Hercules Essay

Adrianna Barnhart Mrs. Browning Blk. 6 English 10 9-19-12 The Story of Hercules [pic][pic][pic] Hercules, aka Herakles, was a buff god. He was the god of power. His father Zeus was the god of the skies, his mother a mortal, making Hercules a demigod. Alcmene, Hercules mother, wasn’t the wife of Zeus, Hera the goddess of earth was, and she was livid. In fact, Hera was so livid she threatened the baby’s life by sending in to Hercules crib two serpents. According to the legend, the serpents were sent in to strangle the baby, but Hercules just sat up wrapped his baby hands around their necks strangling them.His failure to die in this scenario would affect him for years to come. (Carr, Karen PhD) Hera was determined to make Hercules’ life hell for being born and killing her prized snakes, so when Hercules married and had two kids, she sought it a good time to make Hercules, literally, crazy. She summoned madness on him, causing him to lose his mind and kill his wife a nd children. When he came back to his normal state, he was upset to see his love along with his children lifeless in their home. He sent for Apollo to help him rid his woes.Apollo told him in order to liberate him from his sins, Hercules had to report to King Eurystheus and partake in 10 labors. Hercules, wanting be released from his depravities, walks to King Eurystheus’ palace, ready to perform his first task. (Carr, Karen PhD) His first mission was to kill The Nemean Lion, and bring King Eurystheus the hide. The Nemean Lion lived in Nemea, where he terrorized the hills and villages with the area. He hiked for a long time until he eventually stopped in a town known as Cleonae, where he stayed with a man named Molorchus.Under the company of Hercules, Molorchus proposed the suggestion of sacrificing an animal for a good hunt. Intrigued by the idea, Hercules recommended that they wait 30 days for Hercules to come back, where they would sacrifice the animal to Zeus; however, if Hercules didn’t return, Molorchus would sacrifice the animal to him, the man who died a hero. With the plan intact, Hercules left for Nemea. Hercules arrived in Nemea and located the lion. He soon found his arrows were pointless against the lion so he would need to find a better strategy.He followed the lion to a cave with two entrances; he blocked one with sticks and stones and went inside through the other. Without any hesitation, he threw his arms around the lion and strangled him. He then headed back to Cleonae and caught up to Molorchus on the 30th day, where they sacrificed to Zeus together. (The Nemean Lion) After the sacrifice, Hercules went back to Mycenae to deliver the lion to King Eurystheus. The king impressed and frightened Hercules completed the labor, built himself a little room made of bronze under his palace, so Hercules couldn’t reach him.He then banished Hercules from the city and started giving him tasks through a herald. (The Nemean Lion) His sec ond duty was a bit more challenging. Hercules was required to slay the Lernean Hydra. The hydra lived in the swamps of Lernea, where it enjoyed bullying the townspeople. A hydra is a poisonous serpent with eight mortal heads and one immortal head and when one head is chopped off two grow back in its place. Knowing the assignment was nearly impossible, he acquired help from his trusty nephew Iolaus. When they reached the monster, Hercules went straight up and bashed it in the head with his club.He discovered the hydra wouldn’t die from chopping its heads off, so he told Iolaus to torch the neck of the hydra after Hercules cut it off. They continued this strategy until the last head came off. When it came down to the immortal head, Hercules buried it in the ground then laid a boulder on top of the dirt. They then traveled back to Mycenae to tell the king, however, Eurystheus wouldn’t accept this labor because Hercules had help. (The Lernean Hydra) Disappointed, Hercules waited for his new orders. King Eurystheus wanted the Hind of Ceryneia.A hind is a female, red deer and this one had gold horns and bronze hooves. This hind was Diana’s prized possession, so killing the deer was not an option. Hercules hunted the deer for a year before finally receiving the opportunity to trap her. The deer stopped for a drink of water, and at the opportune moment, Hercules shot her. As he was taking the hind to Mycenae, he ran in to Apollo and Diana. Diana was upset that Hercules had shot her deer, but before she confiscated it, Hercules told her the truth, so she instead healed the deer’s wounds and sent Hercules on his way to King Eurystheus. The Hind of Ceryneia Diana’s Pet Deer) With the completion of the 3rd task, it was time for Hercules to complete his 4th. Hercules had to deliver King Eurystheus the Erymanthian Boar alive. The boar lived on a mountain Erymanthus that attacked men and animals all over the countryside destroying everythin g in its path. Just to clarify, the boar attacked the men and stuff, not the mountain. Anyway, Hercules, after witnessing his friend Chiron die, found the boar and chased it all around the mountain. He chased the boar until it ran into the undergrowth where the boar became trapped in the snow.Hercules stabbed the boar with his spear then carried it on his shoulders to Mycenae. The king scared once more, hid himself in his little bronze room under his palace. (The Erymanthian Boar) As Hercules accomplished things that no normal man could, King Eurystheus started hiding much more often. Wanting to not be scared for once, he assigned Hercules the responsibility of cleaning the Stables of Augeas. King Augeas had the most cattle in the country and the thought of someone cleaning the stables in one day was assumed to be impossible, that is until Hercules came along.Hercules, without talking to Eurystheus, made his way to King Augeas and told him he would clean his stables in one day if Au geas would pay him 1/10 of his cattle. King Augeas agreed, and Hercules got to work. He started by tearing a big hole in the in the cattle yard then ripping another in the opposite wall. Next, he dug two trenches that connected to two different rivers that flowed by. The water rushed in the hole of the cattle yard and out the other carrying out the stinky mess. He then plugged the holes and went to get his payment.However, King Augeas refused to give Hercules the reward and told him to take it to court. Hercules did and had Augeas’ son testify that he promised the reward, the court ruled Augeas to pay him. Flustered, King Augeas paid Hercules then banished Hercules and his son from the city. Hercules went back to Mycenae to tell King Eurystheus the good news, but was instead disappointed to find the king not validating the task because he was paid. (The Augean Stables Hercules Cleans Up) For the 6th labor, Hercules was told to shoo away the Stymphalian Birds that gathered at the lake of Stymphalos.It is undefined whether or not these birds were man-eating. Hercules not quite sure how to get rid of the birds is saved by Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war strategy, gave him a pair of bronze Krotala, which are noise making clappers. Hercules gladly accepted the gift and went on with his journey. Once he was near the lake of Stymphalos, he began climbing the adjacent mountain. At the top of the mountain, he clapped the Krotala then shot at the birds as they took off. He then returned to Mycenae for his next set of instructions. (The Stymphalian Birds) His 7th set of orders, bring the Cretan Bull.The Cretan bull was sent as a sacrifice from Poseidon to Minos, the king of Crete. In order to keep his throne, he promised Poseidon he would sacrifice any animal he sent him. Poseidon sent this bull however; Minos thought it was too beautiful to kill, so he sacrificed a different one. Outraged, Poseidon cursed Minos’ wife to fall in love with the bull, an d when she birthed a Minotaur, Minos concealed him in the Labyrinth. Hercules easily located the bull, wrestled it, and then brought it back to King Eurystheus. The king let it go where it wandered around and terrorized Greece for most of its life. The Cretan Bull) His 8th task came and Hercules once more had it completed. He was told to steal the man-eating horses of Diomedes. Determined to become one step closer to freedom, Hercules sailed with a posse of volunteers across the Augean sea to Bistonia. He and his companions took on those guarding the horses, easily defeating them; they attempted to steal the horses. At the sight of the thieves, a gang of Bistonian soldiers flanked the group, but their efforts were proven pointless when Hercules and the rest of the group fled for Mycenae along with the horses.Once Hercules delivered the horses, King Eurystheus let the mares free where they were eaten by wild beasts. (The Man-Eating Horses of Diomedes) For his 9th, Hercules was sent t o retrieve the belt of Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons. The Amazons were a tribe of women soldiers named after the Greek word meaning â€Å"missing one breast. † They received this name when a soldier’s right breast got in the way of her spear. Queen Hippolyte’s belt was a leather one, worn for carrying her spear and sword, given to her by Ares. Eurystheus wanted the belt as a birthday present for his daughter.Hercules and friends sailed for the land of the Amazons, when they arrived, Hippolyte arrived to greet them. She and Hercules began talking and when he told her why he needed her belt she agreed to give it to him. However, Hera was on the island too. She told all the Amazons Hercules was here to kidnap the queen. When Hercules saw he was under attack, he drew his sword and killed the queen, then took her belt, killed the enemy, and set sail for Mycenae. (Hippolyte’s Belt Hercules Fights the Amazons) His final labor, his 10th, one of the most cha llenging labors Hercules was to perform, was the retrieval of the Cattle of Geryon.His final task was for Hercules to travel across the world to Erythia, an island near the boundary of Europe and Libya. Geryon was a monster who had three sets of legs (6 in total) and three heads. He kept a herd of cattle guarded by Orthus, a 2 headed hound, and the herdsman Eurytion. Once Hercules reached his destination, he built two mountains to symbolize the journey he took (these mountains would later be known as the Pillars of Hercules. ) He killed Orthus and then Geryon and left with the cattle. Two sons of Poseidon attempted to steal the cattle, so Hercules killed them.Later on the journey, one of the bulls escaped to Sicily, then made its way to the neighboring country Italy, which was named after the Greek word Italus meaning â€Å"bull. † Hercules left the herd to Hephaestus while he chased after the cow. Hercules found it in Eryx’s herd, so he wrestled him for it and won, th en returned it to the herd. Hera didn’t want Hercules to accomplish the labor, so she sent a gadfly to attack the cattle. The herd scattered everywhere, and Hercules once more had to retrieve them, when he gathered them all up, he went straight to the king.Once they were delivered to the king, Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera, an interesting coincidence. (The Cattle of Geryon) Hercules now having completed his ten labors was caught by surprise when King Eurystheus told him he had two more labors because he didn’t count the Hydra or his cleaning of the stables. Eurystheus was hungry I guess, but nothing would satisfy him except for the golden apples of Hespirides. The garden was guarded by a 100 headed dragon, Ladon, and by nymphs who were daughters of Atlas, the titan who held the sky and earth on his soldiers.Hercules had a long journey fighting through Poseidon’s sons and killing the eagle that attacked Prometheus, that once he caught a break, he realized he wasn’t even sure of where to go. He saw Atlas on the side of the road just holding up the world. Hercules asked Atlas if he would go to the garden and get him some apples. Atlas agreed, so he gave the world to Hercules. Once he was back, Atlas asked if he could take the apples to Eurystheus. Hercules agreed, but asked to put on padding. Once the world was on Atlas so Hercules could put on his padding, Hercules grabbed he apples and ran off towards Mycenae.Athena came and confiscated and brought the apples back to the garden because they belonged to the gods. (The Apples of Hesperides) His final labor was to go to the underworld and steal the beast, Cerberus. The underworld was ruled by Hades and his wife Persephone and only the dead were allowed in. Hercules eventually found Hades, who promised to give Hercules the beast as long as he could defeat the beast weaponless. Hercules went to the entrance of the underworld and saw Cerberus. Without any hesitation, he threw his arms around the beast. Cerberus fell under the force of Hercules and left with him to king Eurystheus.Eventually, Cerberus was given back to Hades without a scratch on him, except his dignity. (Cerberus) After completing all of the labors, Hercules remarried to a woman, Deianira. She was kidnapped by a centaur, Nessus. Hercules got her back of course and killed Nessus, but in the process of his dying, he told Deianira that if she smeared his blood on Hercules, he would love her forever. For Hercules birthday, Deianira gave him a cloak covered in the centaur’s blood, but when he put it on, it ended up burning his skin. To get rid of the pain, he killed himself then traveled to Mt.Olympus to become a god. He widowed a woman and left four sons, Hyllus, Clesippus, Glenus, and Hodites alone. (Carr, Karen PhD) Hercules is a difficult god to classify. Being a demigod, he doesn’t really have a rank and not many powers except strength. He had the weakness of being immoral and greed y, but there was literally nothing he couldn’t do physically. Some of the allusions associated with Hercules is the â€Å"Hercules Piorot† a detective that always finds the murderer and wrestlers want to be named after him because he was strong. Other examples include wrestlers.Hercules is a very common name in the wrestling business because it would make the person appear stronger. The C-130 plane is a plane made of steel, which is sometimes referred to as Hercules because steel is strong and not easily broken. Works Cited 1. Carr, Karen. Hercules for Kids-Herakles in Ancient Greek Mythology-Ancient Greece for Kidiepie-History for Kids. 2012. http://www. historyforkids. org/learn/greeks/religion/myths/herakle. html 2. Hercules (also called Hercakles). 62695. Web. http://ballpoint. org/greekgods/hercules. html 3. The Nemean Lion. Perseus Project. Web. http://www. perseus. tufts. edu/herakles. /lion. html

