Samples of book reviews Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron

Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity Book Review Sample Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity The title â€Å"Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity† fully conveys the content of the book. The author set a goal to help the person to overcome a creative impasse. That is why this book is intended for those who passionately want to create something but experience temporary or permanent difficulties with this. It is hardly possible to place â€Å"Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity† in any standard frames and categories. This is a book that must be read repeatedly with carefulness. One of the most striking features of the book is the uncompromising approach of its author. She constantly rejects all halftones and any attempts to evade from responsibility. Everything becomes very clear and straightforward: there is a way to creativity and if someone refuses to choose it, he betrays creativity and himself. This position requires taking a very big responsibility and only few people can bear it. The book is penetrated with a specific spiritual approach to the defined problems. But the contemporary people who lead modern life often do not want to hear about spirituality and faith, since they give their preference to pragmatic approach, economic calculations, explanations and persuasion. â€Å"Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity† depicts a huge energy charge. Julia Cameron managed to express her outlook on the pages of the book very clearly and powerfully. While reading you will notice that the path of a true artist requires significant changes in life. Even if these changes are stretched in time, sweetened with promises of success or with descriptions of positive examples, they still can be enormous and irreversible. It is impossible not to change oneself after reading this great book!

Social Class And Gender Roles - 1469 Words

How are the tensions between social classes and/or genders dramatised in Modern European Drama? Social class and gender roles, were and still are today, a key element in the progression of theatre. Dada and Futurism, as movements in theatre took place at the time of the social class war, the prejudice against women and their rights and the struggle to create an equal society. The two movements, of avant-garde style contained three stage in which they were able to create; ‘analysis†¦engagement†¦forward vision’ (Berghaus, 2005). Their method to create art and theatre was impelled on by their desire to attack the ‘dominant ideology of bourgeois society’ (Berghaus, 2005) ‘some claim that the word was â€Å"discovered† by opening a dictionary at random’(Sawelson-Gorse, 1998) Dada was a ‘crusade in order to win back the promise land of creativity’ (Berghaus, 2005). Dada, as a movement, did not only take form of inspiring art, but it was a protest, to test the bourgeois society. Dada, as movement has a rampant and wild allure about it. The way in which it was approached and is approached today is similar in a sense of strength and power. In his manifesto Tzara is clear that ‘dada was born of a need of independence’ (Tzara, 1918), this does not only imply that there was no independence in terms of art, but also that Constructivism needed to be moved forward. In Tristen Tzara’s Dadaist Manifesto he does not only have a fighting attitude toward Dada, but also has resilient opinion on theShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Language in Creating and Reinforcing Social Distinctions Such as Class, Ethnicity, and Gender552 Words   |  3 PagesThe Role of Language in Creating and Reinforcing Social Distinctions Such as Class, Ethnicity, an d Gender It is said in a myth that people were once trying to build a giant latter to heaven so God made them all diverse by making portions of the people look different and speak different language. The now diverse people of earth felt annoyed and human nature took its ugly toll and separation and distinctions were made, they all scatter throughout the world. God did this soRead MoreSocial Stratification And Its Effects On Physical And Mental Differences1216 Words   |  5 Pagesbeen social stratification. Social stratification is the separation of based on physical and mental differences. Every society exhibits a pattern of separation between its people. We will focus mainly on the United States and how they organize people based on the three main organizing principles, class, race, and gender. Social class is defines as â€Å"the grouping of individuals by economic position† (Larkin, Para. 9). Members of each social class share similar income, wealth, lifestyle, social normsRead MoreLittle Women: Class and Gender1613 Words   |  7 Pagesis a book often known as a novel of identity while recognizing and breaking the normal social order. Highly criticized identity developments often used by critics are the social and gender aspects. The March girls are often recognized as an abnormal case in socio-economic order and challenge gender roles, mostly credited to their upbringing by Mrs. March. In the article Resentful Little Women: Gender and Class feeling in Louisa May Alcott, author Stephanie Foote argues that the negative emotionsRead MoreThe concept of social identity, social class,gender and ethnicity.1635 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Identity is the understanding of who we are, and reciprocally, other peoples understanding of themselves. Richard Jenkins believe d that this social identity is achieved through socialization within social groups. He argued that by placing themselves in the role of others, people, particularly children, gain a greater understanding of the role that they should play. For example, a six-year-old girl playing mommy with her dolls will, as she gets into the role, begin to understand what a motherRead MoreIs the Body a Social Construction?1447 Words   |  6 PagesThe phrase â€Å"social construction† is difficult to define as it encompasses a multitude of elements, but despite that, conventionally, social construction shows ways society has conceptualised expectations and ideals which can be related to specific sociological interested areas, such as the body. Social action has been shown to have an effect on the transformation of a biological individual, although bodies appear to be simply natural - eye colour, body shape, size of feet etc - a deeper context revealsRead More The Impact of Social Idealogy o n Virginia Woolfs To The Lighthouse1179 Words   |  5 PagesThe Impact of Social Idealogy on Woolfs To the Lighthouse     Ã‚   Throughout literature the ideology of the society in which the author was living is evident in the text. This can cause certain groups within a text to be empowered while the other groups are marginalised and constrained by the social restrictions placed upon them by the ideology. In the novel To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Woolf shows us an awareness of gender politics during the 1920 ¹s Britain by subverting the traditionalRead MoreGender Roles Of Women And Women1677 Words   |  7 PagesGender is one of the greatest factors that can determine how we define ourselves and others. Although gender is determined at birth for many, it does not influence one s identity of self until a later age. How society views the roles of each gender influences how a person views themselves. As the views changes, so does one’s identity. In the past, the roles of men and women were defined and separated. Men were expected to provide income for the family, while women wer e expected to take care of theRead MoreRace And Gender Play : A Woman At The Top Of Her Career Essay1350 Words   |  6 Pagessuburban dream. This paper will take a look into two different individual lives and how class, race and gender play a role in their position(s) in society. Interviewee (1) one is a man from Virginia, he has identified himself as a white male and acknowledge that he was in the working class system and once married moved into the middle class spectrum â€Å"in class systems, people may become members of a class other than that of their parents through both intergenerational and intragenerational mobilityRead MoreSocial Stratification1349 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Social Stratification: Impacting Positions in Society Social stratification is vertical hierarchical arrangement which differentiate people as superior or inferior. Societies are stratified in three ways which are,1) Social Class; 2) Racial and Ethnic stratification; and 3) Gender. 1) Social Class: According to Karl Marx, Class society is based around a primary line of division between two antagonistic classes, those who owns the means of production and those who do not own. Comer addedRead MoreThe Development Of The Fisheries And Tourism On The Monterey Coast Essay1312 Words   |  6 Pagesentangled social and environmental histories that together transformed Monterey through time.† Thus the central contribution of Chiang’s book is illuminating the intersection of social and environmental history from the perspective of an environmental history. The environmental story deals with the fisheries, canneries, and eventual aquarium celebrating the environment and Monterey’s past. Central to the social story are the conflicts and interactions between people of different gender, class, race,

