Head Boy Essay

Hey I’m David Smith and I’m running for 8th head boy. Everybody please stand up! Take one step to your right. Take one step to your left. Clap three times! Now sit down. My parents told me that if I could somehow â€Å"move the crowd† then I would win! So thank you for your cooperation. But on a more serious matter, I am here to talk about why I want to run for Student Council President, my experience as a leader, and how I can bring many new and creative ideas to Viewpoint Middle School. Student Council is a way for the students to have representation in school. It gives them a chance to make their own decisions, about how they want their school run by voting for people to represent them. The reason I want to run for student council President is not because my parents made me, not because I want to tell jokes in front of people, but because I want to make my last year as a middle schooler the best one for all the Middle School. Being a President is not an easy job, but I believe I qualify for it. I have shown strength inside and outside of school as a leader. Inside school, I have achieved straight As. Outside of school, I have donated over $500 to a charity called World Vision, with the help of my friend. I have participated in Community Service on a weekly basis, since I was in 7th grade. I have also won piano competitions such as the Bach and Contemporary Festivals for several years. By becoming President, I hope to take all of my experience from outside of school and bring it to a school level. I will take my job completely seriously, but also include your ideas no matter how extreme. If you give me an idea, no matter what it is, I promise to take it to Student Council and discuss it. Free dress every day? SURE! I definitely will bring that up in a Student Council discussion. Anyone from any grade can come up to me, talk to me, and I promise what you say will be talked about later in Student Council. Now I hope I moved you both literally and mentally. If I still haven’t, just think that if you vote for me, that’s one less lunch period you’ll see me. Thank you!

Actual Story Gay Edgar Allen Poe

Although he is seen as a respect De mason, and possibly even feared, Fortunate rather great need for my touch and my Tate notion was ultimately his weakness. I turned and said to him: My Dear Fortunate, is there something that troubles you? ‘ â€Å"You,† he said. ‘What precisely are we doing?! † â€Å"We are merely relishing each other's company. Wish to not impose of this sill once that fell upon us, tester 2 â€Å"My Friend;l mean, what is this relationship, this immoral act we have been pr acting for the last few years?Fortunate questioned forcefully with a longing desire of need on his beet red face and tense shoulders. I gathered my wits and gingerly walked over to Fortunate s eat. Grabbed his rather clammy hands and grazed my lips across his knuckles while staring pro foundry into his mound wondering eyes that reflected the wild dark roots thrusting against the summer's forest. I could see the large vein on his petite forehead throb as the thoughts of our re allocation flourished in his mind.He was not mentally prepared to overcome such a scandal, and n either was l, but it was he who held the guilt of betraying the marriage he built with Lady Fortune tat close to heart. â€Å"Fortunate, there is no need to cause yourself any agony. There is no need to I k for meaning in this amour. This affair doesn't reduce your StatUS as a respected a ND honorable mason now, gather yourself up and make your journey to yourself. This involve moment between us is ours alone Carr Fortunate broke his gaze and looked down at his settled hands.He sat there, unmoving. For a moment it seemed as though he was in war with his conflicting thought s, unsure of what there was to come. He finally rose his head and looked at me with somewhat Of contentment in his eyes. â€Å"l see where we stand, Mentors. Will now leave. My dear Mary will be cusps socio if I were to delay much longer. Until next time, MIM Carr As Fortunate left the chamber, I let the sedu ctive facade fall from my face. Oh r amatory expressed from one side. Oh how despised that man!How my blood boiled at the thought of 3 him returning to his â€Å"beloved† Mary! She should be mine! She was mine. For loved her still do and always will till I am long dead and rotten and the worms have consume De my flesh. Reminisce on the time I met the radiant Mary Perpetrators. We were mere chill drew at the time, not even 16 years of age, and her face was filled with youthful, elegant b tatty. When she was near, there was no one but us, my Mary Bella and l, as though we were al one in a kingdom by IL Mar Mediterranean.She was my queen, and I was her king, and we had 10 Veda with a love hat was the envy of all the seraphim of Deaden, a love that was abstruse. Unfortunately, I didn't possess the financial level that Fortunate had the privy age to sustain. Fortunate was part of the wealthiest banking family in Italy, and l, well l, I was part of the strongest mercenary contracti ng family. As much as the Mentors family pro ducted manors and provinces from regional princes throughout the Italian countryside, the Fort NATO family was far more distinguished than the Mentors due to their financial assistance.I fell t queasy that such a wealthy and blessed family held the low standards of committing fraud where ere their petty foot stepped. For this reason, my Mary was sold to that accursed trollop Fortunate Although no one could rightfully and obviously accuse the Fortunate Family of such treachery, it was common knowledge across manors and villages that the Fort mutton paid and received monetary favors to secure funds for princes and their regional warrior Eng, as well as bishops and their divine propaganda; all for security and communion.I peers anally was never involved in these schemes, but time and time again, I subtly chuckled at the m softness of others when attending the cathedral, dining hall, or local winery. Specially cackled when Princes Achilles de frauded Princes Bonaventure, of course with the help of the Fortune tats. Prince Bonaventure was a gentleman to a certain degree, but then again he was juju nee. In truth, any man 4 with a sliver of cunning would have taken advantage of Bonaventure finance al impediment.Oh the insignificance, the ignorance, and the idolatry of princes! The shame cast on our class! For it is the humble peasant that outclasses the local prince in character, but who y is character necessary when wealth, warring, and wills craft the only noticeable characters as suddenly startled, and almost spit my Amaretto in disgust once realizing Prince De Boring ostentatiously slithered in the winery. Of course, the rest of the gentle men and mercenaries jolted with great delight to see a prominent prince, a skilled war ROR, and charismatic countryman.De Boring owned numerous estates, and every wine made in HTH s vulnerably was technically his. He would fence and go horseback riding two hours everyday, t here lavis h parties every other week, and always found Ways to make financial transactions even as his mistresses purloined amounts of wealth in coinage or capital. As not in the least afraid of him, but any sign of dissent or digressiveness of De Barrio's attention would ignite a brawl between the dandies at the winery and Prince De Boring and l. As much as my combat ski ASS were polished, would be outnumbered thirty to one. Loud die as a martyr to my waning f Emily, but not to those princes I have served and honored and neither to those mercenaries t hat I contracted and compensated. As I was reminiscing those thoughts, Prince De Boring slammed his flask of A amaretto on my table, nearly shattering the flask itself. â€Å"l see! You are the pitiful Mentors, lull ? † De Boring chuckled. â€Å"l see! You are the parasitic De Boring, time quietly retorted as I sipped my flask of Amaretto. 5 â€Å"He he, you have remotely sharpened your diplomacy. I just came by to invite et you to the Mason's festivity tonight.We will have copious amounts of wine and liquor r, appetizer, entrees, and desserts, and fine courtesans. Promise with what little heart I h eve that it will not be a snare to bring your demise, or worse, publicize your ‘fencing affair, even if I consider you such scum under the trampling of the snake of your pathetic family crest. † â€Å"You wouldn't dare. And you know your insignificant crest is simply a fusillade mouse hyena pretending to be in a lion's skin. My pathetic snake as you should call him, would deliver the final blow, even if you were to believe that you would have the last laugh. Slowly felt the tension in the room increase as myriad conversations ceased, flasks ceased to be lifted up to sip, and blades slowly began to whisk away from thee r sheaths. â€Å"Oh, I almost forgot. Fortunate treating us. You should entrust Fortunate wit h some contracts, or should I say en thrust With that final mockery I instantaneously, with the flick of my wrist, withdrew y sword from my sheath faster than Poseidon would've waved his trident to whish a TTS unman to strand Ulysses. I held De Boring by his chin with the sharp edge of my sword. I whish e red, â€Å"l strongly suggest you leave.NO one here, especially l, requires your service. Not even your family crest belongs on your property, if it still belongs to you. † â€Å"You surely jest. Such alliterated fascia you AR† might have lost consciousness for a second as a dark red fluid, dripped on m y blade and squirted on my attire. I then realized that sliced the neck of Prince De Borg a. Immediately, everyone in the winery from the dandies to the princes to the mercenaries t o the peasants drew their blades, and some even drew their firearms. I had no chance to speak as a barrage Of lead, 6 clouds of gunpowder, and shrieks of agony pierced throughout the winery.I r vapidly dropped to the floorboards of the winery under my table, with my bloodied blade in one hand and my halfpenny flask of Amaretto in another, directly staring at the disillusioned eye sees of Prince De Boring as a pool of blood engulfed his rotten being. After a few minutes of vicious brawling, the winery was returned to a placid SST et by my mercenaries present there. Fortunately, I survived the bloody turmoil in the w inner. No one dared to accuse me, Mentors, of my felony, for they knew they would be lunged b y my mercenaries into a bog.Of course, Fortunate had to bribe a few dandies and princes, but then again, that was his specialty. I was to see Fortunate tonight at the Mason's festivity at Prince De Barrio's manor, or shall I say former manor. For an abstruse reason, I was bloodstream as I began to ruminate a possible course of events at the festivity. Then again, no one would d know what fencing .NET between Fortunate and I, for I killed Prince De Boring, and was proud of such an act as my honor was preserved. De Boring never took my crest seriously, but Oh what delight! What classical irony! What classical ignorance!Memo me immune laciest Memo†¦ Me†¦ immune†¦ laciest†¦ I delivered the final blow, and De Boring, such insignificant, insipid, idolatrous, ignominious, imbecile, did not even attempt t o cough a last laugh, or shall I say as a toast to De Boring, cough, a last inning laugh. I cleaned my blade upon his cloak with relish and kicked his head as I left to go to Fortunate Mason party The night of debauchery had drawn on for what seemed like eons. Quickly gar ewe tired of Fortunate and his Mason brethren. Their drunken antics became more and m ore glutinous and disgusting, their voices becoming more clamorous and derisive.I feigned into caution to keep 7 the reality of my torture muted. Within a few hours, the air of the hall had beck mom thick with the vices of the Masons. Joined Fortunate, continuing my charade of drunkenness s in order to not arouse suspicion of my sobriety. Fortunate was speaking loudly, h is voice slur ring and bubbling out of his wine soaked mouth. He could hardly speak for himself, rather the eel as think like a gentlemen around others. The conversation was turned towards the â€Å"conquests† of the men. Fortunate spoke of many women who he had affair with in his youth.I felt my sizzling blood rush through my head and into my palms as I thought of Mary being one of those unfortunate women Not being able to stand it anymore, I grabbed his arm and said, â€Å"Think of Mar y, my friend. † â€Å"Mary is not here, you Old chum. † Fortunate raised his glass and chuckled, â€Å"Eel tutus reminisce upon the great times I had before chew assaulting came along, yes? Hoped my bothered presence would position his mind straight, I hoped that he would shut his bloody awful mouth and reflect upon the fact that he had the only HTH Eng that gave me air as I drowned in this judgmental society.Mary was the only thing that kept m e together, she held me like ceme nt and allowed me to become something more than just the son Of two hardworking servants. How could Fortunate resemble her to the ordinary women of our to wan, it was uncanny to hear such brainless words. He continued to baffle about his great conquest, and gloated with pride in his eyes as he named a few ladies who mistakenly took his mingled words for affection. Co old not stand in that room full of men who felt as if the only significant thing in that moment was to speak of the 8 women who had the misfortune of meeting them. Shed myself out of the basement arranging my hands along the mature wooden rail that kept me from falling. Looked above to the clear sky, searched for something to gain my attention a ND possess my body from going back to the smoky room and committing a terrible mists eke. In the mere distance I heard someone delicately recite my name from their lips. â€Å"Metronomes? Fortunate placed the almost empty glass of wine on the FL or and strolled towards my direc tion. â€Å"Did something go wrong, chum?