Leadership and Organizational Theory

â€Å"Human relations† is a broad terminology that refers to the interactions between people in all kinds of situations in which they seek, through mutual action, to achieve some purpose. Thus, it can be applied to two people seeking to develop a happy and productive life together. More so, human relations establish interactions within a social club, a business firm, a school, or to an entire government or even a whole society. According to Owens (2004), the social structure that regulates the human interactions that are the subject of human relations may be formal, clear, and readily apparent (for example, a government, a firm), or it may be informal, even diffuse, and therefore difficult to accurately describe (for example, the power structure of a group of prison inmates, the social system of a school faculty, or a neighborhood).As the world continues to change, work conditions, technology, and the people with whom individuals work have a dynamism about them that is unprece dented in our history. People are more likely today to work with more diversified peers than at any other time. Furthermore, their interactions at work are changing as well. This means that human relations will no longer entail employees in a bureaucratic organization. Instead, they are more likely to be part of a work team, and they are expected to work together to be successful in accomplishing tasks (DeCenzo & Silhanek, 2002).Beginning in the mid-1950s, increasing attention was devoted to efforts to better understand the relationships among (1) these characteristics of organizational structure, (2) the personality (and consequent â€Å"needs†) of individuals in the organization, and (3) behavior on the job (Owens, 2004). The struggle to develop understanding of human resources approaches to organizational behavior has led to the development of a number of theoretical views that can be helpful in clarifying issues confronting the leader.The organizational theory is as much about describing and reflecting what is going on in organizations as it is about finding ways to improve organizational behavior. It is as much descriptive as it is prescriptive. However, there is not one correct organizational structure that will apply to a particular situation. The workers or subordinates within the organization promote the impact on how the organization will be managed by its leader. Workers' ethics, skills, and maturity will affect their response to management initiatives.Since time immemorial, concepts of leadership, ideas about leadership, and leadership practices are the subject of much debate, writing, teaching, and learning. Many scholars sought the formula that could mold true leaders. According to James Kouzes (2003), leadership is not an easy subject to explain. The goal of thinking hard about leadership is not to produce great, or charismatic, or well-known leaders. The measure of leadership is not the quality of the head, not even the tone of his or he r voice. Outstanding leaders shine appear primarily because of their followers. Thus, in defining leadership, there are a lot who offered their acquired concept of what a leader should be or do. Brown (1954) defined leadership as:A collective function in the sense that it is the integrated synergized expression of a group's efforts; it is not the sum of individual dominance and contributions, it is their interrelationships. Ultimate authority and true sanction for leadership, where it is exercised, resides not in the individual, however dominant, but in the total situation and in the demands of the situation. It is the situation that creates the imperative, whereas the leader is able to make others aware of it, is able to make them willing to serve it, and is able to release collective capacities and emotional attitudes that may be related fruitfully to the solution of the group's problems; to that extent one is exercising leadership.On the other hand, Tom Peters and Nancy Austin, a uthors of the best-seller, A Passion for Excellence (1985) describe leadership in broader terms:Leadership means vision, cheerleading, enthusiasm, love, trust, verve, passion, obsession, consistency, the use of symbols, paying attention as illustrated by the content of one’s calendar, out-and-out drama (and the management thereof), creating heroes at all levels, coaching, effectively wandering around, and numerous other things. Leadership must be present at all levels of the organization. It depends on a million little things done with obsession, consistency, and care, but all of those million little things add up to nothing if the trust, vision, and basic belief are not there.With those definitions, we could delineate leadership as harnessing capabilities of your subordinates for them to reach their full potentials. Therefore, leaders should see to it that: are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning and serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do the y change with grace? Do they know how to manage in times of conflict?With these questions, it is significant to point out the diverse natures of leadership. The social nature of leadership entails the interpersonal skills necessary to be effective in a variety of situations. The ethical nature of leadership involves the inherent power of a leadership position that, when exercised, should benefit the common good. Leadership is the means by which things get done in organizations. A manager can establish goals, strategize, relate to others, communicate, collect information, make decisions, plan, organize, monitor, and control; but without leadership, nothing happens. Thus, leadership clearly entails more than wielding power and exercising authority and is exhibited on different levels. At the individual level, for example, leadership involves mentoring, coaching, inspiring, and motivating (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004).Corporate organizations in the 1980’s have been adopting and ins talling programs of organizational restructuring and re-engineering. Most of the programs are based on the principles and practices of a widely popular management strategy often called Total Quality Management, participative management or â€Å"the learning organization,† or some other vernacular title for a program of organizational structural and cultural change (Casey, 1999). These changes were then had been aptly devised in different corporate organizational and national settings that deals with organizational behavior. Theories of sharing the common fundamental aims of the reorganization and production of new sets of attitudes, beliefs, and behavior, most organizational change programs commonly aspires to develop on their corporate employees to enable increased productivity and profitability for the organization’s benefit as a whole:Pivotal among the new organizational cultural practices and values are the metaphors of â€Å"team† and â€Å"family.† Many companies, from manufacturing operations and supermarket chains, to hospitals and airline companies, promote themselves in the marketplace and to employees as caring, familial communities, inviting both employees and customers to â€Å"Come, join our family† through their involvement with the company. At first glance, such an invitation may seem a timely and welcome recognition of relational and affective dimensions of human life that â€Å"ought† to be promoted in workplaces historically ridden with industrial conflicts and divisions. Furthermore, team evokes references to cooperation and sharing of skill and labor toward the attainment of shared goals. Both family and team, are, in normative conditions, positive and generative social practices. Therefore, their deliberate installation as part of the new organizational culture fundamentally assumes their reasonable incontestability and universal attractiveness. (Casey, 1999).By leading into a culture of systemati c inquiry and skillful listening, leaders can strengthen the foundation of their organizations. Accomplishing this requires the shifting of culture wherein leaders should scrutinize how dysfunction shows up within them, their group, and their organizational culture and then seek a systems approach in dealing with these problems within the organization. Good leaders know when and to whom a particular task should be delegated (i.e., knowledge), they effectively communicate their expectations concerning a delegated task (i.e., behavior), and they check to see whether the task was accomplished in a satisfactory manner (i.e., criteria). Thus, a skill is knowing when to act, acting in an manner appropriate to the situation, and acting in such a way that it helps the leader accomplish team goals (Hughes, Ginneth & Curphy, 2001). In addition, good leaders also know when to institutionalize organizational change when they think that they need it to improve their company’s productivity .In this time and age, upcoming leaders face tougher challenges as the whole world braces from the rapid spread of information and technology. Apart from that, the expansion of the traditional businesses into venturing in e-commerce and globalization had kept leaders busy thinking of up-to-date business strategies, new competitors, new cultures, complex markets, political uncertainty, and huge logistical problems.As a process, leadership in all its stages requires application of organizational theory and human relations to determine the best possible leadership action. The knowledge and skill level of the duly-appointed leader directly and indirectly influence the short-and long-run goals of any organization. Interpersonal relationships significantly influence the possible alternatives that might be generated to solve a problem or to make a decision. The creative leader who possesses innate intelligence, resourcefulness, dominance, and self-sufficiency will be able to facilitate wha t the proper course of action should be.Organizations in the 21st century are realizing that if they are not quick to adapt to market and competitive changes and become responsive to their key customers, they will have more tendencies to fail. Indeed, the ultimate impact of the practice of leadership in the era of globalization is that leaders should somehow come at pace with the swiftly changing times. Being a global leader is not just a pursuit for self-improvement, but harnessing the energy of other people.   In the end, it is the global leaders who determine the roadmap, a mixture of traditional and modern concepts, which will guide both themselves and their organizations to new heights of international competitiveness.ReferencesBrown, J.A.C. (1954). The social psychology of industry. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, pp. 129–130.Casey, C. (1999) Come, join our family: discipline and integration in corporate organizational culture, Human Relations, 5 (2), 155–178.DeC enzo, David A. & Silhanek, Beth. (2002). Human relations: Personal and professional development (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR.Hughes, Richard L., Ginnett, Robert C., and Curphy, Gordon J. (2001). Leadership: enhancing the lessons Of experience. New York: The McGraw−Hill Companies.Kouzes, James. Everyone's business — leadership for today and tomorrow. The Leadership Challenge, 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003.Kreitner, Robert and   Kinicki, Angelo.(2004). Organizational behavior. New York: The McGraw−Hill Companies.Owens, Robert G. (2004). Organizational behavior in education: Adaptive leadership and school reform (8th ed.). NJ: Prentice-Hall – Pearson Education Company.Peters, Tom and Austin, Nancy K. (1985). A passion for excellence: the leadership difference. New York: Random House, Inc.

