Deception Point Page 64

â€Å"Holy shit!† The pilot pulled back on the stick, jolting upward. The black mountain of steel rose before them out of the waves without warning. A gargantuan unmarked submarine blew its ballast and rose on a cloud of bubbles. The pilots exchanged uneasy laughs. â€Å"Guess that's them.† As ordered, the transaction proceeded under complete radio silence. The doublewide portal on the peak of the sail opened and a seaman flashed them signals with a strobe light. The chopper then moved over the sub and dropped a three-man rescue harness, essentially three rubberized loops on a retractable cable. Within sixty seconds, the three unknown â€Å"danglers† were swinging beneath the chopper, ascending slowly against the downdraft of the rotors. When the copilot hauled them aboard-two men and a woman-the pilot flashed the sub the â€Å"all clear.† Within seconds, the enormous vessel disappeared beneath the windswept sea, leaving no trace it had ever been there. With the passengers safely aboard, the chopper pilot faced front, dipped the nose of the chopper, and accelerated south to complete his mission. The storm was closing fast, and these three strangers were to be brought safely back to Thule AFB for further jet transport. Where they were headed, the pilot had no idea. All he knew was that his orders had been from high up, and he was transporting very precious cargo. 75 When the Milne storm finally exploded, unleashing its full force on the NASA habisphere, the dome shuddered as if ready to lift off the ice and launch out to sea. The steel stabilizing cables pulled taut against their stakes, vibrating like huge guitar strings and letting out a doleful drone. The generators outside stuttered, causing the lights to flicker, threatening to plunge the huge room into total blackness. NASA administrator Lawrence Ekstrom strode across the interior of the dome. He wished he were getting the hell out of here tonight, but that was not to be. He would remain another day, giving additional on-site press conferences in the morning and overseeing preparations to transport the meteorite back to Washington. He wanted nothing more at the moment than to get some sleep; the day's unexpected problems had taken a lot out of him. Ekstrom's thoughts turned yet again to Wailee Ming, Rachel Sexton, Norah Mangor, Michael Tolland, and Corky Marlinson. Some of the NASA staff had begun noticing the civilians were missing. Relax, Ekstrom told himself. Everything is under control. He breathed deeply, reminding himself that everyone on the planet was excited about NASA and space right now. Extraterrestrial life hadn't been this exciting a topic since the famous â€Å"Roswell incident† back in 1947-the alleged crash of an alien spaceship in Roswell, New Mexico, which was now the shrine to millions of UFO-conspiracy theorists even today. During Ekstrom's years working at the Pentagon, he had learned that the Roswell incident had been nothing more than a military accident during a classified operation called Project Mogul-the flight test of a spy balloon being designed to listen in on Russian atomic tests. A prototype, while being tested, had drifted off course and crashed in the New Mexico desert. Unfortunately, a civilian found the wreckage before the military did. Unsuspecting rancher William Brazel had stumbled across a debris field of radical synthesized neoprene and lightweight metals unlike anything he'd ever seen, and he immediately called in the sheriff. Newspapers carried the story of the bizarre wreckage, and public interest grew fast. Fueled by the military's denial that the wreckage was theirs, reporters launched investigations, and the covert status of Project Mogul came into serious jeopardy. Just as it seemed the sensitive issue of a spy balloon was about to be revealed, something wonderful happened. The media drew an unexpected conclusion. They decided the scraps of futuristic substance could only have come from an extraterrestrial source-creatures more scientifically advanced than humans. The military's denial of the incident obviously had to be one thing only-a cover-up of contact with aliens! Although baffled by this new hypothesis, the air force was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. They grabbed the alien story and ran with it; the world's suspicion that aliens were visiting New Mexico was far less a threat to national security than that of the Russians catching wind of Project Mogul. To fuel the alien cover story, the intelligence community shrouded the Roswell incident in secrecy and began orchestrating â€Å"security leaks†-quiet murmurings of alien contacts, recovered spaceships, and even a mysterious â€Å"Hangar 18† at Dayton's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where the government was keeping alien bodies on ice. The world bought the story, and Roswell fever swept the globe. From that moment on, whenever a civilian mistakenly spotted an advanced U.S. military aircraft, the intelligence community simply dusted off the old conspiracy. That's not an aircraft, that's an alien spaceship! Ekstrom was amazed to think this simple deception was still working today. Every time the media reported a sudden flurry of UFO sightings, Ekstrom had to laugh. Chances were some lucky civilian had caught a glimpse of one of the NRO's fifty-seven fast-moving, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft known as Global Hawks-oblong, remote-controlled aircraft that looked like nothing else in the sky. Ekstrom found it pathetic that countless tourists still made pilgrimages to the New Mexico desert to scan the night skies with their video cameras. Occasionally one got lucky and captured â€Å"hard evidence† of a UFO-bright lights flitting around the sky with more maneuverability and speed than any aircraft humans had ever built. What these people failed to realize, of course, was that there existed a twelve-year lag between what the government could build and what the public knew about. These UFO-gazers were simply catching a glimpse of the next generation of U.S. aircraft being developed out at Area 51-many of which were the brainstorms of NASA engineers. Of course, intelligence officials never corrected the misconception; it was obviously preferable that the world read about another UFO sighting than to have people learn the U.S. military's true flight capabilities. But everything has changed now, Ekstrom thought. In a few hours, the extraterrestrial myth would become a confirmed reality, forever. â€Å"Administrator?† A NASA technician hurried across the ice behind him. â€Å"You have an emergency secure call in the PSC.† Ekstrom sighed, turning. What the hell could it be now? He headed for the communications trailer. The technician hurried along beside him. â€Å"The guys manning the radar in the PSC were curious, sir†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Yeah?† Ekstrom's thoughts were still far away. â€Å"The fat-body sub stationed off the coast here? We were wondering why you didn't mention it to us.† Ekstrom glanced up. â€Å"I'm sorry?† â€Å"The submarine, sir? You could have at least told the guys on radar. Additional seaboard security is understandable, but it took our radar team off guard.† Ekstrom stopped short. â€Å"What submarine?† The technician stopped now too, clearly not expecting the administrator's surprise. â€Å"She's not part of our operation?† â€Å"No! Where is it?† The technician swallowed hard. â€Å"About three miles out. We caught her on radar by chance. Only surfaced for a couple minutes. Pretty big blip. Had to be a fat-body. We figured you'd asked the navy to stand watch over this op without telling any of us.† Ekstrom stared. â€Å"I most certainly did not!† Now the technician's voice wavered. â€Å"Well, sir, then I guess I should inform you that a sub just rendezvoused with an aircraft right off the coast here. Looked like a personnel change. Actually, we were all pretty impressed anyone would attempt a wet-dry vertical in this kind of wind.†

