College Should Provide the Tools Needed to Live in our World Essay

College Should Provide the Tools Needed to Live in our World Every year, hundreds of thousand of high school students go to a place of higher learning, be it a community college or a high standing world-renowned University. To get accepted to these places of higher learning, students must write essays about topics, have high grades in high school, have participated in extra curricular activities at school and other things as well. These students expect to get something from these great institutions, and that is why they try so hard to get into the very best universities. After attending a college or university, its graduates will be able to think and express themselves clearly, and learn not only a skill, but also about humanities which helps us in our everyday life. Pupils should walk away from a place of higher learning with the ability to think and express their thoughts. Newman lived in the nineteenth century, and was a well known Catholic priest in the British Isles who wrote an essay with the purpose of defending the value of an education. Newman states It is the education which gives a man clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them (49). An educated person should have the ability to think and reason about issues they will face in their lifetime, and decisions must be made regarding those issues. As Newman stated, the educated person will be able to look upon an issue, and arrive at a conclusion based upon their clear conscious view of the possi ble ramifications of the issue. The learned person honed their skill to think and reason clearly at the University that they attended. Newman points out the benefit of having schol... ...at graduated from that university will have learned how to think clearly, express themselves so they can succeed in life and their field of study, as well as have understanding of their lives and existence because they have studied the humanities. The students must not only think about getting accepted to the best universities, but also about why they want to go to such an institution. They must realize that there is more meaning to life than just making money and having a job, and that they will not learn that in a computer science course. Works Cited Newman, John Henry. The Idea of a University. The Presence of Others. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000, 46 49. Spayde, Jon. Learning in the Key of Life. The Presence of Others. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000, 58 - 63.

Manager Interview Essay -- Effective Management Styles

I chose to interview Regina Geis, who holds the administrative role as acting supervisor for the County Mental Health adult day program, which provides services for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Ms. Geis has held this position for 15 months. This is her first managerial position within a human service agency. Her style of management has changed over this short period of time. She feels that she is now more direct with her direction with staff. She stated, â€Å"Maybe now I come across as a little bit cold. But I have learned that I now have to use the least amount of words to get my point across.† Ms. Geis feels that to be an effective leader one must demonstrate with a high level of confidence, â€Å"even if I’m unsure of myself, I have to be ready to stand by my decision and carry it out.† Although, she also stated a competent supervisor must also be able to accept when they are wrong. Ms. Geis provides supervision for 15 direct care workers in the programs and finds â€Å"That’s a lot of different viewpoints and perspectives to sort through.† Therefore, she finds difficult people are not easy to work with. From an administrate role, she states, â€Å"You can not let it consumes you and affect you negatively.† Ms. Geis feels that to be an effective manager when working with complex individuals one must learn how to use their strengths and adapt the work environment. â€Å"You find what they are really good at and place them in the best role that uses their strong points.† In the beginning, Ms. Geis would quietly sit quietly during entire managerial team meetings, but now she is more confident in her abilities, position, and will speak up. â€Å"Now I give my opinion or raise questions to ask. Sometimes, I may raise a concern that gives ... ... me to strengthen these weaknesses, I will seek training online, at the local community college, and at workshops. Works Cited Edmondson, J. (2009). Let's be clear: How to manage communication styles. American Society for Training & Development, Inc., 63(9), 30-31. Retrieved from http"//go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A212767598&v=2.1&=novaseu_main&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=0abb8dfff77dba5f747cb1b4c13a9d9f Grant, A., & Taylor, A. (2014). Communication essentials for female executives to develop leadership presence: getting beyond the barriers of understating accomplishment. Business Horizons, 7, 73-83. doi: 10.1016/j.busher.2013.09.003 Groves, K., & Vance, C. (2009). Examining managerial thinking style, eq, and organizational commitment. Journal of Managerial Issues, XXI(7), 344-366. Geis, R. (2015, march 30). Interview by Student Name [Personal Interview].

