The Lost Symbol Chapter 24-25

CHAPTER 24 The revelation crashed over Langdon like a wave. I know why I am here. Standing in the center of the Rotunda, Langdon felt a powerful urge to turn and run away . . . from Peter's hand, from the shining gold ring, from the suspicious eyes of Sato and Anderson. Instead, he stood dead still, clinging more tightly to the leather daybag that hung on his shoulder. I've got to get out of here. His jaw clenched as his memory began replaying the scene from that cold morning, years ago in Cambridge. It was six A.M. and Langdon was entering his classroom as he always did following his ritual morning laps in the Harvard Pool. The familiar smells of chalk dust and steam heat greeted him as he crossed the threshold. He took two steps toward his desk but stopped short. A figure was waiting there for him–an elegant gentleman with an aquiline face and regal gray eyes. â€Å"Peter?† Langdon stared in shock. Peter Solomon's smile flashed white in the dimly lit room. â€Å"Good morning, Robert. Surprised to see me?† His voice was soft, and yet there was power there. Langdon hurried over and warmly shook his friend's hand. â€Å"What in the world is a Yale blue blood doing on the Crimson campus before dawn?† â€Å"Covert mission behind enemy lines,† Solomon said, laughing. He motioned to Langdon's trim waistline. â€Å"Laps are paying off. You're in good shape.† â€Å"Just trying to make you feel old,† Langdon said, toying with him. â€Å"It's great to see you, Peter. What's up?† â€Å"Short business trip,† the man replied, glancing around the deserted classroom. â€Å"I'm sorry to drop in on you like this, Robert, but I have only a few minutes. There's something I needed to ask you . . . in person. A favor.† That's a first. Langdon wondered what a simple college professor could possibly do for the man who had everything. â€Å"Anything at all,† he replied, pleased for any opportunity to do something for someone who had given him so much, especially when Peter's life of good fortune had also been marred by so much tragedy. Solomon lowered his voice. â€Å"I was hoping you would consider looking after something for me.† Langdon rolled his eyes. â€Å"Not Hercules, I hope.† Langdon had once agreed to take care of Solomon's hundred-fifty-pound mastiff, Hercules, during Solomon's travels. While at Langdon's home, the dog apparently had become homesick for his favorite leather chew toy and had located a worthy substitute in Langdon's study–an original vellum, hand-calligraphed, illuminated Bible from the 1600s. Somehow â€Å"bad dog† didn't quite seem adequate. â€Å"You know, I'm still searching for a replacement,† Solomon said, smiling sheepishly. â€Å"Forget it. I'm glad Hercules got a taste of religion.† Solomon chuckled but seemed distracted. â€Å"Robert, the reason I came to see you is I'd like you to keep an eye on something that is quite valuable to me. I inherited it a while back, but I'm no longer comfortable leaving it in my home or in my office.† Langdon immediately felt uncomfortable. Anything â€Å"quite valuable† in Peter Solomon's world had to be worth an absolute fortune. â€Å"How about a safe-deposit box?† Doesn't your family have stock in half the banks in America? â€Å"That would involve paperwork and bank employees; I'd prefer a trusted friend. And I know you can keep secrets.† Solomon reached in his pocket and pulled out a small package, handing it to Langdon. Considering the dramatic preamble, Langdon had expected something more impressive. The package was a small cube-shaped box, about three inches square, wrapped in faded brown packing paper and tied with twine. From the package's heavy weight and size, it felt like its contents must be rock or metal. This is it? Langdon turned the box in his hands, now noticing the twine had been carefully secured on one side with an embossed wax seal, like an ancient edict. The seal bore a double-headed phoenix with the number 33 emblazoned on its chest–the traditional symbol of the highest degree of Freemasonry. â€Å"Really, Peter,† Langdon said, a lopsided grin creeping across his face. â€Å"You're the Worshipful Master of a Masonic lodge, not the pope. Sealing packages with your ring?† Solomon glanced down at his gold ring and gave a chuckle. â€Å"I didn't seal this package, Robert. My great-grandfather did. Almost a century ago.† Langdon's head snapped up. â€Å"What?!† Solomon held up his ring finger. â€Å"This Masonic ring was his. After that, it was my grandfather's, then my father's . . . and eventually mine.† Langdon held up the package. â€Å"Your great-grandfather wrapped this a century ago and nobody has opened it?† â€Å"That's right.† â€Å"But . . . why not?† Solomon smiled. â€Å"Because it's not time.† Langdon stared. â€Å"Time for what?† â€Å"Robert, I know this will sound odd, but the less you know, the better. Just put this package somewhere safe, and please tell no one I gave it to you.† Langdon searched his mentor's eyes for a glint of playfulness. Solomon had a propensity for dramatics, and Langdon wondered if he wasn't being played a bit here. â€Å"Peter, are you sure this isn't just a clever ploy to make me think I've been entrusted with some kind of ancient Masonic secret so I'll be curious and decide to join?† â€Å"The Masons do not recruit, Robert, you know that. Besides, you've already told me you'd prefer not to join.† This was true. Langdon had great respect for Masonic philosophy and symbolism, and yet he had decided never to be initiated; the order's vows of secrecy would prevent him from discussing Freemasonry with his students. It had been for this same reason that Socrates had refused to formally participate in the Eleusinian Mysteries. As Langdon now regarded the mysterious little box and its Masonic seal, he could not help but ask the obvious question. â€Å"Why not entrust this to one of your Masonic brothers?† â€Å"Let's just say I have an instinct it would be safer stored outside the brotherhood. And please don't let the size of this package fool you. If what my father told me is correct, then it contains something of substantial power.† He paused. â€Å"A talisman, of sorts.† Did he say a talisman? By definition, a talisman was an object with magical powers. Traditionally, talismans were used for bringing luck, warding off evil spirits, or aiding in ancient rituals. â€Å"Peter, you do realize that talismans went out of vogue in the Middle Ages, right?† Peter laid a patient hand on Langdon's shoulder. â€Å"I know how this sounds, Robert. I've known you a long time, and your skepticism is one of your greatest strengths as an academic. It is also your greatest weakness. I know you well enough to know you're not a man I can ask to believe . . . only to trust. So now I am asking you to trust me when I tell you this talisman is powerful. I was told it can imbue its possessor with the ability to bring order from chaos.† Langdon could only stare. The idea of â€Å"order from chaos† was one of the great Masonic axioms. Ordo ab chao. Even so, the claim that a talisman could impart any power at all was absurd, much less the power to bring order from chaos. â€Å"This talisman,† Solomon continued, â€Å"would be dangerous in the wrong hands, and unfortunately, I have reason to believe powerful people want to steal it from me.† His eyes were as serious as Langdon could ever recall. â€Å"I would like you to keep it safe for me for a while. Can you do that?† That night, Langdon sat alone at his kitchen table with the package and tried to imagine what could possibly be inside. In the end, he simply chalked it up to Peter's eccentricity and locked the package in his library's wall safe, eventually forgetting all about it. That was . . . until this morning. The phone call from the man with the southern accent. â€Å"Oh, Professor, I almost forgot!† the assistant had said after giving Langdon the specifics of his travel arrangements to D.C. â€Å"There is one more thing Mr. Solomon requested.† â€Å"Yes?† Langdon replied, his mind already moving to the lecture he had just agreed to give. â€Å"Mr. Solomon left a note here for you.† The man began reading awkwardly, as if trying to decipher Peter's penmanship. â€Å"`Please ask Robert . . . to bring . . . the small, sealed package I gave him many years ago.' † The man paused. â€Å"Does this make any sense to you?† Langdon felt surprised as he recalled the small box that had been sitting in his wall safe all this time. â€Å"Actually, yes. I know what Peter means.† â€Å"And you can bring it?† â€Å"Of course. Tell Peter I'll bring it.† â€Å"Wonderful.† The assistant sounded relieved. â€Å"Enjoy your speech tonight. Safe travels.† Before leaving home, Langdon had dutifully retrieved the wrapped package from the back of his safe and placed it in his shoulder bag. Now he was standing in the U.S. Capitol, feeling certain of only one thing. Peter Solomon would be horrified to know how badly Langdon had failed him. CHAPTER 25 My God, Katherine was right. As usual. Trish Dunne stared in amazement at the search-spider results that were materializing on the plasma wall before her. She had doubted the search would turn up any results at all, but in fact, she now had over a dozen hits. And they were still coming in. One entry in particular looked quite promising. Trish turned and shouted in the direction of the library. â€Å"Katherine? I think you'll want to see this!† It had been a couple of years since Trish had run a search spider like this, and tonight's results astounded her. A few years ago, this search would have been a dead end. Now, however, it seemed that the quantity of searchable digital material in the world had exploded to the point where someone could find literally anything. Incredibly, one of the keywords was a word Trish had never even heard before . . . and the search even found that. Katherine rushed through the control-room door. â€Å"What have you got?† â€Å"A bunch of candidates.† Trish motioned to the plasma wall. â€Å"Every one of these documents contains all of your key phrases verbatim.† Katherine tucked her hair behind her ear and scanned the list. â€Å"Before you get too excited,† Trish added, â€Å"I can assure you that most of these documents are not what you're looking for. They're what we call black holes. Look at the file sizes. Absolutely enormous. They're things like compressed archives of millions of e-mails, giant unabridged encyclopedia sets, global message boards that have been running for years, and so forth. By virtue of their size and diverse content, these files contain so many potential keywords that they suck in any search engine that comes anywhere near them.† Katherine pointed to one of the entries near the top of the list. â€Å"How about that one?† Trish smiled. Katherine was a step ahead, having found the sole file on the list that had a small file size. â€Å"Good eyes. Yeah, that's really our only candidate so far. In fact, that file's so small it can't be more than a page or so.† â€Å"Open it.