Crude Oil and Week Three Tapped Movies

Crude Oil and Week Three Tapped Movies Introduction Environment refers to the sum total of the conditions that surround people and other living organisms. The thriving or survival of many organisms, including human beings, depends on the conditions of the environment. A poorly conserved environment presents great hazards to its inhabitants. However, if well conserved, environment gives invaluable benefits to those it supports. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Crude Oil and Week Three Tapped Movies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The energy crisis that the world is currently facing is due to the pollution, over exploitation and depletion of natural resources; therefore, there is an urgent need for the concerned parties and organizations all over the world to endeavour to conserve the environment to ensure its sustainability. This essay focuses on efforts that the Crude Oil film and Week Three Tapped movie apply to sensitize the population about environmen tal conservation. The Crude Oil Film Summary Directed by Wang Bing, the Crude Oil movie is a documentary whose main theme revolves around the need to conserve the environment. To conserve the environment, the documentary advocates for the urgent need to prevent pollution of the environmental resources. In particular, the movie focuses on pollution that most companies and renowned corporations cause in quest for energy. It gives the Ecuadonian Amazon (rainforest Chernobil) as one of the natural resources that large organizations have destroyed in the pursuit for energy. It seeks to inform such companies and organizations of the dangers of using crude oil as energy sources without coming up with measures aimed at preventing pollution to the natural oil resources. Through this movie, Wang Bing argues that if the current trend continues for a considerably long period, then a major crisis is inevitable. The environment will not be habitable, which will make life and living unbearable. Therefore, those who are sensitive towards the environment should not only make direct efforts to conserve it, but also sensitize the rest of the world about the need to conserve it. Opinion I vehemently agree with what Wang Bing is trying to put across through his documentary. It does not require much conviction for one to realize that the modern society faces a major crisis emanating from the wanton depletion of natural resources for short-term benefits such as production of energy. Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More With time, more and more industries are emerging and the population exhibits an ever-increasing trend; consequently, people continue to destroy natural resources like crude oil resources to meet their energy requirements. Therefore, the natural resources are becoming insufficient and the situation worsens by the day. In order to avoid the looming e nvironmental crisis, individuals and organization have to observe strict measures during the use of natural resources to prevent pollution and unnecessary depletion. Besides, there should also be efforts to use alternative sources of energy to avoid overdependence on crude oil whose exploitation leads to environmental destruction. In addition, governments should protect natural resources like the Ecuadonian Amazon by imposing strict guidelines on companies using coal products as their sources of energy. As a result, the environment and its resources would be able to sustain the needs of the current generation and generations to come. Week 3 Tapped Summary The director of the movie, Week 3 Tapped, seeks to sensitize the world about the harmful effects of using crude oil and its products as the main source of energy. The movie also awakens the audience about the potential harm that bottled water has on human health. It focuses on companies for example Nestle and Coca-Cola that obtain water on a free basis and sell it to people after cleaning it. Clean water forms only 1% of the earth’s surface but due to the exploitation of crude oil resources, some of the harmful substances contained in the crude oil find their way to water resources. PET, for example refers to a chemical substance called parazyline from crude oil and this chemical normally finds its way to water products such as coke, dasani and nestle. In addition, PET contaminates air, soil and underground water. Therefore, the director of this movie suggests that the exploitation of crude oil results in contamination of natural water resources, which is a constituent of many consumable liquid products. The director further reveals that the immediate effects of these chemicals on the human body are minute and initially unnoticeable; however, these minute amounts accumulate and harm the body after considerable period. Therefore, it is important that governments be aware of the potential effects tha t the exploitation of crude oil has on human health. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Crude Oil and Week Three Tapped Movies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Oil has become a necessity for most activities ranging from car construction to industrial production. Oil has even attracted wars, for example, the Iraq hinges on the desire by nations to control oil reserves as a means of gaining power. People around the world therefore need to halt the exploitation of oil resources and adapt alternative energy sources. Opinion I concur with the message that the director of this movie sends to the audience. First, it is worthy to note that indeed, oil as a source of energy has forced nations to scramble for power. America, for example, has in the past tried to control the oil rich Iraq, which ended up in war. The Bush administration fostered good relations with oil companies to control this rare resource. If things stay unch anged, then a major global crisis is imminent. The demand for oil will escalate to supersede the supply and the world will plunge into uncalled crisis. Consequently, prices for the little available oil will shoot up making it affordable for only the rich people in the society. The future generation will suffer greatly since an energy crisis usually affects all sectors of the economy. People will not be able to afford basic commodities and industries that depend on oil as the main source of energy for example air transport will stall resulting into a global crisis. Indeed, there is need to seek alternative sources of energy other than oil. Conclusion The use of crude oil as a source of energy has become a common practice in the modern world. The reason behind this trend is population increase and emergence of many industries. Overdependence on crude oil as a source of energy has led to energy crisis due to high demand and limited supply. The exploitation of this energy resource has also led to the degradation of the environment. Some harmful chemicals present in crude oil find their way to consumable resources like water. Unfortunately, such chemicals are known to affect the health of the human beings negatively. If nations continue depleting crude oil resources for energy production, then a global energy crisis is imminent. Therefore, there is a dire need to sensitize governments to put stern measures that either restrict exploitation of oil reserves, or ensure that people take important measures that seek to conserve the environment and protect human health.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Julian Abele

