ETHICS OF ANIMAL COLLECTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ETHICS OF ANIMAL COLLECTION - Essay Example 25) disagrees with this concept that confining animals in a zoo is not beneficial to the society. He denotes that keeping animals in a zoo helps to protect animal species that are in danger of extinction (Parish and Taylor, 2010, p. 31). Michael (2000, p.33) denotes that keeping animals in a zoo is beneficial because it will help to educate the public on a variety of animals, and their various characteristics. Blanchard (2011, p. 19) and Michael (2000, p. 35) denotes that the main ethical reason for the existence of Zoos is for the purpose of conserving wild animals. In fact, Parish and Taylor (2010, p. 22) denotes that Zoos have changed their policies over the last decade in order to focus on animal preservation. To achieve this objective, Parish and Taylor (2010, p. 26) denotes that Zoos have embarked on creation of breeding programs that are meant to replace the existing extinct and endangered animal species. Michael (2000, p. 39) further denotes that Zoos have initiated programs that are aimed on educating the public on the importance of conserving these animals, and their benefits to the eco-system. Twine (2010, p. 46) further believes that Zoos have initiated programs whose main aim is to raise money for purposes of conserving and preserving the animals under their protection.

Star Trek Technology We Use Everyday Essay Example for Free

Star Trek Technology We Use Everyday Essay Star Trek technology has become reality that we use in our daily lives. There are many different forms of technology fields that have been shown in Star Trek as a first that have become a reality rather than a Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) fantasy. Star Trek technology came from the great imaginative minds of writers and designers with little to no knowledge of science in the original series. It wasnt until the second series that they started to incorporate actual scientific methods and terms. Advancements in science have come about through the influence of creative people thinking of the future. This technology has been instrumental in how we conduct our lives. Contemporary technology has been influenced by Star Trek in many ways. Phones were around for many years before Star Trek; however, they were tied down to the house or office by wires and the bulkiness of the devices. No one could possibly make a phone call on the go, yet they could by using a phone booth. However, using a phone booth would not be of much use since it couldnt be carried around. One of the greatest inventors of this decade, Dr. Martin Cooper, decided to come up with a new form of communicating with the rest of the world. Dr. Martin Cooper found himself tripping over his phone cord when he saw Star Trek appear on the TV playing in the background. Cooper watched with envy as Captain Kirk calmly conversed while walking across an alien landscape. (Laytner, 2011) While Cooper watched Captain Kirk with his communicator, he was bewildered â€Å"And, suddenly theres Captain Kirk talking on his communicator,† remembers Cooper. â€Å"Talking with no dialing!† (Handel, 2005) With the idea set in his mind, he set out to make it a reali ty. In 1973, Martian Cooper, While working for Motorola, he [Cooper] created the first personal cell phone, citing Captain Kirks communicator on Star Trek as an inspiration. His first call on the 28-oz. (800 g) cordless cell phone — dubbed the brick — was to his rival at Bell Labs Research. (Grossman, 2007) However, this big brick of a phone didnt match the likeness of the communicator that Captain Kirk used, so in 1996, Motorola made the first flip phone named StarTAC. (Kessler, 09-0) These clamshell phones were highly sought after and held the cell phone design for many years until touch screen phones recently became more popular. Many Star Trek fans and even older more stubborn non-techies still try to keep the flip phone for the nostalgia of Star Trek and to keep pocket dialing to a minimum. In 1974, Ed Roberts created the Altair 8800, the first minicomputer that came in kits for consumers to put together, yet it wasnt a friendly user system since software wasnt invented yet. The Altair 8800 was named after a space system from the Star Trek series and was the basis for the basic computer language that Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, and Gordon Moore of Intel used to create new and more user friendly computers. This basic language that Ed Roberts created was inspired by Star Trek (Handel, 2005). When computers became a household name and personal were computers available to the general public, a new development occurred that would be called a laptop. Adam Osborne of Osborne Computer Corporation, the father of portable computers, introduced the first commercially available portable computer with software to run it, named Osborne 1 in 1981 (Scott, n.d.). In 1968, Alan Kay of Xerox made a concept and prototype of a portable information manipulator, named Dynabook, a different form of a portable computer that wasn’t user friendly or available to the general public (Maxwell, 2006). Without software, the Dynabook was hard to understand and use, so the Osborne 1 with its software and graphic interface to allow users to see what they were doing made it a true portable computer. Portable computers got an even newer facelift in 1993 when Robert Haitani developed the Palm Pilot, a first in personal data assistant (PDA) and a new form of portable computers. Robert Haitani, the designer of the Palm Pilot, said his first sketches were influenced by the Enterprise bridge panels and produced it. A few years later there was a combination of cell phones and PDAs since they shared hardware which resembled to the communicator in Star Trek. You could stand there and talk into it like Captain Kirk (Laytner, 2011). The Palm Pilot spanned PDAs which transformed into the current popular trend of tablets and smart phones. All the different technologies incorporated into the tablet and the smart phone can be traced back to their Star Trek influenced roots. Advancements in technology and science have been influenced by many sources. Star Trek played a large role in evolution of the modern technology by influencing many inventors. Even though the original series of Star Trek was written and designed with little to no knowledge of the technological advancements of the times, Gene Rodenberry wrote many views of how life would be with various forms of technology that weren’t even a reality, yet. Works Cited Grossman, Lev. (2007). Best inventions of 2007. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1677708_1677825,00.html. (Grossman, 2007) Time listed the best inventions and inventors of the 2007, and they had Martin Cooper listed for creating the first mobile telephone that wasnt mounted in a car in 1973. Laytner, Lance. (2011). Edit international. Retrieved from http://www.editinternational.com/read.php?id=4810edf3a83f8 (Laytner, 2011) Talks about the documentary How William Shatner Changed The World and the many inventions of many inventors help shaped the world now because they were influenced by Star Trek to reach for the future. Maxwell, John (2006) Tracing the Dynabook: A Study of Technocultural Transformations http://thinkubator.ccsp.sfu.ca/Dynabook/Maxwell-DynabookFinal.pdf (Maxwell, 2006) This thesis paper was great detail on Alan Kay, who made a from of portable computer that manipulated information, and his accomplishments and how the Dynabook became what it did. Handel, Alan. (Writer) (2005). How William Shatner Changed The World [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u304yVYoCJs

Pollution and Plunging Male Fertility :: Pollution Environment Environmental

Pollution and Plunging Male Fertility Several reliable studies have confirmed that fertility among men has decreased as a result of pollution. The average male ejaculation is about three milliliters. This amount of semen can contain between 20 million to 300 million sperm per milliliter semen. To determine the approximate number of sperm per milliliter of semen, technicians must place a drop of semen on a slide and, while looking through a microscope, they count the sperm within a certain sector. Men that have sperm counts below 20 million per milliliter are said to have reduced fertility and those whose counts fall below 5 million are considered sterile. In 1974, C. M. Kinloch-Nelson and Raymond G. Bunge at the University of Iowa, studied the semen quality of men who had fathered two or more children and were about to undergo vasectomies. Of the 386 fertile men studied, 7% of them had sperm concentrations above 100 million per millimeter and the average concentration was 48 million. When they compared their findings to similar studies done in the thirties, they found that sperm counts had been decreasing for 50 years. "They discovered that among healthy adult males who were not being treated for infertility, the average sperm count had declined by about 40 percent, from 120 million sperm cells per milliliter of semen to about 70 million" (Big Drop 36). In 1979, a professor at Florida State University, upon analyzing student semen samples discovered surprisingly low sperm counts and alarmingly high levels of toxic chemicals (including DDT and PLB's). "He suggested that environmental pollution might be causing the sperm decline" (Big Drop 36). The results of his findings triggered studies all over the world, showing counts in the range from 55 to 75 million and others showing numbers well above 100 million. Men exposed to high levels of toxic chemicals on the job were found to have semen containing pollutants. "Most scientists held to the view that changes in counting techniques were responsible for the reported dip" and . . . "after a few headlines, the sperm crisis became yesterday's news" (Big Drop 36). In 1996, Niels E. Skakkebk, a Danish pediatric endocrinologist, began studying male infertility and growth disorders among children . He had been noticing numerous boys with testicles that had not descended and malformed genitals. A study done in 1984 examining 2,000 Danish school boys showed that 7% of them had one or both testicles still inside their bodies.

T.S. Eliots The Wasteland Essay -- Eliot Wasteland Essays

T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland Traditionally, authors begin their compositions at the beginning and then proceed to an end, creating a logical flow of information towards a conclusion. T.S. Eliot threw most traditional form out the window as he composed The Waste Land. The voice changes, the structure varies, his allusions are elusive, and the first section of the poem is entitled â€Å"The Burial of The Dead.† This of course does not speak to a beginning, but to the conclusion of what could be one or many lives. Even before this heading, the epigraph evokes the feeling of something, (a something that the reader must work to comprehend) almost eternal, reflecting on a lifetime (an ‘almost eternal’ lifetime) with a melancholic eye. The reader of the poem begins with reflections on a life, a universal life, and with this understanding we can begin to unpack some of the images and make sense of the major themes of the poem. Without reading the entire poem, one can not hope to catch the significance of the initial passage or the epigraph; conversely, one might not comprehend the poem as a cohesive unit without its opening lines. Unlike Eliot, let us start with the genesis of the poem; ‘The Burial of The Dead.’ A major difficulty of this poem is its apparent lack of a single speaker. If there is an identifiable or specific speaker, they are contained within a few lines and then disappear into the background of the poem. The first seven lines are second or third person, singular or plural is not made clear. We are not given any perspective for these lines; therefore, the reader has nothing with which to orient himself. The vertigo continues once the language is taken into consideration. What do we make of his confl... ...events from ancient to present, coming together in one piece to produce a single feeling. Eliot sums up this feeling with the title. At once everything is connected through the poem and yet disconnected by time, place, and experience. I mentioned that the poem’s epigraph implied a reflection on an almost eternal life, The Sibyl (as well as Tiresias later in the poem) mirrors civilization’s history and the poem itself. Where Sibyl will not die she is in the process of decay, where history has not stopped it has broken down to a waste land. By bringing together these ‘broken images,’ Eliot constructed a summation of thousands of years of history. Many voices all speaking at once, alienated from one another by different times, different thoughts, and different experiences but connected through society’s common sub-consciousness and brought together by The Waste Land.