Response Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Response Paper - Assignment Example Edward Fairfax Rochester but they face some challenges. While reading the novel, I envision an old Jane writing about her memoirs by looking back at her life from her childhood to where she is currently. The narrative helps me in understanding both sides of Jane such as the more passionate and loving woman who loves Rochester and a coldly dispassionate individual (Brontà « Web). These make this narrative more of nonfiction than fiction. Although Jane is unimpressed by the inhuman acts, no one seems ready to help her out of the situation. In fact, she feels lonely and unsupported. I think this is a good example of what happens in both fictional work and in reality. In fictions, an individual or a subject would first undergo several sufferings before emerging victorious. However, nonfiction would also highlight such kind of stories that either concerns the authors or an individual they know about. The narrator says that she is always reminded of her poor status in the family (Brontà « Web). I think this is a very sad sentiment to make to a young person especially considering that she was always on the receiving end. Being humble is regarded as undergoing sufferings and inhuman acts without raising even a voice. This kind of act is only common in fictions that are intended to pass certain information. Staying useful and pleasant is an irony in this book because despite the sufferings that the narrator goes through, i t is still felt that she is not pleasant and that she is not helpful. I envision such irony in fiction although there are some authors who have attempted to tie their sufferings as the cause of success in their nonfiction. The presence of the red room where Mr. Reed died is believed to have been guarded from frequent intrusion by a sense of dreary consecration. The issue of spell and myths is only found in fictions but not in the nonfictions. Jane

Unit 2 jounal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Unit 2 jounal - Essay Example Chapter 3 In this chapter, the writer will pay homage to roots of slavery in America, where the hidden origins of slavery are discussed. The writer opines that slavery took place in a very tactical and system manner, making it very difficult for it to be detected easily even by the Blacks who were to become victims later. At this point, the Blacks had come to realize the depth of deception that had been placed on them through slavery. This is because unlike what they were made to believe in earlier times, such as what we are presented in chapter 3, they realized a serious lack of identity and personality. What was worse, their land was also taken and so they would have to reclaim them back. The writer was very accurate in describing the attempts that the Blacks made in reclaiming their land and other possessions that they felt the act of slavery had taken from unjustifiably been taken away from them. There was also much explanation on the justification for this call that the Blacks were making for their land. Chapter 13 As the Black community had started making efforts to reclaiming what belonged to them, the writer used the 13th chapter to reflect on the level of success that had been achieved by far. There is therefore the caption, â€Å"To the land of hope†, to depict that the Blacks were still convinced that their dream was appropriate. The Blacks continued to view the North as a land of hope, where they had to be to make the consolidation of their personality and identity complete. Later in the chapter, tribute is paid to some of the specific successes of the Black in various places in America, including what was described as â€Å"Black Pride in Harlem†. ... n† and in other parts of the world like England and Australia; such descriptions do not exist even though there are English and Australians with Black origins. After reading pages 350 to 359, an understanding of how the term ‘African American’ is better understood. This is because as at this time in history, the African community had come to realize that they were part of a common people known as the Americans. Meanwhile, the indigenous American would refuse to appreciate this and so will draw a line of distinction. It is not surprising the writer described the situation as â€Å"Bomb the Color Line†. Pages 396 – 402 It has often been argued that true fighters are able to tell when it is that they must stop fighting based on the fact that continuing to fight will bring about defeat. In such situations, part of the options includes the deferral of the battle. This was exactly what the writer tells us was done after the rising wind of social justice had somehow been tamed by the authorities involved. To say the dream had been deferred may sound a defeatist approach but in reality, that was not what the true case was. The minority group within the American fraternity was only seeking the best means by which if they exploded, their explosion would create the best of effects. 2. Kaleidoscope 107-118 In these pages, Equiano gives a biographic description of his journey through America and England and how his experience as a Black voyager gave him a vivid idea of how slavery was intense in those lands where he was travelling. A very positive aspect of this piece of writing is that it serves as an advocacy as to how modern issues of slavery should be approached. This is because instead on accepting the status of slavery, Equaino fought for his personal freedom without

Effect of Christianity in The Byzantine Empire Essay

Effect of Christianity in The Byzantine Empire - Essay Example As is well known, the Byzantine Empire derives its name from the central Byzantium that formed the core of the empire area, and was more prone to be called a Roman empire if people of the 300 century were to refer to it today. However, since our historians call it the Byzantine Empire, we know that the Greco-Romanian faith was what dominated the scenario in Byzantium and surrounding states. Let us not forget that other than Romanian and Christian faiths, there were Pagan temples which had a cult following in the common people too (Liebeschuetz, 2003, 4). As a result, the preference of the emperors played an important role in determining the dominant faith in the empire, which ultimately led to a competition between ancient Roman faith and Christianity while Pagan temples were closed and other forms of religious activities were banned from the empire. With Christianity’s prevalence, practices of charity, compassion and social upheaval was reintroduced in the self content societ y that the Byzantine empire boasted of. It is very important to note here that the Byzantine empire had members of the aristocracy who had seen the war stricken days and had opted for a peaceful life after the war. They took immense pride in self contentment and preferred to spend wealth and wine on social frivolities and games, which showcased the prosperity of the land. Teachings of Jesus, brought in a certain amount of calmness and finesse into the behaviors of the otherwise barbaric nature of Romans.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs - Assignment Example Shank’s old boss failed to meet the safety need as they were told that â€Å"you are just another number†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was no love or belongingness and the question of self-esteem and self-actualization does not arise in these circumstances. The needs could not be met because the boss did not value his employees, did not recognize their efforts and contribution to the company. The self-esteem of the employees in the process was at its lowest. Low self-esteem can inhibit creativity, interpersonal relations, hinder performance and conflict resolution. Focusing on employee needs is essential to motivate and sustain the motivation of the employees. Maslow clarifies that satisfied needs are not motivators. When the higher order needs take over they serve as the motivating force. Thus, an organization can meet the missing needs in several ways. People need to feel connected with the top management and not feel alienated. Thus regular interactions between the management and the employees make them feel valued. A few words of recognition publicly reinforce the self-esteem of an individual and this can be a great motivator. The employees should feel that they can approach the management freely. Interest in the work or the store by the management is a great motivator for the employees because when they experience the excitement of the owners they too feel involved in their work. To err is human and employers should recognize this fact. Errors should be tolerated and as in the case of Southwest Airlines, errors should be considered a learning experience. A controlled approach can inhibit growth as it reduces initiatives. Hence an employee should be allowed to develop feelings of self-worth which provides intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic motivation. When a person is aroused through a desire from within, the results are better.  

