Kim Campbell :: Biography

In a democracy, government isn't something that a group of people do TO everybody else, it's not even something they do FOR every body else, it should be something they do WITH everybody else. "Kim Campbell, March 25th, 1993 Avril Phaendra Douglas Campbell was born in Port Albeni, B.C. SHortly after her birth her parents moved to Vancouver where her father was studying law. Her family life didn't turn out to be succesful, so her parents divorced when she was 12. By the age of 13 she changed her name to Kim. She was always on top in her Prince Of Wales Secondary school and she marked the begining of her political career by being the first female student president. In 1964, Kim went to the University Of British Columbia where she topped in Political Science. There again she was elected to be the first female freshman president. After graduation, she took some graduate courses at The Institute of International Relations, before she got a scholarship to London School Of Economics. She returned to Vancouver in 1973 and began lecturing at Simon Fraser University and Vancouver Community College. In 1980 she returned to University of British Columbia to study law, at the same time she got involved in local politics. Later in 1983 she got elected into Vancouver School Board as a chairsperson. Her status caught the attension of the governing at that time Social Credit party and they asked her to run as a candidate in 1984 provincial elections. Even though she lost she was offered a job as a policy advisor to B.C. Premier Bill Bennett. When Bennett resigned in 1989, Kim ran for a provincial leader Bill Vander Zalm. In the electionthat year she won a seat in legislature. Here she made herself recognized for opposing premier's views on abortion. By 1988 Campbell was praised by the Conservative party. Conservative''''';;'"??/???s cabinet minister Pat Carney was about to retire, therefore he needed replacement. Kim campbell ran and won the 1988 election. She was offered a positiion as a Minister of State for Indian and Northern Affairs. In 1989 she became the first female Minister of Justice. She prooved herself again as a politician. She introduced a bill overlooking gun laws. The 1989 Montreal massive killing forced her to propose more strict gun laws. Kim Campbell was also praised when Bill C(49) was drafted after the Supreme Court announced the 1983 "'rape sheild' law as unconstitutional.

Mass Crime Lab Case

Former Massachusetts State Crime Lab chemist, Annie Dookhan, has been indicted on twenty-seven counts of tampering with evidence, perjury, and obstruction of justice after a legal fallout that has jeopardized thousands of drug cases (Smith). Dookhan admitted to â€Å"dry-labbing† (distinguishing a sample is a narcotic based on appearance instead of actually testing), altering test results, and â€Å"deliberately turned a negative sample into a positive for narcotics a few times†. Another way in which she tampered with the testing samples was by exaggerating the weight of seized drugs in order to cause the accused party to receive harsher penalties. As a result of the chemist’s actions, many innocent people have served jail time, while deserving criminals were let off the hook. Even though her coworkers and supervisors were suspicious on several occasions throughout the course of several years, she was not caught until 2011 when she admitted to forging a colleague’s signature on paperwork. It was not until this action, that she was finally suspended from her duties (The Living Case). The next thought that occurs to someone reading this story is â€Å"Why†. What would possess someone to risk his or her job and credentials? It is hard to understand what exactly would motivate Annie Dookhan to commit this type of crime considering that her life was not directly impacted by the fates of the defendants her samples belonged to. Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, also known as the two-factor theory, could be applied in this case. Lab executives leadership style Crime labs would be better served if they were operated privately and contracted by states rather than run by a police department. There is cause for concern when a state prosecutor has intrinsic ties to the people testing the evidence he or she needs to convict a felon. It is an absolute conflict of interest to have a crime lab under the control of the police. Northeastern University law professor Daniel Medwed said, â€Å"There are often implicit pressures [on crime lab technicians] to help out prosecutors – to testify in cases in a way that supports their perceived colleagues in law enforcement† (The Living Case). As a result of the outcome of the Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts case, chemists are now required to be present at the trial of the substance they tested in order to be cross-examined on their testimony (Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts). Bearing in mind that their testimony carries a lot