Saturday, August 31, 2019

Dicken’s Hard Times Essay

â€Å"Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life.† (Dickens, 1854, p.1) With these beginning sentences of the novel â€Å"Hard Times†, Charles Dickens has made readers doubt whether it is true that facts alone are wanted in life. This question leads to the main theme of the story, fact against fancy, that author has never been written this kind of plot in his other stories before. In fact, Hard Times is considered as â€Å"the unlike-the-rest of Dickens’ works† (Collins, 1992, p.xi) because the plot is not involved the social problems in Victorian Age such as poverty or child labor, but it is â€Å"an abstract that exalts instinct above reason.† (Collins, 1992, p.xiii) Although it is not Dickensian, author still put his cliff-hanger characteristic on his work which makes the story enjoyable and worth reading for all-age-readers. Due to many interesting factors, this novel has been chosen to be the topic of this essay consisting of three parts that are the historical backgrounds, the facts about this novel and my critical refle ctions. To gain the comprehensive perspective of the story, we need to look back on historical backgrounds of the age that this novel took place which can be seen in three ways that are the economy, the social class and the education. Victorian Age is the period of economic progress that Industrial Revolution played important part in the British society. As a result, there were many factories located in town and it is imaginary described in a story that industrial Coketown is â€Å"where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness.† (Dickens, 1854, p.20). So, it shows that Hard Times is â€Å"a realistic novel that author voiced a radically dissident attitude on Industrial Revolution in his story.† (Lowy 2007 218) According to the growth of economy, there was the distinction found in social classes especially between labor and management (Cliffnote, n.d.) in this story that can be seen at Mr. Boun derby, a wealthy manufacturer, considers himself as self-made man and later found that he is not, who is in upper class and has predominant power over Blackpool – a hard working labor in Mr. Bounderby’s factory. However, the social class distinction is not raised as a serious problem in the story. Also, this economic progress has a great impact on the education system in which the schools are dominated with the Utilitarian spirit. From the plot, it shows that Dickens held a strong vision against the Utilitarianism, a theory that considers self-interest is maximum utility and denies on imagination (Diniejko, n.d.), that he ends the story with the tragic event caused by failure of the Utilitarian education system that teaches students only fact, but he oppositely admired hospitality of the Sleary’s circus that teaches the children with imagination. These are historical backgrounds that influenced the story and make it more understandable. As it is claimed at first that this novel is not like the other Dickens’ stories, it is contained some facts that makes the novel interesting which are its background, cliff-hanger plot and impressive critiques. Unlike Dickens’ â€Å"usual shilling monthly numbers, Hard Times was a part in his two penny weekly edited magazine† (Collin, 1992, p.xi), Household Words, which â€Å"faced a shrinking circulation and falling profits† (Enote editor, n.d.). Therefore, the story was written in form of â€Å"serialization and finally titled Hard Times For These Times when it was gathered into fuller version.† (Collin, 1992, p.xi) Although it is not a notably work, it has a Dickens’ famous cliff-hanger plot. The main theme is the conflict between fact and fancy in which Mr. Gradgrind teaches his students and his children to believe in fact, but the story turns out unexpected that two of his children have to live in misery; Louisa has a loveless marriage with Mr. Bounderby – a friend of her father and a bank owner. Tom, Louisa’s brother, becomes a bank robber who almost cannot escape abroad. In order to help his son, Mr. Gradgrind eventually has to ask Sleary’s circus, who he never favour because they teaches children with imagination, for help and he comes to realize that his philosophy he has been teaching all along for his children is a failure. The story also contains many subplot stories such as an impossible love between Louisa and Mr. Harthouse, a secret life of Mr. Bounderby and a social class love. With his sharp and sarcastic writing skill, Hard Times receives impressive critiques from many admirers. The outstanding critique is one from Dr F. R. Leavis in 1948 that saysâ€Å"†¦ of all Dickens’ works the one that has all the strength of his genius, together with a strength no other of them can show—that of a completely serious work of art†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Collin, 1992, p.xii). These three facts of this novel even make it more astonishing. A good novel not only gives reader an appreciation but also provides some points that need to be analyzed through critical thinking process. So does the Hard Times, it is a valuable novel that I favor and have critical reflections on the Dickens’ satire, the well-rounded characters and the comparison on the different abstract ideas. I was hooked by this novel right from the first three sentences, claimed at the beginning of the essay, because it provokes readers’ brain to think until we find the answer that it is wrong to lean on facts alone in life and that is the first satire in a story. There is the using of repeated word to sarcastically equate the teacher and Mr. Gradgrind with the mechanic engine as shown â€Å"Fact, fact, fact!’ said the gentleman. And ‘Fact, fact, fact!’ repeated Thomas Gradgrind† (Dickens, 1854, p.6). Moreover, all the well-rounded characters are formed in satirist way. For example, there is the difference between Lou isa and Sissy which we see the development of these two characters. The first is Louisa who was born and raised in a wealthy family teaching her only facts are wanted in life, but she ends up living in mournful as it says â€Å"†¦any hoarded scrap of which, is a blessing and happiness to the wisest? Did Louisa see this? Such a thing was never to be.† (Dickens, 1854, p.283). On the other hand, the second is Sissy, was born in circus and taught her with imagination, who ends up living with happiness as it says â€Å"trying hard to know her humbler fellow-creatures, and to beautify their lives of machinery and reality with those imaginative graces and delights† (Dickens, 1854, p.283). Lastly, I am very appreciated with the comparison on the different abstract ideas especially one in this example; the different perspectives of horse that the student in Mr. Gradgrind’s school describes in scientific and arithmetic way as shown: â€Å"Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye teeth, and twelve incisive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dickens, 1854, p.4), while the Sleary’s circus people describe it as beautiful imaginary way as shown: â€Å"The public house was the Pegasus’s Arms. The Pegasus’s legs might have been more to the purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dickens, 1854, p.25). It can be interpreted that students see no abstract from object, they have blunted mind, while circus people, who live in Victorian Era – the golden age of circus, have something that students do not have which are morality and hospitality. These are my critical reflections that makes Hard Times become one of my favorite novels. All of these are the historical backgrounds, the facts about this novel and my critical reflections for the Dickens’ Hard Times. It is a story of wrong philosophy that facts which are actually not the only needful thing in life. This novel gives readers the way to approach history of Victorian A ge, also, an appreciation. And the most importantly, it persuades readers to live their lives happily with imagination and hospitality to everyone that will come into life. References Collins, Philip (1992). Introduction. Charles Dickens Hard Times(p. xi,xii,xiii). Berwick Street, London: The Millennium Library. Dickens, Charles (1854). Hard Times For These Times. Charles Dickens Hard Times(p. 1,4,6,20,25,283). Berwick Street, London: The Millennium Library. Diniejko, Dr Andrzej.Charles Dickens as Social Commentator and Critic. The Victorian Web: An Overview. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/diniejko.html Hard Times Critical Essay by Charles Dickens. Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Homework Help, Answers & More – enotes.com. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.enotes.com/hard-times-essays/dickens-charles-hard-times-these-times Hard Times: Critical Essays: Dickens’ Philosophy and Style – CliffsNotes . Get Homework Help with CliffsNotes Study Guides . Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/hard-times/critical-essays/dickens- philosophy-style.html Lowy, M. (2007). The Current of Critical Irrealism. A concise companion to realism(p. 218). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Friday, August 30, 2019

What Was the Cause for Segregation in the South?

