Institutional Discrimination

In the United States, institutionalized discrimination occurs everyday. According to Aguirre and Turner (2010) it is both subtle and complex. Because discrimination based on race is illegal, many acts of institutionalized discrimination are informal; a company, school, government, or other public institution does not formally write them in a policy. â€Å"Yet individual acts of informal discrimination are so widespread in many communities that discrimination is informally institutionalized even in the face of formal prohibitions† (Aguirre and Turner, 2010).Despite, being outlawed nationally, discrimination still exists. My first example of institutionalized discrimination exists in the public school system. There is a huge educational gap among urban public schools and suburban public schools, essentially, among white and minority students. In many states, educational systems have imposed standardized testing as a requirement for graduation from high school. I believe that the se implementations are a strategic effort to weed out minorities from achieving higher education and decrease the opportunity to move up in social class.Though state educational systems cannot formally institute discriminatory practices, they can subtly implement requirements such as these testing procedures. As a product of an inner city urban public school, I have experienced this first hand. Guiner and Torres (2009) discussed that a lack of education hinders social mobility, which essentially reinforces racial inequality. From third grade until passing the eleventh grade EXIT Level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam, also known as the TAKS test, I was taught how to pass the TAKS test. I wasn’t taught the necessary skills needed to be successful in college.As a student who took all of the AP classes offered at my school, I was not taught to the level to pass these AP test to test out of college general education classes and I wasn’t taught on the college l evel, as the courses are designed for. As a result, upon entering college, although I had taken several AP courses during high school I had earned zero college credit hours. I was also not prepared for college level courses, I was not used to having homework, or test taking outside of the TAKS test, and didn’t feel that I possessed the skills necessary to be successful in college.This was true among many of my high school peers; many weren’t able to survive in college and dropped out after a year, some after a semester. As Aguirre and Turner (2010) put it â€Å"The school may not have intended his to occur—indeed, just the opposite—but the very nature of its structure and operation has worked to discourage students and, in so doing, has subtly and inadvertently discriminated against students†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 13) This contributes to racial inequality because statistically blacks are less prepared, and subsequently less successful in college than whites. A solution to this form of institutionalized discrimination in schools would be to eliminate standardized testing. Too much time is put into passing a test so that the school can have high numbers and not enough time is put into teaching students skills needed for achieving higher education. After talking to many of my white counterparts, I learned that their high schools spent little, if any time, teaching its students how to pass the TAKS test; they focused on college preparation.Standardized tests are not an accurate depiction of a school’s success; they unfairly hinder graduation rates and are sending young adults into society unprepared. In addition to eliminating standardized testing, schools should focus more on rigorous college level work and teaching time management skills. Because the differences in higher education preparedness is usually among Whites from suburban areas vs. Blacks and Hispanics from poor urban areas, these solutions would help close the gap. My se cond example of institutional discrimination is â€Å"steering. Steering occurs when realtors steer minorities to neighborhoods where the majority of residents are also minorities. Steering also occurs when realtors fail to inform customers of properties that meet the customers’ preferences or specifications. The purpose of this is to subtly segregate those of the same race in the same neighborhood. â€Å"The combination of growing urban Black populations and higher levels of segregation could only produce one possible outcome—higher levels of Black isolation† (Gallagher, 2009).As a result, racially segregated neighborhoods are either really nice, clean, suburban neighborhoods with low crime rates, good schools, grocery stores with healthy eating options, and shopping centers or dirty urban neighborhoods with high crime rates, low performing schools, grocery stores with bad produce and fast food restaurants with unhealthy eating options, and people having to go across town to go shopping for essentials. Racial steering not only reinforces racial inequality, it also hinders diversity.Racial steering must be stopped It would be very difficult to find a solution to eliminate racial steering. Housing acts already exist to eliminate housing discrimination but these laws may need to be expanded. The Fair Housing Act, a subsection of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination dealing with the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, sex, religion, or national origin. (Employment-discrimination. org) Real estate agencies should be required to show customers all housing options that meet their preferences.There should be a national database that provides realtors and real estate clients with all of the properties that meet preferences so that no available property is left out because the person is of a certain race. My third example of institutional discrimination is â€Å"redlining. † This is when banks deny or make it more difficult for people to get loans, health care, or insurance because they live in a certain area. The particular area is usually characterized by a specific race. Those who exercise red lining use â€Å"blacklists† to keep track of groups or certain areas to use for discriminatory practices.One of the most important solutions to redlining was the Fair Housing Act of 1968 which prohibited redlining that was based on race, sex, religion, gamily status, disability or ethnic origin (Wikipedia). To further the impact of this act, I think it would be important to require banks, insurance companies, and other institutions to keep information regarding their targeting of certain poverty stricken areas or racially dominated areas. This would be something similar to the guidelines of affirmative action, requiring firms to specifically target those of minority groups who are qualified.The qualifications would be based off of past financial credibility or government programs that assist those who can’t afford to pay on their own. All groups of people should have equal access to resources. Minorities shouldn’t have to worry about getting denied or have less access because of the color of their skin. â€Å"In the United States, civil rights laws and cultural beliefs do not condone discrimination as they once did; indeed they demand that all individuals be given equal access to schools, jobs, housing, and other important resources. The United States has been trying to eliminate discrimination for hundreds of years. However, because institutional discrimination is so subtle is difficult to do so completely. Many times institutional discrimination is exercised unconsciously due to the nature in which an institution is set up. Other times, institutional discrimination is very consciously practiced informally. Because of laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination, institutions strategically discriminate against individuals and racial groups by not giving them equal access to resources.This discrimination continues to contribute to racial inequality in education, housing, health care, employment, and other aspects of human life. Not only do basic discrimination laws need to be expanded, but affirmative actions laws need to be expanded as well. A major solution to discrimination is education. Minorities need to be educated themselves about the ways in which they are being denied to access to resources. The fight for equality is not over.

Artistic Behavior in the Human Female Essay

The passage above comes from the article, â€Å"Artistic Behavior in the Human Female,† by Jean Robertson (2003, p. 24). Robertson (2003) argued that female artists define and interpret female sexuality in diverse and conflicting ways, and by using different artistic strategies. Robertson makes assumptions about the woman’s body as a contested terrain, wherein being a woman continues to be a subject of heated debate. For him, how female artists view themselves as women, and as artists, shape their depiction of â€Å"femininity† and â€Å"female sexuality† in their artworks. One of the quotes that Robertson mentioned in his text comes from Simon de Beauvoir. In her seminal book, â€Å"The Second Sex,† she stressed that: â€Å"One is not born a woman, but, rather, becomes one. † I want to reflect on de Beauvoir’s statement and Robertson’s belief about the woman’s body. I agree with de Beauvoir that social experiences and political conditions impact the construction of â€Å"being a woman. † Society shapes how women and men see femininity and gender roles through establishing gender roles and expectations. An example is when a girl is â€Å"conditioned† by her mother to be a â€Å"woman,† by telling her how she should act as a â€Å"woman. This includes educating her about the toys she can and cannot use, and the games she can and cannot play. The girl learns that she should act and think a certain way, in order to be â€Å"feminine. † She learns that she cannot be boisterous or get involved in sports, because that would be too â€Å"manly† for her. This girl is the perfect example of â€Å"becoming† a woman. On the other hand, I also agree that being a woman is a biological and individual construct. A woman is a product of her biology, whether she likes it or not. This is why women are also defined by their sexual organs. Their biology also determines their sex, as well as their gender. Furthermore, being a woman is a product of individual desires and needs. Any woman can define her womanhood the way she also wants it to. Robertson indicated the existence of the pluralities of femininity. It is true that a woman’s body is a contested terrain, and for me, what is wrong with that? Is it not also possible to have multiple femininities, instead of having only one approach to define and to interpret what it means to be a woman? There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, of having different ways of being a woman, because to deny one approach to womanhood undermines the very essence of being a free woman. Journal entry 2 In â€Å"A conversation about race and class,† Childers and Hooks (1990) argued that gender should be expanded to include issues of race and class. They said that: â€Å"†¦we should begin by talking about how we experienced the struggle to challenge and expand the category of gender† (pp. 61-62). For them, people cannot understand gender in its whole sense, if racial and class issues are overlooked in gender analysis. This reading challenged my view of gender, by asking me to see gender through a much broader lens. I have not considered that gender issues also intersect racial and class issues. On the other hand, Childers and Hooks (1990) compelled me to think about the politics of gender. This is related to our discussions about gender as a political object. The politics of gender demonstrate that there are hierarchies to the feminine gender that are experienced by many women. Power is also affected by one’s class and race. If white female women feel that there is a glass ceiling at the workplace, lower-class black and Hispanic women face a greater and heavier glass ceiling in society. Because of their class and race, they feel and experience multiple glass ceilings- the ceiling of racial discrimination, the ceiling of class discrimination, and the ceiling of gender discrimination. These ceilings, on top of one another, represent something more than just a hindrance to economic development, but resemble ceilings that are directly pressed on these women’s bodies. They could hardly breathe, because there are just too many ceilings that make it difficult for them to even survive. Now, I look gender as an amalgam of issues that women bring to gender discourse. As a result, race and issue not only expand gender discourse, but considering them has also broadened my understanding of gender and its diverse conflicts. Journal entry 3 When feminists speak about feminism, they mostly see the opposition between the feminine and the masculine- the yin and the yang. We also discussed the binary opposition in class, which heightened my knowledge of how women are reduced to the lower spectrum of the opposition. The binary opposition also exists in differentiating mothers from fathers. Mothers are put in pedestals, while fathers are forgotten and scorned. Laqueur (1990) complained about this binary opposition in â€Å"The Facts of Fatherhood. † This is an interesting article that argued about the repression of the history of fatherhood. Laqueur (1990) posited that while women enjoyed being the â€Å"natural† parent, fathers were regarded as mere providers, or even as a backdrop to the family. He stressed that it is time for fathers to reclaim their right to be part of the parenting history, wherein their contributions to the formation of society are recognized and respected. This polemical article amuses and interests me significantly. It amuses me because at the back of my mind, I felt gender discrimination in reverse. I believe that mothers have specials bonds with their children, but this belief, however, is marked by sexism. Do not fathers also share special bonds with their children? Laqueur (1990) challenged the notion of motherhood, because it undermined the importance of fatherhood. In my mind, it is better to not differentiate mothers from fathers, which is the same as stopping ourselves from differentiating women and men. Women and men have their own strengths and weaknesses and none is more superior. In the same line of thought, mothers and fathers are also equal. Let us just call motherhood and fatherhood as parenthood and give fathers their rightful place in the history and the practice of nurturing human society. Furthermore, this is also an interesting article, because it challenged me to talk about being a woman in relation to being a man. Being a woman has its multiplicities, and now, being a man has its pluralism too. For me, these multiplicities, acknowledged as part of gender analysis, render two steps forward for true gender equality. Journal entry 4 In â€Å"Criticizing Feminist Criticism,† Gallop, Hirsch, and Miller (1990) debated on the purposes and development of feminine criticism. Their main point is that feminist criticism writers have gone to the extreme, by pulverizing each other’s feminist views. They believe that this process is futile in understanding and improving the development of gender discourse and feminism. They asserted that feminism can be criticized in a more comprehensive manner, wherein there is no right or wrong feminism. I chose this article because it threads on sensitive issues, wherein the personal versus the collective idea of feminism clashes. Feminists have different worldviews about gender roles, sexuality, and femininity, and they criticize each other in different ways. I have never thought that feminist criticism has become too unconstructive. This is not my idea of criticism at all. I think about my own criticism of feminist criticism and I cannot help but agree that criticism is not about â€Å"thrashing† feminist theories (p. 350). Criticism is also about adding something to existing theories, in ways that can benefit the understanding of what it means to be a woman and how different understandings contribute to a wide range of feminism discourse. I earnestly believe also that feminists cannot define feminism in one way or several ways alone. Feminism should be viewed as a huge mess of ideas and values, different and special to women and groups, who fight for and because of different issues. Yes, it is a mess alright, because being a woman is a dynamic process that is also a part of being an individual and being a member of one’s race, class, and so on. Being a woman cannot ever be a tidy place, wherein women think the same and act the same. I would rather have it as a mess- wherein women are free to think and re-think feminism, in relation to their personal experiences and values. References Childers, M. & Hooks, B. (1990). A conversation about race and class. In M. Hirsch & E. F. Keller (Eds. ), Conflicts in feminism (pp. 60-81). New York, NY: Routledge. Gallop, J. , Hirsch, M. , & Miller, N. K. (1990). Criticizing feminist criticism. In M. Hirsch & E. F. Keller (Eds. ), Conflicts in feminism (pp. 349-369). New York, NY: Routledge. Laqueur, T. W. (1990). The facts of fatherhood. In M. Hirsch & E. F. Keller (Eds. ), Conflicts in feminism (pp. 205-221). New York, NY: Routledge. Robertson, J. (2003). Artistic behavior in the human female. In B. Stirratt & C. Johnson (Eds. ), Feminine persuasion: art and essays on sexuality (pp. 23-38). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Earth Layers Research Paper