The Lost Symbol Chapter 93-97

CHAPTER 93 Franklin Square is located in the northwest quadrant of downtown Washington, bordered by K and Thirteenth streets. It is home to many historic buildings, most notably the Franklin School, from which Alexander Graham Bell sent the world's first wireless message in 1880. High above the square, a fast-moving UH-60 helicopter approached from the west, having completed its journey from the National Cathedral in a matter of minutes. Plenty of time, Sato thought, peering down at the square below. She knew it was critical that her men got into position undetected before their target arrived. He said he wouldn't be here for at least twenty minutes. On Sato's command, the pilot performed a â€Å"touch-hover† on the roof of the tallest building around–the renowned One Franklin Square–a towering and prestigious office building with two gold spires on top. The maneuver was illegal, of course, but the chopper was there only a few seconds, and its skids barely touched the gravel rooftop. Once everyone had jumped out, the pilot immediately lifted off, banking to the east, where he would climb to â€Å"silent altitude† and provide invisible support from above. Sato waited as her field team collected their things and prepared Bellamy for his task. The Architect was still looking dazed from having seen the file on Sato's secure laptop. As I said . . . an issue of national security. Bellamy had quickly understood Sato's meaning and was now fully cooperative. â€Å"All set, ma'am,† Agent Simkins said. On Sato's command, the agents ushered Bellamy across the rooftop and disappeared down a stairwell, heading for ground level to take up their positions. Sato walked to the edge of the building and gazed down. The rectangular wooded park below filled the entire block. Plenty of cover. Sato's team fully understood the importance of making an undetected intercept. If their target sensed a presence here and decided just to slip away . . . the director didn't even want to think about it. The wind up here was gusty and cold. Sato wrapped her arms around herself, and planted her feet firmly to avoid getting blown over the edge. From this high vantage point, Franklin Square looked smaller than she recalled, with fewer buildings. She wondered which building was Eight Franklin Square. This was information she had requested from her analyst Nola, from whom she expected word at any moment. Bellamy and the agents now appeared, looking like ants fanning out into the darkness of the wooded area. Simkins positioned Bellamy in a clearing near the center of the deserted park. Then Simkins and his team melted into the natural cover, disappearing from view. Within seconds, Bellamy was alone, pacing and shivering in the light of a streetlamp near the center of the park. Sato felt no pity. She lit a cigarette and took a long drag, savoring the warmth as it permeated her lungs. Satisfied that everything below was in order, she stepped back from the edge to await her two phone calls–one from her analyst Nola and one from Agent Hartmann, whom she had sent to Kalorama Heights. CHAPTER 94 Slow down! Langdon gripped the backseat of the Escalade as it flew around a corner, threatening to tip up on two tires. CIA agent Hartmann was either eager to show off his driving skills to Katherine, or he had orders to get to Peter Solomon before Solomon recuperated enough to say anything he shouldn't say to the local authorities. The high-speed game of beat-the-red-light on Embassy Row had been worrisome enough, but now they were racing through the winding residential neighborhood of Kalorama Heights. Katherine shouted directions as they went, having been to this man's house earlier that afternoon. With every turn, the leather bag at Langdon's feet rocked back and forth, and Langdon could hear the clank of the capstone, which had clearly been jarred from the top of the pyramid and was now bouncing around in the bottom of his bag. Fearing it might get damaged, he fished around inside until he found it. It was still warm, but the glowing text had now faded and disappeared, returning to its original engraving: The secret hides within The Order. As Langdon was about to place the capstone in a side pocket, he noticed its elegant surface was covered with tiny white gobs of something. Puzzled, he tried to wipe them off, but they were stuck on and hard to the touch . . . like plastic. What in the world? He could now see that the surface of the stone pyramid itself was also covered with the little white dots. Langdon used his fingernail and picked one off, rolling it between his fingers. â€Å"Wax?† he blurted. Katherine glanced over her shoulder. â€Å"What?† â€Å"There are bits of wax all over the pyramid and capstone. I don't understand it. Where could that possibly have come from?† â€Å"Something in your bag, maybe?† â€Å"I don't think so.† As they rounded a corner, Katherine pointed through the windshield and turned to Agent Hartmann. â€Å"That's it! We're here.† Langdon glanced up and saw the spinning lights of a security vehicle parked in a driveway up ahead. The driveway gate was pulled aside and the agent gunned the SUV inside the compound. The house was a spectacular mansion. Every light inside was ablaze, and the front door was wide open. A half-dozen vehicles were parked haphazardly in the driveway and on the lawn, apparently having arrived in a hurry. Some of the cars were still running and had their headlights shining, most on the house, but one askew, practically blinding them as they drove in. Agent Hartmann skidded to a stop on the lawn beside a white sedan with a brightly colored decal: PREFERRED SECURITY. The spinning lights and the high beams in their face made it hard to see. Katherine immediately jumped out and raced for the house. Langdon heaved his bag onto his shoulder without taking the time to zip it up. He followed Katherine at a jog across the lawn toward the open front door. The sounds of voices echoed within. Behind Langdon, the SUV chirped as Agent Hartmann locked the vehicle and hurried after them. Katherine bounded up the porch stairs, through the main door, and disappeared into the entryway. Langdon crossed the threshold behind her and could see Katherine was already moving across the foyer and down the main hallway toward the sound of voices. Beyond her, visible at the end of the hall, was a dining-room table where a woman in a security uniform was sitting with her back to them. â€Å"Officer!† Katherine shouted as she ran. â€Å"Where is Peter Solomon?† Langdon rushed after her, but as he did so, an unexpected movement caught his eye. To his left, through the living-room window, he could see the driveway gate was now swinging shut. Odd. Something else caught his eye . . . something that had been hidden from him by the glare of the spinning lights and the blinding high beams when they drove in. The half-dozen cars parked haphazardly in the driveway looked nothing like the police cars and emergency vehicles Langdon had imagined they were. A Mercedes? . . . a Hummer? . . . a Tesla Roadster? In that instant, Langdon also realized the voices he heard in the house were nothing but a television blaring in the direction of the dining room. Wheeling in slow motion, Langdon shouted down the hallway. â€Å"Katherine, wait!† But as he turned, he could see that Katherine Solomon was no longer running. She was airborne. CHAPTER 95 Katherine Solomon knew she was falling . . . but she couldn't figure out why. She had been running down the hall toward the security guard in the dining room when suddenly her feet had become entangled in an invisible obstacle, and her entire body had lurched forward, sailing through the air. Now she was returning to earth . . . in this case, a hardwood floor. Katherine crashed down on her stomach, the wind driven violently from her lungs. Above her, a heavy coat tree teetered precariously and then toppled over, barely missing her on the floor. She raised her head, still gasping for breath, puzzled to see that the female security guard in the chair had not moved a muscle. Stranger still, the toppled coat tree appeared to have a thin wire attached to the bottom, which had been stretched across the hallway. Why in the world would someone . . . ? â€Å"Katherine!† Langdon was shouting to her, and as Katherine rolled onto her side and looked back at him, she felt her blood turn to ice. Robert! Behind you! She tried to scream, but she was still gasping for breath. All she could do was watch in terrifying slow motion as Langdon rushed down the hall to help her, completely unaware that behind him, Agent Hartmann was staggering across the threshold and clutching his throat. Blood sprayed through Hartmann's hands as he groped at the handle of a long screwdriver that protruded from his neck. As the agent pitched forward, his attacker came into full view. My God . . . no! Naked except for a strange undergarment that looked like a loincloth, the massive man had apparently been hiding in the foyer. His muscular body was covered from head to toe with strange tattoos. The front door was swinging closed, and he was rushing down the hall after Langdon. Agent Hartmann hit the floor just as the front door slammed shut. Langdon looked startled and whirled around, but the tattooed man was already on him, thrusting some kind of device into his back. There was a flash of light and a sharp electrical sizzle, and Katherine saw Langdon go rigid. Eyes frozen wide, Langdon lurched forward, collapsing down in a paralyzed heap. He fell hard on top of his leather bag, the pyramid tumbling out onto the floor. Without so much as a glance down at his victim, the tattooed man stepped over Langdon and headed directly for Katherine. She was already crawling backward into the dining room, where she collided with a chair. The female security guard, who had been propped in that chair, now wobbled and dropped to the floor in a heap beside her. The woman's lifeless expression was one of terror. Her mouth was stuffed with a rag. The enormous man had reached her before Katherine had time to react. He seized her by the shoulders with impossible strength. His face, no longer covered by makeup, was an utterly terrifying sight. His muscles flexed, and she felt herself being flipped over onto her stomach like a rag doll. A heavy knee ground into her back, and for a moment, she thought she would break in two. He grabbed her arms and pulled them backward. With her head now turned to one side and her cheek pressed into the carpet, Katherine could see Langdon, his body still jerking, facing away from her. Beyond that, Agent Hartmann lay motionless in the foyer. Cold metal pinched Katherine's wrists, and she realized she was being bound with wire. In terror, she tried to pull away, but doing so sent searing pain into her hands. â€Å"This wire will cut you if you move,† the man said, finishing with her wrists and moving down to her ankles with frightening efficiency. Katherine kicked at him, and he threw a powerful fist into the back of her right thigh, crippling her leg. Within seconds, her ankles were bound. â€Å"Robert!† she now managed to call out. Langdon was groaning on the floor in the hallway. He lay crumpled on his leather bag with the stone pyramid lying on its side near his head. Katherine realized the pyramid was her last hope. â€Å"We deciphered the pyramid!† she told her attacker. â€Å"I'll tell you everything!† â€Å"Yes, you will.† With that, he pulled the cloth from the dead woman's mouth and firmly stuffed it into Katherine's. It tasted like death. Robert Langdon's body was not his own. He lay, numb and immobile, his cheek pressed against the hardwood floor. He had heard enough about stun guns to know they crippled their victims by temporarily overloading the nervous system. Their action–something called electromuscular disruption–might as well have been a bolt of lightning. The excruciating jolt of pain seemed to penetrate every molecule of his body. Now, despite his mind's focused intention, his muscles refused to obey the command he was sending them. Get up! Facedown, paralyzed on the floor, Langdon was gulping shallow breaths, scarcely able to inhale. He had yet to lay eyes on the man who had attacked him, but he could see Agent Hartmann lying in an expanding pool of blood. Langdon had heard Katherine struggling and arguing, but moments ago her voice had become muffled, as if the man had stuffed something in her mouth. Get up, Robert! You've got to help her! Langdon's legs were tingling now, a fiery and painful recovery of feeling, but still they refused to cooperate. Move! His arms twitched as sensation started to come back, along with feeling in his face and neck. With great effort, he managed to rotate his head, dragging his cheek roughly across the hardwood floor as he turned his head to look down into the dining room. Langdon's sight line was impeded–by the stone pyramid, which had toppled out of his bag and was lying sideways on the floor, its base inches from his face. For an instant, Langdon didn't understand what he was looking at. The square of stone before him was obviously the base of the pyramid, and yet it looked somehow different. Very different. It was still square, and still stone . . . but it was no longer flat and smooth. The base of the pyramid was covered with engraved markings. How is this possible? He stared for several seconds, wondering if he was hallucinating. I looked at the base of this pyramid a dozen times . . . and there were no markings! Langdon now realized why. His breathing reflex kick-started, and he drew a sudden gasp of air, realizing that the Masonic Pyramid had secrets yet to share. I have witnessed another transformation. In a flash, Langdon understood the meaning of Galloway's last request. Tell Peter this: The Masonic Pyramid has always kept her secret . . . sincerely. The words had seemed strange at the time, but now Langdon understood that Dean Galloway was sending Peter a