Lemar Griffin Reconstruction April 28, 2011 Professor Eisenberg What was the cause for segregation in the south? The Day Freedom Died and When did Southern Segregation Begin are two books that cover events that happened during the Reconstruction period. Charles Lane through his political and social analysis shines an illuminating light on one of America's more sordid events. The Colfax Massacre gained national attention so much that the event is now an interracial group that commemorates an event.John David Smith the author of When did Southern Segregation Begin takes a straight forward approach in his book and explains multiple reasons for why this may have occurred. People often assume that segregation was a natural outcome of Reconstruction which can seem somewhat believable depending on your knowledge of the subject. But in all actuality scholars cannot agree on which events at the end of the nineteenth century mark the beginning of formalized Jim Crow. Studies show how blacks an d whites learned to be civilized when they encountered each other.The division of the two races happens soon after the end of the Civil War. This essay will attempt to analyze when southern segregation begin. Following the Civil War, Colfax, Louisiana, was a town, like many, where Negroes and whites mingled uneasily. But on April 13, 1873, a small army of white ex-Confederate soldiers, enraged after attempts by freedmen to assert their new rights, killed more than sixty Negroes who had occupied a courthouse. There were barely armed former slaves that were knifed, burned, smoked out of a courthouse, and gunned down by a white posse angry over an 1872 Republican election victory. the Ku Klux Klan declared. Its goals were â€Å"to protect the weak, innocent and defenseless,† and â€Å"to protect the constitution on the Untied States. [1] The United States passed the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, putting an end to almost 250 years of slavery. Following the Civil War, Colfax, Lou isiana, was a town like many where African Americans and whites mingled uneasily. When you look back at the events that unfolded in many towns like Colfax, Louisiana you start asking yourself: â€Å"What was the reason for all this. Throughout the year we learned more as a class why whites did horrible things to blacks, and about why Reconstruction is important to our America history. I feel that this goes back to a text we read earlier by Howard Fast in his book Freedom Road. The hypothesis that I have came up with is from a scene in Fast’s book. I believe that to some extent whites were afraid of blacks becoming independent and educated. I feel this way because I believe that money and power are two of the most important things in America, in my opinion. To gain money and power you must have the skill set to enable yourself to do so.This comes with knowledge, meaning that you would have to be very well educated to put yourself in a position to acquire power. Having knowled ge is one of the most powerful weapons you can have as a human, and the somewhat educated blacks were aware of this. I have this idea because of the fact that from taking this class I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about why slavery lasted so long and have the whites kept the blacks in control of such a long period of time without losing control of everything. That brings me to power, education, and money. Back in the day White was making a very good amount of money from slavery.If you look at slavery in the context I am for my hypothesis it will make more sense. I’m looking at slavery from a business aspect. If you dehumanize blacks and block out the fact that you’re hurting people, and that it is morally wrong to enslave people then you have what I call a â€Å"unethical business. † When whites feared that blacks could learn how to read and write it would scare them because is all blacks were able to read and write then they would have the knowledge th ey needed to realize that with the right plan and the will power and motivation that they could free themselves from slavery.I feel this way because from all the books we have covered in class I started to notice a pattern. It was starting to come more clearly to me after every book we finished in class. Education is important in the forthcoming of Reconstruction; the same also is true for knowledge. Changes were made by black people that were educated or people that have enough knowledge to understand the situation and see the way to fix it. Money is key factors in many choices many people in this country base their decisions off, morally and ethically.With money come the number one thing that all counties want let alone just individuals, power. With the right person in power everything thing can be either perfect for a certain group of people, as well as with the wrong person in power everything can be horrible for a certain group of people. To sum up my hypothesis if blacks would have had the chance to become educated then the world would be a totally different place, in my opinion. This separation of blacks and whites took without a doubt took time and a lot of effort by white southerners to make sure that it all went according to plan.This begins to happen soon after the end of the Civil War. The churches and schools were the main places and probably some of the first places to be spilt. During the time, neither place was to be segregated by law. Both places became segregated by the choice of the public. This is an early example of how the blacks separated themselves from the whites to start to own life as free people. The black communities were all against any law that would be restricting them from everyday rights and everyday conveniences that they felt they were entitled to as humans.However, many whites also were not satisfied with the thought of Jim Crow Law. These laws were unlike the black codes which had been done away with ten years earlier. The Jim Crow laws brought segregation to public schools, public places, and public transportation. It also separated restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains from blacks and whites. The U. S. military was also segregated. For more than 200 years before the Civil War, slavery existed in the United States. But after the war things began to get worse for blacks.The south thought they needed to do something. The Southern legislatures, former confederates, passed laws known as the black codes, after the war, which severely limited the rights of blacks and segregated them from whites. The south gradually reinstated the racially discriminatory laws. The two main goals they wanted these laws to achieve: disenfranchisement and segregation. To take away the power that the blacks had gained, the Democratic Party began to stop Blacks from voting. There were many ways to stop blacks from voting.Some of these things were poll taxes, fees were charged at voting booths and were expensive for mos t blacks, and the literacy test. Since teaching blacks were illegal, most adult blacks were former slaves and illiterate. â€Å"A favorite ploy was to change the registration site without notifying colored voters; some registrars demanded that elderly Negros prove that they were over twenty years old, not easy for those who had no birth certificates because they were born into slavery. †[2] This was something that was common back when the blacks would go and try to vote to make a change. Registered colored voters outnumbered whites 776 to 630 in Grant Parish. †[3] The white were doing everything in their power to cheat and make sure that the blacks did not win anything that they had put their vote in for. Voting is a powerful tool which goes back to my hypothesis about how power is important in America. They have said that this still goes on in America the power of the votes are suppose to be in the hands of American people but sometimes the polls don’t reflect o n what who really went out and cast their vote on election day.The power to change things that normal people have no control over is something that has been going on for a long time now in America. ———————– [1] Charles Lane, The Day Freedom Died, (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LCC, 2008) Pg. 3 [2] Charles Lane, The Day Freedom Died, (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LCC, 2008) Pg. 65 [3] Charles Lane, The Day Freedom Died, (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LCC, 2008) Pg. 66

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Life is fair Essay

Many people think that life is not fair, but I totally disagree with them. You need to pay for what’s not fair in your life. In some cases, when people win the big prize money on the lottery, they may have lost some of the most valuable things in their life. Last year, A California man got the big money from the lottery, but subsequently got in a car accident losing his family. Many people think Bill Gates should not be that rich without working hard, but we have to admit that he is very smart. He used his computer knowledge to create the first Operating System that is user friendly to different people in all walks of life, which became good news for the computer industry. His most successful attribute is his business skill. He made the different version of Windows on each year and it mase people follow his operation system upgrades each year. But he needs to spend most of his own time working in his company. Time magazine interviewed him before, and he said that he needs to be in the Microsoft office almost 12 hours every day including the holidays. And he will not waste his money on expensive things such as: car, watch, housing, food, etc†¦.. His life is very simple. He wakes up every 7am and after breakfast, he will be back in the office. I don’t think people like to get rich without any entertainment, but Bill Gates got rich without a rich life. Some people will think some third-world citizens is an example that life is not fair. We should know life is not only a race to get rich in money or possessions. We can chase a simple life and still be rich. Some third-world people may not buy food, but they do grow food by themselves. They will do everything for themselves without relying too much on money. For example: they will make the house, table, chair, food, even the entertainment from their surroundings. The first or second world people will think how to get money every day. Unlike some third-world citizens, they will chase the money for their life. At least, the third-world people can live without money. They will not think they can’t live without money. Nowadays, many people commit suicide over money. But the third-world people seem happier than first or second country people because their life is very simple. They will not think too much on being rich or not rich. Many third-world children don’t even have computers, video games, etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ but they still find other sources of entertainment. They don’t have any stress in school to be the have the latest gadgets and cars and be cool. Also, first world children can’t live without electronic gadgets. And, for some, their parents will push their child to be doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. and they will get stressed out or a be unhappy about it. That’s why the life is still fair even if it doesn’t look like it is. You can life without money, but you can be happier than your life with money. In turn, poor people, or poor countries, should be very happy to take out such loans, confident that investment returns are so high that the repayments will not be difficult. I have been to places like South Africa, Kenya and Guatemala and although the people are poor they are so very happy. They might live in tiny houses and live in poverty, but they have a happy home and family even if they don’t have many possessions. I have been to places like Norway, Switzerland and the USA and some of the people are really wealthy. They don’t seem all that happy and some of them are really miserable compared to the poor people. A basic illustration of my point is: if you don’t have money, you can walk. If you have a little money, you can ride the bicycle. If you have more money, you can drive a car. If you are rich, you can hire a driver. In today’s social, many rich people get big money from their parents. Finally, since they are not good with managing their money, they will lose all their whole money. Then they need work harder than most people. All of us know that the weather doesn’t happen without explanations. Sunny warm days and cold freeze nights each have their roots in the laws of nature. These laws are absolutely fair since everywhere in the universe, so far as scientists know; they operate in exactly the same way. The weather in America is caused by the very same forces as the weather in Asia. â€Å"Outside† weather, then, clearly is fair. Not that fair days always greet us when we rise each morning, but in the sense that climate is produced by objective laws of nature which work the same way in every part of the world. We should not only focus on the money. Many people who become rich are not happy. Many feel lonely, stressed, unhappy, etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦What we should be focusing on is not money but on the quality of life. We cannot bring the money to heaven. Money is only a tool to make our life easy. We cannot say that life is not fair by using money as a standard. Actually, I discussed with my classmate about this and they figured out whether life is fair or not by money. I think that is totally wrong. Some people are working for money, but I am working for my hobby. I am happy work in my job even if I don’t get as much as a CEO. I can learn many different computer skills on my job. I can find my hobby from my job. Some people think they should not get a low rate salary on their job. I think they should rather be interested on their job to make them satisfied. If they are not satisfied, then they think their salary is low. Why should Bill Gates get rich? Because of his interest in the computer, and he put his interest on the business. The main idea is if you don’t love your job, you will never get rich. Many successful people love their job. That’s why I think life is fair. It’s just that most people dislike their job. We think we should focus on how people live. Don’t focus on whether people are rich or not rich. Many people are not happy with much money. They got rich and only focus on expensive things. They don’t know how to live life. Expensive things can’t make true happiness. Life is Fair says this is exactly how life works. But if we are to understand how justice operates in the world, we must first study life’s big picture. We cannot examine life only from the point of view of the material world only.

Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Relationship Management - Essay Example Their son, William Henry Smith took over the business and was joined by his son, William Henry Jr. and WH Smith and Son was born. The firm based its growth on the railway boom and capitalized on it by its presence in the railway stations and using the railroads as a means of distribution. For many years, the main rival to both W H Smith's railway station and news distribution business was John Menzies. WH Smith addressed this competition by buying out all retail outlets of Menzies in 1988. This has resulted in an amazing presence for WH Smith in every single railway station in Britain. In the year to 31 August 2004, W H Smith plc had a turnover of 2,834 million, on which it made a pre-tax loss of 130 million, due to significant "exceptional items" and losses on the sales of subsidiaries. Disposals during the year reduced the group's net assets from 409 million to 256 million. At its December 2004 share price of around 323p, the company's market capitalization was just under 600 million. (wikipedia.org) The company had been having a series of problems including the retail where it has faced tough competition on diverse fronts, significant fall in pension funds that has caused internal tensions and from the threat from its distribution side that all contributed to its financial downfall. There is no doubt that the company has to try to revamp on all fronts to recap its former glory. The main The main disadvantage of WH Smith is that it lacks a distinct retail identity and that shoppers no longer have a real reason to visit its stores. It has lost its niche and needs to re-find it in order that it builds itself a solid identity. It has suffered the onslaught of specialised competitors and its sales have declined due to it losing customers. Specialist retailers such as HMV, Waterstone's and Ottakar's offer a far wider range of music and books. Amazon burst on the scene as an online retailer and built its base so quickly and this has influenced WH Smith's sales. It has also been squeezed by Asda and Tesco, which sell basic stationery and magazines more cheaply. In addition, shoppers seeking DVDs and compact discs are just as likely to pick them up at their local Tesco too, along with their envelopes and greetings cards, other traditional WH Smith staples. Attempts at diversification such as publishing have not been as successful as expected. Kate Swann, WH Smith's chief executive, said the company aimed to "reinvigorate" itself. "We aim to return the UK High Street Retail business to its role as Britain's most popular stationer, bookseller and newsagent," she said. Ms Swann admitted the firm had lost out to competition from supermarkets and had not helped itself by providing "an inconsistent product offer and an inadequate strategic response to competition". However, she said the stores still had great potential. "The business has unique strengths through its extensive store portfolio, strong market shares and high customer footfall. "Our plans encompass improved efficiency through cost savings and margin enhancement, while rebuilding the competitiveness and depth of our product ranges." Relationship management Relationship Marketing is a marketing method in which businesses consistently maintain two-way communication with their prospective, current and inactive customers in order to gain a deeper understanding of their needs while delivering personal and compelling marketing

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Give each page of a fallacy topic that are related to it Research Paper

Give each page of a fallacy topic that are related to it - Research Paper Example Adolf Hitler once said that people can be easily influenced if you use some psychological formulas in order to persuade them. A formal fallacy, on the other hand, is one which involves an error in the technical arrangement or the structure of an argument. The conclusion of such argument could be true but the argument, itself, is invalid. An ad hominem argument is one in which a person attacks the other party rather than addressing the argument and the question itself. It is an effective way of ignoring the question asked and answering by blaming or criticizing the other party ( Top Ten Logical Fallacies In politics, Web). This is a fallacy not because people claim that the argument is wrong but because the negative characteristics of people making the argument. This is a means through which people try to discredit the argument of the counter party by disclosing their negative traits. This type of a fallacy is highly common among politicians who, rather than commenting on the issue at hand, try to blame the other party in order to create hype especially among the media. This successfully distracts the opponent as well as the audience and media from the question or issue at hand. These personal comments might even affect a voter`s opinion about the opponent`s political position. Ad hominem is further divided into two categories: abusive and circumstantial. Abusive fallacy is when a person comments on the personal character or qualities of the opponent. This is an effective disruption as the opponent tries to defend himself and is distracted from the topic. Circumstantial fallacy is when certain circumstances involving the opponent are brought up in order to divert the attention of the audience or the opponent himself. (Argumentum Ad Hominem, Web). One recent example of this fallacy is when President Obama, during his speech, said that â€Å"Gov. Romney "would ask the middle class to pay more in taxes to

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Research Paper

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Research Paper Example The Book of Mormon was marketed on the 26th of March 1830. A year after the extensively cited analysis of Alexander Campbell charged it of clarifying all the major concerns talked about in New York throughout the 1820s, as well as â€Å"infant baptism, ordination, the trinity, regeneration†¦ even the question of free masonry, republic government, and the rights of man† (Winn, 1990, 20). Aspects in the book did appear to relate with several of existing issues at that time and to address its readers’ mental and emotional needs; several converts made use of the book as prescribed by Campbell. Numerous, nevertheless, did not. In truth, the Book of Mormon, in comparison with the Bible, was used sparsely (Winn, 1990). Smith’s revelations and converts mention ‘Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures,’ setting aside the ‘holy scripture’ for the Bible (Barlow, 1997, 44). God scolded the members of the Church for not giving little importance t o the Book of Mormon. According to Morris (2006), W.W. Phelps, Mormon writer, protested that the Saints would instead seek mysteries and miracles in the Bible than find out details communicated in the Book of Mormon. Mormon publications during the 1830s mentioned the Bible several times as frequently as the Book of Mormon, and in the sermons presented to Nauvoo, Illinois for which current documentation is available, Smith reworded the Book of Mormon a number of times but mentioned or reworded the Bible hundreds of times (Morris, 2006).  ... Numerous, nevertheless, did not. In truth, the Book of Mormon, in comparison with the Bible, was used sparsely (Winn, 1990). Smith’s revelations and converts mention ‘Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures,’ setting aside the ‘holy scripture’ for the Bible (Barlow, 1997, 44). God scolded the members of the Church for not giving little importance to the Book of Mormon. According to Morris (2006), W.W. Phelps, Mormon writer, protested that the Saints would instead seek mysteries and miracles in the Bible than find out details communicated in the Book of Mormon. Mormon publications during the 1830s mentioned the Bible several times as frequently as the Book of Mormon, and in the sermons presented to Nauvoo, Illinois for which current documentations are available, Smith reworded the Book of Mormon a number of times but mentioned or reworded the Bible hundreds of times (Morris, 2006). Even though he illustrated the Book of Mormon as more accurate than any other manuscript and as â€Å"the keystone of our religion,† (Parry, 2004, 17) there are very few proofs that he gave an effort to analyze its text as he studied the Bible. The Book of Mormon was given due importance by its followers, but it did not turn out to be the foundation for the early Church tradition and dogma, the everyday revelations of Smith accomplished that. It would linger for a succeeding period of Saints to embrace as idols those Book of Mormon icons like Nephi, Moroni, and Alma (Parry, 2004). The very first Mormon chose the Bible, in spite of the flaws they discovered in it. Malachi, Zechariah, and Nahum were not indefinite or unclear icons for them and their colleagues (Barlow,

Monday, August 26, 2019

Brent Hayes Edwards's The Uses of Diaspora Essay

Brent Hayes Edwards's The Uses of Diaspora - Essay Example This research tells that Edwards has referred to W.E.B. Du Bois and Karl Marx to create a perspective for forming his treatise. Edwards summarizes the ways in which the concept of duality of Du Bois and idea of capitalism of Karl Marx can provide a useful model of African-American Studies that harmonizes African-centred cultural issues with the certain political and economic necessities confronting Blacks in different parts of the world. Moreover, similar to Du Bois, Edwards tries to engross the discipline in a critical historical foundation, whether it is political science, cultural, sociological, or literary-focused while taking into account the large-scale impacts of racial-capitalism. Edwards seized the opportunity to show the debated feature of the national focus in African-American Studies. He tried to substantiate that there remains a lot of diversity and disparity among scholars of African-American Studies who use the United States as their main focus. Edwards’s defini tion provides credibility to political and cultural relations between the Diaspora and Africa. For instance, understood on its own terms, the Haitian Revolution shows the different ways the Black people acted in response to their places in the world. The article by Edwards, in relation to this, claims that the failure of migrants to assimilate completely into the nation and culture of Haiti permanently marked how several Black people view themselves with respect to Haitians. The ideas of emigrants of being an ‘African’ were thwarted together with the movement, since in Haiti they not merely faced religious, environmental, and economic problems, but a strange racial atmosphere as well. A number of African Americans started to express, specifically, a multifaceted diasporan awareness which embraces both cultural diversities and racial commonalities between Black peoples in the United States. By the advent of the period of antebellum, African Americans certainly regarded t hemselves as part of an African Diaspora. Basically, the argument of Edwards opens an opportunity for the understanding of the connection between the Diaspora and Africa that is rooted in historical experiences, collective intellectual past, political relations, and cultural ties, without the one dominating the others. Furthermore, Edwards’s argument, which relies on ‘basic interrelationships’ and the notion of the ‘African world’, implies continuously developing interconnections between the Diaspora and Africa that transcend a stagnant customary Africa, or a focus on Africa that is entirely founded on the Black experience.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Bridge design Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Bridge design - Coursework Example This old bridge carries gas pipelines along with phone cables which are needed to be accommodated in new design as well. Also this bridge provides a secondary path over the railway lines, thus providing an easy and safe transportation of pedestrians across the railway lines. Idea of stayed bridge was first introduced in 16th century which was then furnished to produce an engineered cable stayed bridge after Second World War. This engineered bridge was constructed in Europe to provide pedestrians with the shortest path to their destination. Cable stayed bridges are considered to be like ordinary suspension bridge as their physical appearance resemble a lot. These bridges differ from suspension bridges in a way that the suspension bridges are having two towers but cable stayed bridges make use of only a single tower to hold all the load of deck and traffic moving on the deck. In cable stayed bridges, the single tower is responsible of holding all the compressional forces acting on the bridge and tension is distributed by making use of stays. Such bridges are having specialized orthotropic decks which are furnished with continuous girders and stays for support. The analysis of such bridges is carried out by making use of linear elastic analysis. This technique is used because of the triangulated force approach used in the construction of stayed bridge. In real time applications, bridge is subjected to a number of torsional and shear forces that are being applied through the environment like, air currents, deformation of structure, load distributions etc. but currently we are not concerned with these parameters and considering only the live and dead loads. A typical suspension bridge force vector is shown below: The purpose of conducting this research is to come up with the best bridge design which is economically as well as socially feasible. Major concern is to construct a project which can be conveniently handled by the crew of county works while erecting

