of the possibility range anymore. Another concept that is essential to path dependence is historical inefficiency (Fioretos, 2011: 376). The idea that the specific consequences of the path dependence of one precise experience would make institutional alternatives designed in a different context, far more likely to fail, despite of the fact that analysis of utility models may indicate their superior expected performance (Fioretos, 2011). The concept of path dependence, although taken from a blend between Rational Choice Institutionalism and Sociological Institutionalism, particularly from and formed inside the original contributions of Historical Institutionalism renders the first two approaches out-dated and unhelpful when talking about institutional change (Thelen, 1999). Change is comprehended as the outcomes, whether they are intended or not, of a set of strategic actions that are conceived inside the context of institutions in a definite time and space that provided the conditions needed to favour certain choices over others (Hay and Wincott, 1998). And that exact analysis is only provided by Historical Institutionalism thanks to the incorporation of calculus approach and cultural approach and path dependence. Since the concept of path dependence tell us that there is no way in which we can calculate with certainty what will be the overall cost of choosing an option over another when undergoing institutional change, considering unknown factors may intervene and affect the outcome, there is no way of formulating a model that can apply to any situation without risking a mayor margin of error (Harty, 2005). By leaving aside grand generalizations Historical Institutionalism can easily surpass the barriers of Sociological Institutionalism and Rational Choice, of assuming that organizations only use institutional change to reinforce their legitimacy and that every institutional change made in any context must fall into a rational choice, respectively. Moreover by not denying rationality, Historical Institutionalism does not fall in the contradiction of using Rational Choice to understand the behaviour of organizations or individuals, such as the case of the Sociological branch. Lastly, in my opinion, Historical Institutionalism is stronger than Rational Choice also, because it contemplates real change on institutions and not merely the evolution of them, since they hold no delusion of a supposed pre-calculated plan by institutions to transform within in order to avoid undergo real change. And is stronger than Sociological Institutionalism, also, as a result of giving the deserved and necessary level of importance to context as a determinant of the outcome and structure of the institutional change process. Conclusions We have showed that Historical Institutionalism has a more precise and deeper view of institutional change than the other forms of new institutionalism, Rational Choice Institutionalism and Sociological Institutionalism. I have compared the concept of change in the three branches, and found that Rational Choice Institutionalism and Sociological Institutionalism have a reduced view of what composes and provokes change leading to unsatisfactory conclusions that leave aside important parts of the reality without encompassing the inputs of one another. Rational Choice Institutionalism, due to its genesis, has defined a very limited scope, and only considers change to happen within and according to the institutions plan, assuming that in every step of the way, rationality is a perfect process undergone by every individual and actor in the society. Historical Institutionalism embraces a wider view of what constitutes change, enabling it to study a much substantial range of political situations that would be left out by Rational Choice. Moreover Historical Institutionalism goes as deep as to question what seemed like a rational choice in the context of analysis, providing with a view that does not deny rationality but also, does not consider it to be fixed and static. Sociological Institutionalism denies the absolute rationality that is assumed by Rational Choice Institutionalism. Scholars in this branch understand institutional change as the tool that organizations use to endure in time. They suggest that organizations are the ones that promote and seek institutional changes that fit their own maximization of benefits, but by doing this; they make use of the principle that they so firmly oppose from Rational Choice. Sociological Institutionalism only analyses context as a force that shapes the form of the institutions upheld by a society. Historical Institutionalism gives much more importance to context, saying it can determine not only the particular shape of an institution, but also argues that we should take into consideration the values and possibilities provided by the context. It also calls upon the importance of context in the elaboration of the concept path dependency under which it is understood that due to the specifics of some situatio ns, the same process may have different results. Lastly, since Historical Institutionalism does not deny rationality of actors, rather than question what rationality is, it does not fall on the contradiction that we saw on Sociological Institutionalism. We have seen how Historical Institutionalism, thanks to the calculus and cultural approaches and the path dependency concept is a synthesis of the Rational Choice Institutionalism and Sociological Institutionalism. Historical Institutionalism is capable of analysing much deeper into political phenomena by bringing together concepts of both and stating that results may not replicate in the exact same way due to the differences in context. Therefore not intending to push grand assumptions or create laws on studies and in that what being able to widen the range of situations to study. Bibliography Bà ©land, D. (2005) Ideas, Interest, and Institutions: Historical Institutionalism Revisited in Lecours, A. New Institutionalisms. Theory and Analysis, University of Toront-o Press. 29-50 Ferejohn, J. (1991) Rationality and interpretation: Parliamentary elections in early Stuart England. In Monroe K, The economic approach to politics Harper-Collins, 279-305. Finnemore, M. (1996) Norms, culture, and world politics: Insights from sociologys institutionalism, International Organization, vol. 50, no. 2, 325-47. Fioretos, O. (2011) Historical Institutionalism in Intenational Relations, International Organizations, 65, 367-99. Hall, P. and R.C.R. Taylor (1996) Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms. Political Studies, Vol. 44(5): 936 57. Harty, S. (2005) Theorising Institutional Change in Lecours, A. New Institutionalisms. Theory and Analysis, University of Toronto Press. 51-79 Hay, C. and Wincott, D. (1998) Structure, Agency, Historical Institutionalism, Political Studies, Vol. 46: 951-57. March, J.G. and Olsen, J.P. (1996) Institutional Perspectives on Political Institutions, Governance, 9 (3), 247-64. Meyer, J.W. Rowan, B. (1977) Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 83, no. 2, 340-63. Selten, R. (1975) A Reexamination on the Perfectness Concept for Equilibrium Points in Extensive games International Journal of Game Theory, 4, 25-55. Shepsle, K.A. (1989) Studying Institutions: Some Lessons from the Rational Choice Approach, Journal of Theoretical Politics, 1 (2), 131-47. Thelen, K. (1999) Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics, Annual Review of Political Science, 2, 369-404. Tsebelis, G. (1990) Nested Games: Rational Choice in Comparative Politics, University of California Press.   Ã‚  