Minimum Wage in the United States Essay

A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily, or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers. The debate over minimum wage in the United States has been ongoing for over 100 years. It is a hot topic in labor, human interest, and especially in economics. Is the minimum wage too low? Is it too high? Should we have one at all? Does having a minimum legal wage help those who it is intended to help, or does it actually make them worse off? Theses questions are asked on a daily basis by interested parties. While there may not be one definitive correct answer, there are compelling arguments on both sides of the issue, and those who represent their â€Å"side† are passionate about their opinions. This is one of a few social topics about which people are generally not indifferent. Much of the adult workforce in the United States has worked a minimum wage job at some point in their career, so we can easily relate to the challenges that face today’s minimum wage workers. This paper is not intended to solve the debate over minimum wage, nor will it attempt to persuade the reader in one direction or the other regarding what should be done concerning minimum wage. The pages that follow will present a brief history of the minimum wage debate in the United States, and then present some of the arguments offered by both sides of the debate. A Brief History of Minimum Wage Although New Zealand was the first country to formally enact minimum wage legislation in 1896,[i] the United States was one of the first major industrialized nations to set a national wage floor for their workers. For decades during the industrial revolution, workers in the United States endured work environments that consisted of long hours, dangerous working conditions, and low wages. Small movements to develop a national minimum wage by labor unions and activist groups were met with predictable resistance from business people, and ultimately struck down by the U. S. Supreme Court. [ii] Finally, in 1938 President Roosevelt and Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act was intended to alleviate some of the poor working conditions that mostly women and young children were subject to. Additionally, this act imposed a federally mandated minimum wage of $0. 25 per hour, with some exceptions. [iii] There have been subsequent pieces of legislation that continue to address and improve workers’ rights since that time, focusing more on quality of life issues rather than eliminating abuses by employers. Additionally, individual states now have the right to enact their own minimum wage, so long as it is no lower than the federally mandated minimum wage. Since 1938, the national minimum wage has been raised 21 times, most recently in 2009, and is currently $7. 25 per hour. Today, more than 90% of countries in the world have some sort of wage floor for their work force. [iv] The Case for Minimum Wage Those in favor of a minimum wage argue that it increases the standard of living of workers and reduces poverty. [v] Those workers that are paid minimum wage are unskilled laborers, perhaps first entering the job market. Without any marketable skills, the worker needs some protection that they will be paid a fair rate that will enable them to be self-sufficient until such time that they have learned a skill or trade that will allow them to work their way up from the low wage jobs. Without a minimum wage, employers would have significantly more market power than the workers – a monopsony – and that could result in the intentional collusion between employers regarding the wage they will offer. [vi] Absent this protection, workers would be forced to accept the artificially low wages, resulting in a very low quality of life. Additionally, the argument can be made that paying a â€Å"livable† minimum wage incentivizes workers to not only get a job, but to work hard to keep that job. When minimum wages are significantly greater than payments received through a social welfare system, people are rewarded for their hard work. If a person could receive an amount close to what they would earn at minimum wage through the welfare system, what motivation would they have to work the minimum wage job? In contrast, if workers are paid an amount that is considerably more, they will find and keep work. This serves another purpose, to decrease the cost of government administered social welfare programs by getting people off of welfare and onto payrolls. Another common argument made by those in favor of the minimum wage is that it actually helps to stimulate spending, improving overall economic conditions. [vii] The theory behind this argument is that low wage earners typically spend everything they make. Whether on necessities or luxury items, minimum wage earners are likely to spend their entire paycheck. If there were an increase in the minimum wage, the people who would receive the pay increase would turn around and spend their new money. This would help to cover the costs of the increased wages as many businesses would see an almost immediate return through increased sales. While this argument seems to make sense, it must be clarified that no empirical evidence to support this claim could be found. Another argument made is that an increase in minimum wage helps to improve the work ethic of those who receive the increase. The implication is that if their employer is forced to give them a raise, they will be compelled to work harder to improve their efficiency and increase their productivity in return. Again, there is no evidence to either support or refute this claim, and opinions run strong regarding this argument. Perhaps the most basic and most often made argument in support of a national minimum wage law is that it is simply the correct thing to do, morally speaking. The idea that we should want to take care of each other and make sure that everyone made a comfortable wage is one of the most basic tenets of the philosophy of those who support it. Arguments against Minimum Wage Laws: On the other side of the argument are those who are opposed to increasing the minimum wage, as well as some who think it should be abolished altogether. Many businesspeople and economists are on this side of the debate, and they present some pretty compelling arguments. They argue that imposing an increase on the federally mandated minimum wage actually