code. Ironically, this same code had been a plot twist in a mediocre thriller Langdon had read years ago. Sin-cere. Since the days of Michelangelo, sculptors had been hiding the flaws in their work by smearing hot wax into the cracks and then dabbing the wax with stone dust. The method was considered cheating, and therefore, any sculpture â€Å"without wax†Ã¢â‚¬â€œliterally sine cera–was considered a â€Å"sincere† piece of art. The phrase stuck. To this day we still sign our letters â€Å"sincerely† as a promise that we have written â€Å"without wax† and that our words are true. The engravings on the base of this pyramid had been concealed by the same method. When Katherine followed the capstone's directions and boiled the pyramid, the wax melted away, revealing the writing on the base. Galloway had run his hands over the pyramid in the sitting room, apparently feeling the markings exposed on the bottom. Now, if only for an instant, Langdon had forgotten all the danger he and Katherine faced. He stared at the incredible array of symbols on the base of the pyramid. He had no idea what they meant . . . or what they would ultimately reveal, but one thing was for certain. The Masonic Pyramid has secrets left to tell. Eight Franklin Square is not the final answer. Whether it was this adrenaline-filled revelation or simply the extra few seconds lying there, Langdon did not know, but he suddenly felt control returning to his body. Painfully, he swept an arm to one side, pushing the leather bag out of the way to clear his sight line into the dining room. To his horror, he saw that Katherine had been tied up, and a large rag had been stuffed deep into her mouth. Langdon flexed his muscles, trying to climb to his knees, but a moment later, he froze in utter disbelief. The dining-room doorway had just filled with a chilling sight–a human form unlike anything Langdon had ever seen. What in the name of God . . . ?! Langdon rolled, kicking with his legs, trying to back away, but the huge tattooed man grabbed him, flipping him onto his back and straddling his chest. He placed his knees on Langdon's biceps, pinning Langdon pain fully to the floor. The man's chest bore a rippling double-headed phoenix. His neck, face, and shaved head were covered with a dazzling array of unusually intricate symbols–sigils, Langdon knew–which were used in the rituals of dark ceremonial magic. Before Langdon could process anything more, the huge man clasped Langdon's ears between his palms, lifted his head up off the floor, and, with incredible force, smashed it back down onto the hardwood. Everything went black. CHAPTER 96 Mal'akh stood in his hallway and surveyed the carnage around him. His home looked like a battlefield. Robert Langdon lay unconscious at his feet. Katherine Solomon was bound and gagged on the dining-room floor. The corpse of a female security guard lay crumpled nearby, having toppled off the chair where she was propped. This female guard, eager to save her own life, had done exactly as Mal'akh commanded. With a knife to her throat, she had answered Mal'akh's cell phone and told the lie that had coaxed Langdon and Katherine to come racing out here. She had no partner, and Peter Solomon was certainly not okay. As soon as the woman had given her performance, Mal'akh had quietly strangled her. To complete the illusion that Mal'akh was not home, he had phoned Bellamy using the hands- free speaker in one of his cars. I'm on the road, he had told Bellamy and whoever else had been listening. Peter is in my trunk. In fact, Mal'akh was driving only between his garage and his front yard, where he had left several of his myriad cars parked askew with the headlights on and the engines running. The deception had worked perfectly. Almost. The only wrinkle was the bloody black-clad heap in the foyer with a screwdriver protruding from his neck. Mal'akh searched the corpse and had to chuckle when he found a high-tech transceiver and cell phone with a CIA logo. It seems even they are aware of my power. He removed the batteries and crushed both devices with a heavy bronze doorstop. Mal'akh knew he had to move quickly now, especially if the CIA was involved. He strode back over to Langdon. The professor was out cold and would be for a while. Mal'akh's eyes moved with trepidation now to the stone pyramid on the floor beside the professor's open bag. His breath caught, and his heart pounded. I have waited for years . . . His hands trembled slightly as he reached down and picked up the Masonic Pyramid. As he ran his fingers slowly across the engravings, he felt awed by their promise. Before he became too entranced, he put the pyramid back in Langdon's bag with the capstone and zipped it up. I will assemble the pyramid soon . . . in a much safer location. He threw Langdon's bag over his shoulder and then tried to hoist Langdon himself, but the professor's toned physique weighed much more than anticipated. Mal'akh settled on grabbing him beneath the armpits and dragging him across the floor. He's not going to like where he ends up, Mal'akh thought. As he dragged Langdon off, the television in the kitchen blared. The sound of voices from the TV had been part of the deception, and Mal'akh had yet to turn it off. The station was now broadcasting a televangelist leading his congregation in the Lord's Prayer. Mal'akh wondered if any of his hypnotized viewers had any idea where this prayer really came from. † . . . On earth as it is in heaven . . .† the group intoned. Yes, Mal'akh thought. As above, so below. † . . . And lead us not into temptation . . .† Help us master the weakness of our flesh. † . . . Deliver us from evil . . .† they all beseeched. Mal'akh smiled. That could be difficult. The darkness is growing. Even so, he had to give them credit for trying. Humans who spoke to invisible forces and requested help were a dying breed in this modern world. Mal'akh was dragging Langdon across the living room when the congregation declared, â€Å"Amen!† Amon, Mal'akh corrected. Egypt is the cradle of your religion. The god Amon was the prototype for Zeus . . . for Jupiter . . . and for every modern face of God. To this day, every religion on earth shouted out a variation of his name. Amen! Amin! Aum! The televangelist began quoting verses from the Bible describing hierarchies of angels, demons, and spirits that ruled in heaven and hell. â€Å"Protect your souls from evil forces!† he warned them. â€Å"Lift your hearts in prayer! God and his angels will hear you!† He's right, Mal'akh knew. But so will the demons. Mal'akh had learned long ago that through proper application of the Art, a practitioner could open a portal to the spiritual realm. The invisible forces that existed there, much like man himself, came in many forms, both good and evil. Those of Light healed, protected, and sought to bring order to the universe. Those of Dark functioned oppositely . . . bringing destruction and chaos. If properly summoned, the invisible forces could be persuaded to do a practitioner's bidding on earth . . . thus instilling him with seemingly supernatural power. In exchange for helping the summoner, these forces required offerings–prayers and praise for those of Light . . . and the spilling of blood for those of Dark. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the power that is transferred. Mal'akh had begun his practice with the blood of inconsequential animals. Over time, however, his choices for sacrifice had become more bold. Tonight, I take the final step. â€Å"Beware!† the preacher shouted, warning of the coming Apocalypse. â€Å"The final battle for the souls of man will soon be fought!† Indeed, Mal'akh thought. And I shall become its greatest warrior. This battle, of course, had begun long, long ago. In ancient Egypt, those who perfected the Art had become the great Adepts of history, evolving beyond the masses to become true practitioners of Light. They moved as gods on earth. They built great temples of initiation to which neophytes traveled from around the world to partake of the wisdom. There arose a race of golden men. For a brief span of time, mankind seemed poised to elevate himself and transcend his earthly bonds. The golden age of the Ancient Mysteries. And yet man, being of the flesh, was susceptible to the sins of hubris, hatred, impatience, and greed. Over time, there were those who corrupted the Art, perverting it and abusing its power for personal gain. They began using this perverted version to summon dark forces. A different Art evolved . . . a more potent, immediate, and intoxicating influence. Such is my Art. Such is my Great Work. The illuminated Adepts and their esoteric fraternities witnessed the rising evil and saw that man was not using his newfound knowledge for the good of his species. And so they hid their wisdom to keep it from the eyes of the unworthy. Eventually, it was lost to history. With this came the Great Fall of Man. And a lasting darkness. To this day, the noble descendants of the Adepts soldiered on, grasping blindly for the Light, trying to recapture the lost power of their past, trying to keep the darkness at bay. They were the priests and priestesses of the churches, temples, and shrines of all the religions on earth. Time had erased the memories . . . detached them from their past. They no longer knew the Source from which their potent wisdom had once flowed. When they were asked about the divine mysteries of their forebears, the new custodians of faith vociferously disowned them, condemning them as heresy. Have they truly forgotten? Mal'akh wondered. Echoes of the ancient Art still resonated in every corner of the globe, from the mystical Kabbalists of Judaism to the esoteric Sufis of Islam. Vestiges remained in the arcane rituals of Christianity, in its god-eating rites of Holy Communion, its hierarchies of saints, angels, and demons, its chanting and incantation, its holy calendar's astrological underpinnings, its consecrated robes, and in its promise of everlasting life. Even now, its priests dispelled evil spirits by swinging smoke-filled censers, ringing sacred bells, and sprinkling holy water. Christians still practiced the supernatural craft of exorcism–an early practice of their faith that required the ability not only to cast out demons but to summon them. And yet they cannot see their past? Nowhere was the church's mystical past more evident than at her epicenter. In Vatican City, at the heart of St. Peter's Square, stood the great Egyptian obelisk. Carved thirteen hundred years before Jesus took his first breath–this numinous monolith had no relevance there, no link to modern Christianity. And yet there it was. At the core of Christ's church. A stone beacon, screaming to be heard. A reminder to those few sages who remembered where it all began. This church, born of the womb of the Ancient Mysteries, still bore her rites and symbols. One symbol above all. Adorning her altars, vestments, spires, and Scripture was the singular image of Christianity–that of a precious, sacrificed human being. Christianity, more than any other faith, understood the transformative power of sacrifice. Even now, to honor the sacrifice made by Jesus, his followers proffered their own feeble gestures of personal sacrifice . . . fasting, Lenten renunciation, tithing. All of those offerings are impotent, of course. Without blood . . . there is no true sacrifice. The powers of darkness had long embraced blood sacrifice, and in doing so, they had grown so strong that the powers of goodness now struggled to keep them in check. Soon the Light would be entirely consumed, and the practitioners of darkness would move freely through the minds of men. CHAPTER 97 â€Å"Eight Franklin Square must exist,† Sato insisted. â€Å"Look it up again!† Nola Kaye sat at her desk and adjusted her headset. â€Å"Ma'am, I've checked everywhere . . . that address doesn't exist in D.C.† â€Å"But I'm on the roof of One Franklin Square,† Sato said. â€Å"There has to be an Eight!† Director Sato's on a roof? â€Å"Hold on.† Nola began running a new search. She was considering telling the OS director about the hacker, but Sato seemed fixated on Eight Franklin Square at the moment. Besides, Nola still didn't have all the information. Where's that damned sys-sec, anyway? â€Å"Okay,† Nola said, eyeing her screen, â€Å"I see the problem. One Franklin Square is the name of the building . . . not the address. The address is actually 1301 K Street.† The news seemed to confound the director. â€Å"Nola, I don't have time to explain–the pyramid clearly points to the address Eight Franklin Square.† Nola sat bolt upright. The pyramid points to a specific location? â€Å"The inscription,† Sato continued, â€Å"reads: `The secret hides within The Order–Eight Franklin Square.'† Nola could scarcely imagine. â€Å"An order like . . . a Masonic or fraternal order?† â€Å"I assume so,† Sato replied. Nola thought a moment, and then began typing again. â€Å"Ma'am, maybe the street numbers on the square changed over the years? I mean, if this pyramid is as old as legend claims, maybe the numbers on Franklin Square were different when the pyramid was built? I'm now running a search without the number eight . . . for . . . `the order' . . . `Franklin Square' . . . and `Washington, D.C.' . . . and this way, we might get some idea if there's–† She stalled midsentence as the search results appeared. â€Å"What have you got?† Sato demanded. Nola stared at the first result on the list–a spectacular image of the Great Pyramid of Egypt– which served as the thematic backdrop for the home page dedicated to a building on Franklin Square. The building was unlike any other building on the square. Or in the entire city, for that matter. What stopped Nola cold was not the building's bizarre architecture, but rather the description of its purpose. According to the Web site, this unusual edifice was built as a sacred mystical shrine, designed by . . . and designed for . . . an ancient secret order.