† Katherine's tone was intense. Trish could not imagine a one-page document containing all the strange search strings Katherine had provided. Nonetheless, when she clicked and opened the document, the key phrases were there . . . crystal clear and easy to spot in the text. Katherine strode over, eyes riveted to the plasma wall. â€Å"This document is . . . redacted?† Trish nodded. â€Å"Welcome to the world of digitized text.† Automatic redaction had become standard practice when offering digitized documents. Redaction was a process wherein a server allowed a user to search the entire text, but then revealed only a small portion of it–a teaser of sorts–only that text immediately flanking the requested keywords. By omitting the vast majority of the text, the server avoided copyright infringement and also sent the user an intriguing message: I have the information you're searching for, but if you want the rest of it, you'll have to buy it from me. â€Å"As you can see,† Trish said, scrolling through the heavily abridged page, â€Å"the document contains all of your key phrases.† Katherine stared up at the redaction in silence. Trish gave her a minute and then scrolled back to the top of the page. Each of Katherine's key phrases was underlined in capital letters and accompanied by a small sample of teaser text–the two words that appeared on either side of the requested phrase. Trish could not imagine what this document was referring to. And what the heck is a â€Å"symbolon†? Katherine stepped eagerly toward the screen. â€Å"Where did this document come from? Who wrote it?† Trish was already working on it. â€Å"Give me a second. I'm trying to chase down the source.† â€Å"I need to know who wrote this,† Katherine repeated, her voice intense. â€Å"I need to see the rest of it.† â€Å"I'm trying,† Trish said, startled by the edge in Katherine's tone. Strangely, the file's location was not displaying as a traditional Web address but rather as a numeric Internet Protocol address. â€Å"I can't unmask the IP,† Trish said. â€Å"The domain name's not coming up. Hold on.† She pulled up her terminal window. â€Å"I'll run a traceroute.† Trish typed the sequence of commands to ping all the â€Å"hops† between her control room's machine and whatever machine was storing this document. â€Å"Tracing now,† she said, executing the command. Traceroutes were extremely fast, and a long list of network devices appeared almost instantly on the plasma wall. Trish scanned down . . . down . . . through the path of routers and switches that connected her machine to . . . What the hell? Her trace had stopped before reaching the document's server. Her ping, for some reason, had hit a network device that swallowed it rather than bouncing it back. â€Å"It looks like my traceroute got blocked,† Trish said. Is that even possible? â€Å"Run it again.† Trish launched another traceroute and got the same result. â€Å"Nope. Dead end. It's like this document is on a server that is untraceable.† She looked at the last few hops before the dead end. â€Å"I can tell you, though, it's located somewhere in the D.C. area.† â€Å"You're kidding.† â€Å"Not surprising,† Trish said. â€Å"These spider programs spiral out geographically, meaning the first results are always local. Besides, one of your search strings was `Washington, D.C.' â€Å" â€Å"How about a `who is' search?† Katherine prompted. â€Å"Wouldn't that tell you who owns the domain?† A bit lowbrow, but not a bad idea. Trish navigated to the â€Å"who is† database and ran a search for the IP, hoping to match the cryptic numbers to an actual domain name. Her frustration was now tempered by rising curiosity. Who has this document? The â€Å"who is† results appeared quickly, showing no match, and Trish held up her hands in defeat. â€Å"It's like this IP address doesn't exist. I can't get any information about it at all.† â€Å"Obviously the IP exists. We've just searched a document that's stored there!† True. And yet whoever had this document apparently preferred not to share his or her identity. â€Å"I'm not sure what to tell you. Systems traces aren't really my thing, and unless you want to call in someone with hacking skills, I'm at a loss.† â€Å"Do you know someone?† Trish turned and stared at her boss. â€Å"Katherine, I was kidding. It's not exactly a great idea.† â€Å"But it is done?† She checked her watch. â€Å"Um, yeah . . . all the time. Technically it's pretty easy.† â€Å"Who do you know?† â€Å"Hackers?† Trish laughed nervously. â€Å"Like half the guys at my old job.† â€Å"Anyone you trust?† Is she serious? Trish could see Katherine was dead serious. â€Å"Well, yeah,† she said hurriedly. â€Å"I know this one guy we could call. He was our systems security specialist–serious computer geek. He wanted to date me, which kind of sucked, but he's a good guy, and I'd trust him. Also, he does freelance.† â€Å"Can he be discreet?† â€Å"He's a hacker. Of course he can be discreet. That's what he does. But I'm sure he'd want at least a thousand bucks to even look–â€Å" â€Å"Call him. Offer him double for fast results.† Trish was not sure what made her more uncomfortable–helping Katherine Solomon hire a hacker . . . or calling a guy who probably still found it impossible to believe a pudgy, redheaded metasystems analyst would rebuff his romantic advances. â€Å"You're sure about this?† â€Å"Use the phone in the library,† Katherine said. â€Å"It's got a blocked number. And obviously don't use my name.† â€Å"Right.† Trish headed for the door but paused when she heard Katherine's iPhone chirp. With luck, the incoming text message might be information that would grant Trish a reprieve from this distasteful task. She waited as Katherine fished the iPhone from her lab coat's pocket and eyed the screen. Katherine Solomon felt a wave of relief to see the name on her iPhone. At last. PETER SOLOMON â€Å"It's a text message from my brother,† she said, glancing over at Trish. Trish looked hopeful. â€Å"So maybe we should ask him about all this . . . before we call a hacker?† Katherine eyed the redacted document on the plasma wall and heard Dr. Abaddon's voice. That which your brother believes is hidden in D.C. . . . it can be found. Katherine had no idea what to believe anymore, and this document represented information about the far-fetched ideas with which Peter had apparently become obsessed. Katherine shook her head. â€Å"I want to know who wrote this and where it's located. Make the call.† Trish frowned and headed for the door. Whether or not this document would be able to explain the mystery of what her brother had told Dr. Abaddon, there was at least one mystery that had been solved today. Her brother had finally learned how to use the text-messaging feature on the iPhone Katherine had given him. â€Å"And alert the media,† Katherine called after Trish. â€Å"The great Peter Solomon just sent his first text message.† In a strip-mall parking lot across the street from the SMSC, Mal'akh stood beside his limo, stretching his legs and waiting for the phone call he knew would be coming. The rain had stopped, and a winter moon had started to break through the clouds. It was the same moon that had shone down on Mal'akh through the oculus of the House of the Temple three months ago during his initiation. The world looks different tonight. As he waited, his stomach growled again. His two-day fast, although uncomfortable, was critical to his preparation. Such were the ancient ways. Soon all physical discomforts would be inconsequential. As Mal'akh stood in the cold night air, he chuckled to see that fate had deposited him, rather ironically, directly in front of a tiny church. Here, nestled between Sterling Dental and a minimart, was a tiny sanctuary. LORD'S HOUSE OF GLORY. Mal'akh gazed at the window, which displayed part of the church's doctrinal statement: WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS BEGOTTEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY, AND IS BOTH TRUE MAN AND GOD. Mal'akh smiled. Yes, Jesus is indeed both–man and God–but a virgin birth is not the prerequisite for divinity. That is not how it happens. The ring of a cell phone cut the night air, quickening his pulse. The phone that was now ringing was Mal'akh's own–a cheap disposable phone he had purchased yesterday. The caller ID indicated it was the call he had been anticipating. A local call, Mal'akh mused, gazing out across Silver Hill Road toward the faint moonlit outline of a zigzag roofline over the treetops. Mal'akh flipped open his phone. â€Å"This is Dr. Abaddon,† he said, tuning his voice deeper. â€Å"It's Katherine,† the woman's voice said. â€Å"I finally heard from my brother.† â€Å"Oh, I'm relieved. How is he?† â€Å"He's on his way to my lab right now,† Katherine said. â€Å"In fact, he suggested you join us.† â€Å"I'm sorry?† Mal'akh feigned hesitation. â€Å"In your . . . lab?† â€Å"He must trust you deeply. He never invites anyone back there.† â€Å"I suppose maybe he thinks a visit might help our discussions, but I feel like it's an intrusion.† â€Å"If my brother says you're welcome, then you're welcome. Besides, he said he has a lot to tell us both, and I'd love to get to the bottom of what's going on.† â€Å"Very well, then. Where exactly is your lab?† â€Å"At the Smithsonian Museum Support Center. Do you know where that is?† â€Å"No,† Mal'akh said, staring across the parking lot at the complex. â€Å"I'm actually in my car right now, and I have a guidance system. What's the address?† â€Å"Forty-two-ten Silver Hill Road.† â€Å"Okay, hold on. I'll type it in.† Mal'akh waited for ten seconds and then said, â€Å"Ah, good news, it looks like I'm closer than I thought. The GPS says I'm only about ten minutes away.† â€Å"Great. I'll phone the security gate and tell them you're coming through.† â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"I'll see you shortly.† Mal'akh pocketed the disposable phone and looked out toward the SMSC. Was I rude to invite myself? Smiling, he now pulled out Peter Solomon's iPhone and admired the text message he had sent Katherine several minutes earlier. Got your messages. All's fine. Busy day. Forgot appointment with Dr. Abaddon. Sorry not to mention him sooner. Long story. Am headed to lab now. If available, have Dr. Abaddon join us inside. I trust him fully, and I have much to tell you both. –Peter Not surprisingly, Peter's iPhone now pinged with an incoming reply from Katherine. peter, congrats on learning to text! relieved you're okay. spoke to dr. A., and he is coming to lab. see you shortly! –k Clutching Solomon's iPhone, Mal'akh crouched down under his limousine and wedged the phone between the front tire and the pavement. This phone had served Mal'akh well . . . but now it was time it became untraceable. He climbed behind the wheel, put the car in gear, and crept forward until he heard the sharp crack of the iPhone imploding. Mal'akh put the car back in park and stared out at the distant silhouette of the SMSC. Ten minutes. Peter Solomon's sprawling warehouse housed over thirty million treasures, but Mal'akh had come here tonight to obliterate only the two most valuable. All of Katherine Solomon's research. And Katherine Solomon herself.

