Assessment for Learning Essay

The Assessment Reform Group (2002) identifies ten principles to guide classroom practice in assessment for learning . Choose five of particular relevance to your practice and evaluate them in relation to the pupil experience in your school. Assessment for learning (AFL) is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to be and how to achieve their goal. Black and William (1998) in their research on the use of formative assessment in the classroom found ten principles of assessment which guide classroom practice in AFL. (Assessment Reform Group, 2003) The school I work in is a city based multi cultural school. UIS caters for children from all backgrounds and inclusion is of importance to our setting. I work in key stage 1 as a HLTA. I do PPA cover throughout the year 1 classes and I cover when a teacher is away wherever possible. The subjects I teach are the foundation subjects which are History, Geography, R. S and Music. I plan, implement and assess these subjects. In UIS, we believe that effective assessment provides information to improve teaching and learning. To do this in our school, we undertake two different but complementary types of assessment: assessment for learning and assessment of learning Assessment for learning (formative assessment) involves the use of assessment in the classroom to raise pupil achievements. It is based on the idea that pupils will improve most, if they understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim, and how they can achieve this aim i.e. to close the gap in their knowledge. Assessment of learning (summative assessment) involves judging pupils’ performance against national standards. Teachers may make this judgement at the end of a unit of work, a term, a year, or if a key stage. We give our children regular feedback on their learning so they understand what it is that they need to do better. Research has shown that their involvement in the review process raises standards, and that it empowers pupils to take action towards improving their performance. The objectives of this assessment are: to enable our children to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do their work; to help our children recognise the standards to aim for, and to understand what they need to do next to improve their work; to allow teachers to plan work that accurately reflects the needs of each child; to provide regular information for the parents and carers that enables them to support their child’s learning; to provide the head teacher and governors with information that allows them to make a judgement about the effectiveness of the school. To support our teaching, we use the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance, the Primary Framework literacy and mathematics schemes of work based on National Curriculum objectives. We assess children at the end of each unit of work to help us identify each child’s level of attainment. The first principle that I will be discussing is that assessment for learning should be part of effective planning of teaching and learning. The teachers plan their lessons with clear learning objectives. We base these upon the teacher’s detailed knowledge of each child. UIS strive to ensure that all tasks set are appropriate to each child’s ability. Our lesson plans make clear the expected outcomes of each lesson. (Appendix 1) Teachers always share the lessons learning objectives with the children as the lesson begins. They also indicate the way in which the activity is linked to the learning objective, and the criteria against which the work will be judged which is the success criteria. Teachers ask well phrased questions and analyse pupils’ responses to find out what they know, understand and can do, and to reveal their misconceptions. We identify those individual children who do not achieve, or exceed, the expected level for the lesson, and we use this information when planning for the next lesson. Targets are set for end of Key Sage 1 and approved by Governors and the local Authority. UIS set year group targets in Mathematics, Reading and Writing for all our classes, during each academic year. These are expected levels of achievement reached by the end of the year for the majority of children and the more able in class. In Foundation1, staffs know that the next step children need to take is through systematic observation. These are shared with parents and talked through with children where appropriate. In Foundation 2 children have individual reading targets and group writing targets. In Key Stage 1 all children have individual and group targets in reading, writing and maths. Children’s targets are passed over to parents and carers, the progress of each child at the end of each term is reviewed, and revised targets are set. UIS recognise various methods of assessing a child’s learning. The type of assessment that our school make varies from subject to subject. We assess informally throughout the term, based on observations made by teachers or support staff. Every week I annotate assessment of the class I teach on my plan(appendix 2) and at the end of term fill out the assessment sheet. (Appendix 3) These observations are recorded in a variety of temporary formats, such as post-it notes, and are used to inform the Foundation Stage Profile or National Curriculum levels. We take the objectives for individual lessons from the board learning objectives within the school’s curriculum plan. These in turn reflect the demands of the National Curriculum / EYFS. The teachers record the progress of each child against these board objectives. This enables them to make a  judgement about the work each child in relation to national standards and allows them to monitor the progress of each child. Each teacher passes this information on to the next teacher at the end of each year. ` Teachers can review the rate of progress by looking at work in pupils’ folders or exercise books and by the marks in the record books. They can then use this to adjust day to day teaching and plan further work. One way to improve manageability would be to make a note only of those pupils who achieve significantly above or below the expected outcomes of a task’ (QCA, p. 3). The second principle that I will be discussing is how assessment for learning focuses on how students learn. ` If children don’t learn the way we teach†¦ perhaps we should teach the way they learn (Eppig, 1981). ’ The process of learning has to be in the minds of both the learner and the teacher. Assessment for learning helps those pupils, who do not always find learning easy, to make progress. ‘Planning for personalised learning focuses on what teachers need to do ,individually and collaboratively ,to develop assessment for learning and personalise learning by establishing supportive conditions for learning’(AFL,Primary Framework). When we do our assessment of a lesson we have to consider the different styles in which pupils learn. Day to day assessments is an on going and essential part of teaching and learning. Teachers and children continually reflect on how learning is progressing, see where improvements can be made and identify the next steps to take (national strategies standard) . When undertaking assessment of pupils, teachers use their knowledge of individual children in deciding on how to go about assessing the pupil. `Research on grading pupils, shows that children are less motivated and often demoralised when they are continually compared to each other. They need to know the criteria for the next level above ,but they do not need to know what that level is called. (Clarke,2001,p. 74)’ We have to consider the nature and level of support that the pupil receives as part of a normal classroom routine. The tasks and assessments are intended to assess a child’s ability in fair and a comparable way. If a child is a visual learner and for the assessment to be fair to him we adapt the test by having pictures inserted as well as questions. For those children that are auditory learners we read out the questions to the whole class and this enables them to fulfil their learning style. In our setting we have a working wall where the children are able to see what the objective and the success criteria of the lesson are. Appendix 4 On the working wall for the visual learner, we have two eyes to show what the teacher is looking for and ears to show the children to listen. For those children where English is an additional language we have support staff that are available while the test is taking place, so the staff can help where appropriate. Our school aims to be an inclusive school. We actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils, or groups of pupils. We achieve educational inclusion by continually reviewing what we do, by monitoring data, and through asking ourselves questions about the performance of these individuals and groups of pupils. In our setting there is a boy that is very able but his writing skills are very poor. His fine and gross motor skill are underdeveloped so to get the best out of him, he does all his work on the computer which is then assessed. Children that are on the S. E. N . register have their own I. E. P. ’s to work from with their allocated support staff, once their target is achieved they move on to the next target from their P-scales. The third principle that I would like to discuss is that assessment for learning should be recognised as central to classroom practice. Tasks and questions should prompt learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. In our setting assessment for learning is recognised as central to classroom practice. In the Foundation unit the teachers usually plan the lesson with the ideas given by children. On a Friday afternoon the teacher has circle time with her class where she starts off with a basic topic and the children then give ideas on what they would like to do around the topic. In considering the ideas of the children it prompts the learners to learn and helps with the ongoing of assessments. I did a lesson on electricity in a year2 class which I was covering . In order for me to assess the children I asked a lot of open questions which prompted them to answer. The open questions gave the children the opportunity and encouraged them to think beyond the literal. ‘Research on wait-time showed that teachers need to leave five seconds after asking children a question, to allow them to respond. This is the optimum time it takes to process the question to formulate the answer (Clarke, 2001. p. 87). After having watched the classroom experiment I was able to take on board the idea of waiting time which I now religiously apply. ` Increasing waiting time after asking questions proved difficult to start with due to my habitual desire to â€Å"add† something almost immediately after asking the original question. The pause after asking the question was sometimes â€Å"painful. † It felt unnatural to have such a seemingly â€Å"dead† period, but I persevered. Given more thinking time, students seemed to realize that a more thoughtful answer was required ‘(D e r e k, Century Island School). The negative side to the waiting time is that some teachers wait for two seconds before they either ask another child or answer the question themselves . Children often then do not try to think of a response, because they know that the answer would be given or another child would be asked to answer. The lesson was very inter-active I was able to assess whether my success criteria was achieved. When I handed the worksheets to the children I had asked them to write the learning objective below the date and to refer to it when they were doing there work. The fourth principle that I would be discussing is that learners should receive constructive guidance about how to improve their learning. `An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information that teachers and their students can use as feedback in assessing themselves and one another and in modifying the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes â€Å"formative assessment† when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs (Black and William, 1989). Most learners are curious to know how they have done in a task . `Feedback is sometimes seen as part of a behaviourist approach to learning ,where it is part of the sequence stimulus-response –reinforcement (Wragg,2001,p. 27). The aim of marking in our setting is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. Whilst doing my researchÃ'Ž I found out that Nancy from Riverside school says that her marking has developed from comments with targets and grades, which is the school policy, to comments and targets only. Pupils do work on targets and corrections more productively if no grades are given. Marking is an integral part of assessment and target setting and the outcomes inform short, medium and long term planning. Its rationale is to enable every child to achieve their full potential. It is recognised that one to one oral feedback is most valuable for young children. It should remind the child of the learning intention and emphasise the positive aspects of the child’s practical or recorded work. ` Various research studies have concluded that feedback is most useful when it focuses on the learning intention of the task rather than other features of the work’(Clarke,2001,p. 50). In our setting the minimal response for all written work is that it should be initialled and dated to acknowledge that it has been seen. Maths work is usually ticked if correct and marked with a bullet point to signify that the answer needs to be checked. In UIS traffic lights are used to indicate whether the child has achieved the success criteria for the task. Green-learning objective met, orange-a few examples of learning objective having been met, red-learning objective not met, need to see the teacher. (Appendix 5). When a child meets the learning objective the work may be underlined or highlighted in some way to acknowledge the child’s success. Smiley faces are used to indicate good effort. Whilst doing my research and talking to other teachers in school I found out that each child gets a detailed feedback of their work at regular intervals. This detailed feedback could be oral or written and should be specific and related to the learning intention set for the particular piece of work. Feedback needs to indicate areas where improvements or next step targets are to focus. It is important to allow children the time to reflect on the feedback and make improvements to a specific piece of work. The fifth principle that I would like to discuss is assessment for learning develop learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self managing. `In practice, peer assessment turns out to be an important complement to self-assessment. Peer assessment is uniquely valuable because students may accept criticisms of their work from one another that they would not take seriously if the remarks were offered by a teacher’(Black and William. p. 6). Peer assessment and self-assessment is much more than children marking their own or each other’s work. To improve learning, it must be an activity that engages children with the quality of their work and helps them reflect on how to improve it. Peer assessment enables children to give each other valuable feedback so they learn from and support each other. It adds a valuable dimension to learning: the opportunity to talk, discuss, explain and challenge each other enables children to achieve beyond what they can learn unaided. Peer assessment helps develop self-assessment, which promotes independent learning, helping children to take increasing responsibility for their own progress. `Research shows that if self-evaluation is linked with the learning intention of a task, children’s progress, persistence and self-esteem is improved(Black and William,1998). The development of peer assessment and self-assessment takes planning, time, patience and commitment. When children don’t understand the intended learning outcomes they find it difficult to move beyond superficial criteria related to neatness and spelling. By using a range of strategies and by dedicating time to allow children to reflect on and discuss their learning teachers can develop children’s peer assessment and self-assessment skills. ` Independent learners have the ability to seek out and gain new skills, new knowledge and new understandings. They are able to engage in self-reflection and to identify the next steps in their learning. Teachers should equip learners with desire and the capacity to take charge of their learning through developing the skills of self-assessment (Assessment Reform Group, 2002)’. UIS trains children to use the traffic light system to indicate directly on their work to what extent they feel they have achieved the learning objective of their given task and how secure they feel they are in their learning. This helps the teacher to identify if a child is having any difficulty and this also give the children confidence in seeking help. The negative aspects of using the traffic light system at right at the end of the lesson is that some children who are over confident tend to rank their achievement very high and those children that have low confidence tend to under estimate themselves. Teachers in our setting also encourage children use the thumbs up that is when a child is confident they have achieved what was expected of them, thumbs sideways which indicates that they are half way there in understanding the objective ,but could achieve more and thumbs down which indicates that the child does not really understand and needs a bit more help. In order to develop pupil’s skills with self assessing their work we use prompt questions which the children can think about when reviewing their work. Pupils need to be able to assess their own progress to become more independent learners. ` One of the reasons peer assessment is so valuable is because children often give and receive criticisms of their work more freely than in the traditional teacher/child interchange. Another advantage is that the language used by children to each other is the language they would naturally use, rather than school language’ (Black et al, 2003). We regularly do peer marking which I find very helpful indeed. A lot of misconceptions come to the fore, and we then discuss these as we are going over the work. I then go over the peer marking and talk to pupils individually as I go round the room. Peer evaluation works really well because children learn from each other where they have gone wrong and how to put it right. The advantage of peer assessment is that children get to work with different children and they get a wide idea on how the pupil has achieved their success criteria. Some children assume that the more able children never find anything difficult, but this process makes them aware that all learners find some aspects difficult. After having done all my research I have found that the most important aspect of assessment is to have the learning intention and success criteria in focus. In UIS, with the self –evaluation strategies that we use it develops children’s awareness of their learning needs as well as open doors for teachers to get a better understanding of the pupil. Some teachers tend to give feedback to pupils on areas that are not of much relevance to the objective. It takes a while to get into the habit of giving appropriate and relevant feedback but the strategy is simple, make sure that the learning intention is mentioned first and then talk about the secondary features. If it is necessary to mention the secondary features, then say it in a very low tone to the pupil concerned. `As the research demonstrates, formative assessment makes a significant difference to children’s progress –in their ability to be confident, critical learners, to achieve more than ever before and in raising their self-esteem. In a world of continuing pressure, it is good to know that we are making a real difference to children’s lives. (Clarke, 2001, p139). ’Pupils enjoy finding that other children often have the same thoughts, share similar feelings on a particular subject, and have similar problems or successes whilst doing self-evaluation assessment. Ofsted had done a survey on 43 schools and found that 7 of these schools were inadequate in their assessment for learning. `Where assessment for learning had had less impact, the teachers had not understood how the approaches were supposed to improve pupils’ achievement. In particular, they used key aspects of assessment for learning, such as identifying and explaining objectives, questioning, reviewing pupils’ progress and providing feedback without enough precision and skill. As a result, pupils did not understand enough about what they needed to do to improve and how they would achieve their targets. Teachers did not review learning effectively during lessons; opportunities for pupils to assess their own work or that of their peers were infrequent and not always effective’(Ofsted). Michael Fullan also suggests that many educational innovations have been frustrated by the inherent but understandable ‘conservatism’ of teachers. He suggests that real change will only occur where teacher beliefs about teaching and learning have been significantly altered. Education is littered with examples of innovations that have either failed or only been partially implemented because teachers weren’t convinced the change was necessary and would result in real improvement. The result has been that they merely modify their practice at the edges and then abandon the change after a while because it ‘didn’t work for them’. More effective use of assessment, particularly formative assessment, will require many teachers to reconsider their approach to teaching and learning and to re-evaluate their working practices’(Weeden,2002,p. 127). Therefore if schools and teachers want to make changes they have to have the subject knowledge, be committed and dedicated to continually re-examine their teaching styles. Reference Assessment Reform Group (2002) Assessment for Learning: Ten Principles [online] Available from:www. assessment-reform-group. org. uk [Accessed 19th December 2010]Ã'Ž Black, P. ,and Wiliam,D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan Vol 80, 139-149. [Accessed: 19th December 2010] Clarke,S. (2001). Unlocking formative Assessment . London: Hodder and Stoughton Clarke,S. (2005)Formative Assessment in Action London:Hodder and Stoughton Eppig, P. (1981) Education by design –used in the UK as Critical Skills program by Success@Bristol (Bristol Education Action Zone) Weeden,P. Winter,J. Broadfoot,P. (2002). Assessment-What’s in it for Schools. [online] London: Routledge Falmer. p. 127. Available from: http://northampton. np. eblib. com [Accessed:27th December 2010] Wragg,E. C (2001). Assessment and Learning in the Primary School [online]. London: Routledge Falmer. p. 27. Available from: http://northampton. np. eblib. com [Accessed:27th December 2010] QCA (1999) Keeping Track,Qualification and Curriculum Authority. http://nationalstrategies. standards. dcsf. gov. uk/primary/primaryframework Appendices 1. Lesson plan 2. Annotated Lesson Plan 3. Assessment sheets 4. working wall 5. Traffic lights.

