Saturday, August 31, 2019

Undesirable: The Tragedy of Blanche Dubois

One of the victims of this tragedy is Balance Dubos, a delicate and fragile minded outcast. Ostracizes by her hometown and abandoned by her family, she resorts to prostitution and alcoholism for consolation. In her efforts to assure herself of her own worth in her growing age, and to rescue her sister, Stella, from an abusive lifestyle, she offends the male-dominated society in which she is trapped. Despite Blanches controversial lifestyle and destructive actions, she is nonetheless a tragic heroine whose downfall resulted from poor treatment at the hands of a cruel society to which she refused to comply.Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a character of nobility with a tragic flaw that eventually leads them to their own downfall. Balance Dubos, a beautiful and sophisticated belle, once represented the vision of the south. Born into a wealthy family and happily married to a young romantic, Balance seemingly had everything desired by women of her period. However, when her young husband is revealed to be a homosexual, she is unable to cope and drives him to suicide with her disapproval. This sends Balance into a spiral of mental degeneration, rendering her unable to adjust to the changes happening in ere world, namely the fall of the south.When she goes to her sister Stella for support, she clashes with the ideals of Stellar abusive husband Stanley, ultimately leading to her mental and physical destruction through rape. Balance meets the criteria of a tragic heroine from her noble beginnings to her humble end. She was the perfect example of southern class and sophistication before the fall of the aristocracy. She lived a lofty life at her plantation, Belle Reeve, and married her first love. Her downfall began when her husband, Allan, was caught in his homosexual actions; she confronted IM and he escaped her disappointment by killing himself.The damage to her mental health resulted in the loss of her home, her self-esteem, and eventually her concept of reality, whi ch was further broken by Stanley brute invasion. While some critics argue that Balance cannot rise to the title of tragic hero due to her many character flaws, critic Kathleen Lana, in her essay A Streetcar Named Misogyny, defends Balance by reminding the readers of her humanity: In her dramatic situation, Balance is – indeed – flawed, culpable, tragically imperfect, but she is fully and flagrantly human. As a tragic Geiger she functions as a subject, to be judged by her action or inaction†¦ ere will to save herself, her sister, her home. She is being fully female, driven beyond her ability to cope with the wholly male world. At this level of the play, we may grieve as the environment destroys Balance, or we may rage as Balance backs herself into a corner with her lies and evasions. But no matter how we view Balance we see and judge Balance as Balance, a fully developed human character. Balance, as a human, has several flaws that could be considered tragic. Howeve r, the flaw that initiates the beginning of her nonfatal, Élan's suicide, is her inability to be compassionate.In his paper The Tragic Downfall of Balance Dubos, Leonard Bergman describes this flaw by stating that â€Å"Blanches most fundamental regret is not that she happened to marry a homosexual†¦ Or the discovery of Élan's homosexuality†¦ But when made aware†¦ She brought on his suicide by her expression Of disgust. † A second tragic flaw is the inability to forgive herself for denying her husband forgiveness. Bert Caraculs states in his essay Balance Dubos as Tragic Heroine, that while â€Å"Balance could hardly be expected to respond with love and understanding†¦ E never truly had an intimate, an open and trusting, relationship with him. † Caraculs goes on to say that â€Å"Balance refuses from the beginning to forgive herself for denying Allen the compassion that would have saved or perhaps changed him. † Balance could not move on from the past because she felt guilty for telling the truth, something she often praised herself for doing. At the end of the play, it seems apparent that Stanley has won; that he has conquered and triumphed over a woman who defied and insulted the wills of men.However, tragic heroes are not necessarily defined by their victories, but y their struggle against their fate. Rather than bending to the whims of men in her male dominated society, Balance instead exposed their evils, beginning with Élan's and ending with Stanley. Balance redeemed herself by admitting her own flaws to Mitch after Stanley reveals her lies. She emerged from her romanticizes fantasy land to deliver the real truth: the person she fooled the most was not him, but herself.In scene ten, Stanley believed that his personal and violent invasion of Balance would finally break her, forcing her to admit all of her wrongs and finally live in reality. While he's made out to be the actor, with nobody believing Blan ches declaration of rape, he only achieved his goal of taking all of her privately. Her mind retreated into her fantastical world of the past, allowing her to escape her reality permanently. Memories Of southern gentleman supporting their decorative belles allowed her the peace she could not find, even as she was escorted to the asylum, her new â€Å"home†, by a kindly doctor.Balance is a tragic heroine. She fits the Aristotle defined criteria, she has not only one, but two tragic flaws, and though she lost her sanity and pride by the end of the play, she does not submit to her harsh reality. Some critics argue that, in her mad hysteria, she is not befitting of the title tragic hero. However, they are simply preying on her open weakness, something that many male tragic heroes are too prideful to show. Her weakness only makes her more eligible for the title; she is exposing her flawed humanity to all who condemned her.She dares them to come clean of their own flaws, many of wh ich her society condoned. As Lana states, â€Å"She may be quite simply too noble to exist as a female in a world run by a phalanx of Stanley Kowalski. † â€Å"Balance becomes a tragic protagonist and transforms the play into an allegory; Williams uses her plight to criticize the social circumstances that have shaped her flawed persona and led her to her demise. † The social circumstances that Lauren Siegel mentions in her essay Balance Dubos: Antihero are what condemn, ostracize, and serve to flaw Balance and her fragile mind.Aside from her own tragic flaws, Blanches society is to blame for her downfall. By creating societal norms and expectations, her society placed restrictions on her actions and convinced her that what she did to survive, both mentally and financially, was morally wrong. It glorified the actions of en such as Stanley Kowalski, who measured women's worth only by their sexual attractiveness, and rejected free female sexuality. Lastly, it condemned ho mosexuals and anyone else who did not fit into society's cookie cutter conformity, namely Balance Dubos. In her hometown, Balance was known as the town nut.After the death of her relatives, paying for the plantation became her responsibility, a responsibility that weighed heavily on her damaged psyche after her husband's death. Prostitution served a dual purpose in Blanches mind; it paid the bills and allowed for meetings with â€Å"strangers† who would remind her Of her beauty. However, as knowledge of her promiscuity spread throughout the town, her name became trash and her reputation resulted in her termination from the hotel in which she worked. Though the hotel was known for its shady business, society placed her sins above others.Why? Because she was a woman who went against what was expected of her: to be married and supported by a husband, with whom she was allowed to have free intimacy. Caraculs supports this by stating, â€Å"These â€Å"strangers†, in †Å"wising up† to Blanches thinly disguised cries for help and devotion were as much to blame for her panic-driven promiscuity as she herself was. Even before the South's decline, men were the bread winners of society. However, during the reign of the aristocracy, men were expected to be gentlemen to their women, to be their financial supporters and protectors.When industrialization replaced the plantation lifestyle, a new attitude was formed. Men became cold, brutish, and domineering over every aspect of their lives, including their women. Women became objectified as property rather than respected as equals. While society praised men for owning a lot of â€Å"property, women, like Balance, were hounded for promiscuity and damned as harlots. As Lana complains, â€Å"Stanley, on the other hand, is applauded for his sexuality, for his sadistic exploitation of Stella, for his love of the ‘colored lights'. Men were permitted their adultery because of their usefulness, while women, who were viewed only as burdens, were denied their freedom. Allan and Balance needed each other to conform to society's expectations. Allen used Balance to disguise his homosexuality, and Balance used him for financial support and protection. After Balance discovered Élan's affair with another man and confronted him, she unconsciously sacrificed both her and is position in society. By embarrassing Allan, she ruined his reputation and his chances for success. His suicide left her without support or an outlet for intimacy.Caraculs uses this fact to explain Blanches acceptance of Match's courting, â€Å"she struggles at the end in his memory to achieve intimacy with Mitch which alone can restore her to grace through linking of sex with compassion. † She recognized that, though she did not love Mitch as she loved Allan, the only way to be restored in the eyes of society was to conform: to get married. However, her inability to win over Mitch after her lies are revealed mode her chances and foreshadowed that she would never be able to rejoin the society that rejected her. Society's expectations prevented both women and men from shaping their own destiny.By forcing the cult of domesticity, both Stella and Balance, the women who conformed and the women who failed to conform, suffered at the hands of men. Conformers often found themselves in unhappy or even abusive relationships and nonconformists were left to their own devises. Likewise, the men, like Allan, who could not abandon their gentle southern upbringing or hide their preference of gender, were rejected and replaced by heir more manly counterparts. Society condemned, ostracizes, and served to flaw what it did not accept. Part of what makes Blanches tragedy a tragedy is how her society treated her when she was found to be undesirable.Instead of being provided with proper help and treatment, she is hauled off to the madhouse in an embarrassing and demeaning manner. She is also denied an invest igation of her declaration of rape by Stanley, as no one believed she was in her right mind. It is this mistreatment that resulted not only in Blanches fate, but also Élan's and Stellar: mental institutionalizing, suicide, ND domestic abuse. Women were considered undesirables due to their lack of skills. However, they were never trained to be anything other than good mothers and wives in their cult of domesticity.When faced with the brutality of male dominance, women were often mistreated through physical and emotional abuse. However, because they were objectified as the property Of men, society often condoned this ruthless behavior and allowed the abuse behind closed doors. Even the women themselves thought of it as the price paid to keep the peace. Lana shows this in Stella by stating, ‘Stella knows that, t a deeply unconscious level, she must keep Stanley happy to preserve the economic and emotional security she has achieved as his woman. † Homosexuals had an equa l, if not lower, position with women in society.While they were still men, they were seen as having a closer relation to that of women. Lana shows this relation by her description of the author Williams, â€Å"Williwaw's homosexuality in a heavily masculine society rendered him naturally sympathetic toward the plight of the women†¦ With whom he identified with. † When Balance revealed Allan as a homosexual, she condemned him as less than a man by society standards. As a result, suicide became a better option than living in shame. Although he is a character with greater morality than Stanley, Élan's inability to conform to society wishes made him a reject nonetheless.Despite her protective retreat into her memories of the past, Balance still had recollection of Stanley act of violence against her. However, because of her lack of mental stability, her claim is brushed off by the doctors, her neighbors, and even Stella. Her society denied her human rights and savagely s tripped her Of her dignity in her last scene. In her madness, she believed she was making her escape with a gentlemanly lealer, but instead was greeted by two doctors intending to take her away to an asylum.After fighting them at first, she allows herself to be led away by her kindly doctor, after informing him that â€Å"she has always depended on the kindness of strangers†. These strangers, who abused her mental fragility and took advantage of her, are the same men that society praised for their masculine dominance. To conclude, Lana sums up Balance Dubbing's tragedy: â€Å"in the struggle with the dark forces of her society, Balance, with her typically female characteristics, is ultimately lost and savagely exploited.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Romanticism vs Rationalism