A Samurai and a Ninja

The warriors of the pre-industrial Japanese era always aroused the interest of many people around the world. Of all the warrior classes on those feudal times, there are two types of warriors that are known all over the world: the honorable samurai and the stealthy ninja.Most of the people though, do not know the distinction between a samurai and a ninja. And before knowing the comparison and contrast between these two warrior classes, we need to know just how they live.Samurais or what the Japanese call a bushi is a warrior that follows a strict moral code called bushido. They are noble warriors that place honor above anything they have, including their lives.They are the rough equivalent of medieval England's knights. As stated, the samurai follow the bushido as their moral code. Bushido is a belief on the path of a warrior, or a path of the sword. This means that samurai warriors place honor above anything, and would be loyal to their lords at any time, as they would die in the lin e of duty rather than shame themselves.This warrior class also practices Harakiri or Seppuku, a type of suicide that a dishonorable samurai would take in order to regain their lost honor after death. Samurais wear armor, and are of noble class; although the early foundations of the samurai class were originally farming clans who just wanted to protect their family from invasions of bandits and corrupt officials. Samurai warriors prefer the use of the Japanese katana and a wakizashi as weapons.A katana is a curved sword while the wakizashi is a short sword used together with a katana. These two weapons represent a samurai's honor, as a samurai uses the wakizashi to end his life if ever he had done something dishonorable. Some samurai learned to use guns much later on.Samurai are mostly straight-laced warriors that would face danger head on, just to show honor in their work. This quite contradicts the way ninjas do their work.Ninjas are the masters of stealth in the pre-industrial per iods of Japan. They prefer stealth than actual confrontation with the enemies. Like the samurai, ninjas follow a certain lord, but unlike the former, ninjas are manipulated for different reasons. Ninjas are trained by their clan in â€Å"ways of the shadow†.This means that ninjas are perfect for espionage and assassinations. When it comes to fighting, ninjas rely on agile, quick strikes to immobilize or kill opponents. They also use shuriken as throwing agents, often covered in poison to maximize their effect.Ninjas have not been regarded as a warrior class in their early days, and ninjutsu (ninja techniques) were not always considered an art. The services of a ninja were also like that of a mercenary, rather than the honorable services offered by the loyal samurai.In the early foundations of the ninja class, they are farmers or specially trained individuals trained to counter the ruling samurai elites. They are their direct counterparts, since the samurai Bushido code do not permit the use of stealth and guerilla tactics that the ninja class most commonly use for assassinations.[1]To summarize everything, ninjas and samurai are the same in terms of the fact that they follow a feudal lord. They are also well-trained and follow their own ways of fighting.Their difference lies in how they execute the commands of their lord. Samurai place honor above their lives and will die fighting in a fair battle. Ninjas are hired warriors that do assassinations and dark operations for their feudal lord. Truly, they are marvelous warrior classes that will continue to fascinate people around the world.Works CitedHayes Stephen K. The Mystic Arts of the Ninja, 1985

RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

RISK MANAGEMENT - Essay Example This also means that the insurance market is similar to the goods market, whose demand depends on certain factors. Consumers may fail to cover their lives, vehicles, and health even if doing so is beneficial. An understanding of the factors that affect consumer demand for insurance is essential for both the sellers and buyers of policies. The understanding helps these buyers to make the right decisions at the right time (Williams, Smith, & Young, 1998). Structure of Insurance Markets The market structure of an insurance industry includes the number of sellers and whether they are efficient. This is because the efficiency of a market is directly proportional to its structure (Greene, & Serbian, 1983). There are various market structures that influence the demand for insurance; they include perfect competitive, oligopoly, and monopoly. The perfect competitive market is one that has numerous sellers and buyers, and the insurance companies are free to penetrate and exit the market. This market is characterized by perfect information and standardization of products and prices. This means that insurance buyers have the full knowledge of the market activities such as the types of policies, their prices, and the underwriting guidelines. Buyers in this market have the freedom to purchase the policy they want from any seller because prices are standard. Insurance purchasers also have the freedom to leave one insurer and purchase a policy in another seller’s company when they find out that there are price differentials. The standardization and freedom in this market motivates buyers to purchase insurance policies (Dickson, 1989). A monopoly market, on the other hand, is the one that has a single seller. The seller dictates the policy to provide for the market and the price at which to sell the insurance. Monopolies are inefficient because of their ability to determine the product and the price at which to provide the good. This means that such as insurance market o ffers few choices to buyers in terms of the available policies. Buyers have no freedom to leave the market because they may not find the insurance policy elsewhere. Therefore, insurance buyers in a monopoly market have no freedom in the market; they may only follow the rules of the seller (Woodhouse, 1993). The lack of freedom may discourage buyers from alleviating risks using insurance. An oligopoly market is the one that has few sellers and the products are differentiated from one insurer to the other. Buyers in this market have the freedom to purchase the policy that suits their needs the best. However, since the sellers in the market are few, buyers do not have a wide range of choices. The few choices in this market may motivate some buyers to purchase insurance policies while other may not find the policies that suit their needs (Harrington, & Niehause, 2004). Price of Cover The price of an insurance cover also determines whether a buyer purchases the policy. This is because th e incomes of buyers differ from one buyer to the other. A high price of an insurance policy discourages buyers from purchasing a policy. This is according to the law of demand, which argues that rational consumers prefer goods and services at low prices (Woodhouse, 1993). However, buyers may choose to purchase insurance policies at high prices when benefits are guaranteed. An example of a policy that buyers may purchase at high prices is life insurance. The life insurance policy is the one that covers the whole life of a person, and it is renewable after the death of

Matin luther King Juniors I have a dream speech Essay

Matin luther King Juniors I have a dream speech - Essay Example He is well-known worldwide for the speech â€Å"I have a dream†, which was delivered to a crowd of more than 200,000 Americans in 1963. This speech essentially refers to the importance of being given the same rights as other ethnic groups. Today, many people compare King’s â€Å"I have a dream† speech to the "We shall fight" speech, which was delivered by Winston Churchill during the Second World War when Britain suffered from nightly bombings conducted by the German Luftwaffe. Both speeches of the famous leaders sought to reassure their citizens that there was a day that will end the suffering and restore justice for all. Both speeches also called on citizens who were experiencing hardships to come together and fight for emancipation – in Churchill’s case, to protect the state from the Nazis, and in King’s case to fight against discrimination in American society. The â€Å"I have a dream† speech affected millions of citizens not only in the USA but abroad garnering sympathy for the African American cause. The effects of King’s speech on the international audience were immediate. King would make the cover of the ‘Times’ magazine in 1963 and receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. In this particular speech, King sought to reassure disenfranchised people from different ethnicities and races, as well as religious minorities. He stated that all mistreated members of different communities could rise up to provide a united stand against injustice (Hansen 131). King was a unique man in that he believed that the proclaimed goals could be achieved without shedding of blood. This was quite an unusual stand at that time, especially when it came to politicians of the USA. It was hard to believe that King could succeed as most African and Asian nations seeking independence from their colonial masters around that time were engaged in violent riots and wars. King was quite courageous in openly criticizing the institution of segregation, which was usual at that time. In 1963, America was still a segregated society that allowed privileges for white people while African Americans were left to survive on little in the margins of society. Dr King was virtually risking his life by alluding, in his speech, to the fact that he hoped that in the nearest future, his children would not have to experience the segregation that had constantly marked his life. King used the power of emotions to appeal to citizens of different races, particularly those of the white race, to listen to their heart and common sense, to recall the words from the American constitution promising equal rights for all. In the speech, he expressed hope that time would come when his four children experience more freedom than him. By using children as a symbol of bright future, he was able to emotionally affect the white majority to see his point and understand his sorrow. There are no parents, black or white, who would like to s ee their children mistreated in any way or allowed fewer opportunities due to the color of their skin. King also used emotion in the description of African American life in the past and present. In one sentence of his speech he says, â€Å"One hundred years after President Lincoln set the slaves free, the Negro’s life remains wretchedly crippled by the chains of discrimination and segregation† (Hansen 134). By using words like â€Å"

Casual analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Casual analysis - Essay Example Although scientists want to make us believe that embryos are not humans, they have done studies to demonstrate that development of humans starts from fertilization to adulthood. This depicts that though embryos may not be rational, they represent a stage through which all humans must pass and without which no human would be in existence (Family Research Council Web). Human embryonic stem cell research is a controversial issue not just in United States in all nations where scientists have attempted to seek government funding for the research. President Bush banned federal funding on stem cell research involving human embryo. However, irrespective of the controversies surrounding the human embryonic stem cell research, President Obama lifted the ban allowing research in human embryonic stem cell to be funded by federal government. This paper argues that the lifting of the ban on embryonic stem cell research was erroneous since embryonic stem cell research will result in negative effect s. Additionally, the paper will demonstrate how federal funding, state funding, and debates on the media have encouraged continuance of embryonic stem cell research irrespective of the several negative impacts associated with the research. Human embryonic stem cell research is a research that involves manipulation of stem cell extracted from an embryo. For the cells to be extracted, the embryo must be destroyed. Jamie Thomson initiated the embryonic stem cell research in 1998. The research involves removal of embryonic cells from an embryo and culturing them in the laboratory for research on human diseases (â€Å"The Witherspoon Council on Ethics and the Integrity of Science† 129-133). The cells are preferred by scientists due to their great capacity to develop into different body cells. Since its start, embryonic stem cell research has aggravated serious controversies in the political, ethical, and religious arenas. However, stem cell research is wide and it involves use of adult stem cells as well as embryonic stem cells. The use of adult stem cells is not controversial since it does not involve dehumanizing acts. The main controversy is that the embryonic stem cell research involves sacrificing of human life, which is unethical since the embryos used for the research do not survive (Family Research Council Web; James 8-9; Robertson 193-195). Every scientific study is required to follow certain ethical principles. One such principle is that it should work towards raising the human dignity. In case of embryonic stem cell research, there is great disregard for human life. The argument that an embryo cannot be considered a human has already been disapproved by cloning, which has shown that life begins at conception. Therefore, treating embryos that are below fourteen days old as non-humans is unethical. The pre-embryo and post embryo distinctions used by embryonic stem cell researchers to validate their practices is not justifiable (â€Å"The Witherspoo n Council on Ethics and the Integrity of Science† 132-135). The stem cell research is surrounded by many ethical questions. The main ethical question regards the morality of destroying human embryos that have the potential of developing into independent beings. Although supporters of this research argue that the embryos used for research are not obtained from the human uterus but produced in the laboratories, the research is still unethical. Creating life to destroy it is erroneous (Family Research

