Regulation of Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regulation of Internet - Essay Example What is imperative here is an understanding that applies in unison for the Internet being a source of inspiration as well as dismay at the same time for a number of people all over the world. Why the Internet is being seen as a deterrent towards inculcating a prosperous society is largely dependent on the people who have used it for their ulterior motives. Then the only discussion to make headlines surrounds the basis of regulating the Internet so that it could be used properly. The kind of audience that visits the Internet daily is somewhat of a confusing scenario as older adults and teenagers hook on to the Internet to seek their own needs and wants. Now how Internet shapes up for them is somewhat of a diabolical question – which leaves many people surprised and confused at the same time. Regulating the usage of the Internet seems to be the best foot forward but then again who is going to decide what should be regulated and in what capacity? There are many questions that req uire adequately sound answers so that the topic of Internet regulation can be materialized further. The manner in which Internet needs to be regulated is a classic case in point. This is because there are certain nuances related with the Internet that deem more regulation than others. This means that the content aspect is one of the more serious pointers which need our attention. Some content on the Internet is illegal to be hosted on certain websites without proper litigation measures taken. Then again, copying data is an infringement which needs to be sorted out (Schwartz 357). There are people out there who would go to any limit to make sure that Internet is used for negative purposes. This does not come out as a major sign of optimism for anyone and the people at large suffer. Also the ones who are doing something worthwhile on the Internet are made to suffer since some websites get regulated and hence they have to face the brunt of it in the long run. Looking at the opposing vi ewpoint is also significant. This is because some of the Internet users are of the view that regulating Internet would mean that the speed will become slow and the servers will have a hard time coping up with similar issues. Therefore it would be in the best interest of the Internet users if they keep doing what they are undertaking without any rules and restrictions whatsoever. It will resolve quite a few issues that engulf the Internet users and amicably resolve many more that are about to crop up in the future. The need is to understand that Internet is an open domain and should be seen as such. These people opine that Internet must not be regulated under any scenario whatsoever since they do not want to miss out on what Internet offers them in entirety. Their viewpoints are generally not appreciated by the ones who believe in having regulations on the Internet. In the end, it would be sound to suggest that the regulation of Internet can be a good omen for keeping away the undesi red stuff on the Internet but there needs to be a proper mechanism for deploying such a nuance. What is even more imperative here is the fact that regulation of Internet must not hurt the people at large. The speed of the Internet should remain as such and if there are any compromising features, these must be taken care of in a quantifiable way. When this happens, people achieve the

Forced Convection (in a cross flow heat exchanger) Essay Example for Free

Forced Convection (in a cross flow heat exchanger) Essay The aim of this lab is to determine the average convective heat transfer coefficient for forced convection of a fluid (air) past a copper tube, which is used as a heat transfer model. Introduction The general definition for convection may be summarized to this definition energy transfer between the surface and fluid due to temperature difference and this energy transfer by either forced (external, internal flow) or natural convection. Heat transfer by forced convection generally makes use of a fan, blower, or pump to provide high velocity fluid (gas or liquid). The high-velocity fluid results in a decreased thermal resistance across the boundary layer from the fluid to the heated surface. This, in turn, increases the amount of heat that is carried away by the fluid. [1] Theory Background [2] Considering the heat lost by forced convection form the test rod. The amount of heat transferred is given by (1) Where = rate of heat transfer, unknown value. ?= film heat transfer coefficient, this is what we need to found out. A= area for heat transfer, this is the area of the cross section area of test section. T= temperature of the copper rod, the temperature after heating. Ta= temperature of air, surrounding temperature. So, in any period of time, dt, then the fall in temperature, dT, will be given as: (2) Where m= mass of copper rod, cp= specific heat of the copper rod, J/kgK Eliminating Q from (1) and (2) then Since Ta is constant, dT=d(T-Ta) Integrating gives: At t = 0, T=To, hence C1 = ln(T-To), hence: Or Therefore a plot of ln((T-Ta)/(Tmax-Ta))) against t should give a straight line of gradient from which the heat transfer coefficient, ? , can be found. To find the velocity of air passing the rod, first the velocity upstream must be found.