Saturday, August 24, 2019

THE DILEMMA OF ADJUNCTS PROFESSORS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THE DILEMMA OF ADJUNCTS PROFESSORS - Essay Example Hiram Henriquez, one of the several adjunct professors of the University of Miami, has mentioned in an interview that â€Å"The most important thing is the pay. Adjunct professors are providing a service that’s a high-end service, and they are getting paid like they are starting teachers, like me. This statement is supported by the data released by the American Association of University Professors, which says that adjunct professors only earn an average of $20,000 to $25,000 yearly compared to the $84,303 that is being paid to full-time professors. This range is considered to belong to the poverty wages and because of this most of the adjunct professors have the lifestyle of that belonging to the people below the poverty line in the United States. Many adjunct professors are suffering from the huge gap between them and full-time professors. Henriquez, despite finishing Master of Fine Arts, has said that his salary in the university is 50 percent less than what he could have earned if he was a full time professor minus the health benefits as well. Victoria Baldassano, and adjunct professor of the Montgomery College quipped, â€Å"I don’t make much more than I would work at Starbucks.† (Steiger, par. 2). Most of the adjunct teachers opt to find a second job in order to have to live through and to support their families. The management of the colleges and universities who hire adjunct professors clearly acknowledges the fact that these professors are getting less than what they are working for as their salaries as a professor, although the job seems like a high-end one, is not enough to pay for their basic expenses (Aronowitz, par. 7). â€Å"Two classes here, two at FIU... It’s very rough because none of them are given benefits even though they are teaching 6, 7, 8 classes each semester,† said Paul Driscoll, the vice dean of UM School of Communication. Sam Terilli, the department chair of UM, has assessed the effects of

Friday, August 23, 2019

Marketing and Sports Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing and Sports - Research Paper Example While the world of business is trying to find a competitive benefit, the world of sports is welcoming the funds proposed. There are many hazards of sports marketing in the world of business. The Nike University and Art Modells contracts give various lessons to the people and companies in sports marketing (Cashman and Michael, pp. 11). If one is related with racially prejudiced statements, domestic violence and showing violence to the superiors, he or she stands to be defeated more than sports marketing making him to gain. Researching and understanding various individual people or companies who want to sponsor is a critical issue. There is no marketing plan termed to be fool proof. According to Mullinand William (pp. 1), other people feel bitter about the people in sports taking corporate funds. In the last twenty five years, prodigious things have emerged in sports due to the money issued. On the other hand, sports have come to pay shares for the companies that have spent on sports marketing. Nike Company focuses on every single spectator using their merchandises. In conclusion, sports marketing have gone into bigger companies budgets in the world. The stakes are increasing so that they can be in the gameand this may lead to diminishing returns. The way a consumer relates sports and business is very essential. Various athletes and sports rely mostly on endorsements and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Professionalism and system of Healing Essay Example for Free

Professionalism and system of Healing Essay Much of the existing sociological work on professions and professionalism takes a structural approach (Macdonald 1995); the focus is on how groups of people professionalize, or how professionalism can be defined, which occupations count as ‘true’ professions (Johnson 1981). For this reason ‘professionalism’ is often dismissed as rhetoric. In order to achieve status and monopolistic position in the market for services of some kind, aspiring professionals are seen to stress the distinctness of their knowledge, the undoubted authenticity of their altruism and the responsibility of their members. When professionalism is considered purely as a trope perhaps this is a legitimate line to take. However, it can overlook the fact that professionalism can also be regarded as a set of boundary setting practices. These practices no doubt contribute to status since they distance the professional from the client, but they may also benefit the client. For example, the practitioner may adopt a person in which his or her emotions or prejudices are back grounded and subordinated to the client’s task in hand (Cant and Sharma 1998). Professionalism Professionalism in medicine is nothing more than the institutionalization of a male upper class monopoly. I must never confuse professionalism with expertise. Expertise is something to work for and to share; professionalism is – by definition – elitist and exclusive, sexist, racist and classist. In the American past, women who sought formal medical training were too ready to accept the professionalism that went with it. They made their gains in status – but only on the backs of their less privileged sisters – midwives, nurses and lay healers. The main goal today should never be to open up the exclusive medical profession to women, but to open up medicine to all women. Professionalism is the ability to meet the relationship-centered expectations required to practice medicine competently. What does competence look alike? The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the umbrella organization for certifying boards agree that competent physicians have abilities in the following areas: medical knowledge, patient care, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skill, and system based practice. Professionalism integrates all these competencies. It can be observed, for instance, with practice-based learning and improvement when students or residents reflect on their performance and task themselves. Professionalism interfaces with system-based practice when students or residents help patients obtain the care and resources they need to maintain health. Professionalism overlaps with interpersonal and communication skills and with patient care when students or residents are respectful in their interactions with others. The Healing System The integrative practitioner acknowledges the intrinsic restorative capacity of the human organism. Activation of this process is critical to an integrative practitioner’s decisions regarding which therapeutic choices are most beneficial for the patient. Weil has described the concept of a â€Å"healing system† operating in the human organism, not intrinsically different in nature from the â€Å"endocrine system† the â€Å"nervous system, the â€Å"immune system,† or any other conventionally defined functional system in the human body. Like these other systems, the healing system is not specifically located in any single organ, but functions via a subtle and complex web of intracellular signaling systems affecting all levels of the organism, from the cellular level to the tissue-organ level to the levels of mind and spirit. Weil gives an example of the process at the cellular level: when the DNA of a skin cell is damaged by ultraviolet radiation – potentially triggering mutation and unregulated replication, eventually leading to development of a skin malignancy – DNA lipase and a set of related enzymes within the damaged cell’s nucleus are automatically activated, resulting in the identification and removal of the damaged sequence, with restoration of normal replication. If this level of â€Å"automatic healing† fails, then generally, once the cell has mutated and begun to replicate abnormally, immune cells will identify it as foreign and contain and destroy the affected group of cells – without any conscious action on the part of the person affected. At the level of tissues or organs, the spontaneous healing of wounds is an obvious example of the healing system at work. The occurrence of an injury initiates a complex system of intracellular signaling, leading to local inflammation as a defense against infection, increased tissue perfusion to promote healing, and, ultimately, activation of fibroblasts and other cells to repair the damaged skin and subcutaneous tissues. Here again, although this process can potentially be influenced by certain inputs, including medications, botanicals, mind-body therapies, and others, the basic mechanisms of healing are intrinsic and require no intervention to be moved into action. Summary Medicine is a cooperative art and a deeply satisfying profession. Students become professional by paying attention to the relationship of medicine-relationships with patients, colleagues, and mentors. Competence in professionalism is a habit, and its acquisition requires more than knowledge and skill. The inclusion of traditional medical system and other proven modalities in a healing-oriented framework brings us back to a more balanced stance that serves the physician, the patient, and ultimately, the health care system..

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Protecting and Preserving Our Environment Essay Example for Free

