Choose one Frost's poems and present the symbols in it. What are they Essay

Choose one Frost's poems and present the symbols in it. What are they and what do they represent - Essay Example This isolation is tempting and seems to offer peace and quiet but is something no one would want or advise. For example, even the owner of these woods is away in his village on this â€Å"darkest evening of the year† (8). The village symbolizes society and civilization and is separate from this lonely, isolated spot so that even the owner won’t know that this visitor was here. The traveler imagines that even the horse isn’t pleased to be here, â€Å"My little horse must think it queer / To stop without a farmhouse near† (5-6). The horse, although an animal, represents a domesticated and normal part of society. It offers some sense of reality and responsibility and shakes the traveler away from this tempting and even dangerous feeling of staying on too long in order â€Å"To watch his woods fill up with snow† (4). The woods are quiet and the only sounds are that of the wind and â€Å"downy flake† (12). Dwelling any longer in this place, althou gh lovely, is also â€Å"dark and deep† (13). The traveler realizes that he has â€Å"miles† to go, symbolizing the life still ahead to live filled with promises, duties and responsibilities. The repetition of the last two lines, â€Å"And miles to go before I sleep† represent the long years ahead before sleep, symbolizing death, actually overtakes him (15-16). References Frost, Robert. â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.† Retrieved from http://www.ketzle.com/frost/snowyeve.htm.

Coffee and Tea Essay Example for Free

Coffee and Tea Essay Coffee and tea have existed in the world for a long time. Hundreds of years ago, people who lived in South America started to produce coffee, but the earliest drink likes coffee was made by ancient Arabian. They thought it was a kind of medicine used for stomach. After the 15th century, coffee was spread to other countries such as Egypt and Ottoman Empire by Muslims who were back from Hajj, while in ancient China, Chinese people started to make tea about 3000 years ago. Because of nice environment and weather, the first part of tea plants was discovered in southwest China. After, drink tea became an important culture of Chinese people, and tea began to spread into countries near China. Coffee and tea are similar, but different in some specific area. First, coffee and tea are similar but different in population. People from all around the world like them. For example, British people used to drink a cup of tea with some snacks when they have a rest in the afternoon. Western people enjoy drinking black tea, and some of them mix it with milk to make milky tea. Likewise, most people like drinking coffee, for it often tastes good. In China, more and more people began to drink coffee, and some of whom want to taste better coffee like blue mountain coffee. However, although these two drinks are both popular around the world, coffee is still drunk most by western people, while the most quantity of tea is used in East Asia. People lived in China, Japan, and Korea regarded tea as the main drink. Second, coffee and tea are similar but different in function. Both coffee and tea can refresh people because there is a kind of chemical matter, which is caffeine in both of them. This chemical matter can be used for nerves to make a person feel awake and lively. Also, some experts said that black coffee and green tea can help a person lose weight. But, in contrast, tea has some more functions due to another kind of chemical matter which can’t be found in coffee. This chemical matter that named tea polyphenol whose ability is to relieve the effect that is made by poison. Finally, coffee and tea have similarity and difference in origination. Both of them are made from plants. Thousands of years ago, people lived in Africa planted coffee trees in succeed, and now, Brazil has the most coffee trees in the world. In south of China, there are a lot of terraced fields that grow tea trees. On the other hand, people use leaves from tea to make tea, while they use fruits from coffee plants to make coffee. To sum up, coffee and tea are similar in their population, function, and origination, while they are different of their use in different place, their different chemical matter, and their different material. I suggest that people should drink both coffee and tea so that they can be healthier.

Night :: essays research papers

Elie Wiesel's Night is a true account of what the holocaust did, not only to the Jews, but to humanity as well. People all over the world were devastated by this horrendous act, and there are still people today who have not overcome its effects. An example of the horrible acts of the Nazis that stands out occurs at the end of World War II, when Elie and the rest of the inmates at the Buna camp were being force to transfer to the Gleiwitz camp. The transfer was a long, tiring journey through bitter cold and heavy falling snow. The people were often forced to run during parts of the journey, and if a person was tired or injured he or she are executed. One image of this journey that will forever be in Elie's mind is when Rabbi Eliahou's son left the rabbi for dead so he could survive.The rabbi and his son were running together, but Rabbi Eliahou became tired and had to slow down. As the rabbi slowed down his pace his son continued to run, and pretended not to see that his father was slowing down. This incident forced Elie to think about what he would do in the same situation. Elie decided that no matter how weak his father became he would always be there for him, even if he would die for it.Throughout the novel Elie Wiesel shows the reader how the Nazis broke the spirits of the Jews. This caused Elie to lose his faith in God, as his time in the Nazi camps grew longer. The reader can see this in Elie's father 's confrontation with the gypsy. His father asked a gypsy where the lavatories were, but the gypsy did not even respond to Elie's father. Then the gypsy struck his father in the head, and knocked him down onto the floor. Elie watched the situation and realized that he was going to physically and mentally punished during his time at the camp, and his faith in God could not stop it from happening. Elie did nothing to the gypsy that struck his father although the thought did cross his mind. He decided that if he were to fight back at the gypsy the result would be physical harm to him.The incident that probably had the greatest effect on Elie and the other inmates was the hanging of the pipel.

