What is, according to your critical evaluation of what has been Essay

What is, according to your critical evaluation of what has been written on the topic, the best way to motivate people at work(Human resource management) - Essay Example Thus, it is evident how important motivation is in the workplace as this affects the caliber of an organisation’s performance and ultimately, success. The employees are the greatest asset of any company and most often are the sole component that can set a company apart from its competitors. With proper personnel management that develops an empowered workforce, the competition experienced by virtually all industries can be overcome. Empowerment is defined as a means to allow employees to carry out decisions and a intrinsic drive to have accountability for one’s behaviours (Bowen & Lawler 1992, 1995). This implies that empowerment is an outcome of management and employee efforts. Corsuon & Enz (1999) note that contemporary research has focused on psychological empowerment, particularly on the phenomenology of the employee, whereas in the past, the concept has focused on decision making and delegation of tasks (Blau 1964) Thomas and Velthouse (1990) further defined the construct as an intrinsic drive apparent in four clusters. These are meaning, competence, self-determination, an impact; these mirror an employee’s evaluation and perspective of her job and role. The first cluster, competence, refers to the extent to which an employee can carry out activities with competence when he attempts to do so; it pertains to proficiency of a skill. On the other hand, meaning is the premium attached to an objective or a mission, which is evaluated through a person’s own set of values or personal criteria. Moreover, meaning is the match between one’s job and contribution to work on one hand, and the cognition, affect, and behaviours on the other. Empowerment allows for an increase in employee motivation because empowered employees see meaning in what they do and since the goals of the company are consistent with what they attach value to (Staples 1990). Self-determination pertains to having a sense of freedom in managing one’s

Language of Abigails Party Emily Huntley Essay Example for Free

Language of Abigails Party Emily Huntley Essay Mike Leigh used to be one of a kind, famous for creating movies through an unusual process that involves extensive rehearsals and improvisations with his actors; a process that begins weeks before anyone picks up a camera. In each of his plays, he has depicted the often-uneventful lives of ordinary people. The results are always far from conventional. And it is through his success that many directors are now using his techniques to capture the texture of everyday life. Leigh achieves this commonness in the majority through his language, although the whole play is based on naturalism, he uses this technique to capture the essence of each characters persona. I think this technique is particularly successful, as the audience finds it easy to relate themselves to the evening unravelling before them, and manage to put themselves in the situations of the characters. Lawrence My first impression of Lawrence was that he was an well-educated, cultured man, who was simply a good social mixer but this is the aim of Leigh. He wanted the audience to believe the opposite of Lawrence and then have their thoughts dashed. In a way I believe that this makes the audience feel vulnerable as if theyve been deceived and they then seek comfort in one of the other characters which seem simple and honest and therefore they find themselves delving into the play further. Lawrence speaks in a polite and precise manner Ah, yes-now, when would you be best for you? No, no, Ill fall in with you, Mrs Cushing. (Page 2) this enforces the idea of him being a well brought up man and hopefully in his eyes achieving the idea that his guests consider him of a high social class. Leigh also used the language of the character Lawrence to make him persuasive and condescending, I dont only like Minis-I like lots of other cars. But I find the Mini economical, efficient and reliable. (Page 8) this is a good example of the rule of 3 a strong persuasive technique, this is how he enforces his ideas on others and appears so domineering and always seems to be right as no one has the courage to object. Generally Lawrences speech is direct and focused, he speaks when spoken to and rarely initiates a conversation, unless asking probing questions to prove his wealth and class over the other guests You have a car, do you? (Page 8). Although Lawrences vocabulary is relatively simple, he still uses this to his advantage by trying to better himself and prove his supposedly higher social status Macbeth. Part of our heritage. This also links to Lawrences frequent name dropping this is in an attempt to try and appear culturally educated, with references to Van Gogh Shakespeare Lowry etc. Lawrence also frequently uses questions in his dialect, this is to distract guests from a previous topic that may be a bit uncomfortable for him, and so that he feels as though he is remaining control, he can choose what subject to initiate a conversation with Youve got footballers legs, though, havent you? Talking of Paris, Sue, do you like art? Another technique Leigh used in Lawrences character, are put-downs. This is achieved by the use of rhetorical questions. What would you know about taste? (Page 48). And also by repetition of the persons name who hes talking to. Ive seen to the drinks, thank you, Beverly! (Page 42), in this is example it is used as a put down to remind Beverly to look around and compose herself. Throughout the play, Leigh rarely uses poetic language or imagery, with few metaphors and no symbolism. Lawrence is a prime example of this as he is a simple dialect character. Beverly When I initially read the play, I thought the whole plot pivoted around Beverly and how bad a hostess she was. I later found this not to be true. After seeing the play I realised that Beverly is actually a very good host, this is proved when she leaves the room, and the conversation withers. She also dominates the play, with her monologues, and comical mickey taking of Lawrence. In Abigails Party Beverly is the only character to frequently swear with no apparent acknowledgement for her guests. Oh sod off Lawrence (Page 49). This although may be offensive to some, shows the extreme contrast between the nouveaux riches and the true middle class, such as Sue. Throughout the play Beverly uses a patronising tone, but I feel this isnt a condescending technique, but rather being too honest Please dont be offended when I say this, but, youre wearing a very pretty dress, If I may say so; now, you see that pink ribbon down the front? If youd chosen, Ang, a colour slightly nearer that pink, I think it would have blended more with your skin tones; (Page 10). In this example, I feel that she is trying to make Ang feel better in herself. Although this does prove how materialistic Bev is as she thinks that making yourself look better solves all problems. Beverly babbles incessantly, is garrulous, and uses a lot of personal anecdotes in her dialect. Now my bloke had told me to turn left, right? Now we come to the first give way, and the bloke in front slammed his brakes on. Now, Im going behind him and I suppose Im going a little bit too quick with me nerves; so I slam on my brakes and I went slap into the back of him. (Page 9). This is a clear example of Beverlys long and complex sentences, although she also uses short simple sentences Lawrence youre going to get heartburn (Page 2). Beverly is also very colloquial in the way that she speaks, and this makes it easier for the audience to familiarise themselves with her. Similarly to Lawrence, Beverly also name drops to appear culturally educated Beaujolais (Page 11) although from the quote Oh its Beaujolais. Fantastic! Wont be a sec, Ill just pop it in the fridge.'(Page 11) You can tell that Bev clearly has no idea about wine etc. like we originally thought. Generally speaking Beverly is the main character to initiate conversation, she keeps everyone involved and the conversation flowing. She also reiterates a lot to confirm and seek approval, assurance and affirmation. Beverly has a few peculiarities of speech, including the adjectives Great and Fantastic. These are character phrases enable the audience to link these certain words to her, and expect them, I feel this makes the audience feel more at ease with Bev, or simply more irritated by her. Similarly to Lawrence, Beverly also never uses imagery, symbolism, metaphors or poetic language. But unsurprisingly for her character there are frequent sexual innuendoes Hes got a firm handshake, hasnt he? (Page 5) Tone, you cant do much with a bed-head, can you? (Page 7). Angela As a person, Ang is a simple and satisfied working class newly wed. Her sentences can be long, but this is purely due to her rambling and not knowing when to stop. Oh, what a lovely table. This is just what we need. Its the next thing were going to get. Cos at the moment were eating off our knees. Its unusual, isnt it with the wooden top and modern legs. (Page 22) Her conversation seems to be pretty pointless as she doesnt seem to have anything of any value to add to the discussion. But similarly to Bev she also includes simple sentences to make her dialect feel more naturalistic. When comparing the characters I think it is possible to state that Ang is the most colloquial of all of them, as she is most informal, and although her grammar is a little shakey it seems to be easier for the audience to accept her on face value as she is too honest and genuine to be hiding anything. Ang uses questions to seek assurance, and also to encourage people to engage with her, as it provokes a response. Isnt she? Ang uses personal anecdotes to inform the audience of her character, although the comic element that Leigh included was how she seems completely oblivious to her boundaries, and therefore makes herself look foolish. Tony had a bad experience in an Indian restaurant this was before I knew himHe had a nasty dose of gastro-enteritis after hed had a curry, and you see that put him off. (Page 25). This medical reference shows hoe educated she is and reflects her job as a nurse. I feel it is the fact that Ang is too blunt and open to use any form of innuendoes, or symbolism, that makes it so easy for the audience to accept her. Tony Tony is a very reserved character; he rarely uses full sentences, but rather one-word replies, this makes him appear constrained and unnatural which is why I believe it is not so surprising when he raises his voice at Ang as the audience can see the tension building inside him. He never initiates conversation, as that would mean replies to more questions. He often uses slang, or colloquial language top ta. Leigh also included various imperative or instructive verbs leave it stand up turn that fucking record off (Page 51), but these are only ever commanded at Ang, and explains why the audience and guests never agree with Ang when she seems to find him domineering. Tonys humour seems to be very dry in that he finds his own things funny, rather than sharing a universal joke. Tony is the only character to use silence as a defence and attack mechanism. As weve seen with Bev and Lawrence theyd rather shout at each other to resolve problems. Tony uses silence to create a tension and most of ten with Ang and therefore making her look stupid, in front of their company, clearly showing an imbalance in their relationship. Sue It is clear from the beginning of the play that Sue is of the highest social class in the group. Originally I though Sue was a well brought up and highly well mannered person, but when studying the play I realised the opposite. I felt that Sue is very rude and off-putting to the people around her as she has a lack of curiosity, she doesnt seem to show any interest in them and clearly doesnt want them to show any in her. She only speaks when spoken to, and never repays the question. When she does answer questions its always unexpansive, short; clipt one-word answers Yes. It is clear from her dialect that she is uncomfortable and intimidated by the other characters. Her language is very unnatural and similar to that of a guide book. Her vocabulary is old fashioned, formal, and grammar school style. Darent Arent. Otherwise its quite simple and easily understood so it doesnt require any explanations. She never uses colloquial or slang vocabulary. She rarely uses questions in her dialogue as this would initiate conversation. She keeps herself to herself and doesnt want to probe or get involved into either of the troublesome marriages in front of her. Her character phrases seem to be reliant on her politeness Yes please No thank you. It is possible to say that she is trapped by her own politeness, She doesnt have the nerve to leave the party, which she clearly doesnt want to be at. Throughout the play she remains completely unassertive right until the end when her guard drops, and she tells Bev to Shut up (Page 53). Language is a key tool that all playwrights use to distinguish the differences and similarities between each of the characters. The character phrases and accents help the audience to realise the different backgrounds and diversity of the characters. Contributing to the visual aspects, lines give a sense of place and person and how the characters interact with one another.