Protecting and Preserving Our Environment Essay At WD, we recognize the need to preserve and protect the earth’s vital natural resources. We believe that part of being a good corporate citizen and a good neighbor is maintaining or improving the cleanliness of the air, water and land of the locations in which we operate. As a result, our facilities throughout the world comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and each has developed and implemented a comprehensive set of practices designed to ensure continued compliance. In addition, we continually review our operations and processes to identify opportunities which allow us to reduce or recycle byproducts generated by our activities. We are also concerned about protecting the natural resources of the communities in which our products are sold and used. We review the content of the products we manufacture and have established programs to eliminate or phase out the use of certain materials restricted by international legislation. We have also begun offering for sale a line of products specifically designed to reduce the environmental impact resulting from their use. All of our manufacturing facilities in Asia have environmental management systems in place which are ISO 14001 certified. Each facility has a comprehensive policy and set of supporting procedures addressing environmental permits, pollution prevention, hazardous substances, wastewater and solid wastes, airborne emissions and product content. Our policies express a commitment to continued improvement, and to this end, we review the status of our environmental management systems at least annually. All of our manufacturing facilities have environmental specialists onsite, and we provide training programs on environmental practices for employees whose job duties impact our environmental management systems. In addition, all of our facilities provide clear written direction to all employees and workers in languages appropriate to each site regarding requirements and responsibilities for environmental practices in accordance with company policy. Compliance with RoHS and WEEE Directives WD products manufactured and sold worldwide after August 1, 2005, meet or exceed Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance requirements as mandated by the European Union for electrical and electronic products. The RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament, which was effective in the EU beginning July 1, 2006, aims to protect human health and the environment by restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in new equipment, and consists of restrictions on lead, mercury, cadmium, and other substances. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive was developed to minimize the disposal of electrical and electronic equipment into landfills. WD hard drive products and packaging include the WEEE symbol in support of this directive. Supplier Compliance WD has conducted and continues to conduct very extensive tests regarding use of environmental compliant material on all our components. WD requires all component suppliers meet WD’s environmental Specification, titled â€Å"WD’s Environmental Guidelines for Materials, Components and Products.† This 20-page Specification sets forth the maximum threshold limits for restricted, prohibited and managed substances and requires suppliers to adhere to all applicable laws. In addition, the Specification states that all WD suppliers and sub-suppliers will be expected to complete environmental declaration forms for all new materials and components based on a combination of knowledge of their incoming raw materials, process review and their own analytical testing and certification data. Suppliers are required to maintain documented records, made available to Western Digital, indicating which measures are used to ensure compliance to the Specification. We review all suppliers ’ Declarations of compliance with WDs environmental Specification during the launch of every new hard drive program and also track this together with a 3rd party Analytical lab data by component in our Environmental Compliance database. In addition, we maintain strict requirements with respect to Supplier Process/Material Change requests. Suppliers are also required to keep records of their in process tests to ensure compliance to the approved Process Management Plan and approved materials. These are regularly audited by WD. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Global climate change, caused by increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, is one of the most significant concerns facing our world today. As a corporate citizen, WD is particularly sensitive to the effects of global climate change. The need to understand the science of climate change and to formulate appropriate policy to address scientific findings is intensifying with each passing day. To view WD’s Greenhouse Gas report, click here. QA for Environmental and Hazardous Materials Environmental QDoes Western Digital have management representatives responsible for assuring compliance with respect to environmental laws, regulations and codes? AYes. Western Digital has management representatives at all critical sites whose core responsibility is monitoring, communicating and training employees in all aspects of environmental compliance as related to the specific facility. QDo Western Digital’s facilities receive periodic audits of environmental practices in order to assess conformance with regulatory and other requirements? AYes. Western Digital conducts both internal and external audits to evaluate its compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. QWhat types of policies, rules or procedures does Western Digital maintain relative to environmental programs? AWestern Digital maintains environmental polices, rules and/or procedures which address environmental permits, pollution prevention, hazardous substances, liquid waste, solid waste, air emission controls and product content. The substance of these programs is delivered to our employee population utilizing various formats including in-person training, web-based training, face-to-face communications, postings and bulletins. All programs are communicated in various languages appropriate to the employee population of each of our facilities to insure that all employees have a clear understanding of the programs. QDoes Western Digital place contractual requirements on its suppliers to be in compliance with environmental laws, regulations and codes of conduct? AYes. Whenever possible, Western Digital executes contracts with its suppliers which require, among other things, that the suppliers comply with all relevant and applicable environmental laws and regulations. QIs Western Digital required to maintain certain environmental permits in the operations of its facilities? AYes. Western Digital is required to maintain certain environmental permits as related to the operations of its facilities. Based on the geography and the operations, permits may be required for chemical handling and storage, waste treatment, wastewater discharge, air emissions and storage tanks. QDoes Western Digital make available Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDS) to workers that handle chemicals? AYes. Western Digital makes MSDS sheets available to employees onsite at all of its facilities. In addition, Western Digital contracts for OnCall MSDS information domestically. Hazardous Materials QDoes Western Digital use hazardous materials in its manufacturing process? AYes. Western Digital utilizes a variety of hazardous materials in its manufacturing operations. Classifications of hazardous materials include flammables, combustibles, corrosives and toxic gases. QHow does Western Digital store chemicals at its facilities? AWestern Digital stores all hazardous materials in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Storage areas are secured and covered containing various types of containers including bottles, cylinders, drums and other approved vessels with the appropriate type of labeling and containment as required or recommended by codes, regulations and other authorities. QDoes Western Digital generate wastes that are classified as hazardous wastes? AYes. Western Digital generates various types and quantities of hazardous wastes. All wastes are disposed of in compliance with applicable law, and we regularly audit our hazardous waste haulers and their facilities. QDoes Western Digital have a program or procedures for management of hazardous waste? AYes. Western Digital has a variety of programs and procedures for the management of its hazardous waste. These include monitoring, characterization, treatment, conversion and disposition. All wastes are disposed of in compliance with applicable law, and we regularly audit our hazardous waste haulers and their facilities. QDoes Western Digital have a site specific management system registered to ISO 14001, OSHAS 18001, or other recognized health and safety or environmental management standards? AYes. Western Digital factories in Malaysia and Thailand maintain management systems which have earned the ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001 designation. QDoes Western Digital have programs or procedures to reduce or eliminate pollution and waste in its operations? AWestern Digital is always looking for ways to eliminate or reduce pollution or waste generated by our operations. Among the programs we consider are solvent re-use or elimination, process waste and emission minimization, packaging reduction, recycling or elimination as well as reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. QDoes Western Digital have programs or procedures to reduce the use of energy, water and other natural resources in its operations? AWestern Digital is always looking for ways to reduce energy and other natural resource consumption in our operations. Among the programs we consider are evaluating product or process design modifications, improvement in energy efficiency of process, and the evaluation of construction, maintenance and land use programs.