Commercial Log Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Commercial Log - Assignment Example Each commercial has a specific targeted market. The market that is being targeted can be of any class, race, age or gender. Many of the commercials are showing a product or advertising a special. Commercials are a very good way to advertise since thousands of people view them. The commercial developers need to make sure the commercial is appealing to the targeted market so that it gathers the viewer’s interest. Commercials use a variety of different themes that try to spark the interest of the targeted market. Many of the commercials viewed attempted to use humor to gather the viewer’s attention. Most of the commercials used a bad humor that was not very funny at all. The humor made the product unappealing and was not a good way to reach out to the targeted market. Commercial developers that use humor need to make sure that the humor is appealing to a wide variety of audiences. Many businesses use commercials to advertise a new product. New products need to be advertised a certain way. When showing a new product it is important that the short length of the commercial descriptively shows what the new product is and what it can do. If the product is brand new, it is important that the developers show how the product is used and a solution that the product solves. Targeted audiences are the most important part of commercials. When commercials are being created they are usually not created for a general audience. The commercials are created to target a certain group. Some target people that are overweight, sick, enjoy food, or are looking for a good deal. The developers need to target a specific group in order for the commercial to have a better purpose and attract the most attention. After reviewing the commercials it was easy to see how the targeted audiences can be easily persuaded. This is especially so with food advertisements. For example, the Hamburger Helper commercial targeted working families

Prove why this merger would be beneficial for the company Essay

Prove why this merger would be beneficial for the company - Essay Example Thus, a company that merges with a competing firm will benefit from economies of scale, market penetration, and diversification. When the two firms come together to form a single firm, the output increases and the average costs reduce. Budgets for activities such as marketing might be lowered. The new company enjoys increased purchasing power, leading to lowering of the costs of raw materials and other things. Consumers, therefore, enjoy the reduced prices due to the reduced costs. One of the different economies of scale that the merger will bring includes the bulk buying: the merged company will enjoy discounts that come with purchasing large quantities of raw materials. The company will also enjoy a better rate of interest and hence boost its financial position. Additionally, the company will enjoy from technical economies especially if the firm has significant fixed costs since the average costs reduce. Furthermore, the merger will reduce organizational costs since they will merge their operational officer (Tejvan, 2014). The companies will quickly access more customers than before since they have merged their marketing, sales and distribution efforts. If the individual firms had demonstrated success in separate markets, the merger would benefit greatly. For instance, the merger of American automaker Chrysler Corp. and the German automaker Daimler-Benz enabled the new firm, Daimler-Benz, to penetrate markets in both North America and Europe. If both companies competed initially in the same market, they might fail to enjoy the benefit of market penetration since the customers will still see them as separate (Reddy, 2011). Thus, merging of companies that operated in various geographic markets may be more beneficial than those that worked in the same market. Merging allows companies to either combine or start producing a variety of goods and services. Businesses that produce the same products or offer similar

Profit Maximization Theories Applicable to Firm - Micro economics Term Paper

Profit Maximization Theories Applicable to Firm - Micro economics - Term Paper Example In accounting a negative difference implies a loss, whereas a positive one implies a profit. Mathematically, calculating profit shall be: Total revenue is the total value expected and received by a firm from the sales of its goods and services. Total revenue on the other consists of all factors of production and other operational considerations. In economics, there are other types of costs that come into play, for instance, opportunity cost, and not specifically those costs that involve explicit monetary payments. The accounting profit implies the monetary values reported in the books, whereas the economic profit includes other factors such as the non quantifiable opportunity costs, implicit and explicit resources employed. Firms face certain constrains in the process of maximizing their profits. The main constraints face by profit maximizing firms include: technology, prices of factors of production and the demand for a firms product. According to Hall and Marc (201), a firm’s total revenue is the total inflow of receipts from selling output. Theoretically firms can be grouped from two extremes; perfectly competitive firm and monopoly, each facing different demand curves. The concept of demand is closely related to the understanding of profit maximization. A perfectly competitive firm has a horizontal demand curve implying high elasticity. A monopolist demand curve on the other hand faces the whole market demand curve, which is highly inelastic. Understanding the concept of profit maximization, graphical and mathematical analysis becomes imperative. If an assumption of perfect market is made for a profit maximization firm. Where p is the unit price for each product from the organization and q is the total number of quantities sold by the firm. Conventionally, small q are used instead of the capitalized version, Q as it is used to imply the whole market. From figure 1, an increase in

Statistics Lab Report 2611 Essay Example for Free

Statistics Lab Report 2611 Essay

Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility

Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility CSR can be defined as an organization taking responsibility for the results of its activities upon employees, customers, the community and the environment. Usually organizations voluntarily exercise their improvements, commitments and performance reporting. CSR is the need for organizations to consider the greater good of their actions and the effect on all those around the organization from within, local community and globally. Often the effects must be thought of in terms of the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic impact or basically business decision of cost to implement versus return on investment. CSR is the process that guides company decision making and implementation activities in the areas of human rights, environmental standards, and compliance with legal requirements within its operations. PRACTICE: CSR can be thought of as the challenge organizations face to balance their social responsibilities with that of increased earnings and concerns according to shareholder and stakeholder expectations. CSR is generally applied to wherever firms operate encompassing both domestic and global economy. CSR applies to both the private sector commitments and activities then stretches beyond the just compliance with laws. Many organizations believe that focusing on new opportunities in interrelated economic, societal, or environmental demands in the marketplace provides a competitive advantage and stimulates creative solutions. PARTICULARS: CSR activities usually address many aspects of a firms behavior and key elements like health and safety, environmental community development, human rights, human resource management, community development, consumer protection, labor protection, supplier relations, business ethics, and stakeholder rights. Organizations are motivated to have stakeholders involved in their decision making process. A CSR approach is to promises the following. Improved financial performance. Improved accountability to investors. Improved employee commitment. Improved community relationships. Improved product branding. PERSONS: Bristol-Myers CEO Peter Dolan- His company has emerged from recent trouble due to issues stemming from the drug Plavix which is a blood thinner. Because of these and other past mistakes, Bristol-Myers has emerged a stronger company. An example is in the area of its environmental impact on the world, Bristol-Myers has reduced their greenhouse emission by 10% and worked towards obtaining a U.S. Green Building Council certified facility. Merck CEO Richard Clark- his company had problems with Vioxx, but has managed to solve those problems with programs that include a Corporate Responsibility Council that works to increase the number of employees involved. Transparency has been the major improvement within his company. HIP Investor CEO Paul Herman- is a corporate social responsibility consultant who believes grass roots produce the best solutions. One method is reaching out to the employees through an intranet that will give them a chance to express what improvements can be made and what community programs they will volunteer for. Korn-Ferry CEO Jay Millen- recommends a social; responsibility is not just a policy, it is a philosophy. A corporation should have a top-down strategy for CSR; if the philosophy and values are correct the rules will follow. PERIOD: Time period 1800s- CSR first started during this time period where companies that operated in rural areas build company towns. These towns including housing, stores, schools, and playground for children of their employees. Time period of 1930s- As part of President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal program, companies received tax breaks for donating money to charities. Time period of 1960s- Government steps in to regulate business with the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC), and the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). This has compelled some companies to become more politically involved by contributing time and money to non-profits. Time period 2005- Surveys show that 98% of large corporations apply CSR in their strategic planning and 84% have seen their profits increase because of their actions. PLACES: Australia Established human rights laws that mandated the corporations must practice proper ethical behavior and human rights principals within their country and overseas. United States Environmental Protection Agency has enforced the standards established by the federal government for corporations in protection of the environment. United Nations This global organization has established policy for human rights throughout the world. PHRASES: CSR key terms- Charity principle- The principle that the riches people in the world should donate to the less fortunate. Stewardship Principle- mangers have an obligation to ensure benefits from their actions in society. Reputation- The essential characteristics that a corporation that influence their relations with the stakeholders. Enlightened self interest- The view that a company can be socially aware without losing its own objectives. Corporate citizenship- Apply CSR into practice. Legal obligation- The laws a company must follow established by the government. Iron law of responsibility- In the long run, those that do not use their authority in actions that society consider proper will lose it. PICTURES: Paul Hawken quote- If they (companies) believe they are in business to serve people, to help solve problems, to use and employ the ingenuity of their workers to improve the lives of people around them by learning from the nature that gives us life, we have a chance (Amaeshi, Osuji Nnodin, 2008, p.223). Karl-Henrik Robert quote- Business is the economic engine of our Western culture, and if it could be transformed to truly serve nature as well as ourselves, it could become essential to our rescue (Iankova, 2008, p.77). Mikhail Gorbachev quote We need a new system of values, a system of the organic between humankind and nature and the ethic of global responsibility (Amaeshi, Osuji Nnodin, 2008, p.223). Robert F. Kennedy quote- The future is not completely beyond our control. It is the work of our own hands (Pava, 2008, p.807). David Korten quote- to achieve true sustainability, we must reduce our garbage index that which we permanently throw away into the environment that will not be naturally recycled for reuse to near zero. Productive activities must be organized as closed systems. Minerals and other nonbiodegradeable, resources once taken from the ground, must become a part of societys permanent capital stock and be recycled in perpetuity, organic materials may be disposed into the natural ecosystems, but only in ways that assure that they are absorbed back into the natural production system (Amaeshi, Osuji Nnodin, 2008, p.223). Martin Luther King, Jr. quote- Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter (Iankova, 2008, p.77). PROSPECTS: The European Commission list of benefits for companies that adopt CSR criteria: Business ethics, the personal commitment of the companys directors, improve competitive, strengthen the companys image, prevent negative publicity, lawsuits or campaigns against the company, increase customer loyalty, stand out from the competition, improve human resources management, strengthen the loyalty of management staff, attract new employees, improve adaptation to change, cost reduction, tax breaks, less worker strikes (Fuentes-Garcia, F., Nunez-Tables, J. Veroz-Herradon, R., 2008). Research conduct my recent surveys have concluded the companies that practice CSR have increase financial success. A confirm fact from a recent customer survey the 70 % of customers indicated that they were more likely to buy from a socially responsible firm, in turn 50 % indicated that they not buy from a firm that was not socially responsible. PROBLEMS: Multinational corporations using operate outside the control of international laws. There is no international forum in which they could be prosecuted. CSR has limitations. The major limitation is that most ethical behaviors or charities which come under CSR require financial contributions. Some mangers feel their propriety should be making a profit for the stakeholders instead of giving money away to charities. PERFORMANCE: Examples of corporation that practice CSR principles. Nike has improved working conditions in their operations overseas. FedEx has begun to use hybrid trucks. General Electric has built health care centers in Africa. Employees are a key for CSR; they volunteer for community projects, are loyal to the company which results in increased profits. An organizations reputation has an effect on CSR; the impact can affect financial performance positively. Philanthropy by CSRs is interpreted positively by the public and organizations are often given the benefit of the doubt resulting steady stock prices. Sales increase CSR for corporations; cause-related marketing initiatives generates money through increased product sales and at the same time benefit charities. Poor CSR can negatively affect earnings and stock prices because of potential lawsuits and fines. PUBLICATIONS: Amaeshi, K., Osuji, O. Nnodim, P. (2008). Corporate social responsibility in supply chains of global brands: a boundaryless responsibility? Clarifications, expectations and implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 81 (1), 223-234. Fuentes-Garcia, F., Nunez-Tables, J. Veroz-Herradon, R. (2008). Applicability of corporate social responsibility to human resources management: perspective from Spain. Journal of Business Ethics, 82 (1), 27-44. Iankova, E. (2008). From corporate paternalism to corporate social responsibility in post communist Europe. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 29 (1), 75-89. Iyer, A. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and farmer suicides: a case for benign paternalism? Journal of Business Ethics, 85 (4), 429-443. Lawrence, A. Weber, J. (2008). Business Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy (12 ed.). New York, New York, United States of America: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Pava, M. (2008). Why corporations should not abandon social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 83 (4), 805-812. Pfau, M., Haigh, M., Sims, J. Wigley, S. (2008). The influence of corporate social responsibility campaigns on public opinion. Corporate Reputation Review, 11 (2), 145-154. Ubius, U. Alas, R. (2009). Organizational culture types as predictors of corporate social responsibility. Engineering Economics, 61 (1), 90-99. Valentine, S. Fleischman, G. (2008). Professional ethical standards, corporate social responsibility, and the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 82 (3), 657-666. National Directory of Corporate Giving. Directories Table HV80.N26. Columbia University Libraries database. http://www.columbia.edu/web/indiv/ business / refservices.html Web Sites and Internet Resources: http://search.ebscohost.com/ http://treehugger.com http://word.world-citizenship.org http://www.columbia.edu/ http://www.depauw.edu http://www.emeraldinsight.com http://www.google.com http://www.ineedmotivation.com / http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/ http://www.robertfkennedylinks.com