How do scientists know what is in the center of the earth? How can we know what the core of the earth is made of, if scientists have never studied any materials from a depth below 7. 5 miles? Earth is approximately 4. 6 billion years old, and over this time period, many things have changed inside and out. The formation of our planet is quite amazing. Earth consists of multiple layers. The three most distinct or main layers are the core, mantle and crust. The inner portion is the core, in the middle is the mantle, and the outside is the crust. Over the course of this paper, the composition and formation of these layers will be described more specifically. According to ‘Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology’, â€Å"The inner core did not exist early in earth’s history, when our planet was hotter. However, as the Earth cooled, iron began to crystalize at the center to form the solid inner core and even today the inner core continues to grow as the planet cools. † The idea is that the core is composed of an iron-nickel alloy with traces of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur. The average density of this iron rich substance is fourteen times the density of water. The core is split into two separate regions, inner and outer core. The inner core is spherical and has a radius of 750 miles. The iron located within the inner core is solid, despite the high temperature; this is because of the mighty pressures in the middle of earth. The outer core is about 1400 miles thick and is a layer of liquid. Earth’s magnetic field is the cause of the movement of metallic iron within this area. The mantle contains eighty two percent of the volume of Earth. It is described as a rocky, solid shell that goes 1800 miles deep. The mantle consists of an upper and lower section. From the edge of the crust to about four hundred miles deep is considered the upper mantle. The upper mantle is divided into three separate parts. The lithosphere forms the rigid outer shell of Earth, making it the upper most part. In some areas below continents it can be more than 250 kilometers thick. Below the lithosphere lies the asthenosphere, which is a soft and weak layer. The top part of this layer has a temperature that causes some melting, which causes the lithosphere to detach from the layer and move independently. The upper part of the asthenosphere is near its melting point which makes it so weak. Below the asthenosphere, down about 660 kilometers deep is the section of the mantle known as the transition zone. The lower mantle is the largest part of the mantle. It lies at a depth of 660 kilometers down to 2900 kilometers. Increased pressure causes the mantle to strengthen as it becomes deeper. There is a layer between the lowest part of the rocky mantle and the hot outer core known as the â€Å"Dee double prime†. The face or rocky outer skin of the earth is known as the crust. The major features of the crust include the difference between the continental crust and oceanic crust. Oceanic crust is composed of basalt, a dark igneous rock, and is roughly five miles thick. Continental crust consists of many rock types, unlike oceanic crust. The thickness of continental crust averages about twenty five miles, but can be up to forty miles thick in some mountainous areas. Oceanic crust is denser because of the basalt in it. All the layers that make up the solid Earth are considered the geosphere. Above this sphere is called the biosphere. The biosphere includes all forms of life on our planet. The hydrosphere is a mass amount of water that is constantly on the move. From the oceans, it evaporates to the atmosphere, precipitates to the land, and then runs back to the ocean. About seventy percent of the planet’s surface consists of global ocean. The final sphere of Earth is the atmosphere and without it life here would not exist. The atmosphere is divided into five layers. The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth. This layer starts at the surface of Earth and extends outward about ten miles. It is in this area that weather occurs. Roughly eighty percent of the atmosphere is located in the troposphere. The stratosphere is the layer above the troposphere. This layer extends thirty miles above the planet’s surface. The temperature of this layer does rise, however it still remains below freezing. The next layer is the mesosphere, and rises about forty to fifty miles above the surface of Earth. The air is very thin in this layer and can reach temperatures as low as -184 degrees Fahrenheit. This layer is considered the middle atmosphere along with the troposphere. The thermosphere extends several hundred miles above the surface. The temperature of this layer can rise up to 2000 degrees Celsius. The thermosphere is considered the upper atmosphere. The top of the thermosphere is known as the exosphere. The exosphere rises 6200 miles above the Earth. This layer is called the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere. So how do we know what we know? Geologists have discovered a lot about the core of our planet by looking at Earth’s magnetic field and measuring seismic waves as they pass through the earth. Changes in these waves are studied, and Geologists are able to draw up conclusions about the Earths density and what it must look like inside. Rocks that originated in the mantle, and were collected at Earth’s surface have provided evidence that supports the composition of our planets interior. Meteorites also provide important clues for the composition of the core and mantle. These meteorites are important because they show samples of planetesimals, the material from which Earth and the inner planets were formed. Advances in technology have provided studies that support composition and density of the layers of Earth, such as the introduction of seismic wave studies that indicate what we know of the Earths layers today. Bibliography wwkidsgeo.com/geology en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_core Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology. Tenth edition. Tarbuck Lutgens and Tasa geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/p/layeratmosphere.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layers_of_the_atmosphere

Domestication of Plants and Animals in Anthropology Essay - 250

Domestication of Plants and Animals in Anthropology - Essay Example Taking wheat as an example, the wild variety of wheat had a tough but easily breakable rachis. The seed of the wild variety of barley easily clutter releasing the grains far away where they independently grow into mature wheat. In addition, the tough shell on the seeds of wild wheat prevents the seeds from being pre maturely exposed. Domesticated wheat on the other hand easily separates from char making it suitable for flouring. Progressive harvesting and planting of wild wheat lead to mutations that led to formation of a variety of wheat which had tougher seed coats to sustain the roughness which wheat goes through in the process of harvesting. Animals, on the other hand, had also to go through transformation suitable evidence lies in wild goats found in the Middle East which have horns with totally different shape as those that are reared at home (Ember 168). Animals and plants in the wild even though had more similarities with those that are domesticated, they are different becaus e they had to gain or lose a number features to make them adaptable for domestic purposes. There are two theories explaining why domestication occurred within a few thousand years ago. One of the theories, Gordon Childe’s Theory has it that unreliable climatic conditions led to domestication of animals and plants. Long periods of drought in the Middle East led to scarcity of food or even water. This led to crowding around water points and areas that earlier on had plenty of food. Man, therefore, realized that to mitigate the effect of drought and increase food production, domestication of plants and animals was inevitable (Ember 169).Another theory originated by Mark Cohen, Lewis-Flannery explains that domestication was as a result of curiosity and adventure. The man admired the beauty and abundance that defined hunting and collecting areas. He, therefore, wanted to replicate this abundance in his own home. This theory further agrees that population pressure