Critical Lens

The following quote, â€Å"Sometimes failure is more beneficial than success† is a bold and eccentric statement to make, but it is indeed true. In my view, success is largely dependent on how we fail since it is what breeds learning and new understanding. It is impossible to be perfect in life and not to have committed a single mistake. Obstacles constantly present themselves, challenging and sometimes hindering our ability to overcome them at first. Although it may reveal our weakness, failure undoubtedly builds character and allows us to become what we ideally wish to be. The following works of literatures, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, demonstrate how failure pushes the protagonists of each individual story and provides a stepping stone toward reaching their goal. In The Alchemist, Santiago falls to several disheartening events, but they enable him to pick himself back up and continue on with the rest of his journey from Andalusia to the pyramids in Egypt. For instance, when Santiago arrives in the market town of Tangier, a thief robs him of his money for his journey, forcing him to seek work at a crystal shop. During his time there, Santiago learns the workings of a business and encourages the merchant to takes risks. These risks eventually pay off and Santiago becomes a rich man in just a year. The true test, however, for Santiago came with the passing of the desert, which is an important symbol in the book. With its harsh conditions and tribal wars, the desert is symbolic of the serious difficulties that await anyone in pursuit of reaching their goal or Personal Legend, but it also serves as an important teacher to Santiago during his journey to the pyramids. More than the desert heat, the desert’s dull and barren state test Santiago, as it diminishes his confidence at times. As Santiago learns, however, he discovers that even the desert contains life and the Soul of the World. Santiago begins to understand his environment and to see the signs of life in what seems to be a wasteland. This prepares him for the greatest test of all: to connect with the desert in an effort to become the wind. In the end, he does succeed, propelling him forward to reach his destination. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein becomes consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life and, after several years of research, becomes convinced that he has found it. Equipped with the knowledge, he spends countless months over creating a creature out of old body parts. The symbols of light and fire, which are constantly brought up throughout Victor’s experimentations, represent his knowledge and discovery. Victor experiences several failures, breaking him physically and deteriorating his health, but his determination strengthened. He learned about the errors he was making that caused him to fail, and with this, he finally brings his creation to life one climatic night. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however, the sight horrifies him. In this case, light represents danger, as Victor’s act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him. The characters of Santiago and Victor Frankenstein are two perfect examples as to why failure is needed in order to succeed. From these books, it is shown that success is really the progressive understanding of pre-determined goals, while the very journey is what makes or breaks us. Both Santiago and Victor do face failures in their journeys toward achieving their dream, but without failing, they would have made not learned from their mistakes and gained an experience from it. Although the end result of Victor’s failures worked against him and Santiago’s failures allowed him to lead a life of success, what is most important from these experiences is the lesson learned and knowledge gained. This is what makes Victor and Santiago successful as the end result is not what matters most, but the amount of effort and ability to rise from failure in order to reach one’s goal. Critical Lens According to Seneca, a Roman philosopher, â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † In other words, the boldest thing in this world is to see an honorable person fighting against misfortune, and never give up. I agree with this statement because it happens in real life and in literature. A man who goes against tragedy caused by nature, human or himself is considered great and honorable. Two works of literature that illustrate the quote as I have explained it are Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and Night by Elie Wiesel. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is a good example of this statement because the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and twenty-eight year isolation on a desert island. Robinson is both the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The major conflict in this novel is Crusoe shipwrecked alone, forcing him to fend for himself and his basic needs. He lost his only friend, Friday. He struggles between hardships, loneliness in his attempt to survive on a desert island. Crusoe was fighting alone against the force of nature and his own inner fears. Night by Elie Wiesel is a good example of this statement because the protagonist struggles with Nazi persecution and with his own faith in God and in humanity. It is written in first person’s point of view. Fire appears throughout the novel as a symbol of the Nazis’ cruel power comes against humanity. The rising action is Eliezer’s journey through the various concentration camps and the subsequent deterioration of his father and himself. The climax is when his father died. This cause Eliezer’s eternal conflict, he was now alone by himself, struggling to maintain faith in a generous god, silence and cruelty towards other human. In conclusion, it is clear that in both Robinson Crusoe and Night the characters discover â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † A great man who fights against misfortune is considered as the bravest sight in the world. Both Robinson and Eliezer experienced misfortune that caused by nature and human. They lost their friend and family members, but they did not give up. They were struggling against it and gain victory at the end. Critical Lens According to J. F. Clarke, â€Å"The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience. † In other words, people are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness instead of following others. This idea is clearly evident in the novels A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. The quote is exemplified in both novels by the literary element of theme. In A Walk to Remember, Landon Carter befriends unpopular Jamie Sullivan. In Of Mice and Men, George kills his friend Lennie to spare him from a horrific and painful murder. In A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan is an unpopular, religious girl who gets teased constantly for her beliefs. Popular Landon Carter befriends her, and asks her on a date to the homecoming dance at school. His friends tease him for this, but he knows that Jamie is a genuinely good person, and although his friends think differently, he is doing the right thing. The two develop a relationship. Eventually, Jamie confesses that she has an incurable form of leukemia, and is dying. Landon watches her get more ill, but he stays with her as often as he can, and tries to help in any way he can. After Jamie dies, he looks back and realizes that by following his conscience, his life has changed. The theme love conquers all relates to both the quote and the novel. Landon and Jamie’s love for each other changes both of their lives. Throughout Jamie’s illness, Landon learns a lot about himself and life, and his bravery allows him to do that. In Of Mice and Men, George faces a difficult decision. George’s best friend, Lennie, accidentally kills Curley’s wife, and he leaves the ranch. When Curley, the boss of the ranch’s son, discovers the death of his wife, he puts together a mob and sets out to find Lennie and shoot him in his guts. George knows that this will be very painful and agonizing, and he is not sure what to do. He ultimately decides to kill Lennie himself by shooting him in the back of the head. George meets Lennie by the pool of the Salinas River, and tells him his favorite story, the story of the farm. As soon as Lennie is calm, George shoots him. He knows that killing him this way will be instant and without pain. George feels that he is doing the right thing y sparing his friend of pain. The theme of loyalty and sacrifice relates to the quote and novel. George’s loyalty to his friend forces him to sacrifice him. This takes a lot of courage, but by doing this he is sparing his friend of extreme suffering. People are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness. Landon’s bravery allows him to have a great relatio nship and gain knowledge about life. George’s bravery spares his friend of a painful death. Both novels show that the best form of bravery is when a person follows their conscience. Critical Lens According to Seneca, a Roman philosopher, â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † In other words, the boldest thing in this world is to see an honorable person fighting against misfortune, and never give up. I agree with this statement because it happens in real life and in literature. A man who goes against tragedy caused by nature, human or himself is considered great and honorable. Two works of literature that illustrate the quote as I have explained it are Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and Night by Elie Wiesel. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is a good example of this statement because the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and twenty-eight year isolation on a desert island. Robinson is both the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The major conflict in this novel is Crusoe shipwrecked alone, forcing him to fend for himself and his basic needs. He lost his only friend, Friday. He struggles between hardships, loneliness in his attempt to survive on a desert island. Crusoe was fighting alone against the force of nature and his own inner fears. Night by Elie Wiesel is a good example of this statement because the protagonist struggles with Nazi persecution and with his own faith in God and in humanity. It is written in first person’s point of view. Fire appears throughout the novel as a symbol of the Nazis’ cruel power comes against humanity. The rising action is Eliezer’s journey through the various concentration camps and the subsequent deterioration of his father and himself. The climax is when his father died. This cause Eliezer’s eternal conflict, he was now alone by himself, struggling to maintain faith in a generous god, silence and cruelty towards other human. In conclusion, it is clear that in both Robinson Crusoe and Night the characters discover â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † A great man who fights against misfortune is considered as the bravest sight in the world. Both Robinson and Eliezer experienced misfortune that caused by nature and human. They lost their friend and family members, but they did not give up. They were struggling against it and gain victory at the end. Critical Lens According to J. F. Clarke, â€Å"The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience. † In other words, people are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness instead of following others. This idea is clearly evident in the novels A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. The quote is exemplified in both novels by the literary element of theme. In A Walk to Remember, Landon Carter befriends unpopular Jamie Sullivan. In Of Mice and Men, George kills his friend Lennie to spare him from a horrific and painful murder. In A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan is an unpopular, religious girl who gets teased constantly for her beliefs. Popular Landon Carter befriends her, and asks her on a date to the homecoming dance at school. His friends tease him for this, but he knows that Jamie is a genuinely good person, and although his friends think differently, he is doing the right thing. The two develop a relationship. Eventually, Jamie confesses that she has an incurable form of leukemia, and is dying. Landon watches her get more ill, but he stays with her as often as he can, and tries to help in any way he can. After Jamie dies, he looks back and realizes that by following his conscience, his life has changed. The theme love conquers all relates to both the quote and the novel. Landon and Jamie’s love for each other changes both of their lives. Throughout Jamie’s illness, Landon learns a lot about himself and life, and his bravery allows him to do that. In Of Mice and Men, George faces a difficult decision. George’s best friend, Lennie, accidentally kills Curley’s wife, and he leaves the ranch. When Curley, the boss of the ranch’s son, discovers the death of his wife, he puts together a mob and sets out to find Lennie and shoot him in his guts. George knows that this will be very painful and agonizing, and he is not sure what to do. He ultimately decides to kill Lennie himself by shooting him in the back of the head. George meets Lennie by the pool of the Salinas River, and tells him his favorite story, the story of the farm. As soon as Lennie is calm, George shoots him. He knows that killing him this way will be instant and without pain. George feels that he is doing the right thing y sparing his friend of pain. The theme of loyalty and sacrifice relates to the quote and novel. George’s loyalty to his friend forces him to sacrifice him. This takes a lot of courage, but by doing this he is sparing his friend of extreme suffering. People are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness. Landon’s bravery allows him to have a great relatio nship and gain knowledge about life. George’s bravery spares his friend of a painful death. Both novels show that the best form of bravery is when a person follows their conscience.

Explain Crime Rates Essay

The two theories with respect to criminology I would be using would be the Social Disorganization Theory and the Anomie Theory. Durkheim introduced the term ‘Anomie’ in the 19th or the early 20th century. He considered that Anomie had a major role to play with respect to social behavior. He felt that the level of moral consciousness may differ from one individual to another, and deviations often resulted in crime. Robert Merton developed ideas to establish a link between criminal behavior and Anomie. Merton considered that social pressures caused an individual to behave in a non-compliant or an abnormal manner. In society, an individual had certain goals and means of fulfilling these goals. Initially an individual may choose acceptable means to achieve these goals. However, as the situation deteriorates, he would be choosing increasingly unacceptable means to achieve the goals (Reid, 1985). The social disorganization theory was proposed by the Chicago School of Sociology. It is a situation in which divergence away from the normal is seen due to certain social situations. Any disturbance to normal social life would result in an increase in crime and disharmony. When social organization is present, positive relationship, values and goals also develop. Read more:Â  Essay About Crime Rate Increase in India In the past the social disorganization theory has been utilized to explain disturbance during the World War 1, World War 2 and the Great Depression (Reid, 1985). A criminal case in our local community was a string of suicides committed by three teenagers who attended school. Investigations revealed that the teenagers were not happy with the results they had obtained in High School. Studies revealed that the local leader, who was responsible for the educational policy adopted by the state, had adopted rather tough measures, which resulted in high failure rates and frustration in the school children. As the social pressures were high, the teenagers were behaving in a non-complaint or an unreasonable manner. This goes along with the Anomie theory. Studies also revealed that the other ministries that were responsible for public welfare were not functioning properly during that period. Hence, there was an increase in the social disorganization rate (as normal life was affected). The teenagers committing suicide expressed the dissatisfaction and the disharmony in the society. This helps to prove the Social Disorganization theory.