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy Essay -- Dystopia Utopia

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy As a child, one of my favorite cartoon shows was The Jetsons. This was a show about an average American family who lived out in space, with a dog, and a robot named Rosie as the household maid. I recall that in one episode Rosie, the robot, overheard the family holding a conversation pertaining to how the family could get by just fine without her. The point of this episode is that the robot's feelings were hurt and she decided to run away. After Rosie's departure, the family learned that she was in fact a valuable member of the family, and they searched all over space to find Rosie the robot. Could it be, a robot with feelings? In The Jetsons technology was an important aspect in life in space. Each family owned a space ship, instead of an automobile. And traffic existed in the sky, instead of the highways that we have today. I believe that Marge Piercy, the writer of Woman on the Edge of Time may have had similar expectations of the future. Piercy's novel depicts the life of a diagn osed schizophrenic patient by the name of Connie that lives in a mental institution. Connie is able to time travel into two different futures, in order to escape the fearful reality of her world. This novel was published in 1976, and yet the writer's interpretation of a dystopian future is not too far off from what we might watch on television today. I will be exploring the life of Connie, the main character, as Piercy portrays her throughout the story, as well as supporting characters that play a role in Connie's utopian and dystopian futuristic societies. The reader is able to clearly discern which society Connie recognizes to be her Utopia. Consuelo Camacho Ramos, who will be referred to as Connie, is... ... Piecy published her novel. Perhaps, Piercy would rather that we focus our energy to making the world where we currently live in a better place, and value the small things that we take for granted, like in the village Mattapoisett. Instead of placing more value on technology and focusing on how what we can come up with next. Oppositely, I think technology is not to be feared, and has not dehumanized us, at least not yet. The fact that our mind can take us into places so much further advanced than we are actually able to achieve at the present time proves just how extraordinary the mind is. It must be this sense of "living on the edge" creativity that drives humans to develop such astronomical technological mechanisms. Works Cited Barbera, Hanna. The Jetsons. Cartoon Network. 1998 Piercy, Marge. Woman on the Edge of Time. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976.

Literature and Virtue in Sidneys Apology for Poetry Essay -- Apology

Literature and Virtue in Sidney's "Apology for Poetry"      Ã‚  Ã‚   In "An Apology for Poetry" Sir Philip Sidney attempts to reassert the fundamental importance of literature to society in general as well as to other creative and intellectual endeavors. Though Sidney's work does provide a synthesis (and in some cases an aberration) of much Greek and Roman literary theory, his argument aspires to go beyond an esoteric academic debate. Literature can "teach and delight" in a manner which other methods of communication do not possess (138). The moral/ethical impact any literary text has upon a reader is of paramount importance to Sidney. The argument Sidney presents and develops is built around the assumption that literature has the capacity to teach most effectively and to demonstrate virtue. Perhaps in better understanding how Sidney specifically supports this claim, we can better assess its strength or validity.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sidney places literature in an hierarchical relationship with all other forms of learning; literature inhabits the highest and most influential tier. Literature is "the first light-giver to ignorance", and from it all other sources of knowledge have been nurtured (135). As the first use of language beyond the completely utilitarian, literature stretches and expands language to accommodate broader and more conceptual inquiries. Though an ardent admirer of Platonic philosophy, Sydney, in order to serve his intellectual exercise, rewrites or rehabilitates Plato's harsh stance on the worthlessness of literature. Unlike Plato's poet who perpetuates images far removed from the Truth, Sidney's poet can dip into the world of Forms, the Ideal, and provide us with knowledge of virtue. While the tangible world of... ...ry" (150).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sidney's responses have become the mainstay of the supporters of a liberal arts education. Unfortunately, literature has become sanctified to the extent that knowledge of literature has become practically synonymous with virtuous action. Such modern interpretations of Sidney's defense of literature seem to strike against the very heart of his argument. Sidney seems to understand all too well that human beings house both virtuous and vicious impulses; it is within our power to infuse our creations with both the sinister and the sublime. Because this is true of any human invention, Sidney counsels that the potential of literature for good or ill should not be easily discounted or dismissed.    Works Cited Sidney, Philip. "An Apology for Poetry" The Critical Tradition. Ed., David H. Richter, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.

The Persian Gulf War :: History Iraq Middle East Papers

The Persian Gulf War War was inevitable in the Gulf and it was a war in which Iraq was inevitability to lose. There were several reasons why this was and became a reality. How, when, where did this process of self destruction begin? It was quite evident that Saddam Hussein. the president of Iraq, was becoming a military giant in the Middle East and therefore a threat to the stability of the entire region. His war with Iran was proof of this. The U.S. and other industrialized Western nations could not risk the loss of oil from the area. Kuwait is the second largest source of petroleum in the Middle East and so Iraqi invasion of Kuwait sent the world oil market into a frenzy. Iraqi forces then gathered their forces on the border with Saudi Arabia, the second largest supplier of oil in the world. This in turn brought the military might of the United States into the conflict. There are several reasons why Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. "After the 8 year war with Iran over territorial disputes and religious rivalries between the Iranian Shiites and Iraqi Sunni factions, Iraq had a massive debt to many Arab nations including Kuwait."2 The rulers of these nations wanted some of their money back but Iraq thought they were ingrates and were ungrateful for defending the Arab emirs from the Iranian Islamic fundamentalism. The Arab emirs were afraid that the Islamic fundamentalists would rise against the government and eventually take over the government as they had Iran against the Shah. Kuwait was also afraid of this and so they supported the Iraqi Arabs against the Iranian Persians. 2"Iraq",World Book (New York, World Book, 1990), Vol 10, p. 260 The funds that Gulf countries lent to Iraq were used to buy high tech weapons, high tech weapons that made Iraq one of the largest armies in the world and a force to contend with. "Ironically much of the money and weapons came from the countries that united to fight against him."1 The Gulf countries bankrolled him while the Western nations, who had many defense contractors going out of business because of the end of the Cold War, supplied him with the weapons to fight Iran and later Kuwait and the Coalition. With a large army like his, it would be very easy to defeat the far smaller Kuwaiti army compared to his. 1CNN The Gulf War (Video) (Atlanta, CNN News, 75 min.

How far and in what ways do the opening three scenes constitute a suitably problematic opening to Measure for Measure?