Television Does More Harm Than Good

Television does more harm than good When the TV was invented, it impressed the whole world, so everyone since then seeks to buy a one. In the past TV was only has less than ten channels and it were locked in the latest hours of night. But now there is thousands or millions of satellite channels are broadcasted on TV. As a result the number of TV owners has risen until 98% of American households have a TV set and the same is true of most developed countries.In fact, television channels should be boycotted by the public because most of these channels broadcast valueless programs and sometimes telecast programs that have a negative effect on the spectator and society, so television does more harm than good. Supporter of television argue that TV plays an important role in the educational field by presenting science, geography, history and news programs. It also presents useful programs for children like â€Å"Sesame Street†.However TV viewing is essentially a passive activity that discourage critical thinking as it shows one side of view and does not show the other opposing views, so this makes people use to fanatic for their opinions and do not listen to other points of view. As a result of continuous actions the watcher does not have much time to think of what he watch, so most viewers especially children watch television indiscriminately. Unfortunately this matter does not stop on that, there is a research suggests that TV can slow down young children's speech development.There is a link between literacy problems and frequent TV viewing; similarly there is a link between TV and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Those in favor of TV claim that, it is an innocent form of entertainment, especially for housebound elderly people and the physically handicapped. On the other hand television interferes with conversation, for example visitors often end up staring at â€Å"the box in the corner† instead of programs that spread fear and depression by focusing on violence, war, crime and various disasters.There is some evidence that seeing on-screen violence makes us less sensitive to the real thing. Proponents of TV sometimes suggest that TV makes the world a small village as it closes the gap between different nations and cultures, for example satellite TV news reaches people simultaneously all around the world, as result cultures approached from each other, so the understanding and respect rose between them.However the satellite channels are controlled by powerful western corporations and the culture of the programs is predominantly North America, European or Australian, so they service the interests of these corporations, as a result of that there is not an equal sharing of information, opinions or cultural expressions. Television is often used as a propaganda tool way to enter everyone's home and brain, so the powerful western corporations used it in a very subtle way to encourage materialism by developing a desire in developing cou ntries for Coca-Cola, Big Macs, fast cars and western fashion.In conclusion, television has become a tool in the hand of the western world by which they can control the rest world, so everyone should stop for seconds before switching on a TV and think of what he is coming to do, he must deduce that TV viewing accelerate the process of â€Å"Coca-colonization†, destroys the art of conversation, healthy, optimistic view of life and turns people into unthinking, illiterate â€Å"couch potatoes†. Just a drug addict must be fought in order to avoid an early death, so the world must switch off its TVs if it wishes to produce active and intelligent citizens.