Political science final exam and 3 quizes Case Study - 1

Political science final exam and 3 quizes - Case Study Example His efforts were based on the concept of improving the overall outlook of public administration. The entire effort was based on double decades contributions which came to forth in true spirit only in 1940s. 2.According to the Woodrow Wilson case examined in your textbook on pages 26-27, what idea of a one-time obscure professor Woodrow Wilson would eventually become the dogma of academic public administration? Woodrow Wilson was associated with teaching profession for earlier part of his career, and till the early days of his 30s, he had not achieved anything substantial and for this matter he at one time said that even at age of 31, I have achieved nothing, however he had the insight and vision to become one of the best in the field of public administration and he devoted his efforts and energies towards this field and profession that would become corner stone of public administration principles all over the world. 3.Based on the Woodrow Wilson case on pages 26-27, what similarity exists between former President Woodrow Wilson and current President Barack Obama as it relates to both men’s early writings and their stature in the field of academia? Were their writings prominently received? Both the leaders, the present President Barack Obama and the then president Woodrow Wilson were associated with the academic profession, made their way through continuous struggle and hard work rose up to the rank of being the guiders of the nation in longer run. Both had a similarity amongst them in the context of aiming to bring about change, while Woodrow Wilson resolved to bring about change via public administration and governance model, President Barack Obama followed the same pursuit without clearly naming the domain of public administration. Their affiliation to the field of academia enabled them advocating a point towards improvement in the present setup of governmental activities. Both the leaders

Living space in architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Living space in architecture - Essay Example The living room as an architectural space has a complete interior design and has undergone renovation of an apartment composed of two floors. The main aim of building this apartment was to bring out a transformation of existing and dark apartments into brighter loft and meanwhile surface a real view elements found in ancient buildings. On the first floor there is a 60 m sq living room. Within the room itself many activities can be done at a go without getting involved into other areas and there is a conception that it is a space that is continuous with the capability of hosting variety of activities. There is staircase made of steel that is situated in a position that produces a transition linking the dining and cooking area. In the above there are walls that are made using satin glass and form a series which attracts natural light to the bathroom and the lower level. A seat is provided by an oak painted gray window bench which enjoys the striking view towards the neighborhoods. It c an also be used as storage cabinets. A sliding door made of nut wood provides a possibility of closing off entrance room from living space. As the inhabitants enjoy cooking, the kitchenette has been stuffed with appliances that are specifically designed for fulfillment of the kitchen needs. On the second floor there is a room for guests and the master bed room. The rooms border each other and are always flexible to adjustment in case of need. They can be joined to serve any other purpose. The bathroom’s location is just in between the master bed room and the guests’ room. ... As the inhabitants enjoy cooking, the kitchenette has been stuffed with appliances that are specifically designed for fulfillment of the kitchen needs. On the second floor there is a room for guests and the master bed room. The rooms border each other and are always flexible to adjustment in case of need. They can be joined to serve any other purpose. The bathroom’s location is just in between the master bed room and the guests’ room. There have been removals of plaster walls that have been into existence with the aim of exposing beams of old roof into view. There is a long closet measuring 11 meters that have designed with its main purpose being for storage and at the same time act as a wardrobe. A colorful closet which has existed there has a purpose of definition of the closet’s height and breaking of long line colored white of the latest furniture. On top of the closet there is light that is not direct that has been placed to put an emphasis on space continui ty. There has been keen choice of the lighting system and designing of indirect light has been done in such a way that various possibilities are created to the place. The plain plinths and doors without frames have been put in place to bring out the perception of sharp and pure surfaces. The floor has been made using bamboo which provides a feeling of warmth upstairs. On the other hand, on the initial floor an epoxy floor that is gray creates a contrast that is balanced with the elements of nut wood. The floor is made of smooth tiles which reflect light into the room through the staircases. This mood creates a relaxed environment which provides a room for social interaction. The ceiling is made of ply wood and moderately high above the floors. This enables the sources of light

The Improvement of Customer Service in Argos Essay

The Improvement of Customer Service in Argos - Essay Example Argos was founded in 1973 by Richard Tompkins. It has been part of the Home Retail Group since 2000 which is the market leader in the home and general merchandise market (Management Today 2010). Together with Homebase, Argos is one of UK’s leading brands, selling products throughout UK as well as the Republic of Ireland (Management Today 2010).  Argos was founded in 1973 by Richard Tompkins. It has been part of the Home Retail Group since 2000 which is the market leader in the home and general merchandise market (Management Today 2010). Together with Homebase, Argos is one of UK’s leading brands, selling products throughout UK as well as the Republic of Ireland (Management Today 2010).  Argos is a unique multi-channel retailer well-known for offering customers choice, value, and convenience. Argos sells general merchandise and home products in over 750 stores all over UK and Ireland through their twice-yearly catalogue, over the internet, and through the telephone.   Argos is currently struggling to retain its viability and profitability. Operational strategies are being contemplated, including the use of internet technologies on its operations. The struggling Argos intends to do a digital makeover of its business operations. This move will replace traditional catalogue and may close or relocate at least 75 stores. Home Retail Group, the parent company, intends to reduce the circulation of traditional Argos catalogue, although it still believes that print marketing will still be relevant to its retail business  

Questions 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Questions 2 - Essay Example Isaac Newtown (1642-1727) advanced the existent theories on astronomy and formulated a comprehensive model on the workings of the universe based on gravitational law (Hatch, Para 6). He is also accredited to have developed calculus through his theories. Newton advanced Copernicus’ hypothesis of the earth being a planet, and that the interplanetary space is empty. Johannes Keppler (1571-1630) developed the cosmographic mystery accounting for the planetary orbits. Keplerarian astronomy was also a credited with the heliocentric Copernican with uniform circular motion (Barrow, 56). Keppler defined the orbital characteristics of planets, and he thought he had exhausted the structural reality of the cosmos that he sought new celestial physics. He also had various contributions to mathematics (Hatch, Para 3). The scientific revolution had profound impacts on both religious and education beliefs. One of its consequences was the rise of skepticism such that a figure like Descartes even doubted its own existence. He later realized that his thinking proved his own existence. Another consequence of the scientific revolution was the challenge to religion where science proposed that the universe worked within mechanical laws, thus without God’s intervention. The friction between science and religion led to suffering of some of the pioneers of this revolution such as Galileo in the hands of the catholic church. The new science also led to decline in the belief of natural and demonic magic. Since there had been an established religious culture, science brought about the divide between the learned and the popular culture (Brian et. al. Chapter