The topic is about different social class school have different Essay

The topic is about different social class school have different works(read two articles I provide, then write paper on the basis of two articles) - Essay Example Economically sound students can acquire knowledge from different sources whereas students from poor economic backgrounds may struggle to get enough resources for their learning needs. For example, computers and internet are essential for the students to get proper insights into the topics they learned in the class. However, poor students may not have the financial abilities to purchase it. Jean Anyon categorised schools into five different groups based on their social class; Working-class, middle-class, affluent, professional, and executive elite schools. On the other hand, Malcolm X illustrates how a learner may take responsibility of his/her own learning as he uses his new skill of reading and hunger for knowledge to learn the history of prejudice and discrimination against â€Å"the black man†. This paper analyses how active and analytical learning pedagogy and approaches as experienced by Malcolm X in comparison to Jean Anyon’s various social class based teaching me thods prove to be an effective pedagogy of teaching and learning as well as preparing our future leaders. Passive education or teaching is taking place in working class schools. â€Å"Social studies in the working-class schools is also largely mechanical, rote work that was given little explanation or connection to larger contexts. In one school, for example, although there was a book available, social studies work was to copy the teachers notes from the board. Several times a week for a period of several months the children copied these notes† (Anyon, p.5). â€Å"I read the histories of various nations which opened my eyes gradually, then wider and wider† (Malcolm, p.4). Both Malcolm and Anyon are saying the same thing that active education or teaching is not taking place in America, at least in the lower category schools. Teachers in such schools are not much interested in explaining the topics in detail. They will never try to explain the purpose, aim, and

Civil Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil Service - Essay Example From this study it is clear that   there are people who are dedicated enough to work tirelessly without thinking of the appreciation and rewards coming their way. Indeed such federal employees deserve all the accolades for being devoted to their respective jobs and demonstrating professionalism on an out and out basis. These federal employees find it easier to satisfy their conscience more than anyone else and this remains a much debatable aspect related with civil service nonetheless. The need is to understand how civil service could prove to be a positive force behind the nation’s perceptive regimes. The answer lays in the fact that accountability and hiring of dedicated staff could actually solve the anomaly with the issue at hand. This study outlines that the recognition and appreciation aspects of the federal employees come about when they do something extraordinary. However they are not given much credit when they do their work in a responsible manner, for the sake of the public. Indeed the fault lies within the public itself which fails to recognize the true talent of the civil service and the people who work within these areas – the federal employees. The state should also enact certain policies which ask of the people to give feedback with regards to these federal employees so that betterment within the relevant fields could be achieved. The civil service is indeed a domain of the government in one way or the other and hence the government should be accountable for the mistakes that these federal employees commit.  

Hospitality - chinese student palcement Dissertation

Hospitality - chinese student palcement - Dissertation Example One of the initial steps in building a strong foundation for an organization is through recruiting competent and reliable individuals who could perform well as individuals while lining their outputs with the goals of the organization. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is something every organization should find highly relevant to ensure their continued success and capability to compete in the market. It goes without saying that no organization ever attained their level of success by relying on employees with substandard skills and performance; nor did any of them manage to stay competitive by hiring employees unable to maintain a consistent level of output. This being the case, it would be instinctual – practically second nature – for organizations to go for those applicants who exhibit the greatest skill and/or potential, or to train them to achieve an ideal level of competence. Organizations that fail to do this should themselves prepare to fail. It is important to no te that employers are able to pick out individuals with high potential out of a pool of applicants. Thus, several recruitment practices are followed by employers. In certain cases where an employer has biases, Chinese applicants often have lowered chances of getting enlisted. With the growing need for highly capable individuals, employers have narrowed their eyes into spotting well-rounded applicants who could fill the needs of the organization (Bloch, 1994). This has become a major issue especially for individuals who belong in the minority, who in this case are the Chinese graduates. This gave rise to various forms of discrimination in the recruitment practices of employers (Bloch, 1994). Acquiring highly capable individuals are not the only problem of an employer; employee retention has also become one of the greatest problems among organizations. In the broad sense, employee retention refers to the effort of the employer to retain present employees in their workplace (Carsen, 20 05). Employers are faced with the challenge to minimize employee turnover. Typically, this is done through hiring and training practices along with efforts to increase employee job satisfaction (Connell and Phillips, 2003). Additionally, organizations that were able to hire highly competent employees value the capabilities of such employees, since they are able to perform well while attaining both their professional goals and the objectives of the organization (Connell and Phillips, 2003). Thus, losing such effective individuals could lead to poorer workforce performance. It has become a great challenge for Chinese graduates to look valuable in the eyes of the employer. To achieve this, Chinese individuals must be trained well especially through their educational backgrounds. The Advanced Placement program is a great opportunity for Chinese students to learn the operations and processes that occur in their chosen disciplines, which in this case is the hospitality business. There is a need to identify the weaknesses of Chinese students in order to address their issues through various training programs especially the Advanced Placement program. Moreover, in order for Chinese employees to be of value to their organization, they must be well-prepared so that they could perform productively, effectively and efficiently. It is very important for Chinese students to have a solid educational background that would equip them with the skills needed to perform well in the Hotel industry. Research Objectives This study aims to

The Portrait of Dorian Gray Critical Analysis Essay

The Portrait of Dorian Gray Critical Analysis - Essay Example The story can be read as a depiction of transgressive love between men, but it contains also some very deep messages about morality which are surprisingly close to the strict, Victorian values of the time. This paper explores the contention that The Portrait of Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale intended to uphold Victorian family values and warn against the extremes of any kind of passion. Judging by the title of the novel, Dorian Gray is the central character in the book. The artist Basil’s infatuation with him is based on Dorian’s physical appearance, since he is described as â€Å"a young man of extraordinary personal beauty† (DG, p. 2. He is likened to a Greek god – such as Adonis, or the mythical boy who fell in love with his reflection, Narcissus (DG, p. 3). It is no coincidence that he is likened to these pre-Christian icons. The artist, Basil, declares to Dorian â€Å"As I said to Harry, once, you are made to be worshipped† (DG, p. 130). Basi l is an idealistic person, devoted to his work, and celebrated in wealthy circles because of his talents. In every respect he represents a classically educated, admirable person, who lives out his dreams of beauty in his painting activity. At the beginning of the novel Dorian is morally neutral, and he evidently has little experience of love relationships, because he struggles to understand Basil’s idolatrous kind of love, and wonders himself if he will ever experience such a feeling in his life. He remonstrates with Basil, urging him not to talk of worship since the two men are friends, but this shows that Dorian has not fully grasped what it means to be consumed with admiration for a person of great beauty. Basil unwittingly corrupts the innocent Dorian by turning his head with extreme flattery. Another possible role model for Dorian is the older, cynical figure of Lord Henry Wotton. This character deals with the restrictive morality of the time by reinterpreting it as some thing inferior, that holds back human beings from realizing their full potential. Lord Henry Wotton takes an opposite line of argument by undermining notions of deep love, and recommending a lifestyle that revels in promiscuous relationships. He maintains that â€Å"The people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom, or their lack of imagination† (DG, p. 55). This character corrupts Dorian by giving him immoral reading material and encouraging him to experiment with habits that break social conventions. Faced with these two conflicting views of the world, Dorian is perplexed, and so he sets out on a journey of discovery, planning to work out things for himself. His gravest sin is not the impulsive wish to remain youthfully beautiful, but it is desire for knowledge, the original sin of Judaeo-Christian tradition: â€Å"The more he knew, the more he desired to know. He had mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them† (DG, p. 145). Following the aesthetic tastes of Basil and the pleasurable habits of Henry leads Dorian to confuse evil with beauty: â€Å"There were moments when he [Dorian] looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realise his conception of the beautiful† (DG, p. 165). Somehow Dorian blends the opposite examples of his friends into a monstrous combination that creates within him an irresolvable tension: â€Å"The unresolved conflicts in the plot of the novel reflect deep division in his own identity†

Interpersonal Skills for Nursing Practice Essay

Interpersonal Skills for Nursing Practice - Essay Example Establishing this kind of effective communication in order to be understood and also get necessary feedback to help the nurse in his or her work is very essential and demanding. It requires a keen evaluation of the environment to understand the kind of people such a nurse is dealing with and find the most suitable ways of communicating with that person or groups of people. It is even more challenging when interpersonal skills are put to task together with the skills of communication so as to help solve a given situation or simply just pass information to a patient who does not seem to have it easy in receiving and giving needed feedback. Like for my case, James has cerebral palsy and thus coordination and communication becomes very difficult for him (Beckung, 2002, pp. 309-316). For James, saying a few words is possible but these are very limited to the format of yes or no kind of approach and this could at time me combined with hand gestures which need to be learnt well in order to know how to respond to his needs. The difficulties that come with interpersonal communication aside, communication remains a very critical part of any healthcare provision practice and no nursing professional is safe without this important skill. It is a fundamental concept within the care giving practice. There are variations when it comes to safe and effective communication and the situation becomes even more complicated when it is the case to do with patients from special groups such as disabled, infants, old people and others where a variety of skills are required to carry out a successful nursing practice on these groups. the practice thus involved application of complex skills and other forms of intervention which in most cases become characterized by care, compassion, respect and dignity (Creel, et al., 2002, pp.2-28). This paper deals with the application of interpersonal nursing skills which puts much emphasis on effective communication with patients and other people through the application of interpersonal skills that have been learnt in my course of study. To help me make a clear approach to explaining how I went through this process successfully, I will have to deal with various aspects of communication and would address such things as the relationship and factors which do influence engagement or relationship between the nursing professional and the patient or other people. This area will have to narrow down to various factors such as those resulting from the environment; the active listening skills which includes non-verbal communication while attending to a patient; qualities for building up good relationships; and the development of ethically sound relationships with patients and people around me. In this paper, I would try linking theory and practice by relating what I have learnt in class to my practical nursing experience with the patient, James. I am expected to give a clear and vivid explanation of what went on and how I happened to tackle it (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2004). The patient that I dealt with in my practice and application of these skills was James as mentioned above. This patient had a spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and suffers from epilepsy and scoliosis. His normal functioning of the body muscles is disrupted causing st iffness of the body muscles or paralysis of the four quadrants of the body at ago. For that case, James could not walk and had impaired speech functions (Banta, 2003, pp.2-18;