Medical Benefits and Risks Involved in Male Circumcision free essay sample

Medical Benefits and Risks Involved in Male Circumcision BY kin123 Male Circumcision A surgical procedure for males that is so easily overlooked and such a norm for many to undergo, male circumcision is a topic one must be educated about. Male circumcision according to Mayo Clinic is the surgical removal of the skin covering the tip of the pens (Mayo Clinic). It is commonly done on newborns, although it can be done later in life as well. The United States and other places around the world including Africa and Europe participate in this removal of the foreskin, but the uestion is why do so many do so? Is it because of health reasons or cultural norms? As so many people do it, why might some be so against it? Male circumcision is a major controversy and is a debatable topic. There are many sides to the idea of male circumcision. I believe that there is no right or wrong as long as you are educated and informed about the pros and cons of the procedure and decide knowledgeably. Many parents decide to circumcise their boys as newborns with the intent that its a health precaution as well as a protection against sexually transmitted diseases. There are many studies that show results that males have a lower chance of getting HIV if circumcised, it is not limited to Just the US but other countries too. A Journal by Bertran Auvert revealed acceptability of male circumcision among uncircumcised men in southern Africa is high, at about 60 70% (Auvert 150-151). So with many studies with similar results many organizations including The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS are implementing national male circumcision programs to help prevent the spread of HIV (Auvert 150-151). While programs and eople are pushing for circumcision for the prevention of STDs and infections, there are also discussions to improve techniques done in some countries including Africa. As a Journal I came across put it redirecting male circumcision from traditional providers to hygienic clinics (Gilliam, Brooks, Leibowitz, Klosinski, Sawires, Szekeres, Weston, and Coates 1207-1211). This will ensure a safe male circumcision that will be less prone to any complications. As Helen A. Weiss and her colleagues stated, traditional circumcision as a rite of passage is associated with substantially greater isks, more severe complications than medical circumcision among neonates (Helen , Larke, Halperin, and Schenker). Although circumcision does show some possible medical benefits there are many risks involved that should be put into account as well. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in circumstances in which there are potential benefits and risks, yet the procedure is not essential to the childs current well-being, parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child (AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS 686-693). Since the procedure isnt ecessary for ones well being, the complications may out weigh the potential benefits to some people. Surgical risks associated with circumcision, particularly bleeding, penile injury, and local infection, as well as the consequences of the pain experienced witn neonatal circumcision are valid concerns that require appropriate responses (Bailey, Moses, and Ronald 368-373). This goes to show that circumcision isnt Just any procedure that should be taken lightly rather thoroughly considered. Male circumcision shouldnt be done to fit in or beca use its a norm around us. It should be a decision made based upon knowledge and knowing all risks and benefits of the procedure. I think that the conclusion Stephen Moses, Robert C Bailey, and Allan R Ronald made is nicely put, a decision as to whether to recommend male circumcision in a given society should be based upon an assessment of the risk for and occurrence of the diseases which are associated with the presence of the foreskin, versus the risk of the complications of the procedure. In order for individuals and their families to make an informed decision, they should be provided ith the best available evidence regarding the known benefits and risks (Bailey, Moses, and Ronald 368-373). The Sterk article was very interesting and gave me an idea of how to go about my research. It was intriguing how Claire Sterk actually engaged with prostitutes and eventually got to know their lives from the inside. Her observations and interactions with the prostitutes were a key to conducting her research. Sterk developed trust and a relationship with her target group, which is a smart idea. She states, both parties need to get to know each other, become aware nd accepting for each others roles, and engage in a reciprocal relationship (Sterk pg. 3). I think she went about her research in a great way. Although my research isnt going to be as hands on, I will definitely go about her methods when asking questions to my participants, such as keeping my opinions to myself and refraining from presenting myself as an expert (Sterk pg. 3). Some questions and topics I would ask participants will pertain to what they think of male circumcision in general and if it is a topic of concern to them. Also I would proceed in asking if they talk about ircumcision with friends or if they heard stories pertaining to male circumcision whether good or bad. I would also be sure to find out what stereotypes or myths they have heard about circumcision. I want to ask college kids my age so they will be more prone to answer and to have an insight on what they think for they will be parents one day and will have to make that decision. I will find people around I-JPs campus and ask a few of my friends to participate. I will also have adults and even have elders opinion of this topic. I would make the conversation and questions asked elaxed and easy so people will hopefully respond truthfully.

SAMPLE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION ESSAY - AFTER

significantly improves each essay using the same voice as the author. The only way to evaluate editing is to compare the original essay with the edited version. We significantly improve essays both for clients who write poorly and for clients who write well.Edited EssayBeing outnumbered twenty to one can intimidate anybody. This is especially true in Officer Candidate School. As one of only five female officers in a class of one hundred, I quickly learned to overcome sexual stereotypes and to assert my authority with finesse. At no other time in my life have I received so much training in loyalty, courage, and disciplinenor had to rely so heavily on my own perseverance. By the time I enrolled in this program, my determination had already been tested on numerous occasions, but Officer Candidate School did more than any previous experience to prepare me for academic excellence and intense leadership positions.Early in life, I realized that education often determines ones fate. My moth er, a Dutch immigrant, never completed the fourth grade, and my father barely passed the GED with the help of his Army recruiter. Neither of them went to college, and although they worked very hard, they had very little to show for it. I instinctively knew that I wanted more out of life, and I became determined to do whatever was necessary to get an education.After graduating from high school in Holland at age sixteen, I faced an important obstacle in my quest for a baccalaureate degree. My father felt that college was a waste of money and refused to support me financially. My mother could not assist me financially, but she did give me something more valuable: her encouragement. With her support, I moved into my own apartment, got a job working fifty hours per week, and enrolled in college full time. I worked from 4:30 A.M. until 3:30 P.M. every day, and I went to school from 6:00 P.M. until 11:00 P.M every night. I do not recall when I slept or did schoolwork, but my determination to put myself through school prevailed.As busy as I was between work and school, I still found time to do volunteer activities. When I turned seventeen, I joined the National Guard to make a more substantial impact on the community and to do something that would enhance my future. I firmly believed, and still do, that nothing in life is freeincluding our rights and freedom. Even though the National Guard swallowed an additional weekend each month, I still advanced quickly through school and received strong grades.By the middle of my sophomore year, I developed an intense desire to exercise my leadership ability. At that time, the National Guard was in need of officers, especially female officers. I applied to the Officer Candidate School weekend program and was accepted. As one of just a handful of women, I was singled out from the very beginning of the rigorous and demanding training process. Furthermore, at a time when female officers did not traditionally go into engineering, I o pted to enter the Corps of Engineers upon graduation.Fourteen months later, eleven of the initial one hundred soldiers received Federal Commissions as Second Lieutenants in the United States Army. I was the only female officer among them. The financial advantages of serving as an officer allowed me to cut back on my work hours and to focus more on school. Finally, after a very demanding journey, I received my bachelors degree in business.The perseverance required to pursue my degree and commission is the same perseverance that will ensure my success at the University of Maryland. I am guided not only by my desire to pursue an advanced degree but also by the same reasoning that led me to join the militaryI want to serve my community from a position of leadership. My background, which includes service in diverse leadership roles, will allow me to contribute a unique perspective to my class. Few individuals have experienced the responsibility of managing thirty soldiers at age nineteen . Equally few have led a 120-soldier unit in overseas deployment during a time of hostility.The Army has a saying: Train as you fight and you will fight as you train. I try to apply this philosophy to my education whenever possible. I have selected the University of Maryland because its law clinics, externships, and mentor program will give me valuable hands-on experience and opportunities to apply what I learn. In my quest to become a lawyer and more successfully serve the community, I will indeed draw upon all that I have learned about accomplishing personal goals. As in Officer Candidate School, I will be focused, motivated, and willing both to train and fight.Customers CommentsI am impressed. I have the strong background skills and knowledge to get into law school, but I have a hard time being able to write it down with intelligence. I was totally impressed by the revised version of my personal statement and feel like he captured what I wanted to say. I had reservations about do ing this online, but I researched your site, looked it over numerous times, and made the decision to try this service. My editor made a tremendous difference in my statement and it was obvious from the first sentence as he got my attention. I was very impressed at how good the whole essay was, from start to finish. I cant thank enough.CritiqueDear Jane,I enjoyed editing your essay for law school. You have an interesting background and will undoubtedly contribute a unique perspective to the school.Here are my specific comments on each individual paragraph of your essay:Paragraph 1It is essential that the first paragraph introduce your specific qualifications in a compelling manner. Your original first paragraph was full of excessively vague sentiments and allusions to abstract values. I have suggested a new, more potent introduction that illustrates your success at Officer Candidate School and thereby grabs the readers attention.Obtaining my baccalaureate degree and my commission as an officer in the Army are prime examples of how perseverance allowed me to overcome difficult obstacles in my life.This is a great point, but you need to make it implicitly through your examples rather than stating it explicitly. See the revised essay for my suggestion.Paragraph 2To make your essay easier to digest, you should break this paragraph into two parts. For the first, you should explain why you decided to pursue a baccalaureate degree, and for the second, you should explain how you did so.Your second paragraph also needs a strong transition sentence. I have provided a new sentence drawing on your observation that, Education was my opportunity to change my life.Be mindful of ways you can improve the sentence-to-sentence flow of your ideas. For instance, I have linked together two of your ideas in this paragraph as follows: My mother could not assist me financially, but she did give me something more valuable: her encouragement. With her support, I moved into my own apartm entParagraph 3This paragraph treats three very distinct ideasyour interest in extracurricular activities, your decision to join the National Guard, and your success in Officer Candidate School. As such, it makes sense to break your discussion into three separate parts.I still found time to do volunteer activities here and there.Avoid colloquial phrases like here and there in formal writing.I was still progressing in college at a decent pace and receiving decent grades.In subjective assessments like this, it is always desirable to use the most compelling words possible. I suggest the following: I still advanced quickly through school and received strong grades.Finally, five years after I started the journey for my degree I received my Bachelors in Business.You should omit the number of years you were in school since this information does not contribute to your essay.Paragraph 4This paragraph is a perfect example of the axiom that less is more. You have a number of concrete details th at are very compelling, but you obscure them behind extraneous, generalized statements. I have streamlined this paragraph to keep it focused.The difficult decisions I have made and ethical dilemmas I have endured have made me realize the importance of choosing the harder right rather than the easier wrong.'This sentence is superfluous since you have already explicitly outlined the positions in which you had to make hard decisions.Paragraph 5The conclusion of your essay sounded like a plea for admission, and that is not what your personal statement should be. To be more precise, you should not conclude your essay with a sentence asking the school to consider you. This is not a letter; it is an essay.Also, note that you should not address the reader in the second person singular (you) since this is too informal. Finally, referring to the school as the best in the nation was a bit gratuitous and clichà ©d.Overall, I really enjoyed reading about your experiences. You very interestingly outlined your unconventional background. In your future writing, be sure to avoid overused and clichà ©d phrases. (Some examples include overcome difficult obstacles and determined to succeed.) It is acceptable to use phrases like this when they truly fit, but using too many clichà ©s really waters down an essay.I believe you will find your essay much improved. Again, you have an interesting background that I agree is an important asset. I have done my best to accentuate the most compelling details in your writing and to help your essay to stand out. Good luck in the admissions process.Sincerely,Your EditorSee this essay before the edit.