Software crisis

Software crisis INTRODUCTION: Since last 20-25 years, there has been a rapid increase in the development of programs using a computer. Also, the difficulty level of software has increased to a greater extent. In other words, a drastic change has occurred in the development of computer programs. In order to make the programs more and more predictable, different types of patterns have been created. But the software industry is still many years away from becoming a mature engineering discipline. Even in todays society, software is viewed with suspicion by many individuals, such as senior managers and customers, as something similar to black magic. The result is that software is one of the most difficult artifacts of the modern world to develop and build. Developers work on techniques that cannot be measured or reproduced. All this, lead to a new concept called software crisis. It has become the longest continuing crisis in the engineering world, and it continues unabated. As the nature of software is that it is intangible, malleable, and intellectually intensive and has trivial replication. Our ultimate goal is to make quality software-on time and within budget which can be achieved through application of systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation and maintenance of the software. SOFTWARE CRISIS The difficulty of writing the code for a computer program which is correct and understandable is referred to as software crisis. The term software crisis revolves around three concepts: complexity, change and the expectations. This term was given by F. L. Bauer at the first NATO Software Engineering Conference in 1968 at Garmisch, Germany. Current System design approach is exceedingly empirical. It is unable to cope with increasing systems complexity. A number of problems in software development were identified in 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The problems that software projects encountered were: the projects ran over-budget, caused damage to property even to life. Despite our rapid progress, the software industry is considered by many to be in a crisis. Some 40 years ago, the term Software Crisis emerged to describe the software industrys inability to provide customers with high quality products on schedule. In general it refers to poorly written, hard to read, error-prone software that often lacks good documentation. Software crisis is also referred to the inability to hire enough qualified programmers. It has become the longest continuing crisis in the engineering world and it continues unabated. The most visible symptoms of the software crisis are late delivery, over budget; Product does not meet specified requirements, inadequate documentation. One of the most serious complaints against software failure is the inability to estimate with acceptable accuracy the cost, resources, and schedule necessary for a software project. Conventional assessment methods have always produced positive results which contribute to the too well-known cost infested and schedule slippage. As the world becomes more and more dependent on computers and as the complexity of software systems continues to rise, the crisis can only get worse. It is particularly severe in vital segments of the economy such as the health and financial services, and the transportation, manufacturing, communication, power generation, and defen se industries. Software Crisis in terms of statistics in 1990s * 31 % of projects canceled * 52.7% cost an average of 189% over budget * 84% are late or over budget (91% for large companies.) * The average system is delivered without 58% of proposed functionalities * $81 billion in 1995 for cancelled projects * $51 billion in 1995 for over-budget projects Only 16.2% of software projects are completed on-time and on-budget. In larger companies, a meager 9% of technology projects come in on-time and on-budget. In addition, about one third of all projects will be canceled before they ever get completed. Further results indicate 53% of projects will cost an average of 189% of their original estimates. In financial terms this analysis revealed that over $100 billion in cancellations and $60 billion in budget over runs occur in the Software Sector annually. CAUSES Software engineering today is in severe crisis. The situation is particularly grim because this crisis is not widely acknowledged by the software development industry. The causes of software crisis were linked to the overall complexity of the software process and the relative immaturity of software engineering as a profession. The main reason for the crisis is the lack of a sound software construction methodology with which to manage the high complexity of modern applications. The notion of a software crisis emerged at the end of the 1960s. An early use of the term is in Edsger Dijkstras ACM Turing Award Lecture, The Humble Programmer (EWD340), given in 1972 and published in the Communications of the ACM. Dijkstra says, The major cause of the software crisis is] that the machines have become several orders of magnitude more powerful! To put it quite bluntly: as long as there were no machines, programming was no problem at all; when we had a few weak computers, programming became a mild problem, and now we have gigantic computers, programming has become an equally gigantic problem. Edsger Dijkstra * The cost of owning and maintaining software in the 1980s was twice as expensive as developing the software. * During the 1990s, the cost of ownership and maintenance increased by 30% over the 1980s. * In 1995, statistics showed that half of surveyed development projects were operational, but were not considered successful. * The average software project overshoots its schedule by half. * Three quarters of all large software products delivered to the customer are failures that are either not used at all, or do not meet the customers requirements. To explain the present software crisis in simple words, consider the following. The expenses that organizations all around the world are incurring on software purchases compared to those on hardware purchases have been showing a worrying trend over the