of weight in a trial, chemists should remain separate so that issues of prejudice or bias arise. Aside from that issue, being run be the state police produces problems in relation to the management of the crime lab reporting any errors in testing that may occur. The leaders may feel that exposing problems would only increase a backlog of paperwork and further testing as a result of an internal investigation. In this case, it does not seem that the leadership was affected by police involvement as the lab was run by the Department of Public Health during the period of the incidents. Sources: * I was unsure how to cite the case given to us as most of my information is derived from there, and I did not see where Kirkman provided source information. * http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-591.pdf * http://www.npr.org/2013/03/14/174269211/mass-crime-lab-scandal-reverberates-across-state

Biography of Dean Kamen, American Engineer and Inventor

Dean Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who is best known for his invention of the Segway PT, a self-balancing personal transporter scooter. He is also noted as a founder of the non-profit FIRST organization for advancing science and technology-dedicated education. Holding over 450 patents, Kamen has been called the â€Å"next Thomas Edison,† particularly for his life-changing inventions improving the mobility of persons with disabilities and treating illnesses ranging from diabetes to cancer. Fast Facts: Dean Kamen Known For: Inventor of the Segway self-balancing scooterBorn: April 5, 1951, in Rockville Center, Long Island, New YorkParents: Jack Kamen and Evelyn KamenEducation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute (no degree)Patents: US8830048B2: Control of a personal transporter based on user position (Segway)Awards and Honors: National Medal of Technology, Lemelson-MIT Prize, National Inventors Hall of Fame, ASME MedalNotable Quote: â€Å"Life is so short. Why waste a single day of it doing something that doesnt matter, that doesn’t try to do something big?† Early Life and Education Dean Kamen was born on April 5, 1951 in Rockville Center, Long Island, New York. His father worked as a graphic artist for Weird Science, Mad, and other comic books, and his mother was a teacher. By his own account, he was a lackluster student, preferring to educate himself on advanced science and engineering topics outside of school. According to Kamen, he had created his first invention by age six: a pulley system that enabled him to make his bed without running from side-to-side. Kamen’s career as a professional inventor took off in his teenage years. While still in high school, he was asked to automate the annual New Years Eve ball drop at Times Square. He designed sound and laser-light displays local rock bands and the Museum of the City of New York. By the time he finished high school, Kamen’s creations were earning him around $60,000 a yea— more than the combined incomes of his parents. After completing high school, Kamen headed to Worcester Polytechnic Institute to study engineering. Early Inventions As a sophomore at WPI, Kamen invented a pocket-sized, wearable medical device that delivered precisely measured doses of medications, such as insulin, over extended periods of time. In 1976, Kamen dropped out of college to found his first company, AutoSyringe, to produce and market his insulin pump. In 1981, Kamen sold AutoSyringe to health-care giant Baxter International. The same year, he founded DEKA (DE-an KA-men) Research and Development Corp., a firm dedicated to creating robotic mobility solutions for persons with disabilities. By age 30, Dean Kamen had become a multimillionaire. After founding DEKA, Kamen invented a groundbreaking portable and affordable kidney dialysis machine that allows diabetics to dialyze at home while they sleep. In 1993, the device earned him the Medical Product of the Year award from Design News and set the stage for his best-known inventions to date: the iBOT, the Segway, the Slingshot, and the â€Å"Luke† Arm. The iBot Revealed in 1999, Kamen’s iBOT self-balancing mobility device is a self-balancing, multi-terrain, battery-powered wheelchair. Built from sensors, microprocessors, and gyroscopes that would later be incorporated into his Segway, the iBOT allows its users to climb stairs without assistance and travel safely over uneven surfaces, including sand, gravel, and water up to 3 deep. With its ability to stand upright on two wheels, the iBOT empowers persons with handicaps to move about at eye-level. Inventor Dean Kamen demonstrates his iBot wheelchair for President Bill Clinton. US Government/The White House Because of the iBOT’s flexibility and agility, Kamen nicknamed the project â€Å"Fred,† after famed dancer Fred Astaire. He would later nickname his Segway project â€Å"Ginger,† after Astaire’s equally famous dance partner, Ginger Rogers. Commercial production of the iBOT was temporarily halted in 2009 due to high