Alternate History In Watchmen

Alternate History In Watchmen The film, Watchmen presents a story within an alternate version of history. How do the filmmakers set out this alternate history, and what messages are the filmmakers trying to portray with the way this alternate history plays itself out as compared to the way our real history has played out? Alternate history has always been an important literary device in the fiction genre. Authors and filmmakers from all over the world use it to enhance their medium. Alan Moores V for Vendetta and Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds are examples of what has come before and now; the Watchmen can be placed in the same class. The definition of an alternative history is: A genre of fiction in which the author speculates on how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had had a different outcome (Collins English Dictionary-2011). Moore did this in V for Vendetta by creating Britain as a fascist Big Brother state in the 1980s that is led to revolution by a masked vigilante. Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds created an alternate history by leading some Jewish soldiers on a Nazi killing spree, including the violent execution of Adolf Hitler. This paper will explore how the filmmakers of the Watchmen set out to plan and create an alternate modern history using real world events. It will also look at the message the filmmakers are trying to portray through this false history rather that of historical reality. To truly answer these questions, first the history and plot of Watchmen must be explained further; then it is necessary to explore critical examples of the alternative history and how they support the plot of the film; and finally, reviewing the production elements and screenplay which brought this alternative history to life on screen. Watchmen takes place in an alternate history of 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and features the Doomsday Clock charting the USAs tension with the Soviet Union and predicts how far the human race is away from nuclear holocaust, which is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. The story starts when a character named The Comedian is assassinated by being thrown out of his apartment window. One of the characters, Rorschach, sets out to discover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting support group, The Watchmen a not so super group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers, Doctor Manhattan Rorschach finds a wide-ranging and truly disturbing conspiracy theory with links to all of their past and terrible consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity and protect it from its self-destructing behavior. The film is a adaptation of the twelve part comic book series (1986-1987) written by Alan Moore. The comic has left a huge legacy that Moore could never imagine. Watchmen was the only graphic novel to appear on Times 2005 All-TIME 100 Greatest Novels list. Watchmen is a 2009 Hollywood comic book film directed by Zack Snyder and the screenplay is by David Hayter and Alex Tse. On March the 6, 2009 the film was released. In its opening weekend in America alone the film grossed $55,214,334 million dollars, and a further  £3,243,001 here in the United Kingdom (IMDB, 2011). It unfortunately came out to mixed reviews and a short cinema run. Many film magazines could not quite make up their minds whether they liked it or not. The Wall-Street Journal described the Watchmen film as, the spiritual equivalent of being whacked on the skull for 163 minutes. The reverence is inert, the violence noxious, the mythology murky, the tone grandiose, the texture glutinous. (Joe Morgenstern, 2009) The filmmakers showed this alternate version of history through many different means. One scene in the film where this is most evident is the opening title sequence. The sequence uses a time-line of popular historical events from the 1930s to 1985 where the story begins. This scene is where the audience is first exposed to the alternate historical world of the Watchmen. In the Watchmen Film Companion, director, Zack Snyder said, Storyboards where essential to helping the crew create the world of the Watchmen (Snyder, 2009). This was made up of vignettes not touched upon often in the graphic novel or created for the film. The sequence of historical events was designed to make the audience re-imagine the past and to get them to see the world through what Snyder calls a Watchmen lens. Zacks title treatment very cleverly brings a lot of the books texture of the film, while also providing the audience with an opportunity to get up to speed with the world of Watchmen.'(Loyd Levin, 2009) Another article in The Watchmen Film Companion described the title sequence as a research project. A section of the scene consists of recreating the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The alternate version of history here is that the character The Comedian rather than Lee Harvey Oswald shoots Kennedy. Snyder and Hayter sifted through many conspiracy theory web sites and hundreds of historical and political documents from the JFK Records act of 1992 to study the fine detail of the day; Such as the positions of the motorcade (Snyder, 2009). This allowed Snyder and his team to effectively plan a believable alternative to the known history of the Kennedy assassination. They did this in order to present us with a statement about growing corruption within the USA government especially the military branch. This has connections to the story because The Comedian was hired after the assassination to intervene with Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam and carry out Black-Ops missions by order of Richard Nix on. The next example in the title sequence of the Watchmen alternate history they set out in the film is a change to the famous Times Square Kiss photo. Instead of the historically correct photograph of the sailor kissing the female nurse in Times Square, we see a superhero from the novel called Silhouette, who walks up and kisses the nurse. This of course would not happen in the nineteen-forties. This is because homosexuality was reviled and not accepted in public places. Also at this time homosexuality was illegal in America. After watching the title sequence the audience is well acquainted with the Watchmen world, therefore making it one of the most important scenes in the whole film. The scene effectively and concisely brings us up to date with all the important events in the Watchmen universe. One of the differences between reality and the films is comic books compared to our comic books. In our reality our comic books have always been mainly themed with superheroes, where as in the Watchmen reality their comic books are themed with pirates as the heroes. We have always been used to superheroes in our comic books because they let us escape into a fictional version of our daily lives. In the film superheroes are already a well-integrated part in society within the Watchmen universe. So in the graphic novel and the directors cut of Watchmen there is a comic within the comic called Tales of The Black Freighter. The comic in the film and book is being read by a young teenager boy named Bernard at the New Frontiersman newspaper stall. The story revolves around pirates being the superheroes of the the Watchmen reality. This gives readers and viewers the chance to see another small part of the Watchmen world. Black Freighter as mentioned above is a comic book about pirates but it also serves as a metaphor for war. This is due to the subject matter of being left alone to your own thoughts after being subjected to horrific acts and desperation caused by killing and isolation. There is one principle difference in this area between the film and the graphic novel. In the novel, the dialogue from the newspaper stalls owner, also named Bernard, is a spoken narrative that parallels directly with the written narrative of the Black Freighter, where as the animated Black Freighter film in the directors cut only uses the dialogue from the Black Freighter comic book story line. The filmmakers included this sub plot only into the directors cut because they needed to cut down on the running time for the theatrical release. Black Freighter was released as a separate DVD a month after the film was released in the United Kingdom. The art department used this comic as a prop to help aid in the scene transitions within the film. Now to look at another reason the alternate history in the Watchmen works so well is because of the production elements in the film. Part of the charm of Watchmen is the detail the novel goes into to create the alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon leads the United States to victory in Vietnam and continues his fascist hold over the White House. The book includes intermittent documents and testimony relating the history of the masked hero movement leading up to the action taking place within the comic frames. There are fictional biographies, scientific records,and photographs. The production designer had this to say, The parallel universe has been set up so beautifully. It really puts the audience square into a new kind of history. By the time you get to the end of it, even reading it on the storyboards, you start questioning, Which part of that was real again? (Alex McDowell, 2009) Luckily, the important attention to detail has not been lost on the art department for Watchmen, like the newsreel video mock-up and, now, images from The New Frontiersman the fictional newspaper of the alternate universe. The filmmakers not only did this for the fans of the comic, but to take that alternate history one step closer to reality. This allows for audiences to be captivated. The filmmakers are trying to prove a point that the world has descended into chaos. They want us to feel connected but yet detached from this odd world. One example the art department used as a focal feature in the film demonstrates this effectively. It is a campaign propaganda poster for Richard Nixons fifth term. The photo of Nixon has devil horns and Mickey Mouse ears drawn on it. Also a small swastika is drawn in on the bottom left hand corner. This type of image when seen by the public can hold strong feelings, as many people still remember Nixon. So it can be unsettling for some people as they are taken into this alternate history. In the book Easily Led: History of Propaganda by Oliver Thomson, he explains that when people add to a propaganda message it then becomes art and the will of the people (Thomson, 1999). This is what the filmmakers set out to do. They wanted us to have a political figure that was disliked and forced from office and easily remembered. It allowed for the filmmakers and art department once again to show the civil unrest and deep changes to history in the story. This is a reflection on our own reality as at the time we had assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan, Soviets shot down a Korean airliner and Reagan also announced a series of defense plans called Star Wars in 1983. All of these real life current events are used to support the movies cold war theme. The role of Richard Nixon is supported by an extremely well