Polysystem Theory Essay

The book consists of a set of articles in which the centre of attention is the notion of Polysystem. The article The Function of the Literary Polysystem in the History of Literature is mostly connected with the notion of Polysystem. Language is heterogeneous, so it is labeled as a polysystem, where highly codified stratification prevails, any minor move from one stratum to another may be taken as a major offense. Polysystem is subdivided into â€Å"canonized† (usually considered â€Å"major† literature: those kinds of literary works accepted by the â€Å"literary milieu† and usually preserved by the community as part of its cultural heritage) and â€Å"non-canonized† literature (those kinds of literary works more often than not rejected by the literary milieu as lacking â€Å"aesthetic value† and relatively quickly forgotten, e. g. detective-fiction, sentimental novels, westerns, pornographic literature, etc. ). Translation plays a great role in Polysystem and in the synchrony and diachrony of a certain literature. Epigonic† literature is kind of a literature where diachronic shifts create a situation in which norms previously known as dominant become peripheral within â€Å"the new phase of literature,† but they are still in use. Canonized literature tries to create new models of reality and attempts to illuminate the information it bears, non-canonized literature has to keep within the conventionalized models which are highly automatized. In synchrony, canonized and non-canonized systems manifest two various diachronic phases, the non-canonized overlapping with a previous canonized phase. The oppositions between the various literary systems create an ideal literary and cultural balance within the literary polysystem. This is the only way for non-canonized literature to settle in literature when canonized literature succeeds in gaining ground. The article The Relations between Primary and Secondary Systems in the Literary Polysystem distinguishres between primary and secondary systems – to what extent a certain system or type plays a major role within the literary polysystem. The Polysystem hypothesis gives us possibility to a more adequate analysis of intra- and interrelations. It is also a functional concept. It is concerned with dynamic complexes. The functions it may detect are conditioned by complex inter- and intrarelations within a hypothesized multileveled system. â€Å"Primary† type: the pre-condition for its functioning is the discontinuity of established models. Change occurs only when a primary model takes over the center of a system. Sometimes we can have the process of â€Å"secondariztion’ of the primary, what means that new elements are retranslated, into the old terms, inconsequence imposing previous functions on new carriers but not changing the functions. The Polysystem Hypothesis Revisited. Many scholars, including Evan-Zohar considered that literature within the historical context can be conceived of as a polysystem, that is a stratified whole, where the various strata function as systems. But it became clear that no literature really overfunctions as a non-stratified whole and if the correlation between the strata within it disintegrates for some reason, a sort of stagnation takes over. The result of such process is that the system collapses. The methodological hypothesis which presumed literature to be a polysystem could now be reversed and reformulated in terms of a universal: all literary systems strive to become polysystemic. The article Universals of Literary Contacts distinguishes source literature (SLt) and target literature (TLt) and draws the difference between two major types of literary contact: first – contacts between relatively established systems which are con-sequently relatively independent (for instance the situation of English and French languages over the past two years); and second – contacts between non-established or fluid systems which are partly or wholly dependent upon some other system(s) – these are the cases with Ukrainian and Russian, for instance. Some examples of possible universals of literary contact are provided: – Literatures are never in non-contact, because of some social reasons. These contacts are the rule rather than the exception. – A prestigious literature may function as a literary superstratum for a TLt. – Literature may be selected as a SLt when it is dominant due to extra-literary conditions, for example the political domination of English and French during colonial periods. – Contacts are also favored/non-favored by a general attitude of a potential TLt. Due to some nationalistic view, works of some writers could not be possible considered as appropriate for the national literature. – We may observe interference when a TLt cannot resist it or has a need for it – is when a certain type evolved in a certain literature is lacking in another, for example, thrillers and detective stories undoubted-ly migrated from English literature to practically all the others. – Items are not transplanted from a SLt to a TLt, but â€Å"needs† determine and guide the selection and the function also changes. – A TLt tends to behave like a secondary system with respect to a SLt. This means that a TLt, under the conditions mentioned above, makes contact with a diachronic phase of a SLt which is wholly or partly outdated, and disregards a contemporary SLt phase. Interference in Dependent Literary Polyssytems. A literature may become dependent only if it is weak. But this â€Å"weakness† means the inability of a system to function by confining itself to its home inventory only and the extreme of such a state would then denote a situation where a literature can function only because it has the opportunity of using some other literature. Russian literature was for Hebrew as a part of it on all levels, but due to the equivalency policy adopted by Bialik and his contemporaries, there was a very strong illusion of domestic â€Å"originality. † When the condition of weakness is not marked, even physical contacts and pressures may not result in interference; when it is marked, a state of dependency is very likely, especially if simultaneously accompanied by accessible contacts even in the absence of physical contact and pressures. The next article Russian and Hebrew: The Case of a Dependent Polysystem first of all tries to show ways in which Yiddish and Hebrew developed through the centuries. The fact that many Jews lived among Slavs is of high importance because this is the reason why the language was influenced by European languages. Only in the 19th century the great development of both languages began. This period is called â€Å"The Revival Period. † The most noticeable is the influence of Russian languge. Russified items penetrated most easily into domains where the Hebrew repertoire was weakest. Hebrew separated from Yiddish only in Palestine. The last article Israeli-Hebrew Literature: A Historical Model is about historical interrelation of Hebrew and Yiddish literature. The first period of the development can be characterized by its multiterritorial base (if the writer lives outside his country his works can be aknowledged of the country he lives in – this was common for Hebrew) , and its existence as a defective polysystem within symbiotic structures, which is the function of the first one (for instance Hebrew which influenced some other languages, mainly, where Jews lived). Due to some political reasons Israeli-Hebrew Literature didn’t have a stable centre. Only in 19th century it moved to Palestine, however a lot of publishing houses were situated in all over the world. Yiddish literature functioned for a long time as Hebrew’s non-canonized system, but after the separation the audience increased. Translations are very important in Israel Literature, because they are also a part of Israel Literature, mostly these are the translations from English, German and Russian Literatures. Despite all the pressure that Israeli underwent, the literature develops as well as researches on Translation Studies.

Midterm (R) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Midterm (R) - Essay Example The basic purpose of geographical value judgment is the implication of qualitative thinking to handle future geographical events. It is necessary for students to predict future events and have a clear view of what geographical events could occur in the future. Centripetal and centrifugal forces act in opposition to each other with centripetal force pulling creating a state of stability and centrifugal force destabilizing the state. The centripetal force binds the citizens together by creating this state of stability. The basic aim of nationalism is to promote and create cohesion in the state by creating allegiance and accepting the goals. Nationalism brings the people of a country and a nation together whereas getting true nation is rare in this world e.g. the national Canadian railway is a symbol of nationalism in the country. Also, we can say that institutions on small scale create a sense of unity in the nation by teachings of cohesion and commission. The promotion of social welfare and development of a nation’s culture is their responsibility. For a nation to be united, it should have one language. Different languages spoken by the people of one nation keep them from communicating with each other and create a sense of unrest in the community. This communication barrier may cause misunderstandings and raise conflicts which would lead to civil unrest and disruption of peace e.g. Quebec and Francophone are still fighting for their independence from Canada because of civil unrests due to different dialects and languages. Religion on the other hand is an important factor to create unity and allegiance in a nation. We can also say that different religions in a same country can lead to a state of competition and cause destabilization in the country. In the time of USSR, politicians worked in favor atheism to remove religion as a factor which might lead to disruption of peace and violence in the country

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Financial Management - Essay Example real side of facts, however, the corporate goal of shareholder’s wealth maximization does not cause any negative or positive effect to the weight given to the ethical consideration given by market participants (Donald & Nelson, 2000). This paper is therefore meant to research whether the two goals of business ethics and value maximization are conflicting or not. It remains a traditional ideology where it was argued that wealth maximization is inconsistent with ethical behavior in a business. It has often been suggested that the people’s desire for value maximization in general and shareholders’ wealth maximization directly oppose the ethical concepts such as honesty, fairness and corporate social responsibility, or the good of the society. In maximizing the firm’s corporate value, an ethical firm may do this by maximizing the stock prices. In this way, the firm makes the stock as desirable as possible to investors. As we know, market prices can reflect ethics just as they can reflect other valuable items in the market such as cash flows. Investors who care about ethical issues therefore will the stock of unethical firm undesirable. This will make its stock price become lower than that of an ethical firm (Smith, 1992). In our day to day life, if a manager would like to hire someone to perform unethical work for certain ill-gain in the business, they will have to part with much more pay than if they hired someone to do some ethical duty for them which will gain the business positively. From this, it is evident that one cannot get into any unethical behavior with an aim of maximizing the corporate value of the firm. One of the ethical behaviors of managers in a business is that of corporate social responsibility. However, a firm that involves in corporate social responsibility lowers its ability to maximize its corporate value. For instance, a firm would like to donate some amount of money to a non-profit making organization to support a certain cause. By