production costs. By then, only a few hundred units per year were being sold at a retail price of about $25,000. However, in 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lowered its costly federal regulatory controls over personal mobility medical devices, allowing Kamen and DEKA to revive the project. In 2016, DEKA entered into a partnership with Toyota to produce a new, less costly version of the iBOT. The Segway On December 3, 2001, after months of media-hype and public speculation, Kamen appeared live on the ABC News morning television program Good Morning America to unveil his best-known invention—a battery-powered, two-wheeled, self-balancing scooter he called the Segway. Dean Kamen introduces the Segway Human Transporter on December 3, 2001. Mark Peterson / Getty Images Based on technology developed for the iBOT, the Segway used independently computer-controlled motors and gyroscopes in each wheel to remain upright and change its direction and speed according to the rider’s body movements. The device’s name comes from the word â€Å"segue† which literally means â€Å"follows without pause.† As the rider leans forward, backward, and to the left or right using a handlebar attached to its base, the Segway follows accordingly. Capable speeds up to 12.5 miles per hour (20.1 kph), the Segway can cover up to 24 mi (39 km) on a fully charged lithium-ion battery. When the Segway hit the market in early 2002, Kamen predicted future sales of 10,000 units a week—half a million a year. However, by late 2008, only 30,000 Segway scooters had been sold. While it worked as advertised, the Segway suffered from its $4,900 price tag and a bad public image. It had been featured as a comedic prop in the movie â€Å"Paul Blart: Mall Cop† gaining it a â€Å"nerd toy† image. In 2003, President George W. Bush was filmed falling off one and in 2010, Segway corporation owner James W. Heselden died after accidentally steering his scooter off a 30-foot cliff, landing in a river. After a patent infringement dispute in 2015, Kamen’s Segway Corporation was purchased by its Chinese rival Ninebot. The two companies announced at the time that they were uniting under a â€Å"strategic alliance† to develop less expensive electric scooters using Segway’s self-balancing technology. Ninebot soon began selling several models of Segway-branded scooters priced at $1,000 or less. While it never dominated the general consumer market as Kamen had predicted, the Segway has found success in commercial fleet applications. Police officers, mall security guards, warehouses workers, tour guides, and airport maintenance staff are now commonly seen riding Segway scooters. The Slingshot   Named for the humble weapon used by the Biblical David to defeat the giant Goliath, the Slingshot is the result of Kamen’s 15-year quest to bring safe drinking water to the world. â€Å"Fifty percent of all chronic human disease would go away—you would empty 50 percent of the hospital beds in the world—if you just gave people clean water,† Kamen has said. Using a Stirling engine specially modified by Kamen to drive a process called vapor compression distillation, a single compact refrigerator-sized Slingshot can purify more than 66,000 gallons (250,000 liters) of water per year—enough to meet the daily needs of about 300 people. According to Kamen, the Slingshot can run on any combustible fuel, including cow dung, and can remove all organic and inorganic pathogens from â€Å"anything that looks wet.† In a 2004 demonstration, Kamen ran his own urine through a Slingshot, immediately drinking the water that came out. During a test in the summer of 2006, two Slingshot devices successfully produced clean water in a Honduran village for over a month. In 2010, Kamen’s DEKA corporation announced it had partnered with Coca-Cola to manufacture and test the Slingshot in remote communities in Latin America. While the first Slingshot units cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Kamen has projected that savings from increased production will eventually result in a price in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. DEKA Arm System (Luke Arm) In 2006, Kamen and DEKA developed the DEKA Arm System, codenamed the â€Å"Luke Arm,† an advanced prosthetic arm named after Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker’s artificial hand. Kamen took on the project after the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) announced its â€Å"Revolutionizing Prosthetics† program intended to drastically improve the quality of life for wounded veterans returning home from the Iraq War. The â€Å"Luke† prosthetic arm invented by Dean Kamen. Dean Kamen / Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Offering its users much finer motor control than traditional prosthetic limbs, Kamen’s Luke Arm was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2014. At the time, the FDA stated that the Luke Arm was the first prosthetic arm approved by the agency that â€Å"translates signals from a person’s muscles to perform complex tasks.