Outline the key topics that underpin the study of Social Policy Essay

Outline the key topics that underpin the study of Social Policy - Essay Example Social policy encourages similar living standards for everyone in the society. This includes providing equal education, healthcare, employment, money, security, and other important necessities of life. There are some important bodies involved in social policy as well and these include government, official bodies, charitable organizations, social human beings, neighbors, and families (Alcock, May, & Wright, 2012). Social policy is not only concerned with what the government does for citizens. However, social policy refers to the social spending by any individual for other. Social policy defines the role of government to spend for the people. These spending include pension funds, hospitals, and schools. Based only on government, the social policy can vary depending upon several factors including economic situation. Social policy is a wide subject accompanying different approaches including sociology, psychology, history, economics, demography, and human geography. Therefore, it could also be defined as combining approaches from the different social sciences. Social policy may also include other important aspect such as the amount of spending that the government should make on defense, law and order, industry and agricultural employment, transport, sport and culture, international development, and debt interest. Although the government of most of the countries do more than one-third of the collected wealth, but the private spending in social policy is more than the services government providing. Understanding the term of doing well or good to human beings is complex. It includes different factors and the study of these factors is social policy, and social science. The above mentioned five key factors of social policy are given birth by the societies just because either society understands and recognizes the social human needs and gives an expression of social welfare. Another important believe of the social policy is that when it is

How can technological change have an impact on the operating Essay

How can technological change have an impact on the operating environment of a global business - Essay Example The multinational organisations should work and invest on the research and development activities in order to come up with different innovative ideas to create competitive edge over other competitors in the industry (Amable, Barre, & Boyer, 1997). Operating Environment of a Global Business: The operating environment of a global business can be classified as internal business environment and external business environment. It is important for the organisations to carefully analyse and evaluate the overall operating environment and come up with strategies which facilitate the organisations in the process of enhancing and improving their internal environment and competencies on the basis of the changes in the external environment. There are different strategic tools and methods used for the evaluation and analysis of the internal and external environment of the organisation (Freeman, 2010). For instance the internal environment is analysed with the help of the VRIO framework and resource based view. This framework allows the organisation to identify the internal competencies and skills which can be converted into competitive advantage (Freeman, 2010). On the other hand the external environment is analysed with the help of the PESTEL framework and Porter’s five forces. ... factors can act either on national level or international level, at the same time the influence of each of these factors is directly dependent on the nature of the market (Freeman, 2010). Hence, it is important for the multinational organisations to carefully plan and execute the strategies on the basis of the external environment factors. On the other hand Porter’s five forces try to evaluate the impact of competitors and other important forces in the organisation including suppliers’ power, customers’ power, competitive forces, substitutes, and potential entrants (Freeman, 2010). Hence, it can be said that the strategic choices of the organisations are dependent on the environmental factors along with the availability of the resources and internal competencies. These elements allow the organisation to evaluate the technological changes and the resulting innovations. Along with this the bases of competitive advantage allows the organisation to decide that whethe r they will be innovation leader or innovation follower. The choices regarding the sustaining competitive advantages allow the organisations to manage the overall process of innovation along with the issues of the globalisation and intellectual property rights. Lastly, there are decisions related to the competition and collaboration (Freeman, 2010). Technological Changes and Innovations: Out of the all macro environmental factors the impact of the technological changes and innovations on the operating environment of the organisations is being increasingly discussed. The technological changes and innovations have been forcing the organisations to continuously change and enhance the products and processes (Christensen, 1997). There are several reasons behind the technological changes, for instance it can be

Perspective Essay Example for Free

Perspective Essay Everyone can view perspectives differently and sometimes it is hard to understand another person’s perspective. Many people do the things they do because they feel that their perspective is the right one. Personally I believe that sometimes people do not want to look at the others personal perspective because they know that they are wrong with their own. In other words, some people know what they are doing is wrong and do not want to do anything to fix it. In my perspective of being angry with my friend, I was angered that my friend who had been living with me for a week during the summer was not picking up after himself. I had to clean up all of his messes and had to make sure that our living area was not in complete disarray. It angered me because I had to clean up after him as well as myself. I feel that he should have contributed at least a little bit to our situation. We were both away from our homes and were both in the same situation and he just relied on me to be his personal â€Å"maid.† My response to this situation that I was dealing with was that I was very short tempered, and I did not want to communicate with my friend as much. He got the hint that something was wrong, but he did not have any idea about what was wrong. I tried to just blow off the situation and see if he was going to eventually start helping out, but nothing changed. Finally, I opened my mouth and told him that he needed to start helping around the place. He got super offensive and he stated, â€Å"I thought that room service was cleaning our room.† Some people expect things in life, and my friend was one of these people. My perspective changed after I looked at how this kid grew up. He had his parents and his grandma do everything for him. From doing the dishes to taking out the trash, this kid had never done a chore in his life. Sometimes you just have to look at the other person’s personal background and look at how they were raised. Of course it was not the right way to being raised, but I couldn’t control what he was used to. Problems occur in perspective taking all the time because not everyone is raised the same. Many people come from different backgrounds and different societies. We all view things differently and based on the way we were raised. Sometimes your own perspective may not be the agreeable one, and that is the hardest thing to change, especially if you grew up with it.

Composition and Structure of Long Bone and Skeleton Function

Composition and Structure of Long Bone and Skeleton Function The composition of bone, the structure of the long bone and the function of the skeleton Composition of bone Bone itself consists mainly of collagen fibres and an inorganic bone mineral in the form of small crystals (University of Cambridge 2005). Bones are living tissue which is made up of connective tissue. The bone tissue is made up of several types of bone cells such as osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts are needed to aid the process of healing and osteoclasts are needed to break down old bone to make room for new bone. Bones contain phosphorus and calcium which are inorganic salts; these salts give the bone strength. The bone also has collagenous fibers to give the bone flexibility. Structure of the long bone The long bone consists of hyaline cartilage which covers the ends of the bone and stops them rubbing together as well as absorbing shock. The head of the long bone is called epiphysis. Compact bone is hard, dense bone and is the outer layer of the long bone, this gives the hallow part of the bone strength. Cancellous bone is the spongey bone in the long bone, which stores the red bone marrow and this is where blood cells are made. The yellow bone marrow is stored in the marrow cavity of the long bone and this is where white blood cells are made. Cancellous bone looks like honey comb as it is very porous and is easily recognised. The epiphyseal plate is where the bones grow in length. The shaft in the long bone itself is called the diaphysis. The periosteum is a protective layer on the long bone that has no cartilage; this is where the tendons and ligaments connect to (Curran 2016). Below is a picture of the structure of the long bone (LinkedIn Corporation 2017). Functions of the skeleton The functions of the skeleton include protection, movement, formation of blood cells and storage. Protection: Vital organs such as the heart and lungs are protected by the skeleton, the heart and lungs are protected by the sternum (breast bone) and the enclosure of the rib cage. The brain is also protected by the cranium (skull). Movement: Bones and muscles work together to produce body movement as a lever. Bones and muscles form joints which are needed to move. Formation of blood cells: This process is called haematopoiesis where blood cells are produced in the bone marrow of some bones. Storage: Bones store minerals such as calcium and phosphorus which are inorganic salts needed for the strength of bones. These materials are stored in the bones when there is too much present in the blood (Curran 2016). Types of joints and their functions There are three different types of joints; Fibrous joints, cartilaginous joints and synovial joints. Their main function is movement of the limbs and stability for example the stability found in the bones of the skull (Boundless 2016). Fibrous Joints Fibrous joints are immoveable i.e. they cannot move. These joints are held together with only a ligament. An example of this type of joint would be the cranium.   (Google Images 2017) Cartilaginous Joints Cartilaginous joints are partly moveable and the connection between articulating bones is made up of cartilage. An example of this type of joint is between the vertebrae that form the spine. The arrow in the below picture indicates where the cartilage is in the spine. (Google Images 2017) Synovial Joints Synovial joints are freely moveable and are the most known and common type of joints in the body. These joints have a synovial capsule surrounding the joint and the synovial membrane secretes synovial fluid to provide lubrication to the joint which prevents friction allows for more movement. Cartilage provides padding to each end of the bone. There are six types of synovial joints; hinge, pivot, ball socket, saddle, condyloid and gliding joints. Examples of synovial joints would be elbows, knees and hips (Boundless 2016).   Ã‚   (Google Images 2017)