Corporate strategy: steakhouse case Essay

Generally the efficiency of the production is neglected but as Outback embarks on a differentiation and niche strategy that doesn’t affect its competitiveness. All other building blocks of competitive advantages are addressed, its products are of excellent quality, its products as well as the management system and the organisational structure are innovative and its customer responsiveness is outstanding. Opportunities and Threats The strategic position of Outback is mainly determined through companies that are in the same strategic group: moderate price and high quality dinners. The opportunities and threats are mainly the same for that strategic group, the entry into another group might be desirable and would result in a diversification strategy. Industry Structure According to Porter’s Five Forces Model, the restaurant industry is highly competitive. The rivalry among established companies is very high as Outback operates on the one hand in the highly fragmented restaurant industry and on the other hand has to compete directly with a few big chains. The demand conditions depend to a high degree on the general economic situation, but the US market in general can only accommodate a limited number of restaurants. The exit barriers are very low. The risk of entry of potential competitors is high as the barriers of entry are very low. The bargaining power of buyers is moderate, all customers account for only a marginal part of the revenues but as the demand is very elastic they tend to switch to the competitors if they are not fully content. The bargaining power of suppliers is moderate to high, the company doesn’t depend on one single supplier, but on high quality. The threat through substitute products is quite high, steaks could be replaced through poultry or completely different meals. Macroenvironment The macroeconomic environment influences the restaurant industry to a high degree as a decline or growth of the economy influences directly the demand for restaurant food. Further, the US market will be saturated with around 550-600 Outback restaurants, this offers the opportunity of further growth in the next few years but simultaneously imposes the threat of saturation of the national market and induces the need for an international option. In the social environment, the greater health consciousness leads to a lower consumption of red meat. Normally this would be a threat, but as it can be assumed that people just switch to going out to eat red meat this could be an opportunity for even greater extension of the business. Furthermore Outback could include healthier options into its menu and diversify into other segments of the restaurant industry. A good opportunity is the expansion into the international market to overcome US-market saturation. A  problem could be the lack of international experience. Question 2 – Are Outback’s various strategy components sustainable in the domestic market ? Can they be imitated ? Are they transferable to the international markets ? Why ? Why not ? 1 – Strategy components sustainable in the domestic market The basic strategy of Outback, a famous US steakhouse chain, was a success, because the concept was simple: provide a high quality service for an affordable price. The average price is between 15 and 20 $, so, we can deduce that the target of the chain is middle and upper middle classes. However, most of restaurants share this idea, particularly for this highly competitive domestic market. Outback found enough distinctive competencies to reach its actual level. Outback has different key strategies, which explain the success of the company. The experience accumulated by the three creators permits to develop an entrepreneurial spirit and to increase the acknowledge on the steackhouse chain market. These abilities have given to the top managers the capacity to create relevant strategies. – Positioning of the company Outback is a steakhouse’s chain, which decided first to respond at the demand of middle and upper classes basic American consumers. So, they have to afford good report price-quality, which depends first of all of the quality of the meal and the services provided by the personal. Meals are simple but correspond completely to the wishes of the American consumers. The quality of Outback is insured because of the fact they are only open during the night and not twice pro day, which corresponds to the expected target by Outback and the needs of the last one. – Organisation structure In five years, the network of franchises growth by 400 %. This fact pushed the company to develop a strong logistic network and also privilege the relationship with a few suppliers, which became real partners of the company. This gave us the opportunity to gain a high quality product and trustworthiness can be established. For the suppliers, the advantages are valuables because they know that they will continue their products if they still provide the same level of quality expected. For Outback, it gives the opportunity to obtain low prices and security of the food. The high number of restaurants asked for a relevant logistic structure in order to provide the best product on time for all franchises. In order to gain economies of scale, Outback allowed a franchise system. This gives the opportunity to reduce costs and to be implemented in various areas without high investment departures. Following the growth of the company, Outback changed the organisational structure to be more efficient and have more control on the brand image. They are developing better relationship between the headquarter and the partners. These latter have now stock options. This salary plan gives them motivation and accuracy in their job, because it guarantees a real engagement from the employees. – Human resource’s strategy A real consideration of the human resource is done by Outback. The corporate estimate that better working conditions and working schedule give more motivation to the employees. They feel comfortable within the company and are readier to answer at the injection of the headquarter. – Location strategy After study of the location and demographics particularities of a county, it seems that all the restaurant are established in specific distribution area. They set up the restaurant near dynamic neighbourhood and easy to go, which remains middle class population. – Communication policy At the beginning, Outback privileged local target population. Then, they extend their communication network by sponsoring specific events, as sport or charity events. A lot of support as television, billboard and radio are used because it is the best way to touch an important number of potential consumers. 2- Can they be imitated ? On the domestic market, Outback has many steakhouse chain competitors. Each brand is trying to find a niche. But some strategies can be easily imitated such as the geographic implementation and the target. The thematic of the restaurant was existing before the creation of Outback and the system of franchise is not adopt only by the restaurant chains. But Outback is able to put some entries barriers. The experience of the top manager is very helpful and contribute to create a trustworthiness from the employees. The synergy between the suppliers and the franchises gives at Outback more confidence on the future and more competitive. 3 – Are they transferable to the international markets ? Why ? Why not ? The concept of steakhouse chain, as Outback, seems to be adaptable in foreign countries. The company has two choices. First of all, it can keep its concept of American steakhouse chain within foreigner culture. Or it can also adapt to the country culture and has the ability to modify its concept and integrate it completely in the country chosen. Outback has the opportunity to internationalise its strategy, but the company has to take care about the way to do it. -The food habits is a first problem because a lot of Muslim countries cannot consume beef. Outback has to do a geographic selection -According to the policy of a country, the American restaurant can or cannot be set up as in Irak or North Korea. The American corporate culture can be a barrier of establishment too. – Outback has to think about the suppliers network. Some solutions appear as food exportation or licensing. But these strategies have a mean disadvantage: the local population may expect to eat local product -Outback has to change the organisational structure in order to integrate an international division. The structure can add a foreign operations department to their existing structure and contribute to use the same control system. 3.- The countries, which Outback should enter, are in hierarchic descending order as follows: 1.- SOUTH KOREA Advantages:1)Good economic development.2)Politically stable.3)Easy to import American style to South Korean.4)Infrastructures improvements. Disadvantages: Obstacles for US firms (regulation for labeling, sanitary standards) Modifications needed: Need to be financially sound company, because South Korea is an emergent market with big opportunities of growing and so that big investments will be needed. The firm will have to adapt to the sanitary standards, they will have to cope with occasional problems related with quarantine of some products. 2.- UK Advantages: 1) Common language, business practices facilitates US entry 2) No restriction on foreign ownership and movement capital, labor flexibility. Free enterprise and open competition in UK. 3) UK find US goods and services very attractive.4) Abolition of internal trade barriers (UK as a gateway to the rest of EU).5) Very good communication network Disadvantages: As UK is a gateway to the rest of European countries is of vital importance the role-play in UK, depending whether is successful or not the European adventure will be better or worst. Modifications needed: Very low rate of modifications are needed to enter in the UK market, as we have said previously US and UK have common language and have very close culture. 3.- CANADA Advantages:1)Business practices similar to US and US goods are well received in Canada. 2) Very good economic development.3) Very good communication network and very close to North America, which will reduce communications and transportation costs. Disadvantages: The linguistic and cultural problems that are taking place in Canada make a tense situation. Modifications needed: As a result of the disadvantages related before it would be necessary to have employees with knowledge of French and/or English. 4.- MEXICO Advantages: 1) They have improved infrastructures 2) Despite the economics problems there are opportunities for North American firms but they will provide low cost products, because of the low buying power of Mexican people. 3) Duty free to exports.4) It is geographically very close to North America, so that transportation as communications are easier. Disadvantages: 1) Political reforms, which make of Mexico not a very stable country.2) No good economic development. Modifications needed:1)As we have written is necessary to change the prices in order to adapt to the low buying power of the Mexican people.2)Related with the previous point it would be interesting to create a pool in order to  avoid the possible devaluations in the national currency. Germany and Japan are more difficult markets to enter into by the company. See appendix for advantages, disadvantages and changes needed. 4.- As result of the previous SWOT analysis we can observe that Outback has the opportunity, the intention and the necessity to expand the company into the international market. OPPORTUNITIES Incomes have risen globally, so that there is more money to expend on, when primary needs are fed another kind of needs appear. Outback has to take advantage of this and enter into new markets. Related with that the increasing number of women entering the work force which means that if traditionally women have to cook, nowadays they don’t have too much time for it, and so that restaurants with good quality food and family oriented are highly valued by working women. In other side demographic concentrations of people in urban areas, which make necessary to have different offers of restaurants. A good opportunity is the willingness of younger generation to try new products, we have as an example the Japanese young people. Although in Japan still remain some conservative customers, new generations are willing to try new kind of products coming for another countries. Also is very important to point out the improved international transportation, this is very important because can reduce the costs of export restaurant’s assets into another international country, as we have already said. Although there are very similar firms operating at the moment in the market, US food themes are very popular abroad. In order to reduce market saturation Outback has used joint ventures with an Italian chain (Canabba’s Italian Grills) INTENTION We see the will to expand when for example, in 1994 the firm didn’t pay dividends despite the good profit, the reason was to invest the money to be able to expand to international markets. NECESSITY The saturation of the US fast-food chains make that Outback looks for new countries where it can operate and grow there are very similar firms operating at the moment but US food themes are very popular abroad. Although in order to reduce this market saturation Outback has used joint ventures with an Italian chain (Canabba’s Italian Grills)

My Favorite Movies

Today, I am going to talk about my favorite movies. I like to watch movies very much; especially I like foreign films lots than Japanese films, because I like to study foreign languages. I watch movies with English subtitle, and it is good how to learn English. Do you know the film titled â€Å"BIG FISH†? That is my best favorite movie. The story is human drama, and I can see the love between father and the son. And the story is not only human drama, but also fantasy. It is most beautiful story that I have ever seen. Every time I was questioned â€Å"what is your favorite movie? † I tell the story of this one. When I watch this movie, I feel my heart warming. Not only foreign films, I like the films made by Hayao Miyazaki. He is one of the most famous Japanese animator in the world. Every films that he made have some messages to the world. For example, he said â€Å"stop deforestation† in the film titled â€Å"the princess of mononoke. † And men characters that appear every film are all cool and good-looking. Also I can feel love in all films made by Hayao Miyazaki. He got an Academy Award in 2003 for the great film titled â€Å"Spirited Away. † That was the greatest achievements for him. But he always says that he never want to be a veteran. I am very impressed his words. And what the biggest point for his movie is everyone can enjoy the story even child, even adult. To watch movies is very good habit for us. Movies give us many impressions and knowledge. I want to watch a lot of movies through my life.

Follow who

Follow who Follow who - a review on Formation Essay Follow who? – A review on Wang Qingsong’s artwork at White Rabbit Gallery If you are a contemporary art lover, I bet you know about the White Rabbit Collection, which has impressive collections of contemporary Chinese art. And if you happen to be a chinese like me, then you will not miss the Gallery’s 10th exhibition - Reformation . Here I am standing in front of a 3-metres wide staged photograph called ‘Follow You’ by Chinese contemporary artist Wang Qingsong known for his large-scale photographs which explore the political, social and cultural issues of a rapidly changing China. He often hires ‘actors’ and construct sets in film studios like a film director. The theme of his photographs is often characteristically surreal and sarcastic, revealing China’s obsession with progress and the losses in this process. Looking at this photograph, I had this funny feeling that I could find myself sitting in this classroom among those students with heads down – sleeping. The rolls of rolls of students make a jam packed figures landscape. Piles and piles of books heavily sit on the desks companied with Coke bottles. Empty slogans densely fill up the walls. The only person not comatose is grey-bearded scholar-like the artist himself, who needs a drip to stay awake ironically. You m ay wonder what’s in the artist’s mind at that moment. My funny feeling disappeared and I started feeling exhausted, stressed and terribly sad. I often chat to my friends in China, most of them are my classmates from schools and university back in China long time ago. From our conversations about their daily lives, I understand as an ordinary person living in China, what challenge, frustration and even anger they are enduring nowadays. I heard stories of children in China suffer serious stress from as young as 6 years old . Students do all the study for one and only one reason: to get a high score on the university entry exam. And one of my schoolmates told me half-jokingly that after studied Environmental Protection for 4 years and graduated from university 20 years ago, he hasn’t done a single deal about

The Invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

The Invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Magnetic resonance imaging or scanning (also called an MRI) is a method of looking inside the body without using surgery, harmful dyes or x-rays. The MRI scanner uses magnetism and radio waves to produce clear pictures of the human anatomy. Foundation MRI is based on a physics phenomenon discovered in the 1930s, called nuclear magnetic resonance or NMR, in which magnetic fields and radio waves cause atoms to give off tiny radio signals. Felix Bloch, working at Stanford University, and Edward Purcell, from Harvard University, discovered NMR. NMR spectroscopy was then used as a means to study the composition of chemical compounds. Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield The 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Paul C Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging. Paul Lauterbur, a Professor of Chemistry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook wrote a paper on a new imaging technique which he termed zeugmatography (from the Greek zeugmo meaning yoke or a joining together). Lauterbur imaging experiments moved science from the single dimension of NMR spectroscopy to the second dimension of spatial orientation- the foundation of MRI. Peter Mansfield of Nottingham, England, further developed the utilization of gradients in the magnetic field. He showed how the signals could be mathematically analyzed, which made it possible to develop a useful imaging technique. Peter Mansfield also showed how extremely fast imaging could be achievable. This became technically possible within medicine a decade later. Raymond Damadian- First Patent in the Field of MRI In 1970, Raymond Damadian, a medical doctor and research scientist, discovered the basis for using magnetic resonance imaging as a tool for medical diagnosis. He found that different kinds of animal tissue emit response signals that vary in length, and that cancerous tissue emits response signals that last much longer than non-cancerous tissue. Less than two years later he filed his idea for using magnetic resonance imaging as a tool for medical diagnosis with the U.S. Patent Office, entitled Apparatus and Method for Detecting Cancer in Tissue. A patent was granted in 1974, it was the worlds first patent issued in the field of MRI. By 1977, Dr. Damadian completed construction of the first whole-body MRI scanner, which he dubbed the Indomitable. Rapid Development within Medicine The medical use of magnetic resonance imaging has developed rapidly. The first MRI equipment in health was available at the beginning of the 1980s. In 2002, approximately 22 000 MRI cameras were in use worldwide, and more than 60 million MRI examinations were performed. Water constitutes about  two-thirds  of the human body weight, and this high water content explains why magnetic resonance imaging has become widely applicable to medicine. There are differences in water content among tissues and organs. In many  diseases, the pathological process results in changes  of  the water content, and this is reflected in the MR image. Water is a molecule composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The  nuclei of the hydrogen atoms  are able to act as microscopic compass needles. When the body is exposed to a strong magnetic field, the nuclei of the hydrogen atoms are directed into order- stand at attention. When submitted to pulses of radio waves, the energy content of the nuclei changes. After the pulse, a resonance wave is emitted when the nuclei return to their previous state. The small differences in the oscillations of the nuclei are detected with advanced computer processing, it is possible to build up a three-dimensional image that reflects the chemical structure of the tissue, including differences in the water content and in movements of the water molecules. This results in a very detailed image of tissues and organs in the investigated area of the body. In this manner, pathological changes can be documented.

The Dangers of Prompt Dependence

The Dangers of Prompt Dependence Prompt dependence comes when a student needs a prompt in order to initiate a skill or activity. Often the skill is mastered, but prompting  is so much a part of the students expectations that they will not initiate and sometimes complete an activity without adult prompting.  Often this happens because the parent, therapist, teacher or teachers aide lays on the verbal prompting thick and consistently. Example Case of Prompt Dependency Rodney would sit and wait for Miss Eversham to tell him to start before he would begin the papers in his folder. Miss Eversham realized that Rodney had developed prompt dependency, relying on her giving verbal prompts for him to complete his folder. Dont Talk Too Much Prompting is an important part of scaffolding success with special education students, starting small and working toward more complex academic, functional or vocational skills. More often than not, children who become prompt dependent are those whose classroom aides are not always attentive to the fact that they give verbal prompts for everything. In other words, they talk too much. Too often, students get stuck on the continuum of prompts at the verbal prompt level and require the teacher to verbally direct them in order for them to complete the task or skill. Students can even be stuck at the hand over hand level some  students even need to take the teacher or aides hand and place it on their own hand before using scissors or even attempting to write with a writing utensil. Fading for Independence In each of the cases above, the problem was the failure to attend to the level of independence the child has developed and promptly fade out the prompts. If you start with hand over hand, as soon as you can loosen or relax your grasp, move toward the next level, moving your hand from the students hand to their wrist, to their elbow and then simply tapping the back of the hand. For other kinds of activities, especially for students have mastered the component parts of a larger skill (such as dressing) it is possible to begin with a higher level of prompting. It is important to avoid verbal prompting if possible.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Visual prompts are best, such as pictures of the student completing the activity, step by step. Once your student has clearly mastered the component parts, then employ gestural prompts alongside the verbal prompts, then withdraw or fade, the verbal prompts to finally leave only the gestural prompts, ending with independence. Independence should always be the goal of any educational program, and moving form prompting to independence is always the goal of an ethical and proactive teacher.   Be sure you are providing the kind of support that leads to independence.

Critical and Creative Thinking Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical and Creative Thinking Questions - Essay Example As I cam to an understanding that not all people are taught in the same way that I was taught, I began to wonder how God could allow so many people to get it so wrong. Somewhere, though, I had an epiphany. Maybe it wasn’t that they were all wrong, but that they just had a difference in the way that they believed. I began to come to a place where I had to believe, because I believed in a just and fair God, that the approach made toward God wasn’t nearly as important as just the belief. If this was not true, then there would only have ever been two choices in believing in God - a single approach toward God, and a single approach away from God. In understanding that variety was not a threat to the way in which I believe, it was possible to have an understanding that the way that others believed was based solely on their traditions, just in the way that I believe based on the traditions of my family and spiritual community, I was able to accept the validity of the beliefs of others and create a more harmonious way in which to live a spiritual life. I do not believe that anyone is free of prejudice. Simply making the choice of how people are judged, provides for prejudice. Even deciding not to associate with a serial killer would be a prejudice (although this would be a prudent prejudice). However, legitimately foul prejudice based on any form of looks or any form of belief is very difficult to completely shed from one’s mind. Walking through an airport, for instance, many people get a tiny twinge when someone from Middle Eastern descent is noticed, even though much has been written and reported on how very small the radical element of the Muslim faith is in percentage to the number who are not of radical and fanatical beliefs. This leads to the most important element of prejudice that must be addressed before prejudice can be eliminated. Fear is the most destructive force in the cause against prejudice. It seems to be a natural

Searching for 15 Fallacies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Searching for 15 Fallacies - Research Paper Example This is a fallacy because there are others who have been able to get jobs. 5. Our society is becoming more dangerous. This is a fallacy of Scare tactics. It makes people believe that the world is no longer a good and safe place for anyone. It forces people into taking action to secure themselves against the insecurities of the world. 7. â€Å"This has not traditionally been a partisan issue. Lincoln laid the rails during the course of a civil war. Eisen however built the interstate highway system. Both parties have always believed that America should have the best of everything† This was a statement by Barrack Obama about infrastructure. This is a fallacy of tradition. This is because the speaker is basing their argument on past events. 8. Our Mayor’s opinion about local crime is worthless. He cannot even manage to hold his household together having been married and divorced three times already. This is a type of fallacy called Ad hominen. This statement attacks the mayor’s personal life and not his opinion on local crime. 10. We need to spend more on education. Just because the Russians are, increasing military spending does not mean we should. The future of the nation depends on the children of today. This is a fallacy of Red herring. The person changes the topic. 15. Why suffer the embarrassment of morning mouth? Use xyz toothpaste every evening and wake up to a fresh, exiting mouth. This is a slippery slope fallacy. This is because it has the option of using the toothpaste but one may use something else for fresh

Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Essay

Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman - Essay Example Grounding the idea of female rights, Wollstonecraft bases herself upon positions of the liberal theory of English philosopher John Lock about necessity of recognition of equal rights for all "full citizens". Paradox of the concept of liberalism of Lock, directed against despotism of absolute power, is that as "full citizens" of a potential liberal society he considered independent in relation to a monarch owners private, mainly the land property, which first of all are attributed with the ability to possess intellect, that is to be rational subjects (be capable to operate own land). "The central idea behind Wollstonecraft's work is that women are rational beings and should be treated as such"2. According to Mary Wollstonecraft, as the theorist of the liberal concept of female rights, the most important becomes the philosophical thesis about recognition of a female subject rational. Only in that case a woman has a chance to enter into a liberal continuum of "full citizenship" described by Lock. The other significant thesis is that female sensuality is not purely natural, but socially caused characteristic. Wollstonecraft states, "But, if women are to be excluded, without having a voice from a participation of the natural rights of mankind, prove first, to ward off the charge of injustice and inconsistency, that they want reason - else this flaw in your NEW CONSTITUTION will ever shew that man must, in some shape, act like a tyrant, and tyranny, in whatever part of society it rears its brazen front, will ever undermine morality"3.In conformity with the above said theoretical issues, considering modern position of women Wollstonecraft recognizes that the majority of women are not yet ready to act in a line with men as their intellect is insufficiently developed because of prevalence of sensual characteristics in it.However this position, in her opinion, is not a consequence of the special nature, female sensuality as considered Russo, or particular qualities of female intell ect as considered Kant. Such state of facts first of all is a result of the limited female education, and secondly of deprivations of women of basic civil rights, that is a consequence of certain social reasons which can be changed. Wollstonecraft's aim particularly in "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" is "to add the individual and civil rights of women to the universal category"4. Therefore the main philosophical thesis of enlighteners, which was a subject of Wollstonecraft's critic, is Russo's thesis about "the special female nature", in which sensuality prevails of intellect. Wollstonecraft considers that femininity in that form as it is described by Russo, is a repressive social construct, which will cease to exist provided that socialization of women will pass in the same conditions as socialization of men. The basic object of criticism of Wollstonecraft is so-called "superfluous sensuality" which is imputed to women in Russo's philosophical concept. In her book the author opposes men, who are admired of excessive female sensitivity and stand up for its development. It calls such men "tyrants of sexuality", and women, which agree to cultivate such type of sensuality in itself (sensuality of a sexual object) she calls "slaves of pleasures". Wollstonecraft accepts that owing to sensuality women has an opportunity to use a special form of

