Friday, November 29, 2019

Watergate Essays (2054 words) - Watergate Scandal, L. Patrick Gray

Watergate WATERGATE Sex, drugs, money, power, you name it and there is a scandal for it, but look back and you will see that from all the scandals there have been, Watergate was among the worst. The Watergate scandal had everything. From Nixon disgracing the presidency by lying to the country and abusing his power, to his committees being involved in illegal acts and a big cover up. All leading to little side roads of corruption and lies. Watergate is by far one of the worst presidential scandals in the history of the United States. In the story of Watergate, five burglars were found breaking into democratic offices at the Watergate complex in Washington DC. The break-in was passed off as just another burglary, but when the burglars were found to have connections with the CIA, questions were starting to be asked. Then when the phone number of Howard Hunt was found in one of the burglars phone books, it made people think, Why would one of the burglars have the phone number of one of the presidents men? Then there is Richard Nixon, the man of the hour, plays the role of the president of the United States of America. The man that was voted into office by the people, and the man that swore to serve the people. When Watergate was uncovered, it revealed that the president was a liar and a cheat. The president lied to our country, lied about his involvement, concealed self incriminating evidence, abused his power, and planed to have the CIA stop the FBI investigations. He was also deeply involved with the cover up and still lied about his involvement. During the times of the unraveling of Watergate, questions were asked about connections with the White House and the president, but when the president was asked about it at a press conference he assured Americans that The White House has no involvement whatever in this particular incident. He was lying to the country like it was part of his job (Dorman 158). The lying did not end there, it went on and on for months, and as the scandal kept unraveling, President Nixon and White House, and creep officials were deliberately misleading the public about the significance of the Watergate affair (158). As Watergate was becoming a front-page article in the newspapers, new evidence was being uncovered. One piece of evidence that changed the peoples ideas of our president was the tapping of every conversation in the oval office since about the 18th month of president Nixon's term (Kutler 368). Those tapes would soon prove that the president was deeply involved in the scandal. During the trials, the Nixon administration claimed that the March 21st, 1973 meeting was the first Nixon had heard of the cover-ups, but after the tapes were heard it was discovered that Nixon was involved from the beginning (Heritage 36). The Nixon tapes brought out much controversy. The tapes alone could prove the president innocent or guilty, whichever one it was, Nixon refused to hand over the tapes. the courts then demanded the tapes, and Nixon still would not give them up. After much struggle Nixon agreed to give a transcript of the tapes. The transcripts brought to light a significant amount of evidence against Nixon. The transcripts revealed payoffs, affiliation with the burglaries, and the OK's to the cover-up, But most important the transcripts showed that Nixon had lied repeatedly after he had denied knowing anything about the conspiracy (27). After much struggle, the courts finally got the tapes from Nixon, It was Archibald Cox that issued the subpoena for the tapes, and that started the bloodbath we now know as the Saturday night massacre. The night of October 20,1973, possibly the most tumultuous in American political history, when the special Watergate prosecutor and the nations two top law officers lost their jobs within the space of an hour and a half. (Heritage 38). Soon the country would find a new problem with the tapes. When the presidents lawyers were going over the tapes, they came along an 18 minute gap during a conversation with Nixon and Haldman (34). Three weeks later, the gap was discovered, Rosemary Woods (Nixon's secretary) testified that while transcribing the tape, she had accidentally erased perhaps five minutes when interrupted by a phone call, she said she had pressed the 'Record' button instead of the 'Stop' button and then kept her foot on the machines control pedal while speaking into the phone. (34) Not everyone accepted this explanation; The maneuver would have been difficult

Monday, November 25, 2019

Game of Life (LOF) symbolise essays

Game of Life (LOF) symbolise essays I once saw a movie about a man and his wife. They were stranded on a desert island. Together, alone, full moon and stars everywhere. Sounds romantic right? Wrong, no cooked food, fruit everyday, no hope for rescue or anyway to let anyone know where they were. Not so romantic, just deadly. Now, put a bunch of young kids on an island. Alone, no responsibility, no rules, sounds like fun and games. This game turns into the game of their life. It doesnt turn out very well for anyone but without Piggys glasses it is the last game any of these boys will ever play. In William Goldings Lord of the Flies Piggys glasses are a symbol of hope for rescue because they provide fire for survival, the smoke signal and represent Piggys insight. On area the glasses symbolize rescue is they make the fire so the boys can develop a smoke signal for passing ships to see. The boys have no radios, there arent any cell phones, and they have no way to inform the rest of the world of their position on this huge planet. Then it hits them, We can help them find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire. (38) This is the first great idea they have to use Piggys glasses. Ralph understands the importance of keeping the fire going. He knows the importance of a smoke signal. Jack lets the fire go out while hunting, and Ralph gets very angry. There was a ship out there... They might have seen us. We might have gone home. You and your blood Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! (70) Without the smoke signal they never will be rescued, but thanks to Piggys glasses, some quick thinking, and a lot of luck, they are. A second area the glasses give hope is they provide the fire needed for survival. They need it to cook their food. If they have to be there for a long period of time they will be able f ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Fulminating Hepatitis B secondary to a lifetime use of IV drug abuse Research Paper