What advice would you give the actors Essay Example For Students

What advice would you give the actors? Essay Look at the way Shakespeare presents conflict in a scene from Romeo and Juliet. Imagine you are directing this scene. What advice would you give the actors? This essay is about the presentation of conflict in scene one of act three in Romeo and Juliet. By the end of this piece of work I intend to be able to direct the scene. I will therefore have to include descriptions of dramatic devices and language. I will discuss character motivation, along with social and historical context. This scene is about the conflict between Tybalt and Mercutio and later the fight between Romeo and Tybalt. The scene is dominated by the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt. The scene starts calm, heating quickly to boiling point, and then returns to a melancholy anti-climax as Benvolio tells of his Montague cousins crime against the Capulets, and the Capulet Tybalts crime against Prince Escalus cousin. We will write a custom essay on What advice would you give the actors? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This scene is greatly influenced by the actions of the characters in earlier scenes, which also reflects character motivation. Tybalt wants revenge for the Montague invasion of his uncles party, reflecting his antagonist character, and his fierce hatred for all Montagues. Romeo refuses to fight with Tybalt to start with, as he is married to Juliet- Tybalts cousin- but after Mercutio, Romeos close friend is killed by Tybalt; he acts quickly and in hot blood, killing Tybalt in a fit of grievous passion. The language that Mercutio and Benvolio use at the start of the scene is filled with similes and comparisons. The two men joke with each other, using examples to show how one is more willing to argue than the other. Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, for no other reason than thou hast hazel eyes This quote states obviously that the person in question has an antagonist character. Benvolio says how the mad blood is stirring meaning that the feud has made everyone go mad and seek fights where there need be none, and ominously predicts Mercutios death by saying that he could buy legal ownership of his life, but only for an hour and a half. Later as the feelings turn to anger, Mercutio stirs things up and deliberately picks a fight with Tybalt. Benvolio asks the men calmly to either depart, go into a private place to show their anger, or to calmly talk out their problems, because he knows that their Prince will execute them if they start a brawl again. This language is unusua lly calm in a scene filled with anger, pride and hatred. The social context of the scene is the fact that the two families are feuding, along with the disapproval of their Prince and society as a whole. It would be very difficult to change this without changing the plot of the scene or the major details of the entire play. For example, if you were to change the disapproval of Prince Escalus then he would not have exiled Romeo from Verona, Juliet would run away with him; not take the potion making her seem dead and their premature deaths along with Paris could have been averted. The historical context of the scene is its original setting in Verona during the renaissance period. This was a period of artistic revolution, and ideas about the surrounding world were changing. It was a time when the gap between the extravagant rich upper class and the poverty stricken poor was huge. Shakespeare will have seen both classes, performing for the Queen at court and playing at the theatres in London, and these must have influenced him greatly. It is infinitely possible that Shakespeare assumed that Verona was largely like London and so emphasised this difference as he saw it in London. The context that the scene could be played in (NOT WRITTEN IN) means that the language used and the actions made by the actors would have to be changed. .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac , .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .postImageUrl , .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac , .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:hover , .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:visited , .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:active { border:0!important; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:active , .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u427addd4aa288916170f58ba3bb729ac:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Realistic drama EssayHaving said that changing the historical context would mean changing several elements- costume, scenery, and in some cases language- it would not be difficult to change the setting whilst retaining the original language used. It is tempting to change everything in the scene including the language. If I was directing the scene for a modern audience I would be sorely tried to do so; however I feel that some of the poetic beauty of the scene would be lost if it was translated from Shakespearean to Modern English. For this reason I would make the costumes and settings twentieth century versions, and would set the play in gangland Chicago. I would not howev er cut anything from the scene, or otherwise change the vocal parts of any of the characters.

The road to World War II essays

The road to World War II essays In the early days of the First World War, the United States was desperate to stay out of the European war and institute a neutrality policy. However, the two sides fought for U.S. support, often even at a danger to the U.S. The passive stand that America took in involvement in World War I only prolonged the inevitable and came at a price to the U.S. The American public didnt want to be involved in World War I, and Wilson and the democrats knew it, although neutrality was a difficult stand to take. The British, who wanted the Americans to back their side in the war, refused to back U.S. peace drives. The Germans, who wanted the U.S. on their side, against Britain, violated pledges for the waters when it began U-boat attacks. This campaign was extended over many years. The two countries of Germany and England were desperate for the western giants support that would threaten American neutrality. The American people, however, would rather stay of war, and lose their right to the seas. Both sides became increasingly angry with the American position of neutrality. England publicly declared, Anyone who talked of peace was a friend of Germany. This created only hostility towards the British, but continued diplomacy with Germany. The underlying cause of this friendly nature was not to remain neutral. Wilson thought that if the Americans werent going to stand up for their rights to the seas, that this would be the way to reduce the submarine warfare. Wilson promoted peace at every turn, but both sides disliked the idea, in fact the Chancellor of Germany predicted that peace talks would be unsuccessful. Wilson wanted to demand an end to the war, but at this point in the war, it would have ruined the Allies. If that were to ensue, the U.S. would risk war with France or England. Then there was a breaking point. The German government deported 300,000 Belgians, which fired up anger in the ...

Business plan (entrepreneurship) Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Business plan (entrepreneurship) - Thesis Example GetLaunched! offers the following propositions to its users: 1. Seamless and uncomplicated participation, with most of the technical aspects, such as compliance, ironed out by the company; 2. All-or-nothing scheme where collected money is returned to supporters if the proposal fails to achieve its goal within the given time; 3. No hidden or initial fees as the company implements a flat rate fee only on successful proposals; 4. By special arrangement, the company has access to the proponent’s account for 5 years for the sole of purpose of taking out and delivering the shares of profits of supporters, which are given in proportion to the latter’s investment. 5. Sharing of profits with supporters will be limited to 5 years and structured in such a way as not to unduly burden the proponent because the spirit of crowdfunding is not strict investment but more towards philanthropy. The Opportunity There are more than 2 billion internet users, which can be harnessed to realize the aims and goals of GetLaunched!. According to statistics, internet users number 2,095, 006,005 in 2011 up by about 480.4% from the 360,985,482 users in 2000. Facebook alone has more than 500,000 million users as of 2011 statistics. There is in every person a need for charity because it gives them self-actualization. Fundraising expert and author of â€Å"Grassroots Fundraising† Kim Klein states that every person has an urge to give because it makes them feel powerful and good-like and not merely an onlooker. GetLaunched! will tap into this need and use it to turn somebody’s life around. The gap between economic classes is widening and people on the lower social strata are getting more and more marginalized. The gap between social classes are growing bigger and bigger, and there is a need to try to level the playing field, and crowdfunding is one of the more acceptable means. Business Concept Online crowdfunding is getting popular in social networking sites, but at p resent there are only a handful operating. GetLaunched! is capitalizing on the growing popularity of crowdfunding, not only as a business endeavor, but as a means of helping people from both sides of the spectrum: for proponents to realize their dreams of materializing their business dreams, and; for supporters to channel their inner philanthropic urges. Industry Overview Crowdfunding had its origin in 1997, when American fans raised $60,000, through internet campaign, so that the British Rock band Marillion could do a US tour. French filmmakers Guillaume Colboc and Benjamin Pommeraud used the same strategy in 2004 to fund a film, raising a total of $50,000 within three weeks over the internet. Their counterparts in America Spanner Films raised ?900,000 the same way to finance a documentary film about climate change. Fig. 1 The Crowdfunding Mechanism Today, several crowdfunding societies offer themselves as platforms to raise funds for various ends - to support talent in the arts, t o market original inventions, to initiate charitable events and start small businesses. The present market has still room to grow dramatically because of the millions of internet users, which are ready to invest or donate money for causes that they can emotionally connect to. Figure 1 illustrates how crowdfunding can snowball from a small close circle of family and friends to a number of supporters that can donate and/or investments the right amount needed to launch a project. Target Market GetLaunched! targets two types of users: the proponents, and; the

Is Microsoft really a Monopoly Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Is Microsoft really a Monopoly - Term Paper Example Monopoly refers to a market where a particular individual or enterprise has sufficient control over a product or service and has the controlling power where it can decide the others who can have access to the product. In short, it is a market where one firm makes up for the entire market and it is the price setter for the price in that particular market. In these types of markets, the competition for the goods and services is normally less and the numbers of competitors within these markets are less. Substitute good and services are generally not available in these markets. These markets generally are comprised of a firm which takes up a greater share of the market when compared to others like in the case of perfect competition. A Monopoly is different from a monopsony where there is normally just one buyer of the products and services. This normally categorizes as an imperfect market. Also, the monopoly should be differentiated from a cartel, where a number of providers act together to coordinate the services and prices of the goods. Â  The word monopoly was firstly used in Aristotle’s politics (Baker, 2001). After understanding what a monopoly refers to it is also essential to understand a monopolistic market. This is different from monopoly and is useful to understand to check if the company falls into this category (Baker, 2001). Monopolistic markets are very common and can be considered in various aspects. There are a number of different sectors that fall into these markets. These markets are typically where there are a number of producers and many consumers in a given market, and the consumers feel that there are no price differences among the prices of the various competitors. Also, the barrier to entry and exit is very less within these markets and the producers have control over the prices. These markets in certain aspects are similar to perfect competition markets with the difference of not having heterogeneous products. Also in these types of competition, the product differentiation is very low. Here firms making profits in the short run normally break even in the long run as the demand will decrease and average cost normally increases (Baker, 2001). Â  

