The Host Chapter 36: Believed

The congregation relaxed, and a more enthusiastic murmur ran around the half circle. I looked at Jamie. He pursed his lips and shrugged. â€Å"Jeb's just trying to get things back to normal. It's been a bad couple of days. Burying Walter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I winced. I saw that Jeb was grinning at Jared. After a moment of resistance, Jared sighed and rolled his eyes at the strange old man. He turned and strode quickly from the cave. â€Å"Jared got a new ball?† someone asked. â€Å"Cool,† Wes said beside me. â€Å"Playing games,† Trudy muttered, and shook her head. â€Å"If it eases the tension,† Lily responded quietly, shrugging. Their voices were low, close beside me, but I could also hear other, louder voices. â€Å"Easy on the ball this time,† Aaron said to Kyle. He stood over him, offering his hand. Kyle took the offered hand and got slowly to his feet. When he was standing, his head almost hit the hanging lanterns. â€Å"The last ball was weak,† Kyle said, grinning at the older man. â€Å"Structurally deficient.† â€Å"I nominate Andy for captain,† someone shouted. â€Å"I nominate Lily,† Wes called out, getting to his feet and stretching. â€Å"Andy and Lily.† â€Å"Yeah, Andy and Lily.† â€Å"I want Kyle,† Andy said quickly. â€Å"Then I get Ian,† Lily countered. â€Å"Jared.† â€Å"Brandt.† Jamie got to his feet and stood on his toes, trying to look tall. â€Å"Paige.† â€Å"Heidi.† â€Å"Aaron.† â€Å"Wes.† The roll call continued. Jamie glowed when Lily chose him before half the adults were taken. Even Maggie and Jeb were picked for teams. The numbers were even until Lucina came back with Jared, her two small boys bouncing in excitement. Jared had a shiny new soccer ball in his hand; he held it out, and Isaiah, the older child, jumped up and down trying to knock it from his hand. â€Å"Wanda?† Lily asked. I shook my head and pointed to my leg. â€Å"Right. Sorry.† I'm good at soccer, Mel grumbled. Well, I used to be. I can hardly walk, I reminded her. â€Å"I think I'll sit this one out,† Ian said. â€Å"No,† Wes complained. â€Å"They've got Kyle and Jared. We're dead without you.† â€Å"Play,† I told him. â€Å"I'll†¦ I'll keep score.† He looked at me, his lips pressed into a thin, rigid line. â€Å"I'm not really in the mood for playing a game.† â€Å"They need you.† He snorted. â€Å"C'mon, Ian,† Jamie urged. â€Å"I want to watch,† I said. â€Å"But it will be†¦ boring if one team has too much advantage.† â€Å"Wanda.† Ian sighed. â€Å"You really are the worst liar I've ever met.† But he got up and started stretching with Wes. Paige set up goalposts, four lanterns. I tried to get to my feet-I was right in the middle of the field. Nobody noticed me in the dim light. All around, the atmosphere was upbeat now, charged with anticipation. Jeb had been right. This was something they needed, odd as it seemed to me. I was able to get onto all fours, and then I pulled my good leg forward so I was kneeling on the bad. It hurt. I tried to hop up onto my good leg from there. My balance was all off, thanks to the awkward weight of my sore leg. Strong hands caught me before I could fall on my face. I looked up, a little rueful, to thank Ian. The words caught in my throat when I saw that it was Jared whose arms held me up. â€Å"You could have just asked for help,† he said conversationally. â€Å"I -† I cleared my throat. â€Å"I should have. I didn't want to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Call attention to yourself?† He said the words as if he were truly curious. There was no accusation in them. He helped me hobble toward the cave entrance. I shook my head once. â€Å"I didn't want to†¦ make anyone do anything, out of courtesy, that they didn't want to do.† That didn't explain it exactly right, but he seemed to understand my meaning. â€Å"I don't think Jamie or Ian would begrudge you a helping hand.† I glanced back at them over my shoulder. In the low light, neither had noticed I was gone yet. They were bouncing the ball off their heads, and laughing when Wes caught it in the face. â€Å"But they're having fun. I wouldn't want to interrupt that.† Jared examined my face. I realized I was smiling in affection. â€Å"You care about the kid quite a bit,† he said. â€Å"Yes.† He nodded. â€Å"And the man?† â€Å"Ian is†¦ Ian believes me. He watches over me. He can be so very kind†¦ for a human.† Almost like a soul, I'd wanted to say. But that wouldn't have sounded like the compliment it was to this audience. Jared snorted. â€Å"For a human. A more important distinction than I'd realized.† He lowered me to the lip of the entrance. It made a shallow bench that was more comfortable than the flat floor. â€Å"Thank you,† I told him. â€Å"Jeb did the right thing, you know.† â€Å"I don't agree with that.† Jared's tone was milder than his words. â€Å"Thank you also-for before. You didn't have to defend me.† â€Å"Every word was the truth.† I looked at the floor. â€Å"It's true that I would never do anything to hurt anyone here. Not on purpose. I'm sorry that I hurt you when I came here. And Jamie. So sorry.† He sat down right beside me, his face thoughtful. â€Å"Honestly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated. â€Å"The kid is better since you came. I'd sort of forgotten what his laugh sounded like.† We both listened to it now, echoing above the lower pitch of adult laughter. â€Å"Thank you for telling me that. It's been my†¦ biggest worry. I hoped I hadn't damaged anything permanently.