Julian Abele Julian Abele (born April 29, 1881 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to the University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center) is best known in Durham, North Carolina as the architect of the Duke University campus. The story of Julian Francis Abele is not rags-to-riches but a tale of hard work and dedication. In college Abele called himself Willing and Able. A brilliant and accomplished student, Abele became the first Black graduate of the University of Pennsylvanias School of Architecture. Although not Americas first architect of color, Julian Abele was one of the first prominent Black architects in America, finding success with the Philadelphia architecture firm led by Horace Trumbauer. The Duke University Chapel may be Abeles most famous building. Died: April 23, 1950 in Philadelphia Education, Training, and Professional Life: Institute for Colored Youth and Brown Preparatory School, Philadelphia1898: Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art1902: B.A. in Arch. - University of Pennsylvania1902-1903: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; worked for Philadelphia architect Louis C. Hickman while in school1903-1905: traveled to Western US, worked on a house for his sisters family, Elizabeth Rebecca Abele Cookcirca 1905: three years of travel in Europe and study in France1906: began work for Horace Trumbauer; became chief designer in 1909 until Trumbauers death in 1938. The Office of Horace Trumbauer continued under the leadership of its principals, Julian Abele and William O. Frank1942: Admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Notable Buildings as Trumbauers Chief Designer: 1909-1912: James Buchanan Duke House, New York Cityc. 1912: Frank P. Mitchell house (Argentine Embassy), Washington, DC1915: Miramar (The George D. Widener Cottage), Newport, RI1915: Widener Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA1921: Whitemarsh Hall, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania1925: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA1927: Central Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, PA1928: James B. Clews Residence, Long Island, NY1930: Perkins Library, Duke University West Campus, Durham, North Carolina1935: Duke University Chapel, West Campus, Durham, North Carolina1938: Duke University Dormitories, West Campus, Durham, NC1940: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University West Campus, Durham, NC At the turn of the twentieth century, many American architects made a good living building Great Homes of the Gilded Age. Horace Trumbauers commission to build a New York City estate for tobacco tycoon James B. Duke really paid off with the much larger projects at Duke University, where Julian Abele made his mark in architecture. Personal Life: 1925: Married to Marguerite Bulle, a French musician; three children, Julian, Jr., Marguerite Marie (died in childhood), and Nadia Boulanger. The marriage dissolved by 1936 when the younger Marguerite became involved with another musician. They never divorced.Julian, Jr. and Abeles sisters child, Julian Abele Cook (1904 - 1986), both became architects Duke University Architecture: In 1892 Trinity College moved 70 miles east to Durham, North Carolina and the Duke family began funding campus building. By 1924, the Duke Endowment was established and Trinity College transformed into Duke University. The original East Campus was renovated with Georgian-style buildings, after the Collegiate Georgian Architecture popular at other universities. Beginning in 1927 a West Campus was added, built in a Gothic-revival architectural style also popular at large, established Ivy League institutions. Architecture was used to bring students, faculty, and prestige to the new Duke institution - if it looked like a university, it must be one. The Philadelphia architecture firm led by Horace Trumbauer began the transformation of Trinity into Duke. Trumbauers head designer Julian Abele, along with William O. Frank, tackled the Duke projects from 1924 to 1958. The pià ¨ce de rà ©sistance of Abeles designs is the iconic Duke Chapel, which became the centerpiece of the West Campus. Collegiate Gothic style is a revival of 12th century Gothic architecture, with soaring ceilings, pointed arches, and flying buttresses. For Dukes Chapel, begun in 1930, Abele employed modern building techniques and materials to eliminate the need to buttress the walls. Steel trusses and structural Guastavino ceramic tile gave strength to the 210 foot structure, while local volcanic Hillsborough bluestone distinguished the distinctive facade of the neo-Gothic design. The Chapel tower, modeled after Englands Canterbury Cathedral, became a prototype for many of the future towers of Duke University. Olmsted landscape architects, from the prestigious firm founded by Frederick Law Olmsted, were employed to create a walkable campus, connecting the architecture with the surrounding natural beauty. If the intent of Duke was to rival the great universities of the northeast, this twentieth century campus, designed in part by a prominent Black architect, accomplished the task. In the Words of Julian Abele: The shadows are all mine. - commenting on the unsigned architectural drawings for the Gothic Revival Duke University Chapel, Duke University Archives Learn More: Out of the Shadows by Susan E. Tifft, Smithsonian Magazine, February 2005Philadelphia Area Architecture of Horace Trumbauer (Images of America) by Rachel Hildebrandt and the Old York Road Historical Society, 2009American Splendor: The Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer by Michael C. Kathrens, rev. 2012Duke University: An Architectural Tour by John M. Bryan, 2000Duke University: An Architectural Tour (The Campus Guide) by Ken Friedlein and John Pearce, 2015Friends of Julian Abele Park, Philadelphia, PA Sources: Penn Biographies, University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center; Julian F. Abele, Architect, Free Library of Philadelphia; Biography and Projects from the American Architects and Buildings database, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia; Dukes Architecture, Office of the University Architect, Duke University; Black U.S. Architect Designed a Bond with Argentina, IIP Digital, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State; Frank P. Mitchell House, African American Historic Places Database, National Trust for Historic Preservation; History, The Building at http://chapel.duke.edu/history/building, Duke University Chapel. Websites accessed April 3-4, 2014.