Development of Interactive Science Learning Material

Development of Interactive Science Learning Material Firoz Hasan Project Objective Tab-Based Interactive Science Laboratory for school’s Students. The objective of this project is to use create an interactive science laboratory on the tab for the students in grade 3, 4, and 5 of the primary stage. The proposed application is supposed to help the students in such grades to implement and interact with the scientific experiments mentioned in their science books using augmented reality and graphics in a risk-free environment Problems Definition Being citizens of third world countries, It has been heard since very beginning of life that getting high marks in school will ensure future help in getting admission in faculties of universities that are of high demand. Moreover, it has been guaranteed with jobs after graduation. No scope for creativity, zero innovation invention. Most people only concentrated on official jobs but they don’t think about development and interact much with nature. It is said as proverb that learning in childhood is similar to stone inscription that’s hard to be erased. The problem is that people are motivated wrongly since childhood not knowing the main aim for education and learning. This is the main problem of third world countries that leads to the opposite direction of development. The problems remain as they were. The main aim for education and knowledge and learning is to use them properly to solve daily life problems, to have a better life by doing researches and make progress in natural science. In one word, to survive and live in this world it is obligatory to know about its nature and exploitation of it for existence. If children are motivated by this reason then there will be no excuses for aggravation. Moreover, interaction with nature is a great factor that can make big differences. As this application will be related to virtual lab interaction that satisfies the needs of the pupil of primary stage, so it is necessary to discuss about the importance of lab and lack of labs’ effect in Egypt. It’s proven scientifically that picture is the best way to memorize things. So lab is definitely the most suitable place to learn the most because everything here is real or can be seen. Moreover, as it has been mentioned before that anything learned in the beginning of childhood will be always remembered. For example, it’s seen that plant is guided by fences to grow it in one direction. So they grow up as strong rooted tree. Similar to plant , pupils of primary stage must be directed in this way. They must be given chances to attend lab in order to understand the natural science easily and in it’s way practically by interaction. So they will grow up as a well educated person. However, as Egypt is a third world country, labs can’t be provided in most schools because of lack of funding, intention etc. For that reason I am going to create virtual lab interaction application to help our primary stage’s pupils. So its time to figure out the reason of superiority of Western education. Motivation of Western Science Related Education Its superiority Western education is characterized by the right motivation for children with right direction and direct interaction with nature. It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. This proverb is well explained by Western education practically. For example, a person does something certain when he needs to do it or forced. If problems are on his way, then he thinks more creatively until he reaches to his destination. We as human beings work or solve our problems for only one purpose and that is our existence. Western education successfully penetrates through the logic of children with idea that you must or have to study or have enough education in natural science because of your survival. Moreover, with additional weapons such as lab for interaction with nature and creative stuffs that successfully encourages them to learn natural sciences. So Western (European) education leads its nation towards the path of continuous development. Previous Work Virtual lab interaction application is not a new idea to do projects on. There are many past projects that are presently in use by many research centers and universities. Followings are examples of projects that are widely used by many institutions. The Virtual Lab Series The Virtual Stickleback Evolution Lab has won several awards, including top honors in the Pirelli International Award competition, which recognizes it as the best multimedia products designed to use the Internet to educate about science and technology. BioInteractive’s series of virtual labs provides students with the opportunity to practice the skills and techniques of scientific research in a fully interactive, virtual environment. Virtual lab online Moreover, Virtual lab online applications is designed by Indian public universities under the governance of Ministry of Human Resource Development to support students and to ease the burden of problems. Solution Now it is obligatory to discuss about the proposed solution of problem. Before moving to the other points of analysis, its needed to conclude the point of problems or complains that because of poor education system that unsuccessfully delivers the aim or purpose of education, many students are forced to study subjects that are not in very need. Now, as it has been written previously that one of the main differences between two education systems is lab or interaction with the curriculum. The simple solution of our problem is building labs in schools. However, as this project is been done specifically about Egypt, this is almost impossible to be implanted. There are many reasons behind impossibility such as lack of funding in education field, lack of honest intentions etc. The main reason is the lack of honest intentions of government or in other words though it may have honest intentions, failure is always on their way because of implementation technique and future planning. Moreover, this is a long time process that can do nothing instantly for our problem. So its time to think for other alternatives. As in this part of project, the proposed solution is to create an Android application of virtual lab interaction. Virtual lab interaction application is where students of primary stage can do experiments on their Android tablets. Nowadays, tablets are in very affordable price and are very popular with middle class families. In very near future, tablets will be all over and in every one’s hand. Moreover, most of tablets are run by Android OS. So virtual lab interaction will be very useful to our students of primary stage. This application has many good features such as it’s environment is completely safe and doesn’t contain any hazardous or dangerous materials compared to real labs. Moreover, it’s user friendly interaction and easy movement of scientific materials eases the process of learning and saves time greatly compared to the real one. It’s must to be mentioned that I am going to add other features such as videos of experiments, puzzles and small quizzes. Moreover, whole the curriculum will be explained in very simple and organized way with animations and pictures and followed by small quizzes. Interactive Science Laboratory Description Properties This application is similar to portable lab. It’s the virtual lab for tablets to handle experiments, simulate analyze with different kind of lab tools. Virtual Reality In this application, it is possible to conduct real life experiments it enables the parallax effect from different angles so users will get experience like a real lab. Risk Free Conduct dangerous experiments without worrying about anything like breaking beakers or getting cut by broken glass. Deeper Learning Utilization different label helps to get the precise mass, temperature, thickness and volume of each substance in holders. Required Equipment Language : java Operating System : Android IDE : Eclipse , Android Studio Application Framework : libGDX Timetable indicating the activities and their target dates Activities Target Result Analysis Phase The Analysis Phase is where defines complete Strategical direction all over the tab-based interactive science laboratory project lifecycle break down high level project needs to more detailed requirements. Its required to gather requirements in this phase which simply asks at what is needed for this project. So analysis phase will identify gaps between reality and goals. Design Phase This design phase will identify architecture, blueprints how the application looks like. The design phase shows how those functions will actually be implemented in the system. This phase will utilize gathered information of analysis phase. This is the phase where identify what the application needs, how to use it, how much current idea of application needs to change based on requirements. In this tab-based interactive science laboratory project design phase is going to have scenario drawing of each experiments. It will explains every single details of each experiments, what will happen when users press button, how to interact with application etc. So its needed to be careful in design phase, as any flaw or error can lead a failure application. Implementation Phase After completing design phase its time to start implementation. So main focus of developing or actual coding will start in this phase. It will take the longest time in whole project. Basically for this tab-based interactive science laboratory application the core programming language will be java special development application framework called libGDX. libGDX uses some third-party libraries to provide its functionality, these include Lightweight Java Game Library,  OpenGL,  FreeType,  mpg123,  Vorbis, SoundTouch Audio Processing Library,  Box2D,  OpenAL, and  Kiss FFT etc. Testing Phase This phase provides information about quality of the application, ideally testing will exercise the system in all possible ways. It reveals bugs, detect flaws in application, identify logical error etc. The main goal is to evaluate the system as a whole, not its parts. Documentation Presentation Phase It is the final phase which is going to take approximately 3-4 weeks. Its needed to make presentation write dissertation 70 80 pages which should contain abstract, methodology, results, conclusion, references. Benefits Advantages No more lab required, just need a tablet. Risk free so learning process is fast fearless. Hands on experience so student learn by doing experiments. Every experiments add some new features with very interesting and user friendly interface a lot of multimedia. No complex setup or installation required. Every experiments is like scenario of a story so the student will never feel bored easy to understand. So this application teach them, help them in doing experiments , test their capabilities of doing scientific experiments. Generally student has School Book where they can only see experiments picture and imagine. External Book some extra exercise nothing more. School Lab limited time access not risk free environment. This application will implement the experiments more than once in a risk free environment, students are required to use them interactively learn the experiments by themselves, this application is going to test students capabilities through some exercises and quizs by this way it is possible to get all benefit without any disadvantages. At last it can be hoped expected that tab-based interactive science laboratory project can serve primary level students well students will get benefitted from this application. Reference Lists Chemical Reactions.Chemical Reactions. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.Retrieved from http://www.learningscience.org/psc3cchemrxs.htm And, Les.PHASE 7: TEST PHASE(n.d.): n. pag. Web.. Retrieved from http://doit.maryland.gov/SDLC/Documents/SDLC Phase 07 Integration and Test Phase Multiple Hardware.pdf Biochemistry and Molecular Biology EducationVolume 29, Issue 4, Article First Published Online: 10 OCT 2008.Development and Evaluation of Virtual Labs and Other Interactive Learning Tools.Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-3429.2001.tb00108.x/pdf Christou, Ioannis T., Thanassis Tiropanis, Sofia Tsekeridou, and Konstantinos Roussos. Grid-based Interactive Virtual Scientific Experiments for Distributed Virtual Communities.International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning20.6 (2010):Retrieved from http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/265273/1/LGH-book-chapter.pdf KET Virtual Physics Labs.KET Virtual Physics Labs Blog Posts RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.Retrieved from http://virtuallabs.ket.org/physics/ Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab | HHMIs BioInteractive.HHMI.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/lizard-evolution-virtual-lab

Back Where I Come From Essay -- Kenny Chesney Music Essays

Back Where I Come From Where someone is born and raised holds a special place in their heart. In the song, â€Å"Back Where I Come From,† written by Kenny Chesney, he speaks from his heart about his hometown and attempts to share those feelings with his audience. He sings about specific experiences growing up, and this is his way of reflecting what the feeling of home means to him. The structure in which he has written this piece focuses a lot of attention on the author himself. His informality invites the audience to share his experiences with him. Chesney appeals to emotion through his anecdotes and creates an impression on the audience. Through the analysis of this song it is easy to identify the type of rhetorical appeal Kenny Chesney presents to his audience. Kenny Chesney was born and raised in the tiny town of Luttrell, Tennessee. He played high school football and attended college. â€Å"Anyone who is passionate about music is emotional,†(â€Å"Kenny Chesney†) comments Chesney. Since he was young he had a dream to do what he loves most, and that is to sing. Kenny Chesney has become famous by singing about his own life, which is particularly apparent in the song, â€Å"Back Where I Come From.† Ultimately, it seems that he wants his audience to feel what he feels and be where he has been. â€Å"My audience is smart. They are real people who lead whole lives,†(â€Å"Kenny Chesney†) explains Chesney. He believes his audience to be, in essence, like himself: those who feel the deeper meanings of life. When explaining the audience of a performer, it could be as straightforward as the people who fill music venues around the world to hear his music. In this case, it is more than that. It is the people who hear his music and don’t shrug it off as typ... ...ics. A successful musical artist appeals to these rhetorical ideas to keep the interest growing for more of the same type of music. The song, â€Å"Back Where I Come From† tells a lot about its author, Kenny Chesney. Lyrically, the song can relate to so any people on so many levels and appeals to its audience through emotion. The structure he uses affects the music he makes. There are so many ways of expressing feelings and emotions. Music seems to be one of the strongest ways of conveying deep thought and emotion, because without the added beat or tune, music is just words. Some audiences can relate just as well to written text, but Chesney’s audience loves him for his musical purpose and talents. He writes with his heart for people like him that can relate to his experiences or live with him his dreams. Kenny Chesney is a lover, a writer, a singer, and an inspirer.