Fulminating Hepatitis B secondary to a lifetime use of IV drug abuse - Research Paper Example This helps in identifying the initial treatment, as well as eliminating all contraindications to liver transplant. In addition, conducting proper prognosis helps in identifying patients who need a transplant and those who will survive without a liver transplant. Symptoms presented by fulminant hepatitis B require immediate medical interventions to prevent further damage on liver cells. However, in some patients, the condition is asymptomatic, which makes it difficult to detect. Patients of such nature may spread the condition to others unknowingly (Vandevante et al, 2011). Hepatitis B virus This paper looks into a case of a 51 year old patient suffering from fulminating Hepatitis B as a result of prolonged intravenous drug abuse. The fulminant condition under consideration is as a result of hepatitis B virus. Currently, hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the leading cause of fulminant hepatitis compared to other viral hepatitis. Hepatitis B virus attacks and replicates within hepatocytes. In terms of structure, hepatitis B virus has an outer shell and an inner core. The inner core bares the viral DNA, enzymes and proteins including hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) and HBVe antigen (HBeAg). The outer shell has the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HbsAg), which is produced in excess by hepatocytes replicating the hepatitis B virus. ... In cases of acute HBV, a bigger number of viral DNA is cleared from liver cells through a non-cytocidal process caused by inflammatory byproducts derived from CD8+ T lymphocytes. The release of inflammatory products occurs once CD+ T cells are stimulated by interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alfa, which are products of CD4+ T cells (Gish, 2009). The inflammatory byproducts lead to down regulation of viral replication as well as triggering direct lysis of infected liver cells. The destruction of infected hepatocytes through lysis occurs due to action of HBV specific CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. Major destruction of hepatocytes in fulminant viral hepatitis is also as a result of host immune factors. HumoralAb response in fulminant hepatitis B is usually enhanced (Gish, 2009). This leads to an increased rate of HBsAG clearance from the liver. High level of anti-HBsAb is evident in patients with fulminant hepatitis B on admission. Fulminating hepatitis B may either be hyperacute, acut e, and subacute. In hyperacute, features present include encephalopathy within 7 days after the appearance of jaundice, and an increased rate of getting cerebral oedema (Aspinal at al., 2011). Acute condition presents itself with jaundice to encephalopathy within8-28 days and a high risk of cerebral oedema. In subacutecondition, development of jaundice to encephalopathy may occur within 5-26 wks, and there is a minimal risk of cerebral oedema. Main clinical features in fulminating hepatitis B include encephalopathy, jaundice, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The liver may appear enlarged during the initial stages, but later reduces in size. Other conditions include cerebral oedema, renal failure, and

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

2012 Olympic's impact on Sports management in London Essay

2012 Olympic's impact on Sports management in London - Essay Example Hence, Tennis Wimbledon Tournament or Football League Championship is mega-event known all over the world, which attracts millions of viewers. Also today there is no grown-up person who is not aware what the word â€Å"Olympics† means and who has not watched the greatest international complex sport competitions on television at least once. It is well-known that the famous symbol of Olympics, five colorful rings, can be identified by more than ninety per cent of planet’s population. This exceeds the recognition of such extremely popularized brands as Nike, Coca-Cola and McDonalds (Vigor, Mean, Tims 2004, pp. 4). Even in a far antiquity Olympic Games were the main sport event of all the times and nations. During the period of Olympics peace and consent were proclaimed on the Earth. The wars stopped and all dignified athletes competed in a fair fight for the top ranking. Olympic movement managed to overcome a lot of impediments, among which were: interruptions by World War s, attacks of terrorists, including bombing, kidnapping of sportsmen, murders, boycotts, and various diplomatic incidents. However, the Great Games have survived and currently take place every forth year, with interchange of summer and winter games with a difference of two years. Nowadays Olympics are spread on a large scale, being equipped with the latest techniques and recorded by numerous computers and cameras for defining the final results of the sportsmen with a high accuracy. Lately the cities that organize Olympics become the capitals of the world for the period of games holding. The place of the consecutive Games is announced beforehand for giving at least seven years to the country to get itself ready. Hence, London has been officially chosen for the Olympics 2012 on the sixth of July 2005, leaving behind such serious rivals as Paris, Moscow, New-York and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Christian Afterlife Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Christian Afterlife - Essay Example ok in the communication between God and people according to the Christian faith, the New Testament (with concentration on Paul) gives a clear vision of the life of Christians as that which already takes part in the realities of heaven. Such Christian life is to be put into experience only after the return of Jesus Christ as well as the resurrection of human bodies. On the other hand, the Old Testament book in the bible, (Note that the Bible usually is divided into two testaments- the New and the Old) shows the images of afterlife less vividly in comparison with the New Testament. As a matter of fact, the image of afterlife in the Old Testament is only developed in a modest manner. Thus, the Old Testament, instead of concentrating on the issue of afterlife, gives a wide focus on the care that God offers to people in the context of earthly bestowments like offspring and land. It also touches on the punishment of God to the people such as the Israelites who were not faithful as well as the pagan nations in the form of death or exile. Christians, though, view the Old Testament as promising afterlife to God’s people. For instance, there is the part in the Old Testament that talks about the promises to Abraham by God in terms of offspring/land as symbolic to his afterlife blessing. This is due to the fact that the promises given by God to Abraham were not really experienced until a long time subsequent to his demise. This sense is fully expounded upon once one reads the New Testament of the Bible. (Ryken, et al, 1998 pp16,17) Those beliefs that Christians uphold are put in what is called Creeds. There are two majorly essential creeds according to the Christianity religion and these are the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. They (Christians) only believe that there exists only a single God, and his nature is that of Love and relationship. God’s nature is vividly expressed in the Trinity belief for majority Christians and that these are three persons by the names

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Investigating Alykl Hydoxylation in P450-can Using EVB