The Reproductive Health Bill

The Reproductive Health Bill Public opinion is the aggregate of individual dispositions and beliefs with regards to important issues. Public opinion holds great importance in democracies because a democracy, by its very definition, connotes a form of government that is responsive to the people. Democracy is most often defined as a set of procedures and institutions intended to make the holders of political power directly responsible to the electorates. The quality of democratic government is measured by the responsiveness of public policymakers to the preferences of the mass public. For that reason, public opinion will always play an important role in policy-making process in the Philippines, a democratic country. Views and opinions of the general public should be taken into consideration in formulating, passing and implementing a policy. Hence, stakeholders and interests groups roles are very vital in affecting policy outcomes since stakeholders and interest groups are the means through which public opinion is brought in the Halls of the Congress. In view of this, the government is faced with the need to balance the conflicting views of different stakeholders, interest and pressure groups in the decision-making process. This is clearly exemplified in the controversial Reproductive Health bill. This paper studies the different stakeholders involved in the Reproductive Health Bill and the degree in which they affect policy outcome based on the resources and resource mobilization capacities they have. The first part of this paper includes definition and the presentation of health and population situation in the Philippines. The second part focuses with the provisions, debates and proponent of RH bill. The third part provides an analysis of the different stakeholders and resources and resource mobilization capacity that they have. Lastly, the examination of how these stakeholders and interest groups can actually affect policy outcome and the degree on which they affect it. The controversy of RH bill led to many implications. Reproductive health is now a byword that enthralled the public attention. Therefore, there is a need to define the term based on a standard definition. Reproductive health addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life. Reproductive health implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so (World Health Organization). Although this appears to be the only definition of the term in any international document, the definition implicitly implies that reproductive health includes the right of men and women to be informed of and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of fertility regulation of their choice, and the right of access to appropriate health care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant (International Conference on Population and Development, 1994). Of the eight Millennium Development Goals, achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015 is one of the two targets of Goal 5, Improving Maternal Health. Due to this, a comprehensive study of the reproductive health in the Philippines is greatly needed and in turn, to develop and actually implement a policy that will give Filipinos equal chances to the right to reproductive health and develop programs that will seek to address problems related to reproductive health in the country. Over the past 30 years, developing countries population have rise up almost twice the rate of those in the developed and advanced countries. As an effect, a number of people have caught up with high infant mortality, low life expectancy, disease, malnutrition and illiteracy. Rapid population growth causes difficulties in managing economic and social changes, including the balancing of the fruits of economic development efforts (Leverage International, 2011). Governments of the Third World countries and as well as of those developed nations recognized that the measurement of economic development is not based only on economic indicators such as income distribution but also by the quality of life of its people (Leverage International, 2011). Philippines, as a developing country, experiences rapid population growth. According to the 2007 Census by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Philippine population was 88.57 million and the estimated population as of 2010 is 94.3 million and this made the country as the 12th most populous country in the world. This high population results to high infant mortality rate which is 19.94% in 2010. In addition to this, the lifetime risk of maternal death in the Philippines is 1 in every 140, according to United Nations International Children Emergency Funds State of the Worlds Children 2009 report. Each day, about 11 Filipino mothers or 4,500 each year die because of hypertensive disorders, severe hemorrhage or other labor- or abortion-related problems. The country is also part of a group of 68 countries where 97% of worldwide maternal, neonatal and child health deaths occur. Moreover, the county is witnessing the fastest spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in its history. Five new HIV cases are recorded everyday according to the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health. High infant mortality rate, high maternal mortality rate and a number of HIV cases are not the only problems that the Philippines is experiencing in relation to reproductive health. Because of the lack of a concrete reproductive health and family planning policy and program in the country, unwanted pregnancy incidences become high. Due to this, Filipino women are forced to undergo induced abortion as one of the methods that they use to meet their reproductive goals. Although abortion is illegal in the Philippines, and despite the potential harmful consequences of an unsafe abortion for womens health and life, many women resort to abortion to meet their family-size goals or to space births (The Guttmacher Institute, 2003). The Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Level and Recent Trends (2005), a study conducted by Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheela Singh, and Rubina Hussain for the Guttmacher Institute revealed the following: Six in 10 Filipino women say they have experienced an unintended pregnancy at some point in their lives. About 1.43 million pregnancies each yearnearly half of all pregnancies in the Philippinesare unintended. Some 54% of women who have ended an unintended pregnancy by abortion were not using any family planning method when they conceived. Of those who were practicing contraception, three-fourths were using a traditional method. The average Filipino woman wants 2.5 children. In order to achieve that goal, she must spend more than 19 years using effective contraceptive methods. However, nearly half of all married women of reproductive age have an unmet need for effective contraceptionthat is, they are sexually active, are able to have children, do not want a child soon or ever, but are not using any form of contraception or are using traditional methods, which have high failure rates. Aside from induced abortion that can lead to deaths, other problem due to the lack of reproductive health policy is the risk of acquiring cervical cancer. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually-transmitted, wart-forming virus that has been implicated in causing cancer of the cervix. This is the most common cancer in women secondary to breast cancer (Department of Health, 2008). Due to these findings and other statistics such as high infant and mortality rates, these imply that there is an immense need for a policy to ensure the right to reproductive health in the Philippines. Although reproductive health has long been considered a basic universal human right, this right remains elusive and illusory for millions of Filipinos, especially the poor. The first comprehensive version of reproductive health bill, House Bill 8110 or The Integrated Population and Development Act of 1999 was filed in the 11th Congress. Twelve years after, the country still does not have a reproductive health policy and the issue of the current reproductive health bills remains a heated and controversial issue as the first RH bill. Today, the struggle of RH advocates still continues for the passage of a comprehensive reproductive health bill. House Bill 4244 or The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011 is the most recent version of a reproductive health bill that was filed in the 15th Congress. H.B. 4244 is popularly known as the consolidated RH bill in substitution to the other reproductive health bills that are pending in the Congress. The other reproductive health bills are as follows: House Bill 96 (Rep. Edcel Lagman) An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development and for Other Purposes House Bill 101 (Rep. Janette Garin) An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population Development and for Other Purposes House Bill 513 (Reps. Kaka Bag-ao and Warden Bello of Akbayan Partylist) An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population and Development and for Other Purposes House Bill 1160 (Rep. Rodolfo Biazon) An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and for Other Purposes House Bill 1520 (Rep. Judy Syjuco) An Act to Protect the Right of the People to Information on Reproductive Health Care House Bill 3368 (Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela Womens Party) An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health for Women and Development and for Other Purposes H.B 4244s objectives are as follows: To uphold and promote respect for life, informed choice, birth spacing and responsible parenthood in conformity with internationally recognized human rights standards. To guarantee universal access to medically-safe, legal and quality reproductive health care services and relevant information even as it prioritizes the needs of women and children. To realize these goals, the consolidated RH Bill has the following key provisions: Mandates the Department of Health (DOH) and Local Health Units in cities and municipalities shall serve as the lead agencies for the implementation of this act. Mandates the Population Commission, to be an attached agency of the Department of Health, shall serve as a coordinating body in the implementation of this Act. Provides for the creation of an enabling environment for women and couples to make an informed choice regarding the family planning method that is best suited to their needs and personal convictions. The LGUs and the DOH shall ensure that a Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health, including maternal and neonatal health care kits and services will be given proper attention in crisis situations such as disasters and humanitarian crises. Provides for a maternal death review in LGUs, national and local government hospitals and other public health units to decrease the incidence of maternal deaths. Products and supplies for modern family planning methods shall be part of the National Drug Formulary and the same shall be included in the regular purchase of essential medicines and supplies of all national and local hospitals and other government health units. Ensures the availability of hospital-based family planning methods such as tubal ligation, vasectomy and intrauterine device insertion in all national and local government hospitals, except in specialty hospitals. Provides for a Mobile Health Care Service in every Congressional District to deliver health care goods and services. Provides Mandatory Age-appropriate Reproductive Health Education starting from Grade 5 to Fourth Year High School to develop the youth into responsible adults. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall ensure that employees respect the reproductive health rights of workers. Mandates private and nongovernment reproductive health care service providers to provide at least forty-eight (48) hours annually of reproductive health services free of charge to indigent and low income patients, especially to pregnant adolescents. Mandates cities and municipalities to provide sexual and reproductive health programs for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Mandates the inclusion of the topics on responsible parenthood, family planning, breastfeeding and infant nutrition as essential part of the information given by local Family Planning office to all applicants for marriage license. Mandates no less than 10% increase in the honoraria of community-based volunteer workers, such as the barangay health workers, upon successful completion of training on the delivery of reproductive health care services. Creation of Congressional Oversight Committee (COC) which shall be composed of five (5) members each from the Senate and from the House of Representatives which shall monitor and ensure the effective implementation of this Act, determine the inherent weakness and loopholes in the law, recommend the necessary remedial legislation or administrative measures and perform such other duties and functions as may be necessary to attain the objectives of this Act. Penalizes the violator of this Act from one month to six months imprisonment or a fine ranging from ten thousand to fifty thousand pesos or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court. H.B 4244 covers all other six pending RH bills in the Congress but despite the clear purpose of the bill, the enactment of RH bill is long overdue. On the other hand, RH bill advocates see the passage of the consolidated RH bill in the 15th Congress since it was already approved by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations last February 1 and it was also approved by the Committee on Appropriations with a vote of 20-3. Last March 8 which is incidentally the International Womens Day, RH bill reached the plenary. Biliran Representative Rogelio Espina, chairman of the Committee on Population and Family Relations, delivered his sponsorship speech on Committee Report 664. Three of the six sponsors of the bill also delivered speeches urging for its passage Minority Leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, Gabriela partylist Representative Luz Ilagan and Akbayan partylist Representative Arlene Kaka Bag-ao. Meanwhile, President Benigno Aquino III ordered Health Secreaty Enrique Ona to draft the Responsible Parenthood Bill that would perhaps serve as a middle ground between RH advocates and the Church. Moreover, the President did also not include RH bill as part of his list of policy priorities after the Church issued a pastoral letter entitled Choosing Life, Rejecting RH Bill. Though Rep. Lagman believes that the Malacaà ±ang-sponsored version of the RH bill would not be able take the place of a more comprehensive RH bill since it is limited to the issue of family planning and responsible parenthood. Moreover, Health Secretary Ona is a known advocate of reproductive health and family planning. His public pronouncements have confirmed that he, like his predecessor Sec. Espie Cabral, is unwavering in his belief that RH is a basic human right. Because of this, Cong. Lagman believes that the crafting of the Responsible Parenthood bill would and should not delay the passage of the consolida ted RH bill. Cong. Edcel Lagman of the First District of Albay is the principal author of the consolidated RH bill. According to him, the incidences of infant and maternal mortality in his own district are within the range of the national average. As a solution, they have set up lying-in clinics and birthing centers in the upland and island barangays of the first district of Albay so as to ensure that mothers in far flung barangays can be given emergency and basic obstetric care. However, the problem of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity goes beyond the First District of Albay. The preventable deaths of mothers and children happen on a national scale so the need to formulate a national policy on reproductive health is imperative. Although he is a Catholic he believes that like many other Catholics in the country, they can be good Catholics and still support a measure like RH bill that puts a premium on quality of life and the protection and fulfilment of the basic human rights to reproductive health and sustainable human development. He also noted that the word catholic when used as an adjective means all-embracing, forward-looking and liberal. The antonym of catholic is conservative, narrow-minded and intolerant. That is why it is very ironic that the Catholic Church particularly the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) strongly opposes RH bill. Rep. Lagman is also the newly-elect chair of one of the ruling party in the country, the Lakas Kampi Catholic Muslim Democrats (CMD). However, because of the nature of the party system in the Philippines, this position in his party would not guarantee the passage of RH bill. According to him, his colleagues are free to support or oppose an issue as they see fit. Members of his party are not required to vote for or support RH bill. It is interesting to note that the former President and the incumbent representative of the second district of Pampanga, Rep. Gloria Arroyo, who is a member of the Lakas Kampi CMD is known to be a critic of RH bill. In line with this, the conflicting views on RH bill do not only occur inside Congress. Central to the issue of RH bill is the political dynamics of the numerous actors involved in affecting the passage of the said bill. The different stakeholders and interest groups play important roles in the deliberation of the policy. This put the challenge to the legislators to balance and to be able to reconcile the conflicting views of these stakeholders and interest groups. But how did citizens start to participate in the decision-making process? Due to influx of information, there came a higher level of consciousness among citizens. Peoples desire to participate in decision-making process amplified. People demand more of representation and participation in the government. In less complex times, elected representation was a sufficient means for most citizens to participate in government. Recently, for a number of reasons, including the diversity of citizens cultural heritage, needs, values, and interests, that has been changing and of course, the changes brought about by modernization, there is now a strong desire for citizens to be involved broadly in governance and directly in policy decisions. Governments, especially in developing countries, are very vulnerable and they are being assessed based on their economic and political performance. And one of the bases of a governments political performance is its capacity to provide venues for peoples participation and involvement. Hence, views and opinions of the general public should be taken into consideration in formulating, passing and implementing a policy. For this reason, one of the biggest challenges which government faces is the need to balance the conflicting views of different interest groups in a particular policy. This problem is very much observed in the issue of coming up with a reproductive health policy in the Philippines. Conflicting views and opinions from numerous actors and stakeholders in the reproductive health bill have always marred the passage of the said bill. Certain sectors and segments of the population will definitely be affected upon the implementation of the said policy and they also have different views regarding the passage of RH bill. However, the stakeholders who have the resources to influence or actually determine the success or failure of the reproductive health bill are the Roman Catholic Church, the women sector and pharmaceutical companies in the country. The table below shows an analysis of the four primary stakeholders in the RH bill. From the stakeholders listed above, the Catholic Church and organized women groups are the primary actors in the debate in adopting a reproductive health policy in the country because they are the most visible in terms of their campaign for or against the said policy. The Catholic Church is the main critic of the reproductive health bill because it argues that the policy is anti-life because it promotes the use of modern contraception measures. Also, it argues that RH bill does not really address poverty. In the researchers interview with Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz and Carmelo Cruz, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News Editor, they said that the Catholic Churchs judgment in the political performance of former President Ferdinand Marcos that significantly contribute for making EDSA People Power I happened in 1986 is the same as their opposition to the six pending reproductive health bills in the Congress. Their opposition to the immoral regime of Pres. Marcos is the same as their opposition to an immoral policy, the reproductive health bill. (This was also written in CBCPs Pastoral Letter entitled Choosing Life, Rejecting RH bill issued last January 30, 2011.) Moreover, they believe that it is not the poor Filipino people who will benefit from the implementation of the reproductive health bill but the foreign owners of transnational pharmaceutical companies who will supply modern contraceptives. They also believe that if a reproductive health bill will be enacted into law, it will paved the way for the introduction and passage of other policies such as policies on divorce, mercy killing and same sex marriage. The Catholic Church believes that the passage of a reproductive health bill will deteriorate the authentic human values and as well as the Filipino cultural values in accordance to the teachings of the Church. Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz said that although reproductive health bill can lessen infant and maternal mortality, he argued that the reason behind infant and maternal mortality and morbidity is poverty and inaccessible to basic health care services. According to him, health care services are inaccessible to poor families because of bad governance and corruption, services are not delivered to poor communities because public official corrupt the money that is intended for communities welfare. For these reasons, the solution to infant and maternal mortality in the country is not the reproductive health bill, the solution needs to focus to the root causes of the problem which is bad governance and poverty. However, the Catholic hierarchy said that is not against the elimination of violence against women, the treatment of breast cancer, maternal and child health and nutrition and other elements of RH. It is only against making modern family planning methods available to women and couples and the teaching of sexuality and RH education to the youth. The Church believes that RH bill would violate the teachings of the Church specifically the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae which is the basis of the Church teaching that contraceptives are intrinsically evil. The Church has been firm in its stand against RH bill. The Church is having dialogues to the current administration to turn down RH bills that are pending in Congress. Moreover, the Church through its archdioceses and dioceses consults representatives from each district for them to be convinced not to vote for RH bill. Also, the CBCP issues statements to inform the public why RH bill should not be enacted into law. And what is more important is the impact of the Catholic Church in shaping or influencing public opinion since majority of Filipinos are Catholics. Some officials are threatened that their stand regarding the issue on RH bill might affect their political careers. Because of the strong opposition of the Catholic Church to adopt a reproductive health policy in the country and the resources it has to affect the decisions of public officials, the passage of the bill becomes impossible despite the need for a reproductive health policy in the country. Last January 30, CBCP issued a pastoral letter against RH bill. As an effect, the President did not include RH bill from among the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Councils policy measures that probably would unduly delay again the passage of RH bill. If the Catholic Church strongly oppose RH bill, organized womens groups tell the other side of the story. Womens organizations such as Gabriela Womens Party and Likhaan Center for Womens Health Inc. stalwartly campaign for the passage of RH bill. These RH advocate groups believe that the rights of people to reproductive health do not depend on a few powerful men deciding the fate of women (Likhaan, 2011). In the explanatory note of House Bill 3368 introduced by Gabriela Womens Party, it states that Filipino women do not have to die at childbirth just because they are poor, they do not have to suffer from undiagnosed cervical, breast, vulvar, ovarian or similar cancers of the reproductive system just because they do not have access to adequately staffed and equipped public health facilities Women do not have to suffer from untreated uterine fibroid or such similar conditions just because diagnostic procedures are costly, women should not die at childbirth because their infants need th em for optimum care, love and affection if children are to grow up to realize their full potential as productive and responsible members of our society. Due to these reasons, access to reproductive health programs, resources and services for marginalized women needs to be guaranteed by the government. A national reproductive health policy is seen to offer health care services that will basically benefit women, especially the marginalized. Advancing reproductive health rights in a comprehensive, available, accessible, acceptable, and democratic manner is a long overdue mandate of the Philippine government to its female population given the social and economic realities in the country. Hence, the approval of legislators to pass RH bill is indispensable (Likhaan, 2011). According to Junice Demeterio-Melgar, the executive director of Likhaan and Secretary-General of Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN), family planning will save the lives of mothers because family planning changes the composition of child-bearing. This means that pregnancies in women who are considered at a higher risk of dying from pregnancy and childbirth-related causes will be dramatically reduced. These are women who are too young, too old, have had too many children or have had unremitting pregnancies. Medical experts have stated that pregnancy in women below 18 or above 35 is considered high risk. They have also emphasized that womens bodies need anywhere from two to three years to fully recover from the rigors of pregnancy and childbirth. Moreover, the World Health Organization concludes that if women have information and access to contraceptives and are taught to use them properly, the fall in maternal mortality is likely to be even greater than the fall in the pregnancy rate. With their struggle for the passage of RH bill, womens groups tied up with other RH advocates to pressure legislators to pass RH bill. Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN), which has forty-three (43) national organizations with no less than 10,000 members in grassroots communities nationwide, continues to have dialogues with the President and with their recent dialogue, RHAN reminded the President about his Social Contract, which included a commitment to responsible parenthood based on informed choice and support to poor families. RHAN, specifically Likhaan, is disappointed with the Presidents decision to resort to a Responsible Parenthood Bill instead of a more comprehensive RH bill. According to them, further dialogues of the President to CBCP will trap his administration into delay and inaction, or push it to drop the freedom of choice principle in the Presidents promise of responsible parenthood since the Church will always disagree to any RH bill because its opposition to RH is based on the core principle of human life, it is clear that immovable religious beliefs are the bedrock of the bishops opposition to RH as pointed out by the recent CBCPs pastoral letter. Further dialogues or consultations will never change the stance of the Catholic Church. Aside from dialogues, advocates continue to hold fora and debates on the issues of RH and human development from schools and universities to service clubs and community-based organizations. In addition, they hold mobilizations and rallies in front of Congress to pressure legislators to enact the said bill. Both stakeholders prove to be significant and effective in their campaign for or against RH bill. However, the Church as an established and one of the most powerful institutions in the country which affect public opinion has an advantage in affecting the outcome of the said policy. However, RH advocates do not only have the superiority of numbers but they also have the superiority of arguments. Although the Church has the capacity to influence or even shape public opinion, perhaps the case on the debate on RH bill is isolated. Recent survey results show that majority of Filipino and Filipino Catholics support RH bill. Although the RH critics say that people are only misinformed about the content of the measure, advocates say that the capacity of Filipinos to understand an issue like RH, responsible parenthood and population and development should not be underestimated. People support the RH bill because they realize how important it is to become a responsible parent. Filipinos also believe that is not only important for them to be able to plan and space their children, it is equally important that the State provide information on and access to all forms of family planning methods. The following data are results of SWS and Pulse Asia surveys: Social Weather Station (October 2008) 71% of Filipinos are in favor of the RH bill; 76% of Filipinos agree that there should be a law requiring government to teach family planning to the youth; and 68% believe that there should be a law requiring government to distribute legal contraceptives like condoms, pills and IUDs Pulse Asia (February 2010) 93% of Filipinos consider it important to have the ability to plan their families; 82% of Filipinos believe government should teach couples about all methods of family planning; Another 82% of Filipinos say that it is the governments duty to provide the people with knowledge, services, and materials on all methods of family planning; 75% of Filipinos consider it important that a candidate for election includes modern family planning in the program of action he will pursue; 64% of Filipinos will vote for candidates who publicly promote modern methods of family planning with only 6% saying that they will not vote for such candidates. The rest were undecided; and A considerable majority of Filipinos (63%) want the RH bill to be passed into law with only 8% expressing opposition to the measure. Even Catholics have spoken: They want the RH bill passed. 68% of Catholics believe that government