Monstrous Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Monstrous Mythology - Essay Example A monster when defined through literal terms comes from a Latin word 'Monstrum' which means an indication of what is yet to come, however, the Romans usually used this word to describe a series of unusual occurrences. It is very important for us to acknowledge the apparent relationship between the mythological notion of monstrous and the representation of it in the contemporary culture. The contemporary culture has adopted the mythological existence of monsters mostly through visualization or imagery which serves as a possibility inside human minds regarding the existence of these creatures. Mythology has well preserved the concept of monstrous which holds two attributes for their identification, one of which is that they are not human beings and the other saying that they are an evil force with their distinct objectives to kill humans. (Monster mythology, Carl Sargent, Pg 12-15) Classical mythology has a deep significance in the representation of what really a monster is with all the description that has something or the other constituting an animalistic nature. It is believed that the monsters in classical mythology usually existed either in the form of humans with unnatural attributes or absurd creatures that are part human and part animal. According to classical mythology, monsters were the creatures that violated the cultural values and norms and had their own inhumane and cruel motives. Myth makers and fiction writers have created many monsters but we cannot look through the deep-rooted significance of myth making itself and how it describes the appearance of the monster and the extent of its cruelty, for instance the people in New Guinea promoted a myth that involves monster traits such as shape transformation, inhumane union, thirst for blood and human flesh and other forms of cannibalism. Moreover, Greek Mythology has many relevant monstrous illustrations which prominently include the Stymphalian and evil birds in the Hercules period. (Classical mythology, Helen Morales, Pg 110-116) Monsters according to a culture can be the evil force that has all the wrong and manipulative objectives and perhaps this is why people following distinct cultural and moral values consider people who end up doing or even start believing in evil/malicious paths as the monsters or demons regardless of how a typical horror monster may look like. Classical mythology has preserved monsters time and time again such as the Cerberus, Centaurs, Chimaera, Medusa, Cyclopes, hydra etc. Below is an image of a monstrous creature in Norse mythology which was in the form of a savage wolf named 'Fenrir'. All these monsters were either humans or with a body or skull of an animal which depicts brutality and a hunger for blood gushing inside human bodies. Mythology as an explanation to monstrous creatures that once existed suggests that these creatures were perhaps a translation as to what fear is inside human minds or more like the image of fear and horror. Moving ahead it is extremely notable to understand the human psychology and how they perceive the monsters that they see on television screens or read and imagine about, it is believed that monsters are

American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

American History - Essay Example omacy, the text talks about the differences between the people of the North and those of the South, which we are told that can be traced back in the early settlements of the English in the North American region. The writers says that the societies that were found in the two colonies developed in a very different way that any visitor from Europe saw the difference and did not fail to give comments about it. The Southern region was nearly whole rural and also agricultural with very few towns. In addition, the region was under the political and social dominance of the great planters of tobacco possessed large tracts of land together with several slaves (p259). On the other hand, the people of the North were definitely farmers too, even though they practiced it in small scale. It was mainly done on subsistence basis by the family members or a few slaves or servants were used by those who were most successful or affluent. Contrary to the Southern region, the Northern region has three large cities called Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as several other beautiful and lively towns that were large as compared to all those that were found in the Southern region, except for Charleston. Nevertheless, the cultural and social norms, from Pennsylvania north were characterized by businessmen that ranged from the merchant princes who were involved in the seaborne trade to artisans, struggling middlemen and retailers who purchased and sold goods produced from the farms together with some other goods that were produced within the cities or even overseas (p260). The Northerners were capitalists, whereby the basis of its economy was on the fact that everything was valued in terms of money, and its tradition became more and more based on wealth acquisition. The people of the south who were mainly farmers and considered themselves as aristocrat who had the duty to look after a society that had its basis on individual relationships regarded the people of the North as being

Empolyee relatons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Empolyee relatons - Essay Example In case of employee participation the level of participation can be classified in two ways, a) high level and b) low level. High level employee participation is observed in case of corporate houses. It has been observed that employees participate in high level decision making process when it comes to solving doubts related to factors, including, 'co-determination', "pension fund trustees,' and employer-wide collective bargaining." (Farnham, 2000, 38) On the other hand the low employee participation occur at departmental and workplace levels or among the workgroups. There are various degrees of management to tolerate "collectivism ranges from willing co-operation at one extreme, to grudging acceptance at the other." (Farnham, 2000, 38) The modern business and its management have sorted out various connections between collectivism and employee relations. In case of US owned companies deal with factors like collectivism and employee relationship from individualist management perspective. On the other hand a common tendency has been observed among UK companies that they deal with the same issues from collectivist approach. Study of business management shows that individualism and collectivism contradict each other. Purcell has observed this incidence in some of the Japanese owned and British companies and in this context he has remarked, "Management styles operate along the tow dimensions and'action in one area, toward individualism, for example, is not necessarily associated with changes in collectivism scale." (Farnham, 2000, 38) The individualist approach of treating the aspects like collectivism and employee relations is characterized with non unionism, which means there must not be any interference of the union into the affairs of the company. On the contrary, companies that follow collectivist approach encourage in the formation of union and they expect that employee unions must come forward to covey desires and expectations of employees in decision making process of the company. Such approach is mostly observed among UK based companies. Hence, it can be said that, "an employer recognizes trade unions for representational, consultative, negotiating or co-determination purposes is an critical and visible expression of management style and its approach to employee relations." (Farnham, 2000, 38) The employee relations also include within its scope various aspects that are exclusively controlled by management of the company, such as, promotion, internal training and employee welfare. But when it is seen that a company is refusing to accept existence of the union it implies that the management is shifting towards individualist style of approach rather than collective one. In proper maintenance of employee relation, management of a company focuses over two critical issues that are also closely interwoven with each other, namely, the degree of discretion and the patterns of relations. The degree of discretion is used by the managers in making choice about aspects related with employee relations. After the managers execute the discretionary degrees, certain patterns emerge and those are considered as patterns of relation. For proper operation of a company there is a constant need of efficient people. It is not always possible for management of a big corporation to find out the right person, who suits for a particular role.

Elasticity of Demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Elasticity of Demand - Essay Example When one of these two changes, the other also tends to change. This tendency is very well described by what is popularly known as Law of Demand. The law of Demand is a general law which need not be applicable in all situations. In certain situations this law seems to be unrealistic. The Law of Demand states that when the price increases, the quantity demanded decreases and vice versa, other things remaining the same. The phrase 'other things remain the same' is an important one that it portrays the exceptions of Law of Demand. The Law of Demand, therefore postulates the direction of change in one variable (price or quantity) due to the change in other variable. The law is silent about the magnitude of change. That means, it does not talk anything about the degree by which demand changes as a result of a change in price. Here lies the importance of Elasticity of Demand. This concept tells us the extent to which demand increases or decreases owing to a decrease or increase in price. Th erefore, Law of Demand is a qualitative measurement whereas Elasticity of Demand is a quantitative measurement. As stated earlier, elasticity is a measure of responsiveness of quantity demanded for a change in price. ... Mathematically, it may be computed as: (Moffatt Mike: Elasticity of Demand) To calculate percentage change in quantity and percentage change in price, the following formulae can be sued: % change in quantity = Quantity (new) - Quantity (old) / Quantity (old) (Moffatt Mike: Elasticity of Demand) % change in Price = Price (new) - Price (old) / Price (old) (Moffatt Mike: Elasticity of Demand) Price Elasticity of Demand The Price Elasticity of Demand is the measure of responsiveness of quantity demand of a product as a result of change in its own price. This is also known as Own Price Elasticity of Demand. This theory measures the rate of response of quantity demanded due to change in price. Price Elasticity is a common phenomenon because price and demand are the two closely related variables. In other words, price is the most important determinant of demand. Price of a product and its demand are negatively correlated, which means when price increases, demand decreases and vice versa. Mathematically, price elasticity of demand can be expressed as below: Price Elasticity of Demand = (% Change in quantity demanded)/ (% change in price) (Moffatt Mike: Price Elasticity of Demand) % Change in quantity demanded = Quantity (new) - Quantity (old) / Quantity (old) (Moffatt Mike: Price Elasticity of Demand) % change in price = Price (new) - Price (old) / Price (old) (Moffatt Mike: Price Elasticity of Demand) Significance of Price Elasticity The calculation of price elasticity alone is not sufficient to an economist for decision making. It is a means to an end. Thus, interpretation is more important than computation. The purpose of calculating elasticity is for analyzing how sensitive is the demand for the product due to a

Low Self Esteem and Luxury Marketing (Apples iPhone as a Luxury Dissertation

Low Self Esteem and Luxury Marketing (Apples iPhone as a Luxury Product) - Dissertation Example Brands like Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Gucci have started investing in their marketing campaigns. While old brands continue to lead the market, new luxury brands have also emerged. One such luxury product includes Apple’s iPhone. The definition of luxury has been presented by many researches and books and these have been drawn mainly through the consumers’ perception of luxury. Luxury has been known to impact the consumers through different ways. Luxury is loosely referred to products that are priced high, have a high perceived quality and provide an exceptional experience of the consumers. Products such as the iPhone redefine the concept of luxury to a certain extent. Such products are not always targeted to the rich and affluent class but also to those consumers who wish to improve upon their self-esteem by buying luxury products. Therefore, a correlation is observed between low self-esteem and luxury products. Significance of the Study As the global market is being revived after the long global recession that struck the world in 2007, demand for luxury goods is on the increase. This means that marketers around the world have to focus their attention back to marketing luxury goods. As the concept of luxury is being continuously redefined, luxury has been categorized into old luxury and new luxury. In the study, the aim is to evaluate the impact of self-esteem on the buying decisions of consumers

Christology in the Black Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Christology in the Black Perspective - Essay Example According to Wilmore (93), Christology in the Black perspective borrows much from the Bible on the Israelites deliverance from Egypt by God. Advocates of Black theology effectively compare the US to Egypt. They predict that the blacks who are the oppressed people will be led to a promised land soon. They emphasize that God is concerned with the people who lack economic, social and political justice and also for those who are unwanted and poor in the society. They believe that the same God, who liberated the Israelites, is the same God who is a blessing and working for the blacks who are oppressed in the 20th century. They believe that God is helping the oppressed blacks and has, therefore, identified Himself with them. They speak of God as Black.Jesus Christ is seen from the aspect of liberation and oppression. Other texts that are borrowed from the Bible by Christology in the Black perspective include the Gospel of Luke. The book of Luke states that the lame will walk, the blind wil l see, the deaf will hear, the lepers will be cleaned, the dead will rise up and the poor will have the good news preached to them. Therefore it is evident that in Christ, God truly enters human affairs and notably takes sides and supports the oppressed (Wilmore 112).This means that the oppressed become His and the numerous challenges of the 20th century cannot be solved by looking at the past of what Christ did. The main reason for this is that the choices of the past are not similar to the current situation.