3 Ways You Can Make an Impact at Your Internship

3 Ways You Can Make an Impact at Your Internship In many areas of the world- especially the United States- job title and status  are an incredibly important factor to  the way society perceives you. It’s not uncommon for your  job title to hold more influence and status than your actual job description.  As an intern myself, I can vouch for that.  I have had first-hand experience in having my hand held  and being treated as if I’m significantly less competent  by  people who have been out of college  for a mere 3 years. But here’s the thing: success is  all about perspective, goals, and influence. Making an impact has very little to do with title and a lot to do with influence. I can choose to be offended by the way people treat me because of my intern status, or I can shift my perspective, set goals for myself, and grow my influence.All you need to do is ask yourself how you can make an impact in your company as an intern. What is your goal at the end of your  internship? It could be as s imple as getting a full-time position or finding out if  you’re in  the field you truly want to be in. As long as you have a goal in mind, you can set sail and proceed in the right direction.There is no one-size-fits-all method to get there, of course, but here are 3 ways you can make an impact at your internship and begin growing your influence and professional career.1.  Visualize the results you wantvia [giphy.com]Think of it this way- if you’re going shopping and walk into a store with no list, you might spend an entire day searching for just a few things. If you walk into the store with a list, it might take half the time to get the same task  done.The same concept can applied to an internship. Once you have a list of things you want to accomplish, you can work at a more efficient pace. Sit down with a supervisor, manager, or even a coworker who has more experience and go over your responsibilities and how they relate to the goals of the company.At my inte rnship,  I am responsible with managing two blogs for our company, so I block out time in my calendar to meet with two different people in my marketing team in order to go over my progress, current goals, future goals, and responsibilities. I do this twice a week and it helps me align what I’m trying to accomplish for myself with what the company wants to  do.2.  Show you’re hungry and ready to learnvia [giphy.com]At my internship, I’m always brainstorming ideas- not because I have an agenda, but because I’m genuinely involved and I enjoy marketing. I try to make the best of my 8 hours.  In order to begin making an impact, it’s important to take a similar approach. Even so, you also have to do your best to be a team player and help those around you. When a miscellaneous assignment comes my way, even if I have a million things on my plate, I do my best to find some time to tackle it.Being a team player is important, and showing you can help serve the needs of others and the company are characteristics of an effective leader- which also ties into growing your influence.Don’t be insulted when you get bombarded with menial tasks. I used to feel the same way. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to showcase how responsible you are. It’s an opportunity for you to show your team you can be trusted. With trust comes more responsibility. It’s okay to have a little voice in the back of your head saying â€Å"you’re better than this† because that’s entirely true, but the people around you don’t know that yet, so show them!3.   Know the essence of your charactervia [giphy.com]Having strong work ethic is important. You need to attend meetings, complete projects, meet deadlines, and contribute to the company- but one thing that truly stands the test of time is the content of your character.  Are you honest? Are you trustworthy? Do you have empathy for your fellow man? These cha racteristics are important building blocks to authentically building your influence.Most people these days are tired of the stereotypical  bad guy CEO. Things are changing and the corporate world isn’t as cutthroat as it used to be.  People prefer working with someone who is a good person and doesn’t just look out for themselves.Disclaimervia [giphy.com]There is an important caveat  that you should take away from all of this- professional change isn’t something that will happen overnight. It  will take time. At first, it may not feel natural,  but over time it will become habitual. Focus on growing yourself professionally and becoming a better person.Remember, it’s about more than just the workplace. You have to focus on yourself outside of work as well. Take the time to become a better version of you.  Titles are reactive. Influence is proactive.

MCAT Fee Assistance Program (FAP)

MCAT Fee Assistance Program (FAP) When you find yourself interested in medical school, and as such, the MCAT exam, but also find yourself a little lacking in the funds necessary  to get you there, then the AAMC offers you a way to get what you want without the hefty price tag attached: The Fee Assistance Program or FAP. Below, youll find out the basics about the Fee Assistance Program, the benefits of the program and the ways to obtain assistance if you qualify. Read on for the details before you register! Fee Assistance Basics The AAMC started the Fee Assistance Program to help those students who wanted to apply to medical school with the American Medical School Application Service (AMCAS) or take the MCAT, but couldnt do so because the cost of both was too prohibitive. Medical schools that accept the AMCAS, also decided to help those applicants out, too. Students who have received aid from the AAMC through the Fee Assistance Program, often get their application fees waived, too. Bonus! Benefits So, what exactly is offered with the Fee Assistance Program? Starting on January 2, 2014, recipients of the FAP will get the following: A reduction in the MCAT registration feeA reduction in the MCAT rescheduling fee if it is requiredA free copy of the MCAT prep book, The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (worth about $30)A free authorization code to The Official MCAT Self-Assessment package (worth about $104).Free admission to MSAR (Medical School Admission Requirements), a suite of guides to help students prepare for medical school and the application process (worth about $22)A waiver for all AMCAS fees for up to 15 medical schools (worth about $650) Please keep in mind that these benefits are not retroactive. For example, if youve taken the MCAT and wish to apply to medical schools and have your fees waived, even if you are accepted into the FAP, your MCAT registration fees will not be refunded. They do, however, last five years. So, if youre thinking of taking the MCAT, but youre unsure about when youd like to apply to medical school, go ahead and apply for FAP if you think youll qualify because you have time to make your decision before your benefits run out. Eligibility With benefits as fantastic as those, obviously, everyone cannot qualify. So, what are the qualifications for the program? The AAMC considers the Department of Health and Human Services poverty level guidelines when making their fee assistance decisions. If your familys income is 300%  or less of the poverty level for the previous year for your family size, then you will be automatically approved for fee assistance. You must also be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the United States (Green Card holder), or have been granted refugee/asylum status by the U.S. government. Obtaining Assistance If you believe youre eligible for assistance, then youll need to fill out an FAP application, providing the following information: Personal information: Your financial information (adjusted gross income and non-taxable income). Youll include your spouses financial information if applicable, as well.Parental information: Your parents financial information (adjusted gross income and non-taxable income) regardless of whether youre dependent or not and regardless of your age. The only time you will not provide this information is if your parents are deceased.Supporting documentation: Tax filers must provide a copy of their Federal Income Tax Forms (1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, etc.) for the previous calendar year. Non-tax filers are required to provide copies of W-2 forms for the previous calendar year. Students whose primary source of support was educational aid/scholarships must provide a copy of their Financial Aid Award Letter.Cover letter: You and your parents must print and sign the FAP Supporting Documentation Cover Letter. The AAMC requests that you allow approximately 15 days for final FAP decisions. Submitting Your Application Ready to apply? Complete your FAP application here!

buy custom Ida B Wells-Barnett Anti-Lynching essay

buy custom Ida B Wells-Barnett Anti-Lynching essay Ida Wells was born in the 1860s in Holly Springs, Mississippi, at the second year of The Civil War. Her parents were all slaves and therefore, she had to dedicate her whole life to promote social equality. It was from her parents that she developed her curiosity in social politics and devoted herself in achieving those goals. Her career as a writer was sparked by one incident that took place one afternoon while on a train back to her job, when she was asked by the conductor to vacate her seat in the ladies car to the front of the train in the smoking car (McMurry, 1998). She resisted and the conductor forcefully attempted to remove her from the seat but all in vain until three other men had intervened to get her out of the seat. She alighted at the next stop to the applause of the white women aboard the train. Back to Memphis she hired a lawyer and brought a legal suit against the rail company, the court verdict was reached in her favor and was awarded $500 damage. The company appeal ed and the decision was reversed where she was ordered to pay court costs. At that time, it was a case of its kind in the South (Feimster and Nicole, 2000). Excited by her victorious work, she was eager to share the story with others who had similar grievances and it was then that she put it in writing. In the 1890s Ida B. Wells, a professional media scientist, media opinion shaper, and the then black community leader in the USA, wrote some innovative pamphlets, reporting and analyzing the United States intellectual history. People described her as a crusader and defender for integrity and democracy. Her introductory findings on the social dynamics following the scenarios of rape have to date stood the test of time in a period more of than a century. She articulated her complains in a diary of neglect my anti lynch contribution. These were some of the earliest black history textbooks written to pressure the scholars of the time. The crisis Wells criticized racial prejudice and lynching during this era of strong anxiety about the bona fide personhood and belonging. This anxiety was more often expressed as in the idioms of racial prejudice and sexual struggles. To succeed in her launch of resistance to lynch, Wells had to attest to the lynch victims, the Afro American men, that they were people who deserved protection and worth of sympathy. She also needed at the same time to present herself as a middle class southern woman who was well-informed and of a mixed racial ancestry, so that people can view her as a true dispenser of truth and an agent who has the ability to command social and moral power. The context of sexism and racism in which she represented made her tasks not that easy. She described lynching as an act of expressing conflicts over physical integrity, rights, social power and human dignity, thus the movement to end this practice was a also burdened and controversial. The anti lynching pamphlets written before the 1900 century combined statistical analysis on which the daily language of the social order turned on its effect for critical effects. Wells first work, Southern Horrors, whose title was delibeately set to ridicule the southern honors as horrors described the southern society as a white mans and the rights of free speech and fair treatment was unceremoniously denied to the Afro Americans who resided in the South. The article had to refute the justification of punishment to lynch the blacks on white rape. She revealed that according to sources, 30% of the recorded lunch cases involved rape. This became the cornerstone used by reformers and critics on all subsequent arguments. She further described the white southerners attribution of an inhuman nature directed to the black men as a hoax that hid a number of realities as inappropriate to the would-be southern white male protectors. To begin with, the rape charges hindered the economic and political competition that escalated the racial hostility towards Afro-Americans after the Reconstruction Era. Secondly, it hid the consensual and at times the illegal contacts between white women and black men that happened in the past and some in the present. Third, by this report of rape as an innate inclination of the black men, the white men institutionalized sexual domination over black women (in addition to long felt mistreatment patterns including persecutions that resulted from slavery and the aftermath) was eclipsed by sensitization and petition to nature. Wells works of the 1890s had a tendency to accent white womens agency and complexity in the lynch-forrape scenario, such as; their betrayal towards the black men, their quiet approval of punishment and their live participation to mobs and it was the issue of the feminist bodies that she analyzed and focused on. She insisted that the so called black rapists were just the innocent victims who suffered both the lust mobs blood and the white womens sexual lust. This happened because the interracial marriages were not permitted by legal and social authorities, and thus the sexual contacts between the different races were policed strictly and the ones linking black women were ignored and both dynamics endangered blacks than the whites. The anti lynching writings therefore enclosed a comprehensive view of the racialised sexual politics of the south; a justification of the black men as true men, a critique of white would-be protectors as just corrupt and exposure of white women as active participants to white supremacy in sexual politics together with re-centering of the black womens experiences in the incidences of rape, sexualized racism and lynching. She documented unbiased suffering of attacks of lynching and rape on black women and girls. By so doing, she staged a claim of outraged black womanhood that was first articulated by the opponents of slavery though becoming unthinkable under the white supremacists ideology by time the nineteenth century came to an end. She also describes the black women rapes as a piece of black men lynch. The murder cases on the black men made her to start an investigative journalism by looking clearly on the charges given to these counts of murders. She spoke on this issue at diverse black womens clubs and managed to raise more than $500 to complete her researcch and make publication. Her investigation revealed that the blacks were lynched for such reasons like failure to pay debts, refusal to pave way to the whites, economically competing with the white men or being drunk in open places. She made a suggestion in her article, that unlike the common allegations that the white women were sexually at threat of being attacked by the black men; their sexual contacts were greatly an issue of consensus. And at one time while she was away in Philadelphia a mob of whites destroyed her Free Speech office to react on her controversial article some months after her close associate was lynched. She later addressed an meeting in New York City that was attended by many leading African-American women. She went to exile in Memphis for fear of her life but persisted to wage her anti-lynch campaign and to publish columns that were meant to attack the Southern injustice (Duster, 1970). She organized a black boycott in 1893 in Chicago, for the failure of the World Columbian Exposition to collaborate with the black community in the demonstration representing African American lives. She accented race to make through the cases of unfairness in power across the racial line. At the time, she ignored the idea of race itself, mocking the notion of fixed racial boundaries and the supposed black and white that accompanied it. It had gone to an extent that the white men sometimes committed crimes with their faces blackened so as to divert the crime attention to the black men. She exposed how taken for granted was the term race and rape saying they were socially constructed and politically deployed. By doing so, she challenged the readers to examine the assumption that held their personal identity and the sense of their social order. To many, it was quite a challenge as only few joined and many resisted pointing this violence. Her analysis of the New Orleans, East St Louis and Arkansas riots made the critiques of criminal justice, law enforcement and the court system to take over the work of black subordination more seriously in the twentieth century. The Arkansas events she wrote about attended the way in which black women and men were caught up in the white supremacists and the way they fought back (Sterling, 1988). Unlike the early anti-lynching campaigns which she only cited, she emphasized on the strategies for resistance. The NAACP that was founded in 1909, adopted a legislative approach in the effort to end lynching and some few bills to address anti lynch were passed in the house of senate. Wells willingness to openly speak about sexuality, her deep dedication in religion, and her ideological perceptive of race in social and political life, became unbiased with trends on social reforms and the fight for civil rights. As the Progressive Era outspread, all professionals loaded with their documents were empowered to speak openly and fight against lynching and racism. In this era, scientific and legal credentials moved to center stage of planned reforms and with time renowned figures like Web Du Bois started to appear and looked on her past contribution to keep the struggle. Buy custom Ida B Wells-Barnett Anti-Lynching essay