Benjamin West, his times and his influence Essay

Benjamin West paintings Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin West was an Anglo-American artist who was born on October 10, 1738 in Springfield Pennsylvania in the present day campus of Swarthmore College in a house now called the borough of Swarthmore. He was the tenth child of John West and Sarah Pearson. Benjamin died on March 11, 1820 in London at the age of 81. During his time, he concentrated in artwork. He left a great mark through his historical artwork. The artwork by Benjamin West made during the days of exploration and during the American struggle for independence helps us greatly in understanding the history of the Americans. In his artwork, West used an artistic style he termed as â€Å"epic representation†, which entailed the use of expressive figures, compositional schemes and colors to make it easy for the observer to identify the scene easily.Benjamin West did his first painting in 1745 when he was only 7 years old. He was left to look after his sister’s infant daughter while the sister and mother were working on the flower garden. He was impressed by the smiling baby and took a paper and a pen which were on the table and made the first painting work. When the mother and sister came back, they saw the painting and were very much impressed for it really resembled the young kid. Benjamin’s mother appreciated him and this developed confidence in him even though he had initially tried to hide the paper from his mother. He later interacted with the Native Americans who taught him how to make paint from riverbank clay mixed with bear grease in a pot. Little was it expected that this would turn out to be his line of professional his life. He best fitted in this area mainly because he was not well endorsed with formal education (West and Charles 1950).Benjamin West excelled in painting and storing the American and English history such that studying the American or English literature may not be very possible without mentioning or referring to the work of Benjamin West. His artwork remains a very crucial source of American literature for he was able to store history at a time when means of history keeping were not so well established. He stored the life of the Americans before America attained self-governance in his paintings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin west painted portraits in Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1759 where he designed the ‘death of Socrates’ from an engraving in Charles Rollin’s ancient work. This work latter came to be credited as â€Å"the most ambitious and interesting painting produced in colonial America†. Because of his great artworks, West interacted with many great people such as Dr. William Smith who was the provost, college of Philadelphia and Benjamin Franklin, who was an outstanding American statesman who played a great role in America’s struggle for self-governance. It is from this close interaction that Benjamin West painted Benjamin Franklin’s portrait.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his interactions, West met several painters from whom he learnt more painting techniques. Hemet John Wollaston, a painter from London from whom he learnt how to paint the shimmer of silk and satin. He also learnt from him the style of putting big almond shaped eyes to all his artwork. Later on, West was sponsored and travelled to Italy where he furthered his painting skills by copying Italian paintings (Helmut and Allen 1986)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On his way back to America, West decided to pay a visit to England, though; his visit turned to a stay when he met William Allen who had sponsored him to Italy. They stayed together for a month, and latter visited his half-brother Thomas west. In England, he continued with his paintings. He painted his first picture in England, Angelica and Medora, and was shown at the exhibition in spring gardens in 1764 together with Cymon and Iphigia, which he had painted in Rome. Benjamin West married an American, Elizabeth Shewell, in 1765 at St Martin-in-the-Fields. While in England, he was introduced to senior clergymen such as Thomas Newton who was the bishop of Bristol, James Johnson, who was the bishop of Worcester, Robert Hay Drummond who was the Archbishop of York, among others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These clergymen commissioned work for Benjamin west. He proposed to decorate St Paul’s cathedral with paintings, however, his proposal was rejected by the bishop of London. He then proposed to paint an altarpiece for St Stephen Walbrook and his proposal was accepted. For his great works in England, West came to be named, â€Å"American Raphael†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Drummond once tried to make west give up portraiture and devote himself to more ambitious composition. He tried to convince the king to patronize Benjamin West, however; things didn’t work out well for him. The king gave him the first commission of painting the departure of Regulus from Rome. West was soon on very good terms with the king because of his great work. They held lengthy discussions about the state of art in England, and that is when the idea of establishing a royal college began. In 1768, the college was established, and Joshua Reynolds became its first president. In 1772, Benjamin West was appointed by King George as the historical painter to the court at a fee of  £1,000 annually. He made many historical paintings among them a set of 28 works for a chapel at the castle with the theme â€Å"the progress of revealed religion† and nine portraits of royal family members, two been for the king. From 1791 to his de ath, Benjamin West remained the surveyor of the king’s picture.One of the greatest paintings of Benjamin West was the death of General Wolfe, made in 1770 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1771. This painting raised mixed reactions when it was exhibited. Joshua Reynolds, the then president of the Royal academy, termed it as overambitious. However; the painting became one of the most frequently reproduced images. This painting was a demonstration of the French and Indian war, showing of his general Johnson saving a wounded French officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian in 1768. Other historic paintings of Benjamin West include the death of Nelson which was made in honor of Horatio Nelson, who died at the battle of Trafalgar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Reynolds died in 1792, West became the president of the Royal Academy up to 1805 when he resigned and was replaced by James Wyatt. One year later, he was re-elected the Academy president and served the president until his death. The fact that West was serving as the president of the Royal Academy in London had a significant effect to the Americans. Many American artists such as Augustus Earle, Ralph Earl, Samuel Morse, Charles Wilson, Mathew Pratt, among others, studied under him in London (Wetton & Jarvis, 1821)Benjamin West also did a series of religious paintings. He painted his first religious artwork Christ healing the sick at the beginning of the 19th century, which he intended to present as a gift to a Quaker hospital in Philadelphia. However, it dint happen as he had planned for he later sold the artwork to a British company at  £3,000. The organization presented it to the National Gallery. West later on made a copy to send to Philadelphia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The outcome of that painting led him to doing even larger religious works such as death on a pale horse which was exhibited in 1817. He also made artistic representation of the conversion of Paul in his modeling of the altarpiece at St Paul’s church in Birmingham.In his life, Benjamin west demonstrated a very strong sense of determination. Despite the fact that he was not so much educated, he still worked hard and emerged as one of the great painters of his time. He was not the kind to give up easily on a task he had set forth to undertake.Despite Drummond’s attempt to make him give up portraiture and entirely devote himself to more ambitious compositions, he never gave in to Drummond’s wishes. Drummonds plot to convince the king to patronize him latter ended up strengthening the relationship between Benjamin West and the king. It is the same relationship that led to the establishment of the Royal Academy which turned out to be an important institution to both the English people and the Americans. He ended up serving as the president of the Academy until he died at his house in London on 11th march 1820.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When he exhibited his painting, the death of General Wolfe, it was termed as overambitious. This, however, did not hinder him from exhibiting it, and it latter turned out to be one of the most frequently reproduced images of the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin West proposed a project to decorate St Paul’s cathedral in 1766 though his proposal was rejected by the bishop of London, he didn’t give up making other proposals. Eventually, his proposal to paint an altarpiece for St Stephen Walbrook was approved.Benjamin was a man of determination and the desire to achieve whose success mainly originated from his character of not giving in to discouragements and opposition. This determination helped him and helped his people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin’s personal interests are clearly portrayed in his artwork. It is apparent that he had an interest in political and leadership affairs. In his lifetime, he had encounters with many leaders and statesmen such as Benjamin Franklin and King George   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The encounter with leaders and statesmen had a great impact on his artwork. He painted the portraits of these statesmen and of the Royal family which remain important up to date. He also made paintings at the state structures such as the paintings at St George’s hall at Windsor castle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The passion for adventure is clearly portrayed when Benjamin goes to Italy and on his way back to America he visits England where he settles and never goes back to America. This adventure helps him advance his painting and artwork skills. He copies the artwork of Italians such as Titian and Raphael.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his lifetime, he demonstrated his interest in religion by doing religious painting and interacting with the members of the clergy. The artwork, Christ healing the sick, shows that he was a Christian and believed in the power of healing. He also made an artistic impression of the conversion of Paul at St Paul’s church. This religious nature made him do numerous religious paintings   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   His first religious work, Christ healing the sick, was originally intended to be a gift to a quacker hospital in Philadelphia. This shows that he was a charitable man, and this made him make gift paintings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also apparent that West was a historian who was studying history and recording history to be used in the future. He painted images of social, political and religious history. His painting, presentation of the queen of Sheba at the court of King Solomon, is from biblical history. He also painted William Penn’s treaty with the Indians. This was a historic treaty that was believed to have been signed many years back. This interest in history opened up areas in which he could draw paintings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin was also a very social man. In his life, he interacted with so many people with whom he shared ideas and who helped him nurture and improved his painting skills. This can be traced right back from when he was a young boy, and he interacted with the Native Americans who taught him how to make paint. Later on in his life he interacted with people from all backgrounds. He met artists, clergymen, political leaders, traders such as gunsmiths and many more categories of people. This exposure not only earned him the knowledge in artwork, but it also opened up chances of creating a market for his painting skills. He painted portraits of the leaders he interacted with, made religious painting for the churches after interacting with the church leaders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin West’s paintings help us understand the American literature and the kind of life they lived before attaining independence. The fact that he made a painting and entitled it â€Å"Christ Healing the sick†, is enough to convince us that the Americans were Christians even during their pre-colonial period   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin West’s painting, William Penn’s treaty with the Indians, helps us understand that the American had interacted with the Indians even before America attained freedom. It also portrays the peaceful and the welcoming nature of the Americans during this time.It is also evident that America had not fully embraced formal education during the colonial period. People used to attend informal schools where they learnt technical skills such as painting. In his painting, Benjamin Franklin drawing electricity from the sky, painted in 1816, we learn that the American attempts to develop energy begun as early as the 19th century. This painting and others he did have proved to be of great importance in tracing the history and literature of America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is, therefore, clear that even in his grave; Benjamin West will always be remembered for his contribution in creating references for the American literature and political, social and religious history of the Americans (Dillen , John & Benjamin West, 1997). References Dillen Berger, John. Benjamin West: the context of his life and work, particular attention to his artwork with religious subject, including a correlated version of the nineteenth- century West’s paintings, exhibitions, and sales records, and alas. San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 1977. Helmut von, and Allen Staley. The paintings of Benjamin West. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986. Meyer, Jerry D.. The religious paintings of Benjamin West: a study in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century moral sentiment. Austin: cy, 1973-1974. The life of Benjamin West. London: Wetton & Jarvis, 1821. West, Benjamin, and Charles H. Morgan. Benjamin West, his times and his influence: an exhibition, May 9-30, 1950. Source document