Meeting the Customer Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Meeting the Customer Needs - Essay Example ..8 The relation between the operation management and customer satisfaction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8 Chapter 3: Understanding the gaps within the services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...9 5 Gap Model†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..10 Chapter 4: Assessment of the customer needs (Research work)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 Questionnaire design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 Chapter 5: Measuring the customer expectations from the survey†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......17 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.18 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....19 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..22 Abstract: The market is incomplete if the customers are missing. The customers are the revenue generators for the business houses. For any business empire whether it is small or big, the primary focus is how to retain their existing customers and h ow to acquire new customers. To retain the existing customers the in-depth understanding of the customer needs is very important. ... Customer needs are the base of any business. However, the most important question is how to know the specific needs of the customers related to some specific products? The marketing research plays the vital role in this case. The survey design and the questionnaire design play the major role to identify the customer needs. Through the proper data collection and analyzing the data are the most appropriate way to find out the customer needs and to satisfy the needs accordingly. In this particular case the target organization is the McDonald’s. Introduction: Maintaining a great service quality and the product quality are all about understanding the requirements of the customers and delivering the tailor-made services to satisfy them. Understanding the customer behavior is another very important factor to be focused on. However, these are the basic rules to delivering satisfying services. The measurement of the steps taken towards the customer satisfaction is also very important. The primary and secondary data are important to support the outcome of the services related to the customer satisfaction. In regards to this research, the secondary data used are gathered from the Internet, journals and other publications in order to get basic information about the nature of the influences of the customer satisfaction. And the primary data are collected from the survey made from the sample size of 50 people selected randomly. McDonald’s has been taken as the target brand in this case. The whole paper is stratified into five chapters and each chapter has its own relevance to prove the importance of the customer satisfaction to win the customers. Chapter 1: The brief about the selected organization (McDonald’s): McDonald’s is

Comparison and Contrast Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparison and Contrast Assignment - Essay Example With the references to real events, the aforementioned story and â€Å"Everyday Use† by Alice Walker will be compared and contrasted in this paper. â€Å"The Lottery† revolves around the theme of being in a difficult state. Sometimes, it is not only the consequences of a person’s actions that bring them in difficult situations but also includes other factors like one’s environment. Sometimes, one may feel he has been hand-picked to be in a difficult situation like Tessie Hutchinson in the story who unfortunately got the marked paper that led to her being stoned to death. â€Å"Everyday Use† on the other hand, takes on the theme of the importance of legacy against necessity. To the protagonist, the old hand-sewn quilts are considered sentimental while to the antagonist, they are potential valuables that could make her a fortune. The stories both revolve around observable real-life events. The second story though could be taken quite ambiguously because it is so realistic it could be understood literally but it could also be understood symbolically. Jackson’s characters include the whole village while Walker limits her characters to only four people. Both authors reveal their characteristics of their role players by describing them and quoting their words. Other attributes of the characters are shown through how they acted and their facial expressions and emotions. Jackson’s protagonist is a developing character who first appeared in the story as an excited character who just came from her dishes with her apron, talking and explaining her day to Mrs. Delacroix. Then, she turned to be a fearful character who became hysterical when her family was chosen from the crowd and became more so when she took the marked paper indicating she was to be the one stoned to death. Walker’s protagonist is also a developing character who is shown in most of the story as a

Critical analysis of the film The Last Samurai Essay

Critical analysis of the film The Last Samurai - Essay Example While Zwick might have worked on the movie with due respect to the Eastern culture, however, some of the critics view it in a different perspective. For example Denby (2003) found it as â€Å"cultural vanity implicit in the idea of a white guy’s becoming a superb Eastern warrior.† Similarly Tierney (2006) also found â€Å"themes of whiteness† and embedded western superiority in the movie. However, according to Ebert (2003), the movie depicts the story of an ancient culture and philosophy that is superior to modernization exported by America in the name of development. The movie beautifully recreates the magic of glorious Japanese past with astounding designs, sets, action sequences and costumes. However, it has its own set of problems. Many of the conflicts and actions appear to have been recycled from other films, and the overall trajectory of the story is predictable. According to Ebert (2003) the movie follows the old tried and tested formula that the Western hero can easily learn the local culture and even beat the best of their warriors in a matter of few months. Here the movie draws parallels with "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dances with Wolves," movies in which Westerner heroes appreciate Arabs and Indians. It is very much predictable from the beginning of the movie that the western hero will not only find that the Japanese are not cruel but also be infatuated by their culture. Algrens transformation from an alcoholic to a disciplined person is also on expected lines. After he is taken as a prisoner and develops a bonding with his captor can be guessed by any movie goer. Thus the movie doesn’t throw any new elements. According to Said (1994), during the period of European imperialism, while depicting Eastern societies, Western scholars were prejudiced and presented Orientals as inferiors. The reason for such portrayal could be European countries’ status as colonizers. He has termed this concept as

Pricing and Distribution in Marketing Decisions Research Paper

Pricing and Distribution in Marketing Decisions - Research Paper Example In reference to Blue Mountain Coffee Company and Starbucks Coffee, pricing and distribution strategies will help them acquire these useful utilities for their efficient functioning. This paper aims at contrasting the pricing and distribution strategies of these two products. Though the two companies produce the same products, they are not competitors because they serve different markets. Pricing Strategies The worst mistake that can easily collapse a company lies in decision making that concerns pricing strategies. Wrong pricing decisions are almost a guarantee on damaging the company as well as eroding services tot the community and customers (Florissen, et. al, 2001). In many cases, manager’s cut-off prices so as to fend off new market rivals and then, they launch price wars that are full fledged hoping to compete attackers and hence emerging victorious. At any rate, this is just hope because reality is normally very different. For example, Blue Mountain Coffee Company that mainly specializes in exporting its products bases its decisions on pricing in reference to international market prices. In pricing, companies should take into account the competitor’s prices, cost to serve, switching rates, and customer value in order to ensure profitability. By evaluating these four factors, the two companies can make more reasonable decisions on their pricing decisions in increased competition faces. Instead of blindly undercutting attackers, the companies can safely charge commercial accounts and private customers a premium that will secure their business, do away with costly price wars, as well as preserve the market. To compete against its rivals, the company has established higher prices for its products because they are high in quality and hence, they have won consumer loyalty and captured a wide market in Japan. On the other hand, Starbucks Coffee, that mainly targets the local market, sets prices that will help it acquire a larger market share in th e local market than its competitors. Price reduction for its products is however profitable only in the short run but in the long run, they lead to heavy losses. Good pricing strategy should ensure that the company gets enough profits and is also able to meet its costs. Therefore, though price reduction is important in trying to capture the market or compete out rivals, such decisions should be carefully sought. As Bertini & Luc explains, reducing prices below the cost of production is very risky to the company as it can easily collapse the entire business. Cutting prices means that a company will have to work harder for less because you have to sell more units of the product for the same revenue. However, cutting prices only increases profits when you produce more units and increase sales (Bertini & Luc). Product Distribution Starbucks distributes its products to local consumers while Blue Mountain Coffee Company distributes its products to an international market in Japan. Anonymo us explains different modes of product distribution. For Starbucks Coffee, which distributes its products locally, the coffee can be sold to large scale wholesalers, who then sell it to Retailers. The retailers sell it directly to consumers or to small scale retailers who then sell it to consumers (Anonymous). However, the distribution mode for Blue Mountain Cof