Conduct of Monetary Policy in Kuwait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Conduct of Monetary Policy in Kuwait - Essay Example The International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted: "The fastest pace of economic expansion since the 1990 Gulf war, combined with the oil-related terms of trade gains, has boosted per capita income by 34.5% during 2003-04 and helped build up assets for future generations at a record pace." It added: "With oil prices likely to remain firm over the medium-term, Kuwait's medium-term outlook has improved and is likely to remain favourable, supported by large fiscal and current-account surpluses, and low inflation. The Kuwait economy is characterized by sound creditworthiness which in turn reflects sustained macroeconomic stability, good governance, twin surpluses (the government budget and current-account), manageable domestic debt (17% of GDP in 2005), the sophisticated banking sector and huge net (official) external assets. Overall GDP growth has been increasing at a steady rate from 2001 to 2005 due to the stability of the money supply. Through a judicious application of effective open market operations, the central bank was able to mop up excess liquidity in the system resulting in a stable economic growth. The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) has imposed a ceiling on the credit to deposit ratio. It was implemented in order to address prudential concerns over rapid expansion of credit to the private sector in recent years without a parallel increase in bank deposits. Kuwaiti banks are, however, heavily capitalised and liquid. The capital adequacy ratio remained comfortable (17.3% as of end-September 2004), well above its minimum regulatory level (12%). In 2004-05, asset quality improved further and net profits and returns on equity/total assets also rose significantly. The Kuwait central bank had reined in liquidity growth in order to attain macroeconomic stability. This policy resulted in a minimal incr ease in M2 supply from 9646.3 million Kuwait dinar (KD) in 2001 to 10401.2 million KD in 2002. This strict monetary policy resulted in a high increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 11584 .5 million KD in 2002 to 14253.5 million KD in 2003. At the same time, inflation remained at respectable levels from 0.89 percent to 0.98 percent during the same period. The GDP climbed steadily from 14253.5 million KD in 2003 to 17466 million KD in 2004. The M2 supply increased only slightly from 10401.2 million KD in 2003 to 11655.2 million KD in 2004. The GDP scored a big leap from 17466 million KD in 2004 to 23588 million KD in 2005. Steady monetary policies kept the M2 supply level from 11655.2 million KD in 2004 to 13088.2 million KD in 2005.On the macroeconomic front, the authorities have pursued prudent monetary/fiscal policies, thus underpinning price stability and the exchange rate peg. Consumer price rises have averaged just 1.4% annually over 2000-05, thanks to a str onger currency and subdued import prices. The Kuwait central bank has maintained very stable exchange rate levels to maintain stable inflation rates. This effective policy has resulted in minimal inflation rates. The Kuwait dinar has been appreciating vis-a-vis the US dollar from 2001 to 2005. The exchange rate was 307.36 dinar to 1 US$ dollar in 2001 compared to 299.7 dinar to 1 US$ in 2002. Inflation rate at 2002 was only .89 percent. The local currency further appreciated from 299.7 dinar to 1

Hackers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hackers - Research Paper Example This research paper discusses the philosophy of justification of the end through its means. It highlights some of the laws that provide for the hacking process and explains their provisions on this process. The paper identifies the ethical aspect of hacking, whether the society considers it an ethical procedure or not. It also discusses the various perceptions people develop from various situations and how they handle them. It also explains how the society perceives hackers. It identifies the motivations hackers have when breaking into a computer system and relates their behavior to that of thieves in the society. It also describes the various defenses hackers use in order to justify their acts, such as claiming that information ought to be free. Finally, it discusses the negative impact of students hacking institutional systems in the name of acquiring cost-effective education. The hacking process in the society is a dangerous activity that the government should get rid of. This is because there are malicious hackers who break into an organization’s system in order to cause damage (Paul, p26). The crackers access, retrieve and interfere with a company’s data without any consent. The U.S has laws that forbid hacking, for example, the 18 U.S.C 1029, which prohibits any unauthorized access of secured systems. It however justifies the people who have the right cause of hacking, those whose intent is not of committing fraud. The 18 U.S.C 1030 prohibits any unauthorized access to the government systems. This law justifies authorized access but does not provide for people who have a moral intent (Legal Information Institute). There are however situations that may lead one to access systems without authorization in order to acquire essential data without committing fraud, for example in the literature work, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Larsson), Lisbeth broke some laws in order to retrieve information that would bring justice, which gave her credit f or the unlawful act. The society however has ethics that differentiate the right from the wrong. If the government made a law that justified the means through its end, there would be increased criminal levels in the society. Instances of theft would increase, as people would claim that they were carrying out the unlawful activity in order to feed his or her hungry family. The society, in all situations, should therefore justify the end through the means (Paul, p27). Although people have different perceptions of a situation, they tend to justify various acts that may have used the same means differently (Levy, p36). For example, if the government chose to eliminate theft by beheading thieves in public, the society would consider this as an immoral act. Even if the act would lower the theft cases, it would emphasis on the rights to life for any person irrespective of the acts. In this case, the means would justify the end. For the computer hackers, the society disregards the method th rough which they acquired information. The citizens regard them as intelligent people who safeguard the interest of the society. This is irrespective the law that provides for security in the computer systems of a company. This makes one law more important than the other and therefore, the society should formulate a uniform procedure of judging situations (Paul, p28). The society holds that the hackers develop the right judgment towards various issues in the society hence the geniuses can never base their perceptions and thoughts on the wrong facts and imagination (Levy, p38). However, not all perceptions that the hackers hold is always true. They may develop wrong judgment, which may lead to injustice in the world. In the movie Minority Report, the hackers access information that aids an agency in preventing the occurrence of a crime (Spielberg). If the society embraces this concept, the State would sentence many innocent people to prison. This is because the jury would pass judgme nt based on the thoughts the