Building An Annotated Bibliography Research Paper

Building An Annotated Bibliography - Research Paper Example This bulletin provides useful information to develop the introduction. Importantly, it would be used in the body of the project to argue against the crime deterrent effect of capital punishment. Furthermore, it gives evidence to discredit those arguing for use of capital punishment to deter crime due to lack of research. This book provides a wide spectrum of information on crime and deviant behavior from a sociological perspective. The authors support death penalty for utilitarian reasons and retribution. Even so, they give arguments of when death penalty does more harm than deterring crime. They back up their arguments with examples of various court cases and their consequences. It would be useful at the introduction of the project when defining capital punishment, its administration and objectives. It would also be used in the body when giving arguments for and against death penalty as a way to deter crime with the evidence of consequences of rulings providing appropriate examples. This book argues that the perception of death being the harshest punishment would logically deter crime. Criminals serving life sentences do not have anything to deter them from crime other than the threat of death. On the other hand, it argues that capital punishment leaves the weak exposed to abuse from the strong and also results in social disorder, two factors which could promote crime. This book provides a critical basis for putting capital punishment into perspective while developing the introduction. Other than providing background information throughout the project, it would be critical in the body of the project to argue for and against capital punishment as a deterrent to crime. This article argues against capital punishment as a deterrent to crime. It evidences this argument with the observation on the declining number of death sentences in North Carolina, leading to no death sentence in 2012. With this decline, the North Carolina

Why Is It Difficult to Create a Psychological Portrait of a Typical Te Coursework

Why Is It Difficult to Create a Psychological Portrait of a Typical Terrorist - Coursework Example In history, terrorism has always been an effective tactic of the weaker side in a conflict. It is especially true when the conflict is asymmetrical in term of the balance of power. Probably this characteristic of terrorism explains the recent resurgence of terrorism. It is argued that terrorism is one of the results of globalization, as it escalates ethnic conflicts in an attempt to secure one’s identity.   Hence it will be present in some form or other in our lifetime and in the lives of our children. This paper aims at studying the nature, characteristics, and causes of terrorism. What makes a person become a terrorist? Does psychopathology provide any help in understanding and preventing terrorism? It will also identify the vulnerabilities of the terrorist groups. The nature and causes of terrorism are varied and diversified. People become terrorists in different ways in different roles and for different reasons. Although it can be helpful to identify the reason for joining, staying with a terrorist organization and leaving it no generic formula can be developed. The most common causes of terrorism are perceived injustices and the need for identity and belonging. Nature of terrorism has changed over the years. If we compare the terrorist groups and terrorists of the 1970s with the terrorists of the early 1990s an emerging new trend can be observed. Religious fundamentalism is growing and these new religious groups use weapons of mass destruction. Earlier it was presumed that terrorists do not use weapons of mass destruction because it will alienate them from the public and they will have to face harsh retaliation. The key extremist religious groups are Hizballah, Al –Qaida and Aum Shinrikyo. According to Post, the most dangerous terrori sts are religious terrorists. Political and social terrorist have a defined mission that can be measured in terms of their objective and government reaction, media reaction etc. whereas the religious terrorist can justify the most heinous crime.

Preparation of sample for NMR analysis and integration Essay

Preparation of sample for NMR analysis and integration - Essay Example Unlike the other spectroscopy types, the sample quality in NMR bears a insightful effect on the resulting spectrum quality. Therefore, the sample prepared provides a spectrum where useful information is retained, not lost, or obscured. Sample preparation thus stands critical in the analysis and integration of NMR results. The scope of work will cover sample Purification, given that this determines the resulting spectrum, sample collection, and sample Preparation for NMR integration and Analysis. NMR spectrum is the basic source of data that relates to the structure of the compound. Therefore, it is required that the spectrum analysis be done properly to obtain or get a good and reasonable data set for analysis. Under any particular circumstance, the preparation of the NMR sample is not allowed at the NMR room, thus the lab is used or a special lab. A solid or pure liquid can not just be put into the NMR. A series of preparation steps needs to be followed to prepare the sample thus covering the scope of work to be done. If one has a liquid to be analyzed, one or two drops of the liquid are put on a clean NMR tube retrieved from the oven. Approximately 3fingers worth of the deuterated (CDCl3) solvent is added to the tube. This procedure forms the scope of work because the NMR cannot work if the solvent (deuterated) is not used. When one has a solid, it becomes easier to put the solid into the small test tube and almost the same amount of deuterated solvent added and the solid allowed dissolving in the solvent before transferring to the NMR tube (Weizmann Institute of Science,2009). Weizmann Institute of Science., 2009. Sample preparation & NMR Tubes. [Online] Available at: [Accessed November 14,

The Euro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Euro - Essay Example For instance, Germany has been accused to have benefited from the economic integration at the expense of other states like Greece and Italy, which have experienced enormous economic turbulence (Arestis 23). Many parties have argued that the absence of action by the euro leaders could worsen the euro crisis. There are, however, diverse arguments on whether the euro should be maintained or not. It is imperative to note that the genesis of the euro problem is from both the government and the private sector. In Greece, for instance, the government mismanaged their finances despite the large amount of borrowings that it had made (Lynn 123). The loans were thus misappropriated instead of being placed in productive areas. The debt problem in Ireland, on the other hand, arises from the private sector – for instance, from the banks, which continue to lend to unproductive investments. Those who were granted loans from the financial institutions were, therefore, unable to finance their loans, and this led to a financial contagion within the sector. From both cases, it is crystal clear that the contribution of the financial sector to preventing currencies from collapsing or to controlling the economic performance is enormous. The first school of thought contends that failure to take decisive actions could result into the spreading of the problem to other countries, which are still considered healthy. Consequently, the interest rates on government could rise, leading to an increase in the level of government debt. This could reach a point in which some countries could stop using the euro, thus aggravating the crisis. It, therefore, means that productive intervention and informed decisions made by the member countries would make the euro regain and flourish while failure to take appropriate actions could impair the existence of the euro (Soros 168). In addition, European Union should advocate for a reduction in

Development of Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Development of Morality - Essay Example The principles in turn direct thoughts and actions, and facilitate individuals to make decisions about what is worthwhile and valuable. Some of the values shared by most individuals and societies, and are the pointing factors towards well developed moralities, include self respect and respect for others, honesty, fairness, an appreciation of the company of others and concern for the common good (Turiel, 1983). Researchers emphasize the role of guilt, an agitation based emotion, in suppressing immoral drives. They have shown that encouraging and rewarding socially accepted behavior motivates individuals to participate in moral acts. Behavioral theorists assert that moral judgment can be narrowed down to immediate, instinctive, emotional responses presented by moral dilemmas (Freud, 1962). Children’s interaction with adults influences their development of moral understanding and behavior. Adults may help promote moral development in children by consistently drawing the children’s attention towards the effects of their wrong doing on others (Turiel, 1983). They can also give children reminders about rules guiding their conducts in different environments, and most importantly, teaching through example by being role models (Turiel,

Career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Career - Essay Example The world has also become more permissive to the globalization of products and such globalization has become manifest in almost all the products we use in our daily lives, from our cars to our foods, and our office supplies. This paper shall discuss how my preferred career – business marketing – has been affected by globalization. More specifically, it shall discuss how the supply end of the market has been affected by globalization. This paper shall then specifically discuss supply chaining and how its practice has been affected by globalization. Globalization has affected business marketing in terms of how supplies are marketed, used and acquired. In the practice known as supply-chaining, Friedman discusses how globalization has made the world flat. He discusses that supply chaining is a â€Å"method of collaborating horizontally – among suppliers, retailers, and customers – to create value† (Friedman, p. 152). He explains how supply chaining has been enabled by the flattening of the world and how it has easily been carried out by the fact that the world is flat. He also cites the example of Wal-Mart, and how the world’s biggest retail company which practically makes â€Å"nothing,† has managed to become a very efficient supply chain. In the Christmas season, Hewlett-Packard usually sells about 400,000 computers daily in these Wal-Mart stores (Friedman, p. 152). And supply chaining has become very much beneficial for buyers because they can buy products at the best quality and at low cost; and retailers can afford to sell their products at the lowest possible cost because of cheaper production costs (Friedman, pp. 155-158). All in all, most people – from the suppliers to the end consumers – benefit from the global supply chain. In Sun Microsystems, Inc., they have managed to introduce the technological innovation known as ‘one-touch supply chain’ where the company was able to restructure the manufacturing process. The