Biology - Down's Syndrome Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Biology - Down's Syndrome - Term Paper Example Despite the alleged incurable nature of Down’s syndrome, it is possible that the fields of pharmacology and medicine have surely come up with ways to alleviate its symptoms as well as to be able to learn further about the disease. In fact, research through the medical and scientific databases on the latest scientific breakthroughs concerning Down’s syndrome resulted in the discovery of five journal articles relating the most recent breakthroughs on the disease. Review of Literature The study of Bradeau et al. conducted in Paris, France in 2011 is entitled â€Å"Specific targeting of the GABA-A receptor ÃŽ ±5 subtype by a selective inverse agonist restores cognitive deficits in Down syndrome mice.† Based on the results of this study, one reason why there is an altered brain function among individuals with Down’s syndrome is that there is a chemical imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. One inhibitory transmitter, GABA or gamma-aminobutyric acid seems to occur in large amounts in the nervous system of Down’s syndrome patients and thus causes a relatively great amount of inhibition of certain cognitive functions among them. The study then utilized GABA-A antagonists in order to treat such chemical imbalance and the result was positive. As a result, the subjects of the experiment, Ts65Dn mice, or mice with Down’s syndrome, demonstrated restored cognitive functions. The specific chemical GABA-A antagonist, which is a ?5-subtype or ?5IA, was used to restore memory and learning functions n rats. The ?5IA subtype of GABA-A antagonist is different from its other subtypes because it is non-convulsant, which means to say that the other subtypes may cause convulsions if tested on humans. Other subtypes also caused certain changes in the tissues of the brain, liver and kidney of the experimental mice, but ?5IA did not. The study of Braudeau et al. was particularly important to the medical community as well as to families of Down’s syndrome patients because this new particular chemical or drug – GABA-A antagonist ?5IA subtype – may actually improve learning and memory problems among patients suffering from Down’s syndrome. Nonetheless, the drug has not yet been tested in humans for fear that although it may not cause convulsions in rats, it may still do so in humans. Moreover, the study was unique in itself because although it has been known that Down’s syndrome pa tients suffer from imbalanced inhibition and excitation at the cellular level, there had been no non-convulsant drug that promised any good cure until now. Another study, the one conducted by Perluigi and Butterfield in Kentucky, USA in 2011 is entitled â€Å"Oxidative Stress and Down Syndrome: A Route toward Alzheimer-Like Dementia.† This study involved the discovery of the physiological causes of the almost natural development of Alzheimer’s Disease among Down’s syndrome patients as early as their middle age. Although there are already genetic physical and mental abnormalities in a newborn child with Down’s syndrome, these pathological problems get worse as the patient gets older and thus may have a great chance of developing into Alzheimer’s Disease later on in life. The study found out that the causes of such development were â€Å"altered free radical metabolism† and â€Å"impaired mitochondrial function† (Perluigi & Butterfield, 2012). These two cellular processes,

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Essay Example for Free

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Essay This measurable activity can be detected by a Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, machine. The machine created a powerful magnetic field which aligned the hydrogen atoms in the body. Radio waves are used to alter the alignment of this magnetization which causes the atoms to emit a weak radio signal that can be detected by the machine. The subject lies very still in the MRI machine, essentially a giant cylinder. A movement of more than 3 mm could render the image useless so absolute stillness is a necessity. The test can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours and during that time the subject will undergo various stimulants designed to alter the neural activity (MRI 2007). In regards to detecting deceit, the subject would undergo a series of questions while the neural activity is monitored. At least two companies have been established to use fMRI for lie detection purposes, No Lie MRI, Inc. and Cephos Corporation (FRMI 2007). They represent the latest in scientific achievement for detecting the truthfulness of people. Since this technique is so new, there will obviously be questions to its reliability. However, these questions will work themselves through as more research is done on this particular topic. Unfortunately, several court cases may have determined that this technique may not be admissible in court. On the federal side the court case Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals changed how scientific â€Å"expert† evidence was determined to be admissible. According to D. Arthur Kelsey, the â€Å"pre-Daubert courts allowed scientific testimony when the underlying scientific theory or basis of opinion was generally accepted as reliable within the expert’s particular field† (Kesley 2006). This concept, as noted by Wikipedia entries, is known as the Frye test. It came about in 1923 in the case Frye v. United States which asked if the evidence was relevant and generally accepted. Modern critics complained that the Frye test was antiquated and did not allow for new, cutting-edge scientific evidence to be presented (Frye 2007). Other critics were concerned that if the evidence was allowed purely on relevance alone, too much scientific evidence include so called â€Å"junk science† would result. The Frye test was simply too simple for it to be used in the complex, modern world. An overhaul of that standard was needed. One man pushing for reform was Peter Huber. He wrote a book called Galileo’s Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom. The book asserted that junk science was destroying the American courtroom. His theory was based on two premises. First, the average juror was too stupid to understand what is and what is not junk science. The second premise was the result of junk science discourages companies from introducing better products in fear or being sued (Daubert 2007). In 1993, the Supreme Court revisited this issue to answer the modern problem of new scientific evidence. The ruling gave birth to the Daubert standard. This standard is based on two aspects: relevancy and reliability. The question of relevancy asks whether the evidence has anything to do with the case. Although some expert testimony can be related to a case, it may not necessarily be relevant to it. To determine whether evidence is considered reliable, the Supreme Court determined that the conclusions of the expert witness must have been derived using the scientific method (Daubert 2007). To meet the standard of the scientific method, four things are needed. First, the test or theory must be falsifiable, refutable, and testable. This is also called empirical testing. Second, it must be â€Å"subjected to peer review and publication. † Third, it must have a â€Å"known or potential error rate and the existence and maintenance of standards concerning its operation. † Finally, the theory and technique is generally accepted by a relevant scientific community† (Daubert 2007). Technically speaking the Frye test contained the last aspect of the scientific method, but it failed to include the first three. To summarize, the Daubert standard asks five questions from every new technique to determine if it is admissible. First, â€Å"has the technique been tested in actual field conditions (and not just in a laboratory)? † Second, â€Å"has the technique been subject to peer review and publication? † Third, â€Å"what is the known or potential rate of error? Is it zero, or low enough to be close to zero? † Fourth, â€Å"do standards exist for the control of the techniques operation? † Finally, â€Å"Has the technique been generally accepted within the relevant scientific community? (Daubert 2007)† Initial reaction was that of praise for the reform. However, according to the Tellus Institute the standard in practice has not been favorable. A 2002 RAND study showed a significant increase in the rejection of expert testimony of which 90% fell against the plaintiffs (Daubert 2007). The problem is judges are not scientists yet Daubert asks them to make scientific decisions. Essentially they because â€Å"amateur scientists. † In some states, plaintiffs prefer to use the state court because they tend to be friendlier to expert witnesses (Tellus 2007). Kelsey asserts that the Daubert shifts the question of who decides whether the scientific evidence is reliable from the scientific community to the judge. Under federal law, using the Daubert standard, the fMRI would questionable as admissible evidence. The problem is with the complex nature of the test itself. Although MRIs are generally accepted within the medical community, this concept is no longer used as a test since the Daubert standard replaced the Frye test. Judges now have to weigh whether or not the fMRI is reliable as evidence. For evidence to be considered admissible, the conclusions must derive from the scientific method. Unfortunately, one of the biggest critiques of the fMRI is how it does not follow the method of the scientific method. Wikipedia points out that â€Å"many theoretical models used to explain fMRI signals are so poorly specified that they are not falsifiable. † This is a central tenet of the scientific model. This only can exclude it as evidence and any good defense attorney will point that out to a judge. Also, critics claim that fMRI is simply a modern day phrenology. Phrenology is the theory that claims to be able to determine character and personality traits based on the shape of the head, according to Wikipedia (2007). This concept is derived by how fMRI looks for where hemodynamic activity occurs in the brain as opposed to how. Although this comparison is hardly fair considering one is not based on science and the other is. Nevertheless, it may be enough to have a judge throw it out as evidence. Relevancy also comes into question as the second part of Daubert. Although truth is always relevant in a case, are the specific subject’s results from an fMRI during questioning relevant? Based on this, most likely the fMRI would not pass the Daubert standard and not deemed admissible in court. This is unfortunate as the Daubert standard is essentially calling fMRI lie detection â€Å"junk science† when it is far from it. It is new science and the federal system does not allow for a practical way for new science to present itself. Rather it applies an old model against the new science. However, some states are making laws that allow techniques such as fMRI to be admissible. The state of Virginia is one such state that has sought to ensure that its evidence not fall prey to that of the Daubert standard. Kesley points out that Virginia disliked the Frye test more than the federal courts because it believed is yielded far too much power to the scientific community and not to the consensus of the specific jury. As a result in 1993 Virginia passed a law that used a then-existing Federal Rule of Evidence 702 to change its statues on how evidence was looked at. The Supreme Court also looked at the Federal Rule of Evidence and made its ruling on Daubert based on it. However, the Rule 702 has undergone 2000 amendments to make it into what is now the Daubert standard. Virginia, although it notes Daubert, refuses to accept any changes to the system (2006). Kesley goes on stating that expert testimony in Virginia must meet specific requirements. The assumption of the evidence cannot be speculative or rely on insufficient factual basis. It cannot contain â€Å"disregarded† variable, rely on â€Å"dissimilar tests,† or create an â€Å"illusory impression of exactness. † Judges do not deem the evidence reliable or unreliable. Instead they make what is called a â€Å"threshold finding. † Instead of ruling simply whether it is admissible or not, the judge determines whether a reasonable juror could distinguish between reliable and unreliable. Based on this, that state of Virginia would almost certainly accept the fMRI into evidence. Although the fMRI does not necessarily follow that of the scientific standard, this is not a basis to determine if the evidence is admissible in Virginia. So long as its relevancy is not questioned in its use, a judge will likely allow it to be used in court as evidence. Under Virginia statutes, the judge will only determine whether a reasonable juror could determine if the fMRI is reliable in the particular case. Even though there are questions to the fMRI’s exactness, the judge would still allow it to be presented. The Daubert cases shows how sweeping reforms, although well intended can result to a system worse than the one it replaced. By shifting focus from the experts to the judicial system, the Daubert standard placed a power on judges that they are ill-qualified to handle. It is also an insult to potential jurors that they are simply too stupid to determine for themselves what is and what is not. Although the scientific evidence can be confusing, the standard removed any chance to prove to a juror the evidence is indeed authentic, reliable, and trustworthy. The federal courts cannot go back to Frye. Frye opened the door to too much interpretation from the scientific community. Although one segment of the scientific community may agree with a piece of evidence, another may not. Which is correct? Are either correct? Frye left too many questions about the evidence and it yielded too much control to the scientific community. The federal system does need to adapt somehow. They cannot leave it they way it is. In contrast, the state of Virginia has provided a good, fair system for allowing scientific evidence to be presented. They, too, agreed that Frye was inadequate to be effectively used. It may have worked well in 1923, but it was time to move to the 21st century. However, Virginia did not make the mistake of shifting all the decision making from one group to another. Rather it diluted the power yielded by the scientific community and placed some control with the judged. Nevertheless it never removed the importance of the juror to the courtroom. Whereas the federal system seemed to treat the juror as unintelligent and not suited for big decision making, Virginia did not want to take away the big decision from the jurors. For the fMRI system it represents a new technological advance in lie detection. It also represents a new challenge to the courts. Based on the federal court case rulings, the fMRI system would not be allowed as evidence because it does not follow the scientific method. Despite all of its potential, the federal system removes this power tool because of a rigid standard applied to a dynamic technology. Most likely, this will only prevent the federal system from advancing. However, it may also motivate the federal system to change how it views evidence. FMRI, however, will be welcomed in Virginia as evidence. Despite its faults the Virginia system is flexible enough to accomidate new technology such as the fMRI, but is not too flexible to allow â€Å"junk science† to permeate amongst the other evidence. Between the two systems, in regards to how it is applied to fMRI, the Virginia system is more fair and realistic in today’s courtroom. Work Cited Daubert Standard (2007) Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Daubert_standard FRMI (2007) Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/FMRI Frye Test (2007) Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Frye_test Haemodynamic Response (2007) Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Haemodynamic_response Kesley, D. Arthur (2006) Virginia’s Answer to Daubert’s Question Behind the Question. Retrieved on Dec 3, 2007 from http://www. ajs. org/ajs/publications/Judicature_PDFs/902/Kesley_902. pdf Lie Detection (2007) Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lie_detection Tellus Institute (2003) Daubert: The Most Influential Supreme Court Ruling You’ve Never Heard Of. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://www. defendingscience. org/upload/Daubert-the-Most-Influential-Supreme-Court-Decision-You-ve-Never-Heard-Of-2003. pdf Lie Detection (2007) Wikipedia Foundation. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lie_detection

