Free Essays on Gender Acceptance Of Couples And Singles

If I turn on my television, or open up a magazine, or see a billboard on the highway, it becomes apparent to me that the â€Å"American Dream† is still alive and well in our country. With consumers buying fifty thousand dollar Hummers, trendy clothing taking cities by storm, and contestants winning hundreds of thousands of dollars on â€Å"reality† T.V. shows it’s more than apparent that our society is deeply in love with our â€Å"wants†. Everyone has them, but it seems as though in American today those wants are never ending. To have the perfect job, the perfect car (or more aptly these days truck/SUV), the perfect house is to have almost everything. I say almost with the deepest conviction as it is only almost that you have completed that â€Å"American Dream† that everyone longs for because you have yet to find the perfect mate. But do you really want that? Maybe you don’t. It seems as though there is an increasing contradiction in American society that almost pleads with people to create this faà §ade of an American dream with both the perfect mate, spouse, or lover and the need to be your own individual. But can you have both? Is it possible to be with someone and yet still be your own person? Can you be committed to someone and still be yourself? Or can you truly be yourself if you’re committed to someone? But what remains to be the spin, is that you don’t really â€Å"fit in† either way. If you’re single, you should be with someone. If your not, there must be something wrong with you. If you’re with someone, you should still be an individual, as if you weren’t with anyone. It’s not being true to yourself otherwise. Our wants are never satisfied. And Americans are searching for both the need to be with someone, and to be their own individual. You can only have one or the other, but it looks like ever yone wants both. To be with someone: The Taboo People feel a need to be with someone, to find a partner. This go... Free Essays on Gender Acceptance Of Couples And Singles Free Essays on Gender Acceptance Of Couples And Singles If I turn on my television, or open up a magazine, or see a billboard on the highway, it becomes apparent to me that the â€Å"American Dream† is still alive and well in our country. With consumers buying fifty thousand dollar Hummers, trendy clothing taking cities by storm, and contestants winning hundreds of thousands of dollars on â€Å"reality† T.V. shows it’s more than apparent that our society is deeply in love with our â€Å"wants†. Everyone has them, but it seems as though in American today those wants are never ending. To have the perfect job, the perfect car (or more aptly these days truck/SUV), the perfect house is to have almost everything. I say almost with the deepest conviction as it is only almost that you have completed that â€Å"American Dream† that everyone longs for because you have yet to find the perfect mate. But do you really want that? Maybe you don’t. It seems as though there is an increasing contradiction in American society that almost pleads with people to create this faà §ade of an American dream with both the perfect mate, spouse, or lover and the need to be your own individual. But can you have both? Is it possible to be with someone and yet still be your own person? Can you be committed to someone and still be yourself? Or can you truly be yourself if you’re committed to someone? But what remains to be the spin, is that you don’t really â€Å"fit in† either way. If you’re single, you should be with someone. If your not, there must be something wrong with you. If you’re with someone, you should still be an individual, as if you weren’t with anyone. It’s not being true to yourself otherwise. Our wants are never satisfied. And Americans are searching for both the need to be with someone, and to be their own individual. You can only have one or the other, but it looks like ever yone wants both. To be with someone: The Taboo People feel a need to be with someone, to find a partner. This go...

10 Magical Multiplication Tricks to Teach Kids to Multiply

10 Magical Multiplication Tricks to Teach Kids to Multiply Not all kids are able to learn  multiplication facts using rote memorization. Luckily, there are 10 multiplication magic tricks to teach kids to multiply and many multiplication card games to help. In fact, research has shown that rote memorization doesn’t help kids to learn the connections between numbers or understand the rules of multiplication. Practically-based math, or finding ways to help kids do math activities in real life, is more effective than just teaching the facts. 1. Represent multiplication Using things like blocks and small toys can help your child see that multiplication is really a way to add more than one group of the same number over and over again. For example, write the problem 6 x 3 on a piece of paper, and then ask your child  to create six groups of three blocks each. She will then see that what the problem is asking is to put together six groups of three. 2. Practice doubles facts The idea  of â€Å"doubles† is almost magical in itself. Once your child knows  the answers to her â€Å"doubles† addition facts (adding a number to itself) she magically knows the twos times table as well. Just  remind her that any number multiplied by two is the same as  adding that number to itself- the problem is asking how much are two groups of that number. 3. Skip-counting to five facts Your child may already know how to count by fives. What she may not know is that by counting by five, she’s actually reciting the fives times table. Demonstrate that if she uses her fingers to keep track of how many times she’s â€Å"counted† by five, she can find the answer to any fives problem. For instance, if he’s counted by five up to twenty, he’ll have four fingers held up. That’s actually the same as 5 x 4! Magical Multiplication Tricks There are other ways to get the answers that aren’t as easy to see through. Once your child knows how to do the tricks, she’ll be able to amaze her friends and teachers with her multiplication talent. 4. The Magically Appearing Zero Help your child write out the  10 times table and then ask if she notices a pattern. What she should be able to see is that when multiplied by the number 10, a number looks like itself with a zero on the end. Give her a calculator to try it out using large numbers. She’ll see that every time she multiplies by 10, that  zero â€Å"magically† appears on the end. 5. Multiplying by Zero Multiplying by zero doesn’t seem all that magical. It’s hard for kids to understand that when you multiply a number by zero the answer is zero, not the number you started with. Help your child understand that the question really is â€Å"How much is zero groups of something?† and she’ll realize the answer is â€Å"Nothing.† She’ll see how the other number disappeared. 6. Seeing Double The magic of the 11 times tables only works with single digits, but that’s okay. Show your child how multiplying by 11 always makes you see double of the number she’s multiplying. For instance, 11 x 8 88 and 11 x  6 66. 7. Doubling Down Once your child has figured out the trick to her twos table, then she’ll be able to make magic with fours. Show her how to fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise and unfold it to make two columns.  Ask her to  write her twos tables in one column and the fours table in the next column. The magic that she should see is that the answers are the doubles doubled. That is, if 3 x 2 6 (the double), then 3 x 4 12. The double is doubled! 8. Magic Fives This trick is a little odd, but only because it only works with odd numbers. Write down the fives multiplication facts that use an odd number and watch as your child finds the magical oddity. She may see that if she subtracts one from the multiplier, â€Å"cuts† it in half and puts a five after it, that’s the answer to the problem. Not following? Look at it like this:  5 x 7 35, which is actually 7 minus 1 (6), cut in half (3) with a 5 on the end (35). 9. Even More Magic Fives There’s another way to make the fives tables appear if you don’t want to use skip-counting. Write down all the fives facts that involve even numbers, and look for a pattern. What should appear before your eyes is that each answer is simply half of the number your child is multiplying by five, with a zero on the end. Not a believer? Check out these examples:  5 x 4 20, and 5 x 10 50. 10. Magical Finger Math Finally, the most magical trick of all- your child just needs her hands to learn the times tables. Ask her to put her  hands face down in front of her and explain that the fingers on the  left hand represent the numbers 1 through 5. The fingers on the right hand represent the numbers 6 through 10. And, for the  first trick, ask her to fold down the index  finger on his left hand, or finger number 4.Remind her that 9 x 4 36, and then have her look at her hands.  To the left of her bent finger there are 3 fingers. To the right are her remaining 6 fingers.The magic to this trick is that the number given to the finger that she folds down  x 9 is equal to the number of fingers to the left of the bent finger (in the tens place) and the fingers to the right (in the ones place.) Recalling the  answers to multiplication facts is a key skill your child will need to master in order to move on to more complicated types of math. That’s why schools spend so much time trying to make sure that kids can pull up the answers as quickly as possible.