Critical Disagreement Essay Example for Free

Critical Disagreement Essay Few modern writers reveal a more consistent intellectual development than Ernest Hemingway. In both his themes and the meaning he has found in them he has moved steadily and even logically from the earliest work of In Our Time to the significant orientation of The Fifth Column. The logic of this development has for the most part remained unnoticed by critics who have failed to realize that Hemingway, far from being a child of nature, is in fact an intellectual. They have presented him, consequently, as a sort of savage endowed with style, gifted but brainless. A Farewell to Arms ( 1929) takes us to the Italian front and includes a vivid account of the terrible retreat from Caporetto. An American lieutenant in the Italian Red Cross falls in love with an English nurse and she with him. Both have previously suffered more attrition than human nerves can stand, and in their passionate attachment they find a psychological refuge from the incessant horror of war. They escape to brief happiness in Switzerland, but in giving birth to a child the girl dies. The ending is far from inevitable. It is a comment on the looseness of Hemingways artistry that the moving picture version of this novel was equipped with alternative sad and happy conclusions. In A Farewell to Arms it is society as a whole that is rejected, social responsibility, social concern. Lieutenant Henry is in the War, but his attitude toward it is purely that of a spectator, refusing to be involved. He is leading a private life as an isolated individual. Even personal relations, of any depth or intimacy, he avoids; he drinks with the officers and talks with the priest and visits the officers brothel, but all contacts he keeps, deliberately, on a superficial level. He has rejected the world. Such an attitude is possible only to a sensitive and reflective person. Henry is no naive barbarian. He was studying architecture in Italy when the War began; he makes ironical remarks about sculptures and bronzes; his reflections and conversation contain allusions to Samuel Johnson, Saint Paul, Andrew Marvell, and Sir Thomas Wyatt. His flight from responsibility is the ultimate of the flight that Jake and Brett and Mike were trying to effect with drink and bullfights and sex. He is evading responsibility and emotion, taking refuge in simple primary sensations. Successfully, so far as the War is concerned: I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious and sacrifice and the expression in vain . . . Abstract words, such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the number of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates. Characterization Hemingways greatness lies not in the range of his characterization or the suppleness of his style but in the astonishing perfection of these limited objectives. As Wilhelm points out, â€Å"the oppressive weight of death and anxiety in this object composition, subtly framed for the readers perusal, undercuts the scenes mask of well-beingtwo wartime colleagues bonding rather sophomorically in their desire for women. Henry imbues the elements of this expansive still life with symbolic import, foreshadowing events to come. Because objects are frequently used for characterization, Henrys possessions provide visual clues to the reader, but only as fragments in the larger narrative that withhold their essential meaning until the texts conclusion†. (Wilhelm) The very intensity of Hemingways nihilism in his first stories and novels proved, however, that his need for an ideal expression in art was the mark of a passionate romanticist who had been profoundly disappointed. The anguish of his characters was too dramatic, too flawless; it was too transparent an inversion. The symbols Hemingway employed to convey his sense of the worlds futility and horror were always more significant than the characters who personified emotions, and the characters were so often felt as personified emotions that the emotions became sentimental. The gallery of expatriates in The Sun Also Rises were always subsidiary to the theme that the period itself was lost; the lovers in A Farewell to Arms were, as Edmund Wilson has said, the abstractions of a lyric emotion. Hemingway had created a world of his own socially more brilliant than life, but he was not writing about people living in a world; he was dealing in stock values again, driving his characters between the two poles of a tremulous inner exaltation and an absolute frustration. What he liked best was to invoke the specter of damnation. But A Farewell to Arms is a tragedy, and the lovers are shown as innocent victims with no relation to the forces that torment them. They themselves are not tormented within by that dissonance between personal satisfaction and the suffering one shares with others which it has been Hemingways triumph to handle. A Farewell to Arms, as the author once said, is a Romeo and Juliet. And when Catherine and her lover emerge from the stream of actionthe account of the Caporetto retreat is Hemingways best sustained piece of narrativewhen they escape from the alien necessities of which their romance has been merely an accident, which have been writing their story for them, then we see that they are not in themselves convincing as human personalities. And we are confronted with the paradox that Hemingway, who possesses so remarkable a mimetic gift in catching the tone of social and national types and in making his people talk appropriately, has not shown any very solid sense of character, or indeed, any real interest in it. The people in his short stories are satisfactory because he has only to hit them off: the point of the story does not lie in personalities, but in the emotion to which a situation gives rise. This is true even in The Sun Also Rises, where the characters are sketched with wonderful cleverness. But in A Farewell to Arms, as soon as we are brought into real intimacy with the lovers, as soon as the author is obliged to see them through a searching personal experience, we find merely an idealized relationship, the abstractions of a lyric emotion. Against the gaiety, the warmth of A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway portrays, of course, the cumulative degeneration of the human temperament under the conditions of war. The novel is a series of human defeats within one continuous and terrible sequence: the rains, the cholera, the soldiers who mutilate themselves rather than go on fighting, the growing weariness of the Italian army which led up to Caporetto, the degeneration of Rinaldi himself who is symptomatic of the novels pattern, and at its start is so quick and alive. Contrasted against this in turn, in the love of Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley we have another antithesis of increasing joy. The love and the despair are constantly related, intensely intertwined, and in the end almost gain the feeling of life and death themselves: the death preying upon the living organism of the lovers hope, eating into the flesh and destroying the form from page to page. Yet each change of form, each advance of destruction makes the life of the novel more vital, the life we know must yield, but in the manner of its yielding asserting itself beyond its destruction. A Farewell to Arms in this sense lies quite outside of the pattern of Hemingways development which we have been showing. For the feeling of tragedy in the novel comes precisely from the struggle to participate in life despite all the odds, from the efforts of the lovers to fulfill themselves in a sterile world, from the exact impact of the human will which Hemingway has negated. Yet even here we must notice that Lieutenant Henry turns his back upon our society after Caporetto. Following his personal objectives he abandons his friends, his responsibilities as an officer, the entire complex of organized social life represented by the army and the war. This farewell to arms is accomplished without request or permission. Lieutenant Henry, in fact, deserts, and his action is prophetic of his authors own future movement. You and me, says Nick to the Rinaldi of In Our Time, weve made a separate peace. And Hemingways separate peace was to embrace the woods of Michigan as well as Caporetto, the activities of normal times as well as war, and even at last the ordinary purposes of the individuals life within his society, as well as the collective purposes of society as a whole. Conclusion A Farewell to Arms is even more strictly the story of one man; here, even more than in The Sun Also Rises, the reader feels the cleft between the primary and secondary figures. Both books have the foreshortening of time which is more properly the privilege of the drama than of the traditional novel a technique toward which, since Hemingway demonstrated its immense value, American fiction has been striving with remarkable persistence. Back in the nineteenth century, when people like Henry James and Paul Bourget were taking such distinctions seriously, books like these would have been classified as novelas. I have some difficulty in feeling any wide gap between books in which Hemingway is reporting upon young men who are in character-tastes, occupations, age very much like himself, and books in which he drops the pretense of fiction in order to discuss the same materials in definite reference to himself. And why, to come directly to the main question, do we have to consider Death in the Afternoon and Green Hills of Africa such failures, anyway? One may not be particularly interested in bullfighting and still find that the considered statement, by an accomplished artist, regarding the effect on his own personality of the study of the worlds most stylized form of violence is a document of extraordinary interest, particularly if the artist is making a special effort to see himself clearly at the time. We can also agree with Edmund Wilson that as a book about animals Green Hills of Africa is dull, as we can agree with Max Eastman that as a manual of tauromachy Death in the Afternoon is silly, and still be passionately interested in Hemingways report on himself as a killer. I imagine the answer is that we were concerned by the apparent disappearance of a novelist who seemed to be losing his grip. Hemingway himself was aware of the danger and discoursed upon it for the benefit of the German traveler in the beginning of Green Hills of Africa. He also seemed to feel the danger of losing his memory for sharply characterized sensations, so essential to his kind of writing. In the books after 1930 he seems disproportionately intent on catching things before he forgets them. Works Cited Balbert, Peter. Courage at the Border-Line: Balder, Hemingway, and Lawrences the Captains Doll. Papers on Language Literature 42. 3 (2006) Bloom, Harold, ed. Ernest Hemingways a Farewell to Arms. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Giles, Todd. Simon and Schusters Hemingway Audio Collection. The Hemingway Review 26. 1 (2006) Onderdonk, Todd. Bitched: Feminization, Identity, and the Hemingwayesque in the Sun Also Rises. Twentieth Century Literature 52. 1 (2006) Trodd, Zoe. Hemingways Camera Eye: The Problem of Language and an Interwar Politics of Form. The Hemingway Review 26. 2 (2007) Wagner-Martin, Linda, ed. Seven Decades of Criticism Seven Decades of Criticism. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1998. Whitlow, Roger. Cassandras Daughters: The Women in Hemingway. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. Wilhelm, Randall S. Objects on the Table: Anxiety and Still Life in Hemingways A Farewell to Arms. The Hemingway Review 26. 1 (2006)