will do more economic harm than good. [viii] The main argument deals with the elasticity of demand regarding employment. A minimum wage increase actually reduces the quantity demanded of workers, either through a reduction in the number of hours worked by individuals, or through a reduction in the number of jobs. ix] Simply put, employers are likely not going to increase their salary budget, so if the hourly wages increase, then they must reduce the number of hours of work that they are paying for. This could result in the exact opposite impact of that which is intended. Those earning the minimum wage and are facing reduced hours or even being let go will find themselves much worse off as a result of an increase than leaving it at its current rate. Additionally, often the way out of e arning minimum wage is through skills learned through those minimum wage jobs. If there are fewer of these jobs as a result of the wage being higher, fewer people will be able to learn the skills needed to move up on a career path and break the cycle of poverty. Secondly, if employers are unwilling or unable to reduce the number of hours they pay their employees, they will simply attempt to make up the increased salary expense through increased prices. On a small scale, this may not have a large impact on the overall economy. When this is done on a large scale because many employers need to cover their increased costs, this is likely to lead to inflation. x] Higher salaries necessitate higher prices which will erode most if not all of the benefits of the increase in pay. The minimum wage workers will have the same buying power as before, but because of unnecessary inflation, the lower middle class will actually face the biggest impact because their wages will not have increased but their purchasing power will also have eroded. Another area that may be impacted by a mandated wage increase is training. As most workers who earn the minimum wage typically have little education and training, their biggest chance to work their way into a higher paying job is through on the job training. One part of an employer’s budget that could face cuts would be for providing training to employees. Often employers provide training to their employees that would help them advance in their career, but may not be completely necessary in their current position. Unnecessary expenses such as this will most likely be trimmed, resulting in fewer opportunities for the working poor. [xi] Perhaps the simplest argument is if a minimum wage worker is producing $4. 00 per hour worth of product, and then the federal minimum wage is raised to $5. 0, the employer must find a way to increase the workers marginal productivity or face operating loses due to underproductive employees. One final thought from opponents is that once all of the aforementioned arguments are considered, there are more effective ways of helping address the issue of poverty. The Earned Income Tax Credit is pointed to as a strong example of one of the more effective ideas, rather than putting the burden of poverty on em ployers, it is shifted to the government. [xii] Empirical Data: When considering both sides of this debate, it is important to realize who are the workers earning minimum wage, and what role they have in providing for their families. Of the 1. 9 million workers in the United States who were paid the minimum wage in 2005 (most recent information available), more than one half (53%) are between the ages of 16-24. These workers are most likely high school and college students, and most of them do not work a full time schedule. Two thirds are members of families who have a combined income of at least 2 or more times the official poverty level based on their family size. Less than 17 percent are the only wage earners in their families, and less than 6 percent are poor single mothers. [xiii] What does this information tell us? The most important thing is that an increase in the minimum wage would target a majority of people who may not be living in poverty and are otherwise not in need of direct assistance. The far-reaching effects of raising minimum wages across the board in order to get help to the approximately 22 percent of earners who are truly living in poverty seems to be at the least ineffective, and at worst it could epresent a terrible misstep in economic policy. It is difficult if not impossible to identify the jobs lost because of minimum wage, but it is very easy to identify the additional income for a minimum wage worker. This is often the first retort from minimum wage advocates in response to arguments made by the other side. Alison Wellington’s research found that a 10% increase in the minimum wage resulted in a 0. 6% decrease in teenage employment, with no effect on unemployment rates. [xiv] A study along the same lines by David Neumark and William Washer in 2008 found contrasting results. They concluded that minimum wage resulted in a reduction in employment opportunities for low skilled workers, it was most harmful to poverty-stricken families, and that it lowers the adult wages of young workers by reducing their ultimate level of education. [xv] There are countless studies on both sides of the issue, and each one only solidifies each side in their existing opinion. No matter what position one takes regarding the minimum wage debate, there are a multitude of studies available to support it. The seemingly obvious fact is that these small increases that are enacted every few years are never enough to truly make a difference in bringing a person or a family out of poverty. A fifty cent increase in the minimum wage results in about $20 more per week for a full time worker. In my estimation, it is quite unlikely that small amount is making the difference in a person or a family living in poverty and living comfortably. A study of PhD members of the American Economic Association found that 46. % of respondents wanted minimum wage completely eliminated while 37. 7% want the minimum wage increased. [xvi] Such division among even the most expert economists shows exactly how contentious this issue is, and that there is no black and white, right or wrong answer to solve the debate. Perhaps as time goes on and there is more historical data to review, there may be a more definitive answer regarding this debate. Until such time, both sides will most likely remain entrenched in their current position.