Romanticism vs Rationalism Romantics value Individuality while, Rationalist value conformity. In the Poem â€Å"Ode: Intimation of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood† by William Wordsworth, stanza VII deals with conformity. The young man will have to â€Å"fit his tongue to dialogues f business, love, strife† (Wordsworth 13-14) just so that he fits in. He is trying to conform to the ‘imaginary’ rules of society. Another way he conforms is when he is a â€Å"little Actor [that] cons another part† (Wordsworth 18). It’s like instead of him being himself he takes on different parts.He wants to fit into the crowd instead of being an individual. On the other hand in the poem â€Å"Saturday at the Canal† by Gary Soto, there is a 17 year old guy that hates where he is. He wants to go to San Francisco to â€Å"be with people who knew more than three chords on a guitar† (Soto 13-14); people that were following their own indi viduality. He also did something different then all the people he knew, he â€Å"didn’t drink or smoke† (Soto 14). Most teenagers drink to fit in with the ‘cool’ people but, he goes against the grain. Rationalism is being safe and fitting into society while, Romanticism is being yourself-different.Another aspect of Romanticism is innocence, and experience being Rationalism. In â€Å"Ode: Intimation of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood† stanza V it talks about the innocence of a young child. â€Å"Heaven lies about us in our infancy† (Wordsworth 9) when we our born. Everyone says that heaven is the purest thing out there; they also say babies are. Being so pure makes them innocent because they don’t know the difference between right or wrong. But innocence doesn’t last forever the boy â€Å"beholds the light† (Wordsworth 12) of innocence.The boy starts to experience more and loses his innocence. In â€Å"S aturday at the Canal† the 17 year old boy thought that â€Å"school was [just] a sharp check in the roll book† (Soto 2) because he thought he had experienced enough of that environment. Another way that he thought he was experienced was the he â€Å"knew more than three cords on a guitar† (Soto 13-14). Being able to do that made him capable of being better than the people around him. More experienced. These examples of Romanticism and Rationalism show the aspects of innocence and experience.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Australian Immigration Laws

I am a registered migration agent in Australia who is writing you this application to waiver the condition 8503 attached on my client’s visitor’s visa. The name of the client is Sukhon Chaiprasit who is a 25 years old female Thailand citizen and holds a visitor visa Class FA, subclass 600 (tourist stream) with condition 8503 attached to it. Her visitor visa is about to expire in a couple of days, thus, my client Sukhon Chaiprasit wishes to get the condition 8503 waived on her visitor’s visa for applying for a fresh substantive visa in Australia. Condition 8503 is imposed on various temporary Australia visa and is referred as a â€Å"No further stay† condition. If condition 8503 is attached to an one’s visa, it will means that the said visa holder except for a few exceptions, is not allowed to apply for any other visa in order to extend his stay in any manner till he is present in Australia. The only visa in such cases which is legally permitted to be applied for is the protection visa. Any visa holder with condition 8503 is allowed to apply for a protection visa. The primary reason for introducing the said condition was to ensure the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)  that visa holders with the said condition will leave the Australian territory before the expiry of their visa. The said assurance also allowed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)  to sanction more visas as the fear of individuals present in Australia without visa permit was minimized. Thus, condition 8503 on any visa restricts the visa holding on whose visa the condition is applies to apply for any other substantive visa except protection visa while his stay in Australia. The visa holder whose visa has the said condition attached has to leave the Australian land before the expiry of his visa and staying for even a single day extra after expiry of the visa date is illegal and can cause detention of the visa holder to depart him from Australia. In case, the visa holder whose visa has condition 8503 attached to it has to leave the Australian land and go back to his country to apply for a fresh temporary or permanent visa to return to Australia again for a longer period. Thus, condition 8503 restricts a visa holder from applying for any substantive visa while his stay in Australia, however under subsection 41 (2) (a) of the Migration Act 1958 and Regulation 2.05 (4) of the Migration Regulation 1994 he said condition can be waived by the Ministry of Immigration in Australia. To be eligible for the said waiver, the visa holder has to comply with certain requirements mentioned under the above mentioned legislations. The Regulation 2.05 (4) of the Migration Regulation 1994 states the first requirement for waiver of condition 8503 attached to Australian visa. It states that for waiving condition 8503, the visa holder is required to satisfy the Ministry of Immigration in Australia that some circumstances has changed since the visa was applied for and granted which are beyond the control of the visa holder. Moreover, the visa holder having condition 8503 attached to his visa also has to show that the Ministry has not denied any prior application of waiver. The sub section 41 (2) (a) of the Migration Act 1958 gives the circumstances in which Ministry will accept the waiver application and grant the waiver. Thus, the said section states that the visa holder in order to waiver condition 8503 attached to his visa has to prove that from the time the visa was granted to him, circumstances have drastically changed with compelling reasons which are beyond the control of the visa holder which have resulted i n changed present situation of the visa holder. My client Sukhon Chaiprasit has eligibly complied with subsection 41 (2) (a) of the Migration Act 1958 and Regulation 2.05 (4) of the Migration Regulation 1994 and meets the conditions which are required to grant her waiver of condition 8503 attached to her visitor’s visa. The lists of compelling reasons in the said case are as follows:- The above reasons are beyond the control and were not anticipated by my client while applying for the visitor’s visa. My client was totally unaware that such mishap would occur while her stay in Melbourne which will prevent her from travelling back to Thailand. Therefore, as a migration agent, I believe my client has met all the requirements necessary to be granted a waiver of condition 8503 on her visitor’s visa which can make her apply for a fresh Class UB Medical Treatment visa under subclass 602 without leaving the Australian land. I request you to consider the health of my client subsequent to the attack she faced in Melbourne and grant her waiver of condition 8503 as she has legally complied with ll the conditioned required by the statutory laws stated in 41 (2) (a) of the Migration Act 1958 and Regulation 2.05 (4) of the Migration Regulation 1994. The compelling reason in the said case being the attacked she faced which was totally unexpected which made it impossible for her to travel back, thus, the compelling reason also stands beyond the control of my client. Making my client travel back just to comply with condition 8503 and going against the doctor’s report which suggests her to avoid travelling for 6 months can be injurious to the physical and mental health of my client. Thus, in order to apply for the Class UB Medical Treatment visa under subclass 602 on grounds of her ill health which is backed by doctor’s report, it is important to waiver condition 8503 attached on his client’s visitor’s visa. Therefore, I request the Ministry to use its discretion granted to it by the Statute under section 41 of the Migration Act 1958 to accept the said written application of waiver of condition 8503 on Sukhon Chaiprasit’s visitor’s visa and grant her the said waiver in order to make her apply for Class UB Medical Treatment visa under subclass 602. The said letter stated that all the requirements to qualify for a waiver of condition 8503 are met by my client. My client has not sent any other waiver application which was previously rejected. Thus, a grant of waiver of condition 8503 will be appreciated. The doctor’s report and recommendations are attached to the application letter. Registered Migration Officer in Australia In the said case, Sukhon Chaiprasit visited another migration agent who applied for a fresh visitor’s visa, the said application was invalid. Sukhon’s visitor visa had condition 8503 attached to it. Therefore, according to Regulation 2.05 of the Migration Regulation 1994, the first step to apply for any fresh substantive visa would be to write an application to the Ministry request o waive condition 8503 attached to visitor’s visa. Section 46 of the Migration Act 1958 states that every visa application stands invalid if the same is made when the applicant is present in the migration zone and after he arrived in Australia; his visa has a condition attached to it which waiver is requested or refused by the Ministry after requesting or the same. Thus, the fresh visitor’s visa application of Sukhon Chaiprasit was invalid as she failed to get condition 8503 attached on her previous visitor’s visa waived. When a visa holder in Australia holds bridging visa, enforcement visa or criminal justice visa, section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 prohibits the said visa holders to apply for any other visa. Thus, Sukhon Chaiprasit as a migrant in Australia was subject to 48 of the Migration Act 1958 because she was capable of presenting in front of the Immigration Ministry a valid case which shows compelling and compassionate reasons which make her eligible for grant of waiver on the condition 8503 attached on her visitor’s visa in order to make her apply for another fresh substantive visa base on the changed circumstances which are beyond her control[9]. Every professional service providers have a Code of Conduct which is to be followed by every individual in the said profession. Thus, the registered migration agents in Australia also have a Code of Conduct which is present in Schedule 2 of the Migration Act 1958. The major breach of code of conduct committed by the former migration officer of Sukhon Chaiprasit was his failure to apply in writing for a waiver of condition 8503 attached on her visitor’s visa before making a fresh application of any substantive visa[10]. This action shows that the former migration agent of Sukhon Chaiprasit had poor knowledge of immigrations laws in Australia and violated section 2.1 of the Code of Conduct for registered migration agent which states that every migration agent should act following the immigration law and with diligence to serve the best interest of his clients. The migration agent also breached section 2.5 of the Code of Conduct which stated that a migration agent in Australia is required to be updated and keep his knowledge clear about the various migration laws in Australia including its amendments. Thus, the former migration officer of Sukhon breached the said section by apply for visitor’s visa where Medical Treatment visa under subclass 602 would be more appropriate after grant of waiver of condition 8503. Moreover, a migration officer is always required to be honest with his client about the possibility of success of their application according to section 2.6 of the Code of Conduct, thus, the former migration agent failed to state Sukhon that her fresh visitor’s visa could be rejected or stands invalid. Thus, failure of the former migration agent of Sukhon Chaiprasit to advice her clearly on the options she has for extending her stay in Australia prior to her attack and injuries, makes the agent violated the said sections of Code of Conduct for migration agents in Australia. Aas, Katja Franko.  The borders of punishment: migration, citizenship, and social exclusion. Oxford University Press, 2013. Code Of Conduct (Regulation 8) Second Schedule Of The Migration Act  (at 1) https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/mar1998287/sch2.html Code Of Conduct For Migration Agent In Australia  (at 1) https://www.mara.gov.au/becoming-an-agent/professional-standards-and-obligations/code-of-conduct/ Devetak, Richard. "In fear of refugees: The politics of border protection in Australia."  The International Journal of Human Rights  8.1 (2014): 101-109. Goot, Murray, and Ian Watson. "Population, immigration and asylum seekers: patterns in Australian public opinion."  Population  2010 (2011): 11. Hollifield, James, Philip Martin, and Pia Orrenius.  Controlling immigration: A global perspective. Stanford University Press, 2014. Joppke, Christian.  Citizenship and immigration. Vol. 2. Polity, 2010. Migration Act 1958 In Australia  (at 1) https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/ Migration Regulations 1994 In Australia  (at 1) Phillips, Janet, and Harriet Spinks. "Immigration detention in Australia."Parliamentary Library  20 (2013). Waiver Of Condition 8503  (at 1) https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/52b-nfc