Alan Turings Life, Contributions, and Legacy

Alan Turings Life, Contributions, and Legacy Our daily lives are filled with technology. We wake up on time thanks to the alarms we set on our phone. We can find the fastest route available to get to where we need to go using the GPS. We can work anywhere and whenever we want, using our portable laptops. Sometimes we dont know how to spell a word, or know the answer to a question, and we are able to search it up on Google and find an answer. Technology makes our lives easier. It would be hard to live in a world without the conveniences we have today. We owe a lot of our modern advancements to Alan Turing, one of the most prominent computer scientists in the early 1900s. Turing created the concept of a Universal Turing machine, what is known as a computer today. Moreover, Turing also led the philosophy to artificial intelligence, much of what our newest technologies incorporate nowadays. While he did not get to witness the potential and great reality of his concepts today, his vision created a lasting legacy that future computer scientists continue to build on and explore. Alan Mathison Turing was born on June 23, 1912 in Paddington, London (Hodges). Turings father, Julius Mathison Turing, served the British Indian Civil Service where he had met Turings mother, Ethel Sara Stoney, who was the daughter of the chief railway engineer in the Madras Presidency (Hodges). Alan Turing also had an older brother, John Turing. Turing grew up in the upper-middle-class, and did not see his parents much (Hodges). Accordingly, he was sent to Sherborne School, a boarding school. At Sherborne School, Turing focused on mathematics and science, studying ahead of what the school expected the students to learn (Hodges). In his classes, Turing met Christopher Morcom, which he found to be an equal peer in his interest in mathematics and science (Hodges). Unfortunately, 2 years after they had met, Morcom passed away, which caused great trauma for Turing (Hodges). After his best friends death, Turing went to Kings College in Cambridge, where the two intended to go together before Morcoms untimely death (Hodges). At Kings College, he was more encouraged to endeavor in his studies and research rather than at Sherborne (Hodges). Turing was well read in principles of math and quantum mechanics (Hodges). Turing studied and was influenced works by other mathematicians and scientists such as von Neumann and A. S. Eddington (Hodges). Turing was awarded a Fellowship of Kings College in 1935 (Hodges). A year later, he received a Smiths Prize for his research on probability theory (Hodges). While attending Kings College, Alan Turing was involved with the Anti-war movement of 1933, although he was not deeply into politics (Hodges). The Anti-war movement that Turing was associated with was in between the two world wars. In the 1930s, people rebelled against further warfare because of the consequences of the First World War. Because the First World War caused great casualties and suffering, people resisted fighting in future wars, and advocated for peace instead. The Anti-war movement led to new reason of thoughts such as Marxism and pacifism, which Turing did not participate in (Hodges). The Second World War broke out in 1939 and ended shortly 6 years after. During that time, Turing worked in secret as a cryptographer for the British Intelligence, among other top cryptographers (Hodges). Ultimately, his mission was to crack Germanys Enigma cipher, the most complex cipher at its time, which was the key to accessing important German troops plan. Turing managed the impossible and cracked the code. By doing so, he saved many Allied lives. Turing was hugely responsible for the outcome of the war. While it is not confirmed, Winston Churchill supposedly said that Turing made the single biggest contribution to Allied victory in the war against Nazi Germany (Schilling). Turings involvement with the Second World War and working with the British government allowed him to have funding and thus influenced him to work on several other projects. Turing had many great contributions during the Second World War. In order to crack the Enigma, Turing and his colleague Gordon Welchman invented the Bombe, which deciphers the encrypted messages from the Enigma sent by the Germans (IWM). Before the invention of the Bombe, the Enigma would have been impossible to crack, as the encryption method was changed daily. Consequently, the Bombe drastically reduced the workload required to crack the Enigma, and allowed the British to have Germans intelligence which was a huge advantage. Turing shared his work with other allied countries, which led them to work on different versions of the Bombe (IWM). One of Turings greatest contributions is the Universal Turing Machine. Turing started working on it in 1936 before the Second World War, and continued to work on it after the war (IWM). Turing first had the idea of a Turing machine, a machine that is capable of performing a computational task. There are many possible tasks that a Turing Machine can compute, thus there are infinite possibilities of Turing machines (Hodges). Alan Turing conceptualized the Universal Turing machine, which would perform any task one Turing machine would be able to do (Hodges). Think of a Turing machine as a function on a calculator, such as adding or subtracting. The Universal Turing machine is the calculator itself, which comprises many functions. The Universal Turing machine was a single machine that had the potential to do many tasks. Many computer scientists may argue Alan Turing is the inventor of the first modern computer. His idea of the Universal Turing machine is the essence of the modern computer. Computers today have many applications, such as a calculator, a web browser, or a music player. These applications could be independent machines, however they are encapsulated into one machine, which is the idea of the Universal Turing machine at heart. Without Turings ingenious concept, we might not have the modern computer today. Another big contribution by Alan Turing is the Turing Test. The Turing Test comes from Turings Computing Machinery and Intelligence paper written in 1950 (Hodges). Turing created a hypothesis that a Turing machine can be created to have intelligence. According to John M. Kowalik, The test consisted of a person asking questions via keyboard to both a person and an intelligent machine. He believed that if the person could not tell the machine apart from the person after a reasonable amount of time, the machine was somewhat intelligent. The Turing Test challenges the idea of an intelligent machine, or at least convince a human it has intelligence. Turing has left a great legacy for the progress of computer science. Based on his concepts of the Universal Turing machine, later computer scientists were inspired computational machines that could perform multiple tasks. The idea of a Universal Turing machine has not changed, but its capabilities have certainly evolved as technology evolves. From the clunky desktops in the late 1900s, to the rail thin laptops we have today, they were all inspired by Turings concept of the Universal Turing machine. Today, computer scientists are still exploring the infinite possibilities of the functionalities of a computer, as Turing theorized. The Turing Test spawned a new field of study in computer science. Turing left future computer scientists the ambitious idea of artificial intelligence. Although it was not achieved in his lifetime, today we have many applications of artificial intelligence that are all based on the fundamental idea of the Turing Test. Cars that can autonomously drive, Siri on the iPhone, and Google search are all examples of artificially intelligence led by the legacy of Turing. Scholars are still finding ways to implement artificial intelligence into our interactions in daily life. What Turing has started blossomed into a new form of technology that has transformed the way we cooperate with machines. In conclusion, Alan Turing deserves much appreciation for his works in his lifetime. Turings invention of the Bombe allowed the British to decipher the Enigma and led to victory for the Allied forces. The Universal Turing machine was arguably the first concept of the modern computer. The Turing Test led to talk and future work by computer scientists in artificial intelligence. Turing had a grand vision for how machines could aid us in the future. By following his legacy, computer scientists continue to build on the foundation that his concepts had laid out. Even when technology progress further, Turings vision will never be forgotten. His ideas have transcended in new forms. Many science fiction novels, philosophy, and movies can be accredited to Turings concepts. It is unfortunate that his contributions were not greatly recognized in his own lifetime as it is today. Turing faced many adversities with authorities concerning his sexuality with men, which was shunned mid-1900s in Engla nd (Hodges). Sadly, Turing passed away on June 8, 1954, due to cyanide poisoning, which was believed to be suicide (Hodges). Despite the challenges in his life, Turing still fathered many revolutionary ideas in computer science. Turing leaves us behind with his legacy, in promising hope for a greater future. References Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing a Short Biography. Alan Turing a Short Biography. Turing.org.uk, 1995. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. Hodges, Andrew. The Alan Turing Internet Scrapbook. Alan Turing Scrapbook Turing Test. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. How Alan Turing Cracked The Enigma Code. Imperial War Museums. N.p., 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. Kowalik, John M. Alan Turing. N.p., 1995. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. Schilling, Johnathan. Churchill: Turing Made the Single Biggest Contribution to Allied Victory. The Churchill Centre. The International Churchill Society, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