Jet Airways Essay Example for Free

Jet Airways Essay Naresh Goyal, who already owned JetAir (Private) Limited (which provided sales and marketing for foreign airlines in India) took advantage of this opportunity by setting up Jet Airways as a fullservice scheduled airline that would give competition to state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had enjoyed a monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air transport providers were nationalised under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January 1994, when the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received scheduled airline status. Jet Airways’ 45 destinations include most of the big cities in India. International destinations include Kathmandu, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Londons Heathrow Airport, Bangkok, Brussels and Newark. Jet Airways was the first private airline in India to fly to international destinations. It started international operations in March 2004 between Chennai and Colombo after it had been cleared by the Government of India to operate scheduled services to international destinations. MACRO ENVIRONMENT FACTORS: Economic Economic environment of India and world affects the airline industry to a great extent. Factors like fluctuations in global fuel prices, exchange rates, slowdown etc have varying impact on the way Jet Airways has been operating in this sector. One of the most important aspect that has greatly affected the worlds transportation system is the high fuel price. Besides high taxes, jet fuel prices have become costlier than crude oil prices which have greatly affected the bottom-line for many airlines including Jet Airways. State taxes on ATF available through government agencies vary between 4% and 30%, making the fuel 30% to 50% costlier than the global average. In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh the cess is 25% or higher. The three listed airline companies – Jet Airways, Kingfisher and SpiceJet – all of which reported losses in the quarter ending December 2011, blamed rising ATF cost for their bad financial performance. In February 2012, the Centre gave a nod to direct import of ATF on a case-to-case basis But once airlines start importing ATF, traffic at the countrys congested ports is likely to increase, making matters worse for exporters and importers. Airlines will also have to factor in the cost of transporting ATF from the various ports in the country to airports around the country, something which could eventually lead to increase in the ATF cost. Jet Airways in its financial report has also indicated the losses that it has incurred due to rupee depreciation. It has been reported that revenue from exceptional items decreased by 61% from Rs. 18,919 lakhs in Fiscal 2011 to Rs. 7,319 lakhs in Fiscal 2012 mainly on account of depreciation of the Rupee against the Dollar in the current year. Even in the past Jet Airways has experienced slowdown because of global recession. In 2008 during recession, Jet Airways was forced to discontinue the following routes: Ahmedabad–London, Amritsar–London, Bangalore–Brussels and Mumbai–Shanghai– San Francisco. It also had to put an indefinite delay on its expansion plans. Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways promoter is unable to put in more funds via his holding company due to FDI restrictions. He holds 80% in Jet Airways through Tailwinds. He claims NRI status, where 100% ownership is allowed. However, Goyal’s investment is via Tailwinds, which is considered FDI by the Indian government. Tailwinds is registered in the Isle of Man. In India, only 49% FDI investment is permissible in aviation. Airline business is a complicated one and only airlines would be interested in investing domestic carriers. The government is looking at allowing foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers but there would be no change in FDI cap of 49%. In this 49%, currently foreign airlines are not allowed to participate. So if this change happens then there would be inflow of funds from foreign airlines. The announcement of ECB (External Commercial Borrowing) with a limit $1 billion in the Budget 2012 will also give some relief to debt ridden airline companies. Shareholding Naresh Goyal 80% FII 6. 7% DII 7% Public hold 6. 3% Social The backbone of the airline industry is people. Individuals in the management, technical and crew are responsible for undertaking the task of serving their customers with utmost care and excellence. These individuals are trained and tailored to the industrys needs before they are allowed to work. They need to meet certain standards of service and technical knowledge designed to satisfy the customers. For this reason the players invest millions of dollars to improve the knowledge of their workers. Jet Airways plans to set up a marketing services firm and launch an aviation training academy, with a total investment of Rs 1 crore. The proposal is, however, subjected to regulatory approvals, including those from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Reserve Bank of India. The proposed academy would be based in Mumbai and offer certificate courses in in-flight services, ticket reservation and check-in services, according to a brochure brought out for the institute. Operations in the northeast are guided by the governments Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which entails that all Indian carriers fly to the northeast and other remote parts of the country, more so as a social obligation. After posting a loss of Rs 298 crore in the last quarter, Jet Airways has sought government clearance to scale down its flights to the northeastern region by about half to stem the losses. Technological Technological factors in macroenvironment are the most dramatic forces in changing the market place. They help the business to create new products and harness new opportunities. Jet Airways makes strategic use of the latest technology to interact with passengers at a global level. Its significant presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr ensures increase in awareness and reach of the company brand. The companys growth on the social media networking platform has been noteworthy registering an exponential increase in the number of followers and fans on Twitter and Facebook. In the coming year, the Company aims to introduce state-of-the-art mobile applications for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows mobile phones. These applications will provide passengers with a convenient and seamless option to book tickets, check-in, access their JetPrivilege account etc. using their mobile phones. Additionally, the Company intends to commence the use of 2D Mobile Bar-coded boarding passes for guests who have checked-in for their flights, thus providing a paperless travel experience. Political In India, one can never over-look the political factors which influence each and every industry existing in the country. Like it or not, the political interference has to be present everywhere. Given below are a few of the political factors with respect to the airline industry: The airline industry is very susceptible to changes in the political environment. One instance of Government Policy resulting in great uncertainty is the fact that the Indian Government has not allowed foreign airlines to participate in FDI in aviation as yet. So the airline industry, which is currently facing draught of funds can still not expect foreign players to chip in. International airlines are greatly affected by trade relations that their country has with others. Unless governments of the two countries trade with each other, there could be restrictions of flying into particular area leading to a loss of potential air traffic (e. g. Pakistan India) Political factors can also affect the day-to-day working of the airline industry. For instance, in 2009, Jet Airways announced plans to lay-off 1800 employees that were undergoing probation with the Company. What happened was a PR disaster for the Airline. First the laid off employees suddenly became socialist in their approach and later went a step further managing to politicize the whole matter by seeking support from MNSs Raj Thackeray. Other parties and sundry ministers then followed the suit and jumped into the bandwagon, until the Jet Management had to revert the decision and ask laid off employees to join the duty back. Legal and Regulatory Operating in a cross border network of alliances and partnerships, multinational companies like Jet airways are subject to international and national regulations in terms of assignment of routes and destinations; international aviation regulations; partners legal standing as well as local laws. These constraints not only leave little room for airlines to operate but are also the sources for its highly efficient value chain. Another aspect is industrial relations. Personnel in the airlines industry from pilots to cabin crew to technicians everyone work in the capacity and provisions given by the laws prevalent globally. For this reason, everyone is cognizant of their rights to legal aid if required. Since most of the airline personnel in the world have associations and unions they tend to have an upper hand over management. The management therefore has to comply with their demands if it is within the capacity of the law Not only is this but the airlines also subject to strict safety, hygiene and efficient regulations. Airlines that do not deliver services according to international standards do not only lose out in the competition but are also subjected to aviation penalties. The principal regulatory authority that regulates the civil aviation sector in India is the Director General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA. To operate scheduled services in India, an airline requires an operating permit from the DGCA. This permit is required to be renewed on a year-to-year basis. An airline incorporated in India and operating scheduled services is also required to register all its aircraft with the DGCA, save and except aircraft which are wet leased. On July 10 2012 aviation regulator E K Bharat Bhushan was abruptly removed from his key position in the backdrop of his tough stance against debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines over its failure to pay salaries to its employees. Newly-appointed chief of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation Prashant Sukul on 13th July 2012 asked all airlines to strictly adhere to prescribed safety standards. Demographics Indian aviation industry promises huge growth potential due to large and growing middle class population, favorable demographics, rapid economic growth, higher disposable incomes, rising aspirations of the middle class, and overall low penetration levels (less than 3%). Few prominent factors we need to look at from demographics perspective: Working age population India is blessed with a young and growing population. India has amongst the best demographic ratio globally and this would continue to improve over next three to four decades. As compared to children and elderly, a relatively higher percentage of the earning population travels by air to save working hours and for business. The rising proportion of people of working age also implies higher disposable income as pressure on household for the needs of dependent children elderly comes down. Both the above factors along with a growing working age population would lead to higher demand for air travel. Exploding Middle Class McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) predicts that the India’s middle class will reach 583 million from the current 50 million by 2025. With this exploding middle class the demand for air travel is bound to go up in a unidirectional way. Nuclear families increase Increasing VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) Travel The traditional ‘joint-family’ system in India is rapidly breaking up. With increasing expenses and with more people migrating to cities for work, people are increasingly opting for nuclear and small families. This trend of smaller families has also bought a change to their lifestyles, with friends relatives visiting more frequently and families taking more vacations – implying greater frequency of travel. Air travel is finding a growing proportion of this additional travel, with smaller families making air travel for the entire family more affordable. Increasing Employment Growing employment means higher disposable income, more business travel and higher opportunity cost of travel time. All these contribute to higher demand for air travel. Increasing Leisure Travel Tourism accounts only for 2. 5% of India’s GDP, versus 6% in Asia Pacific and 5. 3% in China. However this ratio is fast changing with India emerging amongst the fast growing tourism destinations in the world.

The Structure Of The Merchant Venice English Literature Essay

The Structure Of The Merchant Venice English Literature Essay The Merchant of Venice is set in 16th century Venice. Venice became a trade centre as it is located on the coast, surrounded by a large mass of water; because of this structure, distribution of goods was easy as it was very accessible to surrounding countries. It is the perfect setting for discrimination towards the Jews to occur as they had to live in a ghetto, separated from Christian kind. Being a Jew, Shylock had very few career choices with the only real option being a money lender. Shylock shows both characteristics of victim and villainy, this is shown many ways during the play when Shylock has been mistreated and is out to get revenge. An example of this would be when shylock is angered by his mistreatment from the Christian Antonio, and then later schemes to get revenge by the formulation of the bond, demanding for a pound of Antonios flesh as a forfeit of the loan. Shylock is often a victimised man in The Merchant of Venice. The Oxford dictionary defines the word victim as someone or something which has been hurt, damaged or killed or has suffered, either because of the actions of someone or something else, or because of illness or chance This is certainly the case with Shylock when the Christians, especially the merchant Antonio treats Shylock cruelly and mercilessly on a daily basis, You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And you spit upon my Jewish gabardine, The words spit and dog show that he is completely disrespected and receives a great amount of abuse which a modern audience would find distasteful and I feel very sympathetic about what Shylock would have gone through. Not only did Shylock get mistreated by Christians, he was also a victim of theft by his own daughter, here catch this casket. Furthermore, when she stole the jewels, Jessica abandoned her own father when she eloped with Lorenzo and then converted her religion to Christianity, showing that Shylock is truly a victim of circumstance. Shylock, a truly broken man feels like a part of him is missing and turns to Tubal who is a very close friend of his. To add insult to injury, Shylock discovers that Jessica traded his most prized possession, a turquoise ring which was a present from his late wife, for a monkey. I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor: I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys. The word wilderness shows that he would not have traded the ring for several thousand monkeys, let alone one monkey. The ring was the only piece of Leah he had left. Although I feel very sympathetic towards Shylock at this point in the story, an Elizabethan audience would find the attitude towards a Jewish man humorous and would laugh at Shylocks despair. I see Shylock as a man with a plea for equality, as he gets treated like an animal, locked up in ghetto where he has to sleep, separated from the Christians and continually being called names on a daily basis. In the bible, Jesus teaches us to treat each other fairly with respect and love; You shall love your neighbour as yourself however the Christians in The Merchant of Venice go against everything their own religions have taught them, making Shylock a victim, a broken man with hardly anything or anyone to turn to. I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs dimensions, senses affections, passions fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons? In this speech Shylock is distraught, I see him as a man who just wants justice and wants all faiths to be equal. In this speech, Shylock asks rhetorical questions repeatedly for emphasis in what he is saying. We see shylock becoming a broken man at the trial scene this becomes evident when they address him as Jew inste ad of his name. Go on, and call the Jew into the court Shylock is being called by his religion as a sign of disrespect. Then once again for being victimised for being a Jew, Shylock suffers from hubris in the court scene when Portia brings his hopes up for succeeding with the bond, she then crashes them back down, resulting in Shylock having to change his religion to Christianity. We see him as a truly broken man, a social outcast in the eyes of the Jews. Although constantly victimised, Shylock also shows a great deal of villainy. The Oxford dictionary defines the word villain as a person who is guilty or capable of a crime or wickedness; a wrongdoer; a character in a novel or play whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot. Shylock is predominately a villain. This is most obvious with the formulation of the bond, Let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken In what part of your body pleaseth me This quotation shows the price which Antonio has to pay if he fails to return the money, I see this as an opportunity for Shylock to be a revenge seeking villain, with the intention to kill Antonio. The word pleaseth shows that Shylock gets to decide which part of the body the flesh comes from, this becomes nearest the heart which shows the hunger he truly has for Antonios flesh. Furthermore, Shylocks mistreatment of Jessica shows that he is an irresponsible and uncaring father. He imprisons her from the world he chose to live in. Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum ..But stop my houses ears-I mean casements. Let not the sound of shallow foppry enter My sober house. Shylock is portrayed as a villain as he orders Jessica about, almost like a slave. The phrase Lock up my doors shows that Shylock has no respect for his own daughter and just commands her to do as he says. In addition, Shylock seems to value his ducats more than the loss of his daughter, O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! Only Christian ducats! Shylock shows that he is a heartless villain when he finds out from Tubal that Antonios ships are lost at see. Shylock and Tubal were discussing the merchants shipwreck from Tripoli and Shylock openly said I thank thee, good Tubal. Good news, good news! Ha, ha! Heard in Genoa? Later in their discussion Tubal tells Shylock of Antonios bankruptcy and again Shylock is delighted as he knows as he can extract the pound of flesh I am very glad of it: Ill plague him Ill torture him: I am glad of it. The words plague and torture show that Shylock is thirsty for Antonios flesh and is showing villainy and greed. Shylocks hunger for Antonios flesh becomes more apparent in the trial scene, Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly? Shylock sharpens his knife to prepare to cut the pound of flesh out of Antonios body. The word earnestly shows he has serious intent on killing Antonio. Shylock has no intention on leaving the court without the pound of flesh, Ill have my bond; speak not against my bond: I have sworn an oath that I will have my bondà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ill have my bondà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Ill have my bond Shylock repeats the phrase Ill have my bond for emphasis that he is completely confident in receiving a pound of Antonios flesh, which is closest to the heart. Not only did Shylock insist on getting his bond he also refused thrice the sum of money of the original loan. And lawfully by this the Jew may claim A pound of flesh, to be by him cut off Nearest the merchants heart. Be merciful: Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond. Shylock refused mercy, which shows greed, villa iny and that he is a truly evil man, with the intention to kill. Shylock also said that he would not accept ten times oer the amount of money, mainly because he wants the bond instead of the money which shows that evil thought is dominant in his mind. In conclusion Shylock is a villain, evil is dominant in his thought, largely due to his mistreatment by the Christians. Even though he has been mistreated by Christians, it does not justify taking someones life. Shylock gets his retribution at the end of the play when he is forced to convert his religion to Christianity, resulting in him becoming a social outcast, in the eyes of his family, the Jews and the Christians. Shakespeares plays speak to a modern audience, outlining right from wrong. I feel that anti-Semitism and prejudice are big themes in this play, as they speak to the reader regarding these issues as much today as they did in the past.