Comparing the Characters in Laurents West Side Story and Shakespeare

Meshing Together of Characters in Arthur Laurents' West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet The meshing of characters between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story formulate significant similarities between the two. In Romeo and Juliet the story of â€Å"Two households both alike in dignity,† (Montagues and Capulets) who have been feuding is parallel to the two gangs in West Side Story (Jets and Sharks). This grouping of loyalties keeps the segregation of the two groups at a dead lock, thus producing the tension that keeps the two lovers in each play (Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria) in the unattainable, intangible realm of their idealistic love. It is these two groupings that cause the star-crossed lovers to forfeit their lives in Romeo and Juliet’s instance and costs Tony his life in his and Maria’s love. Why do these groups feud and keep love bound by hatred? How are these groups alike in their intent? What are the similarities between the leaders of the groups or gangs in both Romeo and Juliet and West S ide Story? The hatred of diversity is what created these groupings, binding them to love their hate. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet the conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets is kept heated by the servants. Montague: Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach? Speak, nephew: were you by when it began? Benvolio: Here were the servants of your adversary And yours, close fighting ere I did approach. I drew to part them. In the instant came The fiery Tybalt with his sword prepared (Shakespeare 875). The servants uphold the ancient grudge that has plagued the houses of Montague and Capulet. The older men of the two househol... ... segregation limits on different cultures and households keeps us away from death. West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet cover up this message of segregation by bleeding the characters together and putting the idea of idealistic love in the forbears of the main characters. This cover up causes us to analyze their love and relationship and separate relationships with the other characters rather than see the picture for what it is. Never was there a story of more woe than that of Racism and what we Know! Works Cited Laurents, Arthur. West Side Story. (A musical, based on a conception of Jerome Robbins; music by Leonard Bernstein; lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.) NY: Random House, 1966. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Volume I. Ed. W. G. Clark and W. Aldis Wright. NY: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., 247-277.

Guilt and Innocence in ”The Scarlet Letter” Essay

Knowledge and sin connect in the Judeo-Christian tradition in the story of Adam and Eve. Sin becomes the outcome in the story of Adam and Eve when they get thrown out of the Garden of Eden. After their banishment from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve must work and bear children. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale experience similar situations as Adam and Eve in the novel _The Scarlet Letter_ written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. For Hester, the scarlet letter becomes her ticket to go places no one else would dare go to. However, for Dimmesdale, the weight of his sin gives him close and personal sympathy with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so he feels a kinship with them. Hester and Dimmesdale reflect on their own sinfulness on a daily basis and strive to resolve it with their own knowledge. In the novel _The Scarlet Letter_, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the theme of guilt and innocence through Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Pearl to show that sometimes guilt or innocence is a conscious decision. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by displaying how Reverend Dimmesdale’s guilt affects him. In Chapter Ten, Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Dimmesdale talk about why black weeds would spring up in a buried heart of a dead man to represent an unspoken crime. Reverend Dimmesdale speaks that no power above the Divine mercy reveals the secrets that bury with a human heart. The minister replied, â€Å"The heart making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed† (Hawthorne 118). Reverend Dimmesdale says that the heart forces itself to feel guilty for keeping those secrets concealed in itself. The heart must inevitably hold those secrets in itself until judgment day when all hidden things reveal themselves. A person’s own impression of sin can keep him/her away from making the right decision like Reverend Dimmesdale. True blockage from his own logic of crime prevents Reverend Dimmesdale from meeting Hester and Pearl on the scaffold, which points him towards adding to his sin (Bloom 16). Reverend Dimmesdale’s sense of personal sin becomes too overwhelming for him from the pressures as a minister. He does not stand next to Hester and Pearl on the scaffold since his label as a minister keeps him form  admitting to his sin. In Chapter 12, at nighttime, Reverend Dimmesdale goes out to get a reasonable perspective of what it would maybe feel like to stand on the scaffold. He believes that no one except him walks the streets at that late hour, but he finds Reverend Mr. Wilson walking past him to his home from Governor Winthrop’s death-bed. The narrator describes, â€Å"And thus, while standing on the scaffold, in this vain show of expiation, Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart† (Hawthorne 134). Reverend Dimmesdale feels as if something revealed his guilt and sin to the universe. He does not want others to know of his guilt, but rather of his pure heart and innocent mind. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by exhibiting how Reverend Dimmesdale allows his guilt to affect him and his actions. In Chapter 12, Reverend Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold that Hester Prynne stood on seven years earlier. Hester Prynne comes from Governor Winthrop’s house to find Reverend Dimmesdale on her way home. â€Å"Come up hither, Hester, thou and little Pearl,† said the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. â€Å"Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you. Come up hither once again, and we will stand all three together† (Hawthorne 138). Reverend Dimmesdale finally reveals the guilt that he kept to himself for seven years. He admits that he sinned and will stand by his guilty partner when he feels the need to. In Chapter Ten, Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Dimmesdale argue about whether or not a man should reveal his secrets to rid themselves of the unutterable guilt. They cannot agree on why a man w ould not get rid of his guilt sooner. The clergyman says, â€Å"Why should a wretched man, guilty, we will say, of murder, prefer to keep the dead corpse buried in his own heart, rather than fling it forth at once, and let the universe take care of it† (Hawthorne 119). A man guilty of murder may prefer to keep it buried in his own heart because he knows the results would label him as sinful and evil. Man does not want others to know him as a sinner, but as an innocent churchgoer. The importance of sin in the society where Dimmesdale lives seems to center around the townspeople’s lives and beliefs. Hawthorne writes his story covering the fundamental statement that sin becomes extremely important as within the days and philosophies of the earliest  Puritans (Bloom 10). Puritans believe that because public lives and private lives link together, sins of friends and associates could taint one’s name, like guilt by association. The public holds Dimmesdale high in society and mark him with great importanc e. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by demonstrating how Hester Prynne deals with her guilt from the sin she commits. In Chapter Two, the narrator describes the scene of Hester Prynne walking out of the prison into the daylight. Hester’s reaction as she walks out of the prison into the crowd of people on her way to the market-place illustrates her motherly instincts. The young mother stands before the crowd with an expression that looks as if she might grasp the infant close to her chest; not to protect the infant, but hide an item sewn onto her dress. She quickly realizes that she cannot hide the shame sewn onto her dress with the shame she holds in her arms, and she then gazes around at the townspeople. A fine red letter A surrounded by fancy sewing of gold thread appears on her chest (Hawthorne 47). The young woman knows of the guilt and shame placed upon her, figuratively and literally. She knows it figuratively by the guilt and shame of having an affair. Literally by the scarlet red letter â€Å"A† sewn onto her gown with gold thread. She will not allow others to place fault on her for covering up or taking off the letter â€Å"A† from her clothing, giving her some sense innocence. In Chapter Three, Reverend Mr. Wilson tries to pressure and persuade Hester into giving up the name of the father of her baby. She refuses to speak of his name because she does not want him to bear the burden of the guilt. Reverend Mr. Wilson harshly cries out at Hester that she should not sin further than the limits of Heaven’s forgiveness. The baby in her arms will reveal to the counsel the name of Hester’s fellow sinner. He bargains with her that she can take the scarlet letter off her breast if she reveals his name. She refuses to speak the name or take the scarlet le tter off her breast. Hester will bear the burden of his guilt and hers so that he can feel innocent and free (Hawthorne 61). Reverend Mr. Wilson tries to find out what man committed the sin with Hester and now should label himself as a father of her child. She knows that unless she speaks his name he will not need to feel guilty. Hester Prynne stands up and fights for what she believes in, instead of  allowing herself to become vulnerable. The issue of who controls the letter, and the vulnerability of Hester’s identity, occurs at the end of the first scene, when the Reverend Mr. Wilson tries to persuade Hester into naming her lover by suggesting the information will allow her to take the scarlet letter off her clothing. Her response tells him that it will take more to intimidate her. Hester weakens their ruling by her extreme truthfulness toward the scarlet letter. She becomes the front line of communication and character (Bloom 101). Hester knows that she committed a sin and believes that she needs to pay the price by wearing the scarlet letter. She presents herself to others as guilty by wearing the scarlet letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by revealing how Hester Prynne overcomes her guilt through many years of grief. In Chapter Five, the narrator says that Hester will become the example for the preacher and moralist to use in their teachings. Hester must move on from that and live her life in the fullest. The days will continue onward, still with the load of burden for her to carry with her, but never to drop; for the many coming days and years would stack up their sadness upon the mound of shame. Throughout all of them, giving her individuality away, she would become the symbol for preachers and moralists to use, and in which they might bring life and embody their pictures of women’s weakness and wicked passion. The young and pure would learn to look at her as the figure, the reality of sin (Hawthorne 71). Hester’s guilt becomes the highlight of the preacher’s and moralist’s teachings. She no longer feels innocent from guilt or shame. In Chapter 15, Hester takes Pearl into the forest for a walk, so she can talk to Reverend Dimmesdale about Roger Chillingworth’s secret identity. Pearl asks many questions about different people and items like the scarlet letter and the minister putting his hand over his heart all the time. The narrator describes, â€Å"In all the seven bygone years, Hester Prynne had never before been false to the symbol on her bosom† (Hawthorne 164). Hester never denied her guilt before in the past seven years, until Pearl nags Hester to tell her the reason for wearing the scarlet letter. She does not know why she denied the guilt the scarlet letter reminds her of. Mothers teach their children everything they needed because the mothers know the children the best. The consecrated union in  which the mother teaches her offspring about the letters of communication that expresses her character and position within the town, becomes broken from the lie about the letter. Hester teaches Pearl the alphabet and Pearl acknowledges the letter _A_ from the hornbook Hester taught with. Pearl fails the test of knowing her true identity from Hester not telling her the real significance of the letter (Bloom 64). Hester chooses not to tell Pearl the true meaning of the letter A on her chest, so she makes herself feel guilt and shame for lying to Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the theme of guilt and innocence throughout the novel by illustrating how Pearl becomes a symbol of Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin. In Chapter Two, Hester realizes that no one but her stands on the scaffold, with an infant in her arm, and the letter â€Å"A† sewn onto her gown. She does not want to believe in the truth. The narrator describes, â€Å"Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes!-these were her realities,-all else had vanished† (Hawthorne 53). Hester realizes her guilt and shame for a moment while standing on the scaffold. In this case, she realizes that no innocence will come to her and free her from her guilt. In Chapter Six, Pearl does not see the entire reason as to why no one will become her friend. She also doesn†™t understand what she did to deserve loneliness. The narrator says, â€Å"Nothing was more remarkable than the instinct, as it seemed, with which the child comprehended her loneliness; the destiny that had drawn an inviolable circle round about her; the whole peculiarity, in short, of her position in respect to other children† (Hawthorne 84). Pearl displays herself as innocent, but gets caught up in the guilt of her mother because she bears the same label as her mother, a sinner. Hester lives with the guilt of putting this burden on her daughter. Arthur Dimmesdale fears that Pearl will figure out that they possess similar facial appearances. The infant’s uniqueness carries someone else’s: that, like a letter, she possesses the evidence to the complete understanding of someone else’s personality-_A_ condenses Adultery, or even Arthur. Pearl’s father’s initials include the first two letters of adultery. Pearl reflects the form of her father, just like she notices in  the reflecting creek, the face that outlines her father’s appearance and could allow her to reveal Reverend Dimmesdale as Hester’s fellow sinner. Pearl lives as a symbol or reduced form because her parent’s linguistic misinformation and dishonesty define her. Denying that would deny the existence of Pearl all together (Bloom 65). Innocence radiates around Pearl, but others, such as Arthur and Hester, see her as a symbol of their guilt and shame. Pearl chooses to feel innocent, so that she might cheer up her mother. It is evident that the conscious decision of guilt or innocence can create an easy or hard decision for a person as in _The Scarlet Letter_. Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Pearl all faced the decision of whether they wanted to feel guilty or innocent. Unlike Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale struggled with their conscious about whether they should feel guilty or innocent for their sin they committed. Hester and Dimmesdale present themselves as a different version of Adam and Eve in the novel _The Scarlet Letter_. The townspeople ostracized Hester and Dimmesdale for committing a sin against God. God forced Adam and Eve to work and start a family after God banished them from the Garden of Eden for committing a sin against Him. In the Judeo-Christian story of Adam and Eve, sin and knowledge relate to each other. Works Cited Carton, Evan. â€Å"The Prison Door.† _The Rhetoric of American Romance: Dialectic and Identity in Emerson, Dickinson, Poe and Hawthorne_ (1985). Rpt. in _Modern Critical Interpretations: The Scarlet Letter_. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 97-120. Print. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. _The Scarlet Letter_. New York: Modern Library, 2000. Print. Kaul, A. N. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: Heir and Critic of the Puritan Tradition.† _The American Vision: Actual and Ideal Society in Nineteenth-Century Fiction_ (1963). Rpt. in _Modern Critical Interpretations: The Scarlet Letter_. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 9-20. Print. Ragussis, Michael. â€Å"Family Discourse and Fiction in _The Scarlet Letter_.† _ELH_ 49 (1982). Rpt. in _Modern Critical Interpretations: The Scarlet Letter_. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 59-80. Print.