Training and Development Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Training and Development - Article Example While on the job methods rely on training within the organization at the expense of the same, off the job methods refer to external sources where an employee may obtain training. In this regard, this paper will seek to assess the benefits derived from various on the job training strategies that revolve around soft skills and other communication skills. This is owing to the fact that without the relevant interpersonal skills, there will be no development and there will be scope for constant conflict through misunderstanding and wastage of resources. Therefore, this paper will study the benefits of training through the theoretical and empirical frameworks within which training strategies are decided upon, so as to carry out an assessment of the very roots where training and development begins and to propose a contextual point of judging responses and development areas. From here, the paper will examine various areas of operational value on the basis of which training and development ma y be assessed. This paper thus starts on the assumption that human resource development must have strong relevance with corporate strategy, in order to encourage employees to apply skills that have been imbibed in them during the development programs. Thus, when applied in a systematic manner, organizations ensure that they derive maximum benefit from training and development programs, as these adhere to positive mobilization of resources for optimum use and goal achievement within the organization within the framework of motivation of employees for a better future. (Wentling et al, 1999) Through a special focus on training in the area of soft skills and communication skills, this paper traces the recent developments in human resource management and management training. Training and Development Patterns The Manpower Services (1981) Commission, which was set up by the 1973 Employment and Training Act until it was replaced in 1988, defined training as: "A planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behaviour through leaning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range .of activities. Its purpose, in the work situation, is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy the current and future needs of the organisation". In this context, it is impetrative to assess the beneficial nature of training strategies in context of the theory applied for determining the need for such training. Therefore, the process of assessing the needs before planning the training strategy involves the following steps: (Marquardt, 1996) ( i ) Identification of needs - an analysis of needs addresses the problems at hand besides anticipating future demands. The benefit of this step lies in the fact that it considers the best and most cost effective way to meet those training needs right at the onset, which make the training strategy planning and implementation process more fluid. ( ii ) Definition of specific knowledge requirements - this stage to examines the skills and knowledge level that is required to be developed in order to meet the new objectives identified by the training needs. This helps the management gain perspective as to which kind of training strategy will be the most effective one when adopted for the

MEDIA THEORIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MEDIA THEORIES - Essay Example Marx’s idealistic view of socialism involved actions that would better serve society within the realm of unselfish inspiration, a society not interested in existing social inclinations. The wealth of a nation should be divided not according to greed but to need. He sees the technological advances of the modern world as the basis for entire societies to be redistributed in accordance to the requirements of the upper class. Marx theorized that the upper-class controls the formation and definition of these ideologies so as to prevent people in the lower-class from knowing how society truly operates. For example, literature was used to form social ideology in eighteenth century England. Today, literature has been replaced by the media. This discussion will introduce Marx’s social theories and then investigate how they are put into practice within the media by analyzing the film Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd. The central concepts of Marxist economics include the theory of labour value, the disposition of production and the inevitable conflicts between the classes. Conflicts will always persist because the upper class can never totally control the lower classes. Lesser concepts include the idea of increased misery, the obsession with possessions and the consequences of economic alienation. Marx’s theories of labour value combined with his concepts of capitalism endeavour to clarify how the revenue system operates to the benefit of the upper classes and the detriment of the lower classes. Marx defines wealth as something produced by labour from resources originating in the natural world. In terms of capitalism, wealth becomes a vast accrual of possessions. Commodities are articles of wealth created solely as a means to exchange other objects so as to enhance wealth. The instruments of production such as factories, railroads and land are considered capital when they are employed to e xploit human labour in order to

Solo Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Solo Project - Research Paper Example Diving into the market environment and making uninformed decisions may result in adverse effect on a business entity. In this regard, every marketing decision made should be based on some reliable information obtained from research exercises. Marketing is the most dynamic aspect of business characterized by rapid changes of operating forces in the field. In this case, research processes should be performed regularly to ensure acquisition of reliable and updated information. Just like any other research project, marketing research adopts the ideal scientific research procedures. These procedures include problem definition, formulation of hypotheses, and adoption of research methodology, data collection, data analysis and finally data interpretation. Conformity to all these steps ensures objectivity and reliability of the research results (Kolb, 2008). In this context, I am required to develop a practical plan on the appropriate steps of conducting a marketing research for setting wine price. Before developing a plan, we will evaluate the nature of the research project conducted by another party within the same pricing concept of marketing. This evaluative process entails appraising the research elements used in formulating the conclusion based on the research hypothesis (Kolb, 2008). The question of the research might be structured as follows; Does price level influences wine sales? Based on this question, a research will be conducted by formulating the appropriate hypotheses that provides some prepositions concerning the effect of price on the sales of wine. The null hypothesis that will be rejected in the research article states that the taste of wine determines its sales in the market. The actual hypothesis to be approved upon completion of the research states that the public perceives that higher priced wine are of higher quality than low priced wine. Based on the research article, the hypotheses contain two

Why did Slavery Come to be the Dominant Labor System in the Southern Essay

Why did Slavery Come to be the Dominant Labor System in the Southern Colonies - Essay Example The workforce in the agricultural sector in the southern colonies was mainly comprised of Europeans servants who worked on indenture basis. Although the Europeans still offered labor, African slaves were the better choice for planters because they were cheap to maintain and more productive. By mid 17th century there was a massive shift towards slave labor in the south since demand for food was rising with expanding markets. At this time Africans had started to be shipped and be sold as slaves to Americans. The climate and soil in the south were more favorable for agriculture than those of the north. This made the sound to be heavily dependent on labor for development of plantations. The south as stated above was an ideal region for agriculture all year round and crops like tobacco and rice thrived well. These crops are labor intensive and the lands were quite vast. Therefore, a huge potential of the southern lands remained untapped considering that there were many waterways where cro ps could be transported to overseas markets. As these farms grew labor shortages became intense and by the end of the 17th century more than 500 Africans had been bought as slaves to meet the demand (Schneider and Schneider 48). This trend was soon followed by withdrawal of indentured European servants since many had saved enough to buy their own land and start farming. America was quite big and unexploited by then and the Europeans found no reason not to venture into far away lands. The Bacon’s Rebellion also saw many planters release white servants as they proved to be a danger to political stability. In this regards an alternative had to be sought to counter the exodus of the white servants. By mid 18th century a total of 235,000 Africans were in America and 85% of them worked in the southern colonies of Virginia, Georgia, North and South Carolina (73). African slaves however came to be fully exploited after failed trials were made on Native Americans (Rodriguez 106). Many of them died from European diseases while many others ran away since they knew the land better than the Europeans. This left the planters no choice but to take in African slaves. This followed a massive expansion of plantations in Georgia and South Carolina which translated to increased production levels of rice and tobacco. These slaves did a great deal of work which the white servants had refused to do for example draining of swamps. West Africans came in handy especially in rice growing plantations since they were familiar with the kind of work required as their mother lands grew rice. Slaves worked for 15 hours on a daily basis especially during the harvest season (Norton and Sheriff 27). One overseer was required to supervise a minimum of 20 slaves doing back-breaking work and when a slave lazed around, the overseer was supposed to whip them. The fact that slaves were cheap to buy and maintain saw planters buy them in masses so as to plant and cultivate more. As earlier indica ted slaves used to work for many hours per day which translated to bumper harvests and therefore booming plantation business. Many plantation owners like the Byrd family from Virginia turned to be quite wealthy (58). Such families came together to form elite classes of planters in the southern states who ensured that slave trade remained because it was a lifeline to their wealth. Southern colonies had vast fertile lands for agriculture where Europeans worked as servants on indenture basis. The vastness and the need to grow crops on large scale raised the need to have more workers. Slave trade was on the rise by mid 17th century and it saw many planters buy African slaves to work in

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR-MICROSOFT Essay

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR-MICROSOFT - Essay Example ms Solutions Tod Nielsen, and Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold (Rosoff, Matt, Microsoft addresses employee morale, turnover, Direction on Microsoft, January 15, 2000). In 2005, cover story for Businessweek was: â€Å"Troubling Exits At Microsoft,† with a subtitle which captures the businessworld’s alarmed view of the events at Microsoft: â€Å"Once the dream workplace of tech’s highest achievers, it is suffering key defections to Google and elsewhere. What’s behind the losses?† (Businessweek, 26 September 2005). The same article writes about the bolting out of Microsoft by one of the top technical persons, Kai-Fu Lee, to join the company’s rival Google Inc., a move, which, according to Lee, rooted from what he saw as repeated missteps by the company, and even called the company incompetent, exactly opposite his picture of Google, which was encouraging bottoms-up innovation rather than top-down. Statistically, the situation is likewise alarming. Rosoff, in the same article, cites Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer Robert Herbold who presented alarming statistics on employee attrition at the company’s last three Financial Analyst meetings, to wit: Since Fiscal Year (FY) 1995, attrition at Microsoft was between 7% and 8% ; and in FY 2000, it hit 9.6%, the first time it crested the 9% threshold since FY 1994. Although Microsoft’s is lower than the industry average attrition rate, it is going against the trend where the rest of the IT industry’s attrition significantly decrease. Rosoff also mentions that the Saratoga Institute research reveal that the median rate of voluntary employee separation in the IT industry dropped from 14.7% in 1997-1998, to 11.4% in 2000. Likewise, Hewitt Associates, a human resource consulting firm, pointed that attrition among IT professionals with highly marketable skills dropped from 16% in 1999 to 12% in 2000. As an Organizational Development Consultant, I have been tasked to assess the organization to find out the

Why did Slavery Come to be the Dominant Labor System in the Southern Essay

Why did Slavery Come to be the Dominant Labor System in the Southern Colonies - Essay Example The workforce in the agricultural sector in the southern colonies was mainly comprised of Europeans servants who worked on indenture basis. Although the Europeans still offered labor, African slaves were the better choice for planters because they were cheap to maintain and more productive. By mid 17th century there was a massive shift towards slave labor in the south since demand for food was rising with expanding markets. At this time Africans had started to be shipped and be sold as slaves to Americans. The climate and soil in the south were more favorable for agriculture than those of the north. This made the sound to be heavily dependent on labor for development of plantations. The south as stated above was an ideal region for agriculture all year round and crops like tobacco and rice thrived well. These crops are labor intensive and the lands were quite vast. Therefore, a huge potential of the southern lands remained untapped considering that there were many waterways where cro ps could be transported to overseas markets. As these farms grew labor shortages became intense and by the end of the 17th century more than 500 Africans had been bought as slaves to meet the demand (Schneider and Schneider 48). This trend was soon followed by withdrawal of indentured European servants since many had saved enough to buy their own land and start farming. America was quite big and unexploited by then and the Europeans found no reason not to venture into far away lands. The Bacon’s Rebellion also saw many planters release white servants as they proved to be a danger to political stability. In this regards an alternative had to be sought to counter the exodus of the white servants. By mid 18th century a total of 235,000 Africans were in America and 85% of them worked in the southern colonies of Virginia, Georgia, North and South Carolina (73). African slaves however came to be fully exploited after failed trials were made on Native Americans (Rodriguez 106). Many of them died from European diseases while many others ran away since they knew the land better than the Europeans. This left the planters no choice but to take in African slaves. This followed a massive expansion of plantations in Georgia and South Carolina which translated to increased production levels of rice and tobacco. These slaves did a great deal of work which the white servants had refused to do for example draining of swamps. West Africans came in handy especially in rice growing plantations since they were familiar with the kind of work required as their mother lands grew rice. Slaves worked for 15 hours on a daily basis especially during the harvest season (Norton and Sheriff 27). One overseer was required to supervise a minimum of 20 slaves doing back-breaking work and when a slave lazed around, the overseer was supposed to whip them. The fact that slaves were cheap to buy and maintain saw planters buy them in masses so as to plant and cultivate more. As earlier indica ted slaves used to work for many hours per day which translated to bumper harvests and therefore booming plantation business. Many plantation owners like the Byrd family from Virginia turned to be quite wealthy (58). Such families came together to form elite classes of planters in the southern states who ensured that slave trade remained because it was a lifeline to their wealth. Southern colonies had vast fertile lands for agriculture where Europeans worked as servants on indenture basis. The vastness and the need to grow crops on large scale raised the need to have more workers. Slave trade was on the rise by mid 17th century and it saw many planters buy African slaves to work in