Hate Crimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hate Crimes - Essay Example These prejudices are not inborn but rather they are a result of the prejudices which children are exposed to through their families, friends, teachers and the media. This prejudices and biases lead to various stereotypes of different groups. Even the parenting style and personality factors were found to have an effect on the offenders of hate crimes. Creating a stereotype image of a certain group often lead to bad judgments. Hate crimes can be prevented if even at an early age, children are taught that not all people are alike, that each one is a unique person. As such, individuals must learn to respect and accept the diversity of people in communities. Bias and prejudices may not be totally eradicated but they should be kept at a level which does not develop into hate so as not to lead to violent crimes. Tolerance of other people’s differences must be instilled in children at an early age. The government has led the way in preventing hate crimes by making policies and regulations which prevent racial discrimination and promote equality especially in the workplace. Government should provide economic opportunities to minority groups since it is believed that there is a link between economics and hate crimes. Local community leaders must be more aware of the presence of extremist groups who are tremendously prejudiced against certain groups. Reading the chapter makes one think whether hate crimes can be prevented or at the very least, be minimized. Another question is whether there is a way of detecting a person who will most likely commit a hate crime and if detected, can he be swayed into doing otherwise? Is there a way of controlling or limiting one’s prejudices and biases so as not to move one from committing a hate

Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria

Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria The main objective of this literature review is to attempt answering the research questions posed in our proposal because it is the focus of this research. In doing that, we shall review definitions, recapitulate and employs insights to the studies of previous prominent researchers on the topic particularly as it concerns MNOC in Nigeria. The work shall mainly consult books, journals and articles amongst others. With the general growth of CSR in many multinational companies, it is hardly surprising that CSR attracted considerable attention in recent years. In an attempt to digest CSR, studies have focused on the meaning, drivers and scope of CSR. While some researchers say it should not exist, others said it should be philanthropic, some said it is to enhance business, and others even think it regulatory compliance. Much of the earlier work emphasized two prominent definitions: philanthropy or business enhancement. Ojala (1994) said it has three major facets: complying with the law; setting and abiding by moral and ethical standards; and philanthropic giving. The first popular/acceptable definition of CSR is by Bowen (1953, p.6) He defined CSR as the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society. Since then, many definitions followed ranging from Carroll (1979), McWilliams and Siegel (2001), Whetten et al (2002), Maignan and Ferrell (2004) and Sriramesh et al. (2009) EUs Green paper on CSR defined it as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines CSR as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of its workers. . .as well as the local community and society at large. These definitions are important to this work as they see CSR as voluntary. To CSR advocates it is giving back to the land/people from whom it has taken so much, else poverty, unemployment, lop-sided development would continue to haunt Companies. Shankar Venkateswaran (2000) said that Islands of prosperity cannot survive in a sea of poverty the sea will ultimately engulf the islands. On the contrary, critics believe that CSR are used to distract public from asking questions posed by MNC operations. To them, CSR is not committed to sustainable development as claimed because activities of MNCs are contrary CSR. Example is Shells CSR led to pioneering in triple bottom line reporting, still there was a scandal of its misreporting of oil reserves in 2004. REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS People view CSR differently, some advocate while others criticize. Peter Drucker (2004) is of the view that CSR should not exist at all. He said corporate social responsibility is a dangerous distortion from business principles. If you find an executive who wants to take on social responsibility, fire him. Fast. Others said that the organizations pay taxes to ensure that society and the environment are not adversely affected by business activities. This leads us to the first research question. What could be the main drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility by multinational companies? Is it to promote corporate image and benefit business or do they have positive responsibilities that add value to the communities they do business in? Motivations to engage in CSR are varies. Some are response to market forces, globalization, consumer and civil society pressures, etc. Some see it as a higher incentive to protect brands and investments (NEEDS). CSR drivers will be reviewed in three categories: economic, institutional and social drivers Economic Drivers There has been a lot of literature supporting that CSR is to enhance business. This proposition was clearly supported by Milton Friedman (1970). To him, a corporations purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders and not to society as a whole. He said When I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the social responsibilities of business in a free-enterprise system, I am reminded of the wonderful line about the Frenchman who discovered at the age of 70 that he had been speaking prose all his life. The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned merely with profit but also with promoting desirable social ends; that business has a social conscience and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers. In the same vein, McKibben Bill (2006) suggests that corporations which exist solely to maximize profits are unable to advance the interests of society as a whole. Also, Lord Justices Pill, May and Keane (1997) in proving that McDonalds business contradicts its social responsibility principles ruled that eating enough McDonalds food may make ones diet high in fat therefore increase the risk heart disease in McDonaldHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonalds_Restaurants_v_Morris__SteelHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonalds_Restaurants_v_Morris__Steels Restaurants v Steel HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonalds_Restaurants_v_Morris__SteelHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonalds_Restaurants_v_Morris__Steel Morris. For Johnson (1971p.54 cited in Vrabic, 2010) Social responsibility states that business carry out social programs to add profits to their organizations. He perceives CSR as long-run profit maximization not just activity to demonstrate ethical s tandards. Orlitzky, Schmidt, and Rynes (2004) in their study found a correlation between social/environmental performance and financial performance. Kurucz (2008, p.86), in his study identified four general types of business cases to support that CSR enhances business: cost and risk reduction, profit maximization and competitive advantage, reputation and legitimacy, and synergistic value creation. Cost and risk Reduction: Firm engage in CSR to reduce costs and risks to the firm, since stakeholders demands can present a potential threat to corporate financial goals (Kurucz, 2008, p. 88). Competitive Advantage: CSR can be used to gain competitive advantage over industry rivals (Kurucz, 2008, p. 89). It is also used as a lobbying strategy for tighter regulations that leads to higher market values especially in oil companies with heavy polluting activities. (Porter 1991, cited in Vrabic, 2010) Reputation and Legitimacy: CSR is made for strategic reasons and are designed to extend legitimacy and enhance corporate reputation, to maintain its legitimacy, repair or defend its lost or threatened legitimacy (Kurucz, 2008, p. 91). Miles and Covin (2000 cited in Vrabic, 2010) opined that environmental stewardship creates reputational advantage that enhances marketing and financial performance. To Brown and Dacin (1997), negative social reputation can have detrimental effect on product evaluations and positive social reputation can enhance product evaluations. This could be seen from the boycott of Shell gas station by European consumers due to Shells attempt to dispose Brent Spar oil platform in the Atlantic Ocean and the consequent 50% decline sales (Neuger, 1995 cited in Vrabic, 2010). Synergistic Value Creation Approaches advocating synergistic value creation are focused seeking opportunities to reveal, relate, and synthesize the interests of diverse set of stakeholders. Some studies, however, have taken a different approach. Lerner and Fryxell, (1988 cited in Vrabic, 2010)) argue that firms incur unnecessary costs that does not add value and reduce profitability by increasing social performance. Institutional Much as there may be economic drivers of CSR, to serve long term national interests, Governments have a strong interest in promoting CSR initiatives mostly through regulation to complement their environmental and social programs (Mazurkiewicz, 2004a). Prominent CSR researchers consider regulation as a natural adjunct to improving the social performance of business, contingent only on the correct design of market incentives (Porter and van der Linde 2000, p. 156, cited in Vrabic, 2010). In Europe, many countries have introduced legislation to mandate environmental reporting for corporations (Haigh and Jones, 2006). Also, Inter-governmental organizations like EU, UN and OECD promote CSR through various policies that encourage companies to voluntarily engage in more sustainable and socially responsible conduct of business. In the oil sector, (Frynas, 2009, p.50 52) argue that decisions are becoming politicized especially with joint venture agreements. With joint venture, Government owns shares, oil, grants licenses, provides regulatory framework, and defines respective rights and responsibilities of investors. Social Factors Moon and Vogel, (2008, cited in Vrabic, 2010) argue that in the global market, MNCs often appeared to be as powerful as states, yet unaccountable as Governments and international institutions most times create regulatory vacuum to control their actions. This vacuum the NGOs normally fill by questioning MNCs actions (Held and McGrew, 2002, cited in Vrabic, 2010). NGOs demand that companies follow the conventions and agreements signed within UN, respect basic environmental regulations adopted by western governments or regional organizations (Bandell, 2004). The second question is Why are there proliferations of youth militancy and movement, protests, invasion of oil facilities and abduction of oil workers, intense dispute and conflicts against the MNOCs in the Niger Delta despite the CSR? The problems between the oil companies and host communities are best described by Watts, (2004:198) as the story of development and counter development working with and against one another in complex and contradictory ways. The crises and hostility according to Eweje (2007) arise sometimes because indigenes feel they dont get enough social and economic infrastructures/assistance from the MNOCs. The CSR seem to escalate the crisis. This is because either by omission or commission, CSR activities and processes impact negatively on local communities, often outweighing the positive benefits CSR brings (Watts, 2004). Christian Aid (2004) says that despite Shells claims about honesty, integrity and respect for people, the oil company has failed to bring about change in the delta. It also confirmed that some of the acclaimed schools, hospitals and other social amenities have been abandoned or did not meet the needs of the communities they were meant to support. It found evidence that Shells clean-up of oil spills and repair of pipelines in Nigeria is scandalously inadequate and would never be tolerated in Europe and North America. This failure of CSR added to the bad feeling between the local community and Shell (Andrew Pendleton Christian aid report). Sometimes oil companies carry propaganda by way of CSR. Example is the CSR that followed Ogoni crisis to redeem Shells image especially with several publications and propogandas.58 Oil companies sometimes connive with the state to be violent, using private security and state agents who are often overactive in their tasks of protecting oil installations and workers. This leads to harassment, intimidation and suppression of environmental development and rights activities. Sometimes crises arise because of oil spills. Nembe indigene 3 (cited in Tuodolo 2007) said Oil activities cause serious environmental problem. Oil spills; discharge of drilling and production waste; and gas flaringà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The negative impact of these on the peoples health and livelihood is enormous: All of us in this community are fishermen à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ there is always spillage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ have destroyed our marine life and our occupationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. To show Shells negligence and non-sustainability, it spilled 14,000 tons of oil into the Niger Delta in 2009 while that of 2008 is between 2,200-8,000 and a daily flaring of about 604 million per day (SPDC, 2009). On their part, Shell CEO Peter Voser(2010, reported in Guardian newspapers) said that Nigeria, especially the Niger Delta, remains a very challenging place in which to operate. Security issues and sabotage are constant threats to our people, assets and the environment. Even when the crises arise, oil companies respond when and how they like. They sometimes pay compensation and initiate community projects, but do not enhance their social responsibility credentials (Omotala 2010). He said One, the oil companies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are known for paying compensations that are far lower than international minimum standards. They are also reputed for the avoidance of payments of compensation on frivolous grounds such as attributing oil spills to sabotage for which they may not be culpable. In some instances, they only pay compensation after protracted court cases that are usually very costly to the host community. Sometimes the development does not worth it even when they are implemented. Idemudia (2009) said CSR developments must protect, preserve and conserve the environments upon which the livelihood of rural inhabitants depends to be meaningful and sustainable. MNOCs are being accused of living by their words. Example, a community leader asserts that most of these developments are only reflected on their books, not on the ground and even then it is not based on the priorities set by the communities but what suits their public relation image of the company ( Eweje, 2007). All this culminated together causes the rising violence, militancy, protests, invasion of oil facilities, pipeline vandalization and abduction of oil workers in the region which sometimes swings both the oil companies and Government to actions. Eweje (2007) concludes that no matter how laudable the CSR initiatives are if the host communities do not feel that the projects will create a sustainable economic, social and environmental development the conflict and unrest in the Niger Delta will continue. There have been questions of whether CSR differ in developing and developed countries. Amaeshi et al. (2006) in their work asked if there is a Nigerian brand of CSR or is it an imitation of western CSR practices. NEEDS XV argue that socio-culturally framed and that the socio-cultural characteristics of Nigeria are unique and as such, the practice of CSR would mainly be shaped by the socio-economic conditions in which these firms operate. To NEEDS, CSR in Nigeria would be aimed towards poverty alleviation, health care provision, infrastructure development, education, etc, not necessarily reflection of popular western standard like consumer protection, fair trade, green marketing, climate change, social responsible investments, etc. Oil spills are more in Nigeria and even where there is, prompt actions are not taken (Christian Aid 2004). Considering this point, Frynas, (2005) said that where government fails to effectively make and enforce environmental regulation, MNOC only voluntarily care to avoid oil spills and may be label it CSR. CSR today looks more of regulatory compliance in developed countries with more effective government. In Nigeria, Shell admitted that its approach to CSR causes community disorder (SPDC, 2005:28), yet Shell has not changed the practices despites its claims to CSR. While the more popular opinion like (Frynas, Christian Aid) is that there is double standard, sometimes MNOCs act the same way in both developing and developed countries. This can be justified by signing of collaborative agreements with Colombian with the Colombian Defence Ministry to provide $2.2 million on top of the mandatory war tax in 1995 by BP (Muttitt and Marriott, 2002). BP was accused of forming its own army and hiring security people with histories of human rights abuses and even murder (Beder, 2002, cited in Vrabic, 2010). Investigations revealed that BPs security firm, trained the Colombian police in counterinsurgency and intelligence techniques used against local communities, and also provided weapons to the 16th Battalion of the Colombian army, which then conducted a massacre (Gillard, 1999 cited in Vrabic, 2010). There was fierce stakeholder pressure on BP and BP evaluated its social and environmental strategies (Frynas, 2009, p. 22-23). Some years after, a senior BP manager admitted: Weve learned from our mistakesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. In Colombia we were accused of getting too close to the army and police in order to protect our operations. We listened, approached the Human Rights Watch for advice, and then organized new security arrangements (Rice, 2002, p. 135). Could it be safe to say CSR in developing countries are not at its best and if so is overlap, ineffective coordination and communication, absence of regulatory framework, partnership with Government/local communities major problems hindering the effective implementation of CSR projects? In Nigeria, Rauscher (1992, cited in Frynas 1998) says that Governments sought to attract foreign investors by permitting ecological dumping, for the sake of economic development. Ite (2004) also argued that the government has continued to renegade on its commitment that it becomes almost impossible for the CSR investments by the oil firms to contribute positively to their host communities. Oil companies blame oil pollution on political instability like sabotage because there is no comprehensive legislation on compensation payments to communities in Nigeria (Frynas 1998). But Walter and Ugelow (1979) in their work said that Nigerias environmental policy is been tolerant to corporate polluters for a long time compare to international standard. Frynas argues that there is a direct relationship between state welfare provision and the need for CSR initiatives. To him, greater social and environmental responsibilities should be taken in countries where the government does not have effective mechanisms of regulation and provision of public goods. He cited Nigeria as his example. Patricia Werhane (2007) on her own part cited corruption as a serious problem hindering CSR implementation in developing countries. She said A big challenge facing multinational corporations is how they should respond to local corruption. Both Shell Oil and Exxon/Mobile sought to carry out drilling operations at sites plagued by corrupt local and national governmentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (Patricia Werhane 2007) This is also Watts view when he said What passes as development is usually contracts and bribes-so-called cash payments-with influential traditional elites, orchestrated through ineffective or corrupt community liason officers (Watts, 2004). CSR ineffective coordination manifests in commercialized conflicts between individuals and groups who always fight over the benefits; community funds for development are mismanaged, misappropriated, and embezzled or shared by community leaders or clique (Watts, 2004). Social disorders like arms possession, increasing illiteracy, criminality, lawlessness and the disintegration of tradition and culture now became order of the day. CSR should be considered more as a corporate moral responsibility, and limit the reach of CSR by focusing more on direct impacts of the organization (Patricia Werhane 2007). It is suggested that for CSR to worth its onion, there should be better governmental and international regulation and enforcement, rather than voluntary measures. This is EU approach. For example, Denmark on 16 December 2008, adopted a bill making it mandatory for the 1100 largest Danish companies, investors and state-owned companies to include information on CSR in their annual financial reports. In Nigeria, FEC approved CSR policy on 21st May 2008. Also, Akwa Ibom state enacted oil and gas law stipulating social responsibility of oil companies. To Christian Aid (2004:2) the only way to instill honesty and integrity into business practice is to strip CSR of its voluntarism and enact laws that spell out minimum social and environmental standards that companies must meet. Jettison corporate social responsibility: make it corporate social accountability, because for too long CSR has served as merely a branch of PR and in some cases as the only spurts of development activity by large companies. CONCLUSION This work had defined CSR and explored the fundamental drivers of CSR. The observation is that today CSR is a consequence of various factors together interactions of various social groups and NGOs, state institutions and self promoting economic motives. Three main drivers were seen as the main promoters of CSR, and one could conclude that CSR is more of business strategy than social. In the Niger Delta the continued crises could be attributed to the fact that MNOSs do their things in their own way without actually touching indigenes lives. They employ any means to protect their business interest As regards the standard, MNOC adopt different standard for different stroke that is why this work is of the view that there should be laws guiding CSR not just MNOCs doing what they think is suitable to them. This work also found out that there are structural factors, systemic failures, absence of enabling environment hinder positive impact of CSR. Although the popular view from this review is that MNOCs engage in CSR to enhance business therefore there should be CSR regulations, it cannot be ruled out that regulations especially stringent ones and host communities problems will discourage the MNOC who may decide to move their investment to a more friendly business environment. This clearly gives room for more research.