crafted screenplay. Screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse cleverly blend the real Nixon history with a believable alternative history. In reality the United States of America has a fixed allocation of two terms for their presidents. This provides the country with the ability to never become a dictatorship and to have new governments with new ideas always changing hands. In the world of the Watchmen, however, this is different. In the story, when the United States goes to war with Vietnam, America wins. The government sends over the only superhero with powers, Doctor Manhattan, and to assist him The Comedian. The filmmakers give us strong images of the two characters burning down entire fields and villages. The audience is also told that quickly after Dr. Manhattan becomes involved, the high ranking Vietcong decide to surrender to him in person. We are faced with The Comedian violently killing Vietnamese natives and the mot her of his child for what he describes as the fun of it(Moore, 1986). This allowed the filmmakers to truly change the course of modern history. They tried to tell us that if in fact America had won the war the world might have been worse off than better. One reason for this is because in the alternative history story, Nixon repealed the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, so there is no longer a fixed term on a President after the Vietnam War. This means America has turned into something modeling totalitarian dictatorship. In reality, of course, Nixon is the only American President who was forced to resign the presidency following the Watergate scandal. Nixon was blamed for being a staunch conservative who undermined his advisers on several occasions, such as in 1971 when he started the U.S. War on Drugs and ignoring the Shafer Commission Report in 1972. When Nixon took office he was also disliked by the growing left for escalating the Vietnam war in 1971. The filmmakers do not stop there when it comes to alternate history. They make it so Vietnam becomes the 51st state to join the United States. The filmmakers where trying to convey a message of a country thats becoming power mad. Its almost a metaphor for what if the left wing lost in the 1960s and 1970s. Its as if the filmmakers are trying to put forward a point about our own modern liberal cultures and how we could be making the same mistakes in Iraq war and the war on Afghanistan. Another example of how the screenplay was essential to the telling of the story was because the writers had to complete draft after draft to convince the studio that the original graphic novel of the Watchmen would make a better script.When the studio had me come in to read the screenplay I was shocked. They wanted it done in a modern setting and to have a comment on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I said why? So we met up, tore the thing to shreds and went back to the drawing board.'(Zack Snyder, 2010) This quote is discussing the idea that the studio wanted a modern updated version of the Watchmen, mainly because the audience of 2009 could identify better with the current state of affairs and to take away some of the Cold War apocalyptic tensions from the 1980s. Some studio executives thought this would be a better idea since most of the target audiences for Snyders films wont have been born during the Cold War era. Luckily the film stuck closely with the comic and allowed for the message of the book to be conveyed easily through the movie. The filmmakers are trying to put across the message that no matter who wins or loses the world will always keep changing and war keeps us ripped apart and mentally impoverished. In conclusion as you can see by exploring the history, plot and art department as to how and why the filmmakers set out on creating the alternate history of the Watchmen. It also talked about how the Richard Nixon and the Vietnam war alternate history sent the world into turbulence. Also it discussed the opening title sequence and how it set the historical tone for the whole film. The film itself on a entertainment level is wonderful. But when you sit down and study this amazing film you can not help but be astonished by the amazing level of detail and work that Snyder and his team put into creating the alternate history. These examples have shown that the alternate history in Watchmen is the key to proving the filmmakers point, such as what Quentin Tarantino and Alan Moore achieved through alternate histories. Watchmens creators point was that nothing in the world can ever be safe and no matter what happens human beings are self destructing by nature. Snyder accomplished this message by concentrating on the little things such as alternate branding, propaganda, media and the alteration of major historical events. The alternate historical events help to shape the story and the audiences feelings and the message they conceived the film to be about. The Watchmen film worked because of the level of detail mentioned above. If the film did not have the same care and attention that it did the alternate history would have muddled the plot and many political messages the story is famous for. This film stands alone because nothing has been done like it before thus it stands out from the crowd. The crew set out to make a film that challenged peoples ideas of comic book films and to tell a narrative of, what if? Despite differing opinions and little critical acclaim, the crew created a story from alternate history successfully and still managed to get their point across, something that has been lacking from most modern Hollywood comic book blockbusters.