A Study of Joe Christmas in Faulkners Light in August Essay -- Light

A Study of Joe Christmas in Light in August      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joe Christmas's eating disorder and antipathy to women's sexuality (or to the feminine) in Light in August also can be traced back to the primal scene in the dietitian's room.   However, the primal scene is not the final piece of the puzzle in the novel.   The primal scene is already given as a working condition for a further analysis of Joe's psychology.   Readers are first invited to interrelate the scene and Joe's behavior in the rest of the novel.1   Yet drawing one-to-one relations between the primal scene and Joe's symptomatic behavior merely repeats Freud's theory for its own sake.   The mechanic connection of the dots does not solve the most crucial problem of the novel, Joe's racial identity.   The primal scene, like a dream, asks for a further inspection of its undersurface - something distorted or untold.   It also urges to expand the Freudian perception of the unconscious.   The unconscious is not just a personal trashcan of one's own repressed sexual energy.   As Joe Christmas's case proves, the unconscious is always already cultural and social.   The unconscious is multiple and full of others.  Ã‚   Focusing on the primal scene, this essay shall explore Joe Christmas's psychology and the problematics of his racial identity.      The above excerpt is provided to allow the student a better understanding of the focus of the paper. The complete paper begins below:         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We witness Freud's reductive glee; we literally see multiplicity leave the wolves to take the shape of goats that have absolutely nothing to do with the story.   Seven wolves that are only kid-goats.   Six wolves: the seventh goat (the Wolf-Man himself) is hiding in the clock.   Five wolves: h... ...ginally published as Mille Plateaux, volume 2 of Capitalisme et Schizophrà ©nie by Minuit in 1980 in France. Faulkner, William. Light in August.   New York: Vintage, 1990. Originally published in 1932. Karl, Frederick R.   William Faulkner: American Writer.   New York: Ballantine Books, 1989.    Notes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1   Joe's symptoms of anorexia nervosa, his dislike to objects, which remind of women's genitalia, and his disgust at anything or anyone with feminine faculties are closely interconnected to the primal scene.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 It is interesting that psychic determinism in Joe's case opposes to Gavin Stevens's theory of black blood and white blood.   While the former attributes Joe's symptoms to "nurture," Stevens's essentializing blood theory attributes to "nature."   The conflict between "nature" and "nurture" has become an important American theme.

The Simple Gift and A Child Called IT

The desire to belong to people or a place is important to individuals as it helps them develop a sense of security and identity. This statement can be seen throughout various texts but is undoubtedly shown through the texts ‘The Simple Gift’ and ‘A Child Called IT’. The free verse novel ‘The Simple Gift’ is about Billy Luckett, a sixteen-year-old boy who decides to leave home, as he felt he was isolated from everyone else. Billy finds his security, peace and identity in the natural environment but is also shown throughout the novel that he does not give up to be a part of something or someone as he continues to strive to see the good side to others. In the novel Herrick constantly uses a various array of techniques such as symbolism, flashback and first person to portray the character’s feelings. Billy â€Å"praying for morning and sunshine† gives a sign to the reader that he desires a new life, and the symbolism of the morning and sunshine signify a new day. The wind and the rain â€Å"hitting Billy in the face with the force of a father’s punch† also help to expose the mistreatment that his father had given him whilst being at home. Through these quotes it is patent that Herrick employs the techniques symbolism and flash back to show how he is not accepted by his father. When Billy finally finds his place he can call home, Bendarat, here he also discovers his first real companionship from Old Bill, the â€Å"saddest man in the world†, and Caitlin, a girl he meets at McDonald’s who is from a wealthy family. To begin Billy is presented to the, at times, judgmental Caitlin as a bum but by displaying his compassion and not only being a homeless boy on the street he changes her perspective on himself, Old Bill and people like him. When we first see Caitlin, Herrick employs first person and the change in perspective to show Caitlin’s first reaction to Billy eating scraps at McDonalds – â€Å"put that back. † However, Caitlin avoids this, and instead says, â€Å"I hate mopping† to show Billy’s already changing influence on Caitlin. Billy, ironically, acts as a role model for Old Bill, as he transforms him by giving him â€Å"simple gifts† such as coffee, breakfast and the cigarettes. Here is shown once again the compassion given off by Billy as he does not give up on a person who tells him to â€Å"piss off son†. In becoming closer with Old Bill we are aware why he is such an old bitter man: the loss of his wife and his â€Å"darling Jessie†. It is also seen how Billy influences Old Bill to change his ways; prompting him to shave, this symbolises his own personal growth. In return Old Bill repays Billy by giving him his old house to live in. The use of first person in these quotes give a deeper explanation on to how one character has ended up where he is. All these examples illustrate how Billy’s desire to belong to a place or people helped him find that security and identity. As Old Bill presents him the gift of the key to his home this gives the sense of protection as he now has his own place to live and be himself with no violence from his father. His relationship with Caitlin also shows how she has accepted him for who he is and provides each of them with a sense of identity. The text ‘A Child Called IT’ also connects and relates to the previous text. This is portrayed through the main character, David. The first chapter ironically begins with the ending to give emphasis to the reader and demonstrate the importance of the ending for the child. Various techniques are used within the text such as first person narration and personification. As the novel is spoken in first person, its effectiveness is shown as it highlights to the reader that the story is from the child’s perspective, which is also shown in ‘The Simple Gift’ with the difference that it comes from more than one characters’ standpoint. It symbolizes that the author is directly addressing the reader to have a greater impact and engages them to continue reading. Throughout his childhood David becomes an isolated victim of his mother’s violence in comparison to how Billy is a victim to his fathers violence, which in turn makes him abandon his home and run away. David is rejected by his family members and is represented as the household slave as well as being his mothers outlet for anger. The idea of isolation is conveyed throughout the novel and it becomes evident that, not only at home, but also at school David is removed from normal relationships. The entire room lets out a howl at me – the reject of the fifth grade†, this example uses the mentioned technique of personification to emphasise to the reader that David is completely segregated, lost and alone. He does not belong at home with his own family, nor does he at school among his peers. Disconnection and alienation is presented throughout the novel, while David has accepted the fact that he does not belong to anyone or anything he still desires that someday he will be capable to connect with something or someone. This is evident in the line, â€Å"I would give anything to have been there in class when they found out I’m not so bad†. The quote has impact on the reader as it identifies that, although his peers have seemed nothing but uninterested in becoming friend with him, he still longs and strives to be accepted so that he may have that sense of belonging to a place or to people. Therefore, through these examples, it can be said that the text ‘A Child Called IT’ helps develop our understanding of the fundamental human need to belong by intensely drawing the reader’s attention to a deep sense of not belonging ad also how important it is to develop a connection with people or a place.

Crash Essy

Julius M Dix Professor Gail Lighthipe Writing 106 Section 1 12 November 2013 Crash Essay Crash is the perfect analogy of how we as a human race deal with life, people and our own experiences. Physical characteristics and racial differences may be interpreted as two distinguishing traits that separate us. I think it's what keeps us apart. That leaves several abstract questions that the film Crash illustrates. What are the origins of personal prejudice? Do individuals experience stereotypes? Can people battle internal struggles within their own ethnic group?What prohibits us from vercoming these prejudices? The writers of the Crash managed to extend my viewing experience beyond the 90 minute film, thus forcing me to analyze my own prejudices and racial stereotypes towards others. I always thought that racism occurred as a result of a person's upbringing. If your parents were racist, there is a good chance that you will be a racist too. At first glance, Matt Dillon's character exhibits characteristics typical of this theory. Dillon exhibited a close bond with his father and later, we discover the roots of his racism.I naively assumed that Dillon as absorbing external cues from his father regarding his attitudes towards black people. It turns out that his father was not racist towards black people. It was Dillon who, in combination with his father's negative experiences and his own as a member of the LAPD, formed his own perceptions towards blacks. Another example of this occurred at the beginning of the film when the Persian family was attempting to purchase a gun. The clerk at the gun shop made a few blatantly racist comments about the perceptions of the customers. There were several references to the twin owers and planes.It didn't matter that the two were Persian, not Arab. A recurring theme was that post 9/1 1, all Middle Eastern people became potential terrorists. It is amazing that people have the ability to interpret bad events and cast their own prejudices on different ethnic groups to mask their feeling of anger and frustration. Perhaps stereotypes have maintained their prevalence because there are so many people that perpetuate them. It is often believed that all young black men are destined to be thugs, criminals and drug dealers. Additionally it is a common statistic hat the majority of incarcerated males are African American.As a young black man, it is difficult to break free of that stereotype. â€Å"Things will never change. † That attitude along with the perpetuation of existing stereotypes may be largely responsible for negative racial longevity. Ludacris' character was one of the most interesting to me. Here was this articulate young black man that spent his life stealing cars from white people. â€Å"Rap music is the music of the oppressor,† he said. It is often easier to blame others for your shortcomings than it is to confront them head on. On the reverse, rouble facing stereotypes can occur anywhere.They a re not simply restricted to skin-tone and neighborhoods. Racial discrimination transpires through social class as well. This creates division within the same racial groups. In the film, Cameron was portrayed as a wealthy, black, television actor. He achieved success as a nard working black man, but at what cost? Films like Crash are forcing us to look outside our own lives and fears, to realize that we're more alike than we think. Aside from the 2% genetic differences between us, we all have problems and internal struggles. That's what makes us human.