The Concept of the Eco-city

The Concept of the Eco-city The next new wave in city planning is Eco-City in response to global climate changes crisis. It is a relatively new concept, combining together ideas from several disciplines such as urban design, urban planning, transportation, health, housing, energy, economic development, natural habitats, public participation, and social justice (Register 1994). In simple word, Eco-city is settlement where it allows the citizen to live and work using minimum resources. As cities continue to grow and population increase rapidly, the needs for sustainable form of development become increasing urgent. The search for appropriate solution and to create more sustainable cities has become the main concerns of designer, policy makers and environmental groups. The locations, types of buildings and infrastructure have direct impacts on its environment, economy and society. As city continue to grow and alters over a periods of time, it is difficult to change after inhabitation and construction. So, designers are trying to avoid that problems and prefer a new, master planned eco-cities. They argue that new eco-cities can fully integrate sustainable concepts of urban planning principle to create sustainable living environment as we go along with retrofitting existing cities. The master plan eco-city will be built using all the latest green technologies. But there people who oppose eco-city concept and called it a utopian city. But is eco-city really feasible or is it utopian concept? To fully understand, origin of eco-city concept will be analysed. Eco-city originated in 1975 when Richard register and few friends founded Urban Ecology in Berkeley, California, as Non-profit organisation to make built our cities in balance with nature. According to Register (1994), the purpose of urban ecology was to build in Berkeley a slow street which is to have many trees along road, solar green houses, energy ordinance, establish good and efficient public transport, promoting pedestrainization as alternative to automobile, holding regular conference meeting with different stake holder. But it was until the publications of Registers visionary new book called Eco-city Berkeley in 1987, that the urban ecology gained momentum (Roseland, 2001). And the organisations new journal called The Urban Ecologist. The organisation held First International Eco-City Conference, in Berkeley in 1990 and ever since it held conference every year inviting people from around the world to discuss urban problems and to submit proposal for designing our cities based on ecological principles. In 1992, David Engwicht, an Australian community activist, published Towards an Eco-City, in which he talks about how city planners and engineers have virtually eliminated effective human interaction by buildings more roads, shopping malls, gutting communities and increasing dense traffic. For Engwicht, a city is a place for inventions of maximizing exchanging and having minimized travel distance. The book was later reissued in North America as Reclaiming Our Cities and Towns (1993). Engwicht talks about how city planners and engineers have eliminated effective human exchange by building more roads, taking commerce out of the cities into strip malls, gutting communities, and increasing traffic fatalities. A city is an invention for maximizing exchange and minimizing travel (Engwicht, 1993). He advocates eco-city where there is transaction of all sorts of goods, money, ideas, emotions, genetic material, etc and where people move freely via foot, bicycles, and mass transit and interact freely without fear of traffic and pollutions. But it was until the 1960s, the use of fossil fuels, chemically controlled agriculture, deforestation and depletion of marine resources was thought to be not in dangers. In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission), released a summary report called our Common Future which cause widespread concerns on world deepening environmental degradation(WCED 1987). And this pushed sustainable development on the forefront. Various industries and sector are also going for sustainable development. The issue of sustainable planning is also a concern for planner, urban designer, construction industries, development authority and the population at large. Register, Engwicht and Urban Ecology certainly deserve credit for popularizing the term eco-city in the last decade, but the eco-city concept is strongly influenced by other movements as well(Roseland, 2001). The mission of Urban Ecology is to create ecological cities based on the following 10 principles (Urban Ecology 1996): Revise land-use priorities to create compact, diverse, green, safe, pleasant, and vital mixed-use communities near transit nodes and other transportation facilities. Revise transportation priorities to favour foot, bicycle, cart, and transit over autos, and to emphasize access by proximity. Restore damaged urban environments, especially creeks, shore lines, ridgelines, and wetlands. Create decent, affordable, safe, convenient, and racially and economically mixed housing. Nurture social justice and create improved opportunities for women, people of color, and the disabled. Support local agriculture, urban greening projects, and community gardening. Promote recycling, innovative appropriate technology, and resource conservation while reducing pollution and hazardous wastes. Work with businesses to support ecologically sound economic activity while discouraging pollution, waste, and the use and production of hazardous materials. Promote voluntary simplicity and discourage excessive consumption of material goods. Increase awareness of the local environment and bioregion through activist and educational projects that increase public awareness of ecological sustainability issues. The practical application of these principles has not been really encouraging for many years until literature that promotes the ideas began to appear. It appears in different terminology as per the orientations of the authors. The Authors include Designers, Practitioners, Visionaries and Activists, and the terminology includes everything from neotraditional town planning, pedestrian pockets, reurbanization, post-industrial suburbs, sustainable cities, green cities and eco-communities. Although, the authors orientation has discernible differences in analysis, emphasis, and strategy between the variations as shown in table-1, the eco-city theme can encompass any and all of them. The term eco-city can be applied to existing eco-city or master plan eco-city as affirm by Registers when he explains that there are two ways to go about building eco-cities: changing existing towns or building new ones (Register 1987 ). Citizen organizations and municipal officials in cities and towns around the world have recently started experimenting on this eco-city concept to meet the social and environmental challenges (Roseland 1997, 1998). There is a urgent realization that Urban planning is a significant management tool for dealing with the sustainable urbanization challenges facing 21st century cities. Many cities has applied eco-city planning concept although most of them in small scale. Chattanooga and the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S., Ottawa, Hamilton-Wentworth, and Greater Toronto in Canada, and Curitiba in Brazil are some of the earliest cities where this concept has been successfully applied. Curitiba, a small Brazilian city, is one of the most sustainable cities in the world. It has received international recognition for its integrated transportation and land-use planning, and for its waste management programs. The citys success is due to strong leadership-city officials who focused on simple, flexible, and affordable solutions. Throughout the project, the government conducted regular meeting with citizen so that citizen are involved in the process (Rabinovitch 1996). Emboldened by the success of the above projects, Designer and local government are planning for massive overhaul of traditional way of city planning. They are looking at a way to plan new cities incorporating the entire above concept. China, one of the world most populous countries in the world, faced massive environmental problem. It has emerged as major industrial power but at a great cost. The environment degradation is so severe that it is a cause for concern in china and could have international repercussions. Since pollution know no boundaries. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produce by Chinas coal-fired power plants fall as acid rain on Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo. Suspended particulate over Los Angeles city originates in China, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research (Kahn and Yardley 2007). The Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC) hired Arup in 2005, to design a city which would exclusively use sustainable energy (solar panels, wind turbines and bio-fuels), self-sufficient and reduce energy consumption by 66% in comparision to Shanghai. The eco-city of Dongtan, which is be located on the island of Chongming, not far from Shanghai will be one of the world largest eco-city to provide housing for 500,000 people from rural areas. The Dongtan city will cover about 8,800 hectares which is roughly equal to the size of Manhattan Island. Dongtan will have ecological footprint of 2.2 ha per person by means of a combination of behaviour change and energy efficiency which is very close to limit of sustainability of 1.9 ha set forth by World Wide Fund for Nature. China is also partnering with Singapore to build eco-city in Tianjin based on three harmonies principles which are people-people, people-environment and people-economy(Quek 2008) . The 30-square-kilometer site is a wasted land and water scarcity area which will be built over a period of 15 years at a cost of around 50 billion yuan (S$10 billion). The criteria for selection of site are that it should be wasted land and water scarce area. First, restoring the jiyun river will be top priority for propose new city of 350,000. Renewable energy like solar and wind power, rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment and desalination of sea water are some of the proposal. United Arab Emirates has planned to build the worlds most sustainable city, called Masdar City, initiatives of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. It is an ambitious project which will cost $22 billion to build a new, zero-emissions city for 50,000 residents in Abu Dhabi. The project is launched in 2007 and is designed by British firm Foster + Partners. The propose new city will have new university, the Headquarters for Abu Dhabis Future Energy Company, special economic zones and an Innovation Center. According to the designer, Masdar eco-city is to be constructed in an energy efficient way that depends on large photovoltaic power plant to meet energy needs, which shall be for 2nd phase of the city expansion. The city is a car free, with a maximum walking distance of 200m to the nearest transport link and amenities. The streets are compact to encourage walking and are complemented by a personalised rapid transport system. Due to it compactness, the walkway and streets are shaded creatin g a pedestrian-friendly environment. The city will have wind, photovoltaic farms, research fields and plantations, so that it is entirely self-sustaining. Masdar City will be built in seven phases, the first of which is the Masdar Institute, which is set to be completed in 2010. The citys phases will be progressively built over the next decade with the first phase reaching completion in 2013(Foster and Partner). The idea of a city without any waste, landfill, car, self contained or without any carbon emission seem very desirable for a city but for some sceptic it a utopian dream which will never materialise. Sceptics are questioning whether totally designing a new city is possible incorporating all the eco-city concepts due to time and cost involved. The main weakness for master plan eco-city is the large inputs of energy required to construct an entire, functional city as a long continuous project. They are concern that it might just be a strategy used to shield from environmental criticism while countries like China and UAE continue to grow along the same unsustainable path. However, countries like China and UAE are in a position to fund such kind of projects and if it is successful it will create a precedent for other parts of the world as well. Unfortunately, Dongtan eco-city never materialise. Although, the highest echelon in Chinese official expresses has shown keen interest in the project, the first phase of construction which is to be ready for Shanghai expo 2010 has not even started. The Dongtan eco-city in spite of being a government endeavour has failed to materialise. The Mayor of Shanghai has been sentence to 18 years jail term on corruption charges and abuse of power in 2008(Larson 2009). Sceptics of eco-city are saying that policy makers in China misuse the term of eco-city, to reduce criticism of chinas poor environment records without having any real commitment to the idea. As for Masdar eco-city, work has already started for phase 1. However, sceptics are concern that it might be just an isolated green in the desert where the rest of UAE proceed in the same line of big ecological footprint which is even bigger than United State. They are also apprehensive about the embodied energy used in buildings and infrastructure which are very high. The heavy dependent on technology for personal rapid transport and infrastructure is another issue. Since the technology for personal rapid transport is not fully developed and co-ordinating infrastructure with different agencies is difficult. The concept of building a city from a scratch or retrofitting existing building or redeveloping existing city are some of the burning issues. Designing a new city from scratch permits a greater comprehensive, whole systems approach, and more degrees of freedom than adaptation of an existing city( Fox 2008). On the other hand, the resources and energy needed for new construction of a city will be far greater than redeveloping an existing city. However, the beliefs and movement toward eco-cities has spread worldwide and has taken strong hold among planner. In spite of setback for some project, eco-city has will be main driving force for today cities and tomorrow cities. Eco-cities can be built on existing eco-cities or new master plan eco-city. Most propose master plan eco-city is to be developed in several stages in the next fifteen to forty years. Some of the relevant issue for Eco-city planning concept for developing new city or adapting for existing cities are as follow: Eco-city is based on holistic approach. This integrated approach is hindered by fragmented administrative structures, political rivalries and a disregard for citizen expertise. As in Dongtan case, the surrounding inhabitants are not even consulted and not aware of the projects. Eco-city concept is not really encouraged by policy makers and planner as there are suspicious of the intention as it involve alternative ways of decision-making (e.g. community involvement), the implementation of new technologies (e.g. like Personal rapid transit for Masdar or energy generation ) and new organisational solutions (e.g. multiple use). The additional costs involved and loss of influence are some of their main concerns. Eco-city concept may fail due to lack of political will and commitments on the part of everyone involved. The Initial investments are very high compared to traditional approach to planning which can scarce potential investor. Nevertheless, for successful implementation of eco-city, commitment from individual or Party involved is paramount. Vision, ambition and thinking big in long term are some of the necessary requirement. Besides, there has to be free flow of information and trust between the policy maker and non-policy maker. There has to be creation of win-win situation for everyone to make it successful. There has to be compromise in difference of opinion and unity of alliance. A series of challenges exist for developing cities in many part of the world, particularly in developing countries where rapid economic development will put pressure on cities to accommodate rising population and more infrastructures. It is the place where next megacities are coming up. The designer, public policy maker are committed to developing eco-cities and other types of sustainable communities in the face of climate change, environmental pollution, water shortage, and energy demand. Today utopias vision can become tomorrow reality. Many of the sustainable city emphasize on compact land use, clean transport, waste management, renewable energy( wind turbines and solar energy). Most of eco-city plans are huge and need long term investments. But should we turn away from utopian visions they provoke? Planning completely new cities is expensive, and it is not possible to build all new cities. However, we can strive to improve existing cities when there is an abundance of already established cities and urban areas. In my opinion, I think we should embrace them and work towards searching for improving them. Perhaps, the scales of new master eco-city project need to be smaller so as to have short construction time and less costly. Someday the impressive catchphrases, such as carbon-neutral, zero-waste, and car-free for a city might be reality. References Daly,H. 1973. Toward a Steady-State Economy, Freeman, San Francisco (1973). McDonnell,M.J., Hahs, A.K., Breuste, J.H. 2009, Ecology of a cities and towns: A comparative approach. Cambridge University Press 2009. Rabinovitch, J. 1996. Integrated transportation and land use planning channel Curitibas growth. In World Resources Institute, United Nations Environment Program, United Nations Development Program, The World Bank, World Resources 1996-97: The Urban Environment. New York: Oxford University Press. Roseland, M., 2001, The eco-city approach to sustainable development in urban areas. In: Devuyst D, Hens L, De Lannoy W (eds). How green is the city? Sustainability assessment and the management of urban environments. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 85-104. Register, R. 1987. Eco-City Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. Register, R. 1994. Eco-cities: Rebuilding civilization, restoring nature. In D. Aberley, ed., Futures By Design: The Practice of Ecological Planning. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers. Roseland, M. 1995. Sustainable communities: An examination of the literature. In Sustainable Communities Resource Package. Toronto: Ontario Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. Roseland, M. 1997. Dimensions of the eco-city. CITIES: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning 14,4: 197-202. Roseland, M., ed. 1997. Eco-City Dimensions: Healthy Communities, Healthy Planet. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers. Roseland, M. 1998. Toward Sustainable Communities, Resources Roseland, M., Sustainable Community Development: Integrating Environmental, Economic, and Social Objectives, Progress in Planning, Volume 54 (2), October 2000, pp. 73-132. Roseland,M., Dimension of the eco-city, Cities, Volume 14, Issue 4, August 1997, Pages 197-202 Resilience Alliance (2007) A research prospectus for urban resilience. A resilience alliance initiative for transitioning urban systems towards sustainable futures. Available at http://www. resalliance.org/files/1172764197_urbanresilienceresearchprospe ctusv7feb07.pdf accessed on 29 March 2010 Kenworthy, J.R., The eco-city: ten key transport and planning dimensions for sustainable city development, Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 18, No. 1, 67-85 (2006) World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987. World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future. , Oxford University Press, New York (1987). Dongtan, An Eco-City, edited by Zhao Yan, Herbert Girardet, et was published by Arup and SIIC in February 2006. UN HABITAT, Planning Sustainable Cities: Policy directions. Global Report on Human Settlements 2009. Abridged edition. Gutenberg Press, Malta. Available from http://www.unhabitat.org/grhs/2009. Accessed on 2 march 2010 Kahn, J and Yardley, J. As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes. The New York Times. August 26, 2007. Available on http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html Accessed on 27 march 2010 Dongtan: The worlds first large-scale eco-city? Available on http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/dongtan-the-world-s-first-large-scale-eco-city Quek, Tracy, Spore, China break ground , straits times, China Correspondent. Sep 29, 2008. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/World/Story/STIStory_283867.html. Accessed on 27 march 2010 Larson, Christina. Chinas Grand Plans for Eco-Cities Now Lie Abandoned. Yale e360. 06 Apr 2009. Available on http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2138. Accessed on 28 march 2010 Fox, Jesse. Ecocities of Tomorrow: Can Foster + Partners Masdar City in the U.A.E. be Truly sustainable?. Treehugger. March 4, 2008. Available on http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/masdar-roundtable.php. Accessed on 29 march 2010 Richard Register Author, theorist, philosopher and 35 year veteran of the ecocity movement. Founder of Ecocity Builders and Urban Ecology, and author of Ecocities: Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature.