Investigating Alykl Hydoxylation in P450-can Using EVB Shen Ye Abstract Cytochrome P450s are a superfamily of haemoproteins1-3 which catalyse the oxidation of organic molecules4. One P450 enzyme studied for its hydroxylation mechanism is P450cam (CYP101) from the Pseudomonas putida bacteria, whose crystal structure (1DZ9) was solved by Schlichting et al.5. The active form of P450cam contains an oxyferryl species known as compound I(CPDI), where the iron has a formal oxidation state of Fe(V) 6, 7 in the plane of a porphyrin ring with a protruding oxygen atom. This oxygen atom is a tremendously potent oxidising agent and can readily abstract a hydrogen of a C-H bond from non-activated hydrocarbons with potentially high regioselectivity[REF]. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank: Patrick von Glehn Dr Richard Lonsdale Professor Adrian Mulholland Professor Jeremy Harvey Professor Neil Allan Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgements Table of Contents Part I – Literature Review An introduction to haem oxygenases Cytochrome P450 enzymes P450 catalytic cycle P450cam An introduction to CHARMM and EVB Part II Methodology Part I – Literature Review An introduction to haem oxygenases After hydrogen and helium, oxygen is the third most abundant chemical element in the universe8 and makes up 20.9% of Earth’s atmosphere9. Oxygen accounts for 65% of the mass in humans8 as it is found in all biological systems including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and water. Oxygen occurs in the atmosphere as dioxygen, with a triple ground state where the two unpaired electrons are occupying two degenerate molecular orbitals10. This makes incorporating atmospheric oxygen into organic molecules (predominantly singlet species) extremely difficult as it would be a spin forbidden process. Haem oxygenases are enzymes containing a prosthetic haem cofactor, an iron atom held by a porphyrin ring. Haem B is the most common prosthetic haem group, consisting of a protoporphyrin IX ring bound to the iron. It is most commonly found in the human body inside haemoglobin and myoglobin11, playing a major role when it comes to binding atmospheric dioxygen. There are two groups of haem oxygenases, monooxygenases and dioxygenases, one reacts using a single oxygen atom and the other using both oxygen atoms. The haem B cofactor and the apoenzyme are synthesised separately in different parts of a cell and they are connected via ligation to the iron atom on the proximal face12. The protoporphyrin ring is a tetrapyrrole macrocycle synthesised from basic biological precursors including succinyl CoA and the most basic amino acid, glycine13. Ferrochelatase coordinates the iron atom to the protoporphyrin, producing haem B14. In cytochrome P450 enzyme the iron is ligated to a proximal cysteine residue via the sulphur atom15, however in some other oxygenases and other haemoproteins such as haemoglobin and myoglobin the iron is coordinated to a proximal histidine residue16. In monooxygenases one of the dioxygen atoms is converted to H2O and the other is commonly inserted into an aliphatic position of the substrate, producing a hydroxyl group by oxidation of reducing agents such as NADH and NAD(P)H17, 18. The most studied haem-containing monooxygenases are the superfamily of cytochrome P450 enzymes due to their large diversity and versatility19, 20. Cytochrome P450 enzymes Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) were first discovered by Axelrod21 and Brodie et al.22 in 1955 when they observed the oxidation of xenobiotic compounds in the endoplasmic reticulum of the liver, but the enzymes responsible were still unknown until 1962. Klingenberg23 and Garfinkel24 found a carbon monoxide binding pigment in the rat and pig livers, respectively, which had an absorption maximum at 450 nm. The CO molecule was bound to the centre of the haem and its 450 nm absorption maximum25 is prevalent in all CYPs26-28, an electron spin resonance spectrum identified this enzyme was a low spin haemoprotein29. This 450 nm Soret peak is the origin of the name P450. The superfamily of CYPs contain over a thousand haem monooxygenases30 and are present in nearly all living organisms and even viruses, a well-known exception is Escherichia coli4, 19 which is widely used to investigate CYPs by sequence insertion into plasmids and allow the E. coli to express the genes31, 32. CYPs typically con tain approximately 500 amino acids, the cysteine residue which ligates to the haem group is located near the carboxy-terminus and the amino-terminus region of CYPs are rich in hydrophobic residues and is believed to be responsible for binding the enzymes to the lipid bilayers of cells33. CYPs in mammals are a crucial part of catalysing the metabolism of organic compounds and the biosynthesis of steroid hormones34, such as oestrogen and testosterone, and are able to perform hydroxylation, epoxidations and other oxidation reactions at physiological temperatures35 extremely selectively. Such reactions when performed uncatalysed tend to require extremely high temperatures5. CYPs are tremendously versatile, they’re able to catalyse a wide range of foreign hydrophobic compounds, which helps to protect the organism if they have ingested potentially harmful substances including toxins and carcinogens36. This ability is often called â€Å"xenobiotic metabolism†37. There is a system for the nomenclature of P450 enzymes, which is â€Å"CYP† followed by a number, a latter and another number, e.g. CYP2J2. The first number relates to the family of the CYP, where all the CYPs in the family share a sequence identity of 40% or greater. The letter afterwards corresponds to the subfamily, where the CYPs in the subfamily share a sequence identity of 55% of greater. The final number is a label where all CYPs with this label share a sequence identity of 97% or greater38. CYPs with the same label are known as isoforms. Humans have 57 different CYP isoforms divided into 18 families and 42 subfamilies34. Most of the isoforms are found on membranes, including the inner membrane of mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum and the cell membrane. They all differ in roles but the processes they all catalyse are similar and a few are crucial for catalysing more than once process. For example CYP 17A1 is located in the endoplasmic reticulum and is shown to be both a hydrolase and lyase, a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of steroids including oestrogens and progestins39. The most researched area of CYPs is the drug metabolising CYPs in the human hepatic system such as 3A440, 2C941, 2D642, 2E143, 1A2 and 2C1944. These CYPs are responsible for the xenobiotic metabolism against infested foreign compounds, breaking them down into more readily soluble products to aid excretion through the urinary system45. For this reason, a good understanding of the metabolic pathway of organic molecules inside the body al lows drug development to invent new methods of bioactivation of inert but bioavailable forms of an active compound, where the ingested compound is inactive but gets metabolised into the active form inside the body. The versatility of CYPs can sometimes cause unexpected side-effects in metabolising pharmaceutical drugs, for example some bioactive compounds in grapefruit juice have been found to inhibit CYP catalysed metabolism of certain cardiovascular drugs, causing an increased blood concentration of the bioactive drug, thus leaking to a risk of overdose46, 47. P450cam P450cam was the first CYP to have its three-dimensional structure determined. It displays a high region- and stereoselectivity when catalysing the hydroxylation of camphor, only the exo-hydroxyl at C5 position is produced. Despite the extensive research into P450s, there are still certain details of the mechanism which are not fully understood. References 1.T.K. D. R. Nelson, D. J. Waxman, F. P. Guengerich, R. W. Estabrook, R. Feyereisen, F. J. Gonzales, M. J. Coon, I. C. Gunsalus, O. Gotoh, K. Okuda and D. W. Nebert DNA Cell Biol, 1993. 12(1): p. 1-51. 2.C. Loannides and D. Parke, Drug metabolism reviews, 1990. 22(1): p. 1-85. 3.A. Altun, S. Shaik, and W. Thiel, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2007. 129(29): p. 8978-8987. 4.P. Danielson, Current drug metabolism, 2002. 3(6): p. 561-597. 5.I. Schlichting, J. Berendzen, K. Chu, A.M. Stock, S.A. Maves, D.E. Benson, R.M. Sweet, D. Ringe, G.A. Petsko, and S.G. Sligar, Science, 2000. 287(5458): p. 1615-1622. 6.D. Dolphin, A. Forman, D. Borg, J. Fajer, and R. Felton, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1971. 68(3): p. 614-618. 7.J.E. Penner-Hahn, K. Smith Eble, T.J. McMurry, M. Renner, A.L. Balch, J.T. Groves, J.H. Dawson, and K.O. Hodgson, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1986. 108(24): p. 7819-7825. 8.R. Chang, Chemistry. 9th Edition ed. 2007: McGraw-Hill. 9.A. Murphy, Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, 1995. 15(2): p. 279-307. 10.T.F. Slater, Free radical mechanisms in tissue injury, in Cell Function and Disease. 1988, Springer. p. 209-218. 11.A.R. Fanelu, E. Antonini, and A. Caputo, Advances In Protein Chemistry, 1964. 19: p. 73. 12.H.S. Marver, D.P. Tschudy, M.G. Perlroth, and A. Collins, Science, 1966. 154(3748): p. 501-503. 13.F.J. Leeper, Natural Products Reports, 1983. 19: p. 1137-1161. 14.T. Yoon and J. Cowan, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2004. 279(25): p. 25943-25946. 15.A.W. Munro, D.G. Leys, K.J. McLean, K.R. Marshall, T.W. Ost, S. Daff, C.S. Miles, S.K. Chapman, D.A. Lysek, and C.C. Moser, Trends in biochemical sciences, 2002. 27(5): p. 250-257. 16.D.F. Brook and P.J. Large, European Journal of Biochemistry, 1975. 55(3): p. 601-609. 17.M.H.M. Eppink, C. Bunthof, H.A. Schreuder, and W.J.H. van Berkel, FEBS Letters, 1999. 443(3): p. 251-255. 18.S. Harayama, M. Kok, and E.L. Neidle, Annual Review of Microbiology, 1992. 46(1): p. 565-601. 19.A. Sigel, H. Sigel, and R.K. Sigel, The ubiquitous roles of cytochrome P450 proteins: metal ions in life sciences. Vol. 10. 2007: John Wiley Sons. 20.P.R.O. De Montellano, Cytochrome P450: structure, mechanism, and biochemistry. 2005: Springer. 21.J. Axelrod, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 1956. 117(3): p. 322-330. 22.B.B. Brodie, J. Axelrod, J.R. Cooper, L. Gaudette, B.N. La Du, C. Mitoma, and S. Udenfriend, Science, 1955. 121(3147): p. 603-604. 23.M. Klingenberg, Archives of biochemistry and biophysics, 1958. 75(2): p. 376-386. 24.D. Garfinkel, Archives of biochemistry and biophysics, 1958. 77(2): p. 493-509. 25.R.W. Estabrook, D.Y. Cooper, and O. Rosenthal, Biochemische Zeitschrift, 1962. 338: p. 741-755. 26.T. Omura and R. Sato, J. Biol. Chem., 1962. 237: p. 1375-1376. 27.T. Omura and R. Sato, J. Biol. Chem., 1964. 239: p. 2370-2378. 28.T. Omura and R. Sato, J. Biol. Chem., 1964. 239: p. 2379-2385. 29.Y. Hashimoto, T. Yamano, and H. Mason, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1962. 237(12): p. PC3843-PC3844. 30.B. ÄŒreÃ… ¡nar and Ã…  . PetriÄ , Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Proteins and Proteomics, 2011. 1814(1): p. 29-35. 31.E.M.J. Gillam, Z.Y. Guo, and F.P. Guengerich, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 1994. 312(1): p. 59-66. 32.A. Parikh, E.M. Gillam, and F.P. Guengerich, Nature biotechnology, 1997. 15(8): p. 784-788. 33.J.A. Hasler, R. Estabrook, M. Murray, I. Pikuleva, M. Waterman, J. Capdevila, V. Holla, C. Helvig, J.R. Falck, and G. Farrell, Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 1999. 20(1): p. 1-137. 34.D.W. Nebert and D.W. Russell, The Lancet, 2002. 360(9340): p. 1155-1162. 35.D. Harris, G. Loew, and L. Waskell, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 2001. 83(4): p. 309-318. 36.P. Anzenbacher and E. Anzenbacherova, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences CMLS, 2001. 58(5-6): p. 737-747. 37.X. Ding and L.S. Kaminsky, Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology, 2003. 43(1): p. 149-173. 38.R. Lonsdale, Cytochrome P450 Reactivity and Specificity from QM/MM Modelling, 2009, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol. 39.R. Zuber, E. Anzenbacherova, and P. Anzenbacher, Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 2002. 6(2): p. 189-198. 40.J.S. Markowitz, J.L. Donovan, C.L. DeVane, R.M. Taylor, Y. Ruan, J.-S. Wang, and K.D. Chavin, Jama, 2003. 290(11): p. 1500-1504. 41.J.O. Miners and D.J. Birkett, British journal of clinical pharmacology, 1998. 45(6): p. 525-538. 42.A. Gaedigk, M. Blum, R. Gaedigk, M. Eichelbaum, and U. Meyer, American journal of human genetics, 1991. 48(5): p. 943. 43.G. Blakey, J. Lockton, J. Perrett, P. Norwood, M. Russell, Z. Aherne, and J. Plume, British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2004. 57(2): p. 162-169. 44.V. Uttamsingh, C. Lu, G. Miwa, and L.-S. 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Thursday, November 14, 2019