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

International Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Human Resource Management - Essay Example Such differences mainly include labor cost factors, cultural factors, industrial relations norms, and economic factors. Key Issues in Selection of Expatriates Expatriate assignments fail quite often. The stress process of expatriates is shown in Fig. 1. Careful selection of international assignee can help improve the results. Most of the managerial positions are held by locals instead of expatriates, though it does not always happen so. The attitude that prevails in the ethnocentric corporations is that local managers are superior whereas host-country managers are considered superior in the polycentric corporations. In contrast to them, the most suitable manager for a certain position in the geocentric firms is selected from the global workforce of the firm. Fig. 1: Stages of Expatriates’ Stress Process (Koteswari and Bhattacharya, 2007, p. 91). The training of expatriates before assignment typically revolves around cultural differences, factual knowledge about the country of assignment, and the way behavior is influenced by attitude. The approach that is most commonly used in the formulation of expatriate pay is equalization of the power of purchasing across the countries. This term used for this is the â€Å"balance sheet approach†. ... Culture of China and India is significantly different from that of England. Everything ranging from dress code to work ethics, norms, values, trends, and traditions are different among the three countries. This induces perceived inability of adjustment in the expatriates. â€Å"Perceived inability to adjust may indicate a lack of cross-cultural skills such as cultural empathy, intercultural Selmer† (Selmer, 2004, p. 805-806). Apart from the issues of expatriation, employees also become hesitant to become expatriates if they think that their organization does not support the repatriates (Black, 1991). Fig. 2: Problems Experienced by Different Age-Groups of Expatriates (Just Landed, 2012). Recommendations The need of having both home-office and local supervisors as reviewers of the expatriates’ performance complicates the process of expatriate appraisal. The process of expatriate appraisal can be improved by stipulating the level of assignment difficulty, weighing the app raisal of on-site managers more heavily, and getting background advice from the managers that have been to the foreign country before. These managers should also assist the expatriates in developing connections in the host country. Research by Wang and Kanungo (2004, p. 775) has shown that the network characteristics of expatriates have a significant and direct impact on their psychological well-being. Fig. 3 shows the factors influencing expatriates’ participation in social networks. This would create awareness in the selected expatriates regarding the culture of the host country and the impact of culture shock on them would be reduced. Fig. 3: Factors Influencing Expatriates’ Participation in Social Networks (Harvey, 2008). The problems of repatriation are commonly

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

In what ways does cinema verite differ from documentary film and what Essay

In what ways does cinema verite differ from documentary film and what methods do film makers create realism in documentaries - Essay Example Documentary can broadly be described as cinematic expression that reveals ‘fullness and completion, knowledge and truth’ (Nichols, 1994:1). They focus on actual evidence of the events, using real people rather than actors of fictional films who portray other characters. As such, they have minimal editing, reflecting the unvarnished truth. Cinema verite, on the other hand, is a French expression that means ‘truthful cinema’ that records events as they are occurring, often prodding real people to reveal new information in order to showcase new dimension of issue or events (Black, 2002). Hence, it can be defined as documentaries with wide scope of capturing truth. The editing of film makes it more dramatic and, therefore, has greater impact than normal documentary films that are stark in their thematic reality. Documentary films are also accompanied by narratives that highlight events and often inform the public of its relevance by relating it to the history of events. The viewer is, therefore, updated with information about the events and can draw conclusion of truth as he/he sees the documentary. Cinema verite has no narrator and, therefore, the viewer has the freedom to interpret the film as he/she sees. The spontaneity of real characters makes it interesting because they are designed to reveal new aspects of their personality or issues which are often not intended for public. Nanook of the North, made in 1922, is a prime example of cinema verite which documents ethnographic study of Inuits. It has used photographic technics vis-a-vis fade out transition and editing to streamline and emphasize the issue (Renoy, 1993). This is very interesting and pertinent fact of cinema Verite that distinguishes it from normal documentary films. Another very important difference is that textual representation of live events in documentary films are seen as truthful expression of reality. There is little ambiguity because footage of events is not edite d and voiceover is just to inform the audience about the issue which they see in the films. Cinema verite is proactive in its depiction of truth because while it captures the events as they occur, it actively provokes subjects in the event to provide new stance to the event. Mamber (1976) asserts that it is not just mutant offspring of documentary technique but tends to highlight the stance of the film maker. It tries to reveal new aspects of events rather than focusing on only one angle of the truth. Very often, the film maker uses editing techniques to showcase truth which could dramatize the events. Thus, it tends to expose paradoxical facets of the true events and makes them more intriguing and interesting. Facilitated by the technology advancements, the world of cinematic documentary has unfolded unprecedented way of unlocking truth and bringing them directly to the public. In the contemporary times, making documentary films has become very challenging because of the diversity of subjects and myriad formats of media tools can be easily exploited to divulge truth. Cinema verite of France, Direct Cinema of America and observatory films of the UK are all varying formats of documentary films that are based on true events. Popularly known as ‘voice’, the reconstructions and structuring tools used in documentary become the vital factor that shift the focus to spotlight and produce

Monday, August 26, 2019

U05a1 Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

U05a1 Analysis - Case Study Example As early as in 1985, the possibility of a great disaster in case of an explosion inside the tunnel was pointed out by ‘The Baltimore Sun’. However, nothing was done to ensure safety in case of such a disaster. The city’s 440 page emergency plan contained no provision to meet such an eventuality. The event On 18 July 2001, a freight train of CSX that was carrying various items from paper, plywood, soy oil, and many chemicals derailed inside the tunnel. As a result of derailing, there was fire and smoke. The crew of the train could not contact authorities and hence, they uncoupled the first three locomotives and drove out of the tunnel. Soon, thick smoke started covering the city. The fire department was getting calls from different parts of the city reporting smoke. The waybill from the train crew revealed that the train carried hazardous materials like hydrochloric acid, flurocilicic acid, tripopylene, glacial acetic acid, ethyl hexyl phthalate, and propylene glyc ol. While some of these were combustible, others could create breathing problems and skin burns. A possibility of ‘boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) could not be ruled out, which could mean total destruction of the city. In addition, the fire officials were not at all familiar with handling those chemicals. As it is rightly said in Penuel, Statler, and Golson (2011, p.89), decisions during a crisis are to be taken in an environment where issues are wrongly defined and data is erroneous. The management of the situation It seems that the fire department proceeded well in accordance with the stipulated procedures. As the city’s emergency plan did not provide any guidelines, it was for the first responder- the fire department- to take the lead. As per the stipulated incident command procedure, the senior officer of the first unit on the scene is responsible to assess the situation, and, depending on the seriousness of the situation, to report upwards. Exactly in the same way, the matter was reported to Chief Heinbuch, and soon he started the command post near the north end of the tunnel. This step too seems well in accordance with the suggested procedures in case of an emergency. Soon, Heinbuch took charge of the situation, and set up the command post near the north end of the tunnel. At this juncture, it is worth remembering that this step too is well in accordance with the stipulation that an incident command post will be established within close proximity to incident response operations. (Penuel et al., 2011, p. 89). The next positive point to note from the case is the cooperation between the fire department and the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE). According to the reports, both the departments worked and trained together, and hence, communication and cooperation were instantaneous. It seems that there was an averagely effective management of the situation. It seems that the team was able to establish link with a number of o ther groups ranging from MDE, public health, public works department, and the department of transportation, US Coast Guard, the EPA, and the National Transportation Safety Board. Still, there was serious lack of communication among groups that could lead to loss of lives. An example is the effort by DPW crews on 19 July to excavate the water