Analysis of The Lorax Essay Example for Free

Analysis of The Lorax Essay The story, â€Å"The Giving Tree,† is a book written by Shel Silverstein that is about the relationship between a tree and a boy. In the beginning of the story, the boy and the tree spend a lot of time together having fun. For example, they would play hide and seek, the boy would play on the branches, and the boy would play king of the forest with the leaves of the tree. The tree would be very happy because she was interacting with the boy. Throughout the story, the boy would spend less and less time with the tree. As a result, the tree would become sad. Once in a while the boy would come back, asking for certain things, and the tree would be happy to help the boy because she loved the boy so much. Through the story, â€Å"The Giving Tree,† Shel Silverstein relates a lesson of how giving is more important than taking. In the story, the boy takes advantage of the tree by taking everything that the tree has. The tree gives freely without complaining because the tree loves the boy, and wants him to be happy. In the end, all the boy wanted to do was to spend time with the tree once again. If the boy did not continuously take advantage of the tree, the boy did not have to miss, and become unhappy about the old tree that loved him so much. The tree’s love for the boy is a perfect example of what people should be like: giving freely, and unconditionally. If everyone was like the tree, there would be very little unhappiness in the world, and the world would be a better place. If countries started to give freely to one another, there would be fewer wars, there would be no more sadness and devastation, and there would be world happiness and peace. The message from Shel Silverstein is to not be like the boy who ultimately becomes unhappy by taking from the tree. In summary, Silverstein uses the story to expound on the idea that giving is more important than receiving. The story also has a slight reference to the relationship between mother and child. The tree (the mom) was willing to give anything to the boy (the son). The tree sacrifices herself in order to make the boy happy, which any mom would probably do for her son. In the beginning, the tree wanted to sacrifice its time just to play with the boy. This is similar to a parent, which sacrifices time to interact with and provide for their kids. Towards the teenage years, the tree gives up her apples so that the boy could have money. Likewise, many parents sacrifice money to have their children enjoy their teenage years: movies, cars, trips, etc. When the boy becomes an adult, he takes the branches and trunk of the tree away to build a house, and a boat. All of these examples exemplify the ways in which moms make so many sacrifices to make their children happy, but some kids just take them, run with them, and never think about how much it cost their moms. As depicted in the story, the boy never expressed any gratitude to the tree. The boy rarely went back to visit the tree, but only visited the tree to take something away for his own personal benefit. Furthermore, moms also show sadness when their children leave them for college, and adulthood. When the boy does not come back to see the tree for years at a time because of his own issues, the tree becomes sad. In short, Silverstein illustrates the interaction between mother and child by showing the selfless acts of parents and the selfishness of children. The book, â€Å"The Giving Tree,† can strongly connect to our relationship between the environment and humans. Currently, there is an evident problem of global warming. This recent dilemma is caused because of our selfish taking from the environment. The tree can strongly resemble the earth on which we live, and the boy can resemble humans. We constantly take from the Earth, and rarely give back to the environment. For example, during the 20th century, industries took advantage of the Earth without replenishing resources: deforestation, driving animals to extinction, and over-fishing. Furthermore, since global warming has become such a big problem now, we want to go back to live on the lush, non-polluted earth. Likewise, after the boy takes everything away from the tree, the boy wanted the tree to be like it was before. Ultimately, the book elucidates the way in which humans abuse the environment just like how the boy misused the tree. A question that can come to mind when reading Shel Silverstein’s story is, what is the reason for writing the story. Silverstein might have written the book for young children, but it was to teach everyone of the â€Å"give not take,† principle. Moreover, another question can be what is the reason for allowing the boy not to think about his selfishness? Perhaps Silverstein wanted to portray the fact that people are sometimes selfish. Finally, throughout the story, why is the boy referred to as a boy even though he becomes a man. Maybe Silverstein was writing in the perspective of a mother because a mom always calls his son her boy.