MANAGING IN A MIXED ECONOMY Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MANAGING IN A MIXED ECONOMY - Coursework Example Management in mixed economy in the current context has attained significant importance across the world (Reisman, 2005). Concerning with the factors of a mixed economy, this paper intends to focus on the management of such issues in the light of Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd. Overview of the Network Rail Railtrack was involved in performing various tasks of scheduling, delivering, managing, selling and consulting for rail transportation and operated as a group of companies that was engaged in maintaining all the aspects of the track as well as stations of the old British rail network. However, it was sold to Network Rail and later renamed as Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd. Network Rail was then charged with the responsibility of managing the entire rail infrastructure in Great Britain excluding the London underground service. Network Rail therefore aims at providing a safe, reliable and efficient railway service within the UK. Correspondingly, the organisation is committed towards improving the rail network by offering faster, and frequent as well as reliable journey within the towns and cities of the UK. With its rigorous effort, it aims at integrating people for making the UK more competitive in terms of railroad transportation. It also aims at bringing significant benefits to the national economy. Moreover, its endeavour towards private sector growth and workforce can also be seen with its radical investment in the sector (Network Rail, 2013). It is worth mentioning in this context that the organisation is committed towards introducing new technologies in order to offer greater ease and facilities to its wide-range of customers. The organisation proclaims to follow the best organisational practices of safety management wherein its initiatives have been committed towards promoting righteous attitude and continuous development within the workforce. It further tends to ensure that all the passengers as well as individuals dealing with fright are fairly treat ed when they choose to use railway. Currently, the company operates as a private company performing commercial businesses. It is categorised as company limited by guarantee and is directly accountable to its members being regulated by the Office of Retail Regulation (ORR). Moreover, the company is determined to deliver a safe, reliable and the most efficient railway for Britain. It is worth mentioning that its members are drawn from rail industry and the public. Moreover, it is funded through excess of revenue apart from the monetary assistance rendered by the government grants. Notably, the Scottish Government is a public member of Network Rail (Network Rail, 2013). Seminar Topic 1: Innovation and Service Transformation The notion of co-production is widely being discussed in relation to the public services across the world and in the UK as well when evaluating the innovation and service transformation strategies taken by organisations such as Network Rail in a mixed economy system . It is worth mentioning that co-production processes in a mixed economy have often been argued to be primarily based upon the apparent characteristics of services in both public and private sectors wherein the production and consumption of services are commonly noted as inseparable. In order to attain the broad benefits of the co-production, it is essential that the users of

Observation of Teaching English. Language Learning and Teaching Essay

Observation of Teaching English. Language Learning and Teaching Autobiography - Essay Example We have been categorized as a bilingual country, were residents speak both Arabic and English. However, majority of the people predominantly use Arabic in daily conversations, and see the need to speak in English only when communicating with non-Arabic citizens. I have dreamed of studying abroad, particularly in the United States, to pursue higher education. Early in life, therefore, I was already immensely interested in English, not only as a second language, but as a future career. I therefore pursued a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Jeddah Teachers' College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I remembered vividly the courses taken during my bachelor degree that included: Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, General Teaching Methods, Trends in Language Teaching, Psychological Linguistics, Education Technology, Educational Psychology, Educational Evaluation, and School Management. I graduated in 2006 and became an enthusiastic English teacher for 3 years; all have been in middle school. I am currently on my Master’s Degree level in the USA; where I have taken the following courses so far in my first year in the program: Introduction to TESOL, TESL/TEFL Methodology, American English Grammar, Materials and Media, Cross-Cultural Communication, and Introduction to Research in TESOL. My goals in completing the program are as follows: To become an effective language learner and educator and thereby, enable me to share best teaching practices in teach ing English as a second language; To be a valuable contributor through communicating my knowledge, abilities, and skills gained through the course: either through verbal means or through writing; To discern particular factors in the learning environment that would facilitate exchange of knowledge between teachers and students and therefore enhance instructional approaches in TESOL; To leave a lasting contribution in the field of TESOL by sharing relevant experiences through the journey in language learning and teaching. I recognized, that as early as 2006, students in Saudi Arabia have increasingly acknowledged that speaking in English is trendy. Checking on this trend in the current papers, I found out from Al Arabiya News (2011) that â€Å"a new growing trend among Saudi youth is to speak English to one another, in aim to look trendy, modern and professional† (par. 1). I do not want my students to learn English only to be trendy. I want my students to realize that English, as a second language, is immensely beneficial due to learning the beauty of the language, per se; as well as the different literary elements and styles that make one an effective communicator, negotiator, educator, and also a continuous