years. Not only are the software products turning out to be more expensive than hardware, but they also present a host of other problems to the customers: software products are difficult to alter, debug, and enhance; use resources no optimally; often fail to meet the user requirements; are far from being reliable; frequently crash; and are often delivered late. Among these, the trend of increasing software costs is probably the most important symptom of the present software crisis. Software crisis: The present scenario The Software Crisis began 4 decades ago and continues today. In the 60s, we began to speak of a software crisis. A thirty year long crisis was beginning. A world-wide research effort also began. Today, the situation is quite different. We have a Science of Programming. We know a great deal about how to design and document software, but the Software Crisis continues unabated! The software crisis continues because the communication between Computer Scientists and those who write software, including the Engineers, has been very poor. Current software standards, are weak, superficial, and are not based on software science. Process oriented standards are empty because there are no product/document standards. SOLUTION Over the last twenty years many different paradigms have been created in attempt to make software development more predictable and controllable. While there is no single solution to the crisis, much has been learned that can directly benefit todays software projects. One of the possible solutions to the software crisis is the study of software engineering. It is believed that the only satisfactory solution to the present software crisis can possibly come from a spread of software engineering practices among the engineers, coupled with further advancements in the software engineering discipline itself. Software engineering is concerned with all aspects of software production from the early stages of system specification through to maintaining the system after it has gone into use. As a solution to this software crisis, we must apply a disciplinary artistry; using tools that help us manage this complexity. The skilled systems engineer, can through the use of these techniques and by the application of systems engineering methods and project management skills, reduce the demands placed on software engineers, hence reducing the software engineering effort and also reducing the total development cost. But still, there is no single approach which will prevent all the consequences of software crisis in all cases. While there is no single solution to the crisis, much has been learned that can directly benefit todays software projects. It is our human inability to deal with complexity that lies at the root of the software crisis. It has been noted frequently that we are experiencing a software crisis, characterized by our inability to produce correct, reliable software within budget and on time. No doubt, many of our failures are caused by the inherent complexity of the software development process, for which there often is no analytical description. Through the use of computer-aided symbolic specification techniques and simulation, and with an understanding of the software development process, the skilled systems engineer can contribute to the resolution of the software crisis. The skilled systems engineer, can through the use of these techniques and by the application of systems engineering methods and project management skills, reduce the demands placed on software engineers, hence reducing the software engineering effort and also reducing the total development cost. In software engineering, the possible solution to software metrics is the use of proper software metrics and the proper utilization of these metrics. For the implementation of this solution to the problem of software crisis some pre-requisites are there. They are: 1. Knowledge of basic statistics and experimental design. 2. Basic understanding of commonly used software life cycle models, at least to the level covered in an introductory senior or graduate-level software engineering course. 3. Experience working as a team member on a software development project. In addition, for maximum utility in analytic studies and statistical analyses, metrics should have data values that belong to appropriate measurement scales. Software engineering is still a very young discipline. There are encouraging signs that we are beginning to understand some of the basic parameters that are most influential in the processes of software production. ÃÆ'Ëœ For the projects which are delivered late must adopt the following methodology: Project Planning Scheduling Project planning means creating work breakdown, and then allocate responsibilities to the developers over time. Project planning consists of construction of various tasks, timelines and essential pathways including Gantt charts and PERT charts and different written plans for various situations. It is quite usual in software development process to work backward from the project end date which results in complete software project failure. It is impossible that a project can be completed efficiently from the planning stage to the implementation stage. Allocation of roles and responsibilities has to be clearly defined. Proper scheduling is also required before the start of the project. It includes the time scheduling, teams scheduling. ÃÆ'Ëœ For the projects running out of budget, cost estimation methodology must be applied: Cost Estimation Cost estimation is mainly involved the cost of effort to produce the software project. But its not limited to the effort only. It also includes the hardware and software cost, training the employees and customer, travelling to the customer, networking and communication costs. Cost estimation should be done as a part of the software process model. Cost estimation needs to be done well before the start of the project development. Failure of the budgeting for the cost of the project results in complete disaster. Development tools, cost and hardware cost also need to be estimated first. ÃÆ'Ëœ In order to cope up with the increasing system complexity, risk management should be applied: Risk Management Risk management is an important factor towards software project failure if its not managed timely and effectively. As nothing can be predicted that what will happen in future so we have to take the necessary steps in the present to take any uncertain situation in the future. Risk management means dealing with a concern before it becomes a crisis. Project managers have to identify the areas where the risk can be and how it can affect the development of the project. Risk can be of technical nature or non technical. After the risk is identified there is a need to make the categories of that risk. Risk analysis is the process of examining the project results and