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Organisational Behaviour Essay There are many ways in which different individuals have viewed personality. Robbins et al (2001, p. 99) define it as â€Å"the consistent psychological patterns within an individual that affect the way they interact with others and the situations they encounter†. Another definition provided by Huczynski and Buchanan (2007, p. 138) is that personality â€Å"is the psychological qualities that influence an individual’s characteristic behaviour patterns, in a stable and distinctive manner†. Personality’s Role in Organizational Behaviour With the abovementioned definitions of personality, there are a numerous reasons as to why this is of great interest when it comes to the study of Organizational Behaviour. One main reason is that job performance and career success are related to one’s personality as many managers have come to believe. Personality assessments or ‘psychometric tests’ are widely used by companies to assess an employee’s personality. A couple of the known approaches to these tests are nomothetic, the basis of the majority of the available psychometrics, and idiographic. The former is more objective and quantitative, which is mostly comprised of multiple-choice questions and hence easier to administer, while the latter rely on heavily on different assumptions about human psychology. (Huczynski Buchanan 2007, p. 137) Types of Personality Assessment Tools Out of the many personality assessment tools available today, the four which will be further discussed will be the DISC Model, Jung’s Personality Type Matrix, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Friedman and Rosenman’s Type A Type B Personalities. There will be an overlay between the mentioned assessment tools and the others that have not been stated. (Richards n. d. ) These assessments aid not only companies when it comes to appraising an employee but also are now available for individuals who want to measure their own capability and learn how to make the most of their strengths. DISC Model The DISC Model originated from Dr. William Moulton Marston’s 1928 book entitled â€Å"Emotions of Normal People†. The term DISC was initially discussed in the book. However, Dr. Marston did not have the intention of creating any sort of assessment tool. It was not till 1972 when researchers from the University of Minnesota developed the abovementioned tool. A number of books have been written and various interpretations on the topic have emerged. Dr. Marston’s idea when he coined the term DISC can be seen as revolving around â€Å"behaviour† and â€Å"situation†. The most generalized outline of the model is as follows. DISC stands for â€Å"dominance†, â€Å"influence†, â€Å"steadiness† and â€Å"compliance†. A person who falls under Dominance and Influence is considered to be generally proactive and extraverted while someone who is under Steadiness and Compliance is somewhat the opposite, reactive and an introvert. Those whose personality is thought to belong to Dominance and Compliance have their focal point to be â€Å"things† whereas that of the people whose personality belongs to Influence and Steadiness is seen as â€Å"people†. (Richards n. d. ) The small connection ends there. A closer look at each of the types could reveal more. An individual who is a type Dominance will have the following attributes. He or she is â€Å"decisive, dominant, self-assured, forceful, task-oriented† and is someone who â€Å"instigates, leads and directs†. His or her main motivation will be the sense of â€Å"responsibility and achievement†. Subsequently, this person â€Å"fears failure and loss of power†. When in a working environment, he or she will have a â€Å"strong focus on tasks† and his or her â€Å"forceful style can upset people†. As for someone who falls under Influence, he or she â€Å"motivates others via influence and persuasion†, â€Å"presents well† and â€Å"inspires others†. He or she possesses â€Å"good communication skills†, as well as the qualities of being â€Å"friendly†, â€Å"affable†, â€Å"intuitive† and â€Å"gregarious†. Recognition and personal approval† are their motivational factors. â€Å"Rejection and loss of reputation† make up their fears. The fact that they emphasize so much on image can result in substance negligence. Anyone belonging to type Steadiness acquires attributes such as â€Å"reliable, depe ndable, process-oriented, listener, friendly, trustworthy, solid, ethical† and â€Å"methodical†. He or she â€Å"finishes what others start and leave† and â€Å"decides according to process†. This person is â€Å"motivated by time, space and continuity to do things properly†. Their fears include â€Å"insecurity and change†. Having this personality type meant that the person depends on the process to such an extent that any signs of changes will be resisted. Lastly, those who are under Compliance are â€Å"painstaking, investigative, curious†, â€Å"correct† and â€Å"detailed†. He or she is a â€Å"checker† and â€Å"decides using facts and figures†. Motivation for them would be â€Å"attention to detail, perfection and truth† whereas fears are â€Å"inaccuracy and unpredictability†. Their â€Å"need for perfection† tends to â€Å"delay or obstruct† them from achieving what is required. (Richards n. d. ) From the above, it can be seen that the DISC model has four main â€Å"type† which describes the certain corresponding personalities. When taking this assessment, one must keep in mind that he or she does not exclusively belong to just one type. This tool identifies the dominant type as well as two supporting types to varying extent which is dependent on the person and the situation. The mixture of the types, dominant and supporting, provides a good illustration of a person’s personality from various perspectives. (Richards n. d. ) Jung’s Personality Type Matrix Carl Gustav Jung, one of the many great personality theorists, is well-known for his work – Jung’s Personality Type Matrix or Jung’s Psychological Types which he derived from the ancient Greek Four Temperaments Model. His approach to this study was from a clinical psychoanalysis perspective. Most of today’s widely used psychometrics, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, have greatly benefited from Jung’s theories. Jung structured his functional types into four. His four functions of the psyche are Thinking and Feeling, which helps us to decide and judge, and, Sensation and Intuition, which helps us to perceive and gather information. He called the first two functions Rational and the other two, Irrational. (Chapman 2010) Thinking is about â€Å"what something is†. It is about â€Å"meaning and understanding†. It involves â€Å"analytic, objective, principles, standards and criteria†. Feeling is about â€Å"whether it is good or not†. It is about â€Å"weight and value†. It involves â€Å"subjective, personal, valuing, intimacy and humane†. Sensation is knowing that â€Å"something exists†. It can also be referred to as â€Å"sensual perception†. It is â€Å"realistic, down-to-earth, practical and sensible†. Intuition is concerned with â€Å"where it is from and where it is going†. It is about â€Å"possibilities and atmosphere†. It involves â€Å"hunches, future, speculative, fantasy and imaginative†. Further explanations on the four functions are as follows: (Chapman 2010) â€Å"Jungs Thinking function is a rational process of understanding reality, implications, causes and effects in a logical and analytical way. It is systematic, evaluates truth, and is objective to the extent that evaluation is based on personal intelligence and comprehension. † Jungs Feeling function makes judgements on a personal subjective basis. It is a rational process of forming personal subjective opinion about whether something is good or bad, right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, etc. , and involves sentimentality and humanity. † â€Å"Jungs Sensation function translates signals from the senses into factual data. There is no judgement of right or wrong, good or bad, implications, causes, directions, context, possibilities, themes, or related concepts. Sensation sees what is, as what it is. † Jungs Intuition function translates things, facts and details into larger conceptual pictures, possibilities, opportunities, imaginings, mysticism and new ideas. Intuition largely ignores essential facts and details, logic and truth. † Based on Jung’s Four Functions of the Psyche, his Eight Personality Types came about by adding â€Å"introversion† or â€Å"extraversion† ‘general attitude types’ to the four superior functions. The characteristics of each of these types are as follows. Extraverted Thinking organizes others, implements, plans, is strategic and analytical. Introverted Thinking seeks elf-knowledge, is theoretical, discovering and contemplative. Extraverted Feeling seeks personal and social success, is sentimental and sociable. Introverted Feeling seeks inner intensity, is self-contained, enigmatic a nd inaccessible. Extraverted Sensation is hard-headed, pleasure-seeking, hands-on and practical. Introverted Sensation is an expert, a connoisseur, detached, obsessive and intense. Extraverted Intuition proposes change, seeks novelty, is innovative and adventurous. Introverted Intuition is aloof, mystical, esoteric, visionary and idealistic. These only refer to the principal functions. Once the auxiliary functions, the less dominant functions, come into the picture, it produces sixteen personality types with more in-depth analysis. (Chapman 2010) It is these final types which directly relates to the next assessment tool – the MBTI. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Isabel Briggs Myers, along with her mother, Katherine Briggs, developed the instrument MBTI in the 1940’s which has been based on Carl Jung’s Personality Matrix. All in all, they established sixteen different and distinctive personality types. These types came about through the interactions among one’s preferences. One may figure out his or her personality type by first deciding on his or her preference in each of the following categories: Extraversion (E), focusing on the outer world or Introversion (I), to prefer one’s own inner world. Sensing (S), all about the basic information taken in or Intuition (N), interpreting and adding meaning to the information. In decision-making, Thinking (T), logic and consistency first or Feeling (F), people and the special circumstances. Structure-wise, Judging (J), getting things decided or Perceiving (P), remaining open in case of new information and options. Once the preference has been made, a four-letter code emerges. It could be ISTJ, ISFJ, INFJ, INTJ, ISTP, ISFP, INFP, INTP, ESTP, ESFP, ENFP, ENTP, ESTJ, ESFJ, ENFJ or ENTJ. Each of these types has a corresponding personality description. With the MBTI instrument, there is no such thing as measuring trait ability or character, instead, it sorts for preferences. The main reason why this instrument is the most popular is the fact that hundreds of studies in the past forty years have proven MBTI to be valid and reliable. (The Myers Briggs Foundation n. d. ) Type A – Type B Personalities The very first time the two types of personality were described was in the 1950’s by cardiologists Meyer Friedman and R. H. Rosenham. With reference to Jung’s Matrix, Type A is a left-sided STJ but Type B is a right-sided NFP. (Changingminds. org 2010) The typing is broadly based on anxiety and stress levels. Type A people enjoy constantly working to achieve goals; the more difficult, the better. Their drive to compete can cause them to create the sense of competition. Failure is one thing they try hard to avoid. They are mostly well-educated. On the contrary, Type B work steadily and do not obsess about not achieving what they have set out to do. They are creative; love to explore new ideas. They are often reflective. Challenging a Type A will be very effective whilst a reflective conversation will work better with a Type B. â€Å"Type A personality has become a household word. † (Sharma 1996) According to Dr. Friedman, there are eight major indicators of Type A Behaviour – two psychological and six physical. The psychological signs are:   â€Å"presence of impatience or easily induced hostility† and â€Å"constant apprehension of future disasters†, where the latter is commonly mistaken as a symptom of an anxiety or depressive disorder. The physical signs are: â€Å"excessive perspiration of the forehead and the upper lip†, â€Å"teeth grinding†, â€Å"indentation of the tongue due to its chronic pressure against the top incisor teeth†, â€Å"tic-like retraction of the upper eye lid†, â€Å"tic-like retraction of the corners of the mouth†, and â€Å"brown coloring of the skin of the lower eyelid†. Type A has generated a huge interest in the medical world as it is highly related to coronary heart disease. Here is an excerpt from Moore’s (2001) article: â€Å"Type A people are achievement oriented, irritable, impatient with delays, and seem to be always in a hurry. †¦ In contrast to type As, type B people are less competitive, and more easygoing than their type A counterparts. †¦ While most people do not fall into the extreme ends of the continuum, there are significant numbers of people who do seem to be far more intense and reactive than others. Type As are not only reactive, they are also achievement oriented and highly motivated to succeed. They enjoy challenge and like to know how well they are doing. †¦ More recent research has demonstrated that the feature of type A behavior that is particularly toxic is hostility. † Scott (2007) mentioned in one of her articles that apart from the fact that those exhibiting Type A personality have a higher ri sk at suffering hypertension and heart diseases, they also suffer from job stress and social isolation. These people are usually in â€Å"stressful, demanding jobs†. They, too, tend to distance themselves from others as they focus on their career more than they do on personal relationships. Many researches do believe that it is the environment that caused certain people to develop Type A personalities. As part of their personality, Type As are able to perform well in the workplace because they are high-achievers. (Larson 2009) This is why they hold increasingly high-powered positions. As a result, they find it hard to relax, they are aggressive, they have the tendency to interrupt and they lose sleep frequently. In an office environment, these characteristics can lead to high levels of success but the same can also lead to Type As own pitfalls. They have emphasis on quantity over quality. They are unable to appreciate their own achievements. However, they make great leaders since they work well under pressure. Character Personality Analysis From the 2006 movie, The Devil wears Prada, the character played by Meryl Streep is Miranda Priestly, the Editor-In-Chief for Runway – a supposedly top New York fashion Magazine. (Huntley 2009) Anyone could easily tell that she exhibits most of, if not all, of a Type A personality. If it were from the DISC model’s perspective, she would fall under the Dominance category while belonging to the typology of Jung’s STJ or the MBTI’s ISTJ. To categorize here in the boss type, she would be the â€Å"tin man† boss with an axe. Her first love would have to be power. She is very career-oriented whose goals and objectives are extremely translucent. For her, â€Å"what is to be done, is to be done†, the word unfeasible does not exist. When in doubt, never approach her as she does not like people boring her with questions of how, what and where. Famous for being unpredictable, she does not care for other’s incompetence and is intimidating to the extent that people cannot even be in the same lift as her. It is rather hard to please or impress her. Career-wise, she is an A+ yet as a person, she fails. With her profession the first priority in her life, she has had a broken marriage, twice, and a distorted family life. Despite that, her most valuable assets to her are her twin daughter who she cares for dearly. She indeed lacks personal life. Tagged as â€Å"the dragon lady†, she rarely shows emotions and strongly believes that life is all about the choices you make. Being the powerful lady ruling the kingdom of fashion, she keeps her staff and the fashion world under her thumb. Her actions indeed speak louder than her words because she can make a top designer recreate a whole collection all over again just by pursing her lips. She draws contentment from other’s misery. Her disbelief in positive reinforcement has led to a high number of assistants quitting. She is the kind of boss who has no room for lazy employees. A perfectionist, she does not care who she steps on when on her way to the top. Not to forget, sleek and slender Miranda always has to have her Hermes scarf on. It can be seen that Miranda’s personality does fit her role to some extent. Due to the nature of her job, her business environment matters a lot. Although she is very dominating, the people under her accept that and submit to her wishes as if left with no other choice. It is all about power at the end of the day especially in a high-powered position like that of an Editor-In-Chief. Many people have come to believe that Miranda Priestly has been based on real-life Editor-In-Chief for Vogue Magazine, Anna Wintour. Topsynergy. com (2003) discussed the personalities that are evident in Anna Wintour. She is a perfect example to be displaying Type A behavior which to some extent is relevant to the position she holds and the competitive industry she is in. Describing Wintour in the words of Topsynergy. com; â€Å"Cautious, prudent, and rather self-contained †¦ approaches life realistically †¦ rarely spontaneous †¦ pragmatic, shrewd, and an excellent strategist †¦ very ambitious, but quietly so †¦ emotionally detached †¦ stern, authoritarian, no-nonsense aspect to her personality †¦ her personal relationships may seem constantly in flux †¦ direct, honest, and to the point some might say excessively so †¦Ã¢â‚¬  There is this contact argument that it is the environment that shapes people’s personality while others believe our personality has to find the kind of environment to which they suit best and perform to their optimum potential. For the latter, the abovementioned psychometric tests help employers, managers and common staff alike to gain insight to any individual’s personality. This is very essential in today’s organizations especially since the level of competition has never been higher.