Final Project Plan for IBM Company Research Paper

Final Project Plan for IBM Company - Research Paper Example In November 2014 they announced a global partnership with Twitter. These organizations had different but functional information systems that must be integrated into the IBM system. An effective integration of the information systems at the company must be done based on an implementation plan that will ensure support for an enterprise wide business process integration and standardization. ERP systems can be complex and difficult to implement, but a structured and disciplined approach can greatly facilitate the implementation. The IBM Company is a huge company that has several branches all over the world, communication and maintenance of autonomy is one of the major factors that must be considered in implementing the integration of information systems. Additionally, IBM is one of the largest suppliers of technology hence there must be accuracy in the inventory and all transaction activities in all the branches and affiliates of the company. Finally, the company always ships all the purchases to different destinations in the worl hence the need for accuracy and follow up in shipping of all products from the company. Tis report is an implementation plan for the integration of the new information systems at IBM. The works include the overview of existing system and subsequent identification of the applications and resources needed for implementation of the integration plan. It also includes the identification of the tasks, responsibilities and the time frame for completion of the tasks. The project involves an assessment of the current enterprise integration in the company. The identified integration plan is laid out and the steps are clearly elaborated. The different responsibilities are assigned and the resources and time schedules are allocated to the different tasks and activities. Upon completion of the project the results expected include the improvement of service provision at all IBM branches,

Is Google Violating Users Privacy Essay Example for Free

Is Google Violating Users Privacy Essay Google Violating Users’ Privacy? The use of the Internet has become an indispensable tool for students, workers and people in general. Moreover, the use of search engines like Google is a daily routine activity when someone wants to inquire something. Google search engine is used to perform approximately two billion searches a day. Even though, it is a free services the rights of privacy can be compromised. According to the terms of use of the Google search engine, all the queries a user do can be stored for Google Company forever, although, after 18 months these queries become anonymized. According with these previous paragraphs, there are two points of view that we are going to discuss: 1. Google’s storage of user data is legitimate and does not constitute a violation of user privacy. 2. Google’s should not store user’s data as this data can be misused or accessed by the government. According with the policies and principles of Google web site, they can collect information in two ways: with your consent when you log in into Google with a user ID given them voluntarily your personal information. Also, they do collect information without your consent thru the anonymous mode. In both cases your IP address is taken, and in this mode much other information can be captured like the phone line you are using, the device specific information, and of course all the queries you do. In addition, according with these policies Google has the privileges to use this information collected with third parties. Actually there is a latent treat that stored information could be stole and used for incorrect purposes. Google index and encrypt all they stored information to prevent being stolen. However, there is no certainty on this. Personally I have to say that Google is my favorite search engine, is fast and most of the time give me the right information related with the topic I am searching for, also, they have the rights to store information that you give to them voluntarily or anonymously, and use it according with the policies they stand for. I agree with the government right to search for information in Google’s data base, as long as, it is used in the right path, for example to prevent terrorism, for national security, or to find sick people like rapist or any human rights violator.

Psychodynamic Theories: Social Behaviour

Psychodynamic Theories: Social Behaviour This essay uses the ecological and the psychodynamic theories to explain social behaviour, predict the outcomes and formulate the hypothesis thus making an initial assessment on the Banks family. The essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of the theories, the similarities and the differences between both of them and it will conclude that human life and behaviour is such a strong illustration that a single theory cannot satisfactorily account for all events across the life span. However, it will assert that in regard to the Banks family, the ecological model has an advantage over the psychodynamic theory because it holistically encompasses number of issues such as financial security, material benefits, housing, and parents history among others which do have effects on the risk of child abuse. The issues identified in the Banks family include; Marks bullying, identity issues, and Kens negative early life transactions and his relationship with Mark. To address these issues, the social work will use the ecological theory. The reason for choosing the ecological theory is because it is compatible with the assessment framework (2000)(DOH 2000a) as it links family history, genes, parents and their off springs relationship, economic factors, parental relationship experiences, individuals ability to cope or manage the stress and the interactive effect of risks (Ciccheti and Valentino: 2006). Therefore, basing on the ecological perspective, the social work will have to work within Marks ecology (Bilson Ross: 1999 p.70-71) to find out the difficulties that the family might be facing and to also find possible solution (Ward: 1995). The social worker will explore the three ecological dimensions which are; Marks developmental needs, Mel and Kens parenting capacity and family environmental factors (D.O.H 2000a). The social workers will initiate an honest and open partnership with the family with an aim of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Mark and his siblings. This will be for the parents to feel confident thus engaging in the assessment by providing relevant information about Mark, Mel and John, themselves. He should also endeavour to find out about Marks paternity and any genetic inheritance or temperament issues that might exist between Mark and his biological father (Aldgate and Bradley 1999). The social work will explore the parents history by requesting them to describe who they are and the trend of their relationship with Mark. This framework will help the social worker to amalgamate the historical and current information about the family, its functioning, problems and relationships (Reder and Duncan: 1999 p.98-101) with the view of finding out what is happening to Mark in the context of the entire Banks family and the environmental factors and how they affect the family relationships. Other issues that will have to be looked into are; the family income, neighbourhood and Marks friendships with his peers. This is because there is a link between the familys economic disadvantage and the chances that children in the family will not prosper (Utting :1995, Jack: 1997) It is also notable that Ken is securely attached to his biological children (Mel and John) and not to Mark who is his step-child. That should trigger the social workers curiosity thence exploring both the parents emotional availability, responsiveness, and their ascriptions to Mark and compare it with the way they interact with Mel and John. This can be done through direct observation, questioning and gathering testimonies from other significant people including professionals such as the general practitioner and the teachers (Department of Health 2000a). The social l worker will also explore Kens childhood experiences because they might be influencing or causing effect to his relationship with Mark (Sroufe et al 2005: p.10). This implies that the quality of care that Ken is providing Mark might in itself be a product of his own developmental history which is characterised by having been in care during childhood, having no father figure, thus his strained relationship with his mother (Cicchetti and Valentino: 2006 p.148). It is also notable that all Marks efforts to know his biological father proved to be futile. And because of this, Mark might be experiencing identity issues such as low self- esteem, poor self-image and a poor sense of belonging and acceptance by the family hence his negative behaviour (Draper Draper: 1982, p.26). For this reason, the social worker should ensure that he gathers as much information about Marks biological father as possible just in case Mark expresses wishes to see or to know about him. In regard to Marks bullying problem, the social worker would carry out direct work with him. In order to minimise the anti discriminatory and anti oppression practice, the social worker will have to consider his age, gender and culture, religion and any disability or developmental issues. He will have to acknowledge and respect Marks wishes, feelings and his understanding of the implications of the situation in which he finds himself thus making the assessment child centred (DOH 2000a). The social worker would also explore Marks friendships and how the interaction therein influences his negative behaviour (Rutter et al, 1998). At the end of the session, depending on what the social worker makes out of Marks behaviour and his social-emotional condition he may refer Mark for psychological assessment to further establish his emotional wellbeing. The outcome of the psychological assessment will then be used during the core assessment to inform the appropriate plan of intervention to ensure Mark development, safety and wellbeing (Department of Health 2000a) Advantages of the ecological theory. The advantage of using ecological approach is that it focuses on the relationships in transactions between the systems in the ecology thus minimising the predisposition of the professionals to think exclusively in linear terms thus adapting a wide range of intervention hence exploring issues such as social support, social capital and socio-economic difficulties that people experience (Garbarino 1990). The ecological perspective is an integrated model which acknowledges the effects of the biological, psychological social and economic factors that affect the well-being of individuals (Payne, 1994). Disadvantages of using the ecological theory? Despite all the advantages of the ecological approach, it is a long process for families or individuals who need quick solutions for their problems (Payne 1997). The psychodynamic approach Another theory that can be used to interpret the Banks familys phenomena, predict the outcomes and formulate the hypothesis is the psychodynamic theory. The reason for choosing the psychodymic theory is that it emphasises supporting the ego which is a reality element of the mind hence providing stability and equilibrium to the service user. Through using this approach, the social worker will be able to support Ken and Mark to develop adequate ego strength which will enable then to manage their emotional conflicts and the snags that they may come across in the life span (Goldstein: 1984). It is notable that both Mark and Ken do have unresolved issues or conflicts which do have roots from their individual childhoods. For that reason, the social worker will explore Ken and Marks conscious and unconscious parts of the minds there by making any reserved painful materials therein conscious hence realising their impact on their surface behaviour (Bee and Boyd, 2006). By focussing on Mark and Kens past and present unconscious and conscious feelings, the social worker may to be able to predict and explain how Mark and Ken may behave during certain situations or conditions. This is underpinned by the psychodynamic principle that all behaviour is motivated (Bee and Boyd, 2006). Due to the emotional issues already identified, the social worker may explore the how both Mark and Kens egos function and their defence mechanisms. Through respecting and working with their defences, the social worker is ought to recognise the threats that both Mark and Ken face in life and he will discuss the consequences and confusion of their feelings. The social worker would also find out how both Mark and Ken have already tried to resolve the conflicts before deciding either to look for other possible ways of dealing with it for example using sublimation or to modify the ways that they have already tried to use (Hollis, 1972). In regard to anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice, it is helpful to devote the assessment within the framework or perspective of recognising the implication of structural and individuals oppressive practice which leads professionals into an authoritarian and rigidly discriminatory practice (Davis, ed., 2000:12,14 cited in Becket Maynard: 2005 p.158). This implies that during assessment, professionals are ought to listen and also respect and take into consideration the service users and carers views, choices, age, culture, religion and needs as this makes them feel valued and respected (Brandon, 1990: p.59 cited in Becket Maynard, 2005: p.158). Additionally, Payne (1997: p.89) advises that in professional relationship, social work values involve being tolerant to service users behaviour, promoting healthy client-social worker relationship, rather than personal emotional responses to service users needs. This may mean that professionals are ought to create professional instead of personal relationships with the service users which might negatively affect their independence and impartiality. Advantages of the psychodynamic theory The advantage of the psychodynamic theory in social work is that it recognises the impact of past painful life transactional processes and helps to create beneficial suspicions about them in relation to the current observable behaviours (Milner OByrne 2009). The psychodynamic theory also lays emphasis on modifying the ego through initiating good client-social worker relationship (Goldstein: 1984), thus improving peoples relationships within their environment (Payne 1997:80). The disadvantages of the psychodynamic theory. However, critics of the psychodynamic theory such as Dorfman (1998: P.70) contend that it is an andocentric theory. This implies that the psychodynamic theory is based on research that was done solely on males and then taken to mean all human behaviour which itself is a bias in favour of males and thus partial. Similarity and differences btn the psycho and eco theory. One of the similarities between the psychodynamic and the ecological theory is that both of them consider age and stage appropriateness of behaviour. While the psychodynamic theory takes into account the anal, oral and phallic stages of development, the ecological- transactional perspective views child development as a progressive sequence of age and stage -appropriate tasks in which success at each developmental level must co-ordinate and integrate with the environment and other issues such as emotion regulation, and formation of attachment relationships among others that emerge across the lifespan (Cicchetti and Valentiono 2006 p.143). Although these two theories do have the above similarity, they also have differences. For example, while the psychodynamic theory upholds the concept of the existence of the unconscious mind or awareness (Payne 1997), the ecological perspective focuses on the principle of interaction among the individuals and it also depicts individuals as existing in relation to others in the ecology (Reder and Duncan 1999 p.98-101). In relation to child abuse, Sidebotham et al (2002) argue that the psychodynamic models are deficient to give explanation in this regard and he calls for the use of the ecological models because they include a number of issues such as financial security, material benefits, housing, and parents history among others which do have effects on the risk of child abuse. Conclusion Given the complexity of the Banks family phenomena, the quest to explain the behaviour, predict the outcomes and formulate the hypothesis requires one to use theories otherwise; the assessment would be directionless and woolly. Therefore, this essay has used the psychodynamic and the ecological theory to discuss how an assessment would be done to support the Banks family. It has explored the ethical principle of anti-discriminatory and oppressive practice. It has also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each of them before identifying the similarity and the difference between them and it has given the complicity of human life, all theories work in a complimentary way to give social workers an eclectic understanding of issues in the phenomena with one theory helping to explain certain issues more clearly than the other. And in case of child maltreatment, the ecological models has been has had an advantage over the psychodynamic theory because it has holistically encompassed number of issues such as financial security, material benefits, housing , parents history among others which do have effects on the risk of child abuse.