Free

Free Will and Moral Responsibility Essay This collection of essays has its roots in a conference on free will and moral responsibility held at Monash University in November 2005, though only a few of the papers presented at the conference have made it into the current volume. We would like to thank both the participants at this conference and the contributors to this volume, as well as Cambridge Scholars Publishing for inviting us to put the collection together. Grateful acknowledgement is also made to the editor of the online journal, Sorites, where Nick Trakakis’ paper, â€Å"Whither Morality in a Hard Determinist World? †, was originally published (in vol. 19, December 2007). Finally, thanks to Shannon Weekes for her assistance in compiling the Index. INTRODUCTION NICK TRAKAKIS AND DANIEL COHEN Much of the interest of the free will debate depends on the assumption that free will is necessary for moral responsibility. In particular, it is because responsibility seems so important for our practical lives that debates about the compatibility of free will and determinism seem so urgent. However, much of the discussion in this volume bypasses this link. Instead, questions are raised that directly concern responsibility, such as whether it is compatible with determinism (see, for example, the essays by Fischer, Widerker, and Pereboom) and whether it is compatible with indeterminism (for example, the exchange between Levy and Kane). For the purposes of this introduction, we have not attempted to summarize the various ways in which the contributors construe the metaphysical foundations of moral responsibility. Instead, we wish to address a more preliminary matter. In the first part of this introduction, our aim is to say something about what we mean when we say that someone is morally responsible. It is surely important to clarify this before addressing any further substantive issues because, if we don’t clarify the meaning of this key term, there remains a significant danger that different participants in the debate about the possibility of moral responsibility will simply ‘talk past each other’. This suggests that in order to conduct a fruitful debate participants need firstly to agree on the nature of their subject-matter and, perhaps, to disambiguate different dimensions of the debate that arise if the term ‘moral responsibility’ has different connotations. In the second part of the introduction, we will discuss a neglected Wittgensteinian perspective on the notions of freedom and responsibility, a perspective that may help to clarify some of the confusion that arises when we ask what it means to say that a person is free or responsible. 1. The Meaning of Responsibility. Before proceeding to ask whether people are, in fact, ever morally responsible, it seems that an important preliminary matter needs to be settled. That is, we need to ask what we mean when we say that a person is x Introduction morally responsible. As will quickly become clear, settling this preliminary matter is, in fact, much harder than it first seems. Many of the controversies concerning the possibility of responsibility emerge even when we try to say just what ‘responsibility’ means. Let’s start with a claim that seems relatively uncontroversial. We will simply assume that ‘person A is responsible’ is a normative claim. That is to say, it is a claim to the effect that it is appropriate to hold A responsible in certain circumstances (circumstances, for example, where A has acted wrongly and where no mitigating, justifying, or excusing factors are present). However, this account of the meaning of ‘A is responsible’ raises at least two further issues. Firstly, we need to say more about what it means to hold someone responsible and, secondly, we need to say more about the nature and basis of the norms that govern appropriate responsibility attribution. It is important to keep in mind that our goal, in clarifying these two questions, should not be to settle any question regarding whether people are, in fact, ever morally responsible. Rather, we want to settle the terms of this debate before it begins. To this extent, we need sufficiently neutral accounts both of the nature of responsibility attribution and of its normative basis so that we don’t beg any substantive questions before debate has even begun. As we will try to show, however, this is a rather elusive goal. The only neutral account of the nature of responsibility attribution renders the normative question deeply controversial. And the only neutral account of the normative basis of responsibility attribution renders the nature of responsibility attribution deeply controversial. Holding Responsible There appear to be two plausible contending views regarding the nature of responsibility attribution. On cognitivist accounts, holding A responsible fundamentally involves believing something to be true of A, while on noncognitivist accounts, holding A responsible essentially involves holding some conative attitude towards A. (Cognitivists may, of course, argue that responsibility attribution is also usually associated with some conative attitude. However, they will maintain that it is possible to hold someone responsible without holding such conative attitudes. Similarly for noncognitivist accounts, mutatis mutandis. ) Non-cognitivism appears to provide the most successful neutral basis on which to premise the debate concerning the possibility of responsibility. This is because there seems little room for debate concerning the conative attitudes that characterize normal responsibility Nick Trakakis and Daniel Cohen xi attribution. In particular, few would disagree that responsibility attribution is strongly associated with the ‘reactive attitudes’ identified by P. F. Strawson, i. e. , resentment, indignation, anger and so on. 1 If one wishes to argue, however, that the reactive attitudes, while prevalent, are inessential to responsibility attribution, it is much harder to locate any common ground concerning the beliefs that are essential to responsibility attribution. One may suggest, for instance, that to hold A responsible is to believe that she is the source of some bad behaviour. Deep controversies quickly emerge on this view, however. One might take sourcehood to involve a psychological claim, for instance that A ‘really wanted’ to act wrongly. 2 However, others might object that any such glib psychological account fails to explain why it is fair to blame A for the wrongdoing (see Smilansky’s contribution). One might object, in this vein, that any such psychological story is unable to show that an agent really is the source of her having certain desires or values (see McKenna’s contribution), and that sourcehood thus requires some more obscure metaphysical basis (e. g. , agent-causation). Alternatively, one may suggest that sourcehood involves some impossible requirement such as that an agent was self-created. 3 On this view, holding someone responsible is essentially impossible. 4 Our goal is to account for the meaning of responsibility in neutral terms so as to provide a basis for constructive debate about the conditions (and the very possibility) of responsibility. It appears, however, that the cognitivist view of responsibility attribution quickly leads to debates that already beg these important questions before debate has even begun! This suggests that the best theory-neutral account of the meaning of responsibility must explain holding responsible in non-cognitivist terms. The Normative Basis of Responsibility Attribution Recall that, for the purposes of this discussion, we have assumed a normative account of responsibility according to which ‘A is responsible’ means ‘it is appropriate to hold A responsible in certain conditions’. Having addressed how best to interpret what ‘holding A responsible’ might mean, without begging any important questions, we need now to turn to a second question raised by the normative account: when exactly is it appropriate to hold someone responsible? In other words, what are the norms that govern appropriate responsibility attribution? Again, there are two plausible contending views: appropriateness may be explained either in terms of practical norms (taking ‘holding responsible’ to be analogous xii Introduction to the performance of an action) or by way of doxastic norms (taking ‘holding responsible’ to be analogous to the formation of a belief). Again, only on one of these accounts—the doxastic view—is it possible to offer an appropriately uncontroversial explanation of the norms implicit in responsibility attribution. On the doxastic view, one ought to hold A responsible if and only if it is true that A is responsible. On this view, the normative basis of responsibility attribution straightforwardly derives from the normativity of belief. It is clear that the doxastic account presupposes the cognitivist view discussed earlier, according to which holding A responsible involves believing something about her. Given this view of the nature of responsibility attribution, the normative question— concerning when responsibility attribution is appropriate—has a straightforward answer. Unfortunately, as we saw, there is no uncontroversial way to account for the truth-conditions of ‘A is responsible’, on the cognitivist assumption that it involves belief. So, despite the advantages of the doxastic view in providing a neutral account of the normative basis of responsibility attribution, this view at the same time precludes us from obtaining a neutral view regarding the nature of responsibility attribution (i. e. , the truth-conditions for the belief that A is responsible. ) Might we find an account of the normative basis of responsibility attribution that is consistent with the preferable non-cognitivist view outlined earlier? This would have to involve an alternative view, according to which responsibility attribution is justified in virtue of practical norms. However, if responsibility attribution is governed by practical norms, then things are much less straightforward. One may suggest that the relevant practical norms are just moral norms, so that ‘A is responsible’ states something like: ‘It is morally obligatory (or, perhaps, permissible) to hold A responsible’. This view may appear immediately problematic because the appropriateness of responsibility attribution will now depend on further questions that are deeply controversial (for instance, questions concerning the debate between consequentialism and nonconsequentialism; see Vargas’ contribution). A more fundamental worry arises concerning the methodological appropriateness of appealing to moral norms. One may argue, for instance, that the nature of moral obligation, itself, depends on the foundations of responsibility, which is, of course, the question at issue. Haji (in his contribution) argues that the best metaphysical basis of responsibility (i. e. , event-causal libertarianism) renders moral obligation essentially lucky. This suggests that there would be something viciously circular in explaining the meaning of responsibility Nick Trakakis and Daniel Cohen xiii in terms of some claim about our moral obligations. (See also Trakakis’ contribution. ) To avoid these worries, one may appeal to practical norms that appear to be more fundamental than any particular moral system. For instance, R. J. Wallace offers a normative account of responsibility that appeals to fairness. 