Advent Of The Printing Press

Advent Of The Printing Press The printing revolution and advent of the printing press is an event against which there is no other even approaching in importance in the history of mankind. Nowadays, even in the electronic age, it is hard to imagine a world without the printed word. However what the printing revolution and classic cases of revolution, such as Russia (1917) and France (1789), have in common is not as clear cut as the scale of its impact. This essay will seek to evaluate the revolutionary qualities of the printing revolution in the context of the Reformation and the rise of modern science. It will begin with a brief introduction to the features of the printing revolution. Following this will be a discussion based around the extant literature on the word revolution from which an adequate set of criteria will be derived. These criteria will subsequently be used as the benchmark against which the revolutionary characteristics of the printing revolution will be measured using the evidence presented. By taking a retrospective look at two major events in the aftermath of the printing revolution I hope to be able to determine the viability of calling the printing revolution a revolution with a degree of certainty. Subsequently I will consider the impact the printing revolution had on other revolutions, and whether it was a pre-requisite for revolutions in the future. The paper will close with an assessment of which of the features of revolution apply most to the printing revolution, followed by a brief discussion of criticisms of the concept as proposed by Eisenstein. The late fifteenth century in Europe saw a dramatic shift in the way texts were reproduced. Before the invention of the printing press there was a reliance on handwritten manuscript reproduction, a slow and incredibly time-consuming process. Man (2002) provides some idea of the times involved when he states that one 1,272 page document took two scribes five years to copy.  [2]  Like any human, a scribe was also susceptible to error and because texts were copied this meant that an errors were copied again and again. Gutenbergs invention of the printing press around 1440 would mark a turning point in the history of human civilisation. Although printing had existed before with wood-blocks, it was the ability to edit and correct a text in every copy which made Gutenbergs invention so important.  [3]  He also made it possible for a large number of uniform copies to be produced. The spread of this technology from Mainz to all corners of the continent came quickly and was motivated by profit, as rather than any attempt to spread culture widely. Printing presses were established in quick succession in Cologne (1464), Basel (1466), Rome (1467), Venice (1469), London (1480) and Stockholm (1483), the centres of international trade at the time.  [4]  Gutenberg laid the foundations of modern publicity..which is dependent on the identical mass-production of free combinable letter-units in almost infinite variety of composition.  [5]  The importance of his invention to human civilisation is unquestionable and it has had one of the longest lasting legacies of any. What remains up for debate, however, are the revolutionary qualities of the printing revolution. Any discussion of how revolutionary an event was requires a suitable definition of the word revolution. Constructing a definition is, however, a difficult task as the number of attempts at doing so shows; there is little consensus as to what revolution actually means. Despite this lack of agreement certain words are predominant in definitions, such as violent, brief and success.  [6]  A thorough debate over differing definitions is out of the scope of this essay, although a brief mention of some ideas is important to shape an answer to the question. Eisenstein highlights the issues around the use of the word revolution in the context of printing, and argues that there are actually two different uses of the word as an overarching concept. The first of these is what is broadly what will be discussed in this essay and what most historians use the term for; that is, a significant break from a long-standing condition. The second is a prolonged, irreversible, cumulative process with ef fects that become ever more pronounced the longer it goes on.  [7]  She cites the Industrial Revolution as an example of this more drawn-out sense of revolution. Both the conventional and the secondary definitions have their criteria fulfilled with the printing revolution. In the first instance, the speed of the change shows the revolutionary nature of the printing revolution. It wasnt so much that a new innovative machine was conceived in Mainz that is important; it is that it began to be used in so many places in a short space of time. By the 1490s each of the major states had one important publishing centre and some had several notes Hay. Correspondingly, Man says that by 1480, 122 towns in Western Europe had printing presses.  [8]  The speed and breadth of the spread of the technology, and specifically the replacement of hand-copying with printing as the chief mode of book reproduction, is enough for Eisenstein to consider the printing revolution a revolution in the sens e of the word that most historians use. The justification for the printing revolution being typical of the second use of the word is based on its longevity. The output of 500 years of printing along with millennia of hand-writing, and the expansion of knowledge, show the irreversibility and length of the process. Indeed, it is a process which has not yet reached an end. This raises another important point; can it be a revolution if the process has an unquantifiable end? It is safe to assume that the majority of people, when asked to define revolution, would include a notion of violence. Images of mass beheadings in France and street battles in Russia no doubt contribute to this. Friedrich (1966) defines revolution as the sudden and violent overthrow of an established political order.  [9]  This applies neatly to the classic cases but not so to the printing revolution, where the affected party was not a political entity but writing by hand. Similarly, although more extreme, Arendt (1965) states that war and revolution are related, going so far as to say revolutionsare not even conceivable outside the domain of violence.  [10]  Both these definitions and the use of the word violence are insufficient in trying to explain a non-political, technological revolution. Preferable would be to take the idea of violence and use the implicit idea of destruction,  [11]  such as the definition proposed by Trimberger (1978) where a takeover destroys the economic and political power of the dominant social group of the old regime. This also shows that a revolution has an element of replacement; a revolution is not just seeking to overthrow and destroy what is already there, it also substitutes old for new. The speed and depth of change caused by a revolution is also a recurring theme in definitions. Neumann (1949) defines revolution as a sweeping, fundamental changeindicating a major break in the continuity of development.  [12]  He also makes a significant distinction between revolution and evolution, where the former is such a radical separation and the latter is a persistent transformation within the existing institutional framework; the parallels with Eisenstein are clear. Revolutions can be seen as only accelerating and crystallising the evolutionary process. Similarly, Johari (1987) sees revolution as essentially meaning a sudden, fundamental and major transformation. Kroeber (1996) defines revolution as all demands, suggestions and attempts at radical change.  [13]  Once the revolutionary processes have begun parts of culture and society and different relationships between people may be fashioned anew. Revolutions signify drastic and fundamental change. The use of the wo rd radical also implies an element of speed to events. It is this velocity of change which separates revolution from other ideas of change such as reform and revolt.  [14]   The final overriding feature of definitions of revolution is that the process must be successful, and this success is where a movement overturns a regime.  [15]  All the definitions considered above imply that the revolution does end with the goals of the movement attained. This fact is evident through the historiography of rebellions and revolution; it is not chance that has named the failed uprising in Ireland in 1798 the Irish Rebellion but the action in the thirteen British colonies of America the American Revolution. For the printing revolution to be considered successful it will have to remain an established and useful medium of communication. The definition I will use in this essay will be a blend of the previously proposed definitions that have been discussed. Although most are designed to refer to political and social change they do have elements which can be transferred to non-political events. For the printing revolution to be called a revolution or revolutionary it must destroy and replace what was previously the norm, contain some sense of radical change and upheaval over a short space of time and prove useful and successful. These are the criteria against which the revolutionary properties of the printing revolution will be measured in the rest of this essay. The Reformation was one of the defining events of the early modern period in Europe. The role of the printing press is a hallmark of the process by which the old Catholic Church became ever more rejected and the Protestant Church was founded. Indeed it seems difficult to exaggerate the significance of the Press, without which a revolution of this magnitude could scarcely have been consummated.  [16]  A detailed enough discussion to do justice to the impact of the book on the Reformation is out of the scope of this essay; instead it will focus on Germany, the birthplace of the movement. The importance of the printing press for religious reform cannot be underestimated, as all of the attempts at reform prior to the invention and diffusion of the printing press were rather easily suppressed by the Church.  [17]  The most famous example of such attempts is that of Jan Hus in the early fifteenth century. After his martyrdom in 1415 a series of wars broke out and the Hussites formed a rival church in Bohemia, but their sphere of influence never really extended beyond this small area as they had no way to transport their ideas.  [18]  Away from the Continent in England there is a dissimilar story though. The Lollard movement had been avid readers and writers, and had sealed the relationship between heresy and books in the early fifteenth century before Gutenberg. Over 230 manuscripts of the Lollard Bible survive and evidence suggests large quantities of ephemera were also produced.  [19]  However, the ultimate failure of the movement suggests that this was not enough. Rubins argument that highly centralised institutions are able to easily suppress small revolts that are not able to spread due to a lack of information technology seems to be accurate. The printing press did destroy the use of manuscript in revolts as it was not able to be widely reproduced and distributed. The Reformation was the first movement to make full use of the printing press technology and it is no coincidence that it was the most successful of the period. The Reformation also saw a massive break from past ways of campaigns for change. For the first time in history a mass propaganda campaign could be carried out, and it was used to its full extent.  [20]  The Reformers saw how it made rapid dissemination of materials possible, and for this reason Luther saw the printing press as a gift from God who wanted to drive forward the cause of true religion to the ends of the earth and to make it available in all languages.  [21]  Luthers Theses against clerical abuses, which sparked the Reformation, had been seen in every part of Germany within 15 days of him posting them to the chapel door in Wittenberg.  [22]  The ability to spread information and ideas quickly was crucial to the Reformation. Once Luther had nailed his Theses to the door by a stroke of magic he found himself addressing the whole world and as such the start of the Protestant Revolt can be directly attributed to this act.  [23]  The speed at which pamphlets by Luther could be printed and sold was phenomenal; four thousand copies of An den Christlichen Adel deutscher Nation von des Christlichen Standes Besserung were sold in 5 days, and in total there were seventeen different editions of the work.  [24]  Similarly the pamphlet Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen underwent 18 editions in a single year.  [25]  The course of distribution of literature shows the revolutionary qualities of the printing revolution. Whereas previously the dissemination of new ideas would have been through word of mouth or by copying, the use of the printing press meant that the same material and thoughts could be spread uniformly and quickly during the Reformation. The sheer speed and volume of materials and the way they were used signified a radical change from what had gone before. The Reformation was the first real example of the power of printing and was the first propaganda campaign conducted through the medium of the press.  [26]   The usefulness and successfulness of printing in the Reformation is clearly demonstrated by the vast amount of editions of writings published. Rubins empirical study of the spread of the Reformation and the importance of pamphlets to it shows that cities which produced pamphlets were more likely to be Protestant than Catholic throughout the sixteenth century, although the effect did diminish over time.  [27]  Despite the obvious success of the printing press described, Luther and his contemporaries held reservations about the number of books being published. Hauser invites us to consider what might have been if, for example, the printing press had have been around for the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century.  [28]  Such counterfactual, what if questions are interesting but would place too much emphasis on the role of printing. It would be going too far to say that the Reformation was the child of the printing revolution; this ridiculous thesis is indeed just that.  [29]à ‚  It was not books, publishers and propagandists who caused the Reformation. Religion had become more and more of an issue in the preceding years, and was now at the forefront of peoples minds. Luthers grievances were quickly echoed by both laymen and clerics, which according to Rubin indicates there were deep-rooted anti-Papal sentiments before Luther.  [30]  Printing was simply the medium of exchange through which people learnt about these new ideas, it was not the new idea in itself. There is no question that the Reformation would not have had the success it did without the ability to disseminate information quickly and widely. Having considered the three key elements of a revolution discussed previously, it is clear that in the context of the Reformation the printing revolution can be justifiably called as such. The use of printing presses to create and widely distribute material marked a radical break from the previous ways to spread ideas. Both the speed and volume of production of books and pamphlets were on a scale unlike anything seen before and would certainly have been impossible without mechanised printing. The printing revolution and its impact upon the Reformation show its success; there is little doubt that without it the Reformation would have taken a different course. However, as Postman points out, it is questionable as to whether the Catholic Church would have fallen had the printing press been used exclusively for the reproduction of pictures, as is conceivable.  [31]  It was the use of the printed word which was the crucial factor in the Reformation, not simply the invention of the pri nting press itself. The Scientific Revolution changed the way humanity saw and studied the world around it forever. Until the early modern period scientific observers, for they were only that, simply read doctrine which had been published previously and took that as truth. The Renaissance changed this and more people began to ask scientific questions, and the use of printing served to galvanise the scientific community. It was in this time that the three cornerstones of classical intellect, Ptolemaic astronomy, Galenic anatomy and Aristotelian physics, met their downfall and were replaced by the science of Copernicus and Newton. The advent of printing allowed for faster copying of works compared to manuscript, of that there is no question. However it was not simply a case of one replacing the other; a lot of works remained in manuscript form for a large amount of time once printing technology had been developed. Mathematical works frequently were released in print yet the Triparty by Nicolas Chuquet, the most original work on algebra and arithmetic from the latter half of the 15th century, remained in manuscript.  [32]  Similary, De triangulis by Regiomontanus was not printed until 1533, nearly 60 years after his death.  [33]  The printing revolution did not have as great an impact on the production of manuscripts as might be thought. Given this, the printing revolution may not have been as revolutionary in science as the Reformation. Although there were a lot of works published in print it did not totally take the place of manuscript and as such cannot be considered truly revolutionary event. The printing revolution created a huge contrast between the medieval and early modern periods. A noteworthy example of this is raised by Eisenstein in the development of astronomy around the time of Copernicus. As a young student in the 1480s Copernicus would have struggled to get a single copy of Ptolemys Almagest, which at the time was the authoritative work on the cosmos. By the time he died in 1543 three different editions were available.  [34]  In a similar vein, in 1499 Aldus published a collection of the works of the ancient astronomers in five folios in Latin and Greek.  [35]  Publication of classical works made them accessible to a lot more students and scholars than previously. In turn, this meant that they could be analysed, scrutinised and updated. The same is true of journals and new discoveries; it was because of the printing press that the idea of peer review and experiment duplication became familiar. The spread of knowledge went beyond just books and journals , however. The invention of the telescope also shows the impact that printing had. Although the object was invented in the Netherlands with a patent granted in October 1608, Galileo in Italy had heard of it by November of the same year.  [36]  News of it was also widespread in other parts of the continent.  [37]  The publication of a French newsletter, The Embassy of the King of Siam Sent to His Excellency Maurice of Nassau, in the same month detailing the invention meant that the news was able to travel uniformly and quickly to other intellectuals in Germany, France and Italy. The next year telescopes were on sale in Paris.  [38]  The spread of knowledge, both academic and practical, shows the revolutionary qualities of the printing press. The success of the printing press in the context of the Scientific Revolution is clear. The ability to spread ideas and information widely and quickly allowed for an acceleration of scientific discovery and progress unlike anything that had been seen before. A study of Copernicuss De revolutionibus proves this point.  [39]  It is shown that a first edition in 1543 consisted of around 450 copies with a similar run in 1566, and that it got into the hands of the majority of astronomy professors in the sixteenth century, as well as into major libraries.  [40]  More interestingly, there are people from all walks of life who owned a copy; an architect, a musical theoretician and a financier are mentioned. Whereas previously the domain of science was amongst academics, now people had freer access to materials from which they could study. The acceleration of scientific discovery after the invention of the printing press also shows the success of printing. According to Ferguson, 38% o f the worlds most important scientific breakthroughs occurred between the Reformation and the French Revolution, including the heliocentric model of the Solar System and Galileos tests on gravity.  [41]  Scientific knowledge was spreading faster than it ever had, and a community of intellectual peers developed. The breadth and depth of distribution and development of knowledge would not have been possible without the printing press. However, in terms of what we nowadays called science, the printing revolution had only a limited amount of success. Although the printing press allowed books to be accessible to wider areas of the public, most people remained interested in softer subjects. This stimulated the development of a mass market for summaries, medical remedies, prognostications and astrological tables written in the vernacular.  [42]  There is no question that the printing press increased the volume of works being published. What is problematic is that the majority of works were of no lasting scientific interest.  [43]  The effect this had was to dilute the amount of quality material available and keep what we would call scientific and what was then considered scientific the same. The printing revolution was successful in that it made the dissemination of scientific information more widespread but the practises of the booksellers stunted this success. Their primary goal was to make money, and would p ublish what would sell; some have even gone as far as to say the printing revolution a negative role in the Scientific Revolution as the printing of outdated, medieval texts which sold may have delayed the acceptance of new ideas such as Copernicus.  [44]  By making conventional authoritative works widely available printingcould even have said to have represented an obstacle to the acceptance of new ideas.  [45]  Rather than progressing knowledge it popularised long cherished beliefs, strengthened prejudices and gave authority to seductive fallacies.  [46]  The main point remains though, that there was an increase in the volume of works published. Not only was the printing revolution revolutionary in its own right, the printed word became a vital part of revolutions throughout history. The French Revolution of 1789 is widely accepted as one of the classic cases of revolution and makes for a good example of the influence of print on revolutionary movements. Darnton argues that the printing press was crucial at every stage of the process, and without it the widespread restructuring of French life could not have not taken place. Without the press, they can conquer the Bastille but they cannot overthrow the Old Regime he says, and this is the key point.  [47]  The battle to change the minds of an entire nation could not be won without the spreading of books, almanacs, posters and anything else that would carry an impression. The same is also true of the non-classical cases of revolution, such as the Russian Revolution of 1905. In a similar vein to Darnton, Ruud argues that without the communications infrastructurein place in 1 905, the millions of copies of revolutionary books, periodicals, brochures and proclamations could never had made so compelling a political statement to the government.  [48]  The Russian example also shows the fear that incumbent regimes have of the power of print. The government continued to deploy censorship into the 20th century and in the same year as the uprising decided against reform of censorship.  [49]  Furthermore, it shows consciousness as to the power of print. Alexander Herzen, writing in 1861, formulated a new idea as to how to use print in a revolution; make the organisation produce a regular publication and make it central to the way they operate.  [50]  Lenin also realised the importance of the distribution of party publications as ideal for local agitation in What Is To Be Done?, his seminal 1902 pamphlet. Print allowed the spread of new and avant-garde ideas quickly and to a wide audience. That is not to say that revolutions happened because of printi ng; it is to say that printing sped up both the path to revolution and the revolution itself. The printing press did not create the underlying issues but it did create consciousness and awareness of these issues amongst a wider group than would otherwise have been possible. In the classical sense of the word, the printing revolution was not revolutionary. Neumann notes that the meaning of the word revolution has changed.  [51]  Whereas in the 19th century it almost exclusively applied to political change, it has become far more wide-reaching as an adjective. Nowadays it is transferable and applicable to other fields of study with an appropriate qualifying adjective such as industrial, managerial, colonial, cultural, scientific, technological etc.  [52]  Johari concludes his discussion of the nature of revolution by saying that a revolution seldom fulfils definitions of the word completely so it is not alone in that respect.  [53]  However given the criteria proposed in this paper, it is clear that the printing revolution does have revolutionary aspects. In the context of both the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution it has been shown that the printing revolution was indeed revolutionary. The printing press changed the way that religious reforms and movements happened in that although there were already manuscripts being produced, as shown by the Lollards, it was the ease of production and distribution which made the difference. The Reformation was the first event to make full employment of the propaganda potential of the printing press, and the spreading of Luthers Theses in such a short space of time across such a large area undoubtedly played a large part in the ultimate success of the movement. This also underlines the succes