† â€Å"Why?† I looked up at him, confused. â€Å"Why do you love him?† he asked, his voice still curious but not intense. I bit my lip. â€Å"You can tell me. I'm†¦ I've†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He couldn't find the words to explain. â€Å"You can tell me,† he repeated. I looked at my feet as I answered. â€Å"In part because Melanie does.† I didn't peek to see if the name made him flinch. â€Å"Remembering him the way she does†¦ that's a powerful thing. And then, when I met him in person†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shrugged. â€Å"I can't not love him. It's part of my†¦ the very makeup of these cells to love him. I hadn't realized before how much influence a host had on me. Maybe it's just human bodies. Maybe it's just Melanie.† â€Å"She talks to you?† He kept his voice even, but I could hear the strain now. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"How often?† â€Å"When she wants to. When she's interested.† â€Å"How about today?† â€Å"Not much. She's†¦ kind of mad at me.† He barked out a surprised laugh. â€Å"She's mad? Why?† â€Å"Because of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Was there such a thing as double jeopardy here? â€Å"Nothing.† He heard the lie again and made the connection. â€Å"Oh. Kyle. She wanted him to fry.† He laughed again. â€Å"She would.† â€Å"She can be†¦ violent,† I agreed. I smiled, to soften the insult. It was no insult to him. â€Å"Really? How?† â€Å"She wants me to fight back. But I†¦ I can't do that. I'm not a fighter.† â€Å"I can see that.† He touched my battered face with one fingertip. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"No. Anyone would do the same. I know what you must have felt.† â€Å"You wouldn't -† â€Å"If I were human, I would. Besides, I wasn't thinking of that†¦ I was remembering the Seeker.† He stiffened. I smiled again, and he relaxed a little. â€Å"Mel wanted me to throttle her. She really hates that Seeker. And I can't†¦ find it in myself to blame her.† â€Å"She's still searching for you. Looks like she had to return the helicopter, at least.† I closed my eyes, clenched my fists, and concentrated on breathing for several seconds. â€Å"I didn't used to be afraid of her,† I whispered. â€Å"I don't know why she scares me so much now. Where is she?† â€Å"Don't worry. She was just up and down the highway yesterday. She won't find you.† I nodded, willing myself to believe. â€Å"Can you†¦ can you hear Mel now?† he murmured. I kept my eyes closed. â€Å"I'm†¦ aware of her. She's listening very hard.† â€Å"What's she thinking?† His voice was just a whisper. Here's your chance, I told her. What do you want to tell him? She was cautious, for once. The invitation unsettled her. Why? Why does he believe you now? I opened my eyes and found him staring at my face, holding his breath. â€Å"She wants to know what happened to make you†¦ different now. Why do you believe us?† He thought for a moment. â€Å"An†¦ accumulation of things. You were so†¦ kind to Walter. I've never seen anyone but Doc be that compassionate. And you saved Kyle's life, where most of us would have let him fall just to protect ourselves, intended murder aside. And then you're such an appalling liar.† He laughed once. â€Å"I kept trying to see these things as evidence of some grand plot. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and feel that way again.† Mel and I flinched. â€Å"But when they started attacking you today†¦ well, I snapped. I could see in them everything that shouldn't have been in me. I realized I already did believe, and that I was just being obstinate. Cruel. I think I've believed since†¦ well, a little bit since that first night when you put yourself in front of me to save me from Kyle.† He laughed as if he didn't think Kyle was dangerous. â€Å"But I'm better at lying than you are. I can even lie to myself.† â€Å"She hopes you won't change your mind. She's afraid you will.† He closed his eyes. â€Å"Mel.† My heart thudded faster in my chest. It was her joy that sped it, not mine. He must have guessed how I loved him. After his questions about Jamie, he must have seen that. â€Å"Tell her†¦ that won't happen.† â€Å"She hears you.† â€Å"How†¦ straightforward is the connection?† â€Å"She hears what I hear, sees what I see.† â€Å"Feels what you feel?† â€Å"Yes.† His nose wrinkled. He touched my face again, softly, a caress. â€Å"You don't know how sorry I am.† My skin felt hotter where he had touched it; it was a good heat, but his words burned hotter than his touch. Of course he was sorrier for hurting her. Of course. That shouldn't bother me. â€Å"C'mon, Jared! Let's go!† We looked up. Kyle was calling to Jared. He seemed utterly at ease, as if he had not been on trial for his life today. Maybe he'd known it would go his way. Maybe he was quick to get over anything. He didn't seem to notice me there beside Jared. I realized, for the first time, that others had. Jamie was watching us with a satisfied smile. This probably looked like a good thing to him. Was it? What do you mean? What does he see when he looks at us? His family, put back together? Isn't it? Sort of? With the one unwelcome addition. But better than it was yesterday. I guess†¦ I know, she admitted. I'm glad Jared knows I'm here†¦ but I still don't like him touching you. And I like it too much. My face tingled where Jared's fingers had brushed it. Sorry about that. I don't blame you. Or, at least, I know I shouldn't. Thanks. Jamie wasn't the only one watching. Jeb was curious, that little smile gathering up the corners of his beard. Sharon and Maggie watched with fire in their eyes. Their expressions were so much the same that the youthful skin and bright hair did nothing to make Sharon look younger than her grizzled mother. Ian was worried. His eyes were tight, and he seemed on the verge of coming to protect me again. To make sure Jared wasn't upsetting me. I smiled, to reassure him. He didn't smile back, but he took a deep breath. I don't think that's why he's worried, Mel said. â€Å"Are you listening to her now?