deliverables after the risk analysis and applying the technique to lower the risk. After the risk is analyzed, the next step is to priorities the risk. At first focus on the most sever risk first; and les sever later. Managing the risk to achieve the desired results and deliverables is done through controlling the risk at its bes t. Conclusion Thus, we have discussed software crisis, its causes, the present status and the possible solution to this crisis. Software engineering appears to be one of the few options available to tackle software crisis. Software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to development, operation, and maintenance of software; that is, the application of engineering to software. It is believed that the only satisfactory solution to the present software crisis can possibly come from a spread of software engineering practices among the engineers, coupled with further advancements to the software engineering discipline itself. The solution being advocated is to place a special emphasis on fault tolerance software engineering which would provide a set of methods, techniques, models and tools that would exactly fit application domains, fault assumptions and system requirements and support disciplined and rigorous fault tolerance throughout all phases of the life cycle. Also, the software must not be considered equivalent to a widget, i.e. a gadget. REFERENCES: Books referred: Software engineering: concepts and techniques Peter Naur Software engineering- Richard H. Thayer Websites and links: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_crisis www.apl.jhu.edu/Classes/Notes//SoftwareEngineeringOverview.PDF http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/1999/july99/

Essay --

Blade Runner is exemplified as a dystopia that predicts a future city that sustains corporate capitalism’s worst features, such as urban decay, extreme gaps between wealth and poverty, and authoritative police work. The film depicts an urban city that, due to capitalism, coalesced into a polluted, overpopulated city controlled by monopolies. Roger Ebert describes the city, Los Angeles, in the film as, "The skies are always dark with airborne filth in this Los Angeles of the future. It usually rains. The infrastructure looks a lot like now, except older and more crowded." He believes the film has "one of the most extraordinary worlds ever created..." and gives it the honor of joining his greatest movies collection. This film is a multi-genre film— science fiction and film noir— which creates a very unique stylistic world. The film is characterized in the science fiction genre with flying vehicles— police cars and advertising blimps—, the futuristic city with congested streets, and advanced technology—picturesque billboards, Voight-Kampf machine, picture phones, and voice activated photo analyzers. It also depicts the movie genre of film noir with its low-key lighting consistent throughout Bryant’s office and Deckard’s apartment, the claustrophobic framing with various characters—the overcrowded nightclub—, heavy shadows caused by venetian blinds in Deckard’s apartment, and the rain soaked landscapes during the night. The scene I chose takes place after Deckard has â€Å"retired† two replicants, and has discovered the location Roy Beatty and Pris. The scene follows Deckard as he hunts down Pris, right before the final encounter where he battles Roy. I chose this scene for its attention to detail and captivating visual aesthetic. It ... ...l map of the location in our minds. This suspense continues to build until he meets Pris and she attacks him. The cuts get immediately more frequent and induce a feeling of shock and surprise in the audience. Framing is another way Ridley Scott compares the futuristic to the classical. For example, in the opening shots of this scene, the landscape depicts one of the main themes of the film— a relationship between classical and futuristic. In the establishing shot of this scene, European style apartments cover the foreground and the neon city landscape dominates the background. This separation of the buildings shows the divide between the old and new societies in the film. While the two building are far apart in reality, the camera creates the illusion that they are side by side and places Deckard in the middle, giving him a choice between the familiar and unknown.

The Other Nature Essay -- Writing Writer Literature Papers

The Other Nature Early in her exploration of man's soul, Joyce Carol Oates discovers a fundamental truth while writing about the character of Stavrogin in Dostoyevsky's The Possessed-that as part of his inevitable fall, man violates "nature" in so complete a way as to separate himself from the only forces that can save him. This theme dealing with the Fall of man is a constant thread that weaves itself through most of Oates' essays, the corruption by various internal and external forces and the tragedy that results from man's blindness to his own nature and to what would provide him salvation. Oates' power lies in her ability to delve deep within the personalities of the writers, the characters they create, and the powerful themes buried deep in the work's soul. She applies psychological concepts and archetypes in order to explore the implications brought about by the similarities and differences in the characters' thoughts and actions. She reaches her most thought-provoking insights by connecting parallel motifs across a wide spectrum of literature and constantly leaps from one generalization to the next causing the reader to wonder how she has come to the fascinating and brilliant conclusions presented in Contraries. By examining the Fall of man, she discovers how self-awareness and material preoccupations lead to a corruption of the "natural" self. Later, the discussion of tragedy and transcendence in essays about King Lear and Nostromo reveals the fundamental importance of women-as saviors of the natural world and representatives of salvation for men. Women are the und erlying focus of her essays; the archetypes and roles they adhere to and defy as literary characters shape the way she perceives the female. Ultimat... ... subjection is presented as grisly and mean. Perhaps this shift of focus from the sublime to the obscene is necessary to bring more clearly into focus the longstanding female archetype and provide us with the strength to intervene in such deep-running cultural patterns. Oates certainly does not preach at us, and she never tells us exactly what to do. But reading Connie's story, and reading over Oates's shoulder as she sees the archetype that created it, we are pushed, at least, to read the stories we encounter to find and reflect on the conflicts of human nature they reveal. Works Cited Oates, Joyce Carol. Contraries: Essays. New York: Oxford UP, 1981. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" 1966. Celestial Timepiece: Joyce Carol Oates Archive. Ed. Randy Souther. Dec. 1996. San Francisco. 10 Dec. 2000. <http://storm.usfca.edu/ ~southerr/wgoing.html>