Interracial Sexuality

The film The Birth of A Nation, produced in 1915, is well known for both its new and inventive ways of filming and its extremely racist views. One of the many topics covered by the movie was the idea of interracial sexuality. Interracial sexuality was not spoken of much in the time period of the movie, so it was considered to be particularly risque. The movie itself portrayed the subject as the cause of downfall for many a white man, and also the result of overly sexual black men attempting to rape â€Å"innocent† white women (Griffith 1915).The movie portrayed a fantasy about interracial sexuality in the scenes involving Flora, a young white woman, and Gus, a black Captain in the US Army (Griffith 1915). Gus is looking for a wife, and he assumes that Flora will want to marry him despite their different races (Griffith 1915). It turns into only a fantasy for him, because she will not think of marrying him. She runs up a steep cliff to get away from him, only to fall to her dea th (Griffith 1915).One may presume that she thought he would rape her, and so she fell, or perhaps jumped, to avoid the shame of an interracial sexual encounter. Anxiety over interracial sexuality appears when another young white woman, Elsie, is almost forced into an interracial marriage by Silas Lynch, a mulatto man (Griffith 1915). He is determined to marry a white woman, and Elsie is the one that he wants (Griffith 1915). His kidnapping and near marriage to her demonstrates the fears that white people had about sexual black men coming to take their women away.In general, The Birth of A Nation fed off of the feelings of the United States at the time of its release. It was released only fifty years after the Civil War, and tensions were extraordinarily high between white people and the freed black people. Interracial sexuality was a great fear for those who wanted the races to stay separate and unequal, and that is why the topic played a large part in The Birth of A Nation. Works Cited Griffith, D. W. The Birth of A Nation. 1915.

Michael Kors

Michael Kors, the website is www. michaelkors. com. The corporate head office is located in New York City 11w 42nd St. , New York NY 10018. The phone number is 1-800-908-1157, FAX 646-354-4730. Michael Kors is a worldwide company. John Idol is the chief executive officer of the Michael Kors company. There isn’t an exact number of employees working at this company for 2013 but for 2012 there was 418,000. The Michael Kors company was founded in 1981. The company’s mission statement is to â€Å"bring our vision of a jet set luxury lifestyle to women and men around the globe†. Michael Kors sells primarily handbags, but also jewellery, clothing and swimwear. It is a luxury business in the fashion industry. Michael Kors has lots of competition, since there are many stores that sell similar products, a couple of these companies are coach, Prada, Gucci, Guess, Marc Jacobs and Louis button. They are competitors because of how similar the merchandise is and how they are all in the fashion luxury sector. Michael Kors has an excellent CSR, they give back in many ways, such as donating too many charities and special causes. Michael Kors has ecently donated 5 million dollars to a non-profit â€Å"god’s love we deliver† the New York based charity organization that provides meals to people living with mental illness. They have also donated 1 million dollar to the hurricane sandy relief fund. Michael kors also has a campaign called â€Å"destination Kors â€Å"which he donates 25$ from every purchase of one of his watches to the national world food program. Some of the charities he is involved in and has worked with are, Aids & HIV, children, conservation, environment, health, hunger, mental challenges and lastly poverty. Michael kors feels very trongly about giving back to his community and helping out the less fortunate, that is a huge aspect in his life, and explains why he is involved with many non-profit organizations looking to help people in need. The current share price for Michael kors is 60. 30. 2012 net income: total sales total revenue 130. 0 billion 636. 8 million 1,302,254,000 2011 net income: total sales: total revenue 72. 51 million 803. 34 803,339,000 2010 net income: total sales: total revenue 39. 25 million 508. 1 million 508,099,000 2009 net income: total sales : total revenue 13. 04 million 397. 7 million 397,074,000 Michael kors is a very popular brand which automatically in my opinion makes it a smart to invest in the company because of how successful and rich the company already is. Knowing what I know Michael kors will only get more successful and is an extremely smart investment The target market for Michael kors would be women starting from early teens on. The hand bags, jewelry and clothing attract many high-class women or men who have high income jobs. Michael kors is a luxury brand and is fairly expensive, so most consumers are upscale wealthy people who an afford the prices for the merchandise. Michael kors has a swimsuit line, a line of jewellery, purses and clothing that is always changing according to the latest trends and the consumers wants. The thing that all these lines have in common is that they all have the signature Michael kors logo the â€Å" MK†. The â€Å"MK† is short for Michael kors and is easily recognized. It stands out from other brands. Michael kors has many runway shows and is well recognized in the Fashion world. He also has some commercials. Once again Michael kors is a Luxury company

Kinkos

After the reorganization, management layers in the company’s hierarchy were reduced from twelve layers to six. The top management level was represented by the Chief Executive Officer. The company has a centralized approach of management. Many of the decisions that had been made in the stores were made by top management. The concentration of decision-making authority at the upper levels of an organization is often justified based on the need to achieve better coordination and consistency in all the organization activities, operations and policies. Span of Control The Executive Vice President of operations has direct authority over the Vice President of marketing and two general managers for retail operations, operations support, and real estate. These general managers, on the other hand, have a direct control over 18 operations directors. These operations directors have control over the seventy-four district managers and the human resource and technology staff. Grouping Activities in FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services, Inc. The company was reorganized by geographical region- East, West, Central, and International. Partners who owned the largest group of stores headed up their regional divisions. The stores have been reorganized into a hub- and- spoke configuration. Does Kinko’s use an organic or mechanistic system to achieve integration? Kinko’s uses a mechanistic system to achieve integration. We can see that FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Services, Inc. has exemplified the characteristics of highly formalized and â€Å"bureaucratic† organizations. Kinkos’s was relatively a large company; hence, a mechanistic system is very appropriate in order to manage and monitor all stores. In addition, we can notice that managers provide a considerable direction and control over the other.   The company is highly centralized, wherein all the decisions were made by top-level positions. All the operations of the company and the working behavior of the employees are governed by the instruction and decisions issued by superiors. The company has a hierarchic structure of control of authority. In line to this, there is a vertical direction of communication through the organization. All the interaction made is form top to bottom. The company is highly standardized. Qualifications for top executives have been standardized. Each person must be a strong team player, had previously been with successful organization and each held job with high accountability. The company also used formal specification of methods in the performance of a job. In fact, all stores were connected through the Internet so that jobs could be allocated, distributed, or shared, as the need arose. There is a precise definition of obligation for each position or role. For instance, each operation director has the responsibility on the profit and loss in a distinct geographical market. All of these characteristics exemplified by the company have resembled the characteristics of a mechanistic system. References Allen, Gemmy. (1998). Organizing Process. Retrieved April 1, 2008   