5 This is meant to provide a normative basis for responsibility that remains neutral on more substantive moral issues. (See also Smilansky’s contribution. ) Clearly, however, appealing to practical norms launches us into further debates that already beg the question at issue. Again, such an account seems ill-suited for the purpose of setting up a neutral definitional framework on which to premise further debate. A Dilemma Our aim has been to find some neutral definition of responsibility to enable further non-question-begging debates about the possibility and conditions of responsibility. It seems that this goal gives rise to a tricky dilemma. The best theory-neutral account of holding responsible is the non-cognitivist account. However, this account appears incompatible with the best theory-neutral account of the norms that govern responsibility attribution—the doxastic account. The doxastic account, in turn, seems compatible only with the most problematic account of holding responsible—the cognitivist account. This is a puzzling result. Even though responsibility clearly gives rise to very complex issues, it is surprising that it is not possible even to define the terms of the debate without deep controversy. The worry thus remains that debates about the possibility and conditions of responsibility are essentially question-begging, insofar as different participants to the debate conceive of its key terms differently. Must we conclude, then, that different people and different theorists are indeed talking past each other when they debate about the possibility of responsible action? This, of course, would be a depressingly deflationist conclusion. There is a possible way out, however, that is rarely canvassed. If the question concerns the meaning of ‘responsibility’, one might suggest that there are, perhaps, other ways to settle things. In particular, isn’t the meaning of a term determined by our use of the term? (Or, at least, isn’t use a good guide to meaning?) Thus, appeal to real-world attributions of responsibility may illuminate the meaning of the term ‘responsible’. Such a methodology is sometimes rejected on the grounds that real-world attributions are rife with internal inconsistency (see, for example, Cohen xiv Introduction and Saling’s contribution). But perhaps a closer look at the Wittgensteinian ‘solution’ to the problem of freedom and responsibility will throw new light on the matter. 2. Making Sense of Free Will: A Wittgensteinian Account Wittgenstein published very little during his lifetime, and even less on the topic of free will. He does, however, make some pertinent remarks in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus that mirror in some respects the contemporary debates on free will. As is well known, the early Wittgenstein claims to have definitively solved the central problems of philosophy, and by implication this would include the perennial problem of free will. Wittgenstein’s strategy proceeds by separating sense from nonsense. The realm of sense is delimited in the light of his picture theory of meaning, according to which a proposition is meaningful (or capable of expressing a fact) only if it can represent or picture a contingent state of affairs. What cannot thus be represented is consigned to silence, or as Wittgenstein famously put it at the conclusion of his book, â€Å"What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence† (proposition 7). 6 In the course of the book, however, it soon becomes clear that what can be meaningfully said are only the propositions of natural science, thereby leaving out of the realm of sense a daunting number of statements which are regularly made and used in language, including the propositions of logic, aesthetics, religion, and (most relevant for our purposes here) traditional metaphysics and ethics. But unlike the positivists, Wittgenstein does not assume that what is nonsensical is of no value. As he stated in a letter to a prospective publisher, Ludwig von Ficker: â€Å"My work consists of two parts: the one presented here plus all that I have not written. And it is precisely this second part that is the important one. †7 Further, ethical and metaphysical truths that cannot be ‘said’ or formulated in sayable (sensical) propositions can nonetheless be ‘shown’: â€Å"There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical† (6. 522). In line with this austere outlook, Wittgenstein hints in the Tractatus that the very concepts at issue in the free will debate—concepts such as ‘freedom’ and ‘responsibility’—cannot be meaningfully expressed. Although in propositions 5. 1361 (â€Å"We cannot infer the events of the future from those of the present†) and 5. 1362 (â€Å"The freedom of the will consists in the impossibility of knowing actions that still lie in the future†) he seems to reject determinism as false and to accept freedom of the will as true, rather than rejecting both as nonsensical, here we arguably have a Nick Trakakis and Daniel Cohen xv minimalist conception of free will as nothing more than ignorance or uncertainty regarding the future, as opposed to a substantive commitment to the metaphysical idea of a ‘will’ that could be free or unfree. This is confirmed in later passages where Wittgenstein takes the law of causality—the principle that every event has a cause—to be â€Å"not a law but the form of a law† (6. 32), adding a few propositions later that, â€Å"If there were a law of causality, it might be put in the following way: There are laws of nature. But of course that cannot be said: it makes itself manifest† (6. 36). The law of causality, in other words, is not itself a law of logic nor a law of nature (or an empirical generalization), nor a synthetic a priori proposition, but rather â€Å"something purely logical† (6. 3211), a vacuous principle that tells us, not something about the world, but only something about the form our thinking about the world must take. But what is formal, according to the Tractatus, can only be shown, not said. On this view, then, the law of causality, and by extension any substantial or metaphysical doctrine of determinism, cannot be affirmed or denied, but must be placed in the category of ineffability or nonsense. Similarly, the denial of determinism—viz. , indeterminism—is bound to result in nonsense. At one stroke, then, Wittgenstein seems to have dissolved the free will problem. Contemporary discussions of free will often take a similar turn. For example, concepts such as ‘free will’ and ‘moral responsibility’ are routinely rejected as internally incoherent or contradictory, or as incompatible with determinism or indeterminism (or both), and like the early Wittgenstein this result is achieved simply through a kind of armchair or a priori reflection on the conditions of possibility of free will and responsibility. A glaring instance of this is Galen Strawson’s ‘pessimist’ conclusion that free will, of the sort that is necessary for genuine moral responsibility, is impossible, for in order to have that kind of free will (according to Strawson) one would per impossible have to be the ultimate cause or origin of oneself, a sort of causa sui. But what is neglected in this procedure is attention to particulars, to the variety of ways in which concepts such as free will and responsibility function in different discourses and social practices. This, of course, is the message of the ‘later Wittgenstein’, the Wittgenstein of the Philosophical Investigations8, which effects a fundamental change of perspective: from the realm of an idealized logical language with rigorous definitions and analyses to the vagaries of everyday life and action out of which arise the multifarious ‘language games’. The earlier reduction of language to representation is now seen as incapable of doing justice to the rich fabric of human language, and so xvi Introduction Wittgenstein famously moves from a conception of meaning as representation to a view of meaning as use: language as a kind of doing rather than a kind of picturing. We are therefore exhorted to â€Å"look and see† (PI 66) whether there is anything in common in the variety of uses to which a word is put. We cannot simply assume that words like ‘freedom’ and ‘responsibility’ must have a hidden essence, or a universally applicable meaning that can be formulated in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions. Rather, we need to look to the complicated network of overlapping and criss-crossing similarities—what Wittgenstein calls ‘family resemblances’—between various words as these find expression in ordinary life and in various language games. Each language game, however, has its own unique ‘grammar’ (or network of rules which determine what linguistic or conceptual moves are allowed as making sense) and its own criteria of truth, rationality and intelligibility which may or may not be shared by other language games. What counts as freedom of the will may therefore differ widely depending on which language game is being played: freedom, for some religious believers, requires the extinction of one’s will, while for purposes of legislation freedom may be conceived of as requiring a significant degree of self-determination. Underlying this view is the rejection of the mathematical ideal of the Tractatus, typified by statements that are put forward as impersonal, unambiguous and impervious to context, and whose truth is intended to be timeless and without qualification. Language, for the later Wittgenstein, is a much more dynamic, diversified and activity-oriented phenomenon. And to be faithful to the richness and complexity of this phenomenon demands an appreciation of the bewildering and sometimes conflicting ways in which words and concepts—‘free will’ and ‘responsibility’ included—are used. It may be instructive to briefly compare (the later) Wittgenstein’s treatment of religious belief with his remarks on free will and voluntary action. Consider, for example, how Wittgenstein, in his â€Å"Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough†, responds to the phenomenon of religious diversity, to the fact that different religions seem to say different and incompatible things about (e. g. ) the nature of divine or ultimate reality and the nature and destiny of the human race: Was Augustine in error, then, when he called upon God on every page of the Confessions? But—one might say—if he was not in error, surely the Buddhist holy man was—or anyone else—whose religion gives expression to completely different views. But none of them was in error, except when he set forth a theory. 