Social Security Essay -- Welfare Politics Essays

Social Security "On a daily basis senior citizens face a choice between buying food, paying the rent, or buying medicine. Senior citizens slice pills into halves because they can't afford their full prescriptions." (Federal News Service Sept. 2002) Social Security is what keeps many elderly and disabled Americans from being stricken by poverty. Without Social Security in our society 15.3 million elderly would have incomes below the poverty line, however after Social Security was added to the equation only 3.8 million elderly have incomes below poverty. Three-fourths of those elderly people who would have been poor without Social Security were removed from below the poverty line by Social Security. Nearly 90 percent of America's elderly are lifted from poverty by Social Security. Currently nearly 44 million Americans receive benefits under Social Security, making it one of the nation's largest anti-poverty programs existing today. Although many Americans are also not helped by Social Security and linger at the fringes of society because the money is not enough to live in America today, even with Social Security adjusting to inflation. Today, the average Social Security benefit is less than $10,000 a year, and for women the average benefit is closer to $9,000. For most seniors, especially those who live in high-cost areas such as my home state of New Jersey, that's barely enough to maintain even a basic standard of living. Unfortunately 11.9% of Americans who receive Social Security are still below poverty level. It's shocking that over ten-percent of a country of 281 million people can have that much of its citizens in poverty. (http://www.cbpp.org/4-8-99socsec.htm) However c... ...ll. The biggest part of privatization is letting the person decide how to invest their Social Security since it is given to them to be invested, rather than put in a private account after being taken from the person's paycheck as is the current government policy. Americans could then invest in stocks, corporate bonds, government bonds, money market funds, and annuities. The Republican Party then goes further to say there is less risk and makes many more Americans feel "safer". Although there are risks in everything we do. Bibliography  · http://www.cbpp.org/4-8-99socsec.htm  · Socialsecuritychoice.org  · The New York Times Company, October 10, 2002; New York Section: Section A, Page 30, Column 1  · U.S. Newswire Inc., October 8, 2002 Section: National Desk  · Federal News Service Inc., September 24, 2002 Section: Press Conference or Speech