† Jared was on his feet but still watching my face. His question distracted me before I could ask her what she meant. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"What's she saying?† â€Å"We're noticing what the others think of your†¦ change of heart.† I nodded toward Melanie's aunt and cousin. They turned their backs on me in synchronization. â€Å"Tough nuts,† he acknowledged. â€Å"Fine, then,† Kyle boomed, turning his body toward the ball that sat under the brightest spot of light. â€Å"We'll win it without you.† â€Å"I'm coming!† Jared threw one wistful glance at me-at us-and ran to get in on the game. I wasn't the best scorekeeper. It was too dark to see the ball from where I sat. It was too dark even to see the players well when they weren't right under the lights. I began counting from Jamie's reactions. His shout of victory when his team scored, his groan when the other team did. The groans outnumbered the shouts. Everyone played. Maggie was the goalie for Andy's team, and Jeb was the goalie for Lily's. They were both surprisingly good. I could see their silhouettes in the light from the goalpost lamps, moving as lithely as if they were decades younger. Jeb was not afraid to hit the floor to stop a goal, but Maggie was more effective without resorting to such extremes. She was like a magnet for the invisible ball. Every time Ian or Wes got off a shot†¦ thunk! It landed in her hands. Trudy and Paige quit after a half hour or so and passed me on their way out, chattering with excitement. It seemed impossible that we'd started the morning with a trial, but I was relieved that things had changed so drastically. The women weren't gone long. They came back with arms full of boxes. Granola bars-the kind with fruit filling. The game came to a halt. Jeb called halftime, and everyone hurried over to eat breakfast. The goods were divvied up at the center line. It was a mob scene at first. â€Å"Here you go, Wanda,† Jamie said, ducking out of the group. He had his hands full of the bars, and water bottles tucked under his arms. â€Å"Thanks. Having fun?† â€Å"Yeah! Wish you could play.† â€Å"Next time,† I said. â€Å"Here you go†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ian was there, his hands full of granola bars. â€Å"Beat ya,† Jamie told him. â€Å"Oh,† Jared said, appearing on Jamie's other side. He also had too many bars for one. Ian and Jared exchanged a long glance. â€Å"Where's all the food?† Kyle demanded. He stood over an empty box, his head swiveling around the room, looking for the culprit. â€Å"Catch,† Jared said, tossing granola bars one by one, hard, like knives. Kyle plucked them out of the air with ease, then jogged over to see if Jared was holding out on him. â€Å"Here,† Ian said, shoving half of his haul toward his brother without looking at him. â€Å"Now go.† Kyle ignored him. For the first time today, he looked at me, staring down at me where I sat. His irises were black with the light behind him. I couldn't read his expression. I recoiled, and caught my breath when my ribs protested. Jared and Ian closed ranks in front of me like stage curtains. â€Å"You heard him,† Jared said. â€Å"Can I say something first?† Kyle asked. He peered down through the space between them. They didn't respond. â€Å"I'm not sorry,† Kyle told me. â€Å"I still think it was the right thing to do.† Ian shoved his brother. Kyle reeled back but then stepped forward again. â€Å"Hold on, I'm not done.† â€Å"Yeah, you are,† Jared said. His hands were clenched, the skin over his knuckles white. Everyone had noticed now. The room was hushed, all the fun of the game lost. â€Å"No, I'm not.† Kyle held his hands up, a gesture of surrender, and spoke to me again. â€Å"I don't think I was wrong, but you did save my life. I don't know why, but you did. So I figure, a life for a life. I won't kill you. I'll pay the debt that way.† â€Å"You stupid jackass,† Ian said. â€Å"Who's got the crush on a worm, bro? You gonna call me stupid?† Ian lifted his fists, leaning forward. â€Å"I'll tell you why,† I said, making my voice louder than I wanted to. But it had the effect I was after. Ian and Jared and Kyle turned to stare at me, fight forgotten for the moment. It made me nervous. I cleared my throat. â€Å"I didn't let you fall because†¦ because I'm not like you. I'm not saying that I'm not†¦ like humans. Because there are others here who would do the same. There are kind and good people here. People like your brother, and Jeb, and Doc†¦ I'm saying that I'm not like you personally.† Kyle stared at me for a minute and then chuckled. â€Å"Ouch,† he said, still laughing. He turned away from us then, his message given, and walked back to get some water. â€Å"Life for a life,† he called over his shoulder. I wasn't sure I believed him. Not sure at all. Humans were good liars.