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Use of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory to Evaluate Post Tra

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) frequently headlines newspapers and newscasts across America. Veterans fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan return to a life they left but inside they are tormented with flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, anger, and depression. Many people suffer from PTSD after experiencing traumatic events in his or her life. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) is chosen for the basis of this assignment to evaluate someone who exhibits symptoms of PTSD. Sometimes the symptoms of PTSD are exaggerated or faked. The basic characteristics and the purpose of this tool will be discussed as well as how the tool is used. An analysis of the MMPI-2 will reveal the relationship between MMPI-2 and a major theory of personality. After identifying the psychometric properties for PTSD populations, the question of the adequacy of MMPI-2 will be answered by reviewing literature. Last ethical considerations will be analyzed. Selection of instrument, characteristics, uses and purposes PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder resulting from experiencing a traumatic event in life. The person will relive or re-experience the event through flashbacks, nightmares and fear-evoking memories. Some report being hyperaware or constantly aroused, expecting the event to happen again. Soldiers comment on falling to the ground at a loud bang, constantly surveying the area around them, having an exaggerated startle response. Many do not talk about his or her experience; have sleep problems, anger issues, and trouble concentrating. Abuse of alcohol and drugs is common to try to deal with the anguish inside (PTSD Support Services, 2010). The MMPI-2 consists of 567 true and false questions taking 60 to 90 minutes to complete. A shor... ...ive for posttraumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury. Psychological Assessment, 23(1), 203-214. doi:10.1037/a0021339 Garcia, H. A., Kelley, L. P., Rentz, T. O., & Lee, S. (2011). Pretreatment predictors of dropout from cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD in Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Psychological Services, 8(1), 1-11. doi:10.1037/a0022705 Efendov, A. A., Sellbom, M., & Bagby, R. (2008). The utility and comparative incremental validity of the MMPI-2 and Trauma symptom Inventory validity scales in the detection of feigned PTSD. Psychological Assessment, 20(4), 317-326. doi:10.1037/a0013870 Tolin, D. F., Steenkamp, M. M., Marx, B. P., & Litz, B. T. (2010). Detecting symptom exaggeration in combat veterans using the MMPI–2 symptom validity scales: A mixed group validation. Psychological Assessment, 22(4), 729-736. doi:10.1037/a0020973