Is It Better for People to Stop Trying When They Feel Certain They Will Not Succeed?

Assignment: Is it better for people to stop trying when they feel certain they will not succeed? Although there is the notion held by some people that we should give up some tasks in our life which â€Å"seem† not to be successful forever, I really consider that we should insist on everything we want to do. For, the consistency and the durability of the certain thing will lead us to splendid success. Due to Continuation, Mathew Emmons, a famous sport shooter, and Alfred Nobel, known for his invention of dynamite, earn themselves irreplaceable fame in their respective fields.Matthew Emmons, though missed the Olympics Games champ in shooting all the time, still impresses us with his fortitude. As a famous American shooter, Matthew attended Olympics Games for three times separately during the past twelve years; he missed the first place unchangeably. Nevertheless, he always appeared at the great games, chasing after his dream to become the champ in shooting. During the Olympics o f Athens, he let his champ go by bombing in the last shoot. Matthew, though frustrated, still collected enough courage to participate in the following games in Beijing and London.Unfortunately, misfortune happened on him again; He implausibly scored only few points in the last shoot in the final of his games, narrowly escaping the champ. Afterwards, interviewed by journalists, Matthew said that he would assiduously prepare for Rio de Janeiro. Undeniably, he might feel distressed when he failed in so many great games; he never gives up. Instead, he insists on training and hopes to attend the Game in Rio de Janeiro, 2016. At the same time, the unstopped experiment made by Alfred Nobel can illustrate my idea.Alfred Nobel owes his irreplaceable fame as an inventor of dynamite. Alfred Nobel cultivated great interest in science, especially in explosive, since very young under the influence of his father. Alfred Nobel engaged himself into experiments to find a more powerful and stable subs tance after his graduation from the college. The procedure proved to be tough, even frustrated. On 3 September 1864 a shed, used for the preparation of nitroglycerin, exploded at his factory, killing 5 people including Nobel's brother.Nobel was not obsessed with the bitterness of such accident; instead, he became more strengthened about his goal to find new chemical substance to replace nitroglycerin. Nobel was eventually rewarded when he successfully invented dynamite in 1867. We had to admit that Nobel suffered a lot during the experiment: lose his brother, lose many friends, and lose the trust from the family. However, he had no idea to give up the research on the Dynamite. Through our constant efforts, we can best demonstrate our ability and pursue our dreams. Maybe, the result may change miraculously towards direction desired by us.