Corporate Control :: essays research papers

Title: Corporate Control Author: Annonymous Rating: 0 Rate this Paper It seems that there is an ever-increasing trend in our society. Big corporations are becoming more and more influential in our lives. As they gain more and more muscle in our government they also invade our schools and many other facets of our lives. Perhaps the most disturbing area of potential influence, however, is corporate control of the media. Can the American media uphold its values of free press under pressure from big corporations? Can they continue to present the absolute truth? The simple answer, especially in my opinion, is no. The movie The Insider provides us with an excellent case to back that point of view. Perhaps one of the biggest stories of this decade has been the tobacco industry. We saw them stand before Congress and tell the world that cigarettes were not addictive. The industry was able to â€Å"lawyer† its way out of trouble time and time again. They essentially used legal maneuvers, and certainly money, to keep the truth from the American people. Fin ally, we saw all that come to an end. When Jeff Wigand decided it was time to tell the truth, he put everything he valued at risk. He stood to loose his family, any chance at a job, and quite possibly his life. He knew all these things and still he went on, because he thought he could make a difference. He knew that his testimony would never be heard in a court of law, so where could he turn. The answer: the fourth and fifth estates, or the press and television. Every night millions of Americans sit down and watch the nightly news or read the paper. We know that we will be told all the days news, that we will be educated about what is happening in the world around us. We also know that we will be updated on issues that we care about as individuals and a society. Another delivery mechanism for information is television magazine shows like 60 Minutes. People know that when Mike Wallace talks to them, they should listen. They can also look at his reputation and know that he is telling the truth. Wigand put faith in that fact. Wigand agreed to do an interview with 60 Minutes because he knew that people would listen. He knew that the absolute truth would finally be out in the open, and that it would come from a source that people would believe.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Reliability and Validity