Measure for Measure as a play is deeply renowned for being a' problem play†; that is to say, there are many unresolved items and unanswered questions throughout. Therefore in order to make the opening ‘suitable ‘ for a play of this calibre, the opening must also be ‘suitably problematic† in order to pique the audience's interest sufficiently to ensure that they will be just as intrigued by the rest of the play as they are by the beginning. The play's moral dilemma mainly concerns the Duke, who can be seen as manipulating others' lives without the slightest bit of regard for the consequences. It is unsure how we are meant to consider him, because even after these initial scenes enough doubt has already been raised about his motives to make the audience rather suspicious. In this play, the first three scenes contain just as many, if not more unanswered scenarios, which help to ensure that the play commences as it means to go on, and hints at the events to follow. At the start of Act 1 Scene 1, due to it being the very first scene, you would think that the play would have a clearly defined beginning, so that the audience are able to be fully aware of all the events taking place, and to a certain extent be totally omniscient of what is happening. Instead, here, it seems that nobody apart from the Duke has the inside story behind what is happening. This is most clearly proved by the beginning of the play commencing mid conversation. The Duke refers to his and Escalus' ‘commission', yet throughout the rest of the play the exact details of this are never mentioned; this means that the ordinarily all-knowing audience is unsure of what is going on. The context of why the Duke chooses Angelo is also indefinite; although Angelo almost pleads with the Duke to ‘let there be some more test made of [his] metal', the Duke simply tells him to stop evading his duties, and take over. This can be seen either as a test or as the Duke merely using Angelo to take the blame for any cruel but necessary actions. The word ‘metal' here is a clever pun, which is being used either to highlight the possibility of the word ‘mettle' being substituted for it, or to show the weighing up of the coins, of judging weighed up with kindness. It shows how deeply the Duke is aware of the double meaning of his actions, and how they therefore are being perceived by the outside world. Another puzzling issue is the reason for the Duke claiming that his departure must be ‘of so quick condition'; this is problematic enough for this issue to be recalled later in the play when the audience see the Duke pretending to be a friar so he can survey what happens, but still without giving a firm reason for having done so. This gives a further clue that he is testing Angelo, although all the same no concrete proof is ever given for this conclusion. However, even if he is testing Angelo, the question that must then be asked is why the Duke has chosen Angelo to test. Escalus is surely a much better choice, and this can be shown by the fact that the Duke chooses Escalus as the one to give him advice, or not even that just a second opinion on whether he has chosen the right person. Of course, the Duke is the one who makes the main decision, and regardless of what Escalus' opinion is, the Duke is the one who controls the entire situation. In this circumstance, his motives are deeply ambiguous, as they are indeed even in the rest of the play. It is confusing why he chooses to disguise himself as a friar, since at the time of the play being performed, Catholics were not usually trusted at all, let alone with the inner workings of someone's life. However here Catholicism is referred to throughout; whether it is because Isabella is a Catholic nun of one of the strictest orders, or because of marriage (which is another suitably problematic issue on its own), nonetheless it is a key fragment of the play's content. In Scene 2, we come across for the first time some of the examples which prove the existence of Vienna's underworld. Lucio, Pompey and the other Gentlemen are prime examples of this; however it is truly unclear as to what the audience are meant to think of them. By all means, they do use such coarse expressions as would be expected to be heard from the worst characters, such as â€Å"French crown† referring of course to syphilis. By the mentions of sexual diseases, the audience therefore presume them to be the negative characters of the play; however it is unclear as to whether all morally ambiguous behaviour should also be condemned. This issue of whether sexual promiscuity should be perceived as the worst crime, and therefore punished as such, is referred to again and again from both Angelo, the strict enforcer of this law, and Isabella, Claudio's sister, who despite her strict beliefs still wishes for the law to be more lenient in this case. Shakespeare therefore never clearly defines what the audience should think; whether they should think that sex outside of marriage is a vice and that Angelo's strict new law is doing the3 right thing, or whether they should listen to Mistress Overdone's opinion that Claudio was ‘worth five thousand' of his fellow sexual deviants. However Claudio's actions did not allow him to continue living as a free man he was now condemned to having to spend time in jail for a crime which in the eyes of some was not a crime at all. It is particularly problematic because he believed that he was officially married, and therefore it was permissible to have a child with his ‘wife'; it is only that the marriage was not completely formalised at the time that led him to be punished. If the committer of this crime had been someone else, rather than this otherwise generally upstanding citizen, this punishment of Angelo's would not have seemed so severe. In this case however, the audience finds it very difficult to judge, and this moral dilemma continues throughout the rest of the play. Isabella's opinion on her brother's problem with the law is also very puzzling. She begs and pleads with Angelo to spare her brother's life, but this can be seen as being rather sexually provocative and calculating, as if she is aware of precisely what she is doing and what effect this will have on Angelo. Later in the play Angelo ends up blaming himself for everything and Isabella succeeds in manipulating him. But here Isabella, after coming for the express purpose of seeking a pardon, and saying that she will succeed, quickly then says ‘I had a brother'. The imperfect tense there shows that in her mind, if he is not to be pardoned he is already dead. She goes from one extreme to the other; from being very open with her feelings, to reflecting Angelo, with ‘snow-broth' in her veins, a strict view on life, to even manipulative and cleverly calculating. This is rather problematic because the audience is more used to the characters' motives being clear-cut and easy to understand, unlike Isabella's complex multi-layered personality. This is a problem play, but it can be seen that the characters being unable to be understood in one step too far from just the events of the play being problematic. Measure for Measure is a Shakespearian problem play, which sharply addresses some of the issues of the law of the day when it came to the balance between justice and mercy, or the attitudes towards non-witnessed marriage. However this play takes it one step further than there simply being difficulties to overcome; most of the play's background is in fact completely unknown. Whole conversations, except for their conclusions, are omitted, characters are not clearly described, reasons for peoples' actions are unknown, and even motives are unclear. However when these three scenes are put in context with the rest of the play, it goes from being overly problematic to in fact just suitably so. The issues raised here are not created just to confuse the audience, but to provoke a well thought out mental response from them, prompted by the characters' opinions. These problems are referred to constantly throughout the play, and help to give it the conclusion that it has; not completely resolved of course, but as much as could be expected from such a problematical play.

Identify how you would beta test a multimedia project for delivery Essay

Beta testing is a test for a computer product prior to commercial release may it be an application software, an operating system or a multimedia product. It is a stage where in the product is put into a larger community after a rigorous in house test. To some, it is also a way of knowing how well the community responds to the product. Beta testing is the last stage of testing, the last possibility to correct errors that would render a product priceless to customers. And because of this, beta testing of multimedia products is in essence a difficult task. PURPOSE The purpose of this document is to present a strategy to beta test a multimedia product. It presents possible alternatives that would yield the best result. BETA TESTING STRATEGY In the past, beta testing is used to be a secret. Beta testing is given to a group carefully selected by the company who owns the product to be tested. The fear that finding a considerable amount of bug might diminish customer interest was the old belief. Now, the perspective has changed. Beta testing is already considered an important marketing tool (Nelson & O’Connor, 2004). It increases the popularity of the multimedia product. The best strategy therefore is to make it available for free in the beta testing phase. The first step is to advertise the beta software and provide links to beta version download. Then provide a feedback center for them to comment on observable bugs. Providing the beta version free has many advantages. First, it is very cost effective because you do not have to spend money for hiring a group of people to beta test the software. You may have to spend a certain amount to accelerate interest by providing rewards to people with most important bugs found or by advertising the beta download locations, but these are small compared to hiring an entire group. Second, it is the best way to reach the most number of beta testers. The number of beta testers is directly proportional to how effective the beta testing would be. Third, providing it for free is a way of advertising the software to gain more users. The finding of bugs is just one part of beta testing, there should also be a way for users to provide suggestions. Suggestions are very important to make the multimedia product more acceptable to the market. The suggestions and reported bugs should be monitored on daily basis. Suggestions should be evaluated of whether there is a plan to include it or not. Reported bugs should also be evaluated of whether it is connected to some other bugs or it is really a bug. Then an update release should be available on a periodic basis, for example a monthly update until the reported bugs are already tolerable or it is already completely bug free. The end result of this methodology should produce a very robust multimedia product. If the multimedia product gains public acceptance, the number of users who will beta test this product would also be many. This will give the developer an early view of whether the multimedia product would become profitable. Although there are some possible drawbacks, the beta software should also be given some licensing limitations to prevent users from simply using the beta version instead of the final version. An example would be a pop-up of the reminder to purchase license when the beta period expires. CONCLUSION Multimedia products undergo beta testing to ensure good quality. The best approach in beta testing is to make it free and available for public download at the beta version stage. This would increase its popularity and the cost of beta testing would be minimal. References Nelson, T. and O’Connor, M. (2004). Beta Software: Get In the Development Process. Retrieved from the PC Today website: http://www. pctoday. com/Editorial/article. asp? article=articles/2004/t0205/20t05/20t05. asp&guid= , on January 24, 2007