Metaphysics; Plato and Aristotle Essay

a. Introduction As a major assignment for this course, you are to write an essay paper on a topic relating to the subject matter of the course and drawing on course material. This should be a new paper, written by you individually, specifically for this class. You have two options to do this assignment. First option: You can write an essay paper in a rather classic style by selecting one of the listed topics in part b. If you decide to do the first option, you are required to pick one of the listed topics and write a philosophical essay according to the description provided for each topic. Second option: You can conduct a philosophical project and write an essay on the findings of the project. For this option, you need to become an â€Å"undercover philosopher† and interview 5 different people on a philosophical topic given in part c. The final outcome of your project should include the interviews results and your own analysis. Regardless of the option you choose you are required to follow these criteria: You are required to do only one of the mentioned options. But it is better to make decision as soon as possible since it will take time to accomplish either of them. This assignment is due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, April 28. Late papers will only be accepted with an appropriate excuse and a point deduction. Your paper will be submitted via TurnItIn through the Blackboard site for the course. Just so you are aware, TurnItIn automatically checks your paper for plagiarism and will catch it if you try. No email or paper submission will be accepted. You should use the MS Word template file provided in your Blackboard. Papers not prepared in that format will not be graded. The final paper should be named as: Your Last Name_Your EU ID_Your Course Section.DOCX o For example if your last name is Jones and your EU ID is mhj034 and you are in PHIL 1050 section 001 then your file name should be: Jones_mhj034_001.docx. Another example: Ahmadi_kia9801_002.docx for student named Ahmadi with kia9801 as EU ID taking 002 section of the course. There must be â€Å"_† (underline) character between name, EU ID, and class section. o EU ID is the ID you use to login to your Blackboard account. You can find your class section by looking at the title of the course listed in your Blackboard account. Your paper must be no less than 1000 and no more than 1500 words (this is content only; this is not counting name, title, footnotes, bibliography, etc.) Papers with less than 1000 or more than 1500 words will be graded with a point deduction. You may find a PDF copy of Writing Philosophy on Blackboard, it is strongly recommended that you utilize this resource to help you write a good paper. All sources, including assigned readings, must be formally cited according to the Chicago Manual of Style (resources for which can be found online). Use of secondary sources is strongly encouraged but not required. Remember that failure to cite sources technically constitutes plagiarism! For further information, you can review the university’s policy on academic integrity at: http://www.vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm. Regarding citations, long quotes of 4 or more lines are not allows and will result in a noticeable point penalty if used. Remember also that not only direct quotes also paraphrasing of another person’s material must be formally cited. All sources must be listed as footnotes. No bibliography or reference list at the end of the paper is required. Further details about citation can be found in the MS Word template file in your Blackboard account. This assignment makes up 25 out of 100 points for your final grade. You will be graded equally on writing, your summary of material, and your own critical response. Beyond these you can lose points for having a paper that is too short, failing to cite sources, or in any other way failing to adhere to the instructions and criteria for the assignment. Grading Criteria: An â€Å"A† paper is one that follows all format requirements, is at the standards of college writing, contains an excellent summary of course material, and  shows careful thinking about the topic. A â€Å"B† or â€Å"C† paper is one that follows most format requirements, is at or near the standards of college writing, contains a summary that shows a good or at least basic understanding of course material, and shows your own thinking about the topic. A â€Å"D† or â€Å"F† paper is one that is well below the paper requirements or the standards of college writing, contains a summary which shows a poor understanding of course material, and/or where any thought of your own on the topic is lacking. And, of course, any paper containing plagiarism will receive an â€Å"F†. Given that this a college course, it is expected that all students are capable of a certain level of writing quality. If you feel that your writing skills are not the best, I would strongly encourage you to seek help from the UNT Writing Lab (http://www.unt.edu/writinglab/). b. First Option: Classic Essay For your essay you may select from a list of topics below. Your topic will involve two aspects. First, you should summarize a theory or set of theories of philosophy that we have learned or discussed in class. Second, you should give your own argument for what is the proper view regarding that topic. Your paper must have both a summary of course material and your own original thinking on the topic, in roughly equal measure. Essay Topics: If you decide to write a classic essay paper you are required to choose one of the following topics. Otherwise you could do the second option described in part c. (1) Metaphysics; Plato and Aristotle: First,  summarize Plato’s theory of the Forms as ultimate reality (â€Å"The Republic†). Then, summarize Aristotle’s theory of the four causes and form/matter as ultimate reality (â€Å"Physics†). The second half of your paper should critically compare and contrast the two, and give your own argument for which you think is more correct, and ultimately state and argue for what you think the true nature of reality is. (2) Knowledge; Descartes and Hume: The first half of your paper will involve summarizing Descartes’ view of knowledge (â€Å"Meditations†), then summarizing Hume’s view of knowledge (â€Å"Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding†). The second half of your paper should critically compare and contrast the two, and give your own argument for which you think is more correct, and ultimately state and argue for how you think we acquire true knowledge and what the limits of knowledge are. (3) Cogito; Argument and Counter-Argument: The first half of your paper involve summarizing Descartes’ arguments in support of Cogito and philosophical implications of it (â€Å"Meditations†), then summarizing an strong counter argument from another philosopher (Modern or Contemporary) against Cogito and its implications. The second half of your paper should critically compare and contrast the two, and give your own argument for which you think is more correct, and ultimately state and argue for the relevance and validity of Cogito argument. (4) Ethics; Aristotle and Kant: The first half of your paper will involve summarizing Aristotle’s virtue ethics (â€Å"Nicomachean Ethics,† books I and II), then summarizing Kant’s deontological ethics (â€Å"Foundation for the Metaphysics of Morals†). The second half of your paper should critically compare and contrast the two, and give your own argument for which you think is more correct, and ultimately state and argue for what you think is the proper approach to ethics, including whether ethics should be approached through good character or rules for action. (5) Knowledge and Method; Aristotle and Descartes: The first half of your paper will involve summarizing Aristotle’s view on knowledge and method (â€Å"Physics†), with emphasis on the Empiricist method and his teleological account of nature; and further will involve summarizing Descartes’ view (â€Å"Meditations†), with emphasis on the Rationalist method and Cartesian doubt. The second half of your paper should critically compare and contrast the two, giving the pros and cons of each as well as your own  critical reflection on the proper approach and method for knowledge. c. Second Option: Philosophical Project For this option you are required to interview five different people on a philosophical topic listed below. First you need to understand the topic well in order to conduct your interviews. Then you pick your interviewees and ask the questions. You need to accurately record their answers. Then you summarize each interviewees’ responses in a very concise but clear paragraph. To do this you need to extract the philosophical core implied in the answers. You should not simply write down everything they say, because only philosophical arguments of their responses are important and relevant to this work. You should ask your questions is a way that makes interviewees reveal their principles or assumptions regarding the topic. Then you give your original thinking on those philosophical arguments and principles by comparing, criticizing, and challenging them. Generally speaking, your essay should include at least 8 paragraphs. First paragraph should include the questions you asked in your interviews. Five next paragraphs could be dedicated to the summaries of five interviews, and one paragraph for comparing the philosophical arguments and criticizing them, and one last paragraph for presenting your original thoughts on the issue. You should be creative in your questions and let the interviewees speak in their own voices. However you should guide the interview so that you can grasp the underlying philosophical principles. You should not include the interviewees name or identity in the paper. This is absolutely against UNT regulations for such research. Also you don’t need IRB approval since this is only a class assignment and the results will not be published in any way. Interview Topics: (1) Ethical relativism. The main question is â€Å"is ethics relative or absolute?†. However in addition to this question you should ask more questions to make the interviewees clear about their idea of ethical principles. You should ask interviewees to explain their reasons with examples. Also you can challenge their responses by giving them counter-examples. For example, for a person who thinks ethics is relative, a  counter argument could be â€Å"then everything is correct at the same time† or â€Å"why killing innocent people for fun is always wrong then?† Or for a person who believes that ethical principles are absolute, a counter example is â€Å"what if an ethically wrongdoing (such as lying to a murderer, or torturing a terrorist) is the only way to stop a disaster?† (2) Absolute Truth. The main question is â€Å"is there an absolute truth?† You should ask interviewees to explain their reason. Also you should ask them if absolute truth de pends on human mind or whether or not is attainable by human mind. A challenge to people who believe in absolute truth is â€Å"how exactly they know there is an absolute truth?† or â€Å"how can they justify their position?† On the other hand, if they believe in relativity of truth, then the challenge is â€Å"then everything can be true or false at the same time and this is contradictory (isn’t it?)†. Also you can ask if scientific truths are relative in their opinion or not. In addition, they should make it clear on what parameters truth depends (e.g. social contract, power, culture, personal preference, utility, etc). And also if truth is relative then why do we think we know the physical world better than ancient thinkers (don’t we?) (3) Environmental Ethics. The main question is â€Å"do we have moral duty to nature and environment?† You should ask questions such as â€Å"are we morally responsible for nature and environment?†, â€Å"is there anything morally wrong about destroying nature (intentionally or unintentionally)?†, â€Å"what if destroying nature is necessary for human life?† and â€Å"what makes us responsible for nature?† You can also ask questions about what elements and aspects in nature makes us responsible. For instance, we are responsible because it is useful for us, or because it is beautiful, or because animals and plants are alive (like us), or it is because of the next generations that we are responsible? Or combination of them. You should clarify what sort of ethical relationship each interviewee is assuming between them and nature. Also do they think that human is just a plain member of ecosystem or special member who stands above everything because it is human being? Also â€Å"to what extent we should care for nature?† (4) Existence. The main question is â€Å"what makes our existence valuable?†. You may ask questions such as â€Å"why we are here?†, â€Å"why we should not kill ourselves?†, â€Å"what is the most valuable in human life?†, â€Å"what makes life worthy of living?†, â€Å"what is  valuable about existence?†, â€Å"is the any purpose in human life?† and â€Å"is there any meaning in human existence?†. (5) Being Human. The main question is â€Å"what is human being?† Under this topic you should ask the interviewees to give a very clear and concise definition of human being and then ask them further questions to challenge their definition. For example, if human being is defined as a rational animal, then why we consider mentally impaired humans as human being? The main concern in this topic is to clarify the essence of human being. Also you should ask them to explain how philosophy/science/religion can help us understand the nature of human being. Also you may ask them to clarify whether or not human being has a fixed nature /essence. In this regards you can ask â€Å"do you think human beings have changed in their nature/essence over the course of history?† Also you may ask them how can we grasp the truth about human nature. P