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Final Assignment Essay

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Final Assignment - Essay Example The company should not recall its products and should stay present on the market, however it should prove its ethical position to its stakeholders to keep its business in India and thus to achieve self-interest satisfaction. Below is provided more detailed analysis of Coca Cola’s business activity in India with the application of 7 major moral standards. First of all, this approach is based on the universal ethical values which have in its core the value of trustworthiness. Based on the trustworthiness as one of the core values of the universal ethical values, Coca Cola’s behavior should based on honesty, promise-keeping, loyalty, and transparency. If the company is honest towards its stakeholders, including the Indian consumers it should honestly declare about its business and true quality of its products. While the company declares that its products are of high quality and safe for consumption, it also lacks the integrity based on the case studies of controversies in Belgium, Antwerp and employment of African-Americans. By allowing discrimination based on the race, Coca Cola failed to demonstrate its integrity and to act consistently according to its stated principles and values. If the lab results are true, Coca-Cola has failed in another one universal ethical value – promise keeping. If the company has not mentione d in its campaign that the drink is absolutely safe, its initial responsibility as a business should be ensuring safety and quality of the products. If to view promise-keeping value as a guarantee of safety and high quality, the company’s activity in India can be labeled as â€Å"ethical†. But in case if some of the stakeholders (employees, management) have not disclosed information about the quality of the products and its harmful impact on Coca Cola India consumers, the activity will be viewed as unethical. In case the lab results are true and the products really contain pesticide residues and other harmful

Bone Marrow Transplant & Donation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bone Marrow Transplant & Donation - Essay Example ICU stay would usually be hectic with frequent monitoring, institution of mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy and continuous infusions. The conditions for doing bone marrow transplantations, selecting the donor if doing allogeneic transplants, the actual surgery, the prevention of immune suppression after the surgery and ensuring the survival of the patient have heightened the risk of the ominous event that is bone transplantation. This paper is exploring the biological features including the anatomy and physiology of bone transplantation investigated in the various researches. Initially the normal anatomy and physiology have been described so that the reader gets a better picture of what is intended by this research. Normal anatomy and physiology of bone marrow The soft tissue that lies in the spaces between the bone trabeculae of flat bones is bone marrow. Blood vessels, nervous tissue, phagocytes, stem cells and blood cells at different stages of maturation are found in the bone marrow (Elgazzar, 2004). The red marrow has hemopoietic cells which are active while the yellow marrow is mainly fat and hemopoietically inactive. The bone marrow is essential to the human life as it provides all the blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and the platelets. The manufacture of the blood cells depends on the needs of the body. Active bone marrow is found mostly in the flat bones of the vertebrae (28%), pelvis (34%), the cranium together with the mandible (13%), the ribs and the sternum, (10%) and the proximal ends of the femur and humerus (4%-8%) (Elgazzar, 2004). The manufacture of blood cells is termed hemopoiesis. It begins in the human body at the fourth month of the intra-uterine life of the fetus. Within two months it functions more than the liver in the hematopoietic action. By birth, the red bone marrow becomes fully responsible for the blood cell formation. The cartilaginous epiphyses which did not have the red bone marrow at birth soon had it in the first few months of life (Elgazzar, 2004). The adult bone has active red marrow in the various bones different proportions. The usual conversion of red marrow is to the yellow marrow. However in certain pathological conditions, the reverse process occurs. Alterations to the distribution of the red marrow could change in conditions which are traumatic to the human body like surgeries, trauma or infections or malignancy (Elgazzar, 2004). Immune response Lymphocytes were the natural killer (NK) cells which were significant role players in the immune responses, both innate and adaptive (Olson et al, 2009). Lymphocytes provided the response to virus attacks, microbes and some tumors. The NK cells were white blood cells produced in the bone marrow and then moved to the region of the spleen, liver, lung, blood and lymph nodes where they resided (Olson et al, 2009). The period of maturity from a bone cell precursor to maturity came to 28 days. When an attack from viruses or mi crobes or tumors occurred, signals reached the NK cells which then migrated to the sites of attack through the expression of inflammatory chemokine receptors by virtue of their homing behavior (Olson et al, 2009). At the key sites, the NK cells entered the lymphoid tissue in the lymph nodes and non-lymphoid tissue in

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The Merchants Tale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Merchants Tale - Essay Example He is upset that such a beautiful young woman married an old fellow. As they returned to their home, January apologized in advance for the sexual exploits he would act on her. After the customary four days, May joins January at the banquet table and it is at this point that he notices Damien’s absence and is informed he is ill. He sends May to visit him on his behalf, during the visit, Damien hands a letter to May declaring his love for her and in return she reciprocates by writing to him about her love towards him. However, January’s happiness does not last for long as he loses his eyesight, this result to him relying on May for assistance, something that Damien is not happy about. May signals to Damien to January’s secret garden. She displayed a lusty appetite for fruits and led January to the garden where she asked him to bend over and let her stand on his back as she climbed a tree to get pear. She climbed up where she met Damien and they had sex. Suddenly, J anuary’s eyesight was restored and saw May and Damien having sex and he was filled with rage. May convinced January that his sight was weak and the brightness affected his sight such that he saw certain things strangely. She jumped from the tree and January embraced her. According to the merchant, the theme of marriage can be described from two fronts in this tale: marriage as a state of holy matrimony, a means to secure an heir, he demonstrates a wife who has good qualities and how they support each other during instances of need. However, he also reflects his bitterness towards marriage as he is unhappy and has only been married for two months. Due to May’s infidelity, the reader may conclude that January is a foolish husband, May, a slut and Damien a

Friday, August 23, 2019

Group Long Term Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Group Long Term Insurance - Essay Example Employer-based group long term insurance is an essential comprehensive benefits package that offers long term insurance to the employees (Wiener and Illston 66). Reasons for use There are numerous advantages for enrolling in a group long term insurance since the patient does not need to meet any medical requirements before obtaining the group long term policy cover. The relatives and immediate family members of the individual may also be covered, since many group long term care policies allow the retirees and spouses to apply for the long term care coverage. If the group long term insurance consists of a high proportion of relatively younger employees, the insurance provider will be able to charge lower premiums compared with the individual long term plans (Beam and McFadden 357). Group long term insurance helps protect the employee retirement plans. Well informed employees understand that without a Group long term care, medical expenses after retirement can adversely deplete the emp loyee portfolio of assets (Beam and McFadden 369). Some Group Long term insurance policies enable employees to receive benefits and care from any place in the world. The Group long term insurance eases the emotional and physical burden of the family members since they are involved in the care-giving process but are not the primary providers. Group long term insurance covers the costs of care received at home, in the community and also in the nursing homes (Beam and McFadden 378). There are various benefits that accrue to employers who provide Group long term care to their employees. The employer is able to retain the most qualified and skilled employees in the company therefore reducing production losses associated with work stoppages (Beam and McFadden 357). Group long term insurance acts as an incentive of attracting and hiring new employees in the Company. The insurance cover offers the employer a competitive edge since it is an alternative to increasing salaries (Long Term Care Insurance 2). The employees will also receive additional benefits from the Group long term insurance since other programs like training of caregivers and care providers are included in the insurance plan. The employees also receive assistance on claim filling and can enjoy other wellness programs that may be incorporated in the Group long term insurance (Long Term Care Insurance 3). Administration and process All the insurance products for group long term insurance are consistent with Long term Insurance Model Act. HIPAA has imposed several standards that have led to increase in the coverage. The Act has reduced the revenue losses associated with coverage due to changes in the income tax codes. For eligibility to favorable tax treatment, the insurance contract should be qualified therefore contract is guaranteed renewable and all the refunds of premiums and dividends are applied as future reductions in premiums or to increase the future benefits (Beam and McFadden 360). The cost of the group long term insurance is covered by the employee. The initial premiums are calculated on five year age period brackets and increase significantly with the increase in the age of the employee (Wiener and Illston 65). Most of the States require the insurance companies to protect the benefits of employee from

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Poverty in India Essay Example for Free