Share Trading Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Share Trading - Assignment Example As the report stresses diversification of investment spreads the risk over many assets. The concept of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) states that since the stock prices reflect all relevant information in the market, it is not possible for the investor to beat the market by purchasing selling stocks at inflated prices or purchasing undervalued stocks. Thus, in order to beat the market the investor will have to be well informed regarding the true fundamentals of the stocks and carefully follow historical trends. Technical analysis helps and investor to predict future movement of stock prices by analysing past trends whereas fundamental analysis considers a top-down approach that analyses not only the fundamental financial position of firms but also macro-economic and industry trends. From the essay it is clear that the efficient market hypothesis assumes that in financial markets, the current prices reflect all the information available in the market and thus the true value of the stocks can be reflected from their past security prices. The theory assumes that the market participants behave rationally and try to maximize their returns by processing all information available to them. From above it can be said that the securities are correctly priced provided the information available to public. The best strategy to beat the market is to construct and evaluate the portfolio performance using technical analysis and fundamental analysis. ... The theory assumes that the market participants behave rationally and try to maximize their returns by processing all information available to them (Jegadeesh, and Titman, 1993, pp.65-91). From above it can be said that the securities are correctly priced provided the information available to public. Considering the above theory it can be said that EMH states it is â€Å"not† possible to beat the market since efficiency of stock market causes stock prices to reflect all relevant information. Keeping this argument in mind, the investor will have to allocate investible sum of ?50,000 in two portfolios consisting of equity shares of companies listed in FTSE All Share. The lists of companies for two portfolios are depicted in Appendix - A (See Table B.1 – List of Companies in Portfolio I and Table B.2 – List of Companies in Portfolio II). The best strategy to beat the market is to construct and evaluate the portfolio performance using technical analysis and fundament al analysis. The list of companies mentioned in the two portfolio were selected after considering various macro-economic factors such as currency movements and strengthening of Euro with respect to dollar; general investor sentiments after US Fed chairman announced gradual taper of quantitative easing; misfire of Bank of Japan’s loan support programme; and short term view of investors on junk bonds; expectation of an onset of bull market early 2014 especially in emerging markets where markets are experiencing upward trends (Financial Times, 2013). Portfolio Evaluation Fundamental Analysis Fundamental analysis aims to analyse the various macro-economic factors that might affect the performance of

Procurement Policy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Procurement Policy - Case Study Example rights to a startup company's new drugs which was later turned into a new corporation worth $500 million a year. The end result of this engagement was that Merck sold 50 percent of its shares in the new corporation to Astra (Ghauri, 2001, p. 40). In so doing, consumers are able to acquire life-saving and life-altering pharmaceuticals in a timely manner. At the heart of this alliance is the notion that in order to effectively and efficiently manage a business such as Merck, there is a need for strategic supply management. In recent years Merck has embodied a strong shift from a predominantly domestic supply management strategy to one which has entailed global management strategies. This strategy operates under the assumption that procurement policy is central to the success of the company. This strategy can be characterized by two main elements: Arnold (1989) illustrated one of the most concise conceptualizations of the global supply management strategies utilized by Merck by delineating four very distinct procurement policy development stages. These stages are as follows: 1. The Traditional Procurement Policy. In this phase, the scope of the procurement policy is narrowly define and limited to domestic sources. ... One important characteristic of this phase is the understanding that there is no attempt to link the procurement strategy with the other components of the business process. Essentially, the traditional procurement process is somewhat haphazard and does not represent any long-term business strategy (Rai & Eisenberg, 2003). 2. International Purchasing. The second phase of the procurement policy is one which expands the supply sources to non-domestic sources. The underlying intent of this phase is to reduce the production cost by acquiring the necessary materials at a lower cost. During this phase, there is a systematic exploration of foreign sources with the aim of realizing a price advantage over its competitors by purchasing the raw materials at a lower cost without adversely affecting the quality of goods, the level of service provided to consumers and the delivery as well as the availability of goods. An example of this can be seen in the very presence of Merck in Japan. This can be both positive and negative with the positive implications very evident and a negative implication whereby there is limited American investment within the Japanese economy. Essentially, Merck's presence in Japan is solely for the purposes of acquiring materials at a low cost and exporting those materials for economic gain within the United States (Chen & Drysdale, 1995, pp. 141-142). 3. Strategic Procurement Policy. During this phase, the procurement policy of the organization becomes an integral part of its overall business strategy. It is utilized as a means of gaining a significant advantage over its competitors. One important component can be seen in the fact that global sourcing is exploited in such a manner as to improve the

Share Trading Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Share Trading - Assignment Example As the report stresses diversification of investment spreads the risk over many assets. The concept of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) states that since the stock prices reflect all relevant information in the market, it is not possible for the investor to beat the market by purchasing selling stocks at inflated prices or purchasing undervalued stocks. Thus, in order to beat the market the investor will have to be well informed regarding the true fundamentals of the stocks and carefully follow historical trends. Technical analysis helps and investor to predict future movement of stock prices by analysing past trends whereas fundamental analysis considers a top-down approach that analyses not only the fundamental financial position of firms but also macro-economic and industry trends. From the essay it is clear that the efficient market hypothesis assumes that in financial markets, the current prices reflect all the information available in the market and thus the true value of the stocks can be reflected from their past security prices. The theory assumes that the market participants behave rationally and try to maximize their returns by processing all information available to them. From above it can be said that the securities are correctly priced provided the information available to public. The best strategy to beat the market is to construct and evaluate the portfolio performance using technical analysis and fundamental analysis. ... The theory assumes that the market participants behave rationally and try to maximize their returns by processing all information available to them (Jegadeesh, and Titman, 1993, pp.65-91). From above it can be said that the securities are correctly priced provided the information available to public. Considering the above theory it can be said that EMH states it is â€Å"not† possible to beat the market since efficiency of stock market causes stock prices to reflect all relevant information. Keeping this argument in mind, the investor will have to allocate investible sum of ?50,000 in two portfolios consisting of equity shares of companies listed in FTSE All Share. The lists of companies for two portfolios are depicted in Appendix - A (See Table B.1 – List of Companies in Portfolio I and Table B.2 – List of Companies in Portfolio II). The best strategy to beat the market is to construct and evaluate the portfolio performance using technical analysis and fundament al analysis. The list of companies mentioned in the two portfolio were selected after considering various macro-economic factors such as currency movements and strengthening of Euro with respect to dollar; general investor sentiments after US Fed chairman announced gradual taper of quantitative easing; misfire of Bank of Japan’s loan support programme; and short term view of investors on junk bonds; expectation of an onset of bull market early 2014 especially in emerging markets where markets are experiencing upward trends (Financial Times, 2013). Portfolio Evaluation Fundamental Analysis Fundamental analysis aims to analyse the various macro-economic factors that might affect the performance of

Luis Valdez Los Vendidos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Luis Valdez Los Vendidos - Essay Example He gained a lot of experience by carrying out performances in the fields and in the local community centers. Most of Valdez plays were short satires to inspire his audiences and create awareness among the workers and his audiences about social problems that plagued them. The play expressed the feelings and sentiments of the workers and hinted at probable solutions that could be used to solve the problems and lead much better lives. â€Å"Los Vendidos† is one such play that attracted critical acclaim for voicing the opinions of the oppressed farm workers. This play had everything to do with stereotypes of the Anglo culture portraying the Chicano experience, because it not only depicted the atrocities meted out to the downtrodden Chicano workers but helped them to identify themselves with its characters. The stereotypes reflected in Valdez’s play â€Å"Los Vendidos† included the farm workers, the Urban tough guys, revolutionary characters and the â€Å"new† Mexican American yuppie. Unlike the regular stereotypes where people identify themselves with the same characters played in the cast or according to the prevalent popular culture in which they live â€Å"Los Vendidos† serves to oppose such tendencies by using new techniques of reflecting such stereotypes. In this play, Valdez depicts stereotypes as being artificial or something that has been culturally produced. The playwright makes use of the play to address the idiocy of stereotypes that reflect the problems of the Chicano people that involve the falsities that are regularly accepted by the society in America. The primary ideology behind the â€Å"actos† was to encourage its audience to take ‘social action and satirize the opposition (Valdez 12) the play also serves to point out the discrimination faced by the Chicano people in their daily lives by highlighting the blemishes and wrongdoings of the Americans. These stereotypes are exaggerated beyond proportion t o lay strong emphasis on the importance of acknowledging them in society because they are looked upon as being ‘second class citizens by the Americans who discount them from social circles. ‘Los Vendidos’ by Valdez is one wherein the playwright has sought to highlight the stereotypes related to the Latino people living in America. The rejection of the secretary to each of the offered model Mexican, the farm worker, the urban model, the revolutionary and the America educated academic, reflects the prejudices and lack of understanding among the American population. The Mexicans are labeled in America and each of the four characters symbolizes the common labels. In doing so, the playwright allows the readers to analyze and understand the prejudices which they may be holding against the race. The Honest Sancho’s ‘Used Mexican Lot’ is the name employed by the dramatist to indulge in word play. It likens the Mexicans to objects. The success of Valdez ’ play was also in making the Americans understand the gross ridiculousness of the way they treat the Chicano people. It helped in reflecting the misconstrued and wrong opioniated views on the stereotypes among the Mexican people through the deliberate attempt by Valdez in his portrayal of each different stereotype to drive home his message. By satirizing the American people, he successfully accomplishes the primary objective of making the Americans to think critically about their actions and treatment of the Mexican people. He attempts to make the American