Linking Media Violence and Negative Behavior Essay -- Argumentative Pe

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many Americans feel that the viewing of violence in the media reinforces negative behavior in society, especially among children and young adults. "Three thousand studies have been done since 1955 on the link between television and violence; 2,980 of them found a correlation between the two.   We hear little about that because we get most of our news from television" (Peterson).   With this much research one must acknowledge that there is a problem in America involving sex and violence in the media.   We cannot blame all societal problems on the media and its portrayal of these issues, but we can become educated, ourselves, in order to better facilitate the healthy lives of our children. "We, as a society, did this to ourselves," said psychologist Dr. David Walsh, executive director of clinics and systems operations for Fairview Behavioral Services in Minneapolis. "Violence grabs the headlines, but violence itself is a result of a society that promotes selfishness, greed and instant gratification" (Peterson).   Violence on public television often catches us in a serious debate.   Concerned parents fear that viewing inappropriate images presented by the media will corrupt America's youth.   They cringe at the idea of our nation's children growing up to be vicious killers due to the brutal violence often seen on TV.   Some blame television for most, if not all, of the ills of society and its children.   "Truly it accounts for about 10 percent of violence, which means that 90 percent is caused by other things," Leonard Eron says.   "Violence is a multi-determined behavior. It's caused by genetic, biological, physiological, macroeconomic and macrosocial facto rs, all of which can account for some part of the variance."   Understanding... ...http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/violence.html "Media Violence Chronology."   [Online] http://www.cfc-efc.ca/docs/00001061.htm Mortimer, Jeff.   "The 'V-Chip' and TV Violence."   [Online] http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/MT/96/Jun96/mta14j96.html Murray, John P. "Children And Television Violence." [Online] http://www.ksu.edu/humec/kulaw.htm Peterson, Patricia.   "Are We Selling Out Our Children's Minds?".  Ã‚   [Online] http://www.cyfc.umn.edu/Media/tvviol.html Redfern, Michael G.  Ã‚   "Youth Need Help to Process Messages of Sex and Violence."   [Online]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.mediaawareness.ca/eng/med/class/support/mediacy/violence/mediavi.htm Run, Alvin B.   [Online] http://guide.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/ Talbot-Allan, Laura M.   "Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication Commission."   [Online] http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/gov/crtc/crtc.htm

Fate and Free Will in William Shakespeares Macbeth Essays -- William

Fate and Free Will in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is a question as to whether or not Macbeth is driven by fate or free will. The three weird sisters approach Macbeth with prophecies that will all come true in the end. It would appear that Macbeth is just following destiny at first. However, Macbeth always had a choice throughout the play to choose his own fate. Macbeth journeyed to his murderous doom through his own free choice. In Act I, the three witches visit Macbeth and Banquo on the heath. The witches make three predictions; Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor, he will be King, and Banquo’s sons will be king but not Banquo. Even though the witches did make these prophecies, Macbeth’s fate was not sealed. Later in the same scene, Ross and Angus meet Macbeth. They tell Macbeth that he is now the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth then reflects on the predictions and says, "Present fears are less than horrible imaginings" (Act I, vii, 139). Macbeth is relating his fear that he may have to do something violent in order to become king but he hopes that it can come about by "chance". Almost immediately after the witches have visited him, Macbeth begins to take their prophecies as a reality. He is almost trying to fulfill the tempting predictions, now that his mind is lustful for power, instead of remaining loyal to the King. It is once again apparent that Macbeth does control his own destiny when the witches make their second appearance to him...