Foster Care Essay examples -- non-parental custodians

Foster Care INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An ideal environment for the social, emotional, and developmental growth of children does not always exist in today’s society. Family units that have become separated due to family or behavior problems often contribute to delays in these areas. In order to promote continuity in the social, emotional, and developmental growth of children who have been victims of family disruption, children are often removed from the home and placed in foster care. Placement in the foster care system affects children in a unique, individual fashion. The affects of child-care by non-parental custodians, though subjective in nature, have common parameters that must be addressed and examined. Understanding foster care placement is crucial in order to fully evaluate both its advantages and disadvantages. WHAT IS FOSTER CARE?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, â€Å"Foster care means 24-hour substitute care for all children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility.† Though this definition excludes children in privately funded foster care arrangements, placement in a facility not governed by a state agency is often sought for children. Placement with either a state agency or a privately funded program can either be short-term lasting several months, or extend for a period of years as in long-term placement. The duration of time spent in the foster care system is dependent upon the existing home environment and the ability of the caregivers in the home to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the child. An evaluation of both the present and pre-existing home environment is crucial in making the decision of whether to remove the child from foster care and reunite them with their parental custodians or to continue placement in the foster care system. FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though it is difficult to separate a child from his parental custodians, foster care placement is deemed necessary in situations of abuse or neglect. Severe behavioral problems on the part of the child as well as a variety of parental problems, including abandonment, illness (either physical or emotional), incarcerations, alcohol/substance abuse, and death, are also reasons deemed legitimate to warrant removal from the home. A child, who has been sub... ... has been victimized in his or her home environment. It can, however, with proper placement, provide a safe and nurturing environment that will encourage self-growth and self-achievement. The ultimate goal of foster care placement is reunification with the family. Plans must be implemented so that this goal can be achieved. The problems leading to foster care placement need to be rectified before a safe return home is possible. Failure to fully assess the situation will reap only negative results and problems may escalate. The welfare of the child must be the primary concern. BIBLIOGRAPHY Berrier, Selena. â€Å"The Effects of Grief and Loss on Children in Foster Care.† Fostering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perspectives. November 2007. Conn, R. A. â€Å"Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care.† Pediatrics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 November 2004. Hueber, Ruth A. â€Å"The Effects of Foster Care on Children.† Child Welfare Research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 November 2005. Marshner, Connie. â€Å"Reform the Nation’s Foster Care System.† Family Research Council.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 January 2008. Stewart, Gordon. â€Å"Safety and Stability for Foster Children: A Developmental   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perspective.† Journal of Pediatrics. February 2007.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Pan-Islamic terrorism in the Middle East Essay

Being unique is what sets us apart from others; it gives us the edge over other people. Differences amongst us have been one of the most unique features God has granted human beings. One look and the differences are evident, making it clear no one is the same and no one will end-up in the same way. Human beings not only vary physically but also in lifestyle, culture, emotions, perspective in life, and in religion. At times human set aside these differences for the greater good, for the cause of peace and prosperity, but most of the time they fight for what they believe in even if it costs them or others life. Countless wars have been waged for the cause of justice, freedom and sovereignty over a piece of property. One dispute over a piece of land known to the world is the dispute between Israel and Palestine over the Land of Israel/Palestine. Israelites are Jews while the Palestinians are Arabs, but, this does not mean that the dispute is a religious one, it is solely a dispute over a 10,000 sq. mile property where both party claim rights over it. The reason for such a 60-year old dispute is based on the history of the land each party is trying to claim. According to the History Guy1, historically, the ancient Jews from Biblical times called their land Israel, Canaan, Judea, etc. and that in the days of the Bible God gave the land to the ancient Jews known as the Hebrews. But due to massive killings brought about by the Roman Empire, Jews were forced to move out from their land resulting to â€Å"The Diaspora†. But after some years, the Palestinians settled, earning them as the majority ethnic group in the land, thus Palestines claim the right over it. And since the Jews have returned, they also want their rights over the land given that it was granted to them by God. Both of these groups struggle to keep what they believe is theirs, by law or by nature. But the Palestinians went over board. They have inflicted intolerable pain to the world. Where Palestinians send out death threats, destroying infrastructures as well as eliminating __________________________ 1 â€Å"The Israeli-Palestiniam Conflict†, The History Guy. Retrieved June 5, 2007 from The History Guy Website. http://www. historyguy. com/israeli-palestinian_conflict. html job opportunities, and worse, destroying the lives of countless innocent souls now forever shadowed by fear. Terrorism as defined by Britannica Online2, is the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. Many Islamic groups have arisen in different parts of the earth to spread terrorism in the face of the planet. The Al-Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf and others are examples of the different Islamic groups present in different locations on Earth with one mission in mind, to inflict pain. Islamic issues on terrorism have