Professional goals Essay Example for Free

Professional goals Essay Career or profession is a term used to refer to a person’s course or advancement in life. Career involves remunerative work as well as formal education. It also involves consecutive circumstances that make up an individual’s work life and involve commitment to a field of knowledge and skills like human resource management. Some of the career activities that an individual may engage in include; sporting career, musical career, teaching, wrestling career, doctor, nurse, engineering, editor, business manager, accounting, journalist, lawyer e. . c. This essay however involves a discussion on accounting career. Most jobs in accounting career require at least degree in bachelor of accounting or a bachelor’s degree in any other interrelated field. In federal government, beginners in accounting and auditing places necessitate at least four years of college education including twenty four semester hours in accounting and auditing or a corresponding arrangement of education and knowledge (Angus 387). There is however an added advantage for people seeking jobs in accounting career and have acquired a masters degree in accounting or degree of masters in business administration with awareness in accounting, professional recognition through certification or licensure, propensity in accounting and auditing computer software and specialized expertise in accounting. The reason for selecting accounting as my career is that the jobs found in the accounting career are enjoyable, interesting and entertaining to perform. The work may be much and tiring but does not involve boredom as it involves doing interesting activities such as calculating financial statements. It is enjoyable doing accounting activities being my dream career. The pace of work of an accountant depends on the position and responsibilities one has to perform. Generally the work standard for several accountants and auditors is forty hours per week, nevertheless an accountant or an auditor may work for more hours especially if he or she is self employed or if there are many clients. In this situation the pace of work must be very fast. Persons who work within the accounting career have a very good starting salary. For example in most cases the top ten percent of accountants and auditors do earn from 76000 US dollars and above, the middle half of the occupation earn between 29000 and 49000 US dollars while those who are at the bottom earns between 15000 and 23000 US dollars. The directors in the accounting career on the other hand earn between 56000 and 91000 US dollars. There is however a slight difference in the salary ranges between the accountants in urban areas and those in rural areas. Generally the salary for people in the accounting career ranges from 15000 to 91000 US dollars depending on the nature of your work (Eisenbeis Robert 879). The most identifiable challenge faced in this profession is that the accounting career now requires the accountants to perform more technical tasks including implementing, controlling and auditing computer systems and networks as well as developing a business’s technology plans. In addition, accountants take the role of personal advisors i. e. besides giving customers accounting and tax help, they also assist them come up with their personal budgets, handle their assets and investments, plan for retirement and identify and reduce the clients disclosure to risks. Another problem experienced in this profession is that it at times involves a lot of work that at times an accountant is forced to transfer some work to do at home. This however may easily dealt with since it involved only time adjustment and some program change. Accountants usually carry on many activities other than just preparing financial statements and recording business transactions. The additional responsibilities for an accountant include calculating computing costs, calculating efficiency gains for new technologies, participating in the setup for achievements and unions and developing it systems to trail financial performance, tax policy and employee benefit management. As a management accountant working in a big company my responsibilities included having a say in decisions concerning capital budgeting and business analysis. The major activities that I had to engage in included analyzing costs and contracts, participating in efforts to reduce expenses, contributing to major business decisions and working together with marketing and financial managers to establish new businesses (Luck Christopher 78). In management accounting there are several decisions to be made that are major to the business operations. The most difficult decisions to make in this case were those relating to capital budgeting. The management accountant finds it difficult to make decisions on purchases, payments and the amount of capital to be allocated for any expenditure that has to be made. When first considering the accounting career, I thought it was just about gaining a qualification and becoming an accountant. It is true however that one can acquire a degree in accounting and become a general accountant, but this remains only one of the alternatives that an individual may follow in his or her pursuit of accounting career. Other than pursuing a degree in bachelor of accounting, there are several other specialist areas one may pursue. Some of the specialist areas are information systems, computer operations, taxation, and management policy. My strength in this career is that I got a full qualification from my bachelor’s degree in accounting with an added advantage of having professional recognition through certification and licensure, proficiency in accounting and auditing computer software and a specialized expertise in accounting. In addition I had the work experience which I had acquired during summers when I was pursuing my degree. My weakness in this career is that accountants are now required to take the role of personal advisors to clients which I am not very comfortable with. Conclusion Accounting is indeed a very fulfilling and accomplishing career. It is a career that anybody interested in achieving may enjoy undertaking. Even though, the entry in the accounting career requires high academic qualification, it is also well paying which and therefore gives enough satisfaction.