Cold War and the German Far Right

Cold War and the German Far Right The German extreme right was unable to make headway because of the Cold War but reunification has opened many new possibilities for it do you agree? The Cold War was undoubtedly a period during which Germany’s right wing was stifled. With an oppressive Communist government in the East and a more stable and moderate form of government in the west, extremism was largely isolated in the Cold War years. This is not to say however that the extreme right was completely inactive during this period. Reunification though has certainly given a wider platform for right wing extremists and to some extent opened up new possibilities. Despite the eventual defeat of the Nazis, at the end of the Second World War there appeared to be good conditions for a neo-fascist revival. The war had left 10 million German refugees who had lost their property and 2 million civil servants who had lost their jobs having previously benefited under the Nazi regime.[1]Certainly those committed to a right wing revival would have hoped to harness the dissatisfaction of those who had lost both economically and socially from the war. Had the difficult post-war conditions continued, then this may have been the case, but the rebuilding of Europe and Western Europe’s determination to build up its defences against the Eastern bloc ensured that Europe’s post-war recovery was designed to include West Germany as an important ally in the fight against Communism. On the whole, all European countries, Germany included, came to benefit from post-war prosperity and the post war settlement was acceptable even to defeated Germans. As von Beyme concludes: â€Å"Labels like ‘defeated’ and ‘victors’ – unlike after the first world war – were of minor importance, so that in all countries neo fascism stood less chance.†[2]Had the Allies looked to humiliate a defeated Germany the outcome may have been different, as it where there was little to stir up nationalist sentiment with. The post war consensus of politics in West Germany clearly prevented the spread of fascism that might have been expected. Post-war reconstruction created favourable economic conditions that in turn enabled the state to satisfy both the political and economic interests of the major social groups. The middle classes benefited financially in the post-war years, unemployment benefits were in place for the poor and public health insurance and pension provision were both put into place. The successful economy effectively silenced many critics of the post-war governments and left extremists without a popular cause with which to fight. As Stoss writes: â€Å"Thus the socio-economic preconditions were established for a broad legitimation of state power and the integration of forces critical of or hostile to the system.†[3] The post-war party political system in West Germany also made right wing growth difficult.. A popular consensus emerged including representational democracy, social market economy, interaction with the West European community and anti-communism. Importantly, the three major political parties – CDU, FDP and SPD dominated elections at the expense of smaller parties. The five per cent barrier to a place in government prevented extremist parties from establishing a political foothold. Between 1957 and 1983, no small party succeeded in surmounting the five per cent barrier to representation in the Bundestag.[4] It should be noted however that whilst organised right wing extremism failed to develop into a mass movement in West Germany, there were certainly elements of the population that maintained anti-democratic attitudes and sympathies with the extreme right. In 1971 a survey found that 50 per cent of those questioned found ‘National Socialism, in principle, a good idea, poorly put into practice, whilst the SINUS Institute found in 1979 that 13 per cent of the West German population had a right wing extremist picture of the world and 37 per cent a ‘potential for authoritarian disposition.[5] In effect, a substantial amount of the West German population was susceptible to right wing extremism. Membership figures of right wing extremist parties gives little clear indication as to the influence of the right. Whilst membership reached 76,000 in 1954, it fell to 21,000 in 1964, rose again to 40,000 in 1967 and fell to 23,000 in 1985.[6]Such relatively low numbers combined with fluctuation in membership suggests little consistent long-term support for the extreme right. Certainly in West Germany, right wing extremism remained alive during the Cold War but economic prosperity, stable government and a state that was determined not to let extremism flourish ensured that the extreme right made little headway. Whilst there was some awareness of the dangers of right wing extremism in West Germany, the picture in the east was less clear. In many ways the old GDR seemed an unlikely breeding ground for the right wing and indeed the old communist government had often boasted of its successes in defeating fascism. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent reunification of Germany brought about huge political and social change to Germany. To some extent this has given added momentum to right wing extremism, in the East as much as the West. Reunification was initially expected to bring about a fall in support for the right as it removed the principal political demand of nationalist groups from the agenda. On both sides of the wall however there were issues other than a united Germany for right-wingers to concentrate on. Additionally, the power of the old East German regime to prevent right wing extremism can be overstated. Prior to the fall of the Wall, extremist activities and violence had formed a part of East German life but had been largely played down by the authorities. The way that extremism took a foothold early in the 1990s serves as some evidence of this. By 1992 there were 2000 neo-Nazi members in East Germany, twice as many as the West with four times the population.[7] There are other reasons as to why right wing extremist may have flourished in the East. The activism and novelty of West German right wingers will, at the time of reunification, have been seen as something of an attraction to a generation that had grown up in East Germany and lived through the ideologically directed education system and socialisation processed of the Communist regime. Ease of access to membership of groups would also have appealed to young East Germans who had previously been excluded from the old—style Communist Party apparatus. By 1992 right wing parties were beginning to achieve some electoral success in the new Germany, winning three seats in the Lander parliaments.[8]One of the primary reasons for this was that right wing extremists were able to adapt to the new political and social landscape across Germany and find new goals. Initially a number of groups laid claim to some minor East European territories that had been part of Germany immediately before the outbreak of the war. Quickly though the shift in focus moved towards a traditional hub of right wing thinking – attacks on the number of foreigners living, working or claiming benefits in the country. Right wing extremist groups from early in the 1990s began to criticise the increasing number of asylum seekers coming into Germany from across Eastern Europe. There was a positive attempt by the right to stir up fears on the effects of immigrants both economically and socially. Right wing groups pointed to the demands for right of settlement made by many guest workers and students who had previously arrived in East Germany from third world states. In 1991, 256,000 foreigners, many from Yugoslavia and Romania, entered Germany to apply for political asylum and a further 222,000 applied to become citizens under the constitutional provisions for ethnic Germans.[9]Again, right wing extremists pointed to the fact that many asylum seekers visibly lived on state subsidies while waiting for their applications to be processed. Unification quickly became a source of ammunition for the right. As Roberts writes: â€Å"Unification, far from depriving them of the nationalist theme, offered them a new variation of it, a policy success for which these groups could seek to claim the credit and which had created a larger, more powerful, Germany freed at last from the last restrictions imposed by the post-war occupancy policy of the victorious allies.†[10] Another viable point is that Communist rule in East Germany in itself had left the country with some characteristics in tune with the right wing. The anti-democratic nature of the old regime in East Germany could be mirrored in some traits of the right wing extremists. As Roberts again suggests: â€Å"Authoritarianism, the claim to possession of an absolute truth, a clear ‘friend-enemy’ distinction, fanaticism, and the idea of homogeneity of the people, were characteristics fostered by communist rule in the GDR and – suitably transferred – are also elements of the claims of extreme right wing parties and groups.†[11] There were other reasons for citizens in the East to look to the extreme right. Corruption amongst politicians was relatively widespread in the early 1990s with party financing scandals, ministers becoming involved in improper financial dealings and increased salaries for politicians. There was a feeling amongst many poorer Germans that orthodox politician were becoming too self serving and that the state subsidies for mainstream party political campaigns were too expensive – a 1992 survey found that twice as many East Germans were dissatisfied with the German democratic system than West German voters.[12] The period 1991-94 saw a notable upturn in violence orchestrated by the extreme right. Guest workers, asylum seekers and hostels housing these people came under regular attack. The violence culminated in murder on occasions – in Dresden in 1991 a young Mozambican immigrant was thrown under a tram, refuges were burnt down in cities such as Leipzig and Rostock and in a particularly chilling event in Hayerswerda, a five night protest by right wing extremists culminated in all foreigners being bussed out of the town.[13] The reaction of the government of a united Germany would be crucial in determining the post-unification progress of the extreme right. Throughout the 1980s, successive West German governments had been criticised for their lax approach in tackling the right wing. McGowan concludes â€Å"this was refuted by the administrations concerned but their reactions to the right were often contrasted with their more sever approach towards the left wing terrorists from the 1970s onwards.†[14] In the years immediately following reunification, there was a response by the states to the initial upsurge in right wing extremism. The Offices for the Protection of the Constitution have utilised powers to carefully watch anti-democratic organisations and the law has ensured that civil servants cannot join groups officially declared extremist- this measure in itself will continue to deny the right some mainstream support. Whilst new possibilities may have emerged for the extremists, the German state is working hard to ensure that it does not make great headway. Other forces in German society have continued to rally against the extremists. There is very little media coverage of right-wing extremist groups for example. Since the early 1990s the right-wing Republikaner Party has been the subject of an outright boycott by the federal press and by many public radio and TV channels.[15] What is also clear is that the new right in Germany cannot be built around the forces that supported the Nazi’s in the 1930s. Kischelt writes, â€Å"in particular, white-collar employees, professionals and members of the administrative, political and cultural elite who then backed the Nazi Party are no longer available for right wing appeals.†[16]The core support for the extreme right in Germany today is primarily lower class males who feel that they have lost out economically and socially since unification. This narrow support base continues to be a hindrance to the rights attempts to expand. Moving into the mid to late 1990s, the gradual expansion of the extreme right has continued and whilst post-war Germany has vowed never again to allow ultra-nationalism or racism to play any part in its politics, this principle has gradually come under threat. The most prominent far-right party, the Republicans, have openly asserted that unrelenting mass immigration has brought criminal foreigners into Germany and campaigns hard on an anti-immigration agenda. The German state in the meantime attempts to use constitutional tools to counteract the growth of the right the Republicans and another group, the German Peoples Union or DVU for example, are both under surveillance by Germanys counter-intelligence agency, suspected of anti-democratic or unconstitutional behaviour. There is a similar tendency to be suspicious of the right that continues to run through much of German society, both before and after reunification. Bockes and Mudde summarise as such: â€Å"As a consequence of the continuing and extensive dealing with the Nazi past, political mobilisation at the extreme right meets with public scrutiny and generally leads to strong counter reactions within society.†[17] The crux of right wing campaigning remains largely the same. It maintains the crude demand that jobs should be taken away from foreigners and given to Germans. To some extent this has begun to deliver some electoral success. In Saxony-Anhalt in 1998, nearly one-third of all voters under the age of 30 supported the right wing DVU whilst in the country as whole, opinion polls showed some that 10% of voters sympathise with far-right groups. Alongside these changes in the political scene, more than 100 neo-Nazi or skinhead groups have grown up which glorify violence and praise the ideas of Hitler. Assaults on immigrants and asylum seekers have continued to rise and a thriving skinhead culture has emerged in parts of Germany, particularly in the east. Official fi gures show that assaults by such groups on foreigners, including Asian or African refugees and Turkish, Italian, and other immigrants, are on the rise. In 1998 for example more than 400 injuries resulted from such assaults (www.bbc.co.uk). The German government’s hard-line response has been to ban dozens of extreme right-wing groups. There is a danger that the philosophy of the extreme right can spill over into mainstream politics. Conservative politicians for example have loudly complained about foreign criminality and Germanys immigration burden, ignoring warnings that such talk would encourage racist attitudes. Such politicians vehemently deny that, but they have clearly staked their claim to the right-wing ground of German politics, in an attempt to ensure that no other group takes an advantage there. There are obviously wider historical issues to consider when analysing the role of the extreme right in Germany. Clearly the horrors of the Nazi era do work as an antidote against right-wing extremism and there has been an ongoing vigilance against the spread of the right booth before and after unification. Politicians towards the right within the mainstream party political system may skirt around extremist ideas but generally the mainstream political landscape has remained clear of out and out extremism. The determination of the vast majority of Germans to consign the nazi era to the past can act as a restraint on most with serious political aspirations. The Cold War did certainly act as a barrier to the extreme right in post-war Germany, both east and West. In East Germany, a hard-line Communist government was successful in suppressing the right wing until the final years of its rule. In West Germany, the post-war political consensus was crucial in playing down possibilities for the right, as was the new constitution that made the electoral route to influence equally difficult. Germany it should be noted was geographically at the centre of the Cold War – the Western allies were keen to ensure stability in West German politics and likewise Eastern bloc leaders were quick to clamp down of right wing extremism. The Cold War threw together a combination of factors that made expansion of right wing extremism all but impossible across the whole of Germany. Reunification then along with the end of the Cold War, did indeed open up new possibilities for the extremists on the right. In the East they enjoyed new found political freedom and a growing support base, whilst in the West, economic difficulties following reunification and the upturn in numbers of foreigners on the country helped to fuel support for the right. Whether the German extreme right can make the most of the possibilities that reunification has brought about remains to be seen. Although it has enjoyed the occasional electoral success it cannot yet compare with the successes of right wing parties in other parts of Europe. McGowan succinctly states, â€Å"Neo-Nazism remains a part of German life just as national Socialism remains a part of German history.†[18]This in essence presents the most difficult issue for the extreme right-wing in Germany – whilst it may enjoy an element of support, the lessons of history have hopefully taught the German nation that right-wing extremism is a route it cannot allow itself to take again. References Beckes Uwe Mudde Cas, Germany: Extremism without successful parties, Parliamentary Affairs, vol 53 (3) July 2000) Kitschelt Herbert, The Radical Right in Western Europe – A comparative Analysis, University of Michigan Press, USA 1998 McGowan Lee, The Radical Right in Germany – 1870 to present, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow 1998 Roberts Geoffrey, Right wing Radicalism in New Germany. Parliamentary Affairs, vol 45, 1992 Stoss Richard, The Problem of Right-wing Extremism in West Germany, West European Politics, vol 11, 1988 Von Beyme Klaus, Right-wing Extremism in post-war Europe, West European Politics, vol 11, 1988 www.bbc.co.uk http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/09/98/german_elections/172134.stm 1 Footnotes [1] Von Beyme, K, Right wing Extremism in post-war Europe, West European Politics, vol 11 1988 [2] p10 Von Beyme 1988 [3] p34 Stoss R, The problem of right wing extremism in West Germany [4] p35 Stoss [5] p38 Stoss [6] p40 Stoss [7] Mcgowan L, P189 The Radical Right in Germany – 1870 to present, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow 1998 [8] Roberts G, Right-wing Radicalism in New Germany, Parliamentary Affairs vol 45 1992 [9] p332 Roberts 1992 [10] ibid [11] p339 Roberts 1992 [12] p340 Roberts 1992 [13] McGowan L p190 [14] McGowan L P191 [15] Bockes U Mudde C, p466Germany: Extremism without successful parties, Parliamentary Affairs, vol 53, July 2000 [16] Kitschelt , p239 The Radical Right in Western Europe – Acomparative Analysis, University of Michigan Press, USA 1998 [17] p466 Bockes and Mudde 2000 [18] McGowan L, P201