Choose a Favorite Food, and Write a How-to Essay Explaining

In this project I learn that Alfredo sauce can be used for a verity of recipes and meals. Alfredo sauce can be used in pasta, chicken, and maybe you can mix some vinegar into Alfredo and make a dressing out of it for salads. I also learned how to cook pasta with Alfredo and chicken and make my own things with Alfredo. I definitely can say that I can cook with Alfredo. You know if you think of it cooking with Alfredo is not that hard to make. You can cook some chicken and put Alfredo on it. You can boil pasta and put some Alfredo on it. Also you can make a pizza or enchiladas and put some Alfredo on it.Has you can see Alfredo can be has a dressing for a whole much of things. In this project I also had to make myself a resume. That was the first time I made myself one and I did it by myself it wasn’t made. So I can make me a resume anytime for future needs. Making my resume meant I had to know all of my skills and objective and things like that. For me that was really good to kn ow how to do it at my age. So I can do it in the future when a job I want to do wants a resume. In the first part of the project we had to actually cook our chosen recipes.That was some experiment for me because I got the chance to cook something for my family instead of eggs and pancakes or something like that. So that was really fun for me. In the second part we just had to pick random recipes. When I was doing that I saw, like I said in the beginning, a lot of meals with Alfredo sauce in it. So that was something to know about, seeing a lot of recipes I didn’t even know Alfredo can be used for. Like one recipe it was like chicken wrap in with ham and cheese and Alfredo on top of it. That meal I had the chance of doing it and tasting it.SO when I decided to make it I thought it was weird. I never thought that could be thought of to make and the taste was really good that I still do it today sometimes when I cook for my family. Well the way I did it was good. I followed the directions but the taste might have been different then mine, but mine was still good and sometimes I add a little things to it and make it better. Well that recipe was good and one I never would of that Alfredo would be in it. This is probably the things I learned during the time I did the project.

Great Expectations Essay

Charles Dickens is best known as a writer of novels, many of which are read today and regularly used in stage productions, on television and in the cinema. He was also a journalist, he used his stories to get across what he felt were important messages.  Although he tried to get his message across he wanted his work to be entertaining. In so doing, he created some of the most well remembered characters of English literature, such as Mr Pickwick, Oliver Twist and Ebenezer Scrooge. Dickens wrote about Victorian life and particularly Victorian life in London. Dickens campaigned for things he believed in like the welfare and education of children. He addressed the public in public speakings and through his writings.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Great Expectations†Ã‚  Chapter one  At the start of â€Å"Great Expectations† Charles Dickens introduces us to a boy called â€Å"Pip†. This name is explained in the novels very first sentence and stated that this is the name he is commonly called by in the second.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My father’s family name being Pirrip and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. Pip goes onto explain that he never saw his mother or father and so the audience straight away feels very sorry for this young boy. â€Å"As I never saw my father or my mother,†Ã‚  The setting in the first chapter is a graveyard with Pip looking at his father and mother’s tombstones. Pip must be quite imaginative as he uses the shape of the letters on his father’s tombstone to create a mental picture of what he and his mother was like. â€Å"The shape of the letters on my father’s, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, ‘ Also Georgina Wife of the Above ‘, I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.† We go on to learn that he also had five brothers that must of all died at an early age.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine-who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚  Throughout this novel the narrator is a young Pip and this is to make the reader feel empathy for the character for the whole of the novel. It also means there is a childish view on things and a lack of understanding. For example in the graveyard he can’t really understand why his father, mother and five brothers were dead and he was still alive. Although the reader feels sad because of this Pip is not that sad as he can’t understand the situation fully. When the focus switches to the scenery and Pip starts to describe the churchyard and its view. Pip begins to cry and almost out of nowhere â€Å"Hold your noise!† Cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at he side of the church porch. â€Å"Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!†Ã‚  This is the introduction of Magwitch an escaped convict from a nearby jail. In Charles Dickens days capital punishment was enforced in the United Kingdom and conditions in jails were very poor an so Magwitch would have been n a terrible condition. First impressions of Magwitch are that he is an evil man for the obvious reason of him being a convict. He has no sympathy for others. â€Å"A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.† The iron is the giveaway that he is an escaped convict. The iron is like a clamp that will have maybe been connected to a ball and chain.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, with an old rag tied round his head.† This shows the terrible condition that he is in.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and those teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.† These things are what make me think he has escaped.  Magwitch is also quite a violent man, Pip is only a young boy and he feels it necessary to grab him by the throat and threaten him. He bullies a young child into getting things for him.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"After darkly looking at his leg and at me several times, he came closer to my tombstone, took me both arms, tilted me back as far as he could hold me; so that his eyes looked most powerfully into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"You know what a file is?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"And you know what wittles is?†