Differences in Gays and Lesbians Essay -- Health, Diseases, HIV/AIDS

Differences in Gays and Lesbians HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death according to the World Health Organization in 2004. Imagine the numbers of infection and death have steadily been increasing over the years, it probably has moved up in ranking. HIV is commonly transmitted by bodily fluids, but it is more highly transmitted when men have sex with men. I will be discussing the different variables that come into effect when gay men and lesbians are transmitted with HIV and how to avoid it. Gay, Bi sexual , and other males that have sex with men are , â€Å"approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by HIV and are the only risk group in which new HIV infections have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s,†(CDC, 2006). In the year of 2006 in the United States , males who have sex with other males where accounted as more than half of the new HIV infections , â€Å"53% ,† (CDC, 2006). Males who have sex with males are known has MSM , MSM with previous known history of injection drug use were an additional, â€Å"4% of new infections,† (CDC, 2006). Towards the end of 2006 , more than half of the 53% were MSM or MSM that used injection drugs, accounted for the population living with HIV in the United States. The beginning of the epidemic in the United States the MSM have been a consistent representative of the biggest percentage of people diagnosed with AIDS and those living with the diagnoses. They sti ll remain the a big part of HIV and are learning different ways in remaining HIV free. The study was able to break up what ethnicity of homosexuals are getting infected and what are the age groups, the age groups are broken into 13-29, then 30-39, and 40-49. First the Caucasians accounte... ...ailable, one can take out penis before ejaculation. Oral sex on the anus should also use a dental damn in order to avoid fluids. Sharing sex toys between lesbians and males can be very risky such as a dildo , it can contain vaginal fluids, semen, faeces or blood on them. Make sure to keep them clean and to clean they very well every time. Also rough sex can lead to bleeding or breaks or cut in the lining of vagina or anus is very risky due to bodily fluids coming out. Mutual masturbation can lead to contraction of HIV if there is a wound on the hand of person performing it. If the sexual partner is an acquaintance the hands and fingers should be examined. For males penis to anus penetration HIV can be avoided by latex condom, there is still risk of infection. Making sure there is lubricant and anus is soft before entering is a good way to avoid bleeding and tares.

Final Paper on Philosophy Essay

In its known usage, the word Reality pertains to something that actually exists and which can be felt by the senses. Metaphysics, a branch of Philosophy, tries to discern reality from illusion, as it investigates on things that are real which could also be just illusions of what people want to be real—ideals. However, what can be sensed from the surroundings does not seem to be just mere illusions, as the body and the mind react to everything it senses. In Philosophy, reality usually pertains to existence since it is contrasted with nonexistence—those unreal—and mere possibilities—could be real but does not necessarily exist, unless discovered. To this date, there are still speculations about the Nature of Reality. It could be possible that people are living on their dream worlds, and not in reality (like in the Matrix movie). However, these people perceive their dream worlds as an equal of reality. Hence, they are still living in reality unless someone drags them out of that reality and into another level of reality, which is more real. 2. On a nutshell, the documentary film â€Å"Zen and Now† by Alan Watts points out that people should live in the Now which is actually the main principle of Zen philosophy. Unnecessary baggage could only hinder the person’s progress, in moving on with his or her life. Personal progress seems to be the undying aim of Zen philosophy as it promotes moving forward rather than shackling the self behind in the past. It also does not entail the idea of expecting what could happen in the future. The primary focus is the Now, neither the past nor the future. The principle of Zen pertains to establishing a harmony with the self before people could establish it with others and with the world. Hence, it should be quite simple to understand what Alan Watts wanted to convey. Living in the now is the best way to live life since it gets rid of the excess baggage that drags the person towards his or her sinkhole—the past. This baggage usually make up of the person’s regrets, basically anything negative about his or her past (events, personalities, and the like). 3. The Zimbardo film is about the Stanford Prison Experiment which was conducted by Philip Zimbardo. Basically, it entailed the role-playing of both prisoners and guards by participants who were screened before being accepted. As the film would show, the participants’ imagination grew out of hand, even with the presence of the research team. It may possibly be an act out of human nature, when these participants were given their respective roles. They acted as if it were the real deal; guards taking out their frustration towards the prisoners and prisoners would plan of escaping or creating riots within the prison. The role-playing seemed to unleash genuine human nature of many participants as some would show sadistic tendencies towards the prisoners. It also seemed that imagination initially played a part on this â€Å"unleashing† but it was more the work of the subconscious that guided these people to completely assume their respective roles. The environment, upon which a person belongs to, can have an astounding effect towards him or her. It can actually alter some of the person’s traits as it is part of human nature to adapt to certain environments. It also influences the person’s perception of his or her reality as some situations and conditions involved in the environment would affect the person. 4. The Milgram experiment entailed the testing of a person’s obedience to an authority who orders would instruct him or her to do unethical things that opposes with the person’s conscience. Many of the experiment’s participants were reluctant of administering a high voltage shock of 450 towards the receiver. As the result would show, the willingness of the participant to administer the 450-volts shock greatly conflicts with his or her conscience. They have to be coerced, threatened, or abused in order to successfully administer the shock; unless it served a higher purpose. Humans do not obey commands that can be classified as unethical, immediately. Human conscience seems to prevent the person to follow the commands without hesitation. The experiment could already be perceived as unethical because it entailed the electro-shocking of the learner by the teacher—the participant. The relationship between authority and conscience was tested in this experiment. Many of the participants were reluctant to follow the commands of the authority figure. They showed signs of disobeying the authority figure since they would believe that what they were tasked to perform is unethical. 5. Steve Pinker’s stand is to refurbish the current English Language that has been ravaged by various media influences, by reclaiming the respect for the English language. Every person is capable to speak grammatically but somehow they would choose to follow the English language that popular culture seems to promote (as mentioned, rockers, surfers, valley girls), as well as the standards proposed by Mavens which he utterly despises. As long as these two would continue to promote their version of English, then relearning proper grammar would be a hard task. The promotion of the proper usage of English will definitely be a tough road ahead for the likes of Pinker, as media and the mavens would continue to influence society. 6. Both the environment and free will play a significant role in shaping a person into what he or she can become in the future. Free will would involve decisions to certain situations that could actually be summoned by the person’s environment. However, free will would ultimately shape the person more significantly than the environment as it is his or her decisions that promote the development of the person. The environment could only play a minor role on the person’s development. It is the person’s free will that shapes his or her future. I believe on free will as the catalyst in shaping the person. Free will enables the person to participate with the environment like making the right decisions for certain situations wherein some are raised by the environment. A person could not and should not rely on fate in order to help him or her progress in life or move forward. It is all the work of free will that allows such change to occur within the person and his or her life. 7. Charlie Manson experienced social regression in his childhood life, as his mother rejected him a few times; at one point, even trading him for a pitcher of alcohol. In prison, he learned the teachings of Scientology (a cult led by L Ron Hubbard) and applied many of it to his own established philosophy that he and his followers believed in. The growing crisis of the racial tension between the whites and blacks made him fear that one day, the blacks will take over the whites’ position in society, upon which believing that the Manson family will then have control over the blacks and their society. The Manson philosophy (coded: Helter Skelter) was as destructive as it can be, as it involved spurring chaos in society. His followers were made to believe that they were following the commands of a Jesus Christ incarnate, as they were forced to do anything he commands. It was not fate that brought him into becoming the person that everyone feared in the past. It was his free will that spurred the numerous murders, ordered his â€Å"family† to commit these killings, and sent him to prison. Apparently, he did not have control over his free will as he did everything that seemed to please him. 8. There would be a noise created as it falls to the ground. However, it would not be heard by anything or anyone as there are no living creatures in the forest; unless one would consider the surrounding trees as living things (frankly speaking, they are). It is for certain that there will be noise created as the tree would come crashing down, but without a creature to hear the noise, then it would not be considered as noise in the first place. Two sides could be drawn up from this question: (1) There is a noise since it fell to the ground hard (I suppose it would be hard), and (2) there would not be a single noise as no living creature heard it. For (1), anything can make a noise, intentionally or unintentionally. So it is impossible for the tree to fall down hard silently. In (2), even if the tree creates a noise while falling down, who would be there to receive the sound and conclude it as a sort of noise? That seems to be the main problem here as most living creatures (if not, all) could hear sound. Then again, noise was created but nothing was able to receive it and conclude that it was noise. 9. The Sensory Transduction involves the detection and translation of any form of stimulus. It involves the five senses, making sensory transduction an indispensable part of people’s lives. It involves how people would interpret what they could sense. It may be possible for people to control the transduction of sensorial vibrations (usually associated with feelings), although it might require immense amounts of concentration and will power. The brain would translate these sensorial vibrations for the benefit of the individual; which he or she later translates into experience by how he or she reacts to the translated sensorial vibrations (by the brain). On the other hand, these sensorial vibrations may travel too fast for the person, enabling instinct to take its course in providing the individual how to react on the given situation; given that he or she already experienced the same condition before. I believe people could control the transduction of sensorial vibrations simply because they could choose what they want to sense. A child would close his or her eyes on the scariest parts of the horror movie simply because he or she does not want to get scared. However, it could also be considered that instinct comes into play when the person would fail to react to these transductions. 10. Universal reality is simply the existence of all things; the totality of time, space, and being. Yes, there is a Universal reality in people’s lives because everything around them exists and it will continue to exist until it is removed from time, space, and being. Basically, Universal Reality makes up everything that people could sense around them inside this chamber. People may be unaware of this fact but the Universal reality does not remain constant forever, as it could experience constant changes; changes that enable people to adapt to an altered perception of that supposed Universal reality. Somehow it is thought that all realities originated from a single source of energy or force, upon which all top religions considered as God—the universal being. Basically, the answer would be that there is an existing Universal reality as it entails everything that people would perceive as real and those that can be unreal—as some individuals could perceive them while others could not. Universal reality is all that exists in people’s realities. Hence, there is such a thing.