Poverty in India Essay With 44 percent (44%) of the global outsourcing market in the off shore sector for software and other business process currently being hosted by India, it has fast gained global recognition as the premier global destination for business process outsourcing.   With generated revenues totaling over US$ 17.2 billion and employment related to outsourcing at 1.05 million as of March 2005, India has greatly increased its economic output and per capita GDP.   This economic growth of India has been heralded as one of the most amazing success stories of the 20th century.   The growth rates that India has been posting over the past five years have made it one of the reasons why investments have risen in the area. The problem is that even with the robust economic growth of India the schism between the rich and the poor continues to grow.   Outsourcing, while creating a boon for the Indian economy, has also intensified that gap by creating new social classes and spawning new cultural changes.   Therefore, because of the weak economic fundamentals of the Indian Economy, instead of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, it is instead widened and fewer jobs are created thus leading to more widespread poverty. The greatest problem that these poor fundamentals present to society however is the widening of social divisions that are already existent in society.   In the Indian model the social rifts that are created deal with the differences from within the family unit in relation to the outside society.   The creation and birth of a new type of middle class society which is predominantly comprised of members of the youth sector is creating a class that is being socially and culturally alienated from the rest of society, particularly in the traditionally conservative Indian society. New work habits and consumer patterns have created a new class that enjoys the more expensive and extravagant lifestyle that is supported by the relatively high wages that receive as compared with the rest of Indian society.   There is very little time to spend in the household where more solid and fundamental values are instilled and nurtured and instead the constant exposure to western society has resulted in a degradation of whatever morals were created or instilled in the first place.   For others, the pressure of keeping the job and maintaining the accustomed lifestyle isolates them from other members of society in their efforts to generate more income. In India where the economic disparity was historically at lower levels, the introduction of higher paying jobs as a result of business process outsourcing has increased the rift between social and economic classes as well.   The newly emancipated and empowered women as well as the new rich employees of outsourcing firms are now experiencing things that their parents could never have enjoyed in their lifetimes such as televisions, ipods, cars and cellular phones.   The rift would not be so great however were the opportunity available equally to all sectors of society.    As it is however, only those with certain qualifications and training are allowed those opportunities and this has created a new resentment for those who have gained so much in so little time. While this has certainly generated more income for the Indian government to utilize in other social welfare projects, the income from taxes is not spent on decreasing the economic divide that exists but has actually been spent on infrastructure projects in IT designed to drum up more business and thus increasing the social gap even more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason for the widespread poverty in India lies in the failure of the government to enact programs to ensure that the economic developments that benefit certain sectors of society also trickle down to the masses.   The Indian Planning Commission has estimated that as of the year 2004 and 2005 nearly 27.5% of the Indian population was living below the poverty lines. Nearly 75% of all those living below the poverty line are located in the rural areas of India.   This shows that while most of the developed cities in India are beginning to grow, the rural areas of India are not able to benefit from this economic development.   With over 836 million citizens living on less than US$ 0.50 cents, it seems that the poverty problems of India are more rooted on the poor economic structure than anything else. Another reason for this is because of the different social, religious and economic groups that are in India.     The fact that the caste system was encouraged until the early 20th century has also added to the poverty rate in India because of the special rights and privileges that were given to others.   Coupled with the lack of property rights, since the right to property is not constitutionally declared in India, these barriers effectively prevent those from the lower economic classes of India from entering the middle class. There are a number of other reasons that can be cited as the cause for poverty in India.   Most of these theories are based on the poor economic fundamentals that were established during the British Regime and during the resulting political turmoil that resulted immediately after the transfer of power in 1947.   Be that as it may, such poor fundamentals have also given birth to other economic problems such as the growing divide between the different economic classes in India. The recent economic growth of India due to its growing role as a major player in the outsourcing industry has indeed granted a number of benefits to Indians but at the same time it has served to increase poverty in certain areas because of the failure of the government to ensure a more equitable distribution of income among the masses.   Lack of government infrastructure projects and rampant corruption remain to be the deterrents for India’s true economic growth.   Until India is able to address these problems, poverty will remain to be synonymous with the Indian Economic system for years to come.    References: Agrawal, A. N.: Indian Economy. Problems of Development and Planning. 18th edition, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Limited 2002 Ahluwalia, Isher Judge: New Economic Policies. Reform of Public Sector Enterprises and Privatisation in India. mimeo, February 2004, paper presented for the Conference on Economic Liberalisation in South Asia at the Australia Singh, Ajit Kumar: Social Consequences of New Economic Policies. With Particular Reference to Levels of Living of Working Class Population. In: EPW, February 13, 1993, p. 279 – 285 Sridhan, E.: Economic Liberalisation and Indias Political Economy: Towards a Paradigm Synthesis. In: The JCCP, vol. XXXI, no. 3, November 1993, pp. 1 31 A overview and critical discussion on theoretical explanations of the Indian political economy Varadarajan, P.; Bharadwaj, S.; Thirunarayana, P.: Executives attitudes toward consumerism and marketing an exploration of theoretical and empirical linkages in an industrializing country. In: Journal of Business Research, 1994, vol. 29, no 2, pp 83-100

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Machiavellis View of Human Nature AND rELIGION

Machiavellis View of Human Nature AND rELIGION Machiavelli had discussed this in the beginning of ‘The Prince’ about the human nature. Machiavelli had assumed and had given the human nature a dark picture to an extreme that some think that he had considered humans to that of animals. According to Machiavelli human nature is completely selfish and full of ego and that they always think about their own self interest like the masses desire safety and security and the ruler wants power, and that they are very selfish to gain and conquer their motives. Machiavelli has described humans as bad, evil, selfish, egoistic and depraved. Human wants has no particular limit, they are greedy, sensual creature, mean, bad and depraved and he even goes on to saying that a human being only cares for himself, their family and their property and to conquer this they are ready to do anything even to the extent of forgiving their enemy, he even says that in order to safeguard their priorities they can even forgive the murder of their fathe r or any kin for that matter than the seizure of his property or any harm to himself. Humans love themselves first and then think about other things and that they are not law abiding citizens. As long as the ruler is providing the m the safety and the security that they desire that is the safety and security of them, their family and that of their property they are sated and to also protect from any foreign invaders, and if the ruler is able to do this the masses are easy to rule and the state is well governed. According tom Machiavelli humans use the state and the government for their own selfish reason, profit and protection, they immediately start disliking or hating the thing that they can’t achieve or is difficult to achieve or is out of their reach and will deliberately tend to avoid or delay it. Machiavelli also says that human by nature are wicked and aggressive, in the words of Sabine, â€Å"Human nature is moreover, profoundly aggressive and acquisitive, men aim to keep what they have and to acquire more. Neither in power nor in possessions are always in fact limited by natural scarcity. Accordingly men are always in a condition of strife and competition which threatens an open anarchy unless checked by the ruthless forces of the state.† Machiavelli believes that human beings are insatiable and mean by nature. Humans are insatiable but full of desires. His view regarding human nature is that of an high resemblance to that of Hobbes. Machiavelli’s views regarding politics, religion and morality are essentially based on his view of human nature. Machiavelli says that, â€Å"Men are ungrateful, fickle, deceitful, cowardly and avaricious.† From this it sums up to the conclusion that a ruler or a monarch should aim rather to be feared than to be loved. Machiavelli says that a ruler should protect the people, their families and their properties and he can rule over them without any hassle. Machiavelli quotes, â€Å"Men love at their pleasure, but fear at the pleasure of the prince, who should therefore depend upon that which in his own, not upon that which is of others. Yet he may be feared without being hated if he refrains from touching their property and their woman kind of his subjects, and if he avoid bloodshed excepting when there is good cause and manifest justification for it is in as much as men more easily forget the loss of their father than of their property.† With it he tends to say that man so much is in love with his priorities that he can go to any extreme and even turn evil to protect it from dange r, Machiavelli here also mentions that apart from property men is also insecure of his women and that if anyone is eyeing their women they tend to be aggressive and then it comes up to their ego, this idea or thought of Machiavelli can be seen even today. Machiavelli’s vie and point of human nature was very materialistic, he had rejected and turned down the ideologies of the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato who said that the state aims to make the people virtuous and good, he also dismisses the idea that existed in the medieval ages that the end of the state is to smooth the way of a man to eternal salvation. Machiavelli as always was highly criticized for this but according to him, â€Å"The end of the state is material prosperity.† CRITICISM OF MACHIAVELLI’S IDEA OF HUMAN NATURE Machiavelli’s concept of human nature is highly criticized by many till today, by various people and on various grounds. Some of them being: Man by nature has some virtues and is not purely selfish. His concept of human nature does not take into consideration the universal society. His views and ideas regarding human nature are the pure result of the observations he made and the conditions that prevailed at that particular time in Italy. According to the quote given by Sabine, â€Å"Machiavelli is not so much concerned with badness or egoism as a general human motive and with its prevalence in Italy as a symptom of social descendance. To him, Italy stands as an example of corrupt society.† So here the criticism is that Machiavelli has give the concept of human nature as at his time Italy’s political position was unbalanced and he had observed and wrote according to that and that his concept might be limited and not universal. According to Machiavelli’s concept of human nature man is an animal who is bad and depraved and that he cannot be reformed by any method. But he is here criticized with accordance to Plato and Aristotle who have said that throughout with the means of proper education man can be reformed. Machiavelli’s saying that men is ready to sacrifice their kin or relations for the sake and security of his priorities, but Machiavelli here also says that the top three priorities of man are life, family and then property, so how can he give up one priority to meet the other. No doubt that people love their property but they love and have equally deep regard and affection for their family, kin’s and other relations of blood. According to all this and keeping in mind the critics it can be said that on the basis of the above give criticism and discussion Machiavelli cannot be said as completely right, to some he might me, he and his ideas might be excellent to some but others may oppose it and it might not be according to their liking and ideology. But Machiavelli does not create an illusion he speaks and thinks practical and rational and reflects reality and most of his views are prevalent and can be seen in the present or current day scenario, as in today’s life we too observed and think that people have become selfish and that they think mostly about themselves, a lot of examples can be given from our own personal life and what we observe of that of others. MACHIAVELLI’S VIEW ON RELIGION Before Machiavelli, almost all thinkers and political personalities believed and propagated and promoted religion as the basis of the state. Plato considered state as the sole priority and religion to be a moral and an integrated part of the state. Aristotle too believed that religion was a factor and the basis for the proper administration of a good and excellent working state, but Machiavelli as being different did too believed in religion but his idea and the use of religion was totally and intelligently different, he made religion as the way as a basis for the advancement and the betterment of the state. Throughout the middle ages it was the church was the dominant and the supreme and the major part of the state and the church had political power and ruled the state and the pope of the church had supreme authority even in the sway of politics, as god was feared and the church was the creation of the god so the popes or the father were given and was considered as a dominant authority over the state of affairs to that of the state as that the soul has the supreme authority over the body, it was during that time that it was assumes that the church has a superior authority and position as compare, but Machiavelli was opposed to this idea as he thought of it differently and with this and his intellectual thoughts he believed and promoted religion but with his own twist of idea. It was Machiavelli and his idea that there should be a separation of religion from politics; it was Machiavelli who divorced religion from politics and segregated them completely from one another like his separatio n of ethics and moral from politics. He believed that politics attached to something is not real politics and that it should be played or governed on one on one basis. Machiavelli, he gave less importance to religion as compared to the state. The state according to Machiavelli has no important relation to the church but it also has no relation to God or any other super natural power for the matter of fact, he says that the state needs religion only as an instrumental object for furthering its own object. According to Allen, â€Å"In Machiavelli’s views the state can be understood only in terms of human lusts and appetites and that the successful ruler must learn to control these forms.† As he gave less importance to religion, he at the very same time stated and accepted that morality has a limited place in the society and that they should and must be both exploited and preserved. He thus was unmoral and not immoral. Machiavelli thought that religious factor in the society is a driving force which a clever and intellectual ruler can use to turn the table in the game of politics and use religion for their own advantage and growth of the state. For him the ruler should be an intelligent to use religion in such a way that the masses are happy and so that it is for the better administration of the state. For this he promoted religion but keeping his own interest and thought in mind. He was even considered as a person who is against religion and one who does not believes and because of this he was disliked and opposed many a times. But he always made his thinking and perception of religion clear, According to Machiavelli religion is a guiding principle which prevents you from doing or committing anything wrong, religion makes a person righteous makes them fearful and more law abiding, it is usually seen that a religious person is a god fearing person and because of this fear he is more into religion, the more he is into religion the more he will go according to the religious teachings and as all the religion teaches good to a person and that they should be just and moral so the more he is morally developed and the more he is morally developed he will think before doing anything wrong and it will lead to less wrong doings which also mean less crimes and law breaking, the lesser the crime the administration would work smoothly and which in turn hails and makes the state more powerful, so Machiavelli did believe I religion but with a but he added his own sense of twist there for the betterment of the state. He on one hand encouraged people to be more and more religious and on the other hand he also set certain strategies for the ruler to assume and pretend to be merciful, god fearing, righteous, religious and powerful but when it comes to the state the ruler can and should go to any extremes for the sake and the security of the state even if he has to be or is considered to be immo ral. Thus the ruler in order to rule should be highly pretentious and if he pretends to the masses then they would be easy to rule conditioned that the ruler should protect their initial priorities regarding safety and security of them their family and their property. Machiavelli’s separation of religion is an outstanding idea and the way he uses religion for the advancement of the society and the betterment of the administration is absolutely commendable. His idea of the ruler as a pretender is so relevant event in today’s time, as politicians and other influential personalities even though highly corrupted and evil from within tend and try to make a clear and a white impression to and in front of the masses and hoax them in order to increase their vote banks or to gain their benefit and profit. So what Machiavelli had thought and perceived about this centuries ago is still very much there and prevails in the present context. Thus Machiavelli thought about religion as a powerful instrument so far that it is in the hands of the wise ruler to sustain and uphold the national morale of the state.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