The Relationship Between Study Habits

The relationship between study habits and academic performance of IT students A Research Proposal Presented to the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences & Communications Department Far Eastern University – East Asia College In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Subject ENGL303 Educational Research By: Buen, Nica Chrizza N. E. Cruz, Yves Justin C. Diocareza, Darwin Joseph V. Marquez, Samwell Kervy A. Masbate, Kristine Gay A. September 5, 2012 ABSTRACT This research highlights the relationship between the study habits and the academic performance of second year IT students.A habit is defined as a planned schedule done regularly, while to study is to gain knowledge. Therefore, study habits are done regularly in order to expand learning. It is the way how students accomplish their homework and how they prepare for an exam. This research discusses how important study habits are in achieving students’ academic good performance. This also presents how many hours the students are studying, how they prepare for an exam, and what is the comfortable place and time for them to study in order to show if these factors are contributors in attaining better academic performance.A survey questionnaire that is composed of 8 questions related to the topic was given to 50 second year IT students in Far Eastern University – East Asia College. The data gathered in the survey includes the midterm and final grades of the students which shows how they performed during those periods. After the survey, the researchers found out that most of the students spent 1 to 2 hours in studying yet, they still accumulated passing grades in the midterm period, and they even got better marks in the final period of the previous term. From the given data, students have different ways on how they will prepare for an upcoming test.Most of them prefer to be alone. The comfortable place for them to study has also something to do in order for them to attain good academic pe rformance. Great number of the respondents answered that they study inside their bedroom and they are at ease to study during evening from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. One of the survey questions is how the students spend their vacant time. According to the collected data, most of the respondents play which includes playing computer games, playing guitar, playing just for fun, and so on. Next to that is surfing the net which includes visiting social networking ites such as facebook, etc. It is being observed that most of the students spend their vacant time in front of the computer which is a common scenario nowadays. The last question asks the respondents opinion whether their study habits help them achieve good academic performance or not. Majority of them answered â€Å"yes† which is true that can be observed in their previous midterm and final GPA. A theoretical analysis, backed up by the survey results, indicates that study habits really affect a student’s academic perform ance. Good grades can be achieved by proper study habits. It s not necessary that students should study for a long period of time because the amount of time spent for studying does not mean that students can already pass in their subject. Some students find difficulties in some subjects, so they pay more attention to it that consumes much of their time. In order to overcome those difficulties, they have their own ways on studying for them to understand their lessons. Time and place are also factors to be considered in studying. Good place and right time make the students comfortable and study with ease. INTRODUCTION Education plays a vital role in students’ life.It is not only about acquiring knowledge, taking down notes during discussions, answering exam, passing in the test, or even attaining good grades; but also it is also about teaching the students how to be independent in the real life. Finding solutions in the given problems happen in the real life. Projects, assignme nts, and exams that come at the same time also take place in the real world. These things train students to decide what to do, what are the things that should be paid attention first, what comes next and what will be the last priority. Someday education will be the only one they have in hand in order to become successful person. It will be their weapon to overcome those obstacles they might encounter along the journey of their lives. In order to acquire better education, students should focus on studying no matter how hard it is. There are times that they might find difficulties, but there is always ways to surpass those trials. Good study habits play a vital role in the development of the students’ education. It can help them in studying a lot. It is a strategy on how the students acquire knowledge effectively. Establishing study habits are one of the determining factors for attaining passing grades. It efers to the schedule, plan, and the timeframe where studying is done in order to attain good academic performance. Students are always directed to the fact that poor study habits will lead to miserable scores, and good study habits will result to excellent marks. Grades are also a determining aspect of knowing student’s academic performance, which means the attained knowledge over a certain period of time. Therefore, proper study habits lead to good academic understanding and having good grades, otherwise leads to bad academic understanding and having bad grades. But always keep in mind that a student’s study habit is not the only factor to onsider, because factors such as age, past subject learned, IQ, learning ability, mentors, gender and so on are also something to consider as well. Nevertheless, the researchers would like to investigate the relationship of study habits and academic performance of IT students. In the research, the researchers would like to determine the answer to these questions: 1. What are the students’ inform ation according to: a. hours spent in studying, and b. studying skills? 2. How did study habits affect the academic performance of the students? The study aims to actuate the relevance of study habits to the academic performance of the tudents through survey questionnaires. This also concentrates on the findings related to the students’ preferred place and time to study; how they prepare for an upcoming test; in what way do they spend their vacant time; and also discussing if their study habits help them achieve good academic performance. The scope of the study are the IT students from Far Eastern University – East Asia College and the limitations of the study are those enrolled second year IT students in the first term. There would only be a number of questionnaires to be used in the survey, which will be limited to a number of students as well.Therefore, there will only be a number of students who will participate in the study. METHODOLOGY This part exhibits the meth ods to be employed in going through the research. This comprises the number of target participants, the research design, the collection of data, the materials to be utilized in putting up the study, and the analysis of the research. Corpus The selected respondents were second year IT students from Far Eastern University – East Asia College, in random gender and age span, provided that they are second year IT students currently studying at Far Eastern University – East AsiaCollege. 50 students as research respondents were under descriptive survey method of study. Majority of the respondents were with specialization in Digital Arts. The focus of the study was the IT students in second year, and they are considered as the target population. After the researchers had conducted the survey, the students differed themselves in terms of their study habits in their answers. I. Research Design This study used a descriptive survey type with an attempt to determine the relationshi p between the study habits and the academic performance of IT students. It lso aimed to find out the hours spent in studying, study skills and habits, and the grades accumulated using these habits. The descriptive survey type was chosen in order to observe the subject in an entirely natural and unchanged setting. It was also chosen because it can easily identify, illustrate, and evaluate the relationship involving the two variables mentioned. The study wanted to discover the significant influence of the independent variable from the dependent variable. It sought to observe the data gathered in order to come up with a considerable result regarding the relationship of the subject matters. II. SamplingSimple random sampling was used in this research where in only little information about the population is needed because the gathered data is already sufficient for the study. Simple random sampling method was also used because of three main reasons. First, because it is free of classific ation error. Second, its simplicity makes it easier to analyze and interpret the data collected. Finally, the cost of sampling is little enough to make efficiency less vital than simplicity. III. Data Gathering The researchers presented a letter to the respondents to ask permission from them if ever they are willing to fill up the survey form.The implementation of the survey was done inside the campus of FEU – East Asia College. Only one questionnaire was answered by an individual so that repetition of data would not be done. Only IT students on their second year level were given the questionnaire. Each one of the chosen respondents would have to answer the given questionnaire. Every question must be answered with all honesty. Data gathered would be strictly confidential. IV. Research Instrument The instrument used is a self – prepared questionnaire composed of 8 questions related to the research topic and includes some important personal information such s name (optio nal), grades, and etc. It also specifies the direction in answering the survey test and the possible selection of answers. There will be no right or wrong answers. The gathered information will be treated confidentially and will only be used in the study. V. Data Analysis After the implementation of the survey, the data was tabulated in order to get the percentage of each choice in each question. The percentage was calculated by dividing the number of respondents in each choice by the total number of respondents multiplied by one hundred. The data was represented by a graph that was either a bar raph or a pie graph depending on the values that is presented. The graphs were a representation of the data to show the proportion of the percentage of each choice in each question. The data was analyzed based from the graph and the data gathered. Each of the graphs was analyzed based on percentage. The relationship among the data was observed and a correlation between them was looked into. Cover Letter on the Survey Questionnaire Date _______________________, To whom it may concern, Good day! We have the honor to request you to participate in our research study entitled â€Å"The relationship etween study habits and academic performance of IT students†. The study wants to know how study habits affect the academic performance of the students here in FEU-East Asia College. The respondents are the second year IT Students enrolled in the first term. This study is a requirement for the finals of the course English303 Modern Communication. We therefore are requesting you to answer this questionnaire with your dedication. We assure you to keep gathered data confidentially and to use it in our study only. Thank you very much. God bless. Sincerely yours, Cruz, Yves Justin Survey QuestionnaireName (optional): _______________________________________ Age: __________ A. Instruction: Please answer the following questions with honesty and sincerity. Put a check in the bracket s. There will be no right or wrong answers to this questionnaire. Your answers will be based on your own experience. Rest assured that the gathered data will be confidential and will be used only for this study. 1. How many hours (estimated) do you spend for studying? [ ] less than 1 hour [ ] 1-2 hour/s [ ] 5-6 hours [ ] 3-4 hours [ ] others: ________ 2. What is your previous midterm GPA? __________ 3. What is your previous final GPA? _________ 4. How do you prefer to study if there is an upcoming test? [ ] alone [ ] writing outlines [ ] with peers [ ] reading aloud [ ] with music [ ] silent [ ] with snacks [ ] others: ________ 5. Where is the comfortable place for you to study? [ ] library [ ] classroom [ ] bedroom [ ] coffee shop [ ] campus (freedom park) [ ] others: ______ [ ] home 6. What time is comfortable for you to study? [ ] morning (6 a. m. to noon) [ ] evening (6 p. m. to 9 p. m. ) [ ] afternoon (noon to 6 p. m. ) [ ] others: ______ 7. How do you spend your vacant time? _ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 8. Do you think that your study habits help you in your academic performance? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Total number of respondents: 50 Percentage = Number of Respondents x 100 Total Number of Respondents Figure . Time spent in studying In Figure 1, according to 34% of the surveyed IT students, they spent approximately 1 to 2 hours in studying.There are 22% of the respondents answered 3 to 4 hours, while 20% managed to study in less than 1 hour only. As you can see 14% of them allotted 5 to 6 hours, and the 10% of the students chose others. It shows that most of the students spent 1 to 2 hours in studying, and only few consumed 5 to 6 hours a day. This is the same result as in the survey â€Å"How many hours should you study per day? † posted in Student Doctor Network (2010). Based on the data showed, 23. 93% answered 1 to 2 hours only, while 5. 85% of the respondents voted 5 to 6 hours of studying. This means that students have their own amount of time spent in studying.No specific length of time is used in studying as a whole. According to Cat (2010), it depends on the students’ capability to understand what they are studying about. Students have different learning ability level, which is another factor why they take so much time in studying. Figure . Previous Midterm GPA Figure 2 presents the Midterm Grade Point Average (GPA) as of the previous term, 3rd term SY 2011 – 2012. Based on the gathered data, 40% got an average of 2. 1 to 2. 5; 26% of the respondents got 2. 6 to 3. 0; 16% received 3. 1 to 3. 5; 14% got 1. 6 to 2. 0, and only 4% got an average GPA of 1. to 1. 5 during the midterm period. Written in the FEU – East Asia College Student Handbook (2010 rev. ed. , p. 18 – 19), â€Å"the college follows the numerical grading system with the following grade points and their corresponding descriptions and equivalences:† Table 2. 1: Numerical Grading System Grade Points Percentage % Description 4. 0 97 – 100 Excellent 3. 5 93 – 96 Superior 3. 0 89 – 92 Very Good 2. 5 85 – 88 Good 2. 0 81 – 84 Satisfactory 1. 5 78 – 80 Fair 1. 0 75 – 77 Pass 0. 5 74 below Failed 0. 0 – Not Attending 6. 0 – Pass 7. 0 – Officially Dropped 8. 0 – Credited 9. 0 – IncompleteThis information presented in Table 2. 1 further implies that 100% of the respondents passed during the previous midterm period. Figure . Previous Final GPA Figure 3 shows the previous final GPA of the respondents. Among the respondents, 34% got 2. 1 to 2. 5 averages and also the same percentage of respondents got a GPA from 2. 6 to 3. 0. There are 18% of them passed with a GPA of 1. 6 to 2. 0, while 14% got 3. 1 to 3. 5. Comparing the results of their midterm grade to final grade, no student got an average from 1. 0 to 1. 5 during the finals. The 14% of students who got 1. 6 to 2. 0 grades in the midterm period as been added by 4% during the final period. The 26% of the respondents who got 2. 0 to 3. 0 GPA during the midterm period became 34% in the finals. Generally, this means that the students had a great improvement during the final period even though 16% of students who got 3. 1 to 3. 5 GPA in the midterm period decreased by 2% during the finals. All in all, 100% of the surveyed IT students got passing grades during the previous final period. Figure . Preference of study habit when there is an upcoming test The data in Figure 4 shows that 48% of the students prefer to study alone if there is an pcoming test. While 42% wants to study with music, 32% preferred to study silent. There are 30% of the respondents write an outline to serve as there hand outs or re viewers, 28% study with snacks, 16% who read aloud, 12% wants to be with peers, and 8% answered others. This shows that students have their own method to be prepared in an exam. Most of them review a lot if they are studying alone or with peers. Some wants to study if they are listening to the music, while others preferred to be silent and so on. According to Palm Beach Community College (PBCC, 2008), noise that distracts students rom studying should be minimized, however there are some students who need some sound or some silence. Studying with music can cause distraction (Sigafoos, 2012). On the other hand, Donnell (1999) stated that music helps a person to express what he is thinking. He shared a little known fact that Albert Einstein was very poor in school before, but because of music, he was able to improvise his figured out problems and equations. Now, he was known as one of the smartest people in the world. Writing an outline for studying is a good habit of students. This ma y serve as notes for them o review especially if they need to prepare for an exam. Writing is another way of memorizing because as students take down notes, they are already putting those words in their minds. This is the same with reading a loud or even reading silent. Students can gain more knowledge through it. Teachers do not always discuss all the topics, so some questions are left in students’ mind. In order to understand some of those, reading is very essential. There are also cases in which students choose to study with peers. Statistically, students who study in group, earn higher grades than those who study independently.This is because in this way of studying more brains are exchanging of thoughts and ideas and students are able to share their knowledge to others. Figure . Comfortable place to study Figure 5 comprises the comfortable place for the students to study. Based on the research, 64% used to study inside their bedroom, 40% at home, 10% at the library, 6% a t the classroom, 4% at the coffee shop, 4% at the campus and 8% chose others. One of the most important factors in studying properly is choosing where you can study more effectively. Many students sell themselves short from the very beginning by choosing to study in laces such as their dorm room, their bed, in the dorm lobby, and other places which are not always the most conducive to effective studying (Singal, 2012). According to K. Roell (2012), many places are good venue to study; only that student has to take a look three things when finding a good study place: comfort, appropriate noise levels, and information access. In his article entitled Top 10 Places to Study, library is the number 1 best place to study, while bedroom is just second to it. Library is a silent place where students can concentrate in studying; and is easy to access the information they needed.Next to the two are the coffee shop, bookstore, park, classroom, friend’s house, community center, and tutori ng center. According to PBCC (2008), bedroom is not a proper venue to study because it is a place where to sleep not to study, but it can be seen in the figure above that most of the students are comfortable in their bedroom for their studying matters. In this case, it depends on the students choice where they want to study as long as they are comfortable, can concentrate well in studying, have access of information, and of course far from distractions. Figure . Comfortable time to studyIn Figure 6, comfortable times for the students to study are listed. Majority chose evening from 6 pm to 9 pm, which holds 54% of the respondents. There are 20% of the students study at morning from 6 am to noon, 16% at the afternoon from noon to 6 pm, while 10% answered others. Maybe are studying whenever they want or they are at the mood. Based on the gathered data, most of the students find to study better at the evening. However, some of them are tired right after school, so they do not study in the evening and prefer at the morning. Some says that it is better to study in the morning because it is still fresh in mind and asy to remember. There are some who do not study in the afternoon because they tend to fall asleep. Figure . Spending vacant time Figure 7 shows the answers listed by the students on how they spend their vacant time. Based on the data gathered, there are 34% answered playing which includes playing computer games, playing guitar, and so on. There are 32% of the students spend their vacant time by surfing the net which includes visiting social networking sites such as facebook, yahoo, google, etc. There are 26% of the students hang out, and only 18% said that they study, review or do their assignments.There are also 18% who answered they sleep during vacant hours. Eating and watching movie or television are of the same percentage which is 14%. Texting, earning money and doing household chores are also the same percentage which is 2%. This survey shows that o nly few of the students spend their vacant time in studying and most of them are in front of their computer playing or surfing the net. Figure . Opinions of the students if study habits help them Figure 8 shows how many percent of the students are helped by their study habits. There are 80% of them answered â€Å"yes†, 6% said â€Å"no†, and 8% answered â€Å"maybe†.There are 4% of the respondents answered â€Å"not much† and 2% said â€Å"sometimes†. Study habits played a significant role in achieving good grades. The dependent variable, which is the academic performance of IT students, is really affected by the independent variables, which are the study habits. This elaborates that proper study habits lead to better understanding and achieving passing grades, while incorrect way of studying results to poor understanding and receiving failing grades. CONCLUSION To sum it up, majority of the students are affected by their study habits positively.Mo st of them passed during their midterm period and had a great improvement during the finals although a large percentage of the respondents are studying in 1 to 2 hours only. In this paper, the researchers have investigated the relationship of the two variables involved and found out that good study habits as the independent variable directly affect the academic performance of the students (Bagongon & Edpalina, 2009). This research also shows that every student has different studying styles. However, the findings do not imply that studying in a long period of time always esults to a better academic performance. Sometimes, a short period of time is enough to achieve a better academic performance provided that they are comfortable with the time, place, and strategy of studying. RECOMMENDATIONS The researchers would like to suggest to students to establish a good study habits which may help them attain good academic performances. Spending at least 2 to 3 hours in studying per day is rec ommended as an average amount of time for the students to study. In addition, this research advises to find a place where no one or nothing will distract them from studying; choose a omfortable time to study wherein, they will not get bored or tend to sleep; apply some strategies on how they will be able to understand their lessons; and also spend their vacant time in a productive way. Following this will help students manage good academic performances. For other personnel who will perform a study on the same field and will use this paper as their guide, the researchers would like to suggest that they improve and know other possible method of data gatherings; construct a framework for better outputs; and to study very well the factors that affect the academic performance of the students and relate them to each other.REFERENCES Bagongon, C. K. & Edpalina, C. R. (2009). An example of a research paper. Retrieved July 28, 2012, from scribd. com Web site: http:www. scribd. com/doc/118222 91/example-of-a research-paper Purdue Online Writing Lab (1995). Guide of APA style of writing. Retrieved August 5, 2012, from http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/07/ The Coastal Researchers Group (2010). A survey about how many hours do you study per day. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://forums. studentdoctor. net/showthread. php? t=704431 Sigafoos, S. (2005). 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