9 Nick Trakakis and Daniel Cohen xvii Against philosophers and anthropologists like James George Frazer, who construe religious doctrines as hypotheses or theories that can be confirmed or disconfirmed in light of empirical evidence, Wittgenstein views each religion as embodying a unique form of life that finds expression in language games whose ‘rules’ (relating to truth, rationality, intelligibility, and so on) may diverge quite dramatically from those of science. On this view, the various religions of the world are not in the business of constructing hypotheses and searching for evidence, and so they are not in competition with one another, at least in the way that scientific theories may vie for the mantle of verisimilitude. The problem of religious diversity is therefore dissolved. No language game, religious or otherwise, has a monopoly on truth and on the meaning of ‘truth’. Wittgenstein is thus opposed to both the religious exclusivist, who maintains that there is one religion which is privileged with respect to truth and soteriological effectiveness, and the scientistic philosopher who argues that the methods and techniques of science (perhaps construed broadly enough to include philosophy and logic) are our only reliable guide to truth. Instead, Wittgenstein places all language games on an equal footing, allowing a thousand flowers to bloom. Thus, as David Pears has perceptively pointed out, Wittgenstein’s later work has †¦an extraordinary levelling effect. It does not assimilate one kind of discourse to another: on the contrary, it is always the differences between them that are emphasized, and particularly the difference between factual discourse and the other kinds. But it does bring all the great philosophical questions which arise within them back to the same level, ordinary human life, from which philosophy started. Philosophy is the voyage out, and the voyage back, both of which are necessary if the logical space of our ordinary linguistic practices is to be understood. 10 One of these ‘great philosophical questions’ is, of course, the question of free will and moral responsibility. On this matter, as with questions to do with religious faith, Wittgenstein refused the dominance of science on modern thinking: rather than constructing systematic theories that dictate from ‘on high’—inevitably from a position that holds up science as the model for all other discourses—how the phenomena in question are to be understood, we are brought back time and again to particular facts and examples rooted in everyday language and practices. Taking such an approach to free will can produce startling results. For one thing, the belief in free will begins to look more like a religious commitment than a theoretical or scientific belief. Wittgenstein’s Kierkegaardian (or, more pejoratively, fideistic) account of religious belief is well known: xviii Introduction It strikes me that a religious belief could only be something like a passionate commitment to a system of reference. Hence, although it’s belief, it’s really a way of living, or a way of assessing life. It’s passionately seizing hold of this interpretation. 11 But his somewhat similar account of free will has received less attention, despite the ever-expanding publishing industry on free will: In the sense in which asking a question and insisting on an answer is expressive of a different attitude, a different mode of life, from not asking it, the same can be said of utterances like â€Å"It is God’s will† or â€Å"We are not masters of our fate†. The work done by this sentence, or at any rate something like it, could also be done by a command! Including one which you give yourself. 12 Life is like a path along a mountain ridge; to left and right are slippery slopes down which you slide without being able to stop yourself, in one direction or the other. I keep seeing people slip like this and I say â€Å"How could a man help himself in such a situation! † And that is what â€Å"denying free will† comes to. That is the attitude expressed in this ‘belief’. But it is not a scientific belief and has nothing to do with scientific convictions. 13 Thus, belief in free will, much like religious belief, does not purport to express an empirical fact, but is rather expressive of an attitude, a mode of life, an imperative to live in a certain way. In the two lectures he delivered at Cambridge on freedom of the will, Wittgenstein went on to characterize belief in free will as ‘groundless’, as not supported by evidence or arguments14, again indicating parallels with religious faith. To better appreciate this view of free will, one might introduce certain ideas from the Philosophical Investigations and, especially, On Certainty. 15 In the former work, Wittgenstein speaks of our beliefs as founded upon a ‘bedrock’ certainty: â€Å"If I have exhausted the justifications [for following a rule] I have reached bedrock, and my spade is turned. Then I am inclined to say: ‘This is simply what I do’† (PI 217). Similarly, in OC 341 Wittgenstein states, â€Å"the questions that we raise and our doubts depend on the fact that some propositions are exempt from doubt, are as it were like hinges on which those turn† (cf. OC 88). Although Wittgenstein refers here to propositions as acting as hinges, it is commonly thought that in the more mature phase of his epistemological work Wittgenstein thought of practices rather than propositions as primary. This, then, is no traditional foundationalism, where an inferential relationship is thought to obtain between the set of beliefs that comprise the foundations and the other beliefs we hold, with the former justifying the latter. Instead, for Wittgenstein what lies at the bottom or at the foundations of our language Nick Trakakis and Daniel Cohen xix games are not specific beliefs or propositions, but ‘ungrounded ways of acting’ (OC 110, 204), ‘communal practices’ (OC 128, 298), and ‘forms of life’ (OC 7, 358). It is in this spirit that Wittgenstein quotes from Goethe’s Faust: â€Å"In the beginning was the deed† (OC 402). Nonetheless, our practices and forms of life can be said to show or manifest the beliefs (or quasi-beliefs) and assumptions upon which we base our lives, including such beliefs as ‘I have two hands’ and ‘The world has existed for more than 10 minutes’. However, in opposition to G. E. Moore, Wittgenstein describes these as ‘certainties’ rather than ‘knowledge-claims’, for they are not grounded in evidence or open to verification, but express an attitude and a way of acting, and so are not true or false, reasonable or unreasonable, but simply â€Å"there—like our life† (OC 559, cf. 162, 205). It would be arguably in keeping with this epistemological account, in conjunction with the later Wittgenstein’s remarks on free will, to say that belief in free will (and moral responsibility) may also function, at least in some contexts, as one of the bedrock certainties, as one of the things that ‘stand fast for us’ in our actions and practices (cf. OC 116), or as the framework within which our ethical practices operate and are made intelligible. There are close parallels here with existentialist philosophy, where to exist as a human being and to be free (almost) come to the same thing. Jean-Paul Sartre, for example, famously stated that we are ‘condemned’ to freedom, not free not to be free. In a similar vein, the Russian religious existentialist Nikolai Berdiaev, dubbed ‘the philosopher of freedom’, eschewed traditional accounts of freedom, which treat free will as an object that could somehow be perceived, investigated and proved or disproved from the outside, and adopted instead the Kantian position that freedom is a postulate of action: it is something we must presuppose to even think of a world in which human life and human agency are possible. Wittgenstein would have been sympathetic to this outlook, for like the existentialists he is primarily concerned with concrete social and linguistic practices and seeks to provide a philosophical understanding of human existence that is not restricted to the explanatory framework of science (or even that of much traditional philosophy). For Wittgenstein, therefore, belief in free will, just as much as belief in God, is not threatened by scientific discoveries: â€Å"we couldn’t say now ‘If they discover so and so, then I’ll say I am free’. †16 In line with this view, Wittgenstein spends some time in his lectures on freedom of the will in attempting to show that even if a deterministic account of the world were demanded by our best scientific theories, belief in free will need not be affected at all. 17 But he is not thereby putting forward a case for compatibilism: â€Å"All these arguments xx Introduction might look as if I wanted to argue for the freedom of the will or against it. But I don’t want to. †18 Wittgenstein does not follow the traditional course of attempting to resolve the free will problem by proving one position or refuting another. His aim, as with other traditional philosophical problems, is to expose the problem as some kind of deep muddle or confusion arising largely from misunderstandings of the workings of language. One recurrent criticism of this view is that it appears to render the language games of science, religion, and ethics entirely self-contained and cut off from each other, if not also immune from criticism from ‘without’. This, indeed, is a common misconception of the Wittgensteinian account of religion, and in response Wittgensteinians such as D. Z. Phillips have emphasized the many important connections between religious and nonreligious forms of life which (it is held) must be recognized if religious belief is not to degenerate into superstition. Similarly, Wittgenstein points out that scientific discoveries may have a bearing on ascriptions of free will: â€Å"A discovery might influence what you say on the freedom of the will. If only by directing your attention in a particular way. †19 But despite these connections between the scientific and non-scientific domains, Wittgenstein insists that the distinctiveness of each language game must not be overlooked. In particular, the languages of ethics and religion must not be assimilated to the kind of fact-stating discourse and fact-finding activities that characterize the empirical sciences.