Finance - Budgeting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance - Budgeting - Assignment Example A comparison of the actual and budgeted costs should be closely monitored to determine the efficiency of the system in place. If the current technique does not always reflect the true cost of operation or reports wide gaps between budgeted and actual costs, a change in technique could be a solution. The company has been employing process costing to budget and monitor its various costs. This method is a widely used tool in costing of its products. In order to do this, the company recognizes the following cost pools: The production budget of the company is set before the production period usually for one year. Traditional costing method and variance analysis are used to adjust the different costs incurred. At the end of each quarter, the company computes the different variances to determine whether the company is above or below the set level. However, no effort is made to correct the budgeted costs. As the size of the company is relatively small, it currently doesn't employ any software in order to efficiently track costs. The data for production is gathered for each pool center manually and is sent to each department involved such as purchasing, billing, and inventory. It is also apparent that the company has no formal monitoring system as the budgets are never adjusted. It should be noted that the price of materials being used by the company often vary with their availability. For instance, the price of LPG is directly related to the price of fuel in the world market. The volatility of the price of fuel is not taken into account as the company's budget is already set for a year's period. Recommendations for Improvement A company's budget as discussed above is one of the most significant information for managers as it reflects its expectations on its future operations. The company under consideration reports declining profitability within the past five years. The reported reasons for this are unexpected rise in material inputs which are not anticipated and reflected on pricing and additional costs due to lost of administrative and paper works. The company also admitted that as its competitors seem to be gaining market share through production efficiency, they seem to be lagging off. This is reflected by their declining profits and high production costs. It is recommended that the company reevaluate its value chain. This evaluation is needed in order for them to ascertain the processes which add value to their products and eliminating those which do not. This will lead to a leaner manufacturing system and will surely help the company in cutting down unnecessary costs. The company should also create an information system in order to

Corporate finance 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Corporate finance 2 - Essay Example Last but not the least the third group lauds large dividends as positive signal to shareholders that all is well. So where does the modern shareholder satisfaction stand in relation to dividend policies? Another query which relates to this discussion is how signaling models attempt to explain the proportion of equity retained by an entrepreneur, the type of financing used for an investment and the amount of equity issued or repurchased. The issue then pertains to information asymmetry (availability of information).Firstly if we look at Dividend policy it was well put by Black 1976 (cited by Frankfurter 2002), â€Å"That the nearly universal policy of paying substantial dividends is the primary puzzle in the economics of corporate finance.† Thus the proposition leads us to the query whether shareholders should be paid sufficient dividends whether or not they are making sizeable profits on the stock market. Over the last half century academics have spoken in great depth over this issue and suggested conflicting theoretical frameworks to explain their point of view.(Frankfurter 2002).The problem is that these assertions often lack empirical depth to the criticism and stumble upon self contradictions in an attempt to explain corporate dividend behaviour.(Frankfurter 2002).Today academic opinion is divided as to whether dividends are attractive to shareholders and will have a positive impact in stock prices.(Fran kfurter 2002 )Another school of thought contends that prices are negatively correlated with dividend payout levels.(Frankfurter 2002).The third view is that firm dividend policy is irrelevant in stock price valuation. (Frankfurter 2002).My paper will discuss and try to reconcile all these views towards a better theory and understanding of this issue.These views are best summed up as being based upon,the tax effect ( Litzenberger and Ramaswamy