Returning a Call and Replying to a Message

Returning a Call and Replying to a Message Returning a Call and Replying to a Message Returning a Call and Replying to a Message By Maeve Maddox A person who is not able to speak to a caller at the time a call is placed, telephones the person who called at a later time. The phrase used to describe this exchange of phone calls is â€Å"to return a phone call.† This use of return is suitable in the context of telephoning, but it is not the best choice for other forms of communication. In the context of written messages, â€Å"to return† is commonly understood to mean â€Å"to send back† or â€Å"to reject.† For example: She returned his letters unread. I keep getting all these emails returned undelivered. Senders are getting their  emails returned  when sending to our gmail account. Some speakers, perhaps by analogy with telephoning, use return as if it meant, reply, respond, or respond to. Here are some examples, together with revisions: He returned my message right away. BETTER: He replied to my message right away. I suggested a date to visit his institution but  he never returned my email. BETTER: I suggested a date to visit his institution, but he never replied to my email. The doctor never returned my message  or sent any kind of confirmation that  he  received it. BETTER: The doctor never responded to my message or sent any kind of confirmation that he received it. They  never returned my request  for information. BETTER: They never responded to my request for information. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial ExpressionsYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other AcclamationsPassed vs Past

How to Work Full-Time and Fit in Vacations

How to Work Full-Time and Fit in Vacations Joanna Niles, a lifestyle and travel blogger, wrote about traveling while working full time over at the HuffingtonPost this week. I thought her tips were great- practical and strategic- and my husband and I used many of the same approaches when we plan travel a few  times a year. Look at the calendarSince I teach workshops and college-level courses, my schedule is bound by the academic calendar. This means I can travel a lot in early and late summer, I have a lot of time in January, and I always have a few 3- and 4-day weekends during the fall and spring.Chances are if you work for a corporate or government employer, you have a variety of paid and national holidays to make the most of, too. Not every trip is a week-long extravaganza- we’ve done weekend jaunts to San Francisco, Philadelphia, Portland, Maine, and have a trip to New Orleans coming up at the end of the month. It’s surprising how refreshing and enjoyable a brief visit can be. You can also be more efficient with your vacation days by adding on one before or after a long weekend.TelecommuteNormally, you’d be working during the day and perhaps socializing at night. Maybe you can work out an arrangement where you can take that format on vacation with you, too. Another option is to work after the family goes to bed or before they’re up in the morning.This tip has the potential to backfire since you can also be pursued by work long after you’re ready to unplug, but if you’re disciplined about allowing and restricting access (yours, and your coworkers!), a vacation where you spend an hour or two emailing and coordinating in the morning and then go about your day can be great for making your getaway productive.This summer I had to take a pile of grading to the beach, and the first two days of our trip were divided between lounging on the sand and marking up papers on the balcony. Sure, I wanted to be spending more of my time on the boardwalk, but the alternative w as postponing our much-anticipated vacation just for a deadline, so it turned out to be a worthwhile compromise.Plan AheadWhen my husband and I first got together, he hated the way I liked to plan six months or a year out, but now he appreciates that if you don’t get a head start on planning trips, you can miss out on awesome seasonal opportunities or experiences that sell out as soon as they become available to the public.Don’t forget to set aside some vacation time around the holidays! My first year of working full-time, I didn’t anticipate that my company wouldn’t just automatically close on important â€Å"eves.† If my boss hadn’t been generous about commuting my sick time, I would have had a sad solitary holiday weekend alone in my apartment instead of back in my hometown.Be FlexibleThat said, sometimes you have to just get that price alert in your inbox, click through, reserve your flight and grab a weekend bag. If budget is the most i mportant factor in your ability to travel, get yourself on the mailing list of sites like The Flight Deal and Airfare Watch Dog and stay tuned as rates rise and fall during the various tourist seasons.Where you go is more important than when you go anyway, and remember how nice a quick weekend can be- fly out Friday after work, enjoy Saturday and part of Sunday, and maybe go in a little late on Monday.How to Travel with a Full-Time JobRead More at Huffington Post

Research 101 Going to the Library in the Internet Age - Freewrite Store

Research 101 Going to the Library in the Internet Age - Freewrite Store â€Å"Let me Google that.† Today’s guest post is by Anne E. Johnson. Anne, based in Brooklyn, has written several novels and nearly 100 short stories. She is also an arts journalist. â€Å"Let me Google that.† For someone who loves research, those are four of the saddest words in English. Somehow the belief has spread that any information you need- about anything- is available by simply typing into a search engine. Yet libraries still exist. Don’t be one of those people who ignores them. You’re wondering why you should bother. What could some underfunded collection of books sticky with other people’s fingerprints possibly offer that the internet can’t? Glad you asked. Why Go to the Library? One of the best things about going to the library is what it can do for your work. As someone who has experience pitching both historical fiction manuscripts and journalistic article ideas, trust me: you want to stand out from the crowd. Anybody can Google. Not everybody can coax gems from library stacks. Potential agents and publishers can see those gems gleaming, and they’ll like what they see.       Another great reason to go to a library is psychological. It’s good for your brain and it’s good for your spirit. Let me count the ways: After a few hours of staring at your computer or tablet screen, do you feel kind of hollow and stale, as if you’ve wasted your day? I call that â€Å"Web Laziness† syndrome. You could just power down and go to the gym. But if you’re in the middle of a research project, try going to the library instead. The more time you spend in a library and get comfortable with it, the more you’ll get out of it. Your enthusiasm for your topic can’t help but grow. And a bonus: you’ll feel like a pro, and won’t hesitate to hit the stacks next time you need to do research. Unlike sitting with your laptop in a coffee shop or on your own couch, a library is a place where everyone is there to read and learn. Being in that environment can alter your powers of concentration. And learning is energizing. Treasures galore! There’s a lot to be gained from being near lots of physical books. When you wander along a library bookcase, looking for a call number, you scan the spines of hundreds of nearby volumes. Guaranteed, you’re going to find some amazing stuff that you didn’t know existed. And there’s also the possibility to see physical documents that almost no one else has ever been in contact with. Primary sources – letters, diaries, drafts of plays or musical compositions, captain’s logs, or anything else that is an original representation of a time or place are absolute gold if you write history or historical fiction, or just want to jazz up something with cool details.       A research library in a big city or at a university is the best place to find such things, but even your neighborhood public library might offer high-quality scans of rare documents. Libraries subscribe to scholarly databases that an individual can’t afford to buy access to. To use these databases, you will probably need a library card. Some might be accessible at home once you log in as a card-holder, but some will require you to show up at the library and use their computers. Planning your library visit If you really want to get a lot out of a day at the library, put in some time before you go. This is where the internet and physical libraries become one: You can use the library’s catalog from the comfort of your couch! Your prep experience can be practically paperless. Online catalogs allow the option of digitally bookmarking entries you’re interested in, or emailing them to yourself. Personally, I always make a working bibliography of every resource I want to explore, and I print it out and bring it with me so I can scribble notes on it (things like â€Å"out until Aug. 31† or â€Å"saw it, but not that helpful†).       And remember not to limit yourself to looking up books. Libraries also have periodicals, which nowadays are usually entirely electronic. The online catalog will probably include a way to search those magazines and journals for your topic. And then there are documentary films or historical radio broadcasts that might help you. Your list of resources doesn’t have to be perfect. You just need a starting point. Once you spend some time in the stacks, you’ll add some items and cross others out. Oh, and don’t forget to check the hours before you go, so you don’t waste a trip. What happens once you’re there? You walk in with your list. Now what? Libraries post maps to show where each call number can be found. Often you can snag a nice little bookmark with that info printed on it, and carry it with you. Pick a call number from your bibliography to start with, then go looking for that book. If the book isn’t where it’s supposed to be, or if you can’t figure out where the call number is kept, or if you’re just feeling overwhelmed by the whole process†¦don’t despair. There’s a living, breathing app for that.       That human over there is called a â€Å"librarian.† Approach him or her with a smile, and they’ll give you all the help you need. These folks went to school for this, so their skills go well beyond answering â€Å"Where is this book?† and â€Å"Where are the restrooms?† You could tell them what you’re working on, and see if they have any ideas! And, if you’re in a research library, there might even be a librarian who specializes in your topic. If you’re looking at rare or primary documents, the key is patience. Whether you’re lucky enough to get to handle the actual documents (a rare thrill, indeed) or you are instructed to look at an online database, take your time. Obviously, rare documents can be damaged, so don’t flip pages like it’s a cheap mystery novel you picked up at the airport. But more than that, remember that this is a special privilege. Savor it. Explore not just the words on the page, but what the pages are made of, what kind of ink and font is used. Take careful notes about everything you see and feel. Using all your senses will inform whatever you’re writing later. Need a photocopy of something you can’t check out of the library? Depending on what it is, that might not be allowed. But you have that nifty phone in your pocket; photograph the pages you need! If the material is not rare, you might be able to take it home for two or three weeks. You’ll need a library card (a good idea anyway, as we’ve discussed, so you have full access to all materials). More and more e-books are also available to check out. You order them via the library’s catalog, and they’ll show up on your e-reader, and disappear after the due date.    Try it. You won’t be sorry. Hey, I’m not knocking Google. There’s no disputing that internet search engines are ingenious tools that have changed the world. Still, sitting at your laptop is sometimes not enough if you want to understand a topic deeply. You can’t find what isn’t there, and you’ll never know what you’re missing unless you change how and where you look. So, next time you need to do research, give the ol’ library a chance – it might end up being your new favorite place to hang out. What do you love most about libraries? How have libraries helped your writing craft? Let us know in the comments!    Anne E. Johnson is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her published science fiction and fantasy novels include Space Surfers (YA science fiction) and the Webrid Chronicles humorous space opera series: Green Light Delivery, Blue Diamond Delivery,and Red Spawn Delivery. She also has two published historical novels for kids aged 8-12. Nearly 100 of her short stories have been published in magazines, webzines, and anthologies. She is a longtime story judge for the RateYourStory website. Anne has an undergraduate degree in classical languages and a master’s in musicology, specializing in the Middle Ages; for over 15 years she taught music history and theory in New York. As an arts journalist writing about music and theater, she contributes a biweekly column and monthly CD reviews to Copper Magazine: The Journal of Music and Audio, and she’s been published in The New York Times, Stagebill Magazine, Chicago on the Aisle, WomenArts, Teaching Theatre Magazine, and Classical Voice North America.