Prejudice, Racism and Power in Heart of Darkness Essays -- HOD Joseph

Race and Power in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   In Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness, the socially constructed differences of African and European cultures are effective in representing the power sites of the time. The alleged `superiority' of the European culture can be recognized by comparing their ideologies to those of the primitive, `inferior' `savages.' Conrad's personal experiences in the Belgian Congo, in the 1890s, influenced the compilation of Heart of Darkness, reflecting the waste and inefficiency of British Colonialism. Conrad referred to the colonization of Africa as, "the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience and geographical exploration."(Joffe, 78) The cultural differentiation between the two races is utilized as a mechanism for the European society to justify the cruelty, suppression and alienation towards the African people.    Contrasts between white and black throughout the text, encourage the reader to identify the marginalized and the dominating race. The European society being `white' is presented as `greater' against which the `black' African society is judged as `lesser.' Marlow refers to the city of Brussels as a "whited sepulchre"(p24), which represents the splendor and glory of the city, hiding the corruption and darkness beneath. This ostentatious image of Brussels is then contrasted to the calamity visited upon an African village. "The village was deserted, the huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures."(p24). This austere image of death and desolation, confronts the reader with the power and callousness of the European society. The horrific scene of dying natives, "in every pose of contorted collapse... ...ds the Africans and positions them to challenge the power structures in their own society. As a modern reader, I bring my knowledge of aboriginal racism in Australia to the text, to acquire an enhanced understanding of the unequal power relationships in Conrad's Eurocentric society. The text has confronted me with the reality of the discrimination in my own society, which is inherent throughout the ideologies surrounding race, gender and class.    Works Consulted: Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Editor Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton, 1988. Guetti, James. 'Heart of Darkness and the Failure of the Imagination', Sewanee Review LXXIII, No. 3 (Summer 1965), pp. 488-502. Ed. C. B. Cox. Ruthven, K. K. 'The Savage God: Power in Heart of Darkness,' Critical Quarterly, x, nos 1& 2 (Spring and Summer 1988), pp. 41-6. Ed. C. B. Cox.       Prejudice, Racism and Power in Heart of Darkness Essays -- HOD Joseph Race and Power in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   In Joseph Conrad's novella, Heart of Darkness, the socially constructed differences of African and European cultures are effective in representing the power sites of the time. The alleged `superiority' of the European culture can be recognized by comparing their ideologies to those of the primitive, `inferior' `savages.' Conrad's personal experiences in the Belgian Congo, in the 1890s, influenced the compilation of Heart of Darkness, reflecting the waste and inefficiency of British Colonialism. Conrad referred to the colonization of Africa as, "the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience and geographical exploration."(Joffe, 78) The cultural differentiation between the two races is utilized as a mechanism for the European society to justify the cruelty, suppression and alienation towards the African people.    Contrasts between white and black throughout the text, encourage the reader to identify the marginalized and the dominating race. The European society being `white' is presented as `greater' against which the `black' African society is judged as `lesser.' Marlow refers to the city of Brussels as a "whited sepulchre"(p24), which represents the splendor and glory of the city, hiding the corruption and darkness beneath. This ostentatious image of Brussels is then contrasted to the calamity visited upon an African village. "The village was deserted, the huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures."(p24). This austere image of death and desolation, confronts the reader with the power and callousness of the European society. The horrific scene of dying natives, "in every pose of contorted collapse... ...ds the Africans and positions them to challenge the power structures in their own society. As a modern reader, I bring my knowledge of aboriginal racism in Australia to the text, to acquire an enhanced understanding of the unequal power relationships in Conrad's Eurocentric society. The text has confronted me with the reality of the discrimination in my own society, which is inherent throughout the ideologies surrounding race, gender and class.    Works Consulted: Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Editor Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton, 1988. Guetti, James. 'Heart of Darkness and the Failure of the Imagination', Sewanee Review LXXIII, No. 3 (Summer 1965), pp. 488-502. Ed. C. B. Cox. Ruthven, K. K. 'The Savage God: Power in Heart of Darkness,' Critical Quarterly, x, nos 1& 2 (Spring and Summer 1988), pp. 41-6. Ed. C. B. Cox.      

Norms Essay -- Sociology, Breaking the Norms

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is 9:00 PM on a Sunday night. Televisions all across America tune into MTV. Millions of viewers will now spend the next thirty minutes watching a television program titled 'Jackass'. While watching this program, the viewers will observe everything from people eating hard boiled eggs in an attempt to purposely vomit, to a man testing out various self defense devices on himself. Next week viewers will tune into the same program to see the same kinds of stunts performed. The reason that America watches these kinds of programs, and the participants in them perform these stunts, are because 'norms' are being broken. A norm is something that is generally accepted by a society as the right thing to do, or the way things are supposed to be. For example, a norm would be to enter an elevator and stand facing the front for the duration of the trip. Breaking that norm would be to enter the elevator and face the back for the duration of the trip. It is not what is expected. Different norms exist in different societies, and when these norms are broken within these societies people pay attention, because it is not an occurrence observed on a regular basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For our class project, each student was asked to break a norm that exists in our society and record the reactions of observers and results of the experiment. The norm I chose to break was the idea of driving normally-the belief that cars should be driven by pushing the gas pedal and moving in a forward motion, not a...

Film Review of The Crucible :: Essay on The Crucible

Film Review of The Crucible The Crucible: A Film Review Who'd have thought that simple dancing could cause so much chaos in a small town. This is precisely what happens in the film The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), which was originally written as a play by Arthur Miller. This story is based on actual events, which helps in showing the accuracy of the events. The story takes place in Salem in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. The story starts when a group of young girls, particularly one named Abigail, are caught dancing around a fire in the woods by the town preacher, Samuel Parris. In an effort to avoid getting in trouble, the girls begin to make accusations against the townspeople, saying that these people are witches who forced them to dance. As the hysteria grows in Salem, people begin to question their own neighbors, simply out of spite and vengeance, among other things. The Crucible is certainly historically accurate in it's portrayal of the townspeople's beliefs and attitudes. It is a film that should be seen to view the way people were in the seventeenth century. Fear was probably the biggest reason for all of the happenings. Fear is what got the girls started on their accusations, as they were afraid to get in trouble. They knew that if they were thought to be conjuring spirits, they would be hung. The townspeople were also afraid, especially of those who were different. They felt that they must be rid of anyone who disagreed with their beliefs. Just look at how the Puritans treated the Indians. They feared the Native Americans because their beliefs were different than their own. Also, the main reason that people were accused in the first place, is because when Tituba was being questioned, they were asking if she saw Sara Good and Sara Osborne with the Devil. Of course she said yes, they were threatening to kill her. Another example of fear in the village, is the fear of accepting your own actions and taking responsibility. The Puritans believed in predestination, and if the girls were dancing just to dance, and not because the Devil took them from their path to God, the townspeople would then have to take the responsibility for that, as it would be thier fault for letting these girls go astray. They were also afraid of change. Change in their beliefs would shut down the entire town, because it was built mainly on their ideology.