Monday, August 19, 2019

Pride in Oedipus and Othello Essay -- compare contrast

Pride in Oedipus and Othello   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In literature, the tragic heroes Oedipus and Othello allow the pride they have to cause their own demise by putting too much emphasis on the lives they have created for themselves. Oedipus, who blinds himself after finding out he has killed his birth father and married his birth mother, refuses to believe he has truly fulfilled his fate because he is so proud of what he has accomplished since he left Corinth. Othello demonstrates his pride by believing that the people closest to him would never betray him because of his powerful position as a General of the armies in Venice. Both characters example of hubris, or excessive pride, causes the downfall in their lives, which eventually leads to life-long blindness for Oedipus and death for Othello.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A first glimpse of Oedipus’ pride is seen when he is speaking to the prophet Teiresias and refuses to believe he is actually responsible for killing the previous king of Thebes who happens to be his father. Teiresias tells Oedipus multiple times that his fate has been fulfilled and that Oedipus really did murder Laà ¯os, however Oedipus is unbelieving of what Teiresias has to say. â€Å"Teiresias: I say that you are the murder whom you seek. Oedipus: Now twice you have spat out infamy! You’ll pay for it! Teiresias: Would you care for more? Do you wish to be really angry? Oedipus: Say what you will. Whatever you say is worthless. Teiresias: I say you live in hideous shame with those most dear to you. You can not see the evil† (Sophocles 171 lines 144-159). Teiresias blatantly tells Oedipus the truth of what is happening around him, and Oedipus dismisses all he says. Oedipus’ pride blinds him to all the evidence that points to him as the murderer of his own father. When Iocastà ª tells Oedipus the details of Laà ¯os’s murder, Oedipus is too ignorant to see that he was the one who murdered the previous king and placed a curse upon himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oedipus: I solemnly forbid the people of this country, where power and throne   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  are mine, ever to receive that man or speak to him, no matter who he is, or let him   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  join in sacrifice, lustration, or in prayer. I decree that he be driven from every   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  house, being, as he is, corruption itself to us: the Delphic Voice of Zeus has   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  pronounced this revelation. Thus I associate myself with the oracle and take the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  side ... ...is pride, he doesn’t want people to know that he killed his wife out of jealousy that was fabricated by a jealous man. He wants people to believe that it was his love that caused the murder; that he loved too much and not that he was really trying to avenge his pride and save himself from realizing he has lost everything he worked so hard to earn.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pride caused the death of 2 innocent people in Othello; however, Oedipus becoming blind and having to live with the mistakes he made is a fate worse than death. A tragic flaw seen in both characters is the amount of pride each one possesses. Both men had the opportunity to be ordinary and to be able to get by, yet that was not good enough for either of them. Oedipus and Othello felt they could achieve more than what was put in front of them and in the process of becoming great men; they unfortunately meet their end. It is proven through Oedipus and Othello that pride is not a bad thing when it is used appropriately; however, too much pride can ruin not just one life, but also the many lives that are surrounded by that one life. By putting too much emphasis on their lives, Othello and Oedipus are responsible for their own demise.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Extending a Kantian Dichotomy to a Poincaréan Trichotomy :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Extending a Kantian Dichotomy to a Poincarà ©an Trichotomy ABSTRACT: I argue for the possibility of knowledge by invention which is neither à ¡ priori nor à ¡ posteriori. My conception of knowledge by invention evolves from Poincarà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conventionalism, but unlike Poincarà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conventions, propositions known by invention have a truth value. An individuating criteria for this type of knowledge is conjectured. The proposition known through invention is: gounded historically in the discipline to which it belongs; a result of the careful, sincere and objective quest and effort of the knower; chosen freely by the inventer or knower; and, private in its invention but public once invented. I extend knowledge by invention to include the knowledge of the invented proposition by those who do not invent it but accept it as a convention for good reasons. Finally, knowledge by invention combined with a revisionist, Platonist definition of knowledge as actively justified true belief provides a pedagogical model reviving the proactive spi rit of the Socratic method with an emphasis on invention and activity and a de-emphasis on information gathering and passivity. I. Introduction Kant's à   priori - à   posteriori and analytic - synthetic distinctions inaugurated Modern epistemology and provided the architecture for knowledge in mathematics, science and metaphysics. (1) The product of the two distinctions yields three kinds of knowledge: synthetic à   priori, analytic à   priori and synthetic à   posteriori; analytic à   posteriori being impossible. For Kant propositions like; "7+5=12," "all bodies have mass" and "every event has a cause." were synthetic and known à   priorily. (2) Post-Kantian philosophy witnessed an attack on the possibility of synthetic à   priori knowledge such as the rejections of analysis, geometry and arithmetic as synthetic à   priori by Bolzano, Helmholtz and Frege respectively. (3) These were motivated by a fear that Kant's conceptualism, of the mind imposing space and time on the world, may lead to anti-realism, such as that of Husserl's bracketing the existence of the world based on his extensions of Descartes and Kant. ( 4) Nominalism and idealism are anti-realist but conceptualism and conventionalism need not be. I extend the typology of knowledge by adding knowledge by invention. Many fundamental propositions of mathematics, science and metaphysics hence shift from the realm of synthetic à   priori to the realm of knowledge by invention. For Poincarà © fundamental definitions of mathematics are neither à   priori nor à   posteriori, but conventional. I suggest that "conventional" means "known by invention." I will argue in this paper for this unconventional interpretation of Poincarà ©'s conventionalism.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Nathaniel Hawthorne-Gothic Elements

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses ‘gothic’ elements in his stories a great deal. The story it stuck out to me the most in was Young Goodman Brown. The main things in the story that made the gothic elements stick out to me are some of the settings, and characters, and events that happen within the story. This whole story is crawling with gothic elements, some very obvious and others not so much. The story starts of in the late 16th early 17th century in Salem Massachusetts. This is the time during the Salem witch trials. This was probably, not the best time to be in Salem if I had to guess.The story starts of sunny, not so gloomy but suddenly gets that way as soon as Goodman Brown leaves his wife Faith on his errand in the woods. Anything at dusk will have that gloomy eerie filling, but woods have that little something extra that makes them extra eerie. â€Å"He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately. † (Perkins 449) The imagery that pops up in your head when you read this is not the only thing I get out of this sentence a little creepy.The word usage is what really gets me. Hawthorne’s use of words was just amazing. The way he made you feel, you could tell it was not anywhere you would want to be. The words dreary, gloomiest and creep just gives you the chills. Once Goodman Brown is in the woods the setting only gets more gloomy and dreary. Another really strange scene is when Goodman Brown can see the bright sky, and then all of a sudden a big black cloud forms right over Brown’s head. Everywhere else he could see the â€Å"Blue Sky† (Prekins 453) except over him. Is that not creepy or what?The book calls the dark cloud a â€Å"black mass of cloud. † (Perkins 453) This is when all the dark things happen. Some of the characters in Young Goodman Brown that have a gothic since to them are very obvious. T he Devil is an example of one that to me was a little tricky at first. This part of the story threw me. It took me reading it for the second time to actually figure out that was the devil was the gentleman that Goodman met in the woods the whole time. After sitting back and actually thinking about it, it’s quite obvious that this man is in fact the devil.The strange thing that I found about the devil is he was about the same age as Goodman Brown and favored him â€Å"in expression more than features. † (Perkins 449) So he was not at all what you think the devil would appear like. The one thing that did make since that was dark about the man, was his walking stick. â€Å"His staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a live serpent. † (Perkins 449) This was the dark thing that should have warned Goodman about the man.Goodman Brown is another one that is a little off. Th ough you do not see it in the beginning of the story, you do more toward the end. Goodman seems like a god Christian fellow, especially when he says, â€Å"With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil. † (Perkins 453) This is when the cloud talked about earlier appears and Goodman soon after loses his faith. One thing that caught my eye about Goodman Brown and why I thought he was somewhat corrupted is when he goes up to the altar. He tries fighting it the whole time, but eventually gives in.The elements in the story Young Goodman Brown that has the gothic feel to them are somewhat obvious, and the reason why he uses these elements. The reason Hawthorne uses Gothicism is to show that there can be evil in everyone. The devil can show up anywhere. Goodman Brown found this out the hard way, he also found out sometimes you truly do not know someone. Some people can surprise you, and not be who you think they are. This is the biggest thing I got out o f this story. Works Cited Perkins, George and Barbara. The American Tradition in Literature. New York, New York: mcGraw-Hill, 2009.