B1 Corn as GMO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

B1 Corn as GMO - Essay Example This cDNA strand is then isolated and cloned or duplicated for the purpose of transformation into another species and this transformation process is made possible with the help of the bacterium known as Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Peel, 2001). This particular bacterium infects specific woody dicotyledonous plant species, where certain parts of the Agrobacterium circular DNA known as Ti plasmid can insert themselves into the host plant’s cell (Peel, 2001). The host plant, which is the corn plant in this particular experiment, then expresses the Bt gene (Peel, 2001). If this particular transformation process is not opted for, then the gene gun can be utilized. The other transformation process is the use of gold particles and coating them with target genes, such as Bt genes in our example (Peel, 2001). Using a gene gun, the genes are shot into the single cells of the corn plant without the help of the Agrobacterium in a process known as particle acceleration (Peel, 2001). Now that the Bt genes are already incorporated into the corn plant, a series of tests should confirm the potency of the bacterial gene. Plant tissue culture is the next step. Individual cells of the corn plant are obtained for culture and are subjected to the transformation process, which basically involves the elimination of non-transformed cells using a method that involves the use of selectable marker genes (Peel, 2001). The cultured corn plant cells are then treated with herbicide or antibiotic, and whole corn plants called Bt corn plants are then grown from the seeds of those cultured cells that eventually survive (Peel, 2001). If the Bt corn plant expresses the trait even after several generations using laboratory techniques, then it is believed to be stable and can now be bred using conventional agricultural methods and the final test would be for it to be able to stand environmental conditions (Peel, 2001). The process of transformation of the corn gene into the Bt corn gene involve s a crucial intermediate step where, before the Bt gene is inserted into the corn plant, it is first modified with promoters that would later on be recognized by the corn plant itself (Peel, 2001). This step and particularly these promoters is most crucial to the development of the toxic properties of the Bt corn plant. Because of these promoters, Bt corn â€Å"encodes crystalline proteins from the bacteria that are responsible for larvae toxicity† (Peel, 2001). Upon the Bt corn being eaten, these crystalline proteins, or Cry proteins, will bind to the insect’s midgut and cause a water imbalance that will eventually burst the cells and kill the pest (Peel, 2001). There are currently two types of promoters used in developing the Bt corn plant – the CaMV35S promoter and the PEP carboxylase promoter. The former expresses the toxicity of the Cry proteins in all plant tissues including the photosynthetic parts as well as the ears, roots and tassels, thus killing all insects that subsist on any part of the plant (Peel, 2001). On the other hand, the PEP carboxylase promoter, due to its exclusive affinity to cells that actively manufacture photosynthetic proteins, expresses the toxic properties of the crystalline proteins only in the photosyntheti

Consider these arguments in terms of culture, motivation, and Essay

Consider these arguments in terms of culture, motivation, and strategy, and comment on their substance. You should also reflect - Essay Example The paper also seeks to reflect on how power is exercised in organisations in relation to moral values. The paper begins by explaining the concept of culture in view of the arguments raised by Stiglitz. The paper will also critically analyse how motivation of the people as well as the strategy implemented have a bearing in the way financial institutions are operating during the contemporary period in USA in particular. Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants and behaviours. â€Å"This is commonly referred to as a set of basic values, perceptions, wants behaviours learned by a member of society from the family and other important institutions,† (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). For instance, the following values are given priority in the United States of America: achievement and success, activity and involvement, efficiency and practicality, progress, material comfort, individualism, freedom as well as humanitarianism. The success or failure of a given organisation can be attributed to this concept of culture. However, Stiglitz argues that individualism and market fundamentalism have eroded the sense of community and have led to exploitation of the ordinary people. ... In actual fact, the approach taken by the banks is that which advocates the survival of the fittest. Whilst the free market concept posits to the effect that the market forces should shape the standards expectations especially of financial institutions, it can be argued that the conditions set are favourable to the business organisations which leaves the ordinary people exposed to manipulation by these big businesses. The aspect of materialism has increased dramatically in the operations of financial institutions and this has posed a serious challenge to the ordinary people who end being victims especially during turbulent periods that can be attributed to the strategies implemented by the financial institutions. Whereas marketers in the other industries worry about the impact of culture on their strategies, financial institutions in USA are primarily concerned with entrenching the aspect of individualism in their operations (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). Stiglitz argues that rugged ind ividualism combined with a high degree of materialism has led to loss of trust among the members of the society and different financial institutions. The aspect of culture and moral values can also be attributed to the concept of ethics. Business ethics loosely refers to values, principles and standards that operate within a particular organisation which attempts to make a distinction between something that is morally good from bad (Rossouw, 2004). The concept of business ethics therefore derives from the value system that is used by a particular organisation to shape its operations. To reinforce this assertion, DesJardins (2006, p. 5) describes values as the â€Å"essential and enduring tenets†

English-zen story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English-zen story - Essay Example Yet, when he was caught by the master, instead of rebuking him for his misdeeds, the master felt pity and gave his clothes. This was a virtue of sharing since the prowler came long down to visit without getting something out. The thief was amazed. He accepted the gift and ran away. The master then was pondering the poor thief by wishing to give him the moon. In the short Zen story, human nature is manifested. It is natural to human to seek and desire to obtain what they need for survival. The thief did whatever to sustain his desire of having things even in a wrong way. While the master living contented in a small hut has everything he needs in his way to live out happily. He did not even think twice about giving his clothes to the thief but he showed care and love. The moon represents the naturally bountiful of needs which human needs. If only the thief though of any other way of means to survive, the earth which is the human habitat has created by God with complete things which the basic needs of human are ample. One must only be resourceful in the rightful way. The earth's resources are free and abundant. What human need to do is to make use of it in the right approach. Freedom is always there but there are limitations. Freedom is freedom in true sense when it is utilized in the rightful way.

In Tort law, pure economic loss is never recoverable in an action for Essay

In Tort law, pure economic loss is never recoverable in an action for negligence - Essay Example However, the concept is evolving to cover other cases over the period of time. Pure economic loss In the case of pure economic loss, the loss strikes the victim’s wallet without any harm to the plaintiff’s person or property. According to Bussani & Palmer (2003, p. 4), there has never been a universally accepted definition of ‘pure economic loss’ and a number of legal systems neither recognize the legal category nor distinguish it as an autonomous form of damage. An act of negligence causing physical damage to a person may cause pure economic loss to another. It becomes non recoverable if the act is unintentional. The cause and effect relationship with reference to the breach of one’s duty and pure economic loss in relation to its impact on the complainant is very complicated in nature. Not only the gravity of the situation, but also the circumstance, varies from case to case. The factual causation is different in its scope from 'legal causation'. Ac cording to Cardozo, J., liability is â€Å"in an indeterminate amount for an indeterminate time to an indeterminate class†. ... Assuming that someone was directly injured then you have an issue about whether one can recover for his pure economic loss. Negligence in duty of care Individuals owe duty of care to strangers even when they are not related to them by way of any formal contracts. Any activity either performed individually or in group, if it results in harm to others, either physically, mentally or economically, according to the principles of justice, they are liable for their failure in exercising duty of care in their actions. Taking reasonable care in preventing harm to others or avoiding acts or omissions which one can reasonably foresee would likely to injure others, is the underlying point.   When a person is not responsible for an incident which resulted into injury to others, the person is not liable, and this principle was established in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson  [1932] AC 562   A causal relationship exists between negligence and the damages caused. The neighbourhood principle e stablished in Donoghue v Stevenson  [1932] AC 562  was expanded in scope in the later cases to cover various forms of duties and situations.   It was established in Anns v Merton London Borough Council  [1978] AC 728 known as Anns test states that: A sufficient relationship of proximity or neighbourhood exists between the alleged wrongdoer and the person who has suffered damage, such that carelessness on the part of the former is likely to cause damage to the latter. In Caparo Industries plc v Dickman  [1990] 2 AC 605, the threefold test, ‘reasonably foreseeable’, ‘proximity or neighbourhood’ and ‘fair, just and reasonable to impose liability’ was