Concept of Phytoremediation

In recent years it has become clear that some environmental chemicals can cause risks to the developing embryo and fetus. Evaluating the developmental toxicity of environmental chemicals is now a prominent public health concern. The suspected association between TCE and congenital cardiac malformations warrants special attention because TCE is a common drinking water contaminant that is detected in water supplies throughout the U.S. and the world. There is a lot of concern about the clean up of toxic pollutants from the environment. Traditional methods for cleaning up contaminated sites such as dig and haul, pump and treat, soil venting, air sparging and others are generally harmful to habitats. Some methods strip the soil of vital nutrients and microorganisms, so nothing can grow on the site, even if it has been decontaminated. Typically these mechanical methods are also very expensive. Most of the remediation technologies that are currently in use are very expensive, relatively inefficient and generate a lot of waste, to be disposed of. Phytoremediation is a novel, efficient, environmentally friendly, low-cost technology, which uses plants and trees to clean up soil and water contaminated with heavy metals and/or organic contaminants such as solvents, crude oil, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and other toxic compounds from contaminated environments. This technology is useful for soil and water remediation. Phytoremediation uses one basic concept: the plant takes the pollutant through the roots. The pollutant can be stored in the plant (phytoextraction), volatized by the plant (phytovolatization), metabolized by the plant (phytodegradation), or any combination of the above. Phytoextraction is the uptake and storage of pollutants in the plants stem or leaves. Some plants, called hyperaccumulators, draw pollutants through the roots. After the pollutants accumulate in the stem and leaves the plants are harvested. Then plants can be either burned or sold. Even if the plants cannot be used, incineration and disposal of the plants is still cheaper than traditional remediation methods. As a comparison, it is estimated a site containing 5000 tons of contaminated soil will produce only 20-30 tons of ash (Black, 1995). This method is particularly useful when remediating metals. Some metals are also being recycled from the ash. Phytovolatization is the uptake and vaporization of pollutants by a plant. This mechanism takes a solid or liquid contaminant and transforms it to an airborne vapor. The vapor can either be the pure pollutant, or the plant can metabolize the pollutant before it is vaporized, as in the case of mercury, lead and selenium (Boyajian and Carriera, 1997; Black, 1995; Wantanbe, 1997). Phytodegradation is plants metabolizing pollutants. After the contaminant has been drawn into the plant, it assimilates into plant tissue, where the plant then degrades the pollutant. This metabolization by plant-derived enzymes such as nitrosedictase, laccase, dehalogenase, and nitrilase assimilates into plant tissue, where the plant then degrades the pollutant. This metabolization by plant-derived enzymes such as nitroredictase, laccase, dehalogenase, and nitrilase, has yet to be fully documented, but has been demonstrated in field studies (Boyajian and Carriera, 1997). The daughter compounds can be either volatized or stored in the plant. If the daughter compounds are relatively benign, the plants can still be used in traditional applications. The most effective current phytoremediation sites in practice combine these three mechanisms to clean up a site. For example, poplar trees can accumulate, degrade and volatize the pollutants in the remediation of organics. Phytoremediation is more than just planting and letting the foliage grow; the site must be engineered to prevent erosion and flooding and maximize pollutant uptake. There are 3 main planting techniques for phytoremediation. 1.Growing plants on the land, like crops. This technique is most useful when the contaminant is within the plant root zone, typically 3 – 6 feet (Ecological Engineering, 1997), or the tree root zone, typically 10-15 feet. 2.Growing plants in water (aquaculture). Water from deeper aquifers can be pumped out of the ground and circulated through a â€Å"reactor† of plants and then used in an application where it is returned to the earth (e.g. irrigation) 3.Growing trees on the land and constructing wells through which tree roots can grow. This method can remediate deeper aquifers in-situ. The wells provide an artery for tree roots to grow toward the water and form a root system in the capillary fringe. The majority of current research in the phytoremediation field revolves around determining which plant works most efficiently in a given application. Not all plant species will metabolize, volatize, and/or accumulate pollutants in the same manner. The goal is to ascertain which plants are most effective at remediating a given pollutant. Research has yielded some general guidelines for groundwater phytoremediation plants. The plant must grow quickly and consume large quantities of water in a short time. A good plant would also be able to remediate more than one pollutant because pollution rarely occurs as a single compound. Poplars and cottonwoods are being studied extensively because they can used as much as 25 to 350 gallons of water per day, and they can remediate a wide variety of organic compounds, including LNAPL’s. Phytoremediation has been shown to work on metals and moderately hydrophobic compounds such as BTEX compounds, chlorinated solvents, ammunition wastes, and nitrogen compounds. Yellow poplars are generally favored by Environmental Scientists for use in phytoremediation at this time. They can grow up to 15 feet per year and absorb 25 gallons of water a day. They have an extensive root system, and are resistant to everything from gypsy moths to toxic wastes. Partial listing of current remediation possibilities. Plant Chemicals Clean-up numbers Pondweed TNT & RDX 0.016-0.019 mg of TNT L per day Poplar Trees Atrazine 91% of the Atrazine taken up in 10 days Poplars Nitrates from fertilizers From 150 mg/L to 3 mg L in under 3yrs. Mustard Greens Lead 45% of the excess was removed Pennycress Zinc & Cadmium 108 lb./acre per year & 1.7 lb./acre per yr. Halophytes Salts reduced the salt levels in the soils by65% Advantages and Disadvantages to Phytoremediation: Advantages: ( www.rtdf.org/genlatst.htm) 1.Aesthetically pleasing and publicly accepted. 3.Works with metals and slightly hydrophobic compounds, including many organics. 4.Can stimulate bioremediation in the soil closely associated with the plant root. Plants can stimulate microorganisms through the release of nutrients and the transport of oxygen to their roots. 5.Relatively inexpensive – phytoremediation can cost as little as $10 – $100 per cubic yard whereas metal washing can cost $30 – $300 per cubic yard. 6.Even if the plants are contaminated and unusable, the resulting ash is approximately 20-30 tons per 5000 tons soil (Black, 1997). 7.Having ground cover on property reduces exposure risk to the community (i.e. lead). 8.Planting vegetation on a site also reduces erosion by wind and water. 9.Can leave usable topsoil intact with minimal environmental disturbance. 10.Generates recyclable metal rich plant residue. 11.Eliminates secondary air or water-borne wastes. 1.Can take many growing seasons to clean up a site. 2.Plants have short roots. They can clean up soil or groundwater near the surface in-situ, typically 3 – 6 feet (Ecological Engineering, 1997), but cannot remediate deep aquifers without further design work. 3.Trees have longer roots and can clean up slightly deeper contamination than plants, typically 10-15 feet, but cannot remediate deep aquifers without further design work . 4.Trees roots grow in the capillary fringe, but do not extend deep in to the aquifer. This makes remediating DNAPL’s in situ with plants and trees not recommended. 5.Plants that absorb toxic materials may contaminant the food chain. 6.Volatization of compounds may transform a groundwater pollution problem to an air pollution problem. 7.Returning the water to the earth after aquaculture must be permitted. 8.Less efficient for hydrophobic contaminants, which bind tightly to soil. 1) At the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, phytoremediation is being used to clean up trichloroethylene (TCE) from a shallow, thin aerobic aquifer. Cottonwoods are being used, and after 1 year, the trees are beginning to show signs of taking the TCE out of the aquifer. (Betts, 1997) 2) At the Iowa Army Ammunitions Plant, phytoremediation is being used as a polishing treatment for explosive-contaminated soil and groundwater. The demonstration, which ended in March, 1997, used native aquatic plant and hybrid poplars to remediate the site where an estimated 1-5% of the original pollutants still remain. A full-scale project is estimated to reduce the contamination by an order of magnitude (Betts, 1997). 3) After investigating using phytoremediation on a site contaminated with hydrocarbons, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management granted a site. The site involved about 1500 cubic yards of soil, and began with approximately 70% of the baseline samples containing over 100 PPM of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). After 1 year of vegetative cover, approximately 83% of the samples contained less than 10-PPM TPH. 4) Phytoremediation was used at the decommissioned Detroit Forge plant to clean up approximately 5,800 cubic yards of lead-impacted soil. Two plantings were completed, the first using sunflowers and the second mustard plants. Following treatment, analysis indicated soil lead concentrations were below the target clean-up criteria. The project resulted in an estimated saving of $1,100,000 over hazardous waste disposal. 5) Water, soil, and trees transpired gases were monitored to track the fate of TCE. About 2-4% of the TCE remained in the effluent as compared to 68% in a non-vegetated control group. The field trial demonstrated that over 95% of TCE were removed by planting trees and letting them grow. Additional studies showed that the trees did not release TCE into the air, as no measurable TCE was present in the air immediately surrounding the leaves (captured in small leaf bags and analyzed) or in the general atmosphere (using a laser technology that can see TCE in the air in the tree canopy). Phytoremediation is an aesthetically pleasing, solar-energy driven, and passive technique that can be used at sites with low to moderate levels of contamination. Phytoremediation is more than just planting and letting the foliage grow; the site must be engineered to prevent erosion and flooding and maximize pollutant uptake. Currently, the majority of research is concentrated on determining the best plant for the job, quantifying the mechanisms by which the plants convert pollutants, and determining which contaminants are amenable to phytoremediation. Polluted sites are being studied, and phytoremediation looks promising for a variety of contaminants.

How did Bobbie Ann Mason`s upbringing in the rural south influence her writing of Shiloh Essay