Theories of Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Theories of Crime - Essay Example For instance, contemporary criminologists make use of a ‘legalistic’ instead of a ‘normative’ description of criminal behavior. A legalistic description of criminal behavior takes as its basis the legal descriptions enclosed in the penal code. The law establishes what is criminal and what is not (Thacher, 2004, 381). Criminality involves the mechanisms of law-making, law-breaking, and acting in response toward law-breaking behaviors. These three mechanisms construct an integrated series of events. In addition, criminology is a methodical study of the biological, sociological and psychological aspects of criminal behavior (Thacher, 2004). The objective of this paper is to differentiate two of the most widely used criminology theories, sociobiology and attachment theories. The strengths and weaknesses of each of these theories will also be discussed. Biological accounts concerning criminal behavior were no longer encouraging in the early twentieth century. At this point in time, criminologist started to concentrate on sociological forces toward criminal behavior such as family background, social standing, peer group, and others (Hacking, 2006). The attempt and success of these criminologists was in fact viewed and though to be commonly illogical and unfounded empirically by the leading sociologists at the time. These particular sociologists embraced the idea referred to as ‘biophobia’, which clarified that they intentionally did not pay any attention or thought to biological aspects concerning any effort to understand human nature (Hacking, 2006). The contemporary research of sociobiology has hence reinvigorated interests in locating a foundation for criminal behavior in the biological aspect. Hence if genetics really manipulate or influence behavior, then it may also be accountable for understanding whether an individual

Essentials of Corporate Fraud Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Essentials of Corporate Fraud - Assignment Example Extortion; refers to the deliberate action of a person to commit theft by seeking to obtain property or services through advancing threats to others (Coenen 2008). One specific element of extortion that the credit manager may have participated in is exposing secrets or thought facts, which may be true or untrue with the intention of subjecting anyone to hatred, contempt or mockery or to damage the individual’s credit or business. The manager’s operations can be vetted to detect any instances of fraud. A board of vetting can be hired or instituted to assess the extent of his actions, especially to track his dealings with the applicants. The credit manager’s transactions with the credit applicants can be evaluated through a credit assessment report. It will can a brief description of the two parties’ submission during the process of credit application and evaluation. The report has to be signed by both the manager and the client. It will state whether the client has been subjected to any form of extortion or not. The clients/ customers/ applicants of loans can be given an avenue of reporting their grievances to the company. Such avenues can be in form of a quality check/ control for the services offered to them by the credit manager. Through such avenues, they can reveal instances of extortion or attempts of the same to the company. c. Suppose there was no direct evidence of fraud detected in the credit manager’s operations, there will be no action to be taken on this case, against him. He is well known as a very hard worker, who lives close to the branch and frequently works late into the evening. He also has not taken any vacations in three years in spite of the bank policy that all employees take a least a weeks vacation every year.  