Summary of Chapter 7 & 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of Chapter 7 & 8 - Essay Example During the late 19th century, the government used to force people to work in its coffee plantations, which accounted for a significant portion of its exports. Most of the reforms that have been established over the years have fallen due to dictatorship and frequent unrests. The CIA has been involved repeatedly in the violence experienced in Guatemala and in determining its leaders by overthrowing others. Some leaders have also resigned after the armed forces failed to protect them. In spite of an improvement in economic performance during the second phase of the 20th century, levels of unemployment continued to increase and poverty persisted due to unequal wealth distribution. In the urge to control the population, civilian murders increased to approximately 300 people per month. At the same time, the government perpetrated terrorism acts both towards the civilians and the opposition. Peace talks did not bear fruits for a long period as the government continued to victimize the citizens and the rebels. Whenever the US was involved in armed conflicts in the nation, it was blamed for the most violations of human rights. Several elections in the 19th and 20th centuries led to violence and presidents being overthrown following rigging allegations. Even after the end of the civil war, violence worsened especially in 2004 when an estimated 2,000 civilians, mostly women, were killed. The other crime forms exhibited in 2013 included corruption, drug trafficking, impunity, and extra judicial killings. Contemporary Guatemala has continued to experience persistent poverty and economic problems. The state of political landscape appears to be improving starting with p rosecution of presidents due to corruption. Rios Montt, a former head, was prosecuted and is presently serving 80 year sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. However, organized crime persists in addition to trafficking of drugs. Guatemala remains a

Nuclear Medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nuclear Medicine - Essay Example Preparation of patient mostly is dependent on the type of procedure that will be performed. Allergy must be checked for radioactive tracer material used. Some of the procedures such as a bone scan do not need intensive patient preparation, but some require. A good example is thyroid body scan. When a patient is being prepared for thyroid test he or she should be instructed to speak with the technologist directly before the procedure is undertaken. The patient should be instructed to stop all thyroid medication since they may be falsely detected as a pathology with the machine. Before stopping the medication, they should seek clarification from the doctor. The patients sometimes are instructed to fast for two hours for the effectiveness of the nuclear medicine procedure (Chia-Ho, 2014). Nuclear medicine has many advantages. One is the advantage painless and less not invasive. It can help to diagnose, treat even predict the outcome of a wide range of condition without causing a lot of trauma to the patient. It helps to detect pathology within the body at the early time that in turn can help control the condition ahead of time. Nuclear medicine can also help to check how well the cancers are responding to therapy. Nuclear medicines also have a share of disadvantages and limitation. It involves exposure to ionizing radiation that can cause mutation if they are in huge doses. Some of the radioactive tracer materials injected into bodies have an allergic reaction that can be very detrimental. Hence, it is necessary to test for the presence of allergy with radioactive tracer material before nuclear medicine procedure is commenced. A time sedation may be needed because nuclear medicine procedure a time make patient feels claustrophobic (Mititelu, 2014) Most of the ailments that are diagnosed and treated with nuclear medicine are internal. This ailment will otherwise require a surgical procedure to be done for the diagnosis or therapeutic procedure to be done.

Summary of Chapter 7 & 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of Chapter 7 & 8 - Essay Example During the late 19th century, the government used to force people to work in its coffee plantations, which accounted for a significant portion of its exports. Most of the reforms that have been established over the years have fallen due to dictatorship and frequent unrests. The CIA has been involved repeatedly in the violence experienced in Guatemala and in determining its leaders by overthrowing others. Some leaders have also resigned after the armed forces failed to protect them. In spite of an improvement in economic performance during the second phase of the 20th century, levels of unemployment continued to increase and poverty persisted due to unequal wealth distribution. In the urge to control the population, civilian murders increased to approximately 300 people per month. At the same time, the government perpetrated terrorism acts both towards the civilians and the opposition. Peace talks did not bear fruits for a long period as the government continued to victimize the citizens and the rebels. Whenever the US was involved in armed conflicts in the nation, it was blamed for the most violations of human rights. Several elections in the 19th and 20th centuries led to violence and presidents being overthrown following rigging allegations. Even after the end of the civil war, violence worsened especially in 2004 when an estimated 2,000 civilians, mostly women, were killed. The other crime forms exhibited in 2013 included corruption, drug trafficking, impunity, and extra judicial killings. Contemporary Guatemala has continued to experience persistent poverty and economic problems. The state of political landscape appears to be improving starting with p rosecution of presidents due to corruption. Rios Montt, a former head, was prosecuted and is presently serving 80 year sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. However, organized crime persists in addition to trafficking of drugs. Guatemala remains a

Database Modeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Database Modeling - Essay Example It might be important to have alternative contact addresses for students in case of unexpected situations. Therefore, in order to cater for such a situation, we need to create additional tables to handle the addresses. One table named email-address will contain the following fields: id, email address and student-id. Likewise, another table named phone-number will be created containing the following fields: id, phone number, and student-id. Finally, another table will be street-details. This table will have the following fields: id, street-name, city-name, state, and student-id. The four tables created to satisfy the requirements of 1NF. They are also in 2NF since they do not contain any partial dependencies. All fields in each table are uniquely reliant on the respective primary key as 2NF requires (Buxton, 2009). The four tables also fulfill the requirements of 3Nf since all fields present depend on the primary key for their values. The next table that requires normalization is named course-information. This table contains the following fields: Course-Id, course-title, and course credit. This table is already in first normal form since it does not contain multi-valued fields. This table also fulfills the requirements of 2NF since all fields in the table rely uniquely on the primary key. This table also fulfills the requirements of 3NF since each field in that table is dependent on the primary key. The last thing now is to create a relationship between a student and the courses that they take. This can be done by employing a many to many relationships between student-information table and course-information table. In order to accomplish this relationship, another table is required.  