Borgmann’s Proposal to Reform Technology Essay -- Philosophy Albert Bo

Borgmann’s Proposal to Reform Technology Albert Borgmann follows the general project by Heidegger to see how technology has harmful effects on humanity and to determine how it can be reformed. Borgmann shares Heidegger’s view that modern technology is starkly different from premodern technology in its pattern of disclosing the world to human beings. Borgmann agrees that a sort of ethical reform must be undertaken to limit technological ways of living from dominating the lives of individuals and to keep technology in its place. His proposal for a direction of reform first takes cues from Heidegger but then asserts the need for different tactics. First, we look at Borgmann’s chapter "Focal Things and Practices." Here he names the things that matter in directing human lives "focal." Focal things contribute to the direction and ordering of one’s life in a productive way, and they disclose the world and illuminate the context of themselves and their related life activities. He actually uses a lot of verbs to convey the sense of focus with which he is concerned, so no one terse definition is given. Borgmann agrees with Heidegger that the simple kinds of things are those that focus a gathering of information about the world and benefit human beings by highlighting important life concerns, though he thinks that Heidegger sees the use of these things as too much an escape from technology rather than an affirmation of it. These simple, focal things are premodern objects, such as Heidegger’s example of an earthen jug, or even activities. The jug gathers and discloses the world because it is made of the earth and is used to store wine from grapes that grow in the earth; furthermore, the jug is used in the human context of tradition, ... ... things and practices are without being misguided by the level of a thing’s technological complexity. It seems that if focal practices engage certain elements but technology does not in principle exclude those elements, both of which Borgmann agrees, then it is not necessary to maintain Borgmann’s criticism of modern technological things. His concern is the pattern in which technology is currently engaged, and he has not at all made it clear how the troublesome disunities and commodities are necessarily related to the products of modern technology. We need to find the essential features of focal concerns and apply them to a reform proposal without Borgmann’s intermediate complications. Bibliography Borgmann, Albert. "Focal Things and Practices." Philosophy of Technology. Ed. Robert C. Scharff and Val Dusek. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. 293-312.

Research Paper on Statistics on Health Care Prescription Errors Essay

Research Paper on Statistics on Health Care Prescription Errors Introduction Relation between Error in Healthcare prescription and the inconsistency in Technological information Background Information            A lot of errors are occurring within the healthcare field lately. They result from many factors. Among the principle causes of error are related to wrong prescriptions. As indicated by Benjamin (770), one of the elements that play a critical role in this is the use of advanced technological methods. Computers have been used to aid in the computerized entry of prescription orders. For instance, Walgreens pharmacy, where I work is an online drug store that allows customers to purchase drugs over the internet. This poses a great danger of wrong order interpretations, inconsistencies and misfills. In the past, these have resulted in the possession of dangerous drugs, dosing errors and other mix-ups.Depending on the intensity of the prescription, they can result in severe injuries on the patient or even lead to fatality incidences. In turn, they lead to unnecessary court cases and legal suits that eventually cost many healthcare institutions and practitioners a lot of f unds that are paid to cater for the damages (Carroll 52-8). For this, there is a necessity to examine the main causes of faulty prescriptions to ensure that such avoidable consequences are kept at their possible minimal rates. This paper explored the occurrence of prescription errors as a result of order entries at Walgreens. The principleconcerns that were dealt with in this study include: What are the common causes of drug inconsistencies at the pharmacy? What kind of information technology is used in the provision of proper prescription? Are there specific actions that are related to inconsistently provided information in the same prescription order entry? What dispensing errors are most likely to occur in an online drug store? Methodology            The study was prospective as it was comprised of 20 pharmacists from medical centers and Walgreens chemist, which is an online store based in Wasilla in Alaska. For approximately 2 months, they issued a report about the inconsistent order entry of prescriptions. It was principally based on communication. As such, both primary and secondary data collection methodswere employed. Therefore, it included the use of surveys for the collection of first-hand information. In this sense questionnaires and interviews from the participantswereused to gather information for the data. For accuracy and proper validation, these were combined with secondarysources such as the national health statistics (Wu, Pronovost, Morlock 88). It involved the selection of 30 electronically retrieved prescriptions from the free text field for any comments on prescription errors with regard to Walgreens pharmacy. Thus, the study entailed the overall evaluation of 60 prescription records. Data collection            The data was used to capture the medication, focus dispensing errors and the types of inconsistencies in error. Among the elements to considered included dosage, incorrect drug, wrong quantity, inappropriate, inadequate and incorrect labelling. The other elements that caused inconsistencies were inadequate directions for use, inappropriate packaging, preparation and storage of medication before dispensing. It was necessary to use predictive values to determine when the prescriptive errors are likely to be higher. Data analysis            The data was entered in a Microsoft database. 