Hulse Letters Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Hulse Letters - Assignment Example In letters written by Hulse to his mother, the soldiers are seen determined, hardworking and impatient in the first months when preparing for battle, in his first letter he enthusiastically explains to his mother about their work in the mobilization of machinery and the soldiers readiness to set them in motion at any time, he talks animatedly about their position and the strengths of the British and French forces and fleet as compared to the German side.1 In his second letter he hinted of the start of the battle and talks about delivering a lecture to his platoon, he reminded them of their duty to their country, discipline and the treatment of all inhabitants with kindness. This is a depiction of a good leader setting an example for his fellow countrymen and giving them the necessary confidence and attitude to carry into the battlefield. As a leader he vows to set an example in his home or abroad when serving his country and king.2 The weather conditions in the field were wet and dreary, at first it hot and the temperatures inconveniencing, however the battalion and all its soldiers were fit and healthy raring to go on. These conditions changed after some time and the hot temperatures gave way to cold winds and rainfall, the poor weather conditions kept on deteriorating with heavy rains and sheets of snow and sleet. The trenches that had been dug in the fields would often flood and this would be uncomfortable and would dampen the soldiers and their drive.3 Due to the unpleasant conditions in the trenches and poor sanitation, the soldiers would get sick quite often due to the dampness that followed. The author got sick with dysentery and had to be lifted from the trenches with a high fever and barely conscious.4 These poor conditions saw the French hospitals overflowing with the soldiers who were sick due to the incessant rain and cold. This would

Business submission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business submission - Essay Example ch activities include; shifting manufacturing techniques or method, adopting new, better input materials, re-utilizing materials on site, and adoption of new product changes as well. Note that this has no exclusion to other firms under the same industry (Leipziger 2010). Precautionary approach to environmental challenges on the other hand involves organized use of risk assessment through identification of hazardous features or characteristics, management, as well as risk communication. This is based on the degree of certainty as shown by scientific evaluation techniques which must be conducted prior. Under this principle, the following activities by the organization in question (Microsoft) and its competitors have been witnessed. Provision of better information to the clients, communicating possible risk to the customers, the surroundings, or even the public and obtaining prior permission before certain commodities, are thought to be potentially harmful (Akhtarkhavari 2010). My position is to encourage these organizations to continue with such practices since they are essential in the compliance with the two principles of Global Compact. Despite the fact that the above business practices aim at compliance with the two principles I mentioned earlier, they also come with little side effects which we must agree to take charge of. To begin with, there are positive lessons learnt from the activities of Microsoft as it aims to comply with the two principles under the Global Compact. These include; the implementation of environmental friendly technologies that help in reduction on the use of raw materials, which in turn result into increased efficiency. Secondly, innovations pertaining to technology create a new whole world of more superior business opportunities which in turn helps the business to remain or win competitive advantage over others in the same industry. Furthermore, such technologies that use input materials more efficiently and even cleanly may be applied

Pirated Software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pirated Software - Essay Example In fact, it is estimated that 36% of all the software currently used is stolen (Journal of Business 2004). Instead of benefiting consumers, pirated software adds to consumer burden because the profit loss from the sales of this software is being passed on also to them by manufacturers in terms of higher prices (Piracy 2007). Software piracy is defined by Microsoft as the "mislicensing, unauthorized reproduction and illegal distribution of software, whether for personal or business use" (Protect yourself from piracy 2007). It should be noted that once an individual purchase a software from the copyright holder, the package include an end user license agreement (EULA) which provides the software a protection against copyright infringement. It is understood that once a consumer open the software and install it in his/her computer, he will adhere to the EULA. In the common knowledge, pirated software is often understood as counterfeit software which is bought from an illegal seller which reproduced it. This practice is very common in Mexico and China where software is reproduced and packaged in CD cases featuring the original design from the copyright holder. In countries where copyright infringement is often overlooked, pirated software are sold openly in markets. However, pirated software goes beyond purchasing from an illegal seller who reproduced it for a profit.

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Journal - Essay Example In this quote, Mama realizes that her daughter’s ambitions are totally different from hers. She feels that her daughter wants to complement her looks with that of a â€Å"white† woman, and by doing so, she feels she is deviating from â€Å"real life†. In this passage, Mama notices that she is not living in accordance to her daughter’s expectations, in spite of the pride she takes from her hard work. This is something that even bothers her so much. Unlike her daughter â€Å"Dee†, who can always look into anyone’s eyes, Mama feels that she cannot. At the begging of the second paragraph, Maggie comes out wearing a red blouse and a pink skirt and asks her mother how she looks. It is obvious that she looks presentable before her mother, but when she walks the mother compares her to a dog. This passage presents a change in the Mama’s perspective about â€Å"real life†. She now feels that Maggie has a better figure than her sister, Dee. Implying that she will perhaps have a better future than her and Dee. In this paragraph, Mama is trying to recall how she thought Dee used to hate Maggie and their house. Although she managed to take Dee to school with the help of her church and the a few money she had, she felt that Dee did not appreciate, but turned to hate her house and small daughter. Dee realized the importance of education and wanted to share the knowledge gained with her mother and sister who only felt that they did not necessarily need such knowledge. This paragraph, therefore, indicates different perceptions about education between the educated and uneducated as well as rural and sophisticated population. At this point, Mama was narrating how Dee used to like nice things, which she always worked hard to achieve. She was quite unlike her mother, who always believed she is a big-boned woman who is conditioned to work. She even says Maggie’s lack of style will finally make her marry John Thomas who has â€Å"mossy teeth† (Walker 317). This