Philosophy Final Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Final Essay Question One   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Plato’s work The Apology Socrates is on trial for three distinct things: Firstly, Socrates fell out of favor with the government (who were constantly berated for being ignorant by Socrates in a fashion) and so the sought to eradicate him by accusing him of not paying favors to the gods for whom the citizenry worshipped.   Secondly, Socrates was on trial for impiety.   Lastly, Socrates was on trial and sentenced to death for corruption of the young.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates attempted to defend himself in front of the Senate by using his famous Socratic method as revealed in Plato’s pages of The Apology.   He bantered and lead the court officials around in a dialogue fashion, asking questions in order so that they would have to answer them themselves and thus prove Socrates’ point in a question answer dialogue.   The dialectic art of arriving at the was the system Socrates used.   In this regard he would arrive at the answer by questioning the belief of engaged speakers in a philosophic circle, or in this case, in a courtroom hearing. Although this idea of philosophy may come across as non-confrontational,             Socrates used this method to verbally jab at the speaker until they themselves found fault in their philosophy, and through a system of negative or positive responses came to recognize the truth: Thus, Socrates sought to find justice for himself by only asking questions, leaving the answers up to the officials.   This type of philosophy has been likened to a cross examination present in today’s court rooms, where the person under oath is asked a series of questions that are both destructive and humiliating, until they are forced to acknowledge the truth, much like the arguments around Socrates. The aim of such confrontational questioning was always about finding the ultimate truth, but in this court case it seems that Socrates failed because the case eventually lead to his demise. Socrates believed that this truth seeking was the main goal of philosophy, and philosophical discussions, and he believed that everyone involved with the account was in pursuit of this goal as well:   It was this optimism that lead to his downfall in a way. Socrates could be considered a martyr.   It was his stand against the government at the time which lead to the eventual destruction of the Thirty Tyrants, but when democracy came back into place, they then chastised Socrates because of his pull with the younger crowd.   The definition of a martyr is a person who dies for a cause.   Socrates’ cause was for truth and wisdom; that is what he taught the crowd which followed him about the city (and which attracted the disfavor of the democracy who felt Socrates had too much power and sway over the citizenry and feared an uprising) and in the end, those were the causes for which he died. In The Apology Plato writes of a scene where Crito offers Socrates the opportunity to escape from prison, but Socrates forbids it stating that it would go against democracy for which he stood and it would be a deceitful act which is the opposite of truth, for which he based his philosophy.   Thus, Socrates is offered with a form of escape which he denies, thereby choosing death willingly for his beliefs, the true definition of a martyr.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates willingly or rather knowingly accepts his fate as governed by the ones whose democracy he upheld and it was through this act that Socrates was able to demonstrate philosophy in action. Question Two As to the existence of god, Descartes deems that this should be accounted for next to discovering what knowledge is. Descartes explanation of God and existence required an innate sense of the presence of God. He began by thinking that the cause of any idea is as real as the substance of said idea. Since his idea of a Supreme Being or god infinite, therefore the cause of this idea of infinity must also be never-ending and according to his belief, only the real god is boundless. Thus, the cause for the existence of god cannot be human beings because we are not infinite and we are mortal. There must be a cause of this Supreme Being’s existence which is outside the human race. Based on Meditation III, Descartes expressed â€Å"my idea of god cannot be either adventitious or factitious (since I could neither experience god directly nor discover the concept of perfection in myself), so it must be innately provided by god. Therefore, god exists.† It was Rene Descartes who delivered a â€Å"first systematic account of the mind/body relationship† (Descartes 1). Descartes’ dualism theory states that â€Å"mind is a nonphysical substance† (Descartes 1). Further, he differentiated mind from brain. He attributed consciousness and self-awareness to the mind while intelligence is contained in the brain. Descartes used his Meditations on First Philosophy to make certain what he is in doubt before regarding the existence of the mind and body. Because of this, he was able to take a hint that mind and body are two different things. He advocated that the â€Å"mind† is used for thinking, thus, it is immaterial and can exist even without the body. This immaterial and non-physical content of the mind then he called as the â€Å"soul.† And therefore, the mind is a substance distinct from the body, a substance whose essence is thought (Descartes 12). Based on this perspective, Cartesian dualism became a stronghold of future theories. It champions the idea of the â€Å"immaterial† mind and the â€Å"material† body. Even if these are two different entities, they interact to create actions and events reversibly involving mental and physical activities. Despite many non-European supporters of Cartesian dualism, this gave rise to the â€Å"problem of interactionism† wherein it averts the impossibility of interaction between an immaterial and material entity, the mind and body respectively. To defend these criticisms of Cartesian dualism, Descartes formulated an explanation through the pineal gland theory. This gland is located in the center of the brain between the left and right hemisphere, from which the â€Å"immaterial† mind and the â€Å"material† body purportedly interacts. However, this has remained a theory up to this time since Descartes failed to defend such idea of the causal interaction of the mind and body through the pineal gland. Question Three Kant’s deontology ethics involves the belief of actions being immoral despite the outcome.   Kant did not put faith in the consequences of people’s actions but the actions themselves; thus leaving the effect of a scenario out of the equation of morality.   This ethical stance was part of Kant’s philosophy and he believed that the absolutism of deontology was the correct course of action despite circumstances. For Mill on the other hand, his theory of utilitarianism was in stark contrast to Kant’s theory of deontology.   Utilitarianism speaks toward the action of a person directly results the outcome.   Thus, the truth is always the correct path in Kant’s philosophy while the outcome of a lie being the pathway to truth or justice is the course of Mill’s philosophy. In a situation where Kant and Mill were able to converse, there would be several issues on which they would agree, as well as many on which they would fervently argue. With Mill’s dedication to the understanding of natural sciences/economy, and his studies into the harm theory as it applies to humanity, he would be at odds with the strong religious conviction of Kant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For Kant, the existence of God was the principle motivating factor of his studies. His work dealt with the â€Å"constructing an adequate theoretical argument for the existence of God†. (Rossi) His early work was founded on, rather than the proof of God as a being to be worshipped, the idea that God was fundamentally provable through mathematics. Kant will argue that the concept of God properly functions only as a â€Å"regulative† — i.e., limiting —   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   principle in causal accounts of the spatio-temporal order of the world. Kants critical philosophy thus undercuts what rationalist metaphysics had offered as proofs for the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   existence of God. On the other hand, the critical philosophy does more than simply dismantle the conceptual scaffolding on which previous philosophical accounts of the concept of God had been constructed. (Rossi) To this end, Kant spent his life in study of the pursuit of finding God in science and mathematics that man had developed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Stuart Mill, on the other hand, felt that the harm principle was the ruling factors of world existence. John Stuart Mill’s argues in On Liberty that the use of the harm theory, or harm principle is that a state of government must ensure the quality of liberty just so long as the actions committed in the cause of liberty are not detrimental to the activists.   That is to say that the government may interfere in order to prevent harm.   The following paper will discuss Mill’s harm principle and its application to government in regards to restrictions and controls.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mill argues for the doctrine of liberty.   Mill means to define the role of a person in society and as such the limited amount of coercion consistent in society that should affect that individual, â€Å"No society in which these liberties are not, on the whole, respected, is free, whatever may be its form of government; and none is completely free in which they do exist absolute and unqualified† (Mill).   Mill is stating that although these qualities are liberty come at a cost in no society would they be considered free because of the forms of government in which the world adheres. Question Four Nietzsche restricts the presence of God in his equation by saying that the concepts of good and evil have changed with the progression of history and that these two paradigms of human behavior and secular code will continue to evolve toward the demands of a changing society. Nietzsche, therefore, makes the argument that morals are constructs of the times in which we will and have evolved much as human beings have over the ages, but that this is not necessarily a good thing because it is meant as a manner of preventing others from having control over us. This is because people inherently wish to exercise power over others and morals are a way of leveling things off so that the strongest members of society do not dominate, as Nietzsche emphasizes, The pathos of nobility and distance, as mentioned, the lasting and domineering feeling, †¦something total and complete, of a higher ruling nature in relation to a lower nature, to an beneath—that is the origin of the opposition between good and bad. (The right of the master to give names extends so far that we could permit ourselves to grasp the origin of language itself as an expression of the power of the rulers: they say that is such and such, seal every object and event with a sound and, in so doing, take possession of it.) (Nietzsche) In the Genealogy of Morals, Friedrich Nietzsche presents his idea about the morality of human beings and why it is flawed: Nietzsche begins by discounting many of society’s assumptions on how they function in life, as he believes that we tend to view things as having inherent meanings But all purposes, all uses, are only signs that a will to power has become master over something †¦with less power and has stamped on it its own meaning of some function, and the entire history of a thing, an organ, a practice can by this process be seen as a continuing chain of signs of constantly new interpretations and adjustments, whose causes need not be connected to each other—they rather follow and take over from each other under merely contingent circumstances. (Nietzsche) Nietzsche uses punishment as an example in this case, as human beings tend to believe that punishment is an action that happens to a person as a result of that person doing something that he or she deserves to be punished, although counter to this Nietzsche also states that suffering is meaningless and therefore, punishment may also with Nietzche’s own philosophy be meaningless. He would argue that punishment is completely separate from this, however, as punishment is very often used as a way of showing off one’s power or in some cases, as an act of cruelty. This suggests that the punishment does not always fit the crime, as the clichà © is written, so those two things should not necessarily be associated with each other. It cannot be understood how these two things are the same thing, so it is necessary to keep them separate. Nietzsche then continues this argument to show how morality has arrived at the point that it is at right now. Nietzsche argues that all of existence, especially in human beings, is a struggle between different wills for the feeling of power. This means that society wishes to have some sort of control over their own lives and also over the lives of others. This is why competition and the nature of this in man is so prevalent in society, Rather, that occurs for the first time with the collapse of aristocratic value judgments, when this entire contrast between egoistic and unegoistic pressed itself ever more strongly into human awareness—it is, to use my own words, the instinct of the herd which, through this contrast, finally gets its word (and its words). And even so, it took a long time until this instinct in the masses became ruler, with the result that moral evaluation got downright hung up and bogged down on this opposition (as is the case, for example, in modern Europe: today the prejudice that takes moralistic, unegoistic, dà ©sintà ©ressà © [disinterested] as equally valuable ideas already governs, with the force of a fixed idea and a disease of the brain). (Nietzsche) It is all a competition to achieve this power, even if there is no physical reward for winning these competitions. Nietzsche shows the constant changing of the ideologies of good and bad by stating that in past generations, the concept of good was defined by the strongest people in society. In barbaric times, anything that the stronger members of society did was defined as good, while the weaker members of society were seen as bad. This is not something that we would agree upon today, but members of these past societies would not agree with the way we do things either. Therefore, Nietzsche believes that to give anything an absolute interpretation does not work because as the times change, so will this interpretation. It is wills which define this, so as wills change, so will the apparent truth. If it is truly desirable to have free will, therefore, a person must not believe in any absolutes, but rather view the world as a constantly changing place and let our wills define the things that are occurring around and in society. This includes looking at things from as many different perspectives as possible in order to decide contingently upon personal perspectives which viewpoint a person wishes to make. This can also be applied to morality as, since nothing is absolute, morals are constantly changing as well. Morality is not something that was passed down from God to human beings, but is rather something that has evolved and changed since the beginning of time and will continue to do so. The only thing that has not change in human beings is that they inherently have the desire to achieve more power over their fellow human beings, because of the existence of free wills. This means that the present morality that human beings possess has been born due to hatred for those things that are stronger in the presence of society. Nietzsche argues that a person will have fear of things that could possibly have power over them, so a person must have developed this moral code in order to protect themselves from the stronger members of society. Nietzsche believes that a person must embrace these animalistic instincts because a person is currently hurting themselves by repressing them. Work Cited Cooper, J.M.   Plato Complete Works.   Hackett Publishing Company.   1997. Descartes, Rene. n.d. â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy.† 10 March 2008 http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/descartes/meditations/meditations.html Mill, John Stuart.   Utilitarianism.   Online.   10 March 2008:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://ethics.sandiego.edu/utilitarianism.html Nietzsche, F.   Genealogy of Morals.   Online.   10 March 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=OwGPCsLiBlwCdq=nietzsche+genealogy+of+mor  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   lspg=PP1ots=rTBJrGtorHsig=vLolmBFHWUdXa7z8_CxzfIlj18Ahl=enprev=h  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   tp://www.google.com/search?hl=enclient=firefox-arls=org.mozilla:en  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US:officialhs=ymYpwst=1sa=Xoi=spellresnum=0ct=resultcd=1q=Nietz  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   che+genealogy+of+moralsspell=1oi=printct=titlecad=one-book-with-thumbnail Rossi, Phillip. â€Å"Kant’s Philosophy of religion†. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. June  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2004. 10 March 2008. URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-religion/

Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis

Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis Introduction The most significant economic event in 1990s was the Financial Crisis in East Asian, which also affected the world economy in the next few decades. People probably question the specificity of the East Asian Crisis. Radelet and Sachs (1998.p.1) gave a response to this question: The East Asian financial crisis is remarkable in several ways. The crisis has hit the most rapidly growing economies in the world. It has prompted the largest financial bailouts in history. It is the sharpest financial crisis to hit the developing world since the 1982 debt crisis. It is the least anticipated financial crisis in years. In my view, Asian financial crisis is triggered by real estate bubbles. This paper is organized around the topic the collapse of real estate bubble causes Financial Crisis as below. Section 1 introduces what is real estate bubble; what are the factors inducing the occurrence of a real estate bubble; and by what measurements to identify this phenomenon. Then, Section 2 discusses the effects of real estate bubble in Financial Crisis reflect in different approaches: theoretical economic approach statistical data and historical facts. In conclusion, besides summarize the main idea of the overall contents, the exposure of the limitation of the theoretical economic approach will be mentioned. Real estate bubble The real estate bubble, also known as property or housing bubble is considered as an economic bubble, which is also a cyclical phenomenon occurs in the local or worldwide real estate market. Its prime feature is that the valuation of housing is growing swiftly, however, once the peoples financial situation and economic indicators unable to sustain such upward trend of price that follows the collapse of housing pricing. That implies a negative equity in investment for the proprietors. (Investor Dictionary. Com) There are several factors that induce the burst of the real estate bubble in Asia from 1997 to 1998. The following focuses on several main reasons: An excessive support of bank lending The developers are unable to cope with the investment of the real estate based on their own capital due to the function of this industry-capital-intensive. Thus, bank lending becomes a major source of funds. Before the mid-90s, the Asian real estate is fairly booming. However, because of the lack of a formal system of banking supervision, banks competed for developers by lowering interest rate. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan and Wachter, 2004) Governments improper macro-guidance and control Government intervention influences the real estate bubble in two perspectives: On the one hand, the land market and economic system is not mature or perfect enough. On the other hand, it is the limitation of the land resources and the market mechanism. Therefore, inappropriate regulation contributes to the growing of the real estate bubble. (An International Comparison of the Real Estate Bubble, 2009) Some other reasons For example, the relaxed financial environment; excess international capital flows (An International Comparison of the Real Estate Bubble, 2009); excessive amount of house ownership; speculate in purchasing; and bad lending practice ( Merriam, 2009) When economists acknowledge the reasons of bubble burst, they strive to distinguish the breading real estate bubble by the measurements of financial ratios and economic indicators. That aims to prevent the bubble burst. Housing affordability index Monthly housing affordability index (HAI) is a method to identify whether housing is becoming more or less affordable for the typical household. The HAI incorporated changes in key variables affecting affordability: housing prices, interest rates, and income. The formula is: HAI= (Median Family Income/Qualifying Income)*100% HAI ratio denotes the level of affordability. When HAI ratio is high, more people are able to buy a house. (Dr. Econ, 2003) This index facilitates banks to adjust fiscal policy. Assumed that the HAI is high, banks probably adopt liberal policies to extend loans, such as decrease the lending rates. Price to earnings ratio The real estate price to earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is the basic measurement to evaluate the comparatively assessment of the equities. This ratio is determined by three factors: The price of purchasing a house; the price of renting a house; and the spending on renting a house. The formula is: Real Estate P/E Ratio: House price/ (RentExpenses) This ratio provides an intuitive analysis that how purchasing houses restricts other family expenses. (The Real Estate Bubble in the 2000s-Housing Market Indicators, n.d.) Give an example of Washington DC House P/E ratio, which provides an integrated thinking about how purchase interacts with rent. The graph below states a rapidly grow in the ratios, which implies that the speed of raising purchasing price is extremely faster than that of renting price. It seems that such increasing trend will lead to real estate bubble, if none approaches is using to control it. (Eric, 2006) Some other financial ratios or economic indicators: Such as real estate price to rent ratio; gross rental yield; ownership ratio; housing debt to income ratio; housing debt to equity ratio; or deposit to income ratio. (The Real Estate Bubble in the 2000s-Housing Market Indicators, n.d.) Real estate bubble cause Asian Financial Crisis The growing booming economy of Southeast Asia is known as the the tiger economies between the late 90s and early 20s. Counties in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Hong Kong (China) were regarded as the states with the most remarkable economic growth worldwide. According to the Gross Domestic Product, it seems that economies of these states increased by 6% to 9% annually. However, good times do not last long, from June 1997 to January 1998, the burst of financial crisis this Asian miracle was dashed to the ground. In the end of 1997, collapses of the stock and currency markets in these state occurred frequently, then, at the beginning of 1998, the stock market lost more than 70% of their profits. (Hill, n.d.) In the economy system, real estate, compare with other sectors, it is the most highly leverage sector that cause a financial crisis of the utmost probability. The increasingly compound of issues or difficulties lead to the real estate deviates from the normal development. That not only generates a breeding ground of the real estate bubble, but also potential risks for financial crisis. Because of the rapidly decrease of real estate price, there was a disastrous loss of bank lending in some Asian countries, which also affects the current monetary assets. (Lanka Rating Agency Limited, n.d.) There is a theoretical economic approach (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) that analysis the correlation between the return of real estate and the fluctuation in the spreading of bank loans. If the numerical value of the correlation is below zero, which indicates a phenomenon of under pricing, which prick up the exacerbation of financial crisis. This assumption could be explained though a formula, that calculates the housing price for trade: P=V () M (, s ()) +B Here are the meanings that each symbol denotes: V denotes the basic valuation of a house; M denotes the valuation of bank lending for having a mortgage on a house and the par valuation of bank lending for having a mortgage on a house with certain deposit rate; denotes the intending fluctuating level of a house; s denotes spreading of the bank loan according to certain deposit rate. Assumed that set an accurate price for mortgage, a houses marketable valuation is equivalent to par valuation, in addition, price for trade is equivalent to the basic valuation of a house. Suppose that is an independent variable, while s is a dependent variable, thus: 0 = 0 is equivalent to zero, as the spreading of the bank loan modulates according to recoup the bank for the transformations in the value as a result of the put option is included in the mortgage lending. When is equivalent to zero, it means the transformations in the growing fluctuating level of a house ( is completely spread round. However, when is below zero, it means the intending fluctuating level of a house ( has an impact on the covariance of the house return with the market. When the house price changes in response to the spreading: = 0 ; = 0 ; 0 Thus, if the growing fluctuating level of a house ( is completely spread round, then the correlation between the house price for trade and the spreading of bank loan is equivalent to zero. Furthermore, if this correlation influences the covariance between the house and the whole market is influences, it on the verge of zero. From another point of view, assumed that the spreading of the bank loan transforms according to under price rather than the intending fluctuating level of a house (, the house price changes in response to the spreading is completely distinctive: = 0; = 0; and 0 Therefore, correlation between the house price for trade and the spreading of bank loan is below zero, as following equations: = ) ) 0 These two distinctive house prices which are influenced by default spreading generate an appropriate effect of under price: Under pricing of the default risk in non-recourse lending produces a negative correlation between asset returns and changes in the default spread. Correctly pricing the default risk in non-recourse lending produces no correlation between asset returns and changes in the default spread. Countries that experience under pricing, experience larger market crashes following negative demand shocks. On the base of this theoretical economic approach, we could analyze the practical cases, in 1997 Asian Financial crisis, to support the idea that the collapse of real estate bubble causes Financial Crisis The financial crisis was began from Thailand and then extended over the whole Asian even the whole world. During that period, the characteristic of its economy is overheating with a deficit of 8% in 1997. The valuation of housing increased swiftly and collapsed swiftly. The main element that generated difficulties for financial institutions was the loans to real estate. (Hunter, Kaufman, and Krueger, 1999) According to the data from the Investment Property Databank , (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) the figure below is obtained. Based on the theoretical economic approach, the numerical value of correlation below zero will lead to a result of under pricing. Such under price may cause a great amount loss of funds, which will finally deteriorate into a financial crisis. From the above figure, Thailand is the typical example that explains the real estate bubble causes financial crisis. At the beginning of the 1990s, a massive amount of foreign funds continued to flow in the Asia market until the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis started. During that period, the lower deposit interest rate in the country encouraged people to seek investment channels with higher return. Meanwhile, foreign funds benefited the growing of the real estate industry. Additionally, because bank expanded the total amount of lending though decreasing the lending rate, under pricing became uncontrollable. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) In the In 1996, Thailand loaned to the real estate sector US $160 billion, which accounted for 30% to 40% of the total lending. (Mera and Renaud, 2000) The figure below illustrates the amount of funds finance companies lend to industries related to the real estate and manufacturing from 1987 to 1996 in Thailand. It is obviously that the loans to real estate sector rapidly grew between 1989 and 1990, after that the percentage of real estate loan to the total loan maintained at a relative high level, which was between 20% and 30%. (Source: Bank of Thailand) Another support case is Malaysia. Between 1992 and 1996, over 70% of the bank lending was invested in real estate sector and stock market. (Mera and Renaud, 2000) The massive amount of funds injected into the real estate industries lead to a rapidly increase in GDP in that period. It is the fact that GDP increased by 40%, 62% 115% and 70% in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand respectively, that was much greater than that in Germany (19%), United Kingdom(16%) and United States (21.5%). However, this accelerated the formation of the Asian real estate bubble. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) It shown in the below figure that Malaysia, Philippine, and Singapore also generated an negative correlation before the occurrence of financial crisis Conclusion To summarize this paper, at the beginning a briefly introduction of the real state bubble is given. In this part it includes the definition, the reasons for breeding real state bubble, for example banks compete by lower lending interest rates to excessive support the real estate industry, and governments improper macro-guidance and control. Follow that are the measurements of financial ratios and economic indicators, such as housing affordability index and price to earnings ratio, which benefit to identify the signal of bubble burst. The most important part in the paper is to analyze the relationship between the real estate bubble and the financial crisis to produce a result that the real estate bubble is a factor that triggers the start of the Asian financial crisis. A theoretical economic approach is given with some statistical data, figure and real facts of Asian financial crisis. However, there some limitations in this theoretical economic approach, that do not agree with the reality. In the above figure, Hongkong and Japan generate positive correlation, according to theory this do not according with under pricing lead to financial crisis. The fact is that Japan is a typical example to illustrate that governmental action has negative impacts on the real estate industries. The Nikkei 225 index increased rapidly from 10000 to 38916 (peak value) between 1985 and 1989. Facing this, the manager of the Bank of Japan focused on dealing with the inflation rather than shrinking monetary policy, which reflected a decrease trend in housing price. The real estate bubble burst. (Frankel and Tschoegl, 1993) This is one of the limitations of the economic approach, which need further improve.