Romeo and Juliet – Guilty Deaths

Deaths The Shakespearian play Romeo and Juliet is a well known story about star-crossed lovers whose fates end in tragedy. The deaths of these two lovers can be held responsible on two main characters, Friar Lawrence and the Nurse yet out of the two, who is more liable? Friar Lawrence is a priest who marries the two lovers, gives Juliet a fake potion to prevent her from marrying Paris, fails to send the letter to Romeo telling him about his plan and selfishly runs away from Juliet in fear that he would get into trouble for his involvement.The Nurse is Juliet’s lifelong caregiver who helps Juliet and her lover get married, becomes their â€Å"messenger† and later on in the play, changes her mind on who Juliet should be with. The physical actions and guidance of both the Friar and Nurse demonstrate their liability for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Although, it is undeniable that Friar Lawrence is more to blame than the Nurse on the deaths of Romeo and Juliet through his guidance, advice and physical actions throughout the play.In the play, Romeo and Juliet are very young and constantly seek advice and guidance of people older and supposedly wiser than them, like Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. What is unclear to them is that the advice and guidance that they receive comes with many consequences, and for Romeo and Juliet, it is death. Throughout the course of the Shakespearian play, Friar Lawrence gives the couple a lot of advice and guidance. To avoid marrying Paris, he tells Juliet to pretend to be dead with the help of a special potion he made.As part of the plan, he was supposed to inform Romeo of this arrangement yet he fails which later costs him his own life along with Juliet’s. â€Å"Come I’ll dispose of thee/ Among a sisterhood of holy nuns/ Stay not to question, for the watch is coming/ Come, go good Juliet. I dare no longer stay/† (Shakespeare 5. 3 155) demonstrates how selfish he was as he left the Capulet tomb and le t Juliet kill herself instead of attempting to help her. By letting her die alongside Romeo, he is more responsible for their deaths. The second character that holds responsibility for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet through her advice to Juliet is the Nurse.Throughout, the Nurse seems to admire Romeo. She praises him for his love for Juliet and seems to be fond of their marital union. After Atabani 2 a heated discussion between Lady Capulet, Capulet and Juliet about whether or not she should marry Paris, she changes her mind about Romeo and their marriage. She believes that because he is exiled from Verona that he should be dead to Juliet. Romeo is banished, and all the world to nothing. That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you. Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth. Then, since the case so stands as now it doth.I think it best you married with the county. Oh, he’s a lovely gentleman. Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam, Hath not so green, so quick, s o fair an eye As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart. I think you are happy in this second match. For it excels your first. Or if it did not. Your first is dead, or ’twere as good he were. As living here and you no use of him (3. 5 88) All through the play, it is clear that the Nurse is a very mother like character to Juliet therefore when she gave Juliet advice on who to marry, the Nurse was attempting to advocate bigamy.This upsets Juliet and because of the advice the Nurse gives her, she goes to Friar Lawrence in seek of a remedy for her aching heart. Although both the Nurse and Friar Lawrence may have seemed to have good intentions in giving advice to Romeo and Juliet about their star-crossed love, the Friar’s words of advice makes him more accountable for their deaths. In Romeo and Juliet, the fulfillment of certain actions leads to the play's tragic ending, death. In the play Friar Lawrence is one of the characters whom commits physical acts that makes him responsi ble for the deaths of the lovers.Firstly, he marries the two lovers in a secret ceremony with only the Nurse attending. By performing their marriage, he defies their fates and bonds them as star-crossed lovers, which leads to their devastating deaths. After, the Friar’s realization of their forbidden love he states â€Å"In one respect I’ll thy assistant be/ For this alliance may so happy prove/ To turn your households rancor to pure love† (2. 3 46). He marries them against Atabani 3their families in hopes that he may end the feud that divides the Capulets and the Montagues.By creating a marital union between the Juliet and Romeo, the Friar creates more hatred between the families that builds up to the conclusion. By marrying them, the Friar makes himself more accountable for the suicides of Romeo and Juliet. The second character who is physically liable for the deaths of the star – crossed lovers is the Nurse. After the Prince exiles Romeo to Mantua for murdering Tybalt, the Nurse plays a â€Å"messenger† role, in which she continuously goes back and forth between the two lovers. She helps them be Atabani 3 ogether even though she knows that both the Capulets and Montagues would disapprove. The Nurse would also constantly bring news from Romeo to Juliet about their blooming love and later, their marriage. Now, afore God, I am so vexed that every part about me quivers. Scurvy knave! Pray you, sir, a word And as I told you my young lady bid me inquire you out. What she bade me say, I will keep to myself. But first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her into a fool’s paradise as they say, it were a very gross kind of behavior, as they say.For the gentlewoman is young, and therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman and very weak dealing (2. 4 53) are the words of The Nurse while she is explaining to Romeo about her role as a messenger between both Juliet and R omeo. If the Nurse had considered what would happen to this couple, she may not have wanted to become their messenger and risk their lives like she did. As a result of both the Friar and the Nurse’s involvement physically they can both be held accountable for the deaths of the lovers, yet it is evident that Friar Lawrence can be considered more responsible.Through his guidance, advice and physical actions throughout the play, it is undeniable that Friar Lawrence is more to blame than the Nurse on the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The Shakespearian play Romeo and Juliet written in 1590 explores many different themes including fate, love and death. The deaths of the protagonists Romeo and Juliet can be blamed on the physical actions, guidance and advice of both the Friar and Nurse. This later demonstrates who is more responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.The Nurse’s actions, advice and assistance includes helping the lovers get their marriage, becoming their †Å"messenger† and later on in the play and changing her overall idea about the marriage between Juliet and Romeo. The actions, guidance and advice that Friar Lawrence administrates to both Romeo and Juliet include marrying the two lovers, giving Juliet the potion, failing to send the letter to Romeo in time and selfishly running away from Juliet in fear that he would get into trouble for his involvement make him more responsible than the Nurse.