The Relationship Between Nature and Architecture

The Relationship Between Nature and Architecture What has landscape architecture and industrialized society to learn from indigenous cultures and their symbiotic relationships with nature? ‘Despite nature’s many earlier warnings, the pollution and destruction of the natural environment has gone on, intensively and extensively, without awakening a sufficient reaction; it is only during the last century that any systematic effort has been made to determine what constitutes a balanced and self-renewing environment, containing all the ingredient’s necessary for man’s biological prosperity, social cooperation and spiritual stimulation.’ (Ian McHarg, Design With Nature) At the dawn of the twenty-first century it becomes clearer and clearer daily to scientists, environmentalists, and landscape architects alike, what massive climatic and ecological devastation has been caused by one-hundred-and-fifty years of human industrial activity. Mankind can no longer avert its eyes from environmental catastrophe by pretending that the science behind such doom-full asseverations is unsound, that the results are ambiguous, that the evidence is dubious. As these delusions are blown away by ever more certain evidence, there appear in their place the horrific spectre of rivers and oceans sated with pollution and filth, rainforests ravaged by deforestation, deserts extending at unnatural speeds, and   the atmosphere a toxic and noxious fog filled by the vast emissions of our industrial societies. In less than two centuries, man’s industrial and technological acceleration has brought him to the brink of environmental collapse. It is now evident to all but the most blinkered or obstinate governments that comprehensive action is needed urgently to prevent our follies from going past the environmental ‘tipping-point’ that we have neared and whereafter we risk permanent and irreparable devastation. There have been   myriad suggestions from environmentalists as to which solutions must be implemented to reverse this damage of the past two centuries; there have likewise been many summits, conferences and treaties convened to discuss these issues – the most recent major one being the Kyoto Agreement ratified by all countries except the United States. This essay however examines what landscape architects and conservationists may learn from the relationship with nature and the environment known by indigenous peoples for tens of thousands of years. It looks, in particular, at what may be understood from the ‘ways of life’ of the Bushmen of the Kalahari in Botswana and Namibia in particular, and also the aborigine peoples of Australia, the indigenous Indians of the Brazilian rainforest and the nomads of the Mongolian steppes. These peoples have lived in many instances, in a near perfectly harmonious and undisturbed relationship with nature for thousands of years in the case of the Kalahari Bushmen for over ten thousand years! The philosophies and mythologies of these peoples reveal how they understand and rejoice in the benevolence and fecundity of nature and the profound generosity of the gifts that she has continually bestowed upon them. Universally amongst these peoples there is an intense respect and gratefulness for nature and for what, in McHarg’s phrase, is the ‘glorious bounty’ that she provides. It seems almost too simple and too obvious to say that modern man, who has wreaked enormous damage in fifteen decades, might have a great deal to learn from peoples who lived without any such damage for more than one thousand decades!   In this essay’s analysis the term ‘symbiotic’ will be a key criteria of investigation; the notion of two organisms (man and nature) feeding from each other and using each other for mutual benefit. After a section of historical reflection where it glances at the seminal and pioneering ideas of Ian McHarg and J.B. Jackson, this essay goes on to explore how the knowledge of indigenous cultures about the environment might be fused with modern technology to create an ideal, sustainable and environmentally-friendly form of landscape design and city-planning. Moreover, the essay studies the notion of ‘collective consciousness’ amongst society as to the planet we inhabit and our collective responsibilities towards it. Throughout these last sections references are made to modern examples of the themes under discussion, as well as contemporary designers such as James Corner, Mark Treib and Sebastian Marot.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is vital for students of landscape architecture to know something of the genesis of the theory and practice of landscape architecture; this historical orientation informs the student as to how landscape architecture can be a medium through which the understanding of nature by indigenous peoples may be fused with the technological advances of our own societies to form and develop environmentally friendly and sustainable sites for the future. Within this history, perhaps no one’s ideas are more seminal than those of the father of the discipline: Ian McHarg.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the 1970’s mankind did not possess a comprehensive or total understanding of his relationship with nature and his environment; his knowledge was splinted and fragmented and so unification of environmental theories and ideas was a very rare event. Moreover, no detailed and systematic philosophy of environmental design had yet been conceived. The creation of this philosophy fell, above all, to Ian McHarg. Lewis Mumford’s eloquently tells us of the significance of McHarg’s, the ‘inspired ecologist’, for environmental studies and landscape architecture. Mumford says:   ‘. . . his is a mind that not only looks at all nature and human activity from the external vantage point of ecology, but likewise sees the world from within, and a participant and as an actor, bringing to the cold dry colourless world of science the special contribution that differentiates the higher mammals, above all human beings, from all other animate things: vivid colo ur and passion, insatiable curiosity, and a genius for creativity’. McHarg’s work was vital because he showed that man must conceive of his environment as a totality and respond to that totality with a dedication and awakened consciousness yet unparalleled in human history. McHarg opened man’s eyes to the destructive capabilities and tendencies of man with respect to his environment; he showed ‘. . . the way in which modern technology, through its hasty and unthinking application of scientific knowledge or technical facility, has been defacing the environment and lowering its habitability.’ McHarg nurtured a nascent consciousness amongst environmentalists and academics as to the threat of pesticides, herbicides, green-house gases etc; and his epoch-making book Design With Nature established the fundamental principles of a philosophy of landscape architecture and city-design that is harmonious with nature and seeks to benefit from nature’s gen erous fruits without consuming them exhaustively. McHarg’s philosophy had and has a practical aspect and a tremendous efficacy upon environmental renewal if people are willing to implement its advice. This knowledge must ‘. . . be applied to actual environments, to caring for natural areas, like swamps, lakes and rivers, to choosing sites for further urban settlements, to re-establishing human norms and life-furthering in metropolitan conurbations’. McHarg imbued landscape design and city-planning with a distinctive and previously all-together lacking moral and ethical dimension, and swung round the aesthetic sensibilities of these disciplines to exalt and revere the principle of harmonious inter-action and inter-dependence with the environment. In Mumford’s words, again: ‘McHarg’s emphasis is not on either design or nature herself, but upon the preposition with, which implies human cooperation and biological partnership’. By this philo sophy a design is not imposed upon nature and does not therefore run the risk of being unsuccessful due to its incompatibility with the environment; but instead a design emerges out of the natural features of the landscape. By this approach, the meeting of design upon environment will be a natural and harmonious fit. To use a medical metaphor: the landscape will not reject the organ that is transplanted within it: the two are intimately joined. Perhaps, at bottom, there emerges out of the work and philosophy of McHarg, Jackson, Rachel Carson and all who have come after them, the conviction, that if done in the correct way and with the correct attitude, man can even ‘improve or ‘perfect’ nature by adding the element of himself to it.   For more than ten thousand years the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, a vast 500,000 kilometre square area of southern Africa, have lived a lifestyle that has changed nearly nothing for this entire period. The Kalahari Desert appears to the softened Western observer as a barren, inhospitable and intolerably difficult place to survive – yet alone live continually! But the Bushmen have not only lived here amongst the dunes, plains and brush for countless millennia, but they have prospered also. At the heart of this ancient way of living is the harmonious and balanced relationship that the tribes of the Kalahari share with the environment that supports them. This is a ‘symbiotic’ relationship where man takes what he needs from nature, but only enough, so that nature in return profits by being treated respectfully. A useful analogy is the one Courtlander makes between the shark and the little fish that clean it: the shark is cleaned by these fish as they remove its parasites and in return the fish are fed by the parasites of the shark. The relationship between the Bushmen and nature is similar: the Bushmen feed from nature’s bounty and then nature benefits also to the extent that she is treated respectfully. This relationship is symbolised in the abodes and dwelling places of the Bushmen: their huts are made of materials taken from the immediate environment: grass, wood, animal skin, earth. These products are all used with maximum efficiency so that nothing is wasted and nothing in nature is harmed; these features are elaborated in the sacred places of worship of the Bushmen (mounds, mountains, watering-holes) where these materials are used more extensively. Klaus has shown in his three-volume work The Sacred Rituals and Magical Practices of the Bushmen of the Kalahari the Bushmen’s celebration of nature by way of numerous religious rituals and magical practices. Other cultures that share an such an intimate and delicate relatio nship, and such a direct reflection of this the style of their dwelling places, include the aborigine peoples of Australia who live a very similar lifestyle to the bushmen and venerate Ayres rock as the acme of nature’s munificence – as has been well documented by Kama’eleiwiha in Native Land and Foreign Desires; also, the myriad indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin in South America as recorded by Davies in his Indigenous Tribes of Brazil; and the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppes. What then has the modern landscape architect to learn from the symbiotic relationship of indigenous peoples with nature? Landscape architects of 2005, often working on sites at the derelict fringes of society, on industrial waste-grounds, the edges of motorways, close to airports and so on are often forced to work with sites that are sated with pollution, toxins, scrap materials and waste products. The rejuvenation of sites as these by landscape architects must be in accordance with principles of sustainability and environmental balance. The Bushmen of the Kalahari, the aborigines of Australia and so on have, above all, a certain ‘control’ about the way they occupy and use their environment. The Bushmen will only kill as many animals as suffice to satisfy their hunger; by not hunting to excess the Bushmen ensure the stability of the livestock populations and the other species that depend upon them. The aborigines of Australia and the nomads of Mongolia are intimately awa re of the maximum amount that they can take from nature without forcing deprivation upon her; there is a ‘collective consciousness amongst these peoples as to their responsibility towards nature and as to what the relationship is between nature and society. For an aborigine or South American Indian to do damage to or pollute his environment is tantamount to an act of self-harm and self-destruction; and as such acts of mass pollution are undocumented amongst such peoples. Landscape architects must adopt a similar collective consciousness and try to emit this through their designs so that their audiences and users come to take up a similar consciousness. Landscape architects must also learn something of the ‘control’ exhibited by indigenous peoples towards the environments, and do this by building their landscape creations with the same centrality of control. This has been shown particularly by the work of Martha Schwartz in the United State and the Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam.   Instead of vast landfill sites that forever plant more toxins and pollutants in the soil, designs must embrace the technologies of recycling, bioengineering and so on. Notable examples of attempts as such design include the, the Evergreen Estate in Chicago, USA, the BMW building in Berlin, and, less well-known but perhaps most persuasively of all, in the Plaza de Paz in Bogota, Colombia. In each of these designs the materials used for construction are environmentally friendly and were produced in an environmentally friendly manner; the energy used by these places is clean and comes from renewable sources. Every aspect of these designs is intended to foster harmony and equilibrium between man and his environment, and to promote amongst users of these sites a deeper environmental consciousness that they might then extend to their families and colleagues and thus, eventually, force the governments who represent them to take up similar attitudes also. It is almost need less to say, that future opportunities for such design are endless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the final analysis, landscape architects of the twenty-first find that they have an immense amount to learn about their discipline from the ways of life and symbiotic relationship with nature that have been known and practised by indigenous and nomadic peoples for several millennia. A landscape architect might indeed conclude that buried within this intimate and intricate relationship with nature are the ideal principles with which to compensate the rapacious appetite for and consumption of the environment by modern industrial society. At the heart of the indigenous and nomadic attitude to nature are the concepts of ‘balance’ and ‘equilibrium’: it is by these principles that mankind may continue to enjoy the bountiful fruits of nature without exhausting her ability to produce them. It is this exhaustive, relentless and apparently inexorable ‘taking from nature’ by our economies and cultures without returning anything to nature that has distur bed the delicate balance cherished by indigenous and nomadic peoples. Nonetheless, it is impossible for our age to dispense with the sophisticated technologies and industries that we have developed and to return to a state of indigenous lifestyle; what is needed is to create an architectural philosophy of design that fuses the simplicity and balance of the indigenous relationship with nature, with the technological advances of our own age. The duty and responsibility of the twenty-first century landscape architect is to produce designs and structures that bring these two philosophies together. It is therefore essential that landscape architects work intimately with scientists, ecologists, botanists, businessmen and others so as to bring the greatest amount of environmental consideration and reflection to the development of a particular site or project. By convening all of the particular parties interested in a site in this way, a dialogue may be opened between them and therefore the greatest hope arises that action will be implemented to guarantee the environmental health of a site. It must always be in his mind that as the world races towards the environmental ‘tipping-point’ of no return, that this responsibility upon the landscape architect is a heavy one. The realization of such ambitious landscape architecture has begun with the works of James Corner, Sebastian Marot and Mark Treib. BIBLIOGRAPHY Academic Books, Journals Articles Bachelard, Gaston (1994) The Poetics of Space; Beacon Press, Boston. Casey, Edward (1993) Getting back into place towards a new understanding ofthe place world; Indiana University Press Courtlander, H. (1996). A Treasure of African Folklore. Marlowe Company, New York. Ed: Corney, James (1999) Recovering Landscape; Princetown Davies, P. (1971). The Indigenous Tribes of Brazil. Farenheit Press, Preston.   Heidegger, Martin (1977) Building/Dwelling/Thinking; New York, ed: Krell   Heizer, Michael (1999) Effigy Tumuli; New York, Harry N. Abrams Heizer, Michael (1997) Cities Natural Process; London New York, Routledge. Jackson. J.B. (1994) A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time; Yale. Kame’eleiwiha, L. (1992). Native Land and Foreign Desires. Frontham Books, Sydney London. Klaus, Walter. (1951). The Sacred Rituals and Magical Practices of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. Ford Books, Edinburgh. Ford Books. Mathur, Anuradha, da Cunha, Dilip (2001) Mississippi Floods: Designing aShifting Landscape; Yale Univ. Press McHarg, Ian L. (1971) Design with Nature; Doubleday/ Natural History Press Mumford,L. ‘Introduction’ in McHarg, M.L. (1971). Design With Nature. Doubleday, Natural History Press. Roy, Arundhati (1999) The Cost of Living; Flamingo Smithson, Robert (1996) The Collected Writings; California Press Ed: Swaffield, Simon (2002) Theory in Landscape Architecture A Reader; Univ. of Penn Press Weilacher, Udo (1996) Between Landscape, Architecture Land Art; Birkhaà ¼ser

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict :: Essays Papers

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict goes back many decades, to when the UN formed Israel in 1948. The conflict is between the Israelis who are Jewish, and the Palestinians who are Arabs, with both sides fighting over land rights in the Middle East. The surrounding countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, support the Palestinians, in their fight to get their homeland back. The Palestinian supporting countries immediately attacked Israel, and a big conflict in the Middle East began. The Israelis believe they have sole rights to govern, and live in their country, although the Palestinians think they should be able to live on their homeland, which they have inhabited for many centuries. Background on the Conflict The formation of Israel has been the fundamental cause of the major wars, between the Arabs and the Jewish people for decades. These wars occurred in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982. The first war immediately followed Israel’s formation. In this war, the Israelis took the entire Egypt-Palestine frontier, except for the Gaza Strip. In 1956, Israel took the Suez Canal, from Egypt by raiding Arab bases, which increased their buffer zone. The buffer zone is an area that Israel controlled but did not own. This made the Palestinian’s effort to attack more difficult, because they had to cross over more land. Then in 1967 Israel shot down six Egyptian military planes, causing the Egyptians to activate their troops. Israel then eliminated the Egyptian Air Force and won what came to be known as the â€Å"Six Day War.† In this war Israel seized the city of Jerusalem; this city is of significance to both sides of the conflict, because it’s historically connecte d with their religious beliefs. They also obtained the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Golan Heights, which increased their land holdings. In 1973, the â€Å"Yom Kippur War† occurred. This war was caused by Egypt crossing the Suez Canal, and Syria, another Arab country attacking from the Golan Heights. Israel suffered heavy casualties, but still managed to drive them back, and retained possession of previously captured territory. In 1974, Egypt signed a cease-fire, and Syria started negotiation of peace agreements. When Egypt signed the peace treaty, and recognized that Israel has a right to exist, Israel gave back the Sinai Peninsula in 1979. Increased tensions between the two groups caused Israel to bomb Lebanon, because there are two major Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) centers situated there.