Reliability and Validity Reliability and validity are important with any kind of research. Without them research and their results would be useless. This paper will define the types of reliability and validity as well as give examples of each. Both the data collection methods and the data collection instruments used in human services research will also be given. This paper will also look into why it is important to ensure that data collection methods as well as the instruments are reliable and valid. ReliabilityThere are several kinds of reliability used in research. The first kind is the alternate-form reliability. This kind of reliability consists of the degree of relatedness of different forms of the same test. For example, a psychological tests where the questions are changed. The second kind is the internal-consistency reliability. This kind of reliability is the overall degree of relatedness of all items in a test or raters in a judgment study. Internal-consistency is measured between different items on the same test.An example of this would be If a respondent expressed agreement with the statements â€Å"I like to eat frozen chocolate† and â€Å"I’ve enjoyed eating frozen chocolate in the past,† and disagreement with the statement â€Å"I hate frozen chocolate,† this would be indicative of good internal consistency of the test. The third kind is the item-to-item reliability. This kind of reliability is the reliability of any single item on average. An example of this would be the reliability of two items such as a construction worker’s hammers that are identical.The last kind of reliability that I will discuss is the test-retest reliability. This kind of reliability consists of the degree of temporal stability (relatedness) of a measuring instrument or test, or the characteristic it is designed to evaluate, from one administration to another (Rosnow, 2008). Statics. com (n. d). states, â€Å"a group of respondents is t ested for IQ scores: each respondent is tested twice – the two tests are, say, a month apart. Then, the correlation coefficient between two sets of IQ-scores is a reasonable measure of the test-retest reliability of this test. † (Para. ) It is more reliable because the scores are on average between two separate situations. Validity Proving that the results of the research are correct is called validity. Construct validity refers to whether a scale measures or correlates with the theorized method. An example of this is an employer using selection methods to measure the degree to which a possible new employee has psychological traits called constructs. This includes verbal ability, intelligence, mechanical ability, and leadership ability. Content validity is the sampling of the relevant material or content that a test intends to measure.An example would be a typing test for a secretary or a test of checkbook balancing for an accountant. Convergent and discriminant validit y is the grounds established for a construct based on the convergence of related tests or behavior (convergent validity) and the distinctiveness of unrelated tests or behavior (discriminant validity). An example of this Trochim (2006), states â€Å"to show the discriminant validity of a Head Start program, we might gather evidence that shows that the program is not similar to other early childhood programs that don’t label themselves as Head Start programs.Or, to show the discriminant validity of a test of arithmetic skills, we might correlate the scores on our test with scores on tests that of verbal ability, where low correlations would be evidence of discriminant validity. † (Para. 10) Criterion validity is the degree to which a test or questionnaire predicts an outcome based on information from other variables. An example would be high school student’s grades predict his or her success in college. External validity is the generalization of an inferred causal relationship over different people, settings, manipulations (or treatments), and research outcomes.An example would be using a sample from a population. Face validity is a property of a test intended to measure something. It is the validity of a test at face value or the degree to which a test or other instrument â€Å"looks as if† it is measuring something relevant. An example would be if you have a test to measure whether students can read at a fifth grade level, and the people you show it to all agree that it looks like a good test of fifth grade reading ability, the face validity of the test is shown. Internal validity is the soundness of statements about whether one variable is the caused of a particular outcome.An example would be manipulating the variable in a scientific experiment. Statistical-conclusion validity is the degree to which conclusions about the relationship among variables based on the data are correct or ‘reasonable’. An example would be do ing a study on the relationship between socioeconomic status and attitudes about free health care. Based on the data, it may be concluded that persons with lower economic status tend to be more opposed. Conclusion validity is the degree to which the conclusion reached is credible or believable (Rosnow, 2008). Data Collection Methods in Human ServicesData collections methods include experiments, clinical trials observing and recording and events, obtaining relevant data from management information systems, and administering surveys with closed-ended questions. It is important to ensure these data collection methods are both reliable and valid because if unreliable and invalid data is used the results of the research would be false. Data Collection Methods in Managerial Research Case studies reveal the strengths and weaknesses within the agency. Case studies analyze results of information obtained from cases pertaining to the population served.The cases are also evaluated against othe r case studies to see similarities and discrepancies. Case studies give human service agencies detailed information about the individual and population studied. Performance appraisal systems are used by managers to track employees work performance. It is important for these systems to be reliable to objectively and consistently measure the employee’s performance. All employees activities and result should be measured the same. Without reliability employees would not have faith in his or her manager and the appraisal process.Conclusion Reliability and validity enable human service professionals to use true data and obtain legitimate results. Using these types of reliability and validity allows researchers to provide clients and agencies sound, appropriate conclusions. Using data collection methods managers can improve employee performance and services provided to clients. Reliability and validity ensure accurate data is used in human services research. References Rosnow, R. L. (2008) Beginning Behavioral Research: A Conceptual Primer, Retrieved from

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Abigail Williams compared to Adolf Hitler and Joseph McCarthy Essay