How Global Is The Global Media?

How Global Is The Global Media? With the emergence of globalization, it has enhanced digital communications between suppliers and consumers and flourished the commercial media market. However, are these media systems developing a truly global market? Are they communicating with the public in a truly global perspective versus transnational, national, regional and local? (Martin, 1988, pp 40) In the twentieth century, global media simply means technology/digital media, the internet is known as our global village where information and communications can reach thousands homes in spite of geographical and cultural distances. Being global means getting internationally united and integrated through interchanging of world views. During the 1960s and 1970s, globalization primarily refers to the evolvement of Americanization, firms that are originally based in the United States started moving across the globe in a rapid pace. (McChesney, 2001) Since the United States market is already well-developed and only seeking for incremental expansion, these dominant firms aim to invest in the foreign markets so as to strengthen their competitiveness amongst other powerful national corporations. (McChesney, 2001) Unsurprisingly, these American firms have become the dominant players in the commercial media market after the 1990s, the concentration of specific media industries such as Television networks, Music industries, Film Makings, Books and Magazines publishing, are gradually increasing since dominant parent companies began to set up subsidiaries across the globe. In the twenty-first century, the global media market is basically dominated by seven multinational corporations which are based in America: Disney, AOL Time Warner, Sony, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi and Bertelsmann. (McChesney, 2001) And according to McChesneys findings (2001), these companies own the major U.S. film studios, one of the U.S. television networks, most of TV channels in U.S. and worldwide, they even control up to 85% of the global music market. By all accounts, does a truly global media market include such a high level of media concentration? Scholars on globalization and cultural equality argued that the American dominance in the media industries has made it difficult for other developing countries to produce and distribute their own form of cultural media products and has limited the degree of cultural exchange between global countries. On the other hand, Morley (1996, pp37) believes that Americanization, also refers to media/ cultural imperialism, is just the side effect or process of globalization. He explains that in long run, the U.S. is striving to emerge a set of values and beliefs which largely shares amongst all nations through media. Media plays a significant role in spreading the word of mouth and is redefining the way the global communicates; (Morley, 1996, pp54) The flow of media communications can be multilayered, in this case, the U.S. is just taking the lead, media is going to wide spread across the globe layer by layer (local, regional, nation, transnational, multinational and global). Cultural media Imperialism A global media system supposed to be influential and powerful enough to mediate nations (organizations, groups and individuals) to communicate their differences and similarities through cultural exchange. However, Straubhaar (1991) has identified several key problems regarding the media flow in the 1970s: media and cultural imperialism. The spread of commercial media was seen to have constrained the distribution of media and its usage to a purely national basis. The media was perceived to be a one way flow of television and news from western countries like United States and France and the big four news agencies (Associated Press, United Press International, Agence France Presse and Reuters) respectively, to the rest of the world. (Straubhaar, 1991) Straubhaars concept of asymmetrical interdependence (1991) is able to explain the imbalanced set of relationships, where the original media flow of the world displays first world countries at the top, and third world at the bottom. It is very ironic to say that media/cultural imperialism is one of the stages to go through in the journey to media globalization. McChesney points out that the contemporary American culture is the most powerful and influential in history. The unequal distributions of income, the lack of industrial infrastructure, lack of government support and media resources in the third world countries (i.e. India and parts of Africa) not only have constrained them from creating their own media channels, it has also increased their dependency on the U.S for capital, technology and most media products. (2001) In the notion of global media, it encourages opening up to the world, sharing and exchanging instead of protecting your own culture; however, the dominant media coverage and financial and technologically lagging behind of the third world have even caused small countries to lose their cultural identity. (Morley, 2006, pp34) Living in a capitalist community, it is understandable for companies to be profit oriented; profits became the motor force to drive the expansion of U.S. media into international sales and investment. Nonetheless, according to Strabhaars findings, audiences preference is as well considered to be a key factor in producing socially determined television readings. (1991) For instance, the massive distribution (exports) of American global films has successfully promoted the U.S. culture and spread knowledge about the Americans to the world. Furthermore, multinational audiences choice of reading has been assimilated to the American style/layout/format media productions (especially films and dramas). (Martin, 1988, pp52) The international success of the U.S. media industries has flourished the media market in other European countries such as Britain, North American, Mexico etc. (Martin, 1988, pp 54) Matter fact that the American influence is giving way to the development of media industries in the third world. These firms are learning to take the first world models, and adapting it to their native settings such as developing non main stream media which is more economical. (Straubhaar, 1991) Accordingly, in less than ten years after the Americanization period, Brazil already owned its national radio station and theatre; India got its own community television channel; Egypt started its national media industry by introducing a new cinema and opera theatre. (Martin, 1988, pp 52) Cultural proximity and hybridisation Under the U.S. influence, media industries in Brazil tend to have adapted the American form of commercial media and cultural industry. Telenovela has been considered a distinct cultural industry product of Brazil since 1970s. (Straubhaar, 1991) Morley said that it is often being categorized as American style soap operas since it is translated from soap operas to Latin American by some Brazilian Americans. The Rich Also Cry is the first telenovela that went global which is exported to China, Russia, France, Malaysia, Japan and the U.S. etc. (2006 pp 43) The nature of cultural linguistic markets helps develop cultural proximity within regions more than the mass imported U.S. programs. (Movius, 2010) Telenovela helps spread sociocultural messages worldwide. Small communities like the Hispanic people who share similar cultural norms with the Americans and Brazilians, are attracted to watch Brazils telenovela even some of them are living in east Asian countries. (Movius, 2010) Straubhaar argues that even though some countries are sharing a similar culture or a common language, there are many media products, especially television programs being locally transplanted before they enter a local market; (1991) It is also very less likely to see pure imported media programs since the local audience usually prefer programs that are most proximate to them in terms of format, style, culture, tradition, custom and dialect. (Movius, 2010) Take for example, the Disney cartoon movie will be translated to Chinese when it enters the Chinese film industry, all the American slangs and jokes will not be presented in the same way or meaning since they cannot make any sense in Chinese. Regardless of the movies origin, viewers will interpret tem according to their cultural context and portrait it in their own urban lifestyle. (Morley, 2006, pp 35) To a certain extent, it is nearly impossible to assimilate worldwide cultures to one or else small nations will lose the unique aspects of their home, culture and environment. (Straubhaar, 1991) The global media means to enhance the exchange of cultural ideas, knowledge and values instead of overtaking others cultural image and identity. The success of Brazilian telenovela is considered as a combination of genre traditions and exchange of cultures between nations through media production. With reference to Martin (1988, pp 51), contraflow describes how the cultures interact and transform, without losing their own genres. Also, the exportation of telenovela Ugly Betty to the U.S. from Colombia is seen to be a great example of contraflow media, it proves that there is no longer a one way flow of media from the America. (McChesney, 2001) Initially, it represents a dependency upon the first world but succeeds in moving into a greater, but still asymmetrical interdependency. (McChesney, 2001) Cultural difference is no longer a communication barrier in the globalized world. The global media has broaden audiences social horizon as various media bring them new and compelling cultural knowledge. Mass media like radio, cinema and television has reconsolidated social groupings (closed cosmopolitan groups) and renewed cultural forms. (Movius, 2010) Apart of the Hollywood products from U.S., new layers of global production and access have emerged such as the worldwide flow of telenovela, Japanese anime and manga, Chinese Kung Fu films and Bollywood films. (Movius, 2010) It is not surprised that globalization is often associated with Americanization; the U.S. has indeed written the grammar of television and film production. Yet, starting from the 1990s, the global power has shifted to Asia. (Movius, 2010) Recently, the U.S. and Chinese film industries announced that they are going to set up a Hollywood co-production film studio based in Tianjin, China. (Pulver, 2012) At such, China would be able to nurture opportunities for cross cultural creativity and business investment in the future. This project also allows China to offer its rich heritage culture to the world. Asian countries seem to be turning the original imperialistic U.S. chain on its head in the 2010s, (McChesney, 2001) South Korea is a prime example of a turn of influential media flow and showing the crucial role of advancing technology. The KPOP (Korean music) culture favours a massive number of foreign listeners; Record companies encourage songs that combined Korean lyrics with rapped breaks and slogan-scaled English choruses, some of them even produce Japanese or Chinese song albums to attract the foreign market. In regard of the advance technology, the internet cannot be neglected as it is the most powerful and influential media that bridge communications amongst the global audience. It is known as the global village, the motor force that drives all nations together at once regardless of time and place. (Martin, 1988, pp 45) Social media like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace takes on the job of the mass media to globalize peoples identity but in a larger degree, through an interpersonal space. These new global media players continue to grow which have also strengthen social relationships as well as increased accessibility to global information. (Movius, 2010) However, identities and media relations are still multi-layered with cultural geographical elements (McChesney, 2001) According to Straubhaar (1991), there are tendencies that the communication of media networks will be effected by cultural media traditions and regulatory systems. For instance, Facebook is censored in China due to some political reasons. At the same time, the Chinese media has developed their own social networking sites that function like Facebook: Weibo and RENN. This act has again challenged the notion of global media, showing that there are still countries which want to protect their domestic media and cultural industries to some point. (Straubhaar, 1991) As a conclusion, there is an initial change in the world media relations from dependence to relative interdependence. Though the United States still make up a high percentage of media ownership worldwide, other national media industries are consolidating an independent position in the world media market. (McChesney, 2001) The question to media imperialism and power inequality within the global media system is still very complex due to some political, social, cultural and economic implications. The global media is trying to deliver the same message worldwide, however, there are others forces and causes influencing such process.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - Hamlet and Insanity Essa