The Childhood of Charles Dickens Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Childhood of Charles Dickens      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "I do not write resentfully or angrily: for I know all these things have worked together to make me what I am" - Charles Dickens    Charles Dickens's tumultuous childhood did indeed shape the person he became, as well as have a definite impact on his literary career.   There are shades of young Dickens in many of his most beloved characters, including David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and of course, Great Expectations' Pip.   Like Dickens, all three of these characters came from humble beginnings and were able to rise above their respective circumstances to achieve success.   Similarly, Dickens' literary success is owed in large part to his unhappy childhood experiences.   He did not merely overcome his past, he triumphed over it by incorporating it into best-selling works of art.   Drawing on these events not only provided a cathartic release from childhood traumas, it also modernized the classic rags-to-riches success story.   When comparing Dickens' childhood to Great Expectations, it becomes apparent not only how these formative years influenced his literary career by inspiring many of the characters and themes predominant in the novel, but also how Dickens used his work as a form of therapeutic release from childhood tensions.    Charles Dickens' childhood and young adulthood was definitely filled with enough drama to base a novel upon.   Born February 7, 1812, to John Dickens, a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and his wife Elizabeth, Charles spent his earliest years in the English seaport town of Portsmouth.   The first years of his life were idyllic enough, alt... ... safe way.   He did not have to confront the people and events that shaped him directly, he could do it through characters such as Pip.   He was well-acquainted with the themes that run throughout the novel because he experienced them in his own life.   His first-hand knowledge of such feelings as guilt, betrayal and personal redemption added an authenticity to his fiction that would be difficult for authors without such a history to duplicate. Works Cited    Allen, Michael. Charles Dickens' Childhood. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1988.    Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. 1861. Ed. Janice Carlisle. Boston: Bedford, 1996.    Forster, John. The Life of Charles Dickens. New York: Bigelow, 1876. Kaplan, Fred. Dickens: A Biography. New York: Morrow, 1988.            Ã‚  

Advantages and disadvantages of E-books over books Essay

E-books have been around for a few years and even though printed books are still very popular E-books are becoming more popular as well. To be able to read E-books people need to have a special device called the E-reader or a tablet. Printed books do not seem relevant anymore, but there are still a lot of people who hold on to or prefer the traditional books. Some people expected the arrival of the e-book to replace the use of printed books. It can be noted that this is not true. Although the E-book seems to have a lot of advantages, there are also disadvantages when it comes to E-books. One of the main disadvantage according to Tara Entwistle-Clark (2013), Tian Xiang Yu (2008) and Scott (2013) is that the reader needs an electronic device, like an E-reader or tablet. As with all technology it can break. Readers need to be far more careful with their E-readers than with books. One fall can break the screen of an E-reader, making it hard to read whereas a book can still be read. Scott (2013) also states that a second problem with needing an E-reader is that not every E-book can be downloaded on every E-reader. E- readers may not support every E-book format, this causes readers to be limited in the books they are able to read. A last problem with using an electronic device according to Tara Entwistle-Clark (2013), Tian Xiang Yu (2008) and J. Perrine (2010) is, when working with an electronic device readers have to keep in mind that it needs to be charged. When the battery dies, readers cannot read until they charge the device. According to blogger, J. Perrine (2010), not only the fragile state or the incompatibility issues of E-readers is a problem, it also costs a lot of money to purchase an E-reader. The cost of an E-reader varies from proximally 50 to over 200 Euros. Even though E-books can be read on a laptop or tablet, it still is a very expensive purchase. Another disadvantage according to Scott (2013) and Tian Xiang Yu (2008) is staring at a screen all day. This can cause the readers to hurt their eyes, which leads to tiredness, headaches and blurred vision. A screen also does not have the same resolution as print on paper. Finally, reading an E-book also causes the experience of reading a book to change say Tara Entwistle-Clark (2013) and Jill Harness (n.d. ). Readers cannot flip through E-books easily, which makes it hard to go back and look something up. Not only that takes away from the experience but also the smell and feel of holding a printed book. The work that goes into book covers cannot be portrayed the same on a screen and opening a brand new book, cracking the spine is an experience an E-book can never give. On the other hand there are also advantages. The most obvious one is that E-readers are easy to take with you. Readers do not have to carry around a whole stack of books when they go on holiday. Readers only need to take one device that can carry hundreds of books and a charger to their destination. No more heavy bags and back pains (Tara Entwistle-Clark, 2013, Linda McMaken, 2012 and Jill Harness, n. d. ). In addition not only on the go this saves space according to Tara Entwistle-Clark (2013) and Jill Harness (n. d), but also in the reader’s home. Readers do not need large bookcases full of books anymore, this is especially a great advantage when one does not have a lot of space in their home. It makes a small home look more organized and with only one device readers have their whole library of books with them. Next, E-books themselves cost less than printed books and especially many English E-books can be found for free online. According to J. Perrine (2010), Linda McMaken (2012) and Michael Pastore (2008) this great availability and easy accessibility of E-books online can be a good motivation for people, especially children, to read more. The younger generation spends a lot of time behind a screen already and might be more likely to read a book on screen than a printed one. Reading books becomes easier, when the reader does not have to go out of the house to go buy a book or wait until their order arrives at home. They are one click away from getting a book and can start reading almost immediately. Michael Pastore (2008) and Jill Harness (n. d. ) write that another advantage is the fact that readers can customize front size, front color, front style and page size. This makes reading easier for people who have sight disabilities. For example, they can choose for a larger front size, which makes it easier for them to read. Some E-reader screens can be lit, which makes reading in the dark possible. E-books also give the opportunity to use multimedia, like adding sounds, moving images and links to internet pages. This way reading becomes a more interactive activity, making it again more appealing for a younger audience. Finally, the environment will benefit from the use of E-books as there is no use of paper and since readers can download E-books right from their home there is also no need to transport books to a store. This results in saving transportation costs and lowers the air contamination that comes with shipping books across the world. In addition it also saves space, as there is no need any more for depots or stores to store books. E-books are stored on the internet after all. (Michael Pastore, 2008 and Jill Harness, n. d.) In conclusion E-readers break easily and readers need to be more careful as not to break them. Readers need to keep in mind that not every E-book is compatible with every E-reader and that E-readers are expensive. Readers might get negative side effects from staring at a screen all day. Finally reading E-books does not give readers the same experience as reading a printed book. In contrast E-books are good for the environment, no transportation or paper needed. Readers can easily take many books with them, only needing an E-reader and it saves space in the reader’s home. Another great advantages is that E-books are cheaper than printed books and easier accessibly. Front sizes of E-books can be customized to the readers liking and they give the opportunity to use multimedia. This way E-books can reach a bigger audience. Finally we can say that E-books have a lot of advantages and disadvantages over books and it is up to the reader which they prefer. Bibliography Entwistle-Clark, T. (2013). Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Readers. Examiner. com. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from: http://www. examiner. com/article/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-e-readers. Harness, J. (n. d. ). The Advantages of eBooks Versus Traditional Books. Online-bookstores-review. toptenreviews. com. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from: http://online-bookstores-review. toptenreviews. com/the-advantages-of-ebooks-versus-traditional-books. html McMaken, L. (2012). E-Books Vs. Print Books. Investopedia. com. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from: http://www. investopedia. com/financial-edge/0812/e-books-vs. -print-books. aspx Pastore, M. (2008). 30 Benefits of Ebooks. Epublishersweekly. blogspot. nl. Retrieved January 17, 2014 from: http://epublishersweekly. blogspot. nl/2008/02/30-benefits-of-ebooks. html Perrine, J. (2010). E-books and reading devices: advantages and disadvantages. E-booksandreaders. blogspot. nl. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from: http://e-booksandreaders. blogspot. nl/p/advantages-and-disadvantages. html Scott. (2013). Disadvantages of E-books. Sunflowerbookfest. com. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from: http://www. sunflowerbookfest. com/disadvantages-of-e-books Yu, T. X. (2008). Disadvantages of E-books. Ezinearticles. com. Retrieved January 16, 2014 from: http://ezinearticles. com/? Disadvantages-of-E-books&id=1324883

Natural Disasters and the Decisions that Follow

Q1: Insurance companies in the state of Florida earned record profits in 2006, suggesting that Nationwide's decision to cancel policies in light of the calm hurricane seasons (in Florida) in 2005-2007 may have cost the company potential revenue and customer goodwill. Do you think Rommel's quote about making a †sound business decision† reveals any perceptual or decision-making biases? Why or why not? Overconfidence bias is identified as †the tendency to overestimate the probability that one's judgment in arriving at a decision in correct†. Rommel's quote about making a †sound business decision† reveals an overconfidence decision-making biases. Anchoring bias is †a tendency to fixate on initial information, and to then fail to adjust adequately for subsequent information†. His decision also disclose an anchoring bias as it is look like that Nationwide did not take into consideration some information that others did. Selective perception is †selectively interpreting what one sees on the basis of one's interests, background, experience and attitudes†. Rommel's quote does reveal selective perception biases since they followed their own interest which is, money. Q2: Review the section on common biases and error in decision making. For companies such as Nationwide, American Airlines, and JetBlue that must respond to natural events, which of these biases and errors are relevant and why? The first error/bias that is relevant to Nationwide Insurance company is †overconfidence bias† since they believed too much in their own ability to make good decision †A sound decision†. The second error/bias is †anchoring bias† as they used the early first received information for making a decision †All other companies made a good revenue†. The relevant error/bias regarding American Airline industry is †overconfidence bias† since they overestimated that their judgment in arriving at a decision is correct when Danny Burgin said †snowstorms are easier to predict†. Overconfidence bias is also relevant to JetBlue Airline as David Neeleman said †Is our good will gone? No, it isn't† and he believed too much in his ability to make a good decision. The second error/bias is regarding JetBlue Airline is †Confirmation bias† which is defined as †The tendency to seek out information that reaffirms past choices and to discount information that contradicts past judgment†. An example of this bias is when the CEO, David Neeleman said, †You're overdoing it, so go ask Delta what they did about it. Why don't you grill them? †. Q3: In each of the three cases discussed here, which organisational constraints were factors in the decisions that were made? Organisations can constraint decision markers, creating deviation from the rational model. The first organisational constraint that was a factor in the decisions that were made is †Performance Evaluation† since managers want their works to be evaluated well so that sometimes they make some decisions that are not comply with rational model, this constraint is related to Nationwide Insurance company. The second constraint is †Historical Precedents† which is relevant to American Airline industry, since choices that were made are largely a result of choices that were made over the years. The last two constraints are, †System-Imposed time Constraint† as they restricted their ability to gather or evaluate information, and †Formal Regulation† where due to organisational purposes, some policies restricts managers to make a decision, these constraints are relevant for both American Airline industry as well as JetBlue Airline. Q4: How do you think people like Rommel, Burgin, and Neeleman factor ethics into their decisions? Do you think the welfare of policy owners and passengers enter into their decisions? People with high ethical standards are less likely to engage in unethical practices, even in organisations or situations in which there are strong pressures to conform. The first ethical theory that arise in this case is Utilitarianism, where Rommel, Burgin and Neeleman did not seek to maximize good for the greatest number of people who were affected by their decisions. The second theory is right theory, as it appears that they also did not respect and protect the basic rights of individuals. Finally, according to the justice theory, Rommel, Burgin and Neeleman did not impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially when they made decisions.