Sexual Dominance In Hip Hop

Sexual Dominance In Hip Hop Take a couple days off take it off leave nothing but ya t-shirt ya panties on. Damn right imma get that thang imma put my name on it all night imma whip dat thang allstate betta put a claim on it i claim my territory, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] In my sex room, all that I wanted! Legs in the air, witcha toes pointed! So baby welcome to my sex room! (Ludacris, Sex Room). This idea of sexual dominance, as seen in these lyrics by Ludacris is only one of the prevalent issues in the Hip-hop industry. Hip-Hop today has become one of the most popular genres of music in our society and has rapidly. Due to its enormous cross-over appeal, hip hop culture has become a potentially great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hops influence has become worldwide. Approximately 75% of the rap and hip hop audience is nonblack. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Like many groundbreaking musical genres, rap has expanded popular aural territory. Bringing together sound elements from a wide range of sources and styles and relying heavily on rich Afrodiasporic music, rap musicians technological in(ter)ventions are not ends in and of themselves, they are means of cultural ends, new contexts in which priorities are shaped and expressed (______95). With such a strong following over the past two decades from the various cultures, hip-hop has contributed greatly to the growth of our culture and the views of various aspects it encompasses, such as the interpretation of gender roles and lifestyle. Gender roles are defined by ________ as a set of perceived behavioral norms associated particularly with males or females, in a given social group or system(). Through these graphic and implicit songs and images portrayed by Hip-hop artists, it has brought people of our society today to interpret the gangster lifestyle, which many of these rap songs embrace as an acceptable form of culture. Not only has this gangster culture/lifestyle become more widely accepted, but it has become a driving force in the hip-hop industry, drastically changing the way in which both males and females are being represented and beginning to present themselves to adapt to this popular culture. The success of films like Goodfellas, Scarface, The Godfather trilogy and TV series like the Sopranos document all too well Americas fascination with the gangster lifestyle. Since the introduction of hip hop in the late 1970s countless rap songs have distinguished a lifestyle of unrelenting violence, vulgarity, misogyny and crime reinforced in the showing off of weapons, expensive jewelry, and scarcely dressed women which are seen as sex objects that are to be used and discarded at will. Well known rap artist of the twenty-first century, 50 Cent shows a perfect example of the gangster lifestyle which culture has recently began to embrace in his song, I Get Money here, Im stanky rich, Ima die tryna spend this shit, Southsides up in in this bitch, Yeah I smell like the vault, I used to sell dope, I did play the block, Now I play on boats, in the south of France, Baby, St. Tropez, Get a tan? Im already black Rich? Im already that Gangsta, get a gat Hit a head in a hat Call that a riddle rap Shit, f**k the chitter chat (50 Cent). The money, weapons, dope, and materialistic objects in this quote, such as the boat all directly show the way in which modern hip-hop depicts how they think culture should be and what is necessary to gain that gangster image. This masculine gangster image has become so successful at penetrating the very core of the hip-hop community that its biggest stars have become casualties. These stars begin to blur the lines between the bad boy roles they depict in their songs and videos with reality ultimately placing themselves in trouble with the law; and worse, ending in their death just as in the cases with two popular hip hop artist/rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Although everyday people may not take these bad boy ideals to the extremes that these artists do, people are greatly influenced by the more cultural aspects of the gangster lifestyle such as the clothes, jewelry, cars, and possession of women as sexual objects. The glamorization of such lifestyles, as the reinforcement o f stereotypes, and the interpretations of society have quickly began to impact American culture as it cultivates a thuggish and materialistic stance as the bona fide response to what is necessary to fit into our culture and society and along the way has produces its own set of gender roles. In every aspect of hip-hop gender roles are inescapable. The gangster life style itself is greatly based around masculinity. Beyond Beats and Rhymes, author Kevin Powell says, We live in a society where manhood is all about conquering and violenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. And what we dont realize is that ultimately that kind of man hood ultimately kills you. As a male growing up in this hip-hop culture, the lyrics, and evocative images are telling you that to be a man you must evoke a sense of strength and power, but not everyone has that power. One way in which you can gain access is through the use of your body and your ability to present yourself physically as somebody who deserves respect, this is exa ctly what these hip-hop artist have done. Look at artists such as 50 Cent who has sculpted himself to fit this masculine idea associated with hip-hop, by creating a muscular physique, tattooing his body, and placing expensive bling around his neck. Videos expand on this idea of masculinity as they show these artists with extensive amounts of extravagant materialistic goods such as cars, houses, or boats and multitudes of submissive women in and around them. This masculine, gangster lifestyle along with the hip-hop ideals have especially shaped societies view of female gender roles through various avenues. One of the major forms which have contributed to the demoralization of female gender roles is imagery in the forms of both film and photography. From CD covers and posters to music videos and movies, women are portrayed in hip-hop as sexually dominated objects. CD covers such as Gangster Rap by Ice T, Tip Drill by Nelly, and Night at the Booty Bar by Disco D all show women in very little, to no clothing centered around the lead male artist which conveys to the viewers the sense of male dominance over these women. Even female hip-hop artist have conformed to this misogynistic and demeaning lifestyle as they too, through posters show themselves wearing very little clothing and using the sexual inference of lollipops or popsicles in order to appeal to the male gaze. Even these female rappers, such as Missy Elliot, are likely to display a fair bit of sexual preoccupation (Brummet 252). If these celebrity icons, are conforming to this misogynistic ideal how do we expect the youth of our s ociety to not conform as well? These images have quickly contributed to culturistic production of a disease much like bulimia, a cultural sickness of our time. That sickness is becoming the psyche of young women. Who they are in this culture, where they fit, what their value is, or their lack of value, because if this is the only image that they see of themselves in a pseudo-glamorous way, meaning if they look at a fashion magazine theres no girl that looks like Tamico on the block [an average black girl], but in the videos there is, she said. But they see them in this one objectified way and its hurting them. While media images might be written off as only pictures or fantasy representation, they remain a very real part of American culture, with real-life implications for viewers and consumers. As if these explicit still images are not demeaning enough, the technological advance have allowed these women to be portrayed in an even more graphic way through the multi-media form of mus ic videos. At the beginning of the music video era in the late 1950s these forms of media were used as a means of marketing to boost music sales, but today we have strayed a great deal from music videos such as the 1961 video Travelin Man by Ricky Nelson which consisted of him standing on the stage with a few intercessions of different places around the world thrown in. For the most part the gaze in this video is focused on a male figure not a women as much of these hip-hop videos today are. The women in these videos greatly outnumber the artist in these videos and through the actions, are portrayed as walking bling of these male artists, just like the chains around their necks or their fancy cars. Women, then, are offered as objects to be looked at. They are, often literally, hangers on, writhing around the male canter of the image. Think how many music videos show women reaching longingly for the male star (Brummet 252). One of the videos that that most explicitly does this is the controversi al music video produced for Nellys song Tip Drill which portrays every aspect of the gangster lifestyle and completely degrades women through explicit and erotic behaviors and actions. Nelly uses these women as hypersexualized props to fuel male fantasies and show his power and masculinity over them. This video immediately starts out by showing women in very little clothes, even some without any clothes. As it progresses you see Nelly and a few other men walking into an extravagant home with women lined up along a winding stairway as if they were women of a whore house ready to be selected, and then they all turn to the side to show their curves. Throughout the video you see Nelly and his crew throwing money at these women including at their genitalia as the women shake their asses and rub themselves or rub each other while the men watch. One can also see the misogynistic views as the rappers control the women, at times putting them into positions as if they are toys of sexual pleas ure, yet for the most part these women in the video are placing themselves in these sexual positions implying the complete control of the mans will has over these women. Unlike the still images which hint to sexual actions, for example the lollipop in relation to oral sex, these videos actually act them out in ways which are not open for interpretation. Studies have discussed and demonstrated correlational links between young peoples degree of media involvement (including the like or dislike of a particular genre) on sexual attitudes and gender schemas (Hansen Hansen, 1991; Roe, 1995; Rubin, 2002; Ward, Hansbrough, Walker, 2005) For example, teens with highly sexual media diets were shown to be more likely to engage in sexual intercourse than teens with low sexual content in their media diets. This quote solidifies the idea of how these music videos are directly contributing to the sexual demoralization of these women through the interpretation of the female identity. The identity portrayed by these women in this pseudo-reality/culture evokes the idea that all women must be skinny, curvy, wear scantily clad clothing, and act sexually forward and submissive in the presence of men as in the videos. Women in hip-hop are portrayed, in [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] videos, as either silent, willing strippers or complaining, troublesome meddlers. The characters that they play have such a limited role that they need to look a certain way immediately to fit their role in society. No longer do we feel that the body is a more or less disappointing given instead, the body is the outer expression of our self (Giddens 104). Although the images depicted in these videos may represent a pseudo-culture/reality young women today are taking this identity and interpreting it as a true reality, acting the same actions out in their everyday life. Hip-hop imagery screams to women that beauty is only skin deep and that they are here for no other reason than to please men sexually. Although both videos and photographs explicitly and directly show the actions and characteristics which define women in hip-hop, the most prominent form of portrayal, lyrics cannot simply be passed over. Rhetoric, language is never simply a form of expression it is a functional tool that is manipulated to achieve desired ends. Once again hip-hop brings another form, lyrics to contribute to producing the identity of what it means to be a woman in this hip-hop culture through written text. A beat, a picture, even a video, like Lil Waynes can show certain ideals through imagery, but do not have a definitive meaning without lyrics. Lyrics are what make these graphic, shameful female stereotypes definitive. The words used in hip-hop are highly rhetorical and greatly define who a rapper/hip-hop artist is. According to Read it in Brail, Itll Still be Funky by ______ its states that Rap lyrics are a critical part of a rappers identity, strongly suggesting the importance of authorship and individuality in rap music (_____95). A concrete example of these rhetorical degraging lyrics is expressed through Three 6 Mafias song, Slob on my Knob here, Slob on my nob Like corn on the cob Check in with me. And do your job Lay on the bed And give me head Dont have to ask Dont have to beg Juicy is my name Sex is my game Lets call the boys Lets run a train Squeeze on my nuts Lick on my butt The natural curly hair Please dont touch First find a mate Second find a place Third find a bag to hide the whole face Real name Grover I said Ben over (Three 6 Mafia, Slob on my Knob). From the lyrics of this song one can see the vulgar language that has become associated with women in this culture. Whoever made up the saying Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, was obviously not around at the time hip-hop was produced because these words are not only hurting individuals in a verbal sense, but physical sense as well. When did so many young women, especially those from the middle and upper middle-classes begin to find pleasure in being called Bitches and Hoes instead of slapping the person referring to them in that degrading manner? Music of the past never conveyed the message that hip-hop does today; the lyrics have drastically changed and have brought the culture of our time to change with it. In the 1950s Elvis became a revolutionary, being crowned The King of Rock Roll, his hip shaking beats and smooth love lyrics helped him to capture the hearts of many especially the women. Today those smooth love lyrics have turned into words of hate, violence, sex, and drugs followed by base pounding, head rattling beats. Im sure that Elvis didnt capture the hearts of millions of women by calling them bitches, hos or whores like many of the hip-hop songs of today do. The lyrics of today have moved from the compassionate lyrics of artists such as Elvis, Tony Benet, Stevie Wonder, and Boyz II Men, to degrading sexual lyrics of artist such as Nelly, 50 Cent, Tupac, NWA, and Dr. Dre. Analyzing lyrics such as these from one of Elvis famous songs Love me Tender here, it is almost impossible to not interpret and identify the compassionate and loving meaning of his words, Love me tender, love me sweet. Never let me go. You have made my life complete. And I love you so. Love me tender love me true. All my dreams fulfill. For, my darling I love you. And I always will (Elvis Presley, Love me Tender). Even within these first two versus it shows how much Elvis cares for the person he is talking about, saying things such as never let y ou go, You make my life complete, and I will always love you. You dont see that compassion in lyrics such as these from songs like Bitches Aint Shit, by Dr. Dre here, Bitches aint shit but hoes and tricks. Lick on deez nutz and suck the dick. Gets the fuck out after youre done. And I hops in my ride to make a quick run. I used to know a bitch named Eric Wright. We used to roll around and fuck the hoes at night. Comparing these there is no doubt that times have changed and that instead of expressing the loving nature as lyrics of the past have, they degraded women to bitches and hos. There are the lyrics, which heavily feature the terms bitch and ho as standard forms of reference for women (Brummet 252). Hip-hop has directly extended its threats specifically towards women using their lyrics to objectify them as objects of sexual pleasure, violence, and disrespect. Were telling people women are bitches and hos and sluts and not worthy of respect, she said. And thats exactly how socie ty is seeing us (http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/03/hip.hop/index.html). This young woman here understands the idea that these lyrics are actually talking about her and all the other women that listen to these hip-hop songs, not some made up person or just the girls in the videos, like other girls believe. Its funny when I hear women when these rappers are calling women; you know bitches and hoes say theyre not talking about me. I say yo! They are talking about you. If George Bush were to get on national TV and makes a speech and started calling black people niggers, would you be like, I dont know who George Bush is talking about, but he aint talking about me (Byron Hurts, Beyond Rhythm and Beats). A cultivation of rhetorical lyrics, videos, and images have brought hip-hop to become one of the most influentially, culturally evolving forms of music/media and along the way has produced gender roles which have degraded our sociological views of women.