Furniture in Greenbelt :: Interior Design Furniture Essays

Furniture in Greenbelt A Sign of the Tough Times A view of the front of a typical housing project in the planned community of Greenbelt. The Greenbelt community was built beginning in 1937 as low income housing for people who were making between $1,200 and $2,000 dollars a year. The houses were built at minimum cost and this means that the rooms are small. Thus special furniture was designed in order to fit into these small houses and to provide sturdy, economical, and good looking furnishings for the new residents. "Instead of following the conventional pattern of designing the house from the outside in, Resettlement architects have built primarily from the inside out." (House Beautiful 1937) Miss Elizabeth Hofflin, the technical consultant for the Resettlement Administration, was quoted as saying "We made the furniture to fit the small rooms of these low-rent units. We found that ordinary living room furniture would overflow from wall space and block doorways and windows." (Daily News, April 20, 1937) "The furniture you see was built for these rooms and for these rooms alone."(House Beautiful, April 1937) The furniture that was designed for Greenbelt needed to be very affordable. "The idea was to provide essential items of furniture which will fit into a minimum amount of space and at the same time make them attractive, low-priced and extremely durable."(Daily News, April 20, 1937) Miss Hofflin explains, "we concentrated upon strong construction and simple design, which can be made with the least expense with factory machines. We used the three cheapest woods--maple, oak and gum; we have no acquaintances at all with mahogany and walnut." The government was able to furnish the Greenbelt community for very little money with careful planning and very frugal designers. And the furniture was affordable! In 1939 a resident of Greenbelt was able to furnish his entire household for $239.97. The full amount was paid off by the resident over a four year period at $5 a month. There was also a 3% interest charge payable in monthly installments of $2.50. This was an excellent deal for these New Deal residents. The federal government assisted the original Greenbelters, first, by building them an inexpensive home and, second, by enabling them to furnish their houses economically as well. In this way, the government provided many families with an opportunity to set up housekeeping on their own that they otherwise would not have had. Kimberly Myers expresses similar views on the government helping out the people in her exhibition on the construction of Greenbelt.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Novel Review1. PST-T chart PlotGot up to go to bucket Didn't get up at reveille Wondered which guard is on duty Decided he can lie in bed a little while longer Decided to report sick Got 3 days penalty with work for not getting up on time Got dressed Followed Tartar out of room Realised he wasnt being sent to the guardhouse Thanked the guard for letting him off and said he'll never get up late again Picked up pail and with bare hands (because he forgot his gloves) went to the well Put pail down, tucked hands into sleeves and watched some people in interest Ran to well Carried dripping bucket back to guardroom Took boots off and washed floor barefoot Wiped floor boards Eats soup Gets fever examined Returns to hut for body count Hides bread in mattress Thinks about wife's letter Marched off for work at Power Station Admires Alyoshka Tries to keep wind out with tar paper Sneaks an extra helping of food Sees scrap metal in snow and takes it Works and is late to lunch Wants to hide the trowel At body search he pani cs but the guard doesn't find the metal Makes way to hall for supper Awarded 400 grams of bread After body count he prepares to sleep Helps hide Tsezars parcel Gets awarded biscuits and a little bit of sausage Thanks god Alyoshka urges him to pray properly and to pursue the goods of the spirit not the flesh Reflects on this comment Gives him a biscuit MeditatesSubjects/SymbolsBread/foodParcelSpoonPrisoner #MoonColdTechniquesSimileMetaphorImageryPersonificationDiction (informal)ForeshadowingRepetitionTheme StatementsThe little things in life should be appreciated.You cannot understand someone if you are not them.Maintaining your dignity in tough life situations makes life more bearableMeaningful Quotationsâ€Å"Can a man who's warm understand one who's freezing?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Writing letters was like throwing stones into a bottomless pool.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Even a prisoners thoughts aren't free†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Å"Easy money doesn't weigh anything†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Å"Beat a dog once and y ou'll only have to show him the whip.†CharactersIvan – thin, weedy, darkeyed sergeantTyurin – the foreman of gang 104Tetyukor – begs for scrapsAlyoshka – devout baptistPavlo – the deputy of gang 104Kolya – a poetBuyhovsky – the captainGopchik – innocent sixteen year old boyEino – estonianKildigs – talented bricklayerSnub Nose – wardenTsezar – receives regular packagesSymbols/ MotifsBread/food – Is mentioned all throughout the text. The prisoners obsess over the amount of food they get so much, it's clear how mistreated they are. The bread represents survival and that the little things in life should be cherished.Cold – The cold not only represents the weather, but represents the abuse and mistreatment of the prisoners too. Also mentioned all throughout the text, usually along the lines of â€Å"Can a man who's warm understand one who's freezing.† Also representing the theme of: you cannot understand someone if you are not them.Parcel – The parcels represent survival; the inmates who keep them to themselves are healthier like Kildigs. They also represent corruption and bribery in Tsezars case; he bribes inmates to get his way. Which also ties into power because they have more power over the inmates and even some of the guards.Spoon – Shukhov's spoon represents individuality and a struggle to keep humanity and free will. It is his and only his; not controlled by the camp. It's his little secret and his way of trying to keep some freedom and privacy.Moon – The moon represents hope and reminds the inmates of the world beyond their confinement. It gives them something to hold on to and reminds them of home and the people they loved. Which I think ties into appreciation of the small things.SignificanceIvan – We spend the whole day through Ivan and experience what he does. He is vital because the story through his eyes is what mak es the story HIS story. Based on what the author has given us I think Ivan is a good man who just wants to be free.Tsezar – Represents the higher class people having a hard time getting used to the camp. I think he's vital to the story because he's the one who always gets the parcel's and he chooses to share. Based on him getting gifts all the time from his family and him focusing on movies and film making, rather than his own survival, I think he is wealthy and is having a rough time adjusting to the life at camp.Opening scene – The opening scene tells the ways of the camp. Shows that Ivan doesn't feel good and establishes the theme of injustice and oppression by authority with the unfair punishment should've received. Foreshadows to punishments that will be given later on.Closing scene – The closing scene shows how his point of view on happiness has changed; and that he is almost happy. Emphasises how much of a survivor he is by showing us how he always looks on the brightside. And really makes us think back at the end when Alexander tells us that this is only one of his 3,653 day sentence.Scenesâ€Å"Then he took out the piece of bread in the white rag and, holding it under his coat so that not a crumb would be lost, began nibbling and chewing it bit by bit. He'd carried the bread underneath two layers of clothing, warming it with his body, so it wasn't the least bit frozen.† Shows that even the slightest bit of food is treasured so much because they get so little. Ties into the themes of mistreatment and appreciation of what you have.â€Å"Shukhov licked his spoon clean and returned it to his boot, then put on his cap and made for sick bay.† and then â€Å"Shukhov licked his spoon and tucked it inside his boot, crammed his cap on his head, rose, picked up the bread- his own ration and Tsezar's – and left.† These scenes show him trying to gain some individuality and some humanity by having this spoon be his l ittle secret.† Shukhov went to sleep fully content. He'd had so many strokes of luck that day: they hadn't put him in the cells; they hadn't sent his squad to the settlement; he'd swiped a bowl of kasha dinner; the squad leader had fixed the rates well; he'd built a wall and enjoyed doing it; he'd smuggled that bit of the hacksaw blade and through; he'd earned a favor from Tsezar that evening; he'd bought that tobacco. And he hadn't fallen ill. He'd got over it. A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day.† Shows how drastically his idea of happiness changed. Ties into the theme of appreciation of the little things. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Novel Review1. PST-T chart PlotGot up to go to bucket Didn't get up at reveille Wondered which guard is on duty Decided he can lie in bed a little while longer Decided to report sick Got 3 days penalty with work for not getting up on time Got dressed Followed Tartar out of room Realised he wasnt being sent to the guardhouse Thanked the guard for letting him off and said he'll never get up late again Picked up pail and with bare hands (because he forgot his gloves) went to the well Put pail down, tucked hands into sleeves and watched some people in interest Ran to well Carried dripping bucket back to guardroom Took boots off and washed floor barefoot Wiped floor boards Eats soup Gets fever examined Returns to hut for body count Hides bread in mattress Thinks about wife's letter Marched off for work at Power Station Admires Alyoshka Tries to keep wind out with tar paper Sneaks an extra helping of food Sees scrap metal in snow and takes it Works and is late to lunch Wants to hide the trowel At body search he pani cs but the guard doesn't find the metal Makes way to hall for supper Awarded 400 grams of bread After body count he prepares to sleep Helps hide Tsezars parcel Gets awarded biscuits and a little bit of sausage Thanks god Alyoshka urges him to pray properly and to pursue the goods of the spirit not the flesh Reflects on this comment Gives him a biscuit MeditatesSubjects/SymbolsBread/foodParcelSpoonPrisoner #MoonColdTechniquesSimileMetaphorImageryPersonificationDiction (informal)ForeshadowingRepetitionTheme StatementsThe little things in life should be appreciated.You cannot understand someone if you are not them.Maintaining your dignity in tough life situations makes life more bearableMeaningful Quotationsâ€Å"Can a man who's warm understand one who's freezing?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Writing letters was like throwing stones into a bottomless pool.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Even a prisoners thoughts aren't free†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Å"Easy money doesn't weigh anything†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Å"Beat a dog once and y ou'll only have to show him the whip.†CharactersIvan – thin, weedy, darkeyed sergeantTyurin – the foreman of gang 104Tetyukor – begs for scrapsAlyoshka – devout baptistPavlo – the deputy of gang 104Kolya – a poetBuyhovsky – the captainGopchik – innocent sixteen year old boyEino – estonianKildigs – talented bricklayerSnub Nose – wardenTsezar – receives regular packagesSymbols/ MotifsBread/food – Is mentioned all throughout the text. The prisoners obsess over the amount of food they get so much, it's clear how mistreated they are. The bread represents survival and that the little things in life should be cherished.Cold – The cold not only represents the weather, but represents the abuse and mistreatment of the prisoners too. Also mentioned all throughout the text, usually along the lines of â€Å"Can a man who's warm understand one who's freezing.† Also representing the theme of: you cannot understand someone if you are not them.Parcel – The parcels represent survival; the inmates who keep them to themselves are healthier like Kildigs. They also represent corruption and bribery in Tsezars case; he bribes inmates to get his way. Which also ties into power because they have more power over the inmates and even some of the guards.Spoon – Shukhov's spoon represents individuality and a struggle to keep humanity and free will. It is his and only his; not controlled by the camp. It's his little secret and his way of trying to keep some freedom and privacy.Moon – The moon represents hope and reminds the inmates of the world beyond their confinement. It gives them something to hold on to and reminds them of home and the people they loved. Which I think ties into appreciation of the small things.SignificanceIvan – We spend the whole day through Ivan and experience what he does. He is vital because the story through his eyes is what mak es the story HIS story. Based on what the author has given us I think Ivan is a good man who just wants to be free.Tsezar – Represents the higher class people having a hard time getting used to the camp. I think he's vital to the story because he's the one who always gets the parcel's and he chooses to share. Based on him getting gifts all the time from his family and him focusing on movies and film making, rather than his own survival, I think he is wealthy and is having a rough time adjusting to the life at camp.Opening scene – The opening scene tells the ways of the camp. Shows that Ivan doesn't feel good and establishes the theme of injustice and oppression by authority with the unfair punishment should've received. Foreshadows to punishments that will be given later on.Closing scene – The closing scene shows how his point of view on happiness has changed; and that he is almost happy. Emphasises how much of a survivor he is by showing us how he always looks on the brightside. And really makes us think back at the end when Alexander tells us that this is only one of his 3,653 day sentence.Scenesâ€Å"Then he took out the piece of bread in the white rag and, holding it under his coat so that not a crumb would be lost, began nibbling and chewing it bit by bit. He'd carried the bread underneath two layers of clothing, warming it with his body, so it wasn't the least bit frozen.† Shows that even the slightest bit of food is treasured so much because they get so little. Ties into the themes of mistreatment and appreciation of what you have.â€Å"Shukhov licked his spoon clean and returned it to his boot, then put on his cap and made for sick bay.† and then â€Å"Shukhov licked his spoon and tucked it inside his boot, crammed his cap on his head, rose, picked up the bread- his own ration and Tsezar's – and left.† These scenes show him trying to gain some individuality and some humanity by having this spoon be his l ittle secret.† Shukhov went to sleep fully content. He'd had so many strokes of luck that day: they hadn't put him in the cells; they hadn't sent his squad to the settlement; he'd swiped a bowl of kasha dinner; the squad leader had fixed the rates well; he'd built a wall and enjoyed doing it; he'd smuggled that bit of the hacksaw blade and through; he'd earned a favor from Tsezar that evening; he'd bought that tobacco. And he hadn't fallen ill. He'd got over it. A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day.† Shows how drastically his idea of happiness changed. Ties into the theme of appreciation of the little things.

Sex Trafficking

Comparative Review March 11, 2013 Thesis: Legalizing Prostitution will stop the spread of illicit Sex Trafficking. It seems like a normal day in her little village, until two shady men come and take her and all the young girls around the same age as her from their families. She is terrified and is scared of what may come next. The man repeatedly compliments her on her beauty and touches her silk soft skin. Crying only makes things worse and makes the man very angry. He hits them and calls them bad names as a punishment. Its been days since they took us, and has only given us little amounts of water to stay some what hydrated; and no food.This feeling is so surreal and this stuff actually does happen, beyond what people may think they know women and kids are being taken. In the article Enslaved in America by Tina Frundt it explains how typically Americans look the other way when they see prostitution but, neglect that these girls 50 percent of the time are forced into the Sex Traffick ing lifestyle. On the other hand Brenda Zurita’s article Legalization or harm reduction of prostitution and sexual trafficking writes about the government and the Sex trafficking laws says a different story.Sex Trafficking is illegal in the United States but why is there girls forced out of their homes and into this modern day slavery still occurring. In Bruce Kennedy’s Would legalizing prostitution help the US economy, it explains in simple terms how much one difference will create safer jobs and bring it much needed money to our economy. Which brings me to my next point; Prostitution should be legalized for those who want to retire in this way of life. It will have a positive effect on the economy bringing in billions in taxable income.In the increasing epidemic with Sex Trafficking; Tina Frundt, explains why this is truly a big issue worldwide. With this crime being unrecognized to a certain degree as it should in the shadows its really happening. The purpose of thi s article is to help understand the reasons â€Å"why. † Truthfully when I think of this topic I think of all the girls overseas who are being taken from their homes. As Frundt explains this is not only my opinion; most people have the same thoughts and are in the blind that this happens so close to home too. Not everything is said out to be the way it really is.All the bliss and publicity that the â€Å"pimps† is point blank ridiculous. â€Å"Young people use â€Å"pimp† in everyday conversation: â€Å"my ride is pimped out,† â€Å"your clothes are pimping. † They do not understand the reality behind the term. (Frundt)† This is a subliminal message about Sex Trafficking, the word is so powerful that it is misused and now taken for what it really is. Sex trafficking victims live in a cold, heartless, mistreated, and world full of violence. Raped and beat on the daily bases is only the least of these victims’ worries.Finding a way to e scape and lead a different life is the biggest and hardest goal to acquire. How are these victims found if they aren’t ever missed of even looked for? A promise for a better life, a good job and a new start is how many people end up in these types of situations. Having such a personal intake of Sex Trafficking, Frundt’s article is an essential piece that I find necessary to write about in my research. Unlike Frundt who shares a very particular share in Sex Trafficking, Brenda Zurita speaks from a point where anyone can understand more broadly.When the demand for prostituted people exceeds the available supply, women, children and sometimes men are trafficked in to meet the demand (Zurita). Children and women are usually the two that are easier to manipulate by letting them know what they want to hear. Often they are showered with gifts and affection that leave them wanting more. Than to keep an even tighter leash threatening comes to play, captors threaten their lives and the lives of their families. Which often leave victims to scared to leave to keep their families safe.The US government opposes prostitution for the reason that it is dehumanizing and harmful for people. Sex trafficking is what should be the center of focus. Trying to stop something that is known today, as â€Å"Modern Day Slavery† cannot just be stopped all together. In this case, and at the time former president George W. Bush stated that work in this field is not legitimate and should be not tolerated for humans of any sort. By legalizing we are creating a safer environment for those who chose this way of life.Traffickers often beat, humiliate, and torture their victims and can ultimately lead to murder. Pimps and traffickers, in order to make a profit, cater to their customer’s desires and supply prostituted people to fulfill their fantasies (Zurita). The legalization of Prostitution reduced the need for Sex Traffickers. Bruce Kennedy is all for the legalizatio n of prostitution, in my opinion it provides an economical relief. From the time that I can remember the US has been struggling with money. By legalizing this it brings in an outstanding 18 billion in taxable income from the sex industry.Although crime rates seem to stay the same, legalizing creates a better environment for those women who choose this life style. It brings better working conditions and makes it safer by not having pimps abuse their â€Å"hoes. † The challenge that seems to be faced is all the crime that would still happen. Technically pimps watch over their girls and make sure the guys they leave with are safe and will return the girls back accordingly. Without this it is expected that more kidnappings and murders are to be committed.A nights earning is expected to be around 500$ a night which attracts the criminal industry. The message and the information that I acquired from (Frundt), (Zurita, 2013) and (Kennedy, 2012) are essential to creating a strong res earch paper. They are all statistically inclined and include different examples of different situations that will help me outline my paper. Since Frundt’s article is the strongest of the three I plan on strategically planning out her experiences in a way that will coherently compare it to the others.Being a woman, myself I feel like I have a stronger connection with my topic because I could be categorized as well as other girls my age in the range how the Pimps choose their girls. I could not imagine myself in the position that hundreds of girls find themselves everyday. Spreading awareness on the topic is the way people are going to be more involved with the stop of Sex Trafficking. How is something going to be stopped if its only been advertised as a good thing, when in true reality it is the complete opposite. References Frundt, T. (n. d. ).Enslaved in America: Sex trafficking in the United States. WFN, Retrieved from http://www. womensfundingnetwork. org/resource/past-art icles/enslaved-in-america-sex-trafficking-in-the-united-states Kennedy, B. (2010). Would legalizing prostitution help the us economy?. Retrieved from http://money. msn. com/now/post. aspx? post=49c1f746-9b02-4ba4-a60f-67d3ccc1a6b5 Zurita, B. (2012). Legalization or harm reduction of prostitution and sexual trafficking. Retrieved from http://www. cwfa. org/articledisplay. asp? id=12632&department=BLI&categoryid=dotcommentary

Profile of the Roman Emperor Nero

Profile of the Roman Emperor Nero Nero was the last of the Julio-Claudians, that most important family of Rome that produced the first 5 emperors (Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero). Nero is famed for watching while Rome burned, then using the devastated area for his own luxurious palace, and then blaming the conflagration on the Christians, whom he persecuted. While his predecessor, Claudius, was accused of letting slaves guide his policy, Nero was accused of letting the women in his life, especially his mother, guide his. This wasnt considered an improvement. Family and Upbringing of Nero Nero Claudius Caesar (originally Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus) was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, sister of the future emperor Caligula, in Antium, on December 15, A.D. 37. Domitius died when Nero was 3. Caligula banished his sister, and so Nero grew up with his paternal aunt, Domitia Lepida, who chose a barber (tonsor) and a dancer (saltator) for Neros tutors. When Claudius became emperor after Caligula, Neros inheritance was returned, and when Claudius married Agrippina, a proper tutor, Seneca, was hired for young Nero. Neros Career Nero might have had a successful career as an entertainer, but that was not to be at least officially. Under Claudius, Nero pleaded cases in the forum and was given opportunities to ingratiate himself with the Roman people. When Claudius died, Nero was 17. He presented himself to the palace guard, who pronounced him emperor. Nero then went to the ​Senate, which gave him the appropriate imperial titles. As emperor, Nero served as consul 4 times. Compassionate Elements of Neros Reign Nero reduced heavy taxes and fees paid to informers. He gave salaries to impoverished senators. He introduced certain fire-preventing and fire-fighting innovations. Suetonius says Nero devised a method of forgery prevention. Nero also replaced public banquets with grain distribution. His response to people criticizing his artistic skills was mild. Some Charges Against Nero Some of Neros infamous acts, which led to rebellion in the provinces, included inflicting punishments on Christians (and blaming them for the devastating fire in Rome), sexual perversions, marauding and murdering Roman citizens, building the extravagant Domus Aurea Golden House, charging citizens with treason to confiscate their property, murdering his mother and aunt, and causing (or at least performing while watching) the burning of Rome. Nero gained notoriety for inappropriately performing. It is said that as he died, Nero lamented that the world was losing an artist. Death of Nero Nero committed suicide before he could be captured and flogged to death. Revolts in Gaul and Spain had promised to bring Neros reign to an end. Almost all his staff deserted him. Nero tried to kill himself, but required the assistance of his scribe, Epaphrodite, to stab himself in the neck. Nero died at the age of 32. Ancient Sources on Nero Tacitus describes the reign of Nero, but his Annals end before the last 2 years of Neros reign. Cassius Dio (LXI-LXIII) and Suetonius also provide biographies of Nero. Tacitus on Nero and the Fire Tacitus on the Modifications Nero Made to Building After the Fire of Rome (15.43)... The buildings themselves, to a certain height, were to be solidly constructed, without wooden beams, of stone from Gabii or Alba, that material being impervious to fire. And to provide that the water which individual license had illegally appropriated, might flow in greater abundance in several places for the public use, officers were appointed, and everyone was to have in the open court the means of stopping a fire. Every building, too, was to be enclosed by its own proper wall, not by one common to others. These changes which were liked for their utility, also added beauty to the new city. Some, however, thought that its old arrangement had been more conducive to health, inasmuch as the narrow streets with the elevation of the roofs were not equally penetrated by the suns heat, while now the open space, unsheltered by any shade, was scorched by a fiercer glow.​​ -Â  Annals of Tacitus Tacitus on Neros Blaming the Christians (15.44).... But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mo ckery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car.​ -Â  Annals of Tacitus

The Life of Alexandre Dumas, Classic Adventure Writer

The Life of Alexandre Dumas, Classic Adventure Writer French author  Alexandre Dumas (born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie; July 24, 1802 – December 5, 1870) wrote novels that came to epitomize the adventure genre. In works such as  The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas eschewed historical accuracy and literary elegance to craft stories that  delivered non-stop action.   Fast Facts: Alexandre Dumas Born: July 24, 1802 in Soissons, FranceDied: December 5, 1870 in Dieppe, FranceOccupation: WriterNotable Works:  The Count of Monte Cristo,  The Three Musketeers,  The Corsican BrothersLiterary Movements: Historical fiction, Romanticism  Famous Quote: All human wisdom is summed up  in these  two words,- Wait and hope. (The Count of Monte Cristo) Early Years Born in France in 1802, Dumas was the son of famed general Thomas-Alexandre Davy de La Pailleterie and the grandson of Marie Cà ©sette Dumas, an enslaved woman of African descent. His last name, Dumas, was adopted from his grandmother.  Although the family enjoyed some rank and connection due to General Dumas’ lineage and fame, they were not at all wealthy, and their situation worsened in 1806, when General Dumas died of cancer.   Without much money for an education, Dumas managed to educate himself and take advantage of family connections. When the French monarchy was restored after Napoleon’s final defeat, Dumas made his way to Paris in 1822 to make a living, intending initially to work as a lawyer. He found work in the household of the Duke of Orleans, a future king of France. A Revolutionary Playwright   Dumas was not satisfied with his new position in the household of the Duke of Orleans. He  almost immediately began writing plays, collaborating with the actor Franà §ois-Joseph Talma. His plays were instant hits, written in a raucous, energetic style filled with violence and dramatic plot twists. Dumas made enough money from the plays and articles he published in magazines that he was able to become a full-time writer by 1830. When a second revolution seized France, Dumas took up arms. He fought in the streets to dethrone Charles X in favor of his former employer, the Duke of Orleans, who became King Louis-Phillippe. Novelist and Collaborator Dumas began working in the novel format in the late 1830s. Noting that newspapers were publishing serial novels, he reworked one of his existing plays into a novel, Le Capitaine Paul. He soon founded a studio and hired writers to work on ideas and outlines that he generated, thus inventing  a business model still followed by some writers today.   Historians disagree about the  extent of his collaborators contributions, but there is no doubt that Dumas energetically increased his output by relying on other writers to flesh out ideas and sometimes write large portions of his books. This process allowed him to maximize his income and become incredibly prolific as a writer. (The fact that Dumas was frequently paid by the word or line is reflected in the surfeit of dialog in his books.) During the 1840s, Dumas’ major novels were written and published. Those works, which include  The Fencing Master, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers,  exemplify Dumas’ style: explosive opening action, endless excitement, no-frills writing, and a serial format.  The plots are not strictly formed; instead, they meander, resisting typical  narrative structures. The characters  are defined by their actions, rather than an internal monologue or other psychological factors. In all, Dumas published a remarkable amount of material:  more than 100,000 pages of novels, plays, articles, travelogues, and other writings. Personal Life Dumas married  Ida Ferrier in 1840, but historians believe that he had  nearly 40 mistresses and fathered anywhere from four to seven children in his lifetime.  Dumas only acknowledged one son, also named Alexandre Dumas, who became a celebrated author in his own right. Dumas  spent exorbitantly during his lifetime, at one point building a chateau that cost 500,000 gold francs. (At the time, the average laborer earned about 2-3 francs per day.)  As a result of his lifestyle, Dumas ran out of money in later life, despite his many successes. He wrote several poorly-received novels in an effort to drum up more income.   Death and Legacy Dumas died after suffering from a stroke in 1870. It is believed that he may have contracted syphilis at some point in his life, and that the disease may have contributed to his death. Prolific and energetic, Dumas produced historical adventure stories that have endured long after loftier works have faded into obscurity. His focus on action, his disdain for psychological exploration, and his sheer fluidity with language have made several of his novels all-time classics that are still read, taught, and adapted today.   Sources â€Å"David Coward on Alexandre Dumas.† The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Apr. 2003, www.theguardian.com/books/2003/apr/16/alexandredumaspere.Tonkin, Boyd. â€Å"The Role of Race in the Life and Literature of Alexandre Dumas: The Episode That Inspired the Man behind the Musketeers.†Ã‚  The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 16 Jan. 2014,  www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-role-of-race-in-the-life-and-literature-of-alexandre-dumas-the-episode-that-inspired-the-man-9065506.html.Università © De Montrà ©al - IForum - Forum Express - Vol 4 No 1 - French Studies - Quebecer Discovers an Unpublished Manuscript by Alexandre Dumas,  www.iforum.umontreal.ca/ForumExpress/Archives/vol4no1en/article02_ang.html.Wallace, Irving. The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People. Feral House, 2008.

Flash V. Illumination Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Flash V. Illumination Industries - Essay Example In the matter of the wrongful price quotation of the computerized board, the legal team deems the contact entered into between Flash and Mack as being invalid since Mack does not have express authority to enter into such a contract. This argument is based upon the law of agency in which Mack as a contractor does not have actual authority for actions undertaken. Relevant Rules Under the law of agency, Mack is an independent contractor. Mack is a special agent since he undertakes specific assignments for Illumination Industries upon request. The general principle applied in agency law is that a principal is liable for actions undertaken by the agent if the actions fall within the authority of the agent to enter into such agreements. The issue of authority is thus of utmost importance in determining liability of the principal in contracts or actions entered into by the agent. The agent may have authority as a result of express conferment or through implication. In tort litigation the th ird party cannot claim any damages from the principal unless it can be proved that the agent’s actions were within the scope of authority in the contract. Express actual authority entails that the agent has been explicitly given authority to undertake actions on behalf of the principal. There is also the principle of implied actual authority. This is the authority that the contractor has to have if he is to perform his obligations in the required manner. This is exemplified in Ireland v. Livingstone in which the court ruled that the principal is only liable to actions which are expressly authorized by the contract. The principle of implied actual authority is however subject to personal opinion. In the matter of whether Illumination Industries ought to pay for the negligent acts of Mack, the defense team relies upon the principle of independent contractors. The principal is in law not vicariously liable for the negligent actions of the agent since the principal lacks the crit ical relationship found under employer employee. The principal would not be able to exercise the supervisory and control function in the instance of an independent contractor. There is however exceptions to this rule in instances where the actions of the contractor results into injury to a person in the real property of the principal; the contractor’s work involves potentially dangerous activity; and in instances in which the principal acted in a manner to suggest the contractor was an employee or an agent. Arguments Under the law of agency, Illumination Industries is not liable for actions undertaken by Mack since Mack is an independent contractor. Mack is an independent contractor since the nature of his work with Illumination industries is intermittent and he decides on what kinds of jobs to accept. Mack as an independent contractor does not have the authority to make quotations on the prices of goods which Illuminating Industries is to pay since he does not have the power of agent. The plaintiff may however argue that Illuminating industries had delegated authority to Mack in order to complete the job. In arguing that the job in its entirety had been delegated to Mack the plaintiffs fail to take into consideration that some aspects of agency such as the monetary aspects cannot be implied. This aspect of the independent contractor must be expressly provided by the principal and should not be by implication. In the matter

Condition monitoring - fault detection and diagnosis Literature review

Condition monitoring - fault detection and diagnosis - Literature review Example Hybrids of SVM methods such as combined SVM (CSVM) have been used extensively for process control such as in the Eastman process. Results indicate the superiority of SVM based methods over other methods of control (Tafazzoli & Saif, 2009). SVM methods have been employed extensively in order to classify reciprocating compressor faults. SVM methods were employed in order to classify faults of reciprocating refrigeration compressors through the application of wavelet transform and statistical methods. Significant features were extracted from both raw noise signals and vibration signals. The selection of relevant RBF kernel parameters was carried out through iteration (Yang et al., 2005). In a similar application, SVM methods were applied to reciprocating compressors butterfly valves to classify cavitation faults (Yang et al., 2005). A comparable research was performed on reciprocating compressor valves to classify faults through vibration signals alone. Data for this purpose was gathered from the surface of the valve and the resulting vibration signals were decomposed by applying local wave methods (Ren et al., 2005). One of the larger problems posed by reciprocating compressor valves is the non stationary and non linear characteristics of the extracted vibration signals. In order to deal with the non stationary and non linear nature of such data, information entropy with good fault tolerance potential was utilised as the feature parameter fed to a SVM. This was utilised as being a comprehensive characteristic of the raw vibration signal. The resulting decision function was used to solve the limits of traditional fault classifications. The added strength of the SVM was its ability to be trained with only a few input samples to deal with multiple new faults (Chen & Lian, 2010). The small linear pattern recognition performance and relatively small data sets extracted from reciprocating