Hamlet and Insanity  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare’s supreme tragic drama Hamlet does not answer fully for many in the audience the pivotal question concerning the sanity of Hamlet – whether it is totally feigned or not. Let us treat this topic in detail, along with critical comment.    George Lyman Kittredge in the Introduction to The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, explains the prince’s rationale behind the entirely pretended insanity:    In Shakespeare’s drama, however, Hamlet’s motive for acting the madman is obvious. We speak unguardedly in the presence of children and madmen, for we take it for granted that they will not listen or will not understand; and so the King or the Queen (for Hamlet does not know that his mother is ignorant of her husband’s crime) may say something that will afford the evidence needed to confirm the testimony of the Ghost. (xii)    Critical opinion is divided on this question. A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy staunchly adheres to the belief that Hamlet would cease to be a tragic character if he were really mad at any time in the play (30). On the other hand, W. Thomas MacCary in Hamlet: A Guide to the Play maintains that the prince not only feigns insanity but also shows signs of true insanity:    Hamlet feigns madness but also shows signs of true madness) after his father’s death and his mother’s overhasty remarriage; Ophelia actually does go mad after her father’s death at the hands of Hamlet. For both, madness is a kind of freedom – a license to speak truth. Those who hear them listen carefully, expecting to find something of substance in their speech. Is it they, the audience, who make something out of nothing, or is it the mad who make something out o... ... Felperin, Howard. â€Å"O’erdoing Termagant.† Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. of â€Å"O’erdoing Termagant: An Approach to Shakespearean Mimesis.† The Yale Review 63, no.3 (Spring 1974).    Kittredge, George Lyman. Introduction. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In Five Plays of Shakespeare. Ed. George Lyman Kittredge. New York: Ginn and Company, 1941.    MacCary, W. Thomas. Hamlet: A Guide to the Play. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1998.    Mack, Maynard. â€Å"The World of Hamlet.† Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet. Ed. David Bevington. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.      

Tichborne’s elegy :: Chidiock Tichborne Chideock Tichbornes elegy

Tichborne’s elegy Chidiock Tichborne himself wrote Tichborne’s elegy, in the tower before his execution. The poem reflects his feeling that he has lived a life but it has been useless, as fate had always intended him to die this way. In the first stanza he compares his attributes to many bad things in his world â€Å"my prime of youth is but a frost of cares,† this line illustrates that he should have been enjoying his life now rather than worrying about his death. â€Å"My crop of corn is but a field of tares† shows that he feels he has been given life but it is useless to everyone. â€Å"And all my good is but vain hope of gain† gives you an idea about how Tichborne feels that fate is pushing down on him, and anything he tries to improve his life fails. The second stanza shows Tichborne’s feeling that he has had no influence on anything â€Å"my tale was heard, and yet it was not told† this is demonstrating that even though his life has happened it was nothing, another quote that backs up this point is â€Å"I saw the world, and yet I was not seen†. â€Å"My fruit has fallen, and yet my leaves are green;† shows that he is still young yet the prime of his life has passed. â€Å"My thread has been cut, and yet it is not spun;† illustrates the idea that Tichborne’s life has been given to him but it has not been fulfilled. The third and final stanza talks about how his life had been decided to end this way even before he was born, â€Å"I trod the earth, and knew it was my tomb† this is illustrating the idea that he knew that his fate was for him to die early. â€Å"I sought my death, and found it in my womb† this shows that when he looked for death he found it in his life, I expect this is because he is being executed for murder so in

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Fetal Neural Transplantation in the Treatment of Parkinsons and Huntin