stopped the world in its tracks, as the massive killings became worse. The world became spectators as bomb after bomb set off, killing people stripping them of their right to live. The world watched in horror as the World Trade Center where many employees work, were blown off to pieces. Some were found severely injured, others were never found under dusts and pile of debris. No one surely knows the reason for such terrorism; could it be that these Palestinians want to rule the world? Or they just want to prove something? There are many speculations on the cause of the terrorism brought about by these Arabs. But a certain speculation reveals that this terrorism was started by the dispute of the Palestinians and Israelites over the piece of property. That due to this dispute over a piece of property, the Palestinians brought terrorism to the world to inflict fear and pain in order to get what they want, and eliminating those who stand in their way. And as these Palestinians see it, the only way to get what they want, and in this circumstance that piece of land, force has to be used. Believing that inflicting pain and fear to the masses can weaken their decisions and give these Arabs what they want. These Palestinians truly believe that the piece of land they are fighting for is truly theirs. And they will fight for the right over it even if it takes how many lives or how much blood shall be spilled, as long as this goal is achieved.  2 terrorism. (2007). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved June 5, 2007, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online: http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-9071797 References: terrorism. (2007). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved June 5, 2007, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online: http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-9071797 â€Å"The Israeli-Palestiniam Conflict†, The History Guy. Retrieved June 5, 2007 from The History Guy Website. Being unique is what sets us apart from others; it gives us the edge over other people. Differences amongst us have been one of the most unique features God has granted human beings. One look and the differences are evident, making it clear no one is the same and no one will end-up in the same way. Human beings not only vary physically but also in lifestyle, culture, emotions, perspective in life, and in religion. At times human set aside these differences for the greater good, for the cause of peace and prosperity, but most of the time they fight for what they believe in even if it costs them or others life. Countless wars have been waged for the cause of justice, freedom and sovereignty over a piece of property. One dispute over a piece of land known to the world is the dispute between Israel and Palestine over the Land of Israel/Palestine. Israelites are Jews while the Palestinians are Arabs, but, this does not mean that the dispute is a religious one, it is solely a dispute over a 10,000 sq. mile property where both party claim rights over it. The reason for such a 60-year old dispute is based on the history of the land each party is trying to claim. According to the History Guy1, historically, the ancient Jews from Biblical times called their land Israel, Canaan, Judea, etc. and that in the days of the Bible God gave the land to the ancient Jews known as the Hebrews. But due to massive killings brought about by the Roman Empire, Jews were forced to move out from their land resulting to â€Å"The Diaspora†. But after some years, the Palestinians settled, earning them as the majority ethnic group in the land, thus Palestines claim the right over it. And since the Jews have returned, they also want their rights over the land given that it was granted to them by God. Both of these groups struggle to keep what they believe is theirs, by law or by nature. But the Palestinians went over board. They have inflicted intolerable pain to the world. Where Palestinians send out death threats, destroying infrastructures as well as eliminating __________________________ 1 â€Å"The Israeli-Palestiniam Conflict†, The History Guy. Retrieved June 5, 2007 from The History Guy Website. http://www. historyguy. com/israeli-palestinian_conflict. html job opportunities, and worse, destroying the lives of countless innocent souls now forever shadowed by fear. Terrorism as defined by Britannica Online2, is the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. Many Islamic groups have arisen in different parts of the earth to spread terrorism in the face of the planet. The Al-Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf and others are examples of the different Islamic groups present in different locations on Earth with one mission in mind, to inflict pain. Islamic issues on terrorism have stopped the world in its tracks, as the massive killings became worse. The world became spectators as bomb after bomb set off, killing people stripping them of their right to live. The world watched in horror as the World Trade Center where many employees work, were blown off to pieces. Some were found severely injured, others were never found under dusts and pile of debris. No one surely knows the reason for such terrorism; could it be that these Palestinians want to rule the world? Or they just want to prove something? There are many speculations on the cause of the terrorism brought about by these Arabs. But a certain speculation reveals that this terrorism was started by the dispute of the Palestinians and Israelites over the piece of property. That due to this dispute over a piece of property, the Palestinians brought terrorism to the world to inflict fear and pain in order to get what they want, and eliminating those who stand in their way. And as these Palestinians see it, the only way to get what they want, and in this circumstance that piece of land, force has to be used. Believing that inflicting pain and fear to the masses can weaken their decisions and give these Arabs what they want. These Palestinians truly believe that the piece of land they are fighting for is truly theirs. And they will fight for the right over it even if it takes how many lives or how much blood shall be spilled, as long as this goal is achieved. __________________________ 2 terrorism. (2007). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved June 5, 2007, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online: http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-9071797 References: terrorism. (2007). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved June 5, 2007, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online: http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-9071797 â€Å"The Israeli-Palestiniam Conflict†, The History Guy. Retrieved June 5, 2007 from The History Guy Website. http://www. historyguy. com/israeli-palestinian_conflict. html.