The Old Man and the Sea Essay Example for Free

The Old Man and the Sea Essay â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea:† A Tale of Betrayed Brotherhood In Ernest Hemingway’s novella â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea,† an old fisherman named Santiago faces the challenge of catching the largest fish of his life, an act he hopes will bring immortal greatness to his name. The accomplishment of this goal, however, hinges on the act of killing a creature Santiago often deems his equal, as exemplified by his recurring reference to the fish as a brother. The old man’s longing for greatness negates any moral considerations he may have, though, until he realizes his own mortality, extends that into a feeling of equality with the fish, and the fish’s body is destroyed by sharks. Then he understands what he has done: stripped the noble fish, his equal, of its pride. From that point on, he regrets his actions of betraying his brother. Therefore, throughout a majority of â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea,† Santiago’s desire to achieve immortal greatness overshadows the immorality of his actions, but when the sharks destroy the physical embodiment of this achievement, the fish, he realizes that the end does not justify the means; immortal greatness is not obtained. Santiago, who is nearing the end of his life, has a preoccupation bordering on obsession with greatness. He continually speaks and thinks of Joe DiMaggio, the embodiment of greatness in the form of a baseball player, and his roots as a poor fisherman’s son strengthen the attachment. He dreams of lions, the kings of the jungle, enjoying their domain on a beach. Greatness is clearly on Santiago’s mind. In addition, he longs for the type of greatness that transcends human life; he dreams of achieving immortality through the remembrance of his name in association with something great after his death. After battling the fish for many days, Santiago thinks, â€Å"I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he told himself. You’re good for ever† (Hemingway 70). His inner speech, particularly the last sentence, demonstrates his lofty, idealistic mindset. He views his existence as eternal; thus, the type of greatness for which he yearns inferably fits this view and is therefore eternal as well. For Santiago, immortal greatness can only be achieved through fishing: â€Å"You were born to be a fisherman and the fish was born to be a fish. San Pedro was a fisherman as was the father of the great DiMaggio† (Hemingway 81). By extension, Santiago labels the rest of the subjects of the sentence as great due to the reference to DiMaggio, and because he specifically refers to his role in life (a fisherman) in this context, he believes it to be his means toward achieving this greatness. What better chance does he have than to bring in the greatest fish of his life, alone and in old age? Therefore, the fish he catches in the story is his chance at immortal greatness. Early in the story, before Santiago has even seen the fish, he thinks, â€Å"If he will jump I can kill him. But he stays down for ever. Then I will stay down with him for ever† (44). This thought also illuminates the connection he feels between the fish and his glory: If he does not catch the fish and bring it home, hope for his immortal existence dies because this greatness depends entirely on the fish, this fish. Throughout most of the novella, Santiago views the fish as beneath him, as something he is entitled to subdue. For example, he takes possession of the fish, the fish he thus believes he is destined to catch, by referring to it as his before anything even nibbles on his line (Hemingway 24). Also, during Santiago’s battle with the fish, he thinks, â€Å"But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able† (Hemingway 47). In the first half of this passage, he clearly places himself mentally above the fish; however, the second half introduces the respect Santiago holds for the fish, which brings into question his asserted feelings of superiority. In addition, he often refers to the fish as his brother, introducing a sense of kinship he feels with the creature (Hemingway 44, 47, 57, 71, 73). Yet the air of supremacy remains, despite these outward expressions of equality, because the old man’s desire for greatness is so blindingly dominant. Santiago speaks aloud: â€Å"‘I’ll kill him though,’ he said. ‘In all his greatness and his glory. ’ Although it is unjust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures† (Hemingway 49). In this quotation, Santiago recognizes the greatness of the fish and even contemplates the moral implications of his quest to kill it, but his conclusion that he needs to finish what he set out to do to prove man’s dominance over the creatures of the sea, specifically his dominance to satisfy his hunger for greatness, overshadows his brief moral questioning. Also, Santiago’s references to the fish as a brother initially do not always signify kinship and equality. Once, he makes the claim that his two hands and the fish are brothers; the fish is only related to two small parts of his body (Hemingway 47). Albeit the hands are important parts to the fisherman, he still equates the fish to a portion of his body, not the whole self, which implies there is more to than man than to the fish. A little later, he calls the stars his brothers and expresses gratitude for not having to kill such great, distant beings (Hemingway 58). This minimizes both the fish’s greatness and supposed brotherhood because Santiago clearly longs to be one amongst the stars (immortal greatness), despite, or perhaps because of, their admittedly ungraspable nature, in addition to battling a mere mortal fish. For these reasons, throughout much of the novella Santiago puts the fish’s greatness below the quest for his own, despite selected words to the contrary. When Santiago comes to terms with his own mortality, however, he truly recognizes his equality with the also mortal fish. After days of battling the fish, his inescapable mortality rises to his mind for the first time: â€Å"‘Fish,’ the old man said. ‘Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too’† (Hemingway 70)? Here, Santiago realizes that more than the ability to obtain greatness lies in the hands of this fish; his physical existence also hinges on the fish’s actions. This thought humbles the old man, and minutes later he thinks, â€Å"You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a great, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who† (Hemingway 71). For the first time the word â€Å"brother† carries the weight it implies because Santiago sees both himself and the fish as mortal beings in a struggle for life. No longer does he assume superior rank over the fish; instead, he recognizes the nobility of both beings as equal in his expression of unconcern for which dies. Shortly after this realization, Santiago succeeds in landing the fish; however, only an hour later, sharks begin to attack the dead fish tied to the side of his boat, ripping flesh from bone, stripping it of its physical mortal greatness. At this point, the question of the morality of killing the fish once again surfaces: â€Å"You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive, and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more† (Hemingway 81)? Because Santiago had previously established a kinship with the fish, he questions his pride-motivated actions, whether or not his obtaining of immortal greatness justifies killing a noble brother. It soon becomes clear that these means are not justified. Santiago begins to apologize to the fish numerous times, first for the sharks that mangle its body, then for killing it in the first place (Hemingway 85). Eventually, Santiago says, â€Å"‘I shouldn’t have gone out so far, fish,’ he said. ‘Neither for you nor for me. I’m sorry, fish’† (Hemingway 85). In this quotation, Santiago laments his quest for greatness (â€Å"I shouldn’t have gone out so far†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) and asserts that it destroyed both him and the fish. Therefore, despite the completion of his goal to catch a great fish, Santiago fails in his quest for immortal greatness because he realizes that killing a creature equal in greatness and nobility to himself, a creature he calls his brother, is ignoble. He even acknowledges this failure after he returns to shore, when he recognizes that nothing outside himself actually beat him in his quest: â€Å"And what beat you, he thought. ‘Nothing,’ he said aloud. ‘I went out too far’† (Hemingway 93). Only his desire for immortal greatness defeated him and barred him from achieving it, that is, if it was ever possible for him to achieve it at all. Therefore, in Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea,† Santiago fails in his quest to acquire immortal greatness. He begins by thinking of the fish as his to take, the means by which he can obtain greatness, but after realizing his own mortality he understands the fish’s equality to himself and regrets taking its life, which led to the stripping of its flesh, its physical greatness. Thus, the nobility of both the old man and the fish are ruined, and he certainly fails to seal his name as an eternal presence of greatness. Perhaps his quest was doomed from the beginning; immortal greatness was never possible for the old man.