Solar Energy For Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia Essay

Solar Energy For Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Saudi Arabia is a country of paradoxes, not only in its history and culture but even in its natural resources. In its substrata lies the 18 per cent of all the world’s proven oil reserves, the largest anywhere in the world (Revenue Watch Institute, 2011), and because of this the country is assured of a steady stream of petrodollars that has the potential to make it one of the world’s wealthiest economies. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is situated in one of the world’s most arid regions, with little surface water, very little rainfall, and increasing desertification which is gradual loss of once arable and fertile land to encroaching aridity (TeachMideast, 2011). Thus while it is abundant in the world’s most expensive natural resource, Saudi Arabia is however sorely lacking in that commodity essential to life and plentiful in nearly every other region of the planet – fresh water. Through the years the process of desalination has enabled countries in arid regions to obtain potable water from brackish or seawater. In Saudi Arabia this is being done today on a large scale through oil powered desalination plants. While the use of fossil fuels poses no present concerns for this oil-rich country, government officials, scientists and policy makers are all aware that the supply of oil is not inexhaustible, and eventually shall be depleted. At such time, the country should have been able to build the capability to desalinate water using sustainable sources of energy such as solar radiation, which this desert region has a limitless supply of. Presently, the country is unable to accomplish solar powered desalination on a large scale, and many are pessimistic that this could be done. Statement of the Research Objective: This dissertation aims to explore the viability of harnessing solar energy for the purpose of large-scale desalination of water in Saudi Arabia. Research questions: In order to satisfactorily achieve the research objective, the dissertation shall seek the answers to the following research questions: 1. What is the currently prevailing situation of large-quantity water desalination in Saudi Arabia? 2. What is the rate of water consumption of Saudi Arabia’s population, and what are the chances of a projected shortfall of potable water in the event of the closure of its oil powered desalination plants? 3. How is large-scale solar powered desalination technology described, and what is its feasibility in Saudi Arabia? Q1: Currently prevailing desalination situation An Overview of Desalination Process in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of the desalinated water, accounting for at least 30 per cent of the total world output. The Kingdom has invested nearly $25 billion in the last 80 years developing the technology for desalination, and in building and operating the desalination plants. Presently, ther e are some 30 desalination plants in the country, 27 of which supply drinking water to the principal urban centers and industrial locations via a

Together We Stand Outline Essay Example for Free

Together We Stand Outline Essay Suppose you live in a new suburban community that combines all the amenities and benefits of a tight-knit small community with the benefits of living close to the big city. Some years pass, and several children and adults in the community start developing extensive and similar illnesses. You think this is clearly not a case of genetics, and you become suspicious that something has gone wrong in the development planning and execution of your community. You start researching possible causes for the illnesses plaguing the community and, upon further investigation, find out that a company’s unsafe chemical-disposal practices may be to blame for the calamity. You decide to notify your community of your findings so that everyone can unite in a fight for justice. Create a detailed outline that you would use for composing the letter, which you intend to have published by your local newspaper, addressing your concerns about the community’s health. Address the following in your outline: Describe the types of questions that you asked yourself to ensure that you used critical thinking in your research and analysis of the problem. Explain what strategies you would have applied, if actually investigating the problem, to help foster critical thinking and to help lead you to the root cause of the illnesses. What assumptions did you have to be aware of to ensure that they did not interfere with your critical analysis of the situation? What fallacies did you encounter as you researched possible causes for the illness? Cite any sources and references consistent with Associate Level Writing Style Handbook guidelines.