Political power

Does political power Acquisition always lead to negative outcomes? I do not believe this because it has many gains. Power could be defined as authority and strength which may include any form of physical force or energy, ability to act, or control. Thus, when it comes to political power, power means an ability to control an area or people for specific outcomes. Political power is that form of power that an individual or a society hold and it can be achieved in various methods. This power might be used as a tool to achieve positive outcomes such as bringing the prosperity to the members of society, can positively be used to influence people to take a particular course of action, to suppress any external aggression, power can also be used crash rebellions from within the state and it can also be used in making individuals in a state to stay peacefully and obedient to the states law. Political power might also be used as a tool to produce negative outcomes such as establishing a dictatorship,   can be used to silence people who might be demanding for their rights, can be used in imposing your will on others forcefully and it can also be used to suppress and deny people to enjoy their rights. The meaning of using Political power negatively was clearly represented in the book ‘Animal Farm’ By George Orwell who Portrays how the negative use of political power. However, although George Orwell predominantly represents a negative use of Political power, it is highly unlikely that the acquisition of political power does not always lead to negative outcomes. The positive side political power is that it can be used in suppressing external aggression that might be directed to a particular state. It is power that a country or a state has that prevents other nations from interfering with the internal affairs of a country. This power is seen when military personnel are placed along the borderline that might be used by the aggressors in attacking. Any state that is unable to protect its national affairs is not worthy to be a sovereign state. This is because a sovereign state is that state that has its government, territory, and citizens and is able to protect its interests as well as the interests of the slate. This power is clearly portrayed in (Orwell G. I956; 45-54) when Mr. Jones armed with a shotgun appeared in what seemed to be a trial to recapture the animal farm. Mr. Jones together with about six men descended on the animal farm through the five barred gate carrying weapons like sticks but me Jones had a gun. He talked to his neighboring farmers Nilkington and Fredrick to help him in recapturing the farm. Finally the animals were able to chase these men out thus, they successfully safeguarded their sovereignty. This fight came to be named as â€Å"The battle of the cowshed† during their victory celebration. Another example of when power is used to prevent external aggression is of Cuba when what seemed to be self exiled Cubans who had sought refuge in United States of America turned to be rebels and attacked their own country with the help from USA. Fidel Castro organized his military men and within a short time the rebellion was crushed. Fidel had overestimated their power by directing all his military force on his enemies. Were it not for his powerful army, the rebels could have subjugated his country. Secondly, power can be used to suppress internal resistance or rebellion. When people start opposing the government that is place for no good reason, the country destabilizes, peace deteriorates and the economy of the country collapses. To prevent all these misfortunes, states use power in preventing or crushing those rebellions. This either done peacefully through dialogue but if it fails to be productive then, the only other alternative is to use force. A classic example of this is in the animal farm where snowball and Napoleon disagreed on the idea of constructing a windmill that would generate electric power that would be used in pumping water in each stall as well as heating these rooms. To show his displeasure, Napoleon decided to pee on Mr. Snowball’s sketches. Later when the animals convened for the weekly meeting, Snowball tried selling his idea to them but Napoleon appeared with nine veracious dogs that he had been rearing in secret. They descended on Snowball who fled out of the farm. When other animals tried to protest, a trained sheep silenced them by bleating at the top of her voice while singing that â€Å"Four legs good, two legs bad† while those dogs barked loudly (Orwell G., 1956; 85-90) Thirdly, power can be used in promoting and maintaining internal peace and stability. A good government is that which is capable of maintaining peace and providing security to its people. No government can do this if it does not have the required mandate or power to do so. A government is said to be in power if it is capable of commanding its police and its army. This is also clearly exemplified in the (Orwell G., 1956; 94-96) Napoleon who became the sole ruler after chasing Snowball became the one who controlled the dogs that he was rearing in order to achieve power. He used these dogs in reinforcing laws and ensuring that the animals obeyed the laws and ensuring that the animals obeyed the laws to the letter. Another example where power is used to maintain order is in the states of America. Every state has its governor, and its law enforcement agencies. The main aim of this is to ensure that people do not break the rule of law and abide by it. Just like the way police shoot criminals, that is what Napoleon’s dogs did. For example they ripped open the throats of the four pigs which confessed to have protested against the actions of Napoleon. (Grayston L.2000: 58-62) Fourth, power can be used to influence other people in taking or following certain desired course of action. For example, people, who are regarded as experts, have certain influential power. People tend to believe them and are assumed to know everything. Also if you are believed to have good characteristics, then you can highly influence others for example Oprah Winfrey is much capable of persuading and influencing many people in the whole world because of his attitude of believing in herself. For example, the squalor used his oratory skills to influence other animals. He even applied gestures to emphasize his points. Squalor that had round cheeks and shrilled voice tone talked brilliantly and when arguing a difficulty points, he swayed from side to side something that attracted many animals not forgetting the wagging and whisking of his tail. (Orwell G., 1956; 36) Power can positively used to create regimes, state or dynasties. Most dynasties in bible came to be because of power. This was after defeating many simple communities who were obstacles to their development here power was used to crush their resistance. This also happened in the same and made it to reach to its highest power levels. (Seagrave S. 1986; 103) On the other side of the coin, power can be destructive in that it can be used as a tool for establishing dictatorship or anarchism.   