Home Theater :: Television Media Entertainment Technology Essays

Home Theater What is a home theater? There are three main components of a home theater system, which are a video display, a source, and sound systems. A basic home theater has a television (at least 27†), a good DVD player, and a surround sound system with at least 4 speakers. Today, we can benefit from recent breakthroughs in electronic such as progressive scan DVD players, flat panel TV and Dolby Digital surround sound. And also the packaged systems make assembling home theater easier than you can imagine. Video Display The video display is the most important component of your home theater. If the picture doesn't look good or isn't big enough, it will lower the impact of the movie considerably. The display is also probably the most expensive piece of a home theater, generally covering half of the total value of the system. There are so many types of displays but the ones to look at are traditional tube TVs for the lower end systems, rear projection TVs for mid range systems and front projection systems for high end system. There are several things you need to look to buy a TV: 1. Fit in the room Screen size is the most important factor in choosing a TV because you'll still want the most immense pictures you can get, which generally means you want to sit 1.5 times the screen's diagonal measurement away from a wide-screen HDTV. For example, a 42-inch HDTV should be placed at least 63 inches from the couch. You need to consider viewing distance too in order to get full performance of your television. 2.Size and display type Most sets up to 40 inches diagonally are direct view, meaning they use the common glass to display the image. Direct-view TVs remain the most popular thanks to their smaller sizes but also because they generally provide a brighter picture with a wider viewing angle than larger rear-projection TVs. The main advantage of a rear-projection set is size because they range between 40 and 82 inches diagonally. 3. Choosing Aspect Ratio If you watch mostly television, like news and sports, you are better off with conventional 4:3 aspect ratio, but if you watch mostly movies, you are better off with wide screen 16:9 aspect ratio. But, it always depends on what you watch and what you need the most. Wide-screen sets also let you stretch the image horizontally to eliminate the window-box bars or otherwise broaden or crop the picture to fill the wide screen.

History 7a Mid- Term Essay

The Era of Exploration witnessed the rapid political, economic, and social intrusion of Europe into the New World. Between the 15th and 17th Centuries several countries influenced the developement of the Americas. Select the most successful and infleuntial colony and compare it with another European Colonial structure. Be sure to include historical themes in your written argument. 3. The key to the colonial, structure of the United States in firmly established in 17th Century England. In reality, the foudation of the United States is a reflection of this country. Trace the economic/political/cultural influences of Britain on our colonial structure. In your a nswer include important individuals, governmental structures,events, social policies and historical themes. 4. Analzye and contrast the historical development of the Southern Colonies 1603- 1783. In your answer, include historical themes, reasons for colonial impementation, regional development, economic structure, religious importance or lack of it, the instittution of Slavery and the ramifications of these colnies on the development of the United States. 5. New England is the mother culture of Modern United States. Analyze thsis statement by describing the Colonial Foudation of, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire 1620-1783. How have their histories infleunced the development of contemporary United States? How have these areas impacted our society’s

Ensorship and mass culture in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 Essay