Taekwondo :: essays research papers

Do you know what Taekwondo is? Do you know how Taekwondo benefits the practitioner? Do you know Taekwondo is also considered a sport and is an event in many major competitions? When these questions are asked, the majority of the people who answer do not know the correct answers or the complete answer. Although many people do not know much about Taekwondo, there are hundreds of thousands of people worldwide getting involved. Taekwondo is the world's fastest growing martial art, with currently over fifty million practitioners and growing everyday. The majority of the practitioners who get involved do so to learn self-defense. Not only do the practitioners learn self-defense, but they also learn many helpful things and receive the benefits that Taekwondo has to offer. Also, Taekwondo has become a sporting event in many major sporting competitions. But mainly, Taekwondo provides people with sporting and self-defending ability and gives that person an edge in daily life, with its merits a s a martial art sport of self-discipline.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, Taekwondo teaches the practitioner self-defense, which can be used for a lifetime. Many of the self-defense techniques taught stimulate many real life situations so the person would know what to do when caught in a similar situation. Also, because not everything can be taught for all situations that arise, many basic techniques, rules, methods, and concepts are taught and emphasized. On the other hand, self-defense practice includes doing everyday drills, forms, and sparring. Self-defense training does not always have to be 100 percent self-defense training. Although, you really do not get instruction on self-defense when doing drills, forms, or sparring, those practices are just another way of learning self-defense and improving your skill of self-defense. Basically, all the instruction concepts, techniques, and rules of Taekwondo teach a person self defense in one way or another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second of all, Taekwondo is classified as a sport along as being a martial art. Because Taekwondo is classified as a sport, Taekwondo is sometimes referred to as a martial art sport. There are many reasons why Taekwondo has become a sport. A few reasons are because the popularity that Taekwondo has received is overwhelming, the organized athletic competition (similar to boxing), and the push to consider Taekwondo as a sporting event by many practitioners, masters, instructors, and officials of organizations worldwide. Many athletic competitions are starting to or already have included Taekwondo as an official event.

Early Childhood Education Compare & Contrast Paper Essay

As early childhood educators we all have our own philosophies and approaches to education. There are several types of early childhood programs. Each program has its own philosophies, methods, and program goals. Every early childhood educator is unique making each early childhood program experience special. Consistently, early childhood programs offer educational foundations that prepare young students for their educational futures. In this paper I will focus on comparing and contrasting two programs that stood out to me, Ridgeline Montessori and the Whitaker Head Start. When examining early childhood programs there are many similarities and differences across the board. After observing both programs, I noticed that both schools have benefited from tailoring the services and programs provided to their communities. It helps early childhood programs become more effective at reaching their students. These two programs focus on providing services to two different communities of families, however, they both have the same goals in preparing students for formal schooling. The environment of each of these two programs differs in many ways. Due to the different methods, curriculum, level of family involvement, resources, funding, and teacher’s available programs can differ in structure. Some programs are built on models based upon psychological theories and principals, while others are more focused on students’ interests and individual needs. Ridgeline Montessori school is a free public charter school that is offered to any students in the community, through a lottery system. Students who don’t initially get in are placed on a wait list in the order in which they applied. Read Also:  Compare and Contrast Essay Topics for Elementary Students Even though Ridgeline is a public charter school, many low-income families may not be aware of the opportunity or have the resources to send their children there. Head Start on the other hand is a national federally funded program, in which enrollment is based on family income. Head Start also has a wait list and there are many families who have to wait to get into the program. The difference in program eligibility creates a difference in the types of families and children that enter these programs. Most students enrolled at Ridgeline come from middle class families, where they do not have to worry about their basic needs being met. This allows these students families to be more involved helping channel their energy and attention towards learning. Head Start children, on the other hand, usually come from low-income families, in which meeting their basic needs can be an everyday challenge. The differences in these two home environments play an intricate role in the set up and implementation of each program. The Head Start program focuses not only on educating young children, but also making sure that they’re socially, emotionally, and physically healthy. Head Start programs provide families with services that ensure students are receiving adequate nutrition, proper care, and that there basic needs are being met. Ridgeline Montessori offered free and reduced lunches at one time, however, due to the lack of need for this service, the program was cut. Students’ at Ridgeline seem to have less of a need for services and therefore, more focus is put forth on education and learning. Ridgeline Montessori uses the Montessori method, which was developed by Maria Montessori. The Montessori method views children as being unique individuals in which each child has their own interests and learning potential. The classroom and materials are prepared in advance, with manipulatives set up all around the classroom. At first glance the classroom looked similar to the classrooms I previously observed, however, with further examination I noticed many differences. One of the most noticeable differences I detected upon walking into the Montessori classroom was the noise level. The classroom seemed rather quiet considering the number of students. The layout of the classroom is much different. Instead of having several different designated centers the whole classroom is a center for exploration and learning. Materials and manipulatives are spread along the outside walls of the classroom and children are free to choose which type of materials they would like to work with during independent work time. You do not notice any individual desks and chairs set up in the classroom, rather a few tables and chairs grouped together. The furniture is all child size and you do not see any adult sized furniture throughout the classroom. Students spend most of their time working on the floor where they have their own individual carpets. They put them down to outline their personal workspace. Instead of there being various toys and games spread through out the classroom, there are specific sensory materials and manipulatives that are self correcting and purposeful to student’s learning. On the walls students’ work fill spaces throughout the classroom, similar to the walls of a Head Start classroom. Montessori classrooms are made up of mixed grades and ages, something that is not typical of traditional classrooms. The Head Start program I visited uses a more traditional comprehensive method. Students are all close to the same age. Since the program is federally funded there is much emphasis put on performance standards and teaching objectives. The classrooms at Head Start are a center based classroom with different areas for pretend play, math manipulatives, language/ reading/ writing area/ art exploration, blocks and large motor, water play, sand table etc. There is a group area for circle time activities and line time. The classroom time normally starts out with calendar work or story time. Children then tell the teacher what center or â€Å"key experience† they will start on and they choose work. Students are free to move from center to center as they choose as long as they stay somewhat involved in something and are not bothering others. Students don’t have to go to any center they are not interested in although a teacher may suggest an interesting activity to a child who has stuck to the blocks for a few days. Classrooms tend to be lively with a hum of activity. Materials are often brightly colored and made to imitate real life materials. There are specific skills and concepts that each center is aimed to teach students. Throughout the classroom there are individual desks and chairs for students to sit at or large cooperative tables to work at. Students also have a specific spot on the large rug where story time and group time takes place. In the Head Start classroom the teacher’s role is well defined, the teacher is responsible for implementing and directing the classroom activities. Head Start teachers are required to have at least a two-year degree and must complete a certain amount of educational training hours. Teachers’ are also expected to complete home visits, where they visit their student’s homes. Teachers direct the classroom activities and dictate what materials will be covered throughout the day; however, students do have periods of time where they get to decide what they want to work on. Student’s interests shape the Montessori teachers’ role in the classroom. Teachers are expected to allow the individual interests of the students to shape the activities of the day. The teacher is responsible for preparing the classroom environment that is educationally interesting and safe. The teacher acts as a guide, initially introducing a new concept to a student. Then the teacher will observe and analyze as the student works with the new concept, until mastering it. Montessori teachers go through special training to become a certified Montessori teacher. Teachers are required to maintain regular communications with the parents and guardians of students. Teachers are also expected to keep good documentation of the students’ growth and progress. Both Head Start and Ridgeline strive to develop a high level of family and community involvement. Head Start requires home visits and parenting classes for some families. The program is set up, to not only help the child get on track and ready for formal schooling, but also help the parents and guardians be prepared for the process as well. Ridgeline requires that parents and guardians volunteer or help out in the classroom at least 40 hours a year. Both programs put great emphasis on family involvement. Since Ridgeline is a Montessori school the curriculum is already set up. It is shaped by a sequence of three broad phases. These phases include: exercises for practical life, sensory education and language activities. The rate at which the students move through the areas of curriculum is directly related to the student’s mastery of each sequenced level. There is also a great importance put on learning through the senses and all materials and manipulatives are meant to be aesthetically appealing. The Montessori method uses five basic principles as the foundation for the program: respect for the child, auto-corrections, prepared environments, sensitive periods, and absorbent mind. These five principles are the guides for all Montessori programs. The Head Start curriculum is quit different from the Montessori curriculum. Head Start uses a traditional high/scope curriculum which is emergent, meaning it is not planned in advance. In the same way that student’s interests shape the Montessori curriculum, students’ help to determine the curriculum in a Head Start program. Plan-do-review is the teaching-learning cycle that is implemented throughout Head Start programs. In the Plan-do-review teachers and students plan out what they are going to do, do it, and then review the outcome with the classroom community. Since Head Start is federally funded the curriculum must meet national and state standards. The Whitaker Head Start I observed used routine and structure to help guide students throughout the curriculum and the day. The predictability of the day’s routine help student’s to know what is next in the day. Montessori schools work off a philosophy of respect for student’s abilities and interests. The main idea is to allow children to explore, grow and develop at their own pace. Head Start works off of a philosophy which promotes equality in social and emotional growth. The main idea is to provide students and families with the tools and resources to help prepare young children for formal schooling. Both programs are critical and beneficial to the students and families they serve.