Here individuals misuse power so that they would become authoritarians. In dictatorial regimes the leader is above the law thus, no law on the land that is applicable to him. In other words, his deeds are not subject to questioning. This power misuse is evident in the Animal Farm (Orwell G., 1956; 42-47) Napoleon and Snowball were both pigs who almost disagreed in every thing. The final straw came when they disagreed on a project to construct a windmill that would generate electricity power to the farm. Napoleon used his secret weapon, nine dogs that were secretly reared to attack Snowball and chasing him away. They were both supposed to be the leaders of this farm but Napoleon usurped it after snowball was chased. These dogs were like policemen. They defended his laws, enforced it and offered him protection. He never walked outside alone without being accompanied by these dogs on both sides. He used these powers to alter the law as he pleased without consulting anyone and used his dogs to impose it on other animals. Another case where political power was used to create dictatorship is in Italy and Germany. Mussolini and Hitler used their political powers to ascend to power. They used the same force to clear anybody who stayed on their way. The same force was used to suppress their subjects in to submission of their laws. Hitler killed about six million Jews using his troops. After the First World War, he conquered and acquired other countries’ territories by force. Though this stabilized his country, it destabilized others. For example France lost its two provinces; Lorraine and Alsace to Germany. (Richard E., 2005: 250-252) It is used to silencing the voice of the people especially when they are demanding for their rights. This mostly is applied to those individuals who hold different opinions about the government or those who are referred to as radicalists. These are the people who are the watchdogs of human rights or whistle blowers. Many regimes have been noted to have used their political powers to silence these people either by giving them death threats or they are arrested and never tried. A good example of where power was misused in this way was in the Animal Farm. Napoleon used his veracious dogs to silence his fellow animals by killing them. For instance, the four pigs who protested after napoleon victimized snowball were killed. Their throats were ripped open by these dogs. Also the hen ringleaders who were protesting against lack of enough food and yet they were expected to lay eggs which would be used in buying grains for other animals to eat. They were killed immediately after they confessed that they incited other hens to lay their eggs from rafters so that they could smash on the ground. (Orwell G., 1956; 95) Also power is negatively used by leaders to protect their personal interests as opposed to those of the majority. Leaders change or alter laws so as to suit their selfish ends. For example in the past there was a law that said that four legs were good and two legs bad. This was made with an objective of discouraging any relationship with human beings but later after there was a shortage of seeds and other supplies, the pigs started trading with people in their neighborhood. A law that prohibited animals from sleeping in beds was altered to read that â€Å"No animal shall sleep in bed with sheets† this was altered with a motive of allowing the pigs to sleep in bed but without sheets. Another power misuse is of leaders who kill their opponents. Some people use their political powers in clearing these people who they refer as obstacles. Saddam was said to have killed about hundred and forty eight Shiites who were against his government. (Joseph B. 2003; 125) Political powers can be used in acquiring the properties of others illegally. When state of lawlessness exists, the strong ones take those of the weak. It is misused by avaricious leaders in amassing wealth by illegal means for example, (Orwell G.1956; 34-35) manor a 12 years boar who had earlier won the farm’s prize called a meeting of all the animals so that he could tell them about his dream and the prophesies he had. He also taught them a song called (Beasts of England). After he died, his prophesy and dream came true when Snowball and Napoleon rebelled against Mr. Jones land after he became obsessed with beer. He never fed his animals and this forced them to break in to the grain store. When Mr. Jones came with his hired men, the animals chased them away and usurped the power. After looking critically looking the pros and cons of political power, the positive side or the pros outweighs the negative effects of power. This because power when used well it brings out significant changes like good government, external aggressions are controlled. This is what makes a state to be sovereign. Power can also be used in acquiring new territories and properties that would increase the wealth and economic base of the country whereas it can negatively impact on the type of government in place, it can be used in silencing people but this issue can be addressed by the constitution and the international criminal court. This essay can be concluded by saying that acquisition of power does not always lead to negative outcomes, as there are many positive uses of power than the negative ones. The positive uses are like protecting the nation against external attacks, maintaining peace, crushing rebellions within the state, to positively influence people and on the other hand it can be misused in bringing anarchy, suppressing the subject from airing their grievances, leaders imposing their will on others and when used uncontrollably it can lead to abuse of human rights. Reference: Seagrave Sterling. The Soong Dynasty. Harper:   trade paperback publisher. Seagrave   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sterling.1985; 58 Orwell G. The Animal Farm: a Fairly Story. Signet Classic, USA. 1956. 36-96. Joseph B. The new Iraq: Rebuilding the Country for its People, the Middle East and the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World. New York, Basic Books.   2003; 125. Scott R E: Solving the Iraq Crisis. NCY: Simon and Scruster. 2002:78 Richard E. The Dictator: Hitler’s German, Stalin’s Russia. Penguin Books. 2005: 250-  Ã‚  Ã‚   252 Grayston L. Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs. Potomac Books Dulles    Virginia 2000; 58-62.