Of the famous dystopian literatures of the 20th century Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 offers perhaps one of the more interesting suggestions to the historic causality of censorship.   While subtle hints of ignorance is power for a tyrannical government is mentioned by some characters ala 1984, most of the text instead suggests that in the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451 that censorship is not so much intentional as it is a side-effect of a postmodern predilection toward, as Frederic Jameson notes, a cultural waning of affect and a world of signs without signifiers, a pastiche of histories without meaning (Jameson, 2001). The books being censored then, in Fahrenheit 451’s dystopian America, then have less of an impact on the society than the drama and entertainment created from their discovery and destruction and that more than the censorship therein this blissful ignorance is the dystopian element in Bradbury’s novel. Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopia for the intellectual.   Within the story is presented an (assumed) United States where people live reasonably happy lives.   From everything we see in the novel they are well fed, live in wonderful fireproof houses, have jobs, families and plenty of entertainment.   Yet, as main character Guy Montag dwells on, people kill themselves still and a constant threat of war seems to loom in the background of the novel. Yet there is never any discussion of why, and no matter how many â€Å"picture walls† or radios are turned on throughout the course of the book no more information is ever truly recovered as to how or why the country finds them in this mess.   Yet no one outside Montag and a handful of outsiders seem to think there is any problem with this. People in Montag’s world seem encouraged to live a life of leisure.   Montag’s boss, Beatty, talks endlessly about sports and his coworkers play hand after hand of poker. Dance faster than the white clown 2 Montag’s wife, Mildred, is addicted to the â€Å"picture wall†, or television, and is constantly begging for a fourth and final wall to be installed.   Violence as entertainment, even, seems to in some way be supported generally by society as Mildred seems to take pleasure at one point from hitting small animals with her automobile.   Yet there also seems to be an urge and encouragement of sameness, as echoes in many other works of dystopian speculative fiction.   Montag notes of his colleagues, â€Å"These men were all mirror images of himself! Were all firemen picked then for their looks as well as their proclivities?† (Bradbury, 1991)   His friend early in the story, Clarisse, falls victim to this sameness as she seems pushed out of public school because she doesn’t â€Å"mix.† (22)   Mildred, although a seemingly perfect member of society also seems to suffer from the strain of sameness as Montag notices a body strained by dieting. When we think of censorship, especially in the context of dystopian narratives, we often think of an oppression of knowledge by the government in order to control the proletariat.   Yet in several sections of the novel Bradbury makes allusions that the government didn’t censor the book initially, but rather the public abandoned the book and the government got rid of it as an after thought.   In his history lesson on the fireman, Beatty explains: The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! [†¦] Authors, full of evil thoughts, luck up your typewriters.   They did.   Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca.   [†¦]   But the public, knowing what it wanted, spinning happily, let the comic books survive.   And the three dimensional sex magazines of course.   [†¦]   It didn’t come from the Government down.   There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship to start with, no!   Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God! (47) Dance faster than the white clown 3 Beatty explains that a globalized consumer market and an increasing demand to be entertained with bigger and better products is what killed the book and the government made firemen â€Å"custodians of our peace of mind† (48) to prevent unhappiness.   Jean Baudrillard discusses homogeneity in consumer society as â€Å"where everything is taken over and superseded in the ease and translucidity of an abstract ‘happiness,’ defined solely by the resolution of tensions.† (Baudrillard 2004) This seems to fit well with the construction of media and hyperconsumerism in Montag’s world, as all things in his world seem to exist for the purpose of happiness and entertainment.   Baudrillard’s description of the consumer experience could easily come from any number of facets of Montag’s life: Work, leisure, nature and culture: all these things which were once dispersed, which once generated anxiety and complexity in real life [†¦] these activities which were more or less irreducible one to another, are now at last mixed and blended, climatized and homogenized in the same sweeping vista of perpetual shopping. (30) The sadness and dystopia of Montag’s reality is not that the books are banned, but rather, as Montag’s ally Faber notes, â€Å"the public itself stopped reading of its own accord.†Ã‚   Montag’s society believes books are boring, difficult and bring only confusion and unhappiness and are so blindly obsessed with the consumption of happiness that even if books were available they would probably be ignored. If we think of a dystopia as a world where people have no interest in educating themselves or learning about things that may potentially make them unhappy, a world where image and a pastiche of history are all that are important, then we may very well have to worry that our own society is becoming a kind of dystopia.   Of course books are still readily available, but studies show that Americans are taking less time to read and that reading comprehension skills are greatly suffering. (Brown, 2008) As Beatty describes we too are Dance faster than the white clown 4 craving faster, more flashy and more dramatic entertainment.   Internet phenomena like Twitter, where users are limited to messages of no more than 140 characters, and Youtube, where the average video is 5 minutes, are outstanding examples of our ever shortening attention spans.   As a society we are looking ever conspicuous consumers, as Frederic Jameson says, on an unending quest for bigger, faster, better.   (Jameson 2001) Unfortunately in a post-Bush America there’s a lot to be said that we have entered a dystopia.   We are a country possessed by fear and worry, where children who, like Clarisse, â€Å"don’t mix† are being pushed out as safety risks.   Our activities and interests are being more carefully monitored by authorities than they have ever been. In the UK, fears of future terrorist activities have caused authorities to create advertisements encouraging neighbors and family to report suspicious activity, in very similar ways to that of Fahrenheit 451. (Doctorow, 2009)   If we think pessimistically on such events it is very easy to think we are in a doomed and dire situation like in the book and, as Faber says, â€Å"the whole skeleton needs reshaping.† Bradbury obviously wrote Fahrenheit 451 out of a growing concern that the world he lived in was being overtaken by a world of people who chose pleasure over the burden knowledge can bring.   He wrote it hoping that things could be turned around.   I suppose he might be horrified at many of the new ways people are wasting their time, the new distractions that keep us from educational entertainment.   However, the pursuit of knowledge continues on, albeit in sometimes altered ways. The book may be going out of style but knowledge continues on in forms on the internet, is discussed on the radio and (sometimes) television.   While there are dystopian elements to our world there is still hope for intellectualism and literacy.   Bradbury’s book stands as a warning to heed to prevent ignorance and cultural destruction. Dance faster than the white clown 5 References Baudrillard, Jean (2004). The consumer society: Myths and Structures. London, England: Sage Publications. Bradbury, Ray (1991). Fahrenheit 451. New York, New York: Ballantine Books. Brown, Joseph (2008).†As the constitution says†: Distinguishing documents in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Explicator. 67, 55-58. Doctorow, Cory (Mrch 24, 2009). Boing Boing. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from London cops reach new heights of anti-terror poster stupidity Web site: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/24/london-cops-reach-ne.html Jameson, Frederic (2001). Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.