Arthur Miller’s character from The Crucible, Abigail Williams, was a beautiful girl who had a hold on people’s lives. She lied to protect herself and caused chaos for everyone in the town of Salem because all of the right people believed her. History repeats itself, and what Abigail has caused and done has been done many times. During our existence, Adolf Hitler and Joseph McCarthy repeated the same sort of chaos as Abigail Williams had done. Adolf Hitler was a German dictator who spread a rumor that Jews were the cause of Germany’s problems, had the power to have them killed, and had six million Jews killed. Hitler could have anything done because he sympathized with the people and had the people and the Nazi army on his side. Just like Abigail did when she spread the rumors of witches and had others back her accusations up; â€Å"MARY WARREN: She sees nothin’! ABIGAIL: She sees nothin’! MARY WARREN: Abby, you mustn’t! ABIGAIL AND ALL THE GIRLS: Abby, you mustn’t!† (1209). Abigail also sympathized with the Church, for the Church was aware of witches and if there was an accusation towards a person most of those people who were accused would die. Saying the names of different people who were supposedly witches would cause their death. Joseph McCarthy was a senator who between 1940 & 1950 made a public accusation that, more than two hundred â€Å"card-carrying† communists had infiltrated the United States government, including the author, Arthur Miller. This caused a heightening of paranoia and a hunt for these people. The hunt was notoriously difficult on writers and entertainers who were called communist sympathizers. The writers and entertainers would get their passports taken away, or jailed, but most importantly the well publicized trials of these artists could destroy their careers when tried as a communist sympathizer. Both of these men had influence on people that caused great chaos in others life similar to what Abigail did in her time. Joseph McCarthy made an accusation that started paranoia and accused many people of being a communist sympathizer, like Abigail did when she said the names of â€Å"Sarah Good†, â€Å"Goody Osburn†, â€Å"Bridget Bishop† (1156), and others who were supposedly witches and who she supposedly saw with the devil and got them killed. Adolf Hitler had about six million Jews killed because he thought it would solve Germany’s problems and bring peace. Abigail had the people in town killed because it would be the solution to get out of Salem unharmed. In all three situations they had people agree with what they said and made it a much more believable to more and more people than what a specific person believed. Adolf Hitler, Joseph McCarthy, and Abigail Williams all had something in common; they had the ability to have many people believe things that were not true and have action to execute that individuals plan. Whether it was to have someone executed, put on trial, or have people believe the malarkey that they were speaking, they all had a chaos that started with Abigail and repeated itself in a different way but same concept.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Critically assess psychological theories of fascism. The WritePass Journal