Bobbie Ann Mason is considered as one of the great American writers from the South. Her personal background as a Southerner influenced and set a backdrop for most of her fiction stories. From a small country girl who used to read Bobbsey Twins and the Nancy Drew mysteries, Bobbie Ann Mason has become one of the America’s leading fiction writers. In 1980 The New Yorker published her first story. â€Å"It took me a long time to discover my material,† she says. â€Å"It wasn’t a matter of developing writing skills; it was a matter of knowing how to see things. And it took me a very long time to grow up. I’d been writing for a long time, but was never able to see what there was to write about. I always aspired to things away from home, so it took me a long time to look back at home and realize that that’s where the center of my thought was† (Bobbie Ann Mason’s Homepage). This discourse will try to map out the journey that Bobbie Ann Mason has taken from being just a country girl to being one of America’s leading fiction writers as well as how her upbringing has been manifested in her writings, especially â€Å"Shiloh†. Bobbie Ann Mason was born in 1940 in a small town in Mayfield, Kentucky. Growing up in her parents’ dairy farm, she spent most of her childhood days in the typical rural Southern setting and experiencing the Southern way of upbringing. (â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason,† Wikipedia) The first nine (9) years of her educational life were spent in a rural school. Shortly thereafter Bobbie Ann Mason attended a â€Å"city† school where she stayed until her graduation. It was here where she first experienced living in the city and experiencing the hustle and bustle that was absent from the rural setting that she was accustomed to in Kentucky (Webber). It was her love for literature that prompted her to pursue a degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky and eventually attain a Ph. D. in English from the University of Connecticut. (â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason,† Wikipedia) This seeming â€Å"duality† of her background, growing up in the Southern Setting and highly educated in a metropolitan setting, is reflected within most of her written works (Hunt). Rothstein describes Mason’s style as a combination of her â€Å"intellectual sophistication† (after all, she had a doctorate degree) and â€Å"the sense of isolated, yearning existence of her rural characters [is] one she has never quite shed herself. † The influence of growing up in the South is clearly shown in most of her characters in her stories yet the theme and feel of the story reveals her intellect and cosmopolitan views as well. A perfect example of how Mason reveals this â€Å"duality† is in Shiloh. In Shiloh, Mason shows this through the challenges that the characters undergo; some of these changes that the characters in experience deal with the nature of human life, the changes brought on by death, the issues on disease and aging; but these changes are not so common, nor as troublesome, in Mason’s stories as the changes brought on by a changing society. These changes, as Edwin T. Arnold correctly observes, are brought about by the fact that the present â€Å"has effectively displaced, transformed, and cheapened the traditional,† and Mason’s characters are depicted as they lose their strengths and beliefs and find nothing substantial to replace them (136) Bobbie Ann Mason’s writings are mostly set in the South. Her version is more realistic and not romanticized; unlike the works of Faulkner or O’Connor (Hunt), she depicts small-town rural Southern living, using dialogue and settings characteristic of the South (Hunt). However, â€Å"southern history and all it represents seems irrelevant to her characters’ lives† (Fine 87). Bobbie Ann Mason occasionally reveals her talent and wit by being able to focus more on her characters and their sense of isolation and their want for something more from their lives and draw the reader towards the characters and make them empathize with the characters. These characters are not simply depicted as typical Southerners, but rather as people â€Å"who are trying desperately to get into the society rather than out of it† (Reed 60). Mason shows the Southern Influence by creating believable characters that are caught in the transition between the old, pastoral, rural world of farms and close-knit communities and the modern, anonymous, suburban world of shopping malls and fast-food restaurants (Shiloh: Themes). In â€Å"Shiloh,† for example, Leroy did not notice the change in his hometown while he was on the road as a trucker. However, now that Leroy has come home to stay, â€Å"he notices how much the town has changed. Subdivisions are spreading across western Kentucky like an oil slick. † Change, a theme often used by Mason in her works, shows just how much Mason is influenced by her upbringing and also reveals how she laments over how people are slow to realize the changes in southern society. In this story, it takes a traumatic event of some kind to make the characters see that the land has changed or that they no longer know who they are. In Leroy’s case, it is his accident and injury in his rig that make him see that the land has changed, that Norma Jean has changed, and that â€Å"in all the years he was on the road he never took time to examine anything. He was always flying past scenery† (2). Several of Mason’s characters react to the changes in their lives by trying, at least momentarily, to go back. Leroy thinks that he can hold onto his wife if he can go back to a simpler time. He decides to accomplish this by building her a log cabin for which he goes so far as to order the blueprints and to build a miniature out of Lincoln Logs. Mabel, Leroy’s mother-in-law, is convinced that if Leroy and Norma Jean will go to Shiloh where she and her husband went on their honeymoon, they can somehow begin their fifteen-year-old marriage anew. So does Leroy. He says to Norma, â€Å"You and me could start all over again. Right back at the beginning† (15). It is ironic, fitting, and symbolic that it is at Shiloh that Norma tells him she wants to leave him. By story’s end, Leroy knows that he cannot go back as â€Å"it occurs to him that building a house of logs is . . . empty — too simple. . . . Now he sees that building a log house is the dumbest idea he could have had. . . . It was a crazy idea† (16). He realizes that â€Å"the real inner workings of a marriage, like most of history, have escaped him† (16). The female characters that Mason brings to life are what set her stories apart from the usual literature which depicts Southern women; their dreams, goals, and their want for progress significantly differs from those of the traditional Southern belle characters such as Scarlett O’Hara and Adie (Hunt). The female characters of Mason embrace change and are not afraid of it (Kincaid 582). This seemingly feminist theme reflects the change in social relationships between men and women; how evolving and rapidly shifting gender roles affect the lives of simple people. Mason also shows how some of her women try to forge new identities in the wake of shifting gender roles and how their efforts often include a blatant shrinking of traditionally feminine behaviors or characteristics; sometimes they seem almost completely to be trading roles with the men in their lives. And since change often causes uncertainty and instability, another aspect is the way these women find some solid ground through connections with other women (Bucher). â€Å"Shiloh† is a story that â€Å"symbolizes the modern woman striving to find her identity† (Cooke 196). In this short story, Bobbie Ann Mason masterfully portrays the lead female character, Norma Jean, as one such woman; strong, determined and confused in a search for her identity. Mason is able to show this to the reader through the acts of Norma Jean as she tries to improve her physical appearance by â€Å"working on her pectorals† (Mason 271), enrolls in a â€Å"variety of classes, from weightlifting to cooking exotic foods to English composition in an attempt to become a new woman† (Thompson 3). These actions of Norma Jean actions reveal more of a strong desire for inner personal transformation, much more than anything else. However, Mason also recognizes that abrupt change in one’s personality has its own dangers (Hunt), as illustrated by Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship. Norma Jean and Leroy’s relationship is a perfect example of the dangers of an abrupt change as it shows a marriage with serious problem and the effect that change has on it. Leroy and Norma Jean Moffitt, are working-class people living in the modern South, and thus they bring into their marriage all sorts of unspoken expectations of who they should be, which often contrast violently with who they are – even more so with who they are becoming (Bucher). When in a twist of fate, Leroy loses the use of his leg, Norma Jean suddenly assumes the role of being the man in the family and this leads to problems. It is this sort of change that is not only abrupt but also drastic which Mason shows in Shiloh that reveals her Southern influence. She emphasizes the changing role of women in society by using the Southern setting as a backdrop. Mason is a lover of rock and roll music. This passion and preference for rock music and pop culture are frequently reflected throughout her stories as well (Webber). â€Å"Writing is my version of rock-and-roll,† Rothstein quotes her (Webber). This is aptly shown in â€Å"Shiloh,† where the main characters themselves are named after Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, popular icons of the rock and roll scene and pop culture in the early 1950s. All in all, it can be said that Bobbie Ann Mason’s personal background shows a very consistent influence in the fiction stories that she writes and provides a deeper and different perspective about living in a Southern setting and rural life in general. â€Å"In the country in Kentucky, people are just amazed that anybody in New York wants to read about their lives† (Rothstein). With fiction stories of Bobbie Ann Mason, however, it is not surprising that people will want to read more about Kentucky or the Southern locales of the United States, for that matter, for her stories speak of the universal human experiences that transcend physical and cultural boundaries which people can identify with. WORKS CITED: Arnold, Edwin J. â€Å"Falling Apart and Staying Together. † Appalachian Journal (1985): 135-141Aycock-Simpson, Judy. Bobbie Ann Mason’s Portrayal of Modern Western Kentucky Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 7 (1989) â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason. † Wikipedia: Free Encyclopedia. August 30, 2006. November 11, 2006 â€Å"Bobbie Ann Mason. † Bobbie Ann Mason’s Homepage. September 17, 2005. November 24, 2006 â€Å"Shiloh: Themes. † Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes. com. January 2006. 24 November 2006. Bucher, Tina. â€Å"Changing Roles and Finding Stability: Women in Bobbie Ann Mason’s Shiloh and Other Stories† Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 8 (1991) Cooke, Stewart J. â€Å"Mason’s ‘Shiloh. ‘† The Explicator 51 (1993): 196-197. Fine, Laura. â€Å"Going Nowhere Slow: The Post-South World of Bobbie Ann Mason. † The Southern Literary Journal 32 (1999). Hunt, Kristina. â€Å"Mason’s Transformation of the South. † October 27, 2000. November 11, 2006.

A case of identify Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A case of identify - Essay Example At the center of the story is Miss Mary Sutherland who is described as a woman with substantial income. The earnings majorly come from an interest fund which had been set up for her. Miss Sutherland gets engaged to a very quiet Londoner who later disappears. This is where the power of Sherlock Holmes’s detective is tested with the case later turning out to be what can be said to be an elementary case (Doyle 67). Miss Sutherland’s fiancà ©, Hosmer Angel is a very peculiar character. He is quiet and a very secretive man. No one knows any details about his life. Even Miss Sutherland herself is only aware that Hosmer works in an office in Leadenhall Street. She has no specific details on the kind of work he does or the people he works with. All the letters that he sends to his fiancà ©e are typewritten including the signature. Hosmer advises Miss Sutherland to reply his letters only through the local post office. Miss Sutherland’s courtship and meetings with her fiancà © are very clandestine. They only plan to be meeting when the stepfather is in France as he was against the relationship (Doyle 230). At times, Miss Sutherland would goes to ball against the wishes of her father with the hope of meeting Hosmer. Despite the secrecy of the man, he manages to convince her fiancà © to marry him. It is at this point that the story reaches the climax when Mr. Hosmer abandons Miss Sutherland at the altar on their day of wedding. Hosmer steps into a carriage to go to the church where the ceremony was to take place. However, he is nowhere to be seen when the carriage reaches the church. This amazes everyone who had seen him step into the carriage. Sutherland is very much disappointed, worried and heartbroken since she did not expect someone who had proposed to her to act the way Angel did. After the disappearance, Miss Sutherland

How well does 'conservative' describe Burke's political philosophy Essay

How well does 'conservative' describe Burke's political philosophy - Essay Example In a short biography published in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2004) it is stated that ‘British statesman, parliamentary orator, and political thinker prominent in public life from 1765 to about 1795 and important in the history of political theory; he championed conservatism in opposition to Jacobinism in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004) . In fact, the support of conservatism by Burke was clear. However, as already stated above it was because such a view was not clearly expressed that Burke was not considered to be a supporter of conservatism. Towards the above direction, it is noticed by Parkin (1956, 1) that ‘it is commonly affirmed that the peculiar genius of Burke lay in his capacity to contemplate the sphere of politics under the aspect of moral law, to reach out for the unchanging principles of morality in the contingencies of political action’. In other words, Burke was actively involved in politics. H owever, his participation was not direct; he kept on writing (and publishing) his views trying to influence the development of specific political and social ideas within the British society. In other countries also his work influenced the philosophical thought; this influence was not catalytic, i.e. his ideas were hardly adopted in their full content; they were more likely to be used for the justification of theories and principles that referred to morality and political framework in that particular period. It is for this reason that Parkin notices: ‘yet the study of his political thought hardly seems to have accorded the moral question the priority which it deserves; if, in Burkes opinion, the principles of true politics are those of morality enlarged, the most important question to ask about Burke must be what precisely, for him, the principles of morality were’ (Parkin, 1956, 1). In accordance with the above view, one of the main weaknesses of Burke’s theories has