Gender Politics and the Liminality of the Herculean Body Essay

Sophocles’s Women of Trachis11, however, deals solely with the tragic drama occurring on the mortal realm, devoid of any cosmic underpinnings. The play, like Heracles, can be divided into two portions. Unlike Heracles, however, Heracles’s world is divided not so much into the microcosmic and the macrocosmic, but into the masculine and feminine. This division is causal, serving to highlight the tension between the domestic world which values emotion, empathy, and feeling and the heroic world which champions duty, honour, and glory. Despite the evident causality, however, the play is marked by Heracles’s and Deianeira’s seemingly implausible deaths, highlighting the illogical aspect of male and female relations as a whole even outside the striking of the inexplicable cosmic event. In both plays, the Herculean body is the locus of a female tension in which the female struggle at being pushed aside is foregrounded. In Sophocles’s play, Heracles acts like Lycus, ravaging a foreign land in order to marry the king’s daughter. Heracles’s inability to be restored into society due his insatiable appetite for women causes endless issues for Deianeira, as she is left at home wasting with desire†¦ like the mournful nightingale† (107-8) in a â€Å"strange household† (41) for â€Å"fifteen months†¦ without tidings† (46). While the Euripidean hero â€Å"is honourable and, as the play resolves itself, more and more an identifiable man†, â€Å"the Sophoclean suffering hero is repellent as well as distant† (12 Silk)12. While Heracles acts out the hero’s pathos, thus, Women of Trachis views how the self-serving character of the Herculean hero can inflict suffering on the feminine realm by providing the audience with a point of sympathy from the female angle. Like Her... .... While Women of Trachis addresses the position of the feminine in a male-dominated warrior society on a microcosmic level, Heracles also highlights the feminine perspective, only on a macrocosmic level. Both plays, thus, foreground the pathos of the individual in the grips of forces beyond their control when conflicting realms meet and erupt. Heracles’s body, in being a liminal space where definitions of the cosmic and divine are blurred, is the site where the individual’s larger struggle is acted out. Unlike Heracles, however, Women of Trachis proposes the idea that humanism cannot save the day unless the very definitions of what is means to be heroic are changed so the young, helpless and the female are taken into account. In order for the king to be a proper king, he has to leave behind his heroic, divine self and â€Å"choose (Amphitryon) (as his) father† (1265).

Story of Atlantis :: Research Essays Papers

Story of Atlantis Plato was the first to mention the city of Atlantis around 300 BC. He was a Greek philosopher who had studied under Socrates in Greece. Plato gave detailed stories in the books Timeus and Critias about a land that was on the fringes of what we know as the Mediterranean Sea that occurred around 9,000 years from when it was written. Atlantis was said to be bigger than Libya and Asia combined. Critias was a book based on how Atlantis came to be and stories about Atlantis. Timeus was a book of teachings in which Plato wrote about morality. Plato did not see Atlantis himself but he heard it from the Greek king Solon who had heard it from an Egyptian priest. Plato’s Critias story described the Greek gods dividing up the earth for land. Poseidon chose an island on which to build his empire. Poseidon had five sets of twins with his wife Helios; a female mortal. The Island was divided up amongst the sons by the eldest. Atlas was the eldest son and was given control of the city in the m iddle of the Island. Atlantis had cities with brilliant architecture and bountiful plains all on one island. The plains supported rare animals such as elephants, and that the land was rich with minerals and metals including gold, silver and copper. The inner area of Atlantis was main city then a moat around the first city and then a circular piece of concrete/land and then water again. This pattern was said to continue a six or seven more times until solid land and plains were throughout the rest of the Island populated with cities and canals. Atlantis was seamed with gold, copper and Iron. It is also described in Plato’s books that with this wealth that the Atlantean’s built a magnificent fighting force of 10,000 chariots, 24,000 ships, 60,000 officers, 120,000 hoplites (elite warriors) and 600,000 archers. The area was also dominated by many mountains. Atlantis also is the set of many stories and myths from Plato’s teachings but scientists today say that Atlantis also could have been created by Plato to illustrate a variety of teachings. This would explain the story of Atlantis being destroyed; being a demonstration that any advanced civilization tries to conquer Greece would be destroyed. Plato gave related to greed and morality using Atlantis as a reference.

Spam: Junk Email Essay -- Research Papers E-mail Essays

Spam: Junk Email The fictional story â€Å"The Case of the Spam Stalker† was based on my research and interest in the topic of junk email or spam. I was able to think of this topic because of the unbelievable amount of junk email that I was receiving at my America Online email account. In fact, I received so much junk mail that I decided to switch to another account with Lycos. Because I was having so much of a problem with unwanted mail, I figured that there were many more people with this problem. Hence, I decided to do my research project on junk email, otherwise known as â€Å"spam†. Similarly, my story involves the main character having to switch her email accounts because of the increasing volume of junk mail that she received. Throughout the story, the character presents situations in which she is able to inform the reader of what spam is, where it comes from, how to get rid of it, and what the laws are concerning spam. In order to start this story, I first had to research. The majority of my research came from internet databases that I found through the James Madison University website. However, I also managed to find one book by Geoff Mulligan on the subject of removing spam. The major areas of my story that feature my research results are, I think, obvious. The first occurrence of my research appearing in the story is when the main character, Dorian, complains to her friend Tony about the amount of spam she gets at her AOL account (Dvorak). When Tony proceeds to explain to Dorian that if she upgrades to AOL version 8 then spam wouldn’t be a huge problem (Business Wire); and when he tells her how spam got into her account through message boards and member directories (Mulligan), are other examples... ...ces Using Filters, Other Tactics To Combat Spam.† Internet World. 19 Oct. 1998. Lexis Nexis Academic. James Madison University, Carrier Library. 1 Apr. 2003. . Hill, Steve. â€Å"Unwanted. Unwelcome. Unstoppable?: Lovely spam, wonderful spam!† Internet Magazine. Dec. 2001. Infotrac. James Madison University, Carrier Library. 1 Apr. 2003. Mulligan, Geoff. Removing the Spam: Email Processing and Filtering. Reading: Addison Wesley, 1999. Warner, Janine. â€Å"How much does spam really cost?† The Miami Herald. 10 Mar. 2003. James Madison University, Carrier Library. 1 Apr. 2003. .