† Unlike traditional prosthetics, the Luke Arm allows its users to carry out multiple powered movements, while its fingers can apply six different user-selectable grip pressures. Today, three configurations of Kamen’s Luke Arm are manufactured and marketed by Mobius Bionics in Manchester, New Hampshire. FIRST Advances STEM Education In 1989, Kamen founded FIRST—For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology—a non-profit organization for students ages 6 to 18 to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. According to Kamen, the mission of FIRST is, â€Å"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.† FIRST offers robotics-focused programs for K-12 students worldwide in three age groups, including the FIRST Lego League Jr. for younger elementary school students, the FIRST Tech Challenge for middle and high school students, and the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students. In 2017, FIRST hosted 163 teams from 157 nations in its inaugural Olympics-style robotics competition—the FIRST Global Challenge— at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Similar Global Challenge competitions have since been held in Mexico City in 2018 and Dubai in 2019. â€Å"FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect – of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future.† – Dean Kamen Kamen has called FIRST the invention he is most proud of, predicting that the millions of students who take part in its competitions will go on to contribute to world-changing technological advances in years to come. Awards and Honors Kamen’s inventions and dedication to science and technology education have garnered him an array of honors. In 1998, he received the Heinz Award for â€Å"a set of inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide.† The National Medal of Technology Kamen was awarded in 2000 praised him for â€Å"innovative and imaginative leadership in awakening America to the excitement of science and technology.† In 2002, he was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize for his invention of the Segway, and in 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention of the AutoSyringe. In 2007, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded Kamen its highest honor, the ASME Medal. In 2011 Kamen was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering by the Franklin Institute, and in 2013, he received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award. Though he never formally completed college, Kamen has been awarded honorary degrees, beginning in 1992 with an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the college where he was inspired to develop the AutoSyringe. In 2013, WPI further honored Kamen by awarding him its Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement. Among other institutions, Kamen has received honorary doctorates from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008, Yale University in 2015, and Quebec’s Università © de Sherbrooke in 2017. Sources â€Å"Dean Kamen.† Famous Entrepreneurs, https://www.famous-entrepreneurs.com/dean-kamen.â€Å"Dean Kamen: IBOT Mobility System and the Segway.† Lemelson–MIT, http://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/dean-kamen.â€Å"Breakout Artist: Dean Kamen.† WIRED, https://www.wired.com/2000/09/kamen/.â€Å"Kid Invention: Automatic Bed Maker.† Big Think, July 7, 2009, https://bigthink.com/videos/kid-invention-automatic-bed-maker.Sorvino, Chloe. â€Å"One Of Americas Most Successful Inventors Dean Kamen Talks Segway, Clean Water And Robotics.† Forbes, June 9, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2016/06/09/dean-kamen-inventor-success-segway-water-purification-toyota/#18cbf317555e.Kemper, Steve. â€Å".†Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamens Quest to Invent a New World Harvard Business School, 2003.â€Å"Welcome to Dean Kamens cool world.† CBS News, January 11, 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/welcome-to-dean-kamens-c ool-world/.â€Å"iBOT Poised for Comeback.† Toyota Newsroom, May 21, 2016, https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-deka-research-partnership-may21/.McFarland, Matt. â€Å"Segway was supposed to change the world. Two decades later, it just might.† CNN, October 30, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/tech/segway-history/index.html.Linshi, Jack.â€Å"Why This Chinese Startup Just Bought a Company Americans Love to Ridicule.† Time, April 15, 2015, https://time.com/3822962/segway-ninebot-china/.Guizzo, Erico. â€Å"Dean Kamens ‘Luke Arm’ Prosthesis Receives FDA Approval.† IEEE Spectrum,  May 13, 2014, https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamen-luke-arm-prosthesis-receives-fda-approval.Patton, Phil. â€Å"Slingshot: Inventor Dean Kamens Revolutionary Clean Water Machine.† Coca-Cola, September 21, 2013. https://www.coca-colacompany.com/au/news/slingshot-inventor-dean-kamens-revolutionary-clean-water-machine.html.