MKTG 315 Pre-test Essay

1. President Obama’s health care plan requires all U.S. citizens to purchase a minimum amount of health insurance or be fined 2. Suppose that from January 2011 to January 2012, the inflation rate was 6 percent 3. Fill out the table according the demographic information for each group 4. Which of the following approaches to innovation is Google Inc. using when it allows researchers to devote 20 percent of their time to pursuing their own ideas and projects? Can be D. 5. Examine the advertisement below to determine who the target market is for the product. Then, select as many descriptors that fit the qualities of that target market. 6. The local Pro Hardware store has recently run a number of ads featuring women doing household repairs and holds monthly workshops for women on basic home repair techniques. It has evidently not been lost on Pro Hardware that: B. Personal traits tend to vary in the U.S by region 7. Today, many infants are exposed from birth to technology such as Smartphones, laptops, netbooks, and tablets. In fact, Fisher-Price and LeapFrog do research into how infants and young toddlers interact with screens and touchscreens. 8. Research that attempts to expand the frontiers of knowledge but is not aimed at a specific, pragmatic problem is called: Basic research 9. Which of the following is an example of demographic information? C. Single, 18-25 year olds 10. When a coal mining company lobbies Congress for changes in environmental laws and regulations that result in the construction of more coal-burning power plants, the company has engaged in: Post Test 1. Match the product with the ethnic group it most likely targets. African American A new urban clothing line directed at young adults, Hispanic American Clean and fruity scented room freshener in a colorful container Asian American Brand new electronic device charger that also acts as a keyboard for the nearest charging device, Any ethnicity A package of flank steak, 2. Sharon is 60 years old and expects to continue working through her sixties. She lost a significant portion of her retirement savings during the recession. Sharon is a: Baby boomer 3.Randy is a sales rep at Speedy Printing. When Danyka expresses an interest in purchasing a new, high-speed copy machine for her office, Randy tells her that Speedy Printing requires all users of its copy machines to purchase all their paper and toner from the company as well. Fortunately, Danyka is well-versed in business legislation and informs Randy that his company’s policy is in violation of the: Incorrect. Among other things, the Clayton Act prohibits tying contracts (which require the buyer of one product to also buy another item in the line). 4. Match the American value with the product that most addresses that value. Self-sufficiency A book on year round vegetable garden management., Upward mobility BMW offers an entry-level sedan for much less than its super-luxury models Work Ethic ., Debit card that rounds up to the nearest dollar and puts the rounded change into a savings account., Conformity . Walmart offers everyday low prices for everyone 5. Joseph has an idea for a startup that will offer a mobile device that will also function as a social media hub, music center, and digital wallet. His idea is to offer slick designs in brilliant colors that shoppers can either subscribe to monthly or pay as they go for data access. Select all of the target market factors Joseph needs to consider as he finalizes design and designs on promotion strategies. a. Ethnicity b. How social media use has changed the way people communicate c. Consumer Privacy d. Purchasing power e. Size of the population f. Age demographic g. State Laws h. Inflation Answer 1: Correct. Answer 2: Correct. Answer 3: Correct. Answer 4: Correct. Answer 5: Incorrect. Answer 6: Correct. Answer 7: Incorrect. Answer 8: Incorrect. 6. A local bank has developed a new line of credit with a lower interest rate and large lines of credit. Of the following, what considerations will the bank have to take into account before granting a line of credit to an applicant? a. Recession b. Consumer income c. Competition d. Inflation e. Ethnicity f. Purchasing Power Answer 1: Correct. Answer 2: Correct. Answer 3: Incorrect. Answer 4: Incorrect. Answer 5: Incorrect. Answer 6: Correct. 7. Why are Asian Americans sometimes called a â€Å"marketer’s dream†? 8. Component lifestyles: Incorrect. Component lifestyles encompass a much wider range of interests (and needs) than traditional lifestyles. Increased buying power has also contributed to the evolution of component lifestyles. d. have developed because consumers can choose from a growing number of goods and services. 9. From the following, choose all of the following are methods companies are using to stimulate innovation. a. Enlisting the web b. Increasing efficiency c. Talking to early adopters d. Using marketing research e. Building scenarios Answer 1: Correct. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 2: Incorrect. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 3: Correct. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 4: Correct. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 5: Incorrect. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepren eurs. 10. After learning that many of its customers were shopping at a nearby health-food store for grass-fed beef and organic milk, REF:-Price Grocers began stocking more organic items. REF:-Price Grocers adjusted its marketing strategy based on: Environment management Chapter 5: Pre-Test The Pilcher Company manufactures tents and other canvas goods in its two factories, located in Kentucky and West Virginia. Seven years ago, Pilcher began exporting its goods to several countries in Latin America, and sales have been very good. At least 25% of Pilcher’s revenue comes from its foreign sales. The Pilcher Company can probably best be characterized as a _____ multinational corporation. a. first-stage b. second-stage c. third-stage d. fourth-stage e. fifth-stage Mari is in Brazil for a vacation and has stumbled upon the most beautiful Brazilian cedar chest inlaid with Brauna wood veneers. She desperately wants the trunk, but isn’t sure how much it actually costs. The shopkeeper is asking her for 2500 reals (the Brazilian currency). Mari’s husband knows that the exchange rate to the U.S. dollar is about 0.5 USD for 1 real. Calculate the cost of the trunk in U.S. dollars. $ Select all of the following that are true about globalization. a. Globalization has cost millions of Americans their jobs, particularly those in the manufacturing and tech industries. b. Globalization encourages political as well as economic freedom. c. Job outsourcing has decreased with globalization. d. Globalization raises the living standards of people in countries that embrace it. e. U.S. white-collar jobs are immune to being outsourced because they require a native speaker of English. 4. Select the table with the rest of the G-20 Member countries. Australia Japan Brazil Germany Turkey India Russia United Kingdom (or England) Saudi Arabia United States [or USA] 5, Select the methods of entering the Global Marketplace to the appropriate level of risk on the spectrum. Exporting Licensing and Franchising Contract Manufacturing Joint Venture Direct Investment 6. In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan â€Å"Come alive with the Pepsi Generation† came out as â€Å"Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.† The managers at Pepsi evidently overlooked the importance of _____ factors in global marketing. a. demographic b. political c. technological d. cultural e. economic Incorrect. Language is a central part of culture and has created problems for many companies entering foreign markets. 7. Pillsbury advertisements on Indian television depict the familiar Doughboy pressing his palms together and bowing in the traditional Indian greeting. Pillsbury obviously understands the rewards of _____ marketing. a. sales b. guerilla c. regional d. global e. green 8. A Vietnamese textile factory sells its goods in the United States at a price 40% less than that charged in Vietnam. The textile factory may be engaging in: a. boycotting. b. price gouging. c. dumping. d. bouncing. e. countertrading 9. Campbell’s watercress and duck gizzard soup (which is popular in China) and Frito-Lay’s shrimp-flavored potato chip (sold in Thailand), are examples of: a. product standardization. b. promotion adaptation. c. product adaptation. d. competitive pricing. e. product invention. Incorrect. In the context of global marketing, product invention can be taken to mean either creating a new product for a market or drastically changing an existing product. Mercosur is the largest Latin American trade agreement, created in 1991 to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, peoples, and currency in South America. Select all of the following countries that are part of Mercosur. a. Venezuela b. Mexico c. Brazil d. Costa Rica e. Peru f. Uruguay Chapter 5: Post-test 1. Dynamo Industries spent $10 million on equipment in its new South Korean facilities last year, but only $3 million on labor. It is safe to say that Dynamo’s operations in South Korea a. are capital intensive. b. greatly increase employment in South Korea. c. are underfinanced. d. are labor intensive. e. have probably cost many South Koreans their jobs. 2. Match the company description with the stage of global business development. WRONG 3. The Camay soap you buy at your local grocery store is virtually the same as the Camay soap offered for sale in Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and Taiwan. Procter & Gamble has moved toward _____ with this product. a. contract manufacturing b. global marketing standardization c. product adaptation d. competitive advantage e. product myopia After class one day, your friend Miguel says that he can foresee a time in the not too distant future when the European Union (EU) will essentially become â€Å"the United States of Europe.† Based on what you’ve read in your textbook, you: a. agree, because the EU has purchasing power almost equal to that of the United States. b. disagree, because the political instability in Europe will never allow that to happen. c. agree, because the EU is already the largest economy in the world. d. disagree, because Europe’s diverse languages and national cultures will make it almost impossible for marketers to develop single European products for generic European consumers. e. agree, because over the past few years labor productivity in the EU has equaled or exceeded that of the United States. Fill in the blanks of the paragraph using the drop down menu to select the choice that best fits each blank. Wilmari’s build your own homemade cupcake business is booming. She has received inquiries from all over the world about retailing her â€Å"Foolproof Bakery Style Cupcake Baker† toaster oven and her wide range of cupcake mixes, fillings, and frosting, which are Production adaptation for a global market. Wilmari knows that she has to make sure her electronics work in foreign outlets and she’s been researching retailers, distributors, and even flavors that other countries my enjoy. Wilmari’s E-commerce distribution is helping her make her first steps towards having a global business. For now, however, Wilmari directs all the international inquiries to her website, where her customers can use Currency exchange to order sets or mixes, as well as see the cost of international shipping. Wilmari also has a Money back guarantee that she offers only domestic customers, just in case there are regulations in other countries. For now, the web is her easiest road into the global market, but Wilmari’s research and diligence should enable her to be one of the few small promotion adaptations located in the United States! 6. Right Wedding dress designers change white to red for Chinese customers. Culture, P&G offers single use sizes of deodorant in India for much less than full size deodorants in the U.S. Economic Factors, Google is sued by a doctor in France for libel when search results for his name brought up an old malpractice suit that he had served time for. Legal and Political Factors, Up-and-coming diamond retailer Hearts of Fire fights with larger companies for limited diamonds from Africa. Natural Resources 7. Langdon Farms sends milk to Yinkers, a Canadian cheese maker; in payment, Yinkers sends Langdon Farms cheddar and Swiss cheese, which Langdon Farms in turn markets in the United States. Langdon Farms and Yinkers are engaging in: a. price fixing. b. dumping. c. countertrading. d. a quota system. e. bribery 8. Select all of the following that are product adaptation. a. Offering ketchup sized packets of Pantene 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner in Bolivia for 5 cents. b. Campbell’s offering duck gizzard soup in China. c. Dunkin Donuts selling green tea donuts in Korea. d. H&M offering fringed burquas in Dubai. 9. Martin just gave a business presentation where he emphasized benefits to the bottom line, that his company would provide strong service support, and the product’s guarantee. Where is Martin giving his presentation? a. Sweden b. Germany c. Japan d. Hungary e. Peru Incorrect. These are all characteristics listed for giving successful business presentations in Germany. 10.Plast-eet, a Vermont manufacturer of plastic eating utensils, sells its products to Misha, who has an office in New York City. Plast-eet takes its money from Misha and goes away happy. Misha, in turn, sells the products to buyers in several African countries and keeps the revenues. Misha is most likely a(n): a. buyer for export. b. export broker. c. buyer for import. d. venture capitalist. e. export agent