Two Diseases, One Hope: Fetal Neural Transplantation in the Treatment of Parkinson's and Huntington's Disease Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Huntington's Disease (HD) are neurodegenerative diseases that are caused by malfunctions within the motor sector of the nervous system. These malfunctions, which are caused either by the surplus (as in HD) or absence (as in PD) of hormones, are a direct result of neural cell deterioration within the brain. PD and HD illustrate two very different behavioral patterns that are subsequently caused by two opposite and extreme biological abnormalities. Yet the common thread between the two conditions is that there are major mechanical predicaments arising between cellular connections within the brain. Thus, it is the occurrence of cell death that functions as a key link between these two very different diseases. And it is because of this commonality, that the most controversial experimental treatment for PD and HD, fetal transplant surgery, functions as a possible cure for both these diseases. (18). The cause of neurodegenerative diseases, like PD and HD, is ba sically a story of how abnormal chemical interactions result in motor problems. Generally speaking, the brain is the body's communication headquarters. It obtains a myriad of information from various parts of the sensory system and processes this information in an organized fashion. It then relays sensory input to different parts of the motor system. Such messages from the brain dictate specific muscular and behavioral patterns. (18). Moreover, there are two particular areas of the brain that are specifically related to motor malfunctions: the substania nigra and the striatum (the caudate nucleus and the putamen). The cells of the nigr... ...-lab.htm 11. Neural Transplantation for Huntington's Disease http://neuro-ww2.mgh.harvard.edu/hdsa/newresearch.nclk 12. Neurosurgical Horizons in the Treatment of Huntington's Disease http://www.lib.uchicago.edu//~rd13/hd/horizons.html 13. NeurotransplantationUs Latest Stab at Incurable Brain Disease http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~rd13/hd/neuro.html 14. New Treatment Strategies http://www.bcm.edu/neurol/struct/hunting/huntp8.html 15. The Striatal Project http://www.brc.cam.ac.uk/people/sbd/strgraft.htm 16. What is Parkinson's? http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/IntroPD/Intro.html 17. Young Parkinson's Handbook http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/YOPD_Handbook/CHAPTER_8.%20html Book: 18. Delcomyn, Fred. 1998. Foundations of Neurobiology. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, pg. 436-437 Fetal Neural Transplantation in the Treatment of Parkinson's and Huntin Two Diseases, One Hope: Fetal Neural Transplantation in the Treatment of Parkinson's and Huntington's Disease Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Huntington's Disease (HD) are neurodegenerative diseases that are caused by malfunctions within the motor sector of the nervous system. These malfunctions, which are caused either by the surplus (as in HD) or absence (as in PD) of hormones, are a direct result of neural cell deterioration within the brain. PD and HD illustrate two very different behavioral patterns that are subsequently caused by two opposite and extreme biological abnormalities. Yet the common thread between the two conditions is that there are major mechanical predicaments arising between cellular connections within the brain. Thus, it is the occurrence of cell death that functions as a key link between these two very different diseases. And it is because of this commonality, that the most controversial experimental treatment for PD and HD, fetal transplant surgery, functions as a possible cure for both these diseases. (18). The cause of neurodegenerative diseases, like PD and HD, is ba sically a story of how abnormal chemical interactions result in motor problems. Generally speaking, the brain is the body's communication headquarters. It obtains a myriad of information from various parts of the sensory system and processes this information in an organized fashion. It then relays sensory input to different parts of the motor system. Such messages from the brain dictate specific muscular and behavioral patterns. (18). Moreover, there are two particular areas of the brain that are specifically related to motor malfunctions: the substania nigra and the striatum (the caudate nucleus and the putamen). The cells of the nigr... ...-lab.htm 11. Neural Transplantation for Huntington's Disease http://neuro-ww2.mgh.harvard.edu/hdsa/newresearch.nclk 12. Neurosurgical Horizons in the Treatment of Huntington's Disease http://www.lib.uchicago.edu//~rd13/hd/horizons.html 13. NeurotransplantationUs Latest Stab at Incurable Brain Disease http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~rd13/hd/neuro.html 14. New Treatment Strategies http://www.bcm.edu/neurol/struct/hunting/huntp8.html 15. The Striatal Project http://www.brc.cam.ac.uk/people/sbd/strgraft.htm 16. What is Parkinson's? http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/IntroPD/Intro.html 17. Young Parkinson's Handbook http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/YOPD_Handbook/CHAPTER_8.%20html Book: 18. Delcomyn, Fred. 1998. Foundations of Neurobiology. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, pg. 436-437

Saturday, August 17, 2019

How Bias Influences Critical Thinking

How Bias Influences Critical Thinking – Week 1 A recent decision that I had to make that involved both critical thinking and a bias was while I was at work. I am in charge of the back office, and often have to deal with patients ordering materials when they come in for their exams, and then not wanting to pay for them, or not understanding their insurance benefits. In some instances this leads to mistakes being made on the offices end, and the patient is either not charged enough or over charged.Either way, when the patient comes to pick up their order they are not pleased with the office and I am left to make a quick decision, but still put some critical thinking into it. The biased that is involved in this decision is the loss aversion, I am usually not looking to gain anything from the situation, but prevent or reduce my losses. The particular situation, a patient ordered a year supply of contacts, was only charged for half the supply though. When they came to pick it up, t he mistake had been caught and the additional charges were applied to their account.They were told multiple times that they had paid in full for the amount discussed, and was aggravated when they now had a balance. In an effort to keep the patient happy, and returning to the office for their supplies in the future, I had to make a quick yet rational decision to reduce the price of the product; covering our cost only, leaving no profit to be made. This made the patient happy, and they remain a loyal patient. My critical thinking was defiantly affected by biased, and I was trying to reduce my losses, rather than focus on making a profit. Chapter 1. Critical Thinking, Pg 14.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Auden an the Greeks Essay

We would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become, for better or worse, fully human. † this quote is for W. H. Auden, who was a prolific writer and plat write. In this paper I will endeavor to give insight about the author of this quote, the origins of this piece, and what the author meant in writhing it. As well as examples of proof that Auden’s theory was true or not. And finally I will give my opinion whether I feel that Auden quote is correct. To start with a short back ground on the author Wystan Hugh Auden he was born in York, England, in 1907. He moved to Birmingham during childhood and was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. As a young man he was influenced by the poetry of Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, as well as old English verse,(http://www. poets. org ). Auden seem to have always had a fascination with the ancient Greeks having been educated at a young age on the teaching of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle . Auden’s love of the ancient Greeks would in later life place him in the category as a Grecophile: ( a lover of all things Greek). This love of Ancient Greek; teachings, and traditions I’m sure this led to Auden’s viewpoint of how the Greeks contributed to modern civilization. In researching Auden’s line about the Ancient Greek’s and their contributions to are modern day society I found that the line is taken from a larger writing entitled: ‘The Greeks and Us’ in Forewords and Afterwords, (W.H. Auden, New York, 1973, p. 32). The Quote is: â€Å"I can think of no better way of indicating what we owe to Greece than drawing distinctions, for of all intellectual acts, that is perhaps the most characteristically Greek. It is they who have taught us, not to think–that all human beings have always done–but to think about our thinking, to ask such questions as â€Å"What do I think? †, â€Å"What do this and that other person or people think? †, â€Å"On what do we agree and disagree? Why? And not only did they learn to ask questions about thinking, but they also discovered how, instead of giving immediate answers to suppose something to be the case and then see what would follow if it were. To be able to perform either of these mental operations, a human being must first be capable of a tremendous feat of moral courage and discipline, for he must have learned how to resist the immediate demands of feeling and bodily needs, and to disregard his natural anxiety about his future so that he can look at his self and his world as if they were not his but a stranger’s. If some of the Greek questions turned out to have been incorrectly put, if some of their answers have proved wrong, that is a trivial matter. Had Greek civilization never existed, we might fear God and deal justly with our neighbors, we might practice arts and even have learned how to devise fairly simple machines, but we would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become , for better or worse, fully human. †(W. H. Auden, New York, 1973, p. 32). In reading this text I begin to understand where Auden’s viewpoint is coming from. The main part of the text and purpose of this paper is still widely regarded as true by many citizens in our country today. That the ancient Greek society of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, still offers much to the modern world. And with out this it would be hard to imagine what our world would be like without their contributions. Auden is agreeing with this philosophy. Auden is basically saying that the ancient Greeks have contributed how we should be looking at things that affect are daily lives, however so many of us do not. This is saying that we should be looking at a subject from not only are own viewpoint, or are initial first thought on the subject, but to be introspective and take the time to contemplate how the world around us may, or may not, see the same set of circumstance. And then taking all opinions into consideration for the final outcome regardless ff that outcome is good or bad. This takes a lot of mentally thought and discipline since in modern society we tend to be less philosophical, most of us say and do what first comes to our minds regardless of what others around us feel or think of the matter, or the eventual outcome of the situation. In my opinion Auden was saying that we can and should apply this to every aspect of are lives whether it is a personal matter, a judgment call, or really anything. The Greeks felt, in my opinion, that you must always think of your fellow man first and place oneself in his shoes, how another would feel and react to a situation taking that in to consideration and basing ones thoughts and actions on that. This sets peoples apart from a reactionary society to a thinking one, and had Greek civilization not existed we may have made our way, however we would certainly not had compassion for our fellow man and their viewpoints, in other words we would have not become fully human. This school of thought can be shown in example by the relationship of the three great ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, theirs was a relationship of a teacher educating his pupils. Socrates schooled his followers, Plato, Aristotle with his vast knowledge and wisdom, the method became known as Socratic. According to Socrates an inquisitive nature was critical in understanding and solving questions. And by posing this to every one from the man on the street to authority figures and taking their opinions into consideration would compel you to the most reasonable and logical answer benefiting all involved in the situation. However not even Socrates pupils always agreed with his teachings. Both Plato and Aristotle disagreed with some of Socrates views and disagreed with one another. One thing that both did agree on was that an open forum of opinions would help you to acquire the best solution to a problem. Whether they agreed with it or not you must listen and always continue to discover from as many sources to come to the correct conclusion. In conclusion my viewpoint on W. H. Auden’s comment: â€Å"Had Greek civilization never existed†¦ we would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become, for better or worse, fully human. That yes indeed, after researching what he was referring to and the trying to look at it from the perspective of the ancient Greeks that using critical thinking, and excepting all shades of opinion whether you agree with them or not and allowing them into your decision making process this is the most effectual way of deducing a question. In this I agree, however I find the modern world we are living in that few of my fellow humans take little or any of this into consideration. Today in my opinion we speak more often before we think of what we are saying and how it effects other and these peoples viewpoints. To me this is sad, if we thought more about the views and feelings of one another and less about making sure our own voice is heard what a different society we would live in. I would have to say I agree with W. H. Auden that if not for ancient Greece we would not have developed fully in to humans. However I feel that our modern society is growing rapidly away from theses ancient principals.