30 records were selected randomly to validate the data. From research, 99.7% of these are expected to be correct. Descriptive statistics characterized inconsistency. Some of the determinants of error such as inpatients and outpatients, analgesics and antibiotics, those that are less frequently prescribed and those on high alert wereanalyzed. They will be provided for harm categories where t tests and χ2 tests will be used. Categorical variables made use of the Fisher test for categorical variables of 2 levels and the χ2 for those with more than 2. Statistical significance or ÃŽ ± =.05 were applied to test predators with the Wald χ2 test. In this study, the regression model of multivariantlogistics method of data analysis will be used. The method will mainly identify different factors in communication prescriptive errors in relation to their severity. It will make use of a generalized approach with estimated equations. Results            The results were filled in the table below:            Similar names and packages Medications not commonly used or prescribed Commonly used medication where patients are allergic Medication that need proper testing for proper therapeutic administration Entry and confirmation of prescription Zeros and abbreviations Organized workforce and reduction of distraction and stress Patient counselling Storage            Dispensing incorrect drug 40% 20% 2% 2% 10% 5% 10% 11% Dose 20% 30% 10% 5% 20% 10% 5% 5% Dosage form 8% 2% 1% 5% 50% 10% 20% 4% Quantity 1% 20% 1% 3% 10% 30% 20% 15% Administration time 1% 5% 3% 2% 10% 30% 40% 9% Wrong labeling 30% 30% 5% 2% 10% 5% `10% 8% Inadequate directions 5% 20% 10% 10% 5% 2% 10% 38% Inappropriate preparation, packaging and storage 20% 40% 5% 1% 1% 5% 29% 1% Graphical Representation of the results Findings            It was discovered that at a pharmacy such as Walgreens where about 250 prescriptions entries are made in a day, about 4 errors occur. Reports relate these to a higher rate of inconsistent communication. The principle cause was drug dosage. There were also some drugs that were associated with a higher rate of overdosing and incorrect prescriptions when compared to others. Thus, in relation to this study, it was evident that medical centers that have a higher flow of patients and the chances of admission have higher rates of errors when compared to other private clinics and chemists. Conclusion            It is important that the laid down professional ethics are adhered to in different fields. This is especially within the medical field where a slight mistake can lead to devastating consequences. Therefore, healthcare providers are always obligated to use the knowledge that they acquired in their studies as well as new knowledge and practices appropriately. They should ensure that drugs are prescribed in the most appropriate ways to avoid errors. In particular, computerized drug entries should be counterchecked to eliminate disparities. However, owing to the continuous change in the nature of disease processes and hence the production of advanced drug formulas, there is need to conduct more research. These will provide more guidance to guarantee safe drug prescription by providers of healthcare services using new technological methods. Recommendations            The employees at Walgreens need to reduce the rates of prescription errors to help retain customers and avoid unnecessary lawsuits. Some of the steps they can take are to ensure the correct entry of prescriptions. These should be confirmed. They should be careful with drugs that look alike and sound alike as well as take care with zeros and abbreviations. They should make the workplace organized and reduce distractions, stress and heavy workloads as much as possible. They should also ensure that drugs are stored properly and check all prescriptions. The most important thing is to ensure that patients are cancelled before taking the drugs. References Benjamin, D. M. Reducing medication errors and increasing patient safety: case studies inclinical pharmacology. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.2003;43:768–83. Carroll, P. Medication issues: the bigger picture.RN. 2003;66(1):52–8. Wu, A. W., Pronovost, P., and Morlock, L. ICU incident reporting systems.Journal of CriticalCare. 2006;17(2):86–94 Source document

William Taft and a Lack of Progressivism †Government (300 Level Course)