Socrates :: essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The wise and inquisitive Socrates was both a philosopher and a martyr, not just in his words but in his actions as well. Socrates was so adamant about his principles that he wouldn’t deny them to save his own life. A lesser man left in his shoes would have done anything to stop the fate that he faced. Socrates practiced what he preached through and through and for the most part only taught good morals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next four pages consist of the life of Socrates, his contributions to the world, his family life, appearance, events leading to his death and his death. You should see how strict the Greek government was. Most of all this paper should teach you what kind of a person Socrates was and what kind of a person you are. 2 Socrates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is known about Socrates stems from the works of his pupil Plato and the historian Xenophon. Since both men were about 45 years younger than Socrates, the only first hand knowledge they had of him was from the last 10 to 12 years of his life. Some believe that since Xenophon and Socrates weren’t close, the information that he had of Socrates was drawn from Plato. Since Socrates never wrote anything down and didn’t leave anything behind, the accuracy of his history is questionable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates was born in Athens, Greece in 469 B.C. where he lived all of his life. His father was a wealthy sculptor named Sophroniscus and friend to the family of Aristides, the founder of the Delian League from which the empire arose. His mother was said to be a â€Å"midwife† (which implies nothing about her place in society) named Phaenarete.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Socrates was known as a great fighting man, his appearance wasn’t pretty. He was short and stout, big nostrils on a small stubby nose, and prominent eyes. Despite his appearance, those who knew him were aware that his true beauty was on the 3 inside. It was said, that he had great self-control and endurance, along with unparalleled intelligence, and sophistication.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a youth Socrates was the pupil of Archelaus and studied scientific theories of Anaxagoras. Later in life Socrates abandoned physical studies and focused on the building of moral character. He believed that to do wrong is to damage the soul and that it is worse to do wrong than to be wronged, so you should never do wrong to right a wrong.

American History before the Revolution

The discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492 led to the colonial expansion of the nations of Western Europe. These colonies were created to push trade forwards in the form of new imports, primarily raw materials as a base for trade and creations of new products. This topic will focus on the history of North America before the American Revolution in 1776. The first successful English colony was established by the London Virginia Company in 1607 and was known as Jamestown. It was primarily created for the purpose of looking for gold.It was not successful in its venture but eventually found money in growing tobacco which eventually bloomed into plantations with settlers coming in with servants and slaves to create their own. The colony depended on the trade of these crops and most of them were shipped straight back to Britain. The formation of this colony was followed by the settlement of the Pilgrims, a protestant sect based in England and the Netherlands in Massachuse tts. They were escaping religious persecution aboard the Mayflower and they drew themselves the Mayflower compact after landing which gave them power of self governance.This was followed by the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1629 by the Puritans. They wished to create a religious nation that would serve the true religion. The banishment of Roger Williams from the colony for preaching the separation of church and state led the creation of Rhode Island Colony. From an economic standpoint they were also self-sustaining. Their economy worked on every farmer sustaining himself and having to trade for any goods they could not provide for themselves. The three of these colonies formed the Cheapsake bay area.The middle colonies consisted of what are presently New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. These colonies were characterized by much diversity in their religious, economic, political and ethnic practices. Connecticut was also formed. The colonization of the l ower south started in Carolina in 1670 by the English Lords Proprietors. It was mainly set up as a trading colony especially in South Carolina. They eventually cultivated rice in 1690 through the aid of the African slaves they brought with them.The political differences between the settlers in this colony created much conflict and eventually war which lead to the Proprietors selling it back to the British Crown. A member of parliament known as James Oglethorpe established Georgia Colony in 1733 as a way to form a base against Florida which was occupied by Spain at the time. It was established with strict moral laws which forbade slavery and alcohol along with other forms of immortal acts. Once these laws were rescinded the country went from poverty to prosperity. It consisted of people from varied religious backgrounds.Great Britain eventually won East and West Florida from the Spaniards in 1763 and returned it in 1783 when they left. By 1700 most of the regions were divided in two halves. Their origins brought about the creation of two very different societies. The colonies of New England were much more individualistic as compared to the Southern colonies. The northern colonies touted freedom of religion and of the political process. They formed their society around an orthodox method in order to set an example for all other societies. In contrast the southerners were developed around the bases of economics.Their society was more geared towards mercantilism. The vast quantities of cheap land available to them allowed them to pursue this interest. In order to facilitate their economy they also formed a government which was based according to the Virginia Charter. The increasing demand for English goods grew rapidly in the 1700s and with the possession of the cotton industry in the south the colonies soon outpace England in terms of exports. This was mainly due to the fact that the colonies made use of slaves for labor purposes which brought them great prosperi ty.In the 1600 the English passed a series of laws known as the Navigation Acts which restricted the use of foreign shipping to trade between England and its colonies. This was mainly done to limit Dutch merchants from trading with its colonies and allowed England to be the main hub for all colonial products. These acts though bringing Britain great wealth caused great resentment in the colonies. This was so because the laws restricted the ability of the colonies to trade with anyone but the English, with these in effect it decreased their power to be independent of the Royal Court.Thus these Mercantilist policies were refused by the colonies as they saw it as a control over their economies and their government. In order to avoid heavy taxes and regulations the colonies resorted to smuggling their goods. The loss of much wealth led the British to enact the writ of assistance which enabled officers to freely search citizens and homes which were suspected of smuggling. The colonists f ound this to be a violation of their civil rights as citizens of the crown. One of the main ways that smugglers from the colonies operated was the selling tea to the American colonies.Originally the tea came from England through the East India Company, however when Benjamin Franklin suggested that the company bypass England and deal with the colonists directly, the smugglers lost their source of income. In rebellion they tossed 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor. This led to the Boston Port Act through which Britain closed down Boston harbor until the tea was paid for. The mercantilism system had a draconian effect on the colonies. Following the Seven years war in 1765 the British Parliament imposed a stamp tax on the American colonies requiring by law that all printed materials carry it.This was to pay for the military funds from the war of which the colonists were considered benefactors. This was also considered violations of their rights as colonial citizens to decide their own tax laws and led to many protests from New England to Georgia. Other British colonies also rebelled against the tax as they saw it as a threat to their economy and it was eventually repealed in 1766. This added further fuel to the colonist resentment and concerns of the British parliament. The last straw was that of the Boston Massacre where the deaths of five civilians in 1770 and sparked the fire which led to the American Revolution.In the end it was all of the reasons above along with the need of the colonies to establish their own government free from the religious, economic and governmental persecution of the English that led to the creation and subsequently fight for the freedom of the colonies and as we know in the end they succeeded. References Internet History Sourcebooks Project. (2007, June 4). Colonial North America. Retrieved May 24, 2009, from Internet Modern History Sourcebook : http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/mod/modsbook07. html

Deviant Behavior essays

Deviant Behavior essays A person would be considered to be acting deviantly in society if they are violating what the significant social norm in that particular culture is. What causes humans to act certain ways is a disputed topic among researchers for some time now. There are three types of researchers that have tried to answer this question. There is the psychological answer, biological answer, and the sociological answer. With all of the studies that have been performed, no one group has come up with an exact reason to why people behave deviantly. Although, sociologists theories have not been disproved as often as the psychologists and biologists theories because their experiments are too hard to define and no one definition for deviance is agreed upon by all experimenters (Pfuhl, 40). My own curiosity to find out what the influences are behind deviant behavior is the purpose for this paper. We have already discussed this topic during class in part two, chapter four of the textbook which explains deviance and crime. This section talks more about deviance being a learned behavior. I wanted to find out more information to see if biological factors are also behind this kind of behavior. The most knowledge acquired for why people act deviantly is from the sociological perspective. There is need for more research, if possible, in the psychological and biological perspectives, but there is a lot more known in the sociological viewpoint. The reality that the definition of deviant behavior is considered different by everyone makes it complicated and unknown if a truly accurate answer can ever be found (Pfuhl 18). This is why this topic is important to the study of sociology. Sociologists have more information, and therefore may be closer to finding the cause. For this reason, my main focus in this paper is at the sociological stand point of deviance with some explanations from psychologists and biologists. The family is the l...