Frankenstein

The novel, Frankenstein, contains a number of pressing issues that exposed tragedies in the lives of characters. Victor has found himself at a point where he isnt sure of the correct decision to make. Ultimately, he had to decide to do one thing or another, and it is left to the reader to determine whether or not it was the right choice. Simply developing the creature was an intricate decision, but it led to even more difficult choices. An easily identifiable situation in Victors life was if he should create a mate for the monster. Upon encountering his child, Victor is given the opportunity to rid himself of the creation. It is simple, seemingly. Just create a mate and everyone will live happily ever after, hopefully. The monster makes the promise, trustworthy I believe, that if a companion were made for him, he would take her to the farthest end of the Earth and live there peaceably. If this wish were not fulfilled, Victor would suffer measurable consequences. Almost without consideration, Victor agrees and goes to work. Several things cross his mind during the process that forces him to reevaluate the circumstances. It is considered that maybe he wont keep his promise and choose stay a part of his creators life. This was possibly the least worrisome factor. Next, perhaps the female would not accept the creation, or vice versa. In this case, the effort would be a waste and the life of the creator unchanged from its horrid state. Probably the most compelling reason behind the ultimate decision was th! e concern that the two would breed, multiply, and soon there would be a race of devils. Of course, on the flip side of things, everything could have worked out perfectly and the entire family could have sustained a normal life, with the exception of the deaths of William and Justine. As we know, the second project was destroyed because of the possible results mentioned above. Victor...

Learn the Parts of the Roman Name

Learn the Parts of the Roman Name In todays international world, you may come across: people who have what we would call the last name before the first namepeople known by a singular name (like Madonna or Lady Gaga, since Lady is a title)people who lack a middle name (George Washington)people with extra middle (saints names)people with the requisite number to fill out most contemporary forms in the U.S.: a first, middle, and last name Ancient Roman Names During the Republic, Roman male citizens might be referred to by the tria nomina 3 names. The first of these 3 names was the praenomen, which was followed by the nomen, and then the cognomen. This wasnt a hard and fast rule. There might also be an agnomen. Praenomina were waning by the 2nd century A.D. Although not shown on this page, there were sometimes additional names, especially on inscriptions, often abbreviated, that gave further indications of social groupings like tribes, and, in the case of slaves and freedmen, their social status. Praenomen The praenomen was a first name or personal name. Females, who didnt have praenomina until late, were called by the name of their gens. If further distinction were necessary, one would be called the older (maior) and the other the younger (minor), or by number (tertia, quarta, etc.) The praenomen was usually abbreviated [See Roman Abbreviations on Inscriptions]. Here are some of the common praenomina with their abbreviations: Aulus A.Appius App.Gaius C.Gnaeus Cn.Decimus D.Kaeso K.Lucius L.Marcus M.Numerius Num.Publius P.Quintus Q.Servius Ser.Sextus Sex.Spurius Sp.Titus Ti.Tiberius Ti. Tib. Latin Grammar Romans could have more than one praenomen. Foreigners granted Roman citizenship by imperial decree took the emperors nomen gentile as a praenomen. This made the praenomen less useful as a way to distinguish men, so by the end of the third century, the praenomen had virtually vanished except to confer high social status [Fishwick]. The basic name became the nomen cognomen. Nomen The Roman nomen or nomen gentile (nomen gentilicum) indicated the gens from which a Roman came. The nomen would end in -ius. In the case of adoption into a new gens, the new gens was indicated by the -ianus ending. Cognomen + Agnomen Depending on the time period, the cognomen part of the Roman name could indicate the familia within the gens that the Roman belonged to. The cognomen is a surname. Agnomen also refers to a second cognomen. This is what you see when you see a Roman general awarded the name of a country he conquered like Africanus. By the first century B.C. women and the lower classes began to have cognomina (pl. cognomen). These were not inherited names, but personal ones, which began to take the place of the praenomina. These might come from a part of the womans fathers or mothers name. Sources Names and Identities: Onomastics and Prosopography, by Olli Salomies, Epigraphic Evidence, edited by John Bodel.Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law, by Adolf Berger; Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1953), pp. 333-809.Latin Funerary Epigraphy and Family Life in the Later Roman Empire, by Brent D. Shaw; Historia: Zeitschrift fà ¼r Alte Geschichte (1984), pp. 457-497.Hastiferi, by Duncan Fishwick; The Journal of Roman Studies(1967), pp. 142-160.J.P.V.D. Balsdon, ; 1962.