Translocation of over-Breeding Species

Translocation is the method to alleviate the over-breeding problem of animal besides killing them. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) broadly defines translocation as ‘‘the deliberate and mediated movement of wild individuals from one part of their range to another† (e. g. IUCN, 1987). Translocation includes Capture and handling, captivity or some form of prolonged restraint, transport, release into an unfamiliar location four processes. Despite its wide use and importance, translocation traditionally has a low rate of success due to the effect of chronic stress.But Tufts University has done the measure on translocation and found out the solutions (Biological Conservation Molly J. Dickens 2010). Administering anesthesia or tranquilizing during capture, reduce the risk of the animal perceive handling and transport. Normally, Health assays, veterinary visits, or other forms of observation and intervention are conducted during captivity, decrease the total number of visits, thus decreasing added exposure to handling stress.Specific aspects of transport such as vehicle design, stacking density, ventilation, and even the quality of the road and the standard of driving should be measured before translocation. Finally, the use of a ‘‘soft-release† strategy, in which animals adjust to the area in a special designed cage before being released, may decrease novelty of the release site since animals will have time to adjust to their new surroundings without additional stress of finding resources or facing predation. This research makes translocation be a feasible method nowadays.There are two types of strategy in translocation. Introduce to a place with similar biotic and abiotic factors but the population of over-breeding species should be small. For the advantage, animals easily adapt the new condition. But the animals still have a high breeding rate, the over-breeding problem will threaten the ecosystem again a fter a long period. Another strategy is to introduce to a place with new environment. It actually can reduce the breeding rate effectively. But there is a lot of works should be carried out both before and after.Before animals can be introduced into an environment biologists must determine the reason for the over-breeding and over-population problems and also assess the risk of translocation. After translocation, biologists should study the animals to ensure they are surviving and breeding in their new environment. Translocation is the most suitable for some species of animals. For example, Grey kangaroos are one of the over breeding animals. They are capable of breeding throughout the year, but most breeding occurs in summer. The female kangaroo is usually permanently pregnant, except on the day she gives birth.This leads a high birth rate. Apart from human, the effect of predator on kangaroo’s population is limit. And also, eastern Grey Kangaroos are the most social of the kangaroos and so it is rare to see one alone. One good reason to gather together in a group is that more individuals can be more attentive to possible threats from predators. As kangaroos dead from the effect of predator is low, but the high breeding rate continuously increase the population, finally cause over-population. But the grey kangaroos are a high adaptability species.They can still alive in the change of environment and this minimizes the effect of translocation. During a dry period, males will not produce sperm. It is suitable to relocate them to a less wet place to reduce their ability of reproduction. Kangaroos are animals that don't burp methane. In Australia, kangaroo compete with cattle and sheep. The increase in number of kangaroos enables decrease number of sheep and cattle, and therefore reduces the release of greenhouse gases. This is the main reason why we save the kangaroos rather than eating them.