Critically assess psychological theories of fascism. Introduction Critically assess psychological theories of fascism. IntroductionUniversality of Fascist psychologyBasis of Fascistic psychologyFascist aestheticsFascistic psychology towards peopleFascistic psychology towards work  Bibliography:Related Introduction According to the Oxford dictionary, Fascism is â€Å"an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. In general use extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practices: this is yet another example of health fascism in action. The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy (1922–43); the regimes of the Nazis in Germany and Franco in Spain. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach†. Geoffrey Gorer (1935:199) noted in 1935: â€Å"Mr Wells thinks that he hates fascism; he is horror-struck as any liberal at its brutality, its barbarism, its philistinism, its illogicality and its narrow nationalism; but he puts all the blame on the last quality; if it was only international, it wouldn’t really be so bad†. It is clear from Gorer’s satire that even as early as 1935, to understand Fascism only as a negative thought process, was rejected and intellectuals   started taking a kinder view of the movement (if it could be called thus?). Many started analysing and assessing its psychological theories, which, precisely, we will endeavour to do in the following essay. Though a critical assessment of these theories is expected, it would suffice to say that a positive view regarding Fascism at the onset will serve our purpose sufficiently, for the ideology has already been seen in a very bad light for the repercussions that it entailed and the miseries the world had to face, in the light of a consolidated fascistic onslaught during the world war II. However, what we shall try and understand is the modern view that Fascistic tendencies have existed in all ages and in all humans universally, and that they found an explosive eruption during an unfortunate period and consequently a set of nations and people had to bear the brunt of being blamed for it. Universality of Fascist psychology So, this understanding of Fascism has now come a long way from the understanding of it as purely a political/mass movement. It was believed that the fascist party â€Å"introduced† fascism by force or by â€Å"political man oeuvre†. Contrary to this, Reich (1946:6) says that his medical experience with individuals from all kinds of social strata, races, nationalities and religions shows that â€Å"fascism† is the only politically organized expression of the average human character structure. Furthermore, it is a character structure which has nothing to do with race, nation or party but which is general and international. In this characterological sense, â€Å"fascism† is the basic emotional attitude of a man in authoritarian society, with its machine civilization and its mechanistic-mystical view of life. It is the mechanistic-mystical character of man in our times which creates fascist parties and not vice versa.† Fascism according to modern sociologists and psychologists, therefore, is not a purely reactionary movement; rather it is a mixture of rebellious emotions and reactionary social ideas. Now if this is true, then we cannot limit fascism specifically to a national character of Germany or Japan. If understood as a mixture of rebellious emotions and reactionary social ideas, it can be considered an international phenomenon, which permeates all organizations of human society in all nations. This means that there could be German, Italian, Spanish, Anglo-Saxon, Jewish and Arabian fascism (Riech, 1946:7) Basis of Fascistic psychology In its pure form, Fascism is the sum total of all irrational reactions of the average human character. Its origins are from the basic human tendencies. In Freudian explanation of the unconscious, the superficial layer in the nature of an average individual consists of that of conscientiousness and compassion. This superficial layer is similar to the biological core of human nature which too is co-operative and love based. But unfortunately, the superficial layer and the biological core are separated from each other by an intermediary layer which makes an individual cruel and sadistic. This intermediary layer is also known as â€Å"secondary impulses† or the unconscious, the anti-social structure in human structure which is the secondary result of the repression of primary biological impulses. As the contact between the â€Å"superficial layer† and the â€Å"biological core† is hard to obtain, what makes appearance is the perverse antisocial layer of the character (viii). Since irrational part of the human nature becomes prominent, both the other layers become subservient to the subversive, irrational tendencies, thus giving birth to prejudices. All prejudices show their origin from irrational part of human character whether they be race prejudices, national prejudices, ethnic prejudices or even, violence. Since Fascism is an emotional outburst whether it be against intolerable social conditions or depravity of any sort, it cannot be understood solely as a political phenomenon. It is a human phenomenon, a psychological-human- phenomena which cannot be tied to a boundary of nationality or race, but that which is universal, pervading the entire world, across all nationalities. And this is very clear from the history of the 20th century that no society has remained untouched from violence or irrational behaviour. In addition, irrational behaviour has played a vital role in human history and has achieved results which have not always been negative. If negative at all, we cannot make fascism harmless if we only look for it in Americans or Germans and we do not look for it in   oneself and the social institutions which hatch him every day (Reich:7). He argues (p.11) Hitlerism is not confined to Germany; it penetrates worker’s organizations and all kinds of liberal and democratic circles. Fascism is not a political party, but a specific Weltanschuung and a specific attitude toward people, toward love and work. So this proves that fascism more than being a political, subversive movement is a part of human psychology, which though a maligned movement has positive elements too. We shall now analyze Fascistic psychology in relation to its aesthetics, people, and work. Fascist aesthetics   The fact that fascism is a psychology also entails that it has a psychology of its own. This psychology of Fascism can be unearthed by understanding its aesthetics. Alan Tansman in (Fall 2008:144-153), analysing Japanese Fascist prose says, â€Å"†¦so captivated, we can still seek to trace the fascist moment by paying attention to form not primarily as embodiments of concepts that need elucidation (though they need that too), but rather as patterns of fascistic feelings that require feelings and unravelling. To trace the movement of fascist aesthetics within or across works would mean to follow it as a style of thought and representation, a style embodied in forms that leave their content behind and have in Henri Focillon’s (1992: 69) words, â€Å"a mobile life in a changing world†. Similarly Starbinski, (1989:116-21), praising another Japanese Yasuda’s work says, â€Å"The uncomfortable truth that Yasuda’s work was more than mere dangerous inci tement, but was also powerful poetry, reminds us that even after we account for the political implications of his language there remains a formal quality that resists both being analysed critically and used politically† . The undeniable aesthetics of the Fascists was similarly emphasized by Tansman ( 2008:146) saying, â€Å"this allows us to see in action Kobayashi’s aesthetics, his evocation of â€Å" fascist moments† that attempted to shut down his reader’s critical intelligence and make self-abnegation, sacrifice and violence feel alluringly beautiful†. These examples of the readings of Japanese fascistic writers reveals that in spite of the fact that these writers were following an agenda, there still remains a subtle aesthetic beauty to be unearthed, understood and appreciated. And this again proves our initial assertion that tendencies of fascistic psychology have been present at all times as we find the same crisis with general literary men too. Fascistic psychology towards people Franklin D. Roosevelt said â€Å"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Henry Wallace too said â€Å"Still another danger is represented by those who, paying lip service to democracy and the common welfare, in their insatiable greed for money and the power which money gives, do not hesitate surreptitiously to evade the laws designed to safeguard the public from monopolistic extortion. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection. They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They are patriotic in time of war because it is to their interest to be so, but in time of peace they follow power and the dollar, wherever that may lead.†Ã‚  This sort of disillusionment caused by democracy sought being redressed by Fascism. Fascism became popular because it could do what liberalism and socialism did not succeed in doing. People have the need to belong to something greater, something superior than themselves. During crisis, the common people crave for unity and purpose of life and this in turn causes them to seek strength and guidance. Fascism provided that. Fascist psychology is the mentality of the subjugate â€Å"little man† who craves authority and he is both a ‘revolutionary’ who believes in rational rebellion against intolerable social conditions and a ‘radical’ for he believes in going to the root’. With this aspe ct in view, we could say that Fascism brought the inferiority instincts of the suppressed human to the core and created an emotional crisis in which the aspirations of common people started being given the due importance. Fascistic psychology towards work Fascism was a wave which brought extreme nationalism into vogue and had national pride and development at its core. The fascists in Italy and Germany wanted to see their countries as super-powers. Therefore the work ethics as outlined by Fascists was hard work. As Corradini tells us that for Italy to become an economic power â€Å"what was required was a marshalling, rationalization, and disciplining of human and natural resources to the tasks such a process would inevitably entail. Sacrifice and discipline were advocated as cardinal virtues for a nation of â€Å"producers† (1924:214-29). National pride in nation building was the mantra. And though being blatantly anti-modern, Mussolini piloting his own aircraft and tooling the Italian hills in his red sports car were public displays of this modernizing temper. The public policies of introducing the work ethic among civil servants, of insistence that the trains run on time, and plans for the development of a modern road syste m were the first overt indications of the character of Fascism’s modernizing disposition (Gregor, 1974:370-384). This work ethic of disciplining and progress according to Volpe (1928) gave a â€Å"massive impulse† to economic development. It was this work ethic in which pauperized masses of workers developed a sharp consciousness of their social situation, and also developed a will to eliminate their social misery. As Reich (1946:16) says, â€Å"It was exactly the pauperized masses who carried Fascism, the ultimate in political reaction, to power†. Here, it would not be impertinent to discuss the Fascistic attitude towards Modernization too. Though generally believed to be anti-modernistic in its approach, in hearkening back to pre-modern ideals and recreating a utopian â€Å"ancient Rome†, Fascism had undeniable modernistic tendencies. Turner (1972:548) conceives of modernization as being a complex process â€Å"involving industrialization, urbanization, secularization, and rationalization†.   These elements which form the crux of what we try to ascertain as modern, though Modernity in itself   is a vague and ambiguous term. However, if these markers enlisted by Turner form the base of being modern, then by that standard, fascists were near moderns. The principal constituents that entered into the coalition that became Fascism-Futurism, Italian Nationalism and Revolutionary National Syndicalism, seem to have all been clearly modernizing in intention (Gregor, 1974:373). All of this conjoined with the Fascist p rograms of urban redevelopment and expansion made Rome, Milan, Turin, and Genoa heavily populated modern industrial and commercial centres. This suggests that Fascism could hardly be conceived as a â€Å"utopian anti-modernism† in intention (Gregor, 1974:377). Maddison (1964) points out that in 1938, using 1913 as a base, the index of aggregate volume of output of Italy had risen to 153.8 compared more than favourably with that of France (109.4), and Germany (149.9). Again using 1913 as a base, the aggregate index for output per man in 1938 stood at 145.2 for Italy, 136.5 for France, 122.4 for Germany, 143.6 for United Kingdom, and 136.0 for the United States. This proves that the Fascist work culture had borne productive fruits and that in spite of the fact that they declared themselves to be anti-Modernism, Fascists were inclined totally towards industrialization, one of the most important and universally accepted tenets of the modernization process. This evaluation of the psychology of the Fascists on a human, personal and socio-economic level leads us to the belief that there was not much wrong with the aggressive policies pursued by the fascists. The problem arose with the execution of those policies and their repercussions thereafter. The only thing that the writer has tried to prove in this paper is that Fascistic tendencies were not something new that had descended suddenly upon the earth, but that they are latent forces locked in all individuals and ages as History has shown. Therefore, to label a set of countries or people as fascists is not warranted. We all are fascists in some way or the other and the need of the hour is to control this fascism in each of us for the furtherance of a more beneficial and humane human psychology.   Bibliography: 1) Reich, Wilhelm. (1946:6) The mass psychology of Fascism: Orgone Institute Press 2) Tansman, Alan. Reading Fascism’s Form. Representations, vol 104. No1 (Fall2008), pp.144-153 3) Focillon, Henri. (1992:69) The life of Forms in Art :New York. 4) Starobinski, Jean.(1989:116-21) â€Å"The Critical Relation† in The Living Eye, trans.  Ã‚   Arthur Gothammer, Cambridge, 1989. 5) Gorer, Geoffrey. (1935.199) Nobody Talks Politics: A Satire with an Appendix on our Political Intelligentsia : London. 6) Corradini, Enrico. (1924:214-29) â€Å"Nationalismo e socialism†, in Discorsi Politici, Florence. 7) Gregor, James. ( April,1974:370-384) Fascism and Modernization .World Politics, vol.26. No.3. 8) Volpe. (1928). Lo sviluppo storico del fascism , Rome. 9) Turner, Henry, Jr., ( July,1972:547-64) â€Å"Fascism and Modernization†, World Politics, XXIV 10) Maddison, Angus.(1964) Economic Growth in the West. New York.   Appendices A, E, H, I.