Environmental Ethics Essay

Environmental ethics falls under the discipline of environmental philosophy that studies how human beings relate to their natural environment. This is a wide study that involves a variety of other disciplines such as those that study human relationships, economics, the earth’s structure and biology especially ecology. Human beings being the most superior of all the living things on earth have an ethical obligation to the environment concerning the earth, air, water, other organisms and the human population, both the present and the future generation. Environmental ethics brigs up a variety of issues concerning what, when, how and why we should consider this area of study. Aspects arising include the environment’s moral value, how sustainable are the policies on environmental protection, and how do these apply to the developing nations, and what policies should be put in place to ensure that the environment is safe guarded for the future generation, among others. Many philosophers through the years have studied this topic, but it only came to be recognized as an independent discipline in 1970, due to awareness of effects of increasing human knowledge on the environment. Growing economics and populations, new technologies and development of industries all have had various adverse effects on nature, although aimed at improving life. The works of Rachael Carson, Paul Ehrlich, Aldo Leopold, among others brought about ethical concerns about the environment. Under environmental ethics, human beings have a duty towards the environment, on protection and conservation as well as having a quality life for themselves. In this context, contentious issues arise as to why we should be concerned about the environment. Should it be for us, the living human beings, the future generation, or for the environment itself regardless of our own benefits? Different personalities offer different answers to this question; hence different views have come up on environmental ethics. The issues of environmental ethics is of growing concern to the government and other institution including United Nations which have come up with incentives to people to value and appreciate nature. Earth Day which is held annually (first held in 1970) continues to create awareness and sensitize people on the value of the environment and why it should be protected. The Moral Standing We cannot handle ethics without reference to moral philosophy, which is concerned with individual behaviors and conducts. The moral standing depends on what is considered ‘right’ or ‘good’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ by an individual or a society. For instance, different societies have different views on areas like land and animal ownership, rights of the future generation, and many more. Personal conduct with respect to environmental ethics defines how people should interact with nature, regarding its exploitation and conservation. The moral standing of the ethical issues on environment are wholly placed on human beings as they are the only living things who can reason and decide on moral issues. Many of the environmental concerns revolve around man and how these affect him, thus the responsibility of environmental ethics should be solely man’s. Responsibility to the environment implies that we are aware of this task, we are able to do it, we are at liberty to do it or not, and carrying out of the task has an effect to others existing in the environment. This means that we know the damage we can cause to the environment, the effects of this damage and the prevention or solutions to these problems. This gives us a moral significance in environmental ethics, and gives us a central role. The moral standing therefore means we have the moral obligation towards nature and the capability to carry out this responsibility. When we consider environmental ethics, then, look at issues such as: †¢ Should we care about nature for itself while it’s people who really â€Å"matter†? That is if not for human beings benefit; why else should we conserve the environment? And if depleting the natural resources is necessary for life improvement, why not exhaust it? †¢ Is the loss of biodiversity, destruction of scenic geographical features for human benefit such as in agriculture so harmful to man? Where is the need to conserve a species while it has no chance of survival in the near future due to changes in earth’s patterns? †¢ Is it right for a person to own land, it being a natural resource among others, or is it morally wrong? Is it fair that 5% of the human population use 30% of natural resources, while in other less countries the population suffers due to lack of the basic resources such as food and clean water? Do these resources exist for the benefit of a few or should they be left free for use by all? †¢ Is it possible for human beings to improve nature, seeing how man seems to have no control over nature when it comes to events such as natural calamities? †¢ Do recent developments in technology relieve us of our duty of protecting the environment? For instance, does biotechnology with potential to create new species, or bring back an extinct species, relieve us of the duty to conserve the biodiversity? Or alternative sources of fuel give us a right to deplete the natural fuel reserve? †¢ Should we let nature take its course as it always has or try and preserve it without assurance that this is of any benefit, or that this only hinders the course of nature? Is there any way that nature can take care of itself without our hand, like self renewal? The main issue surrounding environmental ethics today is the activist movements on environmental protection that focus people on the wrong issues, that is the moral standing is more emotional than factual or logical. The following are essential in discussing environmental ethics and policies. Western Religion and Culture It has been viewed by some philosophers that the Western religion has adversely affected the environment as it teaches that human beings have dominion over the earth and subdue it. Others view this as a command to take care of nature as we have been left in charge. The command given in the bible to the first man â€Å"be fruitful and fill the earth† (Genesis 1:28, Holy Bible KJV) raises the question of population control, is it ethical for the sake of the environment or is it a direct defiance of God’s command? To address this sensitive topic, religion should be understood in context. At the time of the command there was only one man on earth, so he was required to ‘fill’ it, but now the earth is already ‘filled’. Is it logical to still apply the very same principles now as they did then? The culture of a people defines how they relate to and use the environment. Many of the historic events that shape the western culture have had a huge impact on the environment. Events such as the industrial revolution, technological advances and the modern culture have affected the environment. Culture can easily adapt to changing environments, as well as cause permanent change to different environments. The environment is very wide and continuous, while the environment defines cultural practices. Therefore it is ethical to put environment before culture, and change current lifestyles towards more nature friendly practices. The future generation Most of the damage to the environment is more likely to affect the future human population. This therefore calls on the currently living humans to consider the rights of those who are not yet born. We might not know exactly what that generation will require but we are well aware of the basic needs of living beings; food shelter and basic health. Based on these we can have a model of what the environment should offer the future human beings. Therefore it is our moral obligation to them to utilize nature as much as we need to but ensure that we do not deny them the enjoyment of the same. Animals Other animals should be considered when addressing environmental ethics, since they are sentient beings, that is are capable of feeling. Although animals come after humans, they have rights and should be considered according to what they are interested in, such as feeding, living in their natural habitat, and allowed their existence. Controversy about animal rights arises in what animals exactly should we grant rights to. For instance, are insects or other smaller animals in this category? Is it right to use animals for laboratory research for medical and other studies to better our lives? The simple answer to this question is that unless it is extremely necessary, animals should not be put at risk or in adverse conditions. The harm to animals should be justified and be limited to a certain allowable level. Ecofeminism Women are seen to be closer and more in touch with nature; this is claimed by feminists concerned with the environment (Cochrane, 2007). This is because of their ability to give life, and the fact that the earth is considered female (Shiva, 1993). Thus this gives them a better understanding of nature and how to coexist in harmony. Val Plumwood, an ecofeminist believe, that feminism should go hand in hand with environmentalism as both women and the environment are under the same oppression. Another feminist argues that the problem is in trying to justify this kind of oppression thus allowing such subordination. When considering environmental ethics and policies, the domination over women and nature is a critical issue that requires attention. Economics and Ecology Economics and ecology usually appear as counter forces. Economy involves trying to allocate the limited resources while ecology looks out to protect these resources. The ever-growing human population has placed great pressure on nature and thus their distribution is highly competitive. Market forces have added more pressure to natural resources and their exploitation. Rapid growth of industries has contributed to environmental deterioration. The cost-benefit considers questions like; if nuclear power makes electricity cheaper, should this field be ventured? What is the cost of preserving a forest compared to the cost of exporting timber? These raise challenges when setting up policies on the environment because of the question of cost versus the benefit of environmental ethics. Technology Technology has had a huge impact on human life as well as on the environment. The effects of technology are both beneficial and adverse. The medical, agricultural, communication and energy industries rely heavily on technology to better human life. Technology has the power to destroy nature as well as replenish it. The technological advances that are most potentially harmful include nuclear technology that is able to annihilate nature and biotechnology, which has the potential to alter the natural species boundaries. Since all technologies come with potential risks along with their benefits, ethical consideration must be made with regards to the environment. Conclusion In studying environmental ethics, the first thing is to ask the question ‘what should be done about the current environmental situation and how should it be done? ’ The other consideration is the importance of individual natural resources and how much effort and cost we should dedicate to protecting such. This should be based on facts and not feelings, like and dislikes. It is important that policies be based on an integrated system that has in mind all the components of nature, as well as involvement of the government, institutions and other countries. The following should be noted when considering environmental ethics: †¢ The environment is not a resource just for us but for those we share it with (animals, plants and microorganisms) and for the future inhabitants of the planet. †¢ Nature is continuous with continuous flow of energy, but with rapid exhaustion, the environment is not able to renew itself. †¢ Some of the artificially made substances are capable of spreading all over the earth out of our control and nature has no way getting rid of them, for example nuclear waste, fluorocarbons, DDT, GMOs, etc. †¢ Our policies on environment affect the whole world since everything in nature spreads. We should be sensitive to the needs of other countries especially the less developed when considering environmental ethics It has to be demonstrated clearly that the policies we put in place concerning the environment have defined benefits for all concerned otherwise the area of environmental ethics will always be viewed with sharp critism. The benefits of conserving the environment should be clearly elucidated and put out for all interested stakeholders. Reference: Conchrane, A.Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Environmental ethics, (London School of economics and Political Science, 2007). Lotter, Don, A History of Western Culture’s relationship with Environment, (UC Davis Experimental College, 1990) Sutton, Eugene, An introduction to Cultural Ecology (Berg, 2004) Leefers, Castillo, Ecology and Society: Bridging the gap between Economics and Ecology, (Michigan State University, 1998) Beckman, Ted, Martin Heidegger: Environmental Ethics, (Claremont, 2002) Vandeveer, D and C Pierce, The environmental ethics and policy book: 3rd Edition. (Belmont, 1994)