Harm-Based Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Harm-Based Model - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the user-generated content is forms of content which include chats, video, digital images, audio files, debate forums, wikis, and blogs. It is believed that user-generated content is a part of a small portion of a website. Moreover, the majority of content required for making a site is prepared by administrators. The user-generated content provides the opportunity for website administrators to avoid an occurrence of offensive language and content. It is understood that the search engines and user-generated content introduced new ways to make knowledge economics and accumulate knowledge. This facilitation of new ways has created beneficial and problematic for Safari-Google. The advent of a shift from constructing online content to individual content has revolutionized the role of passive listeners and views. This assembling of knowledge through the bypass of security settings has become problematic for Safari users. On the other hand, it benefited Google se arch engine to bombard adverts by tracking browsing habits Safari users. The paper judgmentally engages with the literature subject and defining key terms. The key terms used in the paper are search engines, user-generated content and knowledge economics. The knowledge economy is the part of an economy that is used by decision support structures centered on trading, evaluating and creation of knowledge. Moreover, it is services and productions that effectively contribute towards the augmented pace of scientific and technological advancement. On the other hand, a search engine is a program and software system that is specifically developed to find specific sites requested by users through characters and keywords. The term user-generated content is used to describe different forms of content which includes images, posts, audio files, discussion forums, blogs, etc.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Management - Essay Example Gadgets such as Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad which also doubles as an eReader are garnering huge popularity among the readers and book lovers alike. Furthermore with the increasing penetration of internet in almost all walks of life, a significant change in the patterns of reading and behavior of book readers is being observed worldwide. The consumers have shown a greater acceptability of such new gadgets and the publishers are cashing in on the popularity to drive their sales and increase their profits. The popularity of e-book readers can be estimated from the rising sales. According to statistics (see figure 1), the sales of eReaders in the first quarter of 2011 rose to 236 per cent, totaling 4.8 million units. It is expected to further rise to 27 million by the year end (Digitimes Research, 2011). Figure 1: According to research, Amazon is expected to be the frontrunner and retain its industry dominance by capturing approximately 60 per cent of the market share, followed clos ely by Barnes & Noble which is likely to settle on the second spot, followed by Sony. Challenges for the industry players The major industry players in the e-book reader market include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Apple. Amazon has emerged as a strong player in the market, although Sony was the first company to initiate the product in the U.S. markets with its state of the art technology. The launch of Kindle has since far surpassed the sales of all other electronic book readers available in the market. However, on account of new entrants such as Google for instance, which is taking giant strides in digitizing books from all major libraries the current industry leaders are likely to face serious competition in the near future (DailyMarkets, 2011). With record number of sales observed in the first quarter of 2011 and strong predictions for the rest of the year, it is highly likely that the market for eBooks and eBook readers is going strong and growing steadily. More and more pri nt editions such as newspapers and magazines have also joined in the eReader bandwagon owing to its incredible success. However, one of the greatest challenges faced by this industry is that of rising concerns over piracy. The publishers are wary of the proliferation of pirated copies floating freely on the internet, supported by the ease of pirating such copies and converting them in digital formats. There is a high and urgent need for product differentiation in the industry. Publishers are yet largely unaware of the choices of formats preferred by the readers of online books and the popular sections such as Science, fiction, non-fiction or academic books and target their customers accordingly (Dillehay, 2001). With regard to markets geographically, North America is likely to continue as the biggest market for e-book readers accounting for approximately 72 per cent of the global market share. However, at the same time newer markets are constantly opening up such as Europe, Japan an d China. The global market for eBook readers is likely to reach 63 million units as shipments, by the year 2014 (Digitimes Research, 2011). 2. Comparison between Border Books and Barnes & Noble on the following grounds: a. Approaches taken by Barnes & Noble and Border Books to respond to the changes in the e-book market With the advent of new technologically enabled gadgets and