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Language of Reality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

The Language of Reality - Essay Example Beyond elementary semantic structures numerous sub-layers of meaning and communication exist to both enrich and complicate the way in which we interact and express our ideas and emotions. It is not what we say, but how we say it. The world of artificial intelligence and its struggle to embrace the complexities of everyday communication shows just how interdependent language, external cultural foces and the personal realm of experience can be. A simple de-coding or patterning of linguistic structures as we understand them is barely enough to compose the bare bones of the seemingly simple ways in which we communicate. The gap between intention and reception can create a crossfire of miscommunication - where meaning becomes alienated from form and the most intangible aspects of speech are cast into the spotlight. In the theoretical space between intention and reception - where communication can either prosper or become fragmented - lie determinants such as perception and recognition. We therefore largely depend upon these two elements to formulate successful interactions, and to form the fabric of what we perceive as reality - in the sense that we depend upon information to guide, instruct, elucidate and define the world around us. Sayre (1965, p. 177), examines the distinction between perception and recognition - and the roles they play in our understanding and interpretation of the world around us: "According to the theory outlined in Plato "Meno" and Phaedo, acquisition of knowledge is a matter of recollection or recognition. As someone comes to know that about which he has been ignorant, he "cognizes again" .... If I have never seen, been told about, read about or in some other way come to know about gooseberries, then upon seeing a gooseberry for the first time I scarcely could be said to recognize it. The next time I see a gooseberry I probably will recognize it, if not by name then at least as an object of the sort I had seen some time previously. But if the first time one perceives an object is the first time one has ever been cognitively aware of such an object, perforce at that time one does not recognize it. It is commonplace, on the other hand, that we perceive objects which we have never perceived before, nor learned about in any other way." In this understanding of recognition and perception, the act of recognition is, by definition, rooted in the realm of memory and past experience. Memory, it is generally accepted, tends towards subjectivity, embellishment and is often powerfully influenced by the emotions or mindset that were in force at the time when the incident occured. It follows that recognition is unreliable as an objective conduit for accurately conveying intended meaning - as it will always be influenced by a recipient's internalised framework of understanding. In this way, the eventual meaning conveyed by a piece of information is outside of the control of the speaker or communicator from the moment the idea leaves their immediate sphere and enters a communication channel - whether that channel be through the medium of speech, or through a technological pathway such as the internet. Once a piece of information is liberated from the person in possession of its intended meaning - it immediately falls prey to the co-authorship of social context and recipient subjectivity. Caught in a fragmented point of juncture between initial source, external influences and final perception and recognition - a message is defined and understood by a melange of often contradictory 'realities'1 which - by way of their very merger and interconnectedness -

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Security automation in oil and gas companies Research Paper

Security automation in oil and gas companies - Research Paper Example At the same time, the future trends related to SA systems are presented. The work of firms that develop such systems, such as ABB, Siemens, Rockwell Automation, SELEX and Duos Technologies, is discussed; the SA systems of the above firms are explored as of their characteristics and implications. It seems that existing SA systems can highly promote security in regard to daily operations of firms in the oil and gas industry. However, failures are difficult to be eliminated. The use of supportive tests and tools, such as SCADA software, is considered as unavoidable for ensuring the high performance of SA systems. In the future also, a similar practice would be employed since failures are indispensable part of all computerized systems, such as the SA systems. The oil and gas industry is highly exposed to a series of risks. Reference can be made, for example, to the risks from exceeding initial budget or planned costs and the risks related to ‘assets damages and injuries of people’ (Bigliani 2013, p.1). The pollution caused to environment due to failures in daily operations of the relevant industrial units is also another aspect of risks that the firms operating in oil and gas industry are likely to face (Bigliani 2013). The last few years another type of risk has appeared in the oil and gas industry: failures in cybersecurity of the industry’s firms (Radvanovsky & Brodsky 2013). The virus attack against the computer systems of Saudi Aramco in August 2012 resulted to severe problems in the operations of most of the company’s units; in total, about 30,000 units of the firm were infected by the above virus (Bigliani 2013, p.5). The introduction of Security Automation Systems in the oil and gas industry has been co nsidered as the most appropriate solution for addressing the industry’s risks. The structure, role and terms of implementation and operation of these systems are explored in this paper. Emphasis is given to the current state