A moral understanding of Utilitarianism and torture Essay

KSM is a mastermind terrorist who has been captured by the CIA. He refuses to reveal any information about his organization or the members thereof that could be fundamental to the welfare of hundreds of lives. Even under the presence of coercive methods such as sleep deprivation and water boarding, he has refused to talk. His nine and eleven year old children have been brought into custody and a suggestion has been made to torture the children. Is the option ethical or moral in any sense? Utilitarianism provides two answers for the question; one asserting the general rule of utility, the other expanding on justice implicating that the notion that no harm should be inflicted on the children. Each case will be dissected and assessed to reveal the most feasible answer to whether or not the children should be tortured. This conclusion will also be questioned on whether or not the provided answer is approaching the situation in the best possible manner. Utilitarianism in its simplest form distinguishes the difference between right and wrong by asserting that what is right is any action of good that will positively affect the common welfare of all. In short, the principle of utility implies that what is good is whatever promotes the greatest amount of happiness. This implies that the happiness of one individual is not as relevant or important as the happiness of a multitude of persons, or that the value of life can be measured in numbers and not by specific individuals. The general idea is that if five people are saved as compared to saving one life, then there is more happiness being created and as a result more good is being created. In KSM’s case, if the general rule of utilitarianism is to be applied, then the option of torturing KSM’s children is a plausible means of coercion. This rule fundamentally subtracts the happiness lost by torturing the children in exchange for the gain of hundreds and thousands of lives that could potentially be saved resulting in a greater amount of happiness overall. Therefore utilitarianism does advocate for the torture of KSM’s children. The tactic will provide the necessary information that the CIA needs to save lives. The proponents of utilitarianism may come off as rash, insensitive, and unsympathetic beings for allowing a method such as this one to occur in order to save many lives. Injuring two lives for the benefit of thousands more is sound, but may not be ethical or moral. It is a difficult feat to assess what is ethical and moral especially when encountered with a situation like this. An assumption that it is immoral to not torture these children could be proposed because not acting on the children could deter the CIA from attaining valuable information for the welfare and safety of the nation. Of course, it must not be assumed that torturing a child is acceptable in today’s standards, and utilitarianism will attempt to answer why it is not right to torture the children to obtain information through the utilitarian’s understanding of justice. Justice to utilitarianism carries with it great weight and resonance to the ideology. According to Mill, it is one of the sole features in which utilitarianism embodies. It is stated that justice contains in it the following rules: all beings must be treated with equality, and that each is given their just deserts; good for good, and evil for evil, that no one should be wrongly punished; that no life shall be valued over another, and that the punishment should be proportionate to the offense. Another feature is that all commitments and obligations whether they be declared orally or written, should be respected and upheld and the failure to do so is performing injustice and is a moral fallacy. Therefore, when considering the KSM case with the application of justice under utilitarianism, it seems as though it is not logical to torture the children to obtain information from their father. The torturing of children violates the laws applicable to the definition of justice under utilitarianism. If these children are tortured, the principle that all individuals are equal and to all their justice deserts, would be invalid. These children have done nothing wrong and do not deserve to be tortured, thus the punishment that would befall them is not parallel to the ideals presented in the definition of justice. Also, the lives of these children were not properly accounted for, for if justice states that all lives are equal and that none is more valuable than the rest, then it is rational and coextensive with justice to not torture the children. By not performing the horrendous notion, these children’s lives are not placed lower than the rest, but the opposing view could also be taken stating that by not torturing these children they are placed above thousands of other lives, giving their lives more value than the multitude, and this is does not correspond with the definition of justice. Therefore, torturing these children is not a favorable option when considering the application of utilitarianism. But there is one exception that utilitarianism allows, which is when certain cases arise that requires expediency, thus suspending applications of moral justice. Although both alternative methods of assessing the dilemma have been presented with each have a distinct approach. The first taking into consideration the principle of utilitarianism the latter using the principle of justice, both acting as derivatives of utilitarianism and paradoxically both approved of using torture to gain information. The principle of utility declared torture a necessary means to obtain a valuable resource that consequentially benefits the whole, and in turn increasing happiness and goodness – increasing utility. The principles of justice deemed the usage of torture an incompatible method of attaining the means in the presented situation. The equality of the children was not taken into account and disregarded, while the action of torturing them does not correlate with reason because the children did nothing to bring this suggested harm upon themselves. But, even justice allows for the possibility of torture to resume when extenuating circumstances do not allow for a well thought out procedure, and expediency is recognized as the only reasonable means of achieving a goal. So does utilitarianism allow for the torturing of children to occur? According to the principle of utility and somewhat present in the exceptions of justice – yes. This does not mean that this action is moral or ethical by any means. The intentional injury of children is wrong in many, if not all, philosophical and religious ideologies. It is not easy to accept this as the only method prescribed to remedy the situation. In this case, the means do not justify the ends. Although utilitarianism states that these children should not be placed higher than any individual and there sacrifice would benefit the greater good, the implementation of torture on children is not an attractive option. Utilitarianism states that this viable option is right, but just because it may promote the general welfare and happiness of a multitude of individuals, does not necessarily indicate that it will, or that any information will be extracted from KSM, thus giving the impression that it may seem right to a utilitarian, but most would consider this an act of inhumanity and a relentless, unsympathetic, irrational attempt to validate assertions created on the basis of assumption and plausibility.