The role of neural mechanisms in the role of hunger and satiety Essays

The role of neural mechanisms in the role of hunger and satiety Essays The role of neural mechanisms in the role of hunger and satiety Neural structures plays a key role in eating behaviour. Among humans, glucose levels probably play the most important role in producing feelings of hunger. Hunger increases as glucose levels decrease. A decline in glucose levels in the blood and an increase in ghrelin (a hormone released by the stomach when it is empty) activates a part of the brain called the lateral hypothalamus, resulting in feelings of hunger. The lateral hypothalamus (or LH), is also known as the start eating switch. This causes the individual to search for and consume food. The ventro-medial hypothalamus (or VMH), is also very important also known as the stop switch. A rise in glucose levels and a decrease in ghrelin (hormone that is released from the stomach when there is no food in it) activates the ventromedial hypothalamus, which leads to feelings of satiation, which in turn inhibits further feeding. There has been considerable research evidence to indicate support for the role that neural mechanisms play in hunger and satiety. The role that the hypothalamus plays has been supported by studies looking at lessoning regions of this structure. Research has illustrated the crucial roles played by the hypothalamus Hetherington and Rammington (1942) published a famous study on the control of eating behaviour. They showed that lesioning (i.e. destroying) tiny areas in the LH in rats, led to a loss of interest in food and eating, the animals seemingly unaware that they were starving themselves. Whereas the opposite happened with lesions to the VMH as this led to the rats eating so much they became obese. The importance of the role of the hypothalamus has been replicated in further studies where the role of neurochemicals (neuropeptide Y) has also been supported. Lutter (2008) has found supporting evidence for the role of ghrelin as being crucial in boosting appetite. He concluded that ex tra levels of ghrelin were produced in stressed individuals which caused them to overeat. However, it may be possible that other psychological processes were overlooked in this study (e.g. psychological impact of mood) A great deal of the research done on neural mechanisms has been done using rats which means that it is difficult to generalize. Rats do not have a functioning prefrontal cortex like humans do, and this is what helps humans make judgements so how far can we say the studies using animals supports the role of neural mechanisms in humans. However, Research studies have looked at fMRI of cases of individuals with Prader-willi (who have a compulsion to eat) syndrome in comparison to controls (when eating) and have found a deactivation in the hypothalamus of PWS patients. This is a good study as it has been done on humans and uses scientific objective measures (FMRI scans) which means that it is a valid study that shows the importance of the role of the hypothalamus in humans. Moreover another factor is hormones such as insulin and leptin are also involved in eating behavior. Low levels of leptin will increase hunger and eating behavior, as it does not stop neuropeptide Y (a neurochemical that stimulates hunger). Elevated levels of leptin, stops neuropeptide and decreases eating behaviour. The neural mechanisms explanations (biological approach) can be seen as an example of Biological determinism: it focuses exclusively on the role of nature and no space left to choice and cultural and social influences. There is substantial and convincing evidence that social, cultural and psychological factors affect our eating behaviours as is evident from psychological explanations of eating disorders. For example research into mood has shown that when we are in a bad mood we are more likely to crave carbohydrates. This suggests that there are other reasons that govern what we eat and that is not just down to neural control. To take the biological explanations only would be a reductionist account, though when coupled with the psychological explanation it covers both the nature and nurture side in the nature/nurture debate, thus being a more complete explanation of eating behaviours.

Analysis essay about 'After Death' Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis about 'After Death' - Essay Example Eagleman also corrected the notion of God’s gender and this translates to the ambivalence of the universe. Eagleman however is optimistic that the afterlife will be generous because we will be given a choice of who we would like to be. The book begun with the phrase â€Å"In the afterlife you relive all your experiences, but this time with the events reshuffled into a new order: all the moments share a quality are grouped together (3)†. This is a sort of cataloguing our life and to make us realize how we lived our life. This is an intriguing opening for a book that talked about after life because it makes the reader think and examined their own lives. It is like telling the living that someday how we should live our life today because it will be played before you us when we die so we better make it a good thing to watch. This opening also opens a lot of possibilities of how the afterlife should be. Of course Eagleman’s book are only analysis and wanderings and we will never know its validity until we go to the afterlife. It may be just an existential â€Å"what if† or an excursion of how will it be like in the afterlife. And if there is any consolation to David Eagleman’s dissertation in his work â€Å"Sum: forty tales from the afterlives†, is that it affirms that there is life after our existence here on earth removing the fearful idea that everything ceases when we die. Thus this begs the questions of what are going to do with our lives having known that indeed after life exists. One of these existential excursion of Eagleman’s work is the negation of what we are thinking along – that we are the center of the universe and that all creation revolves around us. Eagleman however did not think so. We are in fact just a byproduct of the bigger scheme of things and not even at the center of it. Our reaction may

Art peried Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art peried - Assignment Example o flourished during the period between the two great wars, when the west face steep industrialization that had an outstanding impact on their culture, and it was unique style as it did embrace technology, in fact, this is the major distinguishable factor from the early organic motifs and the much-loved earlier style, the Art Nouveau. Sheumaker and Wajda (2008), Art Deco rejected excessive historicism, and instead relied on a style that suited the modern times, ad traversed very many field which included architecture, fashion, transportation, graphic design, furniture and amongst others. During this period, Art Deco was a symbol of opulence, mystique, and energy. Historical analysis of the style points to an architect Le Corbusier as the one who coined the term in 1925 to refer to arts expo during the same year. In the United States, the Empire State Building in New York architectural style had a heavy influence from the Art Deco style. The Art Deco has achieved a certain level of renaissance as more people opt to incorporate it bold and lavish colours to the comfort of their homes. In fact, the Art Deco is some of the latest trending ideas that could potentially be available throughout human existence on earth. The Art Deco provides an allowance for a creation of a genuinely unique home interiors and shows to the world creativity and sense of style. Art lovers do love to portray accents in Art Deco and turn rooms to spectacular pieces of arts. In decorate an interior, it is important to add the French chic into the present interior art, to match with the Room furniture and featuring straight lines or curvy shapes, monochromatic and contrasting color combinations. Further, exuberant finishes and lavish fabrics are added plus decoration outlines that have zigzags, stripes, chevrons. Finally to the living room, spare some prominent wallpaper patterns add drama and glamour  so that the modern interior design and hom e decorating achieves the style of the great Art

LEED Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LEED - Essay Example LEED for new constructions addresses design and construction activities for new buildings and renovations; it helps lay a sustainable foundation for operation and maintenance practises after the completion of the building. In the existing buildings, LEED requires that they implement sustainable practises that will minimise negative impact on the environment. Such practises include water and power utilization, use of environment friendly materials for maintenance and adjustments, sustainable policies on buying and waste stream administration among others. LEED program for core and shell can be used where the developers have the control of the design and erection of the whole core and shell base structure but has no control of the internal tenant fittings. In commercial interiors, it mainly focuses on tenants who have leased some specific parts of the building to create working environment that is healthy, productive to work in and that does disturb the balance of environmental conditi ons thriving within the building. LEED for retail is concerned with the unique nature of the conditions needed for retail businesses; it uses the different needs for various retail businesses such as opening hours, parking needs, water and energy requirements among others. In view of this, LEED program provides two options for projects seeking certification; they include new construction and major renovation that addresses the details of construction or substantial renovations in retail buildings and commercial interior, which is concerned, with details about tenant space where the tenant is changing already existing fittings. In home construction, the LEED program is concerned with ensuring habitable conditions that provide maximum health benefits to the people living in the homes and at the same time making substantial savings on crucial resources such as fuel and water. LEED for Neighbourhood enlargement ensures that neighbourhoods, partial neighbourhoods or multiple neighbourhoo ds are constructed in a way that integrates ideologies of responsible expansion, urbanism and environment friendly construction into the initial nationalized scheme for neighbourhood plan. LEED for school was developed to address design and construction of K-12 schools; it is concerned with class acoustics, mould preclusion, major preparation and ecological site appraisal. Due to the specific needs of the health care environment, the LEED program for new construction would not be able to address all these needs therefore the need to have a program that was specifically designed for health care. This program is concerned with creating healthful, durable and affordable practises that are friendly to the environment and conducive for medical activities. The rating system consists of several credit categories that include the following: sustainable sites credit that encourage building strategies to minimise negative impact on the environment, water efficiency credits to encourage effici ency in water consumption, energy and atmosphere credits that encourage efficient energy performance (Cottrell, 2011). The credits also include material and resources credits that encourage use of sustainable building materials and indoor environmental air quality credits that promote better indoor air quality and access to light. The various credits have

Greek Mythology and Religion Essay Example for Free

Greek Mythology and Religion Essay Mythology is the study and interpretation of myth and the body of myths of a particular culture. Myth is a complex cultural phenomenon that can be approached from a number of viewpoints. In general, myth is a narrative that describes and portrays in symbolic language the origin of the basic elements and assumptions of a culture. Mythic narrative relates, for example, how the world began, how humans and animals were created, and how certain customs, gestures, or forms of human activities originated. Almost all cultures possess or at one time possessed and lived in terms of myths. Myths differ from fairy tales in that they refer to a time that is different from ordinary. The time sequence of myth is extraordinary- an other time the time before the conventional world came into being. Because myths refer to an extraordinary time and place and to gods and other supernatural beings and processes, they have usually been seen as aspects of religion. Because of the inclusive nature of myth, however, it can illustrate many aspects of individual and cultural life. Meaning and interpretationFrom the beginnings of Western culture, myth has presented a problem of meaning and interpretation, and a history of controversy has gathered about both the value and the status of mythology. Myth, History, and ReasonIn the Greek heritage of the West, myth or mythos has always been in tension with reason or logos, which signified the sensible and analytic mode of arriving at a true account of reality. The Greek philosophers Xenophanes, Plato, and Aristotle, for example, exalted reason and made sarcastic criticisms of myth as a proper way of knowing reality. The distinctions between reason and myth and between myth and history, although essential, were never quite absolute. Aristotle concluded that in some of the early Greek creation myths, logos and mythos overlapped. Plato used myths as metaphors and also as literary devices in developing an argument. Western Mythical TraditionsThe debate over whether myth, reason, or history best expresses the meaning of the reality of the gods, humans, and nature has continued in Western culture as a legacy from its earliest traditions. Among these traditions were the myths of the Greeks. Adopted and assimilated by the Romans, they furnished literary, philosophical, and artistic inspiration to such later periods as the Renaissance and the romantic era. The pagan tribes of Europe furnished another body of tradition. After these tribes became part of Christendom, elements of their mythologies persisted as the folkloric substratum of various European cultures. Greek religion and mythology are supernatural beliefs and ritual observances of the ancient Greeks, commonly related to a diffuse and contradictory body of stories and legends. The most notable features of this religion were many gods having different personalities having human form and feelings, the absence of any established religious rules or authoritative revelation such as, for example, the Bible, the strong use of rituals, and the government almost completely subordinating the populations religious beliefs. Apart from the mystery cults, most of the early religions in Greece are not solemn or serious in nature nor do they contain the concepts of fanaticism or mystical inspiration, which were Asian beliefs and did not appear until the Hellenistic period (about 323-146 B.C. ). At its first appearance in classical literature, Greek mythology had already received its definitive form. Some divinities were either introduced or developed more fully at a later date, but in Homers Iliad and Odyssey the major Olympian gods appear in substantially the forms they retained until paganism ceased to exist. Homer usually is considered responsible for the highly developed personifications of the gods and the comparative rationalism that characterized Greek religious thought. In general Greek gods were divided into those of heaven, earth, and sea; frequently, however, the gods governing the earth and sea constituted a single category. Principal DivinitiesThe celestial gods were thought to dwell in the sky or on Mount Olympus in Thessaly. The Earth, or chthonic (Gr. chtho n, earth), deities were thought to dwell on or under the earth, and were closely associated with the heroes and the dead. The lines separating these divine orders were indefinite, and the deities of one order were often found in another. The gods were held to be immortal; yet they were also believed to have had a beginning. They were represented as exercising control over the world and the forces of nature. Ananke, the personification of necessity, however, limited this control, to which even the gods bowed. At the head of the divine hierarchy was Zeus, the spiritual father of gods and men. His wife was Hera, queen of heaven and guardian of the sanctity of marriage. Associated with them as the chief divinities of heaven were Hephaestus, god of fire and the patron of metalworkers; Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom and war, preeminent as a civic goddess; Apollo, deity of light, poetry, and music, and his sister Artemis, goddess of wildlife and, later, of the moon; Ares, god of war, and his consort, Aphrodite, goddess of love; Hermes, the divine messenger, later, god of science and invention; and Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. Around these greater gods and goddesses were grouped a host of lesser deities, some of whom enjoyed particular distinction in certain localities. Among them were Helios, the sun; Selene, the moon (before Artemis came into existence); the attendants of the Olympians, such as the Graces; the Muses; Iris, goddess of the rainbow; Hebe, goddess of youth and cupbearer of the gods; and Ganymede, the male counterpart of Hebe. Poseidon, the worship of whom was often accompanied by worship of his wife, Amphitrite, ruled the sea. Attending the sea gods were the Nereids, Tritons, and other minor sea deities. The chief earth deities were Hades, ruler of the underworld, and his wife, Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. Demeter herself was usually considered an Olympian, but since she was associated with producing grain and the knowledge of agriculture; she was more closely connected with the earth. Another Olympian whose functions were likewise of an earthly character was Dionysus, god of the grape and of wine. He was accompanied by satyrs, the horsetailed sylvan demigods; Sileni, the plump, bald vintage deities; and maenads, nymphs who celebrated the orgiastic rites of Dionysus. Also among the more important divinities of the Greek pantheon were Gaea, the earth mother; Asclepius, the god of healing; and Pan, the great Arcadian god of flocks, pastures, and forests. Invocation of the GodsThe ancient Greeks had a strong sense of weakness before the grand and terrifying powers of nature, and they acknowledged their dependence on the divine beings whom they believed those powers to be controlled. In general, the relations between gods and mortals were cordial, divine wrath being reserved for those who transgressed the limits assigned to human activities and who, by being proud, ambitious, or even by being too prosperous, provoked divine displeasure and brought upon themselves Nemesis, the personification of revengeful justice. The saying of the historian Herodotus, The god suffers none but himself to be proud sums up the main philosophy that influences all of classical Greek literature. The sense of human limitation was a basic feature of Greek religion; the gods, the sole source of the good or evil that fell upon mortals, were approached only by making sacrifices and giving thanks for past blessings or pleading for future favors. In front of many a street door stood a stone for Apollo Agyieus (Apollo of the Thoroughfare); in the courtyard was placed the altar of Zeus Herkeios (Zeus as the patron of family ties); at the hearth Hestia was worshiped; and bedchamber, kitchen, and storeroom each had its appropriate god. From birth to death the ancient Greek invoked the gods on every memorable occasion. Because the very existence of the government was believed to depend on divine favor, celebrations for the gods were held regularly under the supervision of high officials. Public gratitude was expressed for being unexpectedly delivered from evil happenings or for being unusually prosperous. Organization and BeliefsDespite its central position in both private and public life, Greek religion was notably lacking in an organized professional priesthood. At the sites of the mysteries, as at Eleusis, and the oracles, as at Delphi, the priests exercised great authority, but usually they were merely official representatives of the community, chosen as other officers were, or sometimes permitted to buy their position. Even when the office was hereditary or confined to a certain family, it was not regarded as conferring upon its possessor any particular knowledge of the will of the gods or any special power to constrain them. The Greeks saw no need for an intermediary between themselves and their gods. Greek ideas about the soul and the afterlife were indefinite, but it was apparently the popular belief that the soul survived the body. It either hovered about the tomb or departed to a region where it led a sad existence needing the offerings brought by relatives. The disembodied soul was also presumed to have the power of inflicting injury on the living, and proper funeral rites were held to ensure the peace and goodwill of the deceased. Within the framework of Greek worship of many gods are traces of the belief that all natural objects are endowed with spirits. Fetishism, the belief in the magical efficacy of objects employed as talismans against evil, was another feature of early Greek religion. Examples of fetishes are the sacred stones, sometimes regarded as images of specific deities, such as the pyramidal Zeus at Phlius or the rough stones called the Graces at the ruined city of Orchomenus in Boeotia. OriginsAncient Greek religion has  been the subject of speculation and research from classic times to the present. Herodotus believed that the rites of many of the gods had been derived from the Egyptians. Prodicus of Ceos (5th cent. B. C. ), a Sophist philosopher, seems to have taught that the gods were simply personifications of natural phenomena, such as the sun, moon, winds, and water. Euhemerus (370? -298 B. C. ), a historian of myths believed, and many other shared this belief, that myths were the distortions of history and that gods were the idealized heroes of the past. Modern etymology and anthropology research produced the theory that Greek religion resulted from a combination of Indo-European beliefs and ideas and customs native to the Mediterranean countries since the original inhabitants of those lands were conquered by Indo-European invaders. The basic elements of classical Greek religion were, in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, somewhat modified and supplemented by the influences of philosophy, Middle Eastern cults, and changes in popular belief (as shown, for instance, in the rise of the cult of Fortune, or Tyche). The main outlines of the official religion, however, remained unchanged. BibliographyAncient Myths, by Norma Lorre Goodrich Meridian Books (July 1994)The Greek Gods, by Bernard Evslin (August 1995)Greek Myths, by Olivia E. Coolidge (December 1949) Greek and Egyptian Mythologies, by Yves Bonnefoy (November 1992) Gods and Heroes; Story of Greek Mythology, by Michael Foss (September 1995) Funk and Wagnalls, New EncyclopediaMultipedia CD-ROM for windows.

Democracy Versus Totalitarianism in George Orwells 1984 Essays

Democracy Versus Totalitarianism in George Orwell's 1984 Winston Smith lived in a world of lies, chaos, and disorder. His uniform was shabby and living space cold and dirty. Changing the past to suit the present was his job where he worked, the Ministry of Truth. One day, he encountered a beautiful young woman of about 26 years of age and instantly fell in love. Little did he know that she would be the one who would end his life. He dreams of sleeping with her but fears that he would be captured by the Thought Police because sex is illegal. During the Two Minutes Hate - a time when members of Ingsoc come together to despise Emmanuel Goldstein, a man who supported freedom and rights - the woman passes a note to Winston. It says for him to meet her in the forest where they can talk. They meet and make love, a feeling he misses since he divorced his wife. Also, doing this act means that he can accept thoughtcrime which is punishable by death. After this, Winston moves into an apartment and the woman, whose name the reader learns is Julia, acc ompanies him. Thinking they are safe from the Thought Police, they commit many different thoughtcrimes. Unfortunately, their renter betrays them and bugs were placed in the room that noted their every move. Julia is taken away and doesn't appear again until the last pages of the book. Winston is taken to jail where he is brainwashed through torture into accepting the ideas of Big Brother, an imaginary leader of the country Oceania. The conflict presented in 1984 is between democracy and totalitarianism. The reader can see Winston's desire for democracy as he writes in his journal and intimately associates with Julia, both of which are illegal in Oceania. Evidence of totalitarianism is se... ...is on page 228, "Two and two make five." This line represents a philosophical point I strictly believe; people who have power, rule over those who do not. I think it is part of nature that this happens. Intelligence, strength, cunning, size, and boisterousness, among other qualities, can single out an individual and make he/she powerful. Those who are powerful can usually survive the best. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone . . . period. It shows how important human qualities are to be human and what can happen when we are not in control of our own lives. This book is not suspenseful but horrifying in a non-gruesome way. It is not a true story in any manner but the reader can pick out certain things that are apparent in our society. Notes 1. The edition of 1984 that I read was the Signet Classic edition, copyright 1981, by New American Library.