William Taft and a Lack of Progressivism – Government (300 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers William Taft and a Lack of Progressivism Government (300 Level Course) William Howard Taft became the twenty seventh president in 1909; handpicked by Theodore Roosevelt to carry on the Progressive torch of the Republican Party. While some argue that Taft was not the best choice, that perhaps Roosevelt’s Secretary of State Elihu Root or Governor Charles Evans Hughes of New York would be better progressives, many scholars believe that Roosevelt chose Taft for one main reason: he was a â€Å"yes-man.† Even though he later denied it, many people felt that Taft was selected so that Roosevelt could still exercise power through him, without actually being in office. Taft was a supposed Progressive leader and maintained this position throughout his tenure in office. However his four years in office demonstrated the presidency of a far more conservative than progressive leader. While most authors agree on the fact that even if Taft is to be considered Progressive, he is much less progressive than his predecessor, they disagree on the way Taft handled the battles that arose between progressive and conservative Republicans. Donald Anderson writes that â€Å"Taft used his patronage powers to punish leaders like La Follete and Cummins who vindictively opposed the administration’s program.† This statement is in direct response to the issue of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff. The progressives, led by La Follete and Cummins, were upset that the proposed tariff, once in the hands of Speaker of the House Joe Cannon and the conservatives, was attacked by protectionists and changed in 847 ways. These results of these changes raised the tariff in ways thought to be protective for the United States. Theodore Roosevelt assured the progressives that Taft would surely veto the bill, which would have been a slap in the face to the progressives. However, Taft did not veto the bill, instead he pledged that he â€Å"would not take into consideration any of the progressive recommendations unless they (progressives) make it known that they are not engaged in attacking me or my administration.† In this account of events, Anderson shows two parts of the story that do not seem to corroborate with other accounts. Taft seems to feel that the progressives are directly threatening his authority even though he is supposed to share their views, after all he was a progressive and Roosevelt’s right hand man. Also, Anderson portrays Taft as being assertive in his decision to not tolerate the progressives or their plight. Whatever actually happened surrounding this event notwithstanding, other accounts to not coincide with those of Taft acting confidently and aggressively. Another historian, Nathan Miller takes a slightly different viewpoint on this same topic. While Miller sympathizes with Taft for having to follow in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt, he weaves a somewhat different story about president Taft. Miller describes Taft as a progressive but only up to a certain point. It is at that point then where Taft draws the line. Taft was often said to be so wracked by self doubt that he would walk the White House late at night unable to sleep. Miller paints William Taft as a totally dependent politician and a man incapable of being the president described by Anderson. Miller talks of Taft’s dependence first on Roosevelt and then on leaders such as Aldrich and Cannon. He goes on to say that â€Å"Taft lacked both the will and the stomach to get his own way in any battle such as this. Having been a yes man in Roosevelt’s cabinet, he inevitably became one for the party regulars.† It becomes this lack of support for progres sives, and ultimately therefore support for Roosevelt that effectively ends their political relationship. I agree with the latter depiction of president William Taft and his role as a progressive leader of American politics. It may be true that he was the victim of being Roosevelt’s successor. Yet still I feel that he demonstrated weak leadership qualities and when the fights broke out he abandoned camp and sought shelter within the party ranks. By doing this he effectively bit the hand that fed him in Theodore Roosevelt, a man that he was extremely loyal to and whom handed him the baton of dynamic presidential leadership, a baton in which he fumbled. He did not have Roosevelt’s integrity, his leadership, his grace, or his political prowess. While he later proved to be a honorable chief justice, one whom possessed a well organized, well honed legal mind, he simply lacked the backbone and integrity needed to be successful in elected and not appointed office. In these ways I have found William Taft to be both a poor progressive and a poor president. William Howard Taft came into the office of the president in 1909 with the world at his feet, and left office miserably four years later after only winning two states and eight electoral votes. It was the worst defeat ever suffered by an incumbent president. Theodore Roosevelt gave him the presidency and the popularity of the American people and he could do little with it but squander it almost entirely. While opinions may vary on his presidency, it is almost certainly clear that it was far from a growing success story. He did enjoy perhaps the most productive career of any ex-president after being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1921 by president Warren Harding. Yet his presidency will still be remember for doing little for the country and eventually being passed up by a country that voted in 1912 over three-quarters progressive. Taft’s presidency took office on a high and ended by giving the office back to the Democrats for the first time in sixteen years. Nathan M iller therefore granted Taft the dubious honor of being his â€Å"eighth worst president of the United States.† One thing is for certain however, the fact that William Howard Taft earned it. Research Papers on William Taft and a Lack of Progressivism - Government (300 Level Course)Trailblazing by Eric AndersonQuebec and Canada19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind TravelBringing Democracy to AfricaNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2The Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsResearch Process Part OneBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm X