Athenian Democracy 4 free essay sample

Who really made our type of government? We surely didn’t. It was amazingly the people of Athens. It started in 508 BC and is still around as we use it. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive bills in their own right Participation was not at all open, but the in-group of participants was constituted with no reference to economic class and they participated on a scale that was truly phenomenal. The public opinion of voters was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theaters. Only adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training as ephebes had the right to vote in Athens. We have had that and many other laws changed around the government. In our government every few years the people vote on new people to represent them, hence the name â€Å"Representative† Democracy. We will write a custom essay sample on Athenian Democracy 4 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However the Athenian people also voted on some of their leaders but that was done in the Agora, which is where every male land owner who is over the age of twenty would meet. This meeting was called the assembly. The assembly could be best related to our State Representatives. Then just above them was the council of 500, who monitored the assembly and gave them topics to discuss, as well as bills to vote on. Above the council of 500 come the Magistrates. The Magistrates job can be best described as the â€Å"Police in the Government. † Their job is to ensure that all the laws are being followed and act accordingly when they are not. The Magistrates, despite the amount of power that they hold, are still not the highest government official in the Athenian democracy, after them comes the Council of the 10 Generals. The Council of 10 Generals was in charge of the military. The Athens didn’t start by being a democratic city. It was started by Cleisthenes whose reforms turned Athens from an oligarchy (government by the few) to a democracy (government of the people). The key to Athenian democracy was Cleisthenes redrawing of the social-political landscape of Athens and Attica. The chief magistrate of the city was often called the Archon eponymous or ruler. His responsibilities included conducting investigations of legal cases, in particular those that involved the state. He was responsible for protecting the orphans and heiresses with no family and to appoint the choregos who was in charge of organizing the religious festivals. The move towards democracy reflects other changes in society. In the prehistoric period, throughout Greece, aristocratic families have provided the main fighting force, as cavalry. In the seventh century the Greek city-states develop the new military idea of the heavily armed soldier, the hoplite. A remorseless phalanx of hoplites becomes as effective on the battlefield as the tank in modern times. These soldiers provide their own weapons and armor, but this is expensive. Several of the Greek oligarchies, including that of Athens in the sixth century, reflect the power of this middle class of citizens. A strategic change of direction by Athens, early in the fifth century, gives these poorer citizens a new power. The military effort is diverted into building up an Athenian navy. Triremes, the fast warships of the time, need men to row them. Suddenly every citizen has a part to play, and the crews of a fleet of warships have a self-evident political strength. A more radical democracy, introduced by Pericles in 462, is almost an inevitable result. Approximately one hundred officials out of a thousand were elected rather than chosen by lot. There were two main categories in this group: those required to handle large sums of money, and the 10 generals, the strategy. One reason that financial officials were elected was that any money embezzled could be recovered from their estates; election in general strongly favored the rich, but in this case wealth was virtually a prerequisite. Generals were elected not only because their role required expert knowledge but also because they needed to be people with experience and contacts in the wider Greek world where wars were fought. In the fifth century BC, principally as seen through the figure of Pericles, the generals could be among the most powerful people in the polis. Yet in the case of Pericles, it is wrong to see his power as coming from his long series of annual generalships (each year along with nine others). His office holding was rather an expression and a result of the influence he wielded. That influence was based on his relation with the assembly, a relation that first lay simply in the right of any citizen to stand and speak before the people. Under the fourth century version of democracy the roles of general and of key political speaker in the assembly tended to be filled by different persons. In part this was a consequence of the increasingly specialized forms of warfare practiced in the later period. Elected officials too were subject to review before holding office and scrutiny after office. They too could be removed from office any time the assembly met. In one case from the fifth century BC the 10 treasurers of the Delian league (the Hellenotamiai) were accused at their scrutinies of misappropriation of funds. Put on trial, they were condemned and executed one by one until before the trial of the tenth and last an error of accounting was discovered, allowing him to go free.

Free Essays on Social Psychology

Social psychology attempts to understand the relationship between minds, groups, and behaviors in three general ways. First, it tries to see how the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. This includes social perception, social interaction, and the many kinds of social influence (like trust, power, and persuasion). Gaining insight into the social psychology of persons involves looking at the influences that individuals have on the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of other individuals, as well as the influence that groups have on individuals. Second, it tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviors have upon the behavior of groups. This includes looking at things like group productivity in the workplace and group decision making. Third, and finally, social psychology tries to understand groups themselves as behavioral entities, and the relationships and influences that one group has upon another group. On the one hand, Social psychology can be said to try to bridge the gap between disciplines. It can be said to be co-disciplinary with sociology and psychology, providing overlapping theories and research methods in order to form a clearer and more robust picture of social life. However, social psychologists have different perspectives on what ought to be emphasized in the field. Social psychological work can be approached with the interests and the emphases of both psychology and sociology in mind. As a result, the discipline can be split in three general subfields, which concentrate on the relative importance of some subjects over others. As sociological social psychology, this looks at the social behavior of humans in terms of associations and relationships that they have. This type leans toward sociology. One offshoot of this perspective is the Personality and Social Structure Perspective, which emphasizes the li... Free Essays on Social Psychology Free Essays on Social Psychology Social psychology attempts to understand the relationship between minds, groups, and behaviors in three general ways. First, it tries to see how the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. This includes social perception, social interaction, and the many kinds of social influence (like trust, power, and persuasion). Gaining insight into the social psychology of persons involves looking at the influences that individuals have on the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of other individuals, as well as the influence that groups have on individuals. Second, it tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviors have upon the behavior of groups. This includes looking at things like group productivity in the workplace and group decision making. Third, and finally, social psychology tries to understand groups themselves as behavioral entities, and the relationships and influences that one group has upon another group. On the one hand, Social psychology can be said to try to bridge the gap between disciplines. It can be said to be co-disciplinary with sociology and psychology, providing overlapping theories and research methods in order to form a clearer and more robust picture of social life. However, social psychologists have different perspectives on what ought to be emphasized in the field. Social psychological work can be approached with the interests and the emphases of both psychology and sociology in mind. As a result, the discipline can be split in three general subfields, which concentrate on the relative importance of some subjects over others. As sociological social psychology, this looks at the social behavior of humans in terms of associations and relationships that they have. This type leans toward sociology. One offshoot of this perspective is the Personality and Social Structure Perspective, which emphasizes the li...

Athlete and (a type of supplement) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Athlete and (a type of supplement) - Essay Example The study aimed to asses the effect of these on strength, body composition, and plasma glutamine levels during a 10 week, supervised resistance training program. The results revealed that there was no change in plasma glutamine levels in either group. The group, which received whey isolate, showed a significantly greater gain in lean mass, change in fat mass and improvements in strength, when compared to the group, which received casein. Burke et al., 2001, assessed the muscular adaptations, which occurred in 36 males randomly assigned to supplementation with whey protein alone, whey protein and creatine monohydrate, or placebo. The results indicated that the group, which supplemented with whey protein, had greater improvement in knee extension peak torque and lean tissue mass than those who trained with placebo. Those who supplemented with a combination of whey protein and creatine had greater increases in lean tissue mass and bench press than those who supplemented with only whey protein or placebo. However, it was noted that not all strength measures were improved with supplementation; the group who supplemented with creatine and/or whey protein and the placebo group had similar increases in squat strength and knee flexion peak torque. Cribb et al., 2007, aimed to examine the effects of whey protein (WP) and creatine monohydrate (CrM) (both separately and in combination), on body composition, muscle strength, fiber-specific hypertrophy (i.e., type I, IIa, IIx), and contractile protein accrual during a 11-week structured, supervised RE program. This was a double-blind randomized study involving resistance-trained males placed into one of the four groups: creatine/carbohydrate (CrCHO), creatine/whey protein (CrWP), whey protein (WP) only, or carbohydrate only (CHO). Assessments (completed the week before and after the RE program) included strength (1RM, three exercises), body composition (DEXA), and vastus lateralis

Comparative Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Comparative Justice - Essay Example tries to delve into the basis of the US legal system, it becomes lucidly clear that the US legal system as per the Judi-Christian tradition, traces its origins in relation to some divine power. The US notions of justice, fairness and honesty have their moorings in the Biblical texts. Similarly, the Islamic law traces its origins to the Holy Quran and the Islamic legal system believes law to be an expression of the will of God (Terrill, 2009). The other pivotal fact is that the US legal system tends to employ the tool of law to shape a specific type of society that is in consonance with the essential American values and ethics. In other words, In America, the law is also considered to be a means of shaping and constructing a desirable society. In that context, the purpose of Islamic law is also the same. The Islamic law also intends to shape a society that is in consonance with the quintessential Islamic values, ethics and aspirations. However, there exist also marked differences between the Islamic legal system and the US legal system. The US legal system tends to guide and restrain the actions of its denizens within a defined social domain. In contrast, the Islamic legal system not only pertains to the legal rights and obligations of its citizens but also tends to define their ethical aspirations. In other words an Islamic legal system not only governs as to what its citizens could do, but also defines as to what they cannot do (Terrill, 2009, p. 612). The second thing is that the US legal system is subservient to the requirements of the time and social circumstances that is the US law is open to relative interpretations. However, the Islamic legal system considers Sharia to be an expression of the will of God that is sacrosanct and unchangeable in all times and societies (Terrill, 2009, p. 598). As per the Islamic legal system, it is not the law that is subservient to the requirements of the society, but rather it is the society that is to mould itself as per

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons Research Paper

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons - Research Paper Example As such, the Iranian government continued with their projects to generate energy meant to serve its population that was more than 75 million, where political and other aspects took over the thinking portion over nuclear technology. Following this, political forces came into being, where they viewed nuclear technology as more than a technology meant to generate energy and power for its people. This became the driving force away from mere energy production and into production of nuclear weapons, a project that America and other world powers are against. Estimates to nuclear capability in recent times show that Iran stands a good chance to develop their uranium and include it in the production of weapons of mass destruction. This is especially so for nuclear weapons, as there is evidence in recent suggesting that the country stands a chance to begin uranium enrichment. Reasons for the pursuit of nuclear weaponry by Iran lie in the attempts by American to impose their opinions and ideolo gies on Iranians through their support for their initial nuclear project. This created the idea that the Iranians were being sidelined in their own land and in their own projects in that to them the Americans intended to take over that which belonged to them. With this in mind, the main cause that can be attributed to the deviation from the original plan can be seen in the prisoners of insecurity. This is because with nuclear power, where power stands for nuclear capability in weapons, the Iranians stand a chance to have power to eliminate threats and not be victims of world powers influencing them. In addition, the move from nuclear power to pursuits of nuclear weapons can be attributed to an aspiration of prestige, where Iran and Iraq have a bitter rivalry for the control or power in the Persian Gulf region (Dorraj 326). With nuclear capabilities, Iran stands a chance to overcome other regional and international powers, where it can manage to negotiate its way into and out of deal s that are not suitable. This also translates to international recognition as a nuclear arsenal has helped some countries into positions of power on an international scale as it also depicts the presence of technological advancement. The reasons for Iran having pursuits for nuclear weapons can therefore be attributed to image of Iran towards the outside world and the international community, as well as the state of security of the country from external forces. The consequences of Iran and its pursuits of nuclear weapons have been sanctions against Iran, where policy makers have been formulating sanctions to curb the spread of the nuclear pursuits and prevent its development. Sanctions have been employed by the US, where it has used its foreign policy to ensure that it threatens Iran against developing nuclear weapons, where its economic ability has been the main weapon. As a result, the United States has sanctioned Iran by curtailing political, economic and diplomatic relations as i t is considered to use its nuclear capabilities to fund and support terrorist activities, as well as oppose Israel (Cohen 10). The sanctions, however, have not worked to ensure that the pursuit ceases as the sanctioned aspects of Iran have been taken over by other countries that have sought to take over that which ten Americans and other countries t

Analysis Of Claude Steeles Whistling Vivaldi

Analysis Of Claude Steeles Whistling Vivaldi This semester has proven to be a very useful for the development of both my reading and writings skills. For me, as for a person who merely five months ago came from a country where English language is known by a few, this experience was vital in a way that it opened up the secrets of effective reading, writing and analyzing in English language. Before taking the College Writing course I had a hard time understanding the proper writing process, which seemed very vague to me, but as I began taking my first steps in trying to understand it I have realized that it was only fear that took over me. Although many would think that the final result is only what matters, for me the process was more engaging. The course has offered a wide range of reading and writing techniques and styles, thus taught me to transfer my ideas to paper clearly and effectively. However, applying theory in practice would have been much harder if there were not the preparatory writing assignments that we had throug hout semester. The essays and papers we wrote throughout semester helped me to trace my progress in writing process. They helped me comfortably and very efficiently write papers based on academic journals and articles. In the beginning of the semester, one of my weaknesses was the organization of sentences and paragraphs. The process of writing an essay has changed over the semester. At first I would start writing essay by putting all of my ideas onto paper thus making an inappropriate organization. But having realized the importance of making a thesis statement I have less trouble organizing main points of each paragraph. Even though it is hard to develop a solid and clear thesis, I understand its significance as it states the argument that reader will be reading. The first major assignment that we did this semester was the paper on Robert Sapolskys Ego Boundaries, or the Fit of My Fathers Shirt. This assignment was unique in its nature, as it demanded us to deeply analyze each and every part of the text: summarize it, reflect upon the ideas of the text by explaining them, and finally exploring our own experiences with those ideas. Clearly, the assignments goal was to teach us the proper way to understand texts, and integrate ideas that are present in texts with our own lives. I have to admit that in the beginning I had no idea how to complete the assignment, but with the clear directions that were provided, I managed to do it. It was very surprising when I realized that the writing process for this paper was very mechanical and precise. Before this paper, I always thought that writing such complicated papers required a lot of imagination, which I thought I did not have. However, now I understand that all that I needed to do is to read the tex t thoroughly, brainstorm for ideas, and to formulate the final version of the paper based on my ideas and on drafts that I previously wrote. I felt a huge satisfaction and relief after completion of the assignment, because I have learnt a huge lesson for myself from this assignment and I was ready for this type of tasks in the future. However, as confident as I felt after completing the Sapolsky paper, I had never imagined that there were different approaches to writing these kinds of essays. One of the major tasks was to write an essay based on a very complicated book by Ervin Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This book was intended for large audiences with no particular knowledge about the study of psychology. Nevertheless, the text was very difficult to analyze as it contained many complicated words, intricate sentence structure, and allusions to other works on similar topics. . I felt overwhelmed by reading long and complicated literature because I thought I needed to remember every single detail that I read. However I learned to highlight the main ideas as I read so that I could go back and find details if I needed to recall on them for my essay. Due to this technique, I improved my analytical skill tremendously and was able to extract the main ideas throughout the text, and combine them to w rite a decent essay. The primary difficulties I faced doing this task were the abundance of scientific terms and the overall difficulty of the text. In order to understand the text, I had to read it carefully, part by part, so that I could get the connection between the ideas in the text. By taking notes every time I encountered something interesting and provoking, I managed to construct the outline for the essay. Then, writing the essay itself became much easier since I had all the ideas on my notes. The only thing I had to do to finish the assignment was to assemble the notes and combine them in meaningful sentences and in correct order to provide the essay with a proper flow and preciseness. The course has offered a wide range of reading and writing techniques and styles, thus helping me formulate the notion of clear, rich, and focused writing. The essays and papers we wrote this semester helped me formulate my own writing process, with help of which I can comfortably and very efficiently write papers based on academic readings that the university classes offer. As far as I am concerned, I have become a much more attentive reader and a much better writer since I took this class. I have to admit that I was rather skeptical about what the class had to offer me, but now I understand how important it was for me to be a part of this class and had such a valuable experience. With the knowledge that I have acquired during this semester, I am very eager to start working on papers and essays regarding my own field of specialization. Understanding other peoples stories In his article Understanding Other People Stories Roger Schank discusses the challenges people encounter when trying to understand each other. According to Schank, people frequently do not understand what others tell them. It is easier to remember a notion or a belief if it is told in a form of a story. He presents a theory that all the information, experience and events we understand are incorporated in a story that that we remember and share with others. Schank states that understanding means to respond to the speakers stories with stories of listeners own memory. People learn from stories if they can relate it to something that they previously knew. Moreover, we truly understand a new story only if it made us reexamine our previous stories. Throughout the text author talks about different things that are important to know about understanding other peoples stories. There is an interesting point that the author describes is a selective listening. People hear only some parts of the stories they are told and tend to listen to the ones that interest them. The reason for that is that we care about topics that we can understand and relate to. We cannot think of about all the possible ramifications of something we are being told. So we pay attention to what interests us (Schank, 374). He presents a notion about index, which is a kind of symbol that helps people classify all the stories they have in the memory. Schank describes it as [a]n index is a juxtaposition of another persons beliefs, made evident by statements or actions, with ones own beliefs (Schank, 380). We use them to label some stories of beliefs that we had before in our system of values. Furthermore, the author describes the topic about the way people understand stories as that they do it by reflecting their own stories onto the speakers stories. Understanding process of other peoples stories involves identifying ourselves to our own memories. We can use our own stories to confirm the beliefs of others that were imposed on a particular object. An example of this is my recent conversation with my parents. Last time using Skype, we were talking about my new life at Berkeley. I told them my story of getting used to my new environment that involved the difficulties and obstacles that I struggled with during the first month. There were a lot of challenges; I told them that it is really hard to study abroad, and particularly at such a place as Berkeley. I have troubles with a lot of things ranging from studying unfamiliar subjects to living in the dorm. Interestingly, their response was recalling their own time when they were students in college as I am now. And what they told me is that everybody goes through this process that I am neither the first one nor the last one. The academic year will pass quickly before I even notice it. I just need to be patient and do my best to succeed in college. I found their answer interesting, since I could see the relation of it to the idea that people understand stories by reflecting their own stories. My parents reflected my story to their own experience when they were in college. They saw my story as a story about them as a Subject 5 from the text did. They found an index of studying at college is difficult time and that everyone goes through this process. As a result they just confirmed their previously held beliefs about hard time at university. This is an example of the process when people understand a story by recalling their own memories. Another interesting idea that the author highlights in the article is that people often misunderstand other peoples stories by relating their own experience to the new story. When the listener hears a new story he finds an old story from his memory, which he can use to relate it to. However, the idea is that we usually find only one principle to relate a story, because it is enough for us. That is why each person understands stories in a different way. A good example of that could be how I personally got confused when I was reading Robert Sapolskys Ego boundaries or the Fit of my Father Shirt. At first, I misunderstood the nitroglycerin bottle as the bottle containing the ashes of the authors father. This happened because of the word frailty, which I thought to be remains of his father, but having discussed this article in the class I realized that this was just a medicine that his father used to take. This misunderstanding happened because of my previous experiences with the word fr ailty. I related the context of the text as a story about people who hold ashes of their ancestors in a vase, since it is important and sacred remains of their loved ones. Because I initially knew a story about such people I just related it to the new story that I have read. My index was that people remember and honor deceased relatives in way of storing their ashes. I had a belief that people often keep the ashes of their ancestors after the death, so that they have some part of the deceased person to relate to him. Thus recalling a previously known story to understand a new one led me to misunderstanding the core context. This example proves the idea that people often misunderstand stories by reflecting their own meanings on it. To learn from the story you need to enhance the old story with details that you matched with a new one. Because people tend to understand other peoples stories mainly through reflecting the stories they previously knew, the question then arises: How do people get beyond this circle of understanding and learning new things? Schank answers this with a contradictory approach. He argues that it happens due to irregularity in understanding stories. By not fully understanding the story they learn something new easily since that piece of information gets stuck in their memories for a while when they identify the mistake afterwards., as he points this out, [w]e really only learn when the stories we hear relate to beliefs that we feel rather unsure of, ones that we are flirting with at the moment, so to speak. When we are wondering, consciously or unconsciously, about the truthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, then the evidence provided by others can be of some use (Schank, 388). Schank believes that people c an learn something new only when they ask questions and analyze their views. For example, in the Sapolskys article Ego boundaries or the Fit of my Father Shirt, the author describes the relationship with his father, and the way he thought about his father as a mentally ill person. He tries to use his previously known stories such as scientific knowledge of the disorders to explain the illness of his father. His index is that science can explain everything. He uses his understanding of mental disorder to examine the behavior of his father. As a result, Sapolsky considers his father as a scientific case not as a father. Using his scientific knowledge he tries to explain that his father had split brain disorder that led to vanishing of his ego boundaries. However, through the process, he realizes that he is not able to justify his previously believed thoughts about his father as a mentally ill patient, because the science could not answer all of the questions the author had. In the end he understands that the problem was not in the diagnosis, but in the attitude towards the problems he had with his father. Thus, he teaches himself a new story: by reexamining his previously held beliefs about an index that scientific approach can explain everything in the life. In the conclusion we can see that the process of understanding other peoples stories is complicated. Understanding involves such process as indexing, finding old stories to relate, and reflecting them to the new ones. We usually do it by relating our own stories to the new stories that we hear, but finding similar elements in our own story and the story being told is different to all people. Therefore, we learn from new stories if we rethink our previously held beliefs. The Role of Thefts in Theft The main topic in Joyce Carol Oatess Theft are the different kinds of thefts. Theft in the story appears to take both physical and intangible forms such as stealing pens, wallets, personalities, authority and reputation. Theft is a zero-sum game with no win-win outcome. That is a fundamental idea which lies throughout Oates story. Peoples vulnerabilities, bad habits and motivations of hatred are resembled through these thefts. The author presents several facts of theft to allow a reader to analyze motives of a thief, his/her psychology and consequences of such their acts. The main character, a college sophomore, Marya Knauer has a complex and ambiguous attitude towards theft. She perceives it as a weakness, which prevails over her sense of moral duty and voice of reason, but also as a tool that she believes can empower her. Her first stealing experience began with silly little shoplifting expeditions which insensibly rose into a sequence of spontaneous, rash and pointless thefts (143). Admittedly, stealing gave her a feeling of elation and triumph when she appropriated someones genuinely valuable possessions. It can be inferred that Marya clearly understood that her habit to steal was disgusting but she could not resist any opportunity to do so. It seems she sought excitement and a dose of adrenaline by getting involved in risky and morally unacceptable affairs. Moreover, Marya considered theft as an act of liberating herself when her personal life was constrained and dictated by others will, when she had had to submit to the routine schedule of Wilmas household and she was living her life as it were nothing more than an extension of theirs (142). Stealing made her feel free because she could transgress the bounds of decency, disregard rules, and neglect prohibitions without being caught and taken into accountability. She could hardly fight her impulse even though her euphoria lasted fraction of a second. For Marya stealing was a way of seeking revenge from people who tried to take advantage from her. She stole a pen from a professor who did not give her a good grade, because he lost some of her work during grading. Having put much effort in studying, she took everything too seriously what resulted in professor calling her rather grim as she was always thinking only about academics. The reaction to such rude remark was her lying about her mo ther serious illness and stealing the professors pen. Marya felt her pulses were beating hot, in triumphed for a way of defeating the professor for the words he said and for the grades he gave (158). Moreover, she did not feel guilty or ashamed because she believed that professor deserved this. She started using this pen signing her name repeatedly, hypnotically: Marya, Marya, Marya Knauer, Marya Marya Marya Knauer, a name that eventually seemed to have been signed by someone else, a stranger (159). She saw this act of stealing as triumph over the professor, who tried to hurt Maryas identity. Interestingly, theft takes on a more sophisticated form when it comes to reading. The reading she did acquired an aura, a value, a mysterious sort of enchantment (142). It was perceived as a forbidden fruit, something illicit, precious beyond estimation (142). Indeed, she could be completely immersed in reading, slipping out of her consciousness and into that of the writers (142). She found herself entirely absorbed into writers ideas and mentality as if her mind was led by an invisible hand, and that experience was electrifying and hypnotizing. It prompted her to conceive life as an ephemeral and to regard everything as superficial and trivial. Mere life was the husk, the actors performance, negligible in the long run (142). Reading as a process was equally elating and exciting as stealing but not criminal and risky. Maryas personality was splitting and she started losing authenticity while making her way through writers imagination, greedily reading every word as it was her own, tr eating every emotion, idea expressed and the plot itself as her own creation. Maryas addiction to reading can be expressed by absence of any intrigue in her personal life, which Oates describes as isolated, ascetic, and monotonous (143). Reading is treated as a one-sided relationship which she benefits from without giving anything back. When the book Marya read seemed to take life through her, she could get her emotions, which are usually experienced and nurtured through building relations with other people. The first theft that is depicted in the story happens with Marya, when her wallet with a month salary from part time job at university library and her favorite pen were stolen from her room in Maynard House. These incidents made Marya become anxious and angry, feeling unprotected before the real world. It ruined her previous impressions of the university life and made her very cautious and even distrustful for other students. Marya decided to isolate from the world by staying in her room all the time and reading every book she could find. (142). As a consequence she became a complete robot, having a derelict life, because she could not trust anyone in her dormitory anymore. Marys isolated living and unsocial behavior reflects her attitude towards friendship. She asserts that friendship is a waste of time on something ephemeral and not worthwhile (154). Marya is completely obsessed with studying; her energy is devoted to maintaining high grades. However, relationship with Imogene alters her perception of the friendship. It evolves from a friendly acquaintance to admiration, mutual benefit, envy, competition, ignorance and culminates in break up. Imogene is presented as a chameleon playing various roles in public, quickly adapting her behavior to changing circumstances, and changing her mood and attitudes frequently. Her inquisitive character and easygoing informality are seen by Marya as intrusion into her privacy, her secret isolation. Marya and Imogene become interdependent but they are not interested in the actual friendship. Maryas life changed drastically when she met Imogene Skillman. The first time when Imogene appeared in the dorm room, Marya was depressed and reduced the protection level from the world. Marya recognized from the first look that Imogene was somewhat unique person, not resembling other student on the campus. But Marya could not fully understand what Imogenes real personality was. After spending more time with Imogene, Marya still did not acknowledge that they are becoming friends. She always questioned herself if she appreciated Imogenes friendship and even accepted that she liked Prhyllis more (153). This girl majored in mathematics and lived next-door, and according to Maryas system of values of true friendship Philly was a best match as an appropriate company. In spite of Phyllis being more likeable friend, Marya could not stop thinking that she is more inclined towards Imogene. Marya is flattered by Imogenes attention; she accompanies her to coffee shop, meets with her friends trying to impress them. Marya cautiously succumbs to Imogenes admiration and tolerates flattery since she fears becoming dependent on her friendship, for dependency is equivalent to limited freedom. Her protest against Imogenes influence and domination is expressed in the intense concentration on her academic performance. She threw herself into work with more passion than before, eager to face challenges and vindicate that her intellectual achievements demonstrate her wealth, thus soft power (154). The difficulties in friendship that Marya and Imogene had with each other originate from different backgrounds they had before. First, Marya came from a poor family, where she had to obey restrictions and authority. On the contrary, Imogene being from a rich family had a nonchalant life with lots of freedom and opulence. The thefts that are illustrated in the story had a great influence on the development of the relationship between main characters. Thus, thefts caused Marya and Imogene to realize what true friendship is. However, Marya and Imogene have never become best friends, because Imogene, in contrast, had plans of her own about Marya. Imogene stole Maryas time by spending time in the coffee shops with her friends, stole characteristics of Maryas personality like mimicking in order to perform on stage, and rumored bad things about Maryas reputation. But when Marya realized that Imogene was using her for own purposes, she immediately felt deceived and angry. However, even though Marya understood Imogenes true intentions, she could not stop having relationships with Imogene. Marya discovered Imogenes true nature at the dinner in a sorority house where Marya was invited as a guest. When she heard that Imogene made Matthew write a paper on Chekhov for herself, Marya began suspecting the true Imogenes intentions and desires (163). Her suspicion grew up more when Marya knew about Imogenes cheating on her fiancà © with a stranger. Imogene did it on purpose to make Marya and Matthew jealous of her. After all these underprivileged activities of Imogene, Marya begins to realize that she has become Imogenes possession, a trophy displayed to her alleged admirers, just a decoration in her one-actor performance. Marya rethinks her concept of friendship writing that it is play-acting of an amateur type and a puzzle that demands too much of imagination (154). Maryas protest against Imogenes influence and domination is expressed in the stealing the earrings of Imogene the Aztec ones, the barbarian-princess ones (175). The author wittingly emphasizes the earrings design to show that they symbolize Imogenes social status, popularity and dominance on the campus. Stealing in this case epitomizes betrayal and presumably attempt to appropriate Imogenes privileges. Unlike Maryas previous inconsequential thefts this case has a major impact on both characters. She did it on purpose to get everyones attention to her, to show that Marya was stronger than all the disloyalties and intrigues against her. She even pierced her ears, risking infection and sickness, and showed everyone that she is truly a nut that cant be cracked (174). Marya felt triumphant, she did not fear being caught up and punished. In contrast, Marya had worn earrings everywhere, for everyone to see, to comment, and to admire and she had been amused at Imogenes shocked expression (17 6). That theft left no winner. Imogene and Maryas friendship was completely ruined. Both students driven by envy and competition have been contributing to gradual erosion of their relationship by covertly and sometimes explicitly stealing each others intangible possessions. Various thefts depicted in the story tell readers about the many different circumstances that Marya and Imogenes friendship had to go through. Marya Knauer is a vivid instance of a strong willed personality. Despite all of the hostile and embarrassing obstacles and actions towards her, she managed to overcome and keep the perfect record, so that to save her status and character unbroken. The effects of stereotype threats Whistling Vivaldi by Claude M. Steele is a thorough analysis of a concept known as identity contingency. According to Steele, contingencies are circumstances you have to deal with because of a given social identity. Identity contingencies from the authors perspective represent constraints, both formal and implicit, tied to social, ethnic, religious, gender or any other recognized identity (3). Identity contingencies negatively affect individuals since they deprive those prone to being stereotyped or discriminated of equal opportunities, and abilities. Steeles research interest in identity contingencies and the roles they play in peoples lives stems from his personal experience of segregation. He reflects on his childhood when he was a victim of racial order in the 1950s, which placed a number of restrictions tied to the identity, from housing and school segregation to employment discrimination (3). Those conditions made individuals feel their racial identities and deal with their neg ative implications in everyday life. Steele focuses his research on educational issues tied to identity contingencies and their influence on academic performance among minority college students. The author argues that identity contingencies and specifically stereotype threats negatively impact the intellectual abilities of students; moreover he encourages exploring and implementing solutions to alleviate the stress and underperformance in academic setting in order to help students succeed at university. The aim of the research is to prove the importance of identity contingencies and of understanding identity threat to personal and societal progress (Steele, p.15). Steele comes up with several general patterns of findings. The first is the role identity contingency have in shaping individual lives. The second suggests that their negative impact contributes to the most important social problems in society, thus undermining social integrity. Third is a general process by which stereotype threats interfere with a broad range of human functioning. Finally, they offer a set of solutions that can alleviate effects of the identity threats. At the forefront of Steeles analysis is a stereotype threat, a particular kind of identity contingency. He speculates that stereotype threat embodies a standard human predicament, powerful enough to constrain behavior simply by putting a threat in the air. It is a widespread phenomenon found in any given society and any potential identity group can become subjected to it. It can be applied to any situation to which stereotype is relevant. Thus, it follows members of the stereotyped group into these situations as a balloon over their heads (Steele, p. 5). The author asserts that it is hard to eradicate stereotype threats, though the pressure they impose on individuals can be eased. Stereotype threat is an intrinsic part of human interrelations, a tool used by individuals, driven by a basic instinct of competition. Unlike discrimination in its gross forms, stereotype threats are formed subconsciously to benefit privileges of one social group, competing for opportunity and decent life, at the expense of the other group. The correlation between identity contingency and intellectual performance, in particular academic, preoccupies Steele throughout his research. He sheds light on the issue of academic underperformance of students from underrepresented backgrounds. The problem he believes has repercussions at a nationwide level, even though people think they live in a racially fair and identity-fair society (212). He perceives it as a core American struggle, wherein institutions try to integrate themselves racially, ethnically, class-wise (Steele, p. 17). In his attempt to reveal what factors account for persistent academic struggles of minority students, Steele uses a concept known as observers actors perspective. The actors perspective emphasizes students characteristics, their intellectual luggage, aspirations, values, skills, and expectations. He accesses that the actors perspective can be essential in explaining underperformance since the observers perspective alone cannot provide the full pictur e of the problem. His research appeals to E. Jones and R. Nisbett concept of the difference between those two perspectives. They argued that the observers perspective is subject to bias because it stresses the things we can see, the actors traits and characteristics. But it deemphasizes these traits and characteristics which fall out of the observers literal and mental visual field, namely circumstances the actor responds to and the environment he has to adapt to. Steele believes that the actors perspective can offer a plausible explanation of the link between identity contingency and intellectual performance. The feedback he receives from minority students supports his view. Students noted the university environment, wherein their social status was subtly accentuated and social life which was organized by race, ethnicity, and social class. This organization led to a rather racially homogeneous teaching staff and faculty. As a result, their social networks were organized by race. They were also puzzle d by the fact that minority styles, interests and preferences were marginalized on campus (Steele, p. 19). Steele in his book presents several experiments conducted to demonstrate how stereotype threat indirectly affects behavior and interferes with physical or intellectual performance. Experiments he refers to, Michigan Athletic Aptitude Test and the one done at Princeton University, clearly show that the pressure stereotype threat is distracting enough to lead to individuals failure in particular task. The task in experiment measured the very trait and ability the group was stereotyped as lacking. Knowledge of the negative stereotypes relevance in the given situation made the assessed group fear that frustration on the task could be misinterpreted and seen as confirming the stereotype. Hence, any deviation in performance, whether mental or physical, or a false move could cause an individual to be reduced to the stereotype and treated accordingly. Steele admits that it is hard to prove that something abstract like stereotype threat can have a substantial effect on the individuals perform ance. Nonetheless, the research and experiments he undertakes supports his hypothesis of stereotype threats detrimental effect on individual performance. His research focus raises a number of thought-provoking questions about the ways stereotypes affect our intellectual functioning, stress reactions, and the tension that can exist between different groups. Moreover, he explores strategies that alleviate these effects in order to help solve societal problems (Steele, p. 13). Steele conducts an experiment to prove that academic achievement problem of minority students is not entirely due to skill and ability deficits. He contends that external factors and social and psychological aspects of academic experience can be powerful enough to directly or indirectly impair intellectual performance. Hence, the environment and status of a student can be an actual component of ability. Steele comes up with a stigmatization idea, an idea that a devalued social status can cause und

Argentina and Bose Corporation :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework Essays

Argentina and Bose Corporation Bose Corporation has had products of audio system, called â€Å"Home Theater System†. It’s a perfect audio system, just like or even better than the sound we can hear from movie theaters. On the system, there is a music center, which is connected to all input and output cables and a big amplifier, which controls the bass and treble. For your information, in music center, you can both enjoy the CD player and radio for basic functions; and outputs for surrounding sound quality for video watching, and tape listening. Categories: LifeStyle 30 & 25 & 20 & 12 & 8 & 5 & 3 *Below is the Picture of Bose LifeStyle 25 Home Theater System 1. Driving global forces: a) Market needs and wants: Many people may think that in Argentina, the economic may not be that well since it is between underdeveloped and developing country. However, after I talked to my friends, who has ever lived in Argentina for a while, I know that in Argentina, there are still many people who are rich. The situation in Argentina may be extreme disparity between the rich and the poor, however, that doesn’t means that people there does not have marketing needs and wants. I believe that for those rich people, they might want to have the best quality of music and sound. Besides, the restaurant and disco club owners may want to have a better sound quality in order to attract more guests and customers. I guess most of people would know that most of Argentines love music, and they think music is one of the most important thing in their lives. Therefore, I believe marketing needs and wants is one of the forces. We may see from the following article that I picked up from the web that how Argentina accepts business of imports and exports of electronics: â€Å"Argentine companies involved in the appliance and electronics industries produce primarily for the domestic market. Exports are shipped mostly to Mercosur countries. Products include refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, air conditioners, television sets, radios, and video cassette recorders (VCRs). In recent years production of refrigerators and washing machines has been about 700,000 units each. Little Argentine production is exported outside Mercosur, although certain niche markets are served by high quality Argentine manufacturers. These include specialty high-fidelity equipment designed for audiophiles willing to pay in the range of US$10,000 for equipment and for concert halls, theaters, and other buildings in need of high quality

Failure of Comet Essay

In the first part of this report, the writers focused on the process to undertake risk management, which including risk identification, analysis of probability and consequences, risk mitigation strategy and finally control and document. Subsequently, the writers did the analysis and hypothesis on how can risk management be helpful if De Havilland Company undertook risk management during the process of Comet project. While in the second part, the writers discussed different types of risk that related to the Comet project, such as, technical risk, financial risk, commercial risk and human resource risk. The most critical risk was technical risk because it may have lead to many problems, such as, damage of image, financial loss and unsalable product. Regarding the third part, the writers concluded the critical errors of the company made in the Comet project. In our opinion, one critical error was too big distinction of company pursue in a limited time. The research and development of high technology product itself implied huge risk and uncertainty that have to be handled within a certain period of time, let alone fulfill the extra new design elements in a short period. Another problem was their slow reaction of accident. They were over dependent on the opinion of designer, but in fact, the subjective judgment of designers didnt lead the company to get out of the trouble. In the final part, the writers reviewed the statement Fail is the price we pay for technological advancementand noticed that although risk management may help organizations face those risks and reduce their loss, risk cannot be total avoided in general. Without failures, our society may not be so developed. How risk management could have aided in Comet project As we know,

Effective approach to summary writing

Effective approach to summary writing Summary writing tips If you are able to produce a great piece of summary writing, it means that you know how to analyze works thoroughly. Thus, when reading your paper, users will clearly understand the message you want to convey to them. It may be complicated to produce such a work, as it should be concise as well as informative. Nevertheless, if you take the steps provided below, you will learn to write a superior summarizing piece. Make a detailed analysis At this stage, you need to scan the text you are going to analyze. Then, divide it into units and pay close attention to headings. Make sure that you know the meanings of the terms that are used in the work which you need to summarize. Read the text When the process of preparation is completed, you may start reading the text. It is necessary to pay attention to the author’s writing style and methods used for formulating the key point of the work. It will help you produce a good summary. Reread the work At this point, you need to underline the arguments provided to develop author’s ideas. Furthermore, you should highlight the topic sentences. It is also useful to mark the paragraphs which you are going to make reference to when writing your paper. At the same time, you need to single out those parts of the text that do not provide any valuable information about the topic of the summarized work. One more tip on how to write a summary is to determine unclear sections of the text. Note that you have to clarify them. Start writing You have already divided the text into sections and underlined the key points of the analyzed work. Now, you may begin producing your paper. Start with formulating the main idea of each unit. Try to write it in one sentence. Produce a thesis statement Note that it is a fundamental element of summaries. When writing a summary, you need to formalize a good thesis statement. In order to achieve it, you should go back to the previous step and read the formulated main idea one more time. Then, present a statement that will show the central point of the work which you need to summarize. If any difficulties with producing a thesis occur, check whether the main idea is formulated clearly. Write the first draft Students are always eager to find out how to write a good summary. Actually, it is not very difficult. You should start with writing a draft. Note that a thesis statement can be an opening sentence of your paper. You have to make sure that the sentences are written in a logical order when constructing the body paragraphs. You should use different transitions to provide a smooth information flow. When preparing your work, you should also keep in mind the following points: Use the verbs in the present tense; Indicate the title of the analyzed text and author’s name; Provide information succinctly. Note that your essay summary should be shorter than the original composition. Cite quotations. Do not express your opinion about the analyzed text. Remember that your task is to convey the author’s message to readers. Make a thorough check You should read your paper and make sure that the author’s ideas are presented well. Â  In addition, check whether, the direct quotes are cited properly. You need to be certain that your work does not provide your comments on the text you have been analyzing. Make revision Note that summary essays have to be revised as well as other academic works. You need to check your paper for style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You may also ask one of your friends to read your paper. Ask them whether the essay is comprehensible. If there any unclear parts, you should revise them and provide more details to make your piece of writing coherent. Below, there is more useful information on how to write a summary paper in the best way. Consider the following: You should know that summaries should be concise. If you have to summarize a book, you need to analyze all its parts, i.e. beginning, climax, ending, etc. In order to make an interesting review, you should describe in detail the events happening in a book and its main characters. If your summary essay is outstanding, readers will understand easily what the analyzed book is about and where the discussed action takes place. One more type of summary writing is chapter summaries. What are their key features? Such a paper should briefly describe the events discussed in book chapters. Moreover, it should present the main idea of the book, indicate principal and minor characters, and describe the place where the action is performed. It is very useful to read such summaries. Do you want to know why? The point is that they provide valuable information about a particular character or event. Thus, you may use it for preparing your own work.

Book Review Sample of Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Book Review Sample of Monster by Walter Dean Myers is a specific genre. It requires both wisdom and honesty to write, whereas teenagers are the audience that does not forgive lies and sermons. Yet, they desperately seek for someone to give answers to their major questions about living and coming of age. Monster by Walter Dean Myers combines the unique form of narration with a message that makes to think about the sense and the consequences of actions and choices. The theme of adolescence is closely related to the themes of race and violence. Just like many young people, the main character is looking for a flock to stick to; thus, he makes mistakes that lead him to the threat of prison. Although written in a popular genre of young adult novel, the book is unique in the form and techniques, which the author uses in order to convey a message. It is a first person narration, which suggests that the novel is a confessional one. At the same time, the borderline between the real and the imaginary is quite thin, as the character writes a screenplay based on his life. This approach helps the author in combining the two perspectives: the first and the third person, because making his life a screenplay requires a necessity to view it in terms of the other peoples life. In the novel, the author describes the coming of age challenges that Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old teenager, faces. He is a black person and lives in Harlem, which makes his life closely linked to the aspects of race and violence. The author asks a question, to which extent such peoples lives are predetermined by their environment, and whether they are able to break the vicious circle that deprives that of any chance to live a different life. As a typical person of his age, Steve has a need to belong to a group of peers. In fact, he is being unaware of the path he chooses when joining a crew of violent guys who make him involved in a crime. ORDER FOR: $Â  11.99 document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function () { $("#miniorder_shorcode form").append($("", { "name": "_token", "value": window.Laravel.csrfToken, "type": "hidden" })); }); The author does not condemn the young men because he believes that their fate is confined to a narrow range of opportunities in a tough black Harlem neighborhood. Early in their lives they become cynical about the world as they have to learn how to survive under the pressure close to the bottom of social hierarchy. At the same time, the author implies that despite the fact that there is a limited number of options for these people, there is always a moral choice to make. Steve fails to make the right choice when choosing the company because of his adolescence and lack of experience. As a sixteen year boy, he strives to find and reinforce his identity as a man, and his ideas of manhood are quite immature. It often happens that teenagers fail to distinguish between true masculinity and violence, and this is the case with Steve. He might realize that the company of older hooligan guys is probably not the best option for him, yet he is attracted by their self-confidence, which he lacks a t the point. Besides, he is not aware of how far this can go, until he gets involved in a drugstore robbery with an accidental murder of a person. So, alongside with the rest of the crew he has to face the trial. However, Steve is lucky to get help and understanding from Kathy OBrien who defends him. The attorney realizes that the boy is different from the rest of the guys. Moreover, he is not a monster as Sandra Petrocelli names him and James King. In fact, the author traces the roots of monstrosity as a social phenomenon, which often starts in adolescence. He implies that becoming a monster, an outcast or rebel, is not always a conscious choice but often a result of unfortunate coincidences, lack of experience or wrong judgment. A victim has all chances to become a monster too when getting into malicious environment as it is the case with Steve. The outcome of the trial is fortunate for Steve; with the help of his attorney he is let free as he is announced not guilty. At the same time, he does not have the feeling of finality because he still questions his own identity. In the course of the events, he goes several steps in the direction of more maturity. He learns more about the right and the wrong. Yet, he is not quite satisfied about the verdict, although he is happy to be free. Deep inside, he is not sure whether he is not guilty and whether the wrong choice that he made has not turned him into a bad person. The tone of the whole book is gloomy, and there is not a sharp contrast between the mood at the beginning and the end. Consequently, this implies that the main character does not feel satisfied: he is not in a real prison but because of his environment his life is like prison too, as he has not much choice. All in all, the novel raises a whole number of issues which accompany the theme of adolescence. The author demonstrates how environment shapes a personality and how ones identity can be shaken by one mistake that a person makes as a teenager. The book also highlights the problems that young black people face in a neighborhood, where they have little chance to start a different life.

Market for foreign exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Market for foreign exchange - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of the foreign exchange market as one of the financial markets that is characterized by buyers and sellers of assets called ‘currencies’. It has traditionally performed the role of converting one currency into another. It is consistent with the principles of market economy laid down by Adam Smith, according to which the value or price of a currency is determined by the market forces of demand and supply. The terms ‘pegged’ and ‘float’ are often discussed when dealing with foreign exchange markets and are means of determining the levels of controls on one’s currency. As mentioned above, a currency maybe pegged or valued against a basket of other currencies or maybe left to the market forces of demand of supply in what is known as ‘free float’. In between the two, however, lies an intermediate form, the ‘balanced float’ that is characterized by some government control bu t is largely based on the principles of demand and supply. Taking a more realistic view, the value of a country’s currency is determined by the interplay of several factors including the economic, political, geographic environment. Tourism also positively affects the value of the currency by increasing demand for the country’s currency. For instance, a tourist who visits country A will require country A’s currency to purchase any goods and/or services in that country. Holding everything else constant, this shall result in an increase in demand for that currency, thus, bidding up its price.

Advertisement appeals as put forth by fowles Essay

Advertisement appeals as put forth by fowles - Essay Example The consumers develop resistance to the adverts of which the advertisement agencies try to use different appeals to reach out to the consumers. The level of penetration depends on the willingness of the consumer to listen or watch the advertisement appeals. Advertisement Appeals as Put Forth By Fowles According to Fowles (2) the advertisers make efforts to thwart the rational, guarded, doubtful clout acquired by the consumers when choosing the brands to buy. Most consumers develop a certain clout around their thinking which the advertisers try as much as possible to avoid. In doing so, the advertisers make effort to appeal to the consumers to prevent reacting without thinking but to pay attention to the fundamental ideas or information being passed through the adverts. This helps the advertisers to realize their main objectives in the advertisement campaigns. There is the utilization of the subliminal plea. This refers to the remarks which are directed to the conditions as well as th inking amongst the merchandisers. It is noted that most buyers and consumers are normally resistant to adverts or develop some form of opposition to the adverts. According to various studies most Americans are exposed to different forms of adverts which come in different media such as the televisions, radio, newspaper, billboards, and direct mails among other media. The consumers try their best to develop a filter in regard to which adverts to listen to or read or watch and which ones to ignore. The advertisers make efforts to be tactical in order to get access to the subconscious mind. Moreover, the advertisers make use of the personality appeal and the need to nurture. This is because there is a presumption that the character of consumers is unique. It also presumes that human beings have different range of unmet urges or desires which must be fulfilled through the advertisements aired over the media. There are appeals such as tenderness, ambitions, lust and susceptibility hence t hey seek resolution. By use of the personality appeal, these mental appeals must be met in order to be receptive to the advertisements being aired over the media. Nevertheless, it always difficult to penetrate through these unfulfilled desires of which other types of appeals must be used to supplement this form of appeal to the consumers. In addition, advertisers make efforts to appeal to the consumers by use of the exceptionally selected pictures of images. This is meant to trigger the shell of consciousness the consumers have developed. The images may be that of celebrities identified by the consumers, female models or very nice looking children. Some make use of the text while the majority makes use of the artwork. It is in the assumption that visual adverts are best appropriate for more primeval parts of the brain system. The consumers can easily be hooked when this form of appeal is combined with impression of satisfaction for stated intention. However, most adverts are always prejudged by the consumers with the type of content in the sense that majority tend to give the impression that if the consumers lack something, they have a solution or substitute for fulfilling their desires. Another form of appeal for most adverts that are aired over the media is the intense running force in the thoughts of the consumers. In line with this form of appeal is the creation of near permanent attachment to the products or services being merchandized. The identity of products, their producer, forms of packaging and the aims that are attached to its usage. The consumers have to be made aware of the most trivial details