Free Essays - No Innocence in Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

No Innocence in Catcher in the Rye Probably the greatest irony of the novel is the fact that, despite his love of "childhood innocence," Holden is and acts far from innocent himself. In fact, he is its antithesis. He acts that way for many reasons. First of all, he has so many responsibilities. Second, he never fits in with the crowd, and finally, he never gets any real help for the problems that he deals with. Holden does have a love for "childhood innocence" as seen across the book. For example, on page two hundred and one "Somebody'd written ' Fuck you' on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-cockeyed naturally- what it meant, and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it... But I rubbed it [The 'fuck you' written on the wall] out anyway." Another example is on page two hundred and eight, "'So shut up.' It was the first time she [Phoebe] ever told me to shut up. It sounded terrible. God, it sounded terrible. It sounded worse than swearing." There is one more outstanding quotation from the novel which is found on page two hundred and thirteen. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe was going around and around [the carousel]." All these examples clearly show that Holden appreciated "childhood innocence" to a great extent. Yet Holden acts the opposite. The irony in this novel is Holden's behavior, which is far from being innocent. He smokes, drinks, always depressed, thinks about suicide, thinks about going embarking to a far place, and has people tell and act in many weird ways. There are three main reasons why he acts this way. Firstly, Holden being only sixteen years of age already has so much responsibility. He has to get money for food and travel. When he travels he has to make sure he doesn't get lost, and actually gets there. He has to make sure that he doesn't flunk school.

I Am Legend Film review

From its gripping start to its touching finish, this high-grossing blockbuster film is the film everybody has been eagerly waiting for. The third big-screen adaptation of Richard Matheson’s â€Å"I Am Legend† novel (1954) this box office hit is sure to have you gripping your seat the whole way through. Hollywood hunk Will Smith stars alongside an Alsatian called Abby, who steals every scene she’s in. This post apocalyptic film is surely one of a kind. After watching this, I am definitely going to read the original novel. PLOT New York City-2012. Robert Neville (Will Smith) gets up every morning. Does his exercises. Eats breakfast. Takes his dog, Samantha, out for walks, and to pick up supplies. Goes to work. Plays a little golf. At exactly noon, he sends out broadcasts on the radio. Sounds completely normal? Well†¦no. Once a normal man with a loving family, Robert Neville is (as far as he knows) the only living human being left on Earth. He and Samantha are entirely alone, and have been for three years. In 2009, a scientist called, ironically, Dr Krippen (Emma Thompson), announces that she has discovered the cure for cancer; which at the beginning was praised as a breakthrough in modern medicine. But it isn’t long before the virus has mutated into a deadly airborne form, killing millions of people. And those who the virus didn’t kill, it changed†¦ Neville, a military scientist, is part of the team working to find a vaccine, but as the pandemic spreads, the government orders Manhattan locked down, with only the uninfected allowed to evacuate. And now Neville lives alone with Sam, surrounded by strange creatures that devour or infect anyone or anything in their path. Sensitive to UV radiation, they dwell in darkness, only emerging at night to eat. And all the while, the infected lurk in the shadows, watching Neville’s every move, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last and best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission; to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus by using his own immune blood. But his blood is also what the infected hunt, and Neville knows he is outnumbered and quickly running out of time†¦ CHARACTERS The title â€Å"I Am Legend† is very relevant; Will Smith’s acting was LEGENDARY! If you actually think about it, it’s not easy when you’re the only character most of the time. Throughout the film, he was pretty much interacting with a dog†¦and that was about it. We witness Robert trying his best to lead a normal existence, slowly losing his sanity, and yet trying to save the world; all at the same time. It is nice to know that his range of acting is not just limited to action films (although there is a fair bit of action in I Am Legend) but it’s in the quiet moments that Smith gracefully and effortlessly shines- his strained expressions and his persistent battle for his sanity. The close relationship with his dog is extremely touching. His performance was excellent and believable, so hats off to him. TECHNICAL ELEMENTS/ SOUND The opening scenes of â€Å"I Am Legend† have special effects so good that they just about compensate for some later special effects that are slightly clumsy. We see Manhattan three years after a deadly virus has killed every healthy human on the island, except one. The streets are overgrown with weeds, cars are abandoned and the infrastructure of clumsily quarantined buildings is beginning to collapse. The film does a good job of revealing the monsters bit by bit, but once displayed, their CGI-ness is hard to ignore. By the time they're in full-on assault mode, they resemble something like zombified versions of something out of a video game. This makes for exciting action sequences, but dials down the horror considerably. The song â€Å"3 little birds† by Bob Marley is used extensively and is also on the soundtrack in the film. The song has bittersweet undertones as Robert sings the song â€Å"Don't worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right† in an attempt comfort himself and his dog, to avoid intense loneliness, and also to remind him of his family (his daughter was called Marley; after Bob Marley). THEME/ CONCLUSION Cleverly set in the year 2012, the film just makes us feel even more paranoid. Like many of the best sci-fi films, I Am Legend says a lot about the times we are currently living in. One of the main themes of this film is that one day, we, humans ourselves, could be the cause of the wipe out of the entire human race if we keep on messing with nature and trying to play God. Smith clearly states so in the film, â€Å"God didn’t do this. We did!† But Smith is like a ray of hope and reminds us that there are good people left in the world. Using a quote from Bob Marley, he says that â€Å"the people that are trying to make the world worse never take a day off, so why should I? Light up the darkness.† In this case, Smith feels it’s his duty to save humans and â€Å"Light the darkness† (cure the Dark seekers). I Am Legend is available in Blu-Ray and DVD on Monday 21st April 2008. Bring home the 2 disc special edition of I am Legend and you’ll not only get the theatrical version, but also the complete alternate unseen version with a controversial ending. Definitely worth having on your shelf.

Continuities and changes of religion in Sub-saharan Africa Essay

Sub-saharan Africa has undergone changes with religion such as the changing of religious affiliation to Christianity and the practices of cosmology and ontology, however, Sub-saharan Africa has also remained constant with their thoughts being focused on various beliefs like a creator and evil. Christianity was predominantly the main religion in Sub-saharan Africa opposed to the Muslims of North Africa. Christianity in the Americas slowly began to send out missionaries to spread the Gospel and build churches in Africa. The people began to form their daily lives and rituals accordingly and the population of Christians rose from about 9% to around 63% over the years from the 1900’s to modern day. Missions in Africa is most definitely something that Christians in other part of the world have focused on. It seems to be a more targeted area for its other religious practices such as cosmology and ontology. Cosmology and Ontology are more philosophical beliefs in nature, evolution, and the way the world works. In Africa, many small tribes are closed off from communication outside of their tribe, and have practiced certain beliefs for hundreds of years. This belief system tends to lean towards the more relaxed â€Å"religion† and allows freedom for the people in those tribes to do what they want as long as it is â€Å"parallel to what is right in nature†. Everything in this philosophical study is that of nature. Nature is considered holy and worthy of worship. Cosmology and Ontology are how Sub-Saharan Africans attempted to explain our complex world in the simplest way possible that makes sense to them. There were also other beliefs that Sub-saharan Africans developed over time such as the belief in evil beings and â€Å"eternal paradise†. Sub-saharan Africans soon realized that there needed to be some kind of an explanation for what happens when you die, or what evil is. These details did not necessarily help form a new religion, but rather simply added on top of the religions already in place in the Sub-saharan region. In the Niger-congo area, there was a common belief in spirits, a creator of the universe rather than evolution. In other areas, there was the belief in the worship and idolization of ones personal gods whom they gave thanks to and credited much of their life to. These tribes lived their lives to please their gods in order to win favor and win a long and prosperous life. This is also something that was seen in Ancient Greece where Greek Mythology and the worship of gods took place. These people too, lived to please the gods to live a good life. In conclusion, Sub-saharan African has undergone changes in religion such as Christianity and Cosmology, but there was also factors that remained constant throughout the existence of Sub-saharan Africa such as little tribes who believe in pleasing personal gods.