Karl Marx and Human Nature Essay Example for Free

Karl Marx and Human Nature Essay I have taken for my study one chapter from the book Marx and human nature by Norman Geras. In the second chapter Norman Geras deals with the human nature and historical materialism. Although many Marxists denied Marxs theory of human nature that there was a human nature to be found in Marxs words, there is in fact a Marxist conception of human nature which remains, to some degree, constant throughout history and across social boundaries. The sixth of the Theses on Feuerbach provided the basics for this interpretation of Marx according to which there was no eternal human nature to be found in his works. Feuerbach resolves the essence of religion into the essence of man human nature. But the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In reality, it is the ensemble of the social relations. Feuerbach, who does not enter upon a criticism of this real essence, is hence obliged: Human nature Thus, Marx appears to say that human nature is no more than what is made by the social relations. Norman Geras Marxs Theory of Human Nature, however, offers an extremely detailed argument against this position. In outline, Geras shows that, while the social relations are held to determine the nature of people, they are not the only such determinant. In fact, Marx makes statements where he specifically refers to a human nature which is more than what is conditioned by the circumstances of ones life. In Capital, in a footnote critiquing utilitarianism, he says that ’’utilitarian’s must reckon with human nature in general, and then with human nature as modified in each historical epoch. Marx is arguing against an abstract conception of human nature, offering instead an account rooted in sensuous life. While he is quite explicit that individuals express their life, so they are. Hence what individuals are depends on the material conditions of their production, he also believes that human nature will condition (against the background of the productive forces and relations of production) the way in which individuals express their life. History involves a continuous transformation of human nature, though this does not mean that every aspect of human nature is wholly variable; what is transformed need not be wholly transformed. Marx did criticize the tendency to transform into eternal laws of nature and of reason, the social forms springing from your present mode of production and form of property, a process sometimes called reification. For this reason, he would likely have wanted to criticize certain aspects of some accounts of human nature. Human beings collectively work on nature but do not do the same work; there is a division of labor in which people not only do different jobs, but according to Marxist theory, some people live from the work of others by owning the means of production. How this is accomplished depends on the type of society. Production is carried out through very definite relations between people. And, in turn, these production relations are determined by the level and character of the productive forces that are present at any given time in history. For Marx, productive forces refer to the means of production such as the tools, instruments, technology, land, raw materials, and human knowledge and abilities in terms of using these means of production. Human nature, Marxs ethical thought and alienation Gears says of Marxs work that: Whatever else it is, theory and socio-historical explanation, and scientific as it may be, that work is a moral indictment resting on the conception of essential human needs, an ethical standpoint, in other words, in which a view of human nature is involved . Alienation, for Marx, is the estrangement of humans from aspects of their human nature. Since as we have seen human nature consists in a particular set of vital drives and tendencies, whose exercise constitutes flourishing; alienation is a condition wherein these drives and tendencies are stunted. For essential powers, alienation substitutes disempowerment for making ones own life ones object, ones life becoming an object of capital. Marx believes that alienation will be a feature of all society before communism. The opposite of, alienation is actualization or self-activity- the activity of the self, controlled by and for the self. Human nature and the expansion of the productive forces It has been held by several writers that it is Marxs conception of human nature which explains the primacy thesis concerning the expansion of the productive forces, which according to Marx, is itself the fundamental driving force of history. If true, this would make his account of human nature perhaps the most fundamental aspect of his work. Geras writes, ‘‘historical materialism itself, this whole distinctive approach to society that originates with Marx, rests squarely upon the idea of a human nature. It highlights that specific nexus of universal needs and capacities which explains the human productive process and mans organized transformation of the material environment; which process and transformation it treats in turn as the basis both of the social order and of historical change. The tendencys autonomy is just its independence of social structure, its rootedness in fundamental material facts of human nature and the human situation. Historical progress consists fundamentally in the growth of peoples abilities to shape and control the world about them. This is the most basic way in which they develop and express their human essence. Historical materialism Historical materialism started from a fundamental underlying reality of human existence: that in order for human beings to survive and continue existence from generation to generation, it is necessary for them to produce and reproduce the material requirements of life. Marx then extended this premise by asserting the importance of the fact that, in order to carry out production and exchange, people have to enter into very definite social relations, most fundamentally production relations. Norman Geras analyzed historical materialism and postulated that society has moved through a number of types or modes of production. That is, the character of the production relations is determined by the character of the productive forces; these could be the simple tools and instruments of early human existence, or the more developed machinery and technology of present age. The main modes of production Marx identified generally include primitive communism or tribal society (a prehistoric stage), ancient society, feudalism, and capitalism. In each of these social stages, people interact with nature and produce their living in different ways. Any surplus from that production is allotted in different ways. Ancient society was based on a ruling class of slave owners and a class of slaves; feudalism was based on landowners and serfs; and capitalism based on the capitalist class and the working class. The capitalist class privately owns the means of production, distribution and exchange (e. g. , factories, mines, shops and banks) while the working class live by exchanging their socialized labor with the apitalist class for wages. Marx identified the production relations of society (arising on the basis of given productive forces) as the economic base of society. He also explained that on the foundation of the economic base their arise certain political institutions, laws, customs, culture, etc. , and ideas, ways of thinking, morality, etc. These constituted the political/ideological superstructure of society. This superstructure not only has its origin in the economic base, but its features also ultimately correspond to the character and development of that economic base, i. . the way people organize society is determined by the economic base and the relations that arise from its mode of production. Historical materialism can be seen to rest on the following principles: 1. The basis of human society is how humans work on nature to produce the means of subsistence. 2. There is a division of labor into social classes (relations of production) based on property ownership where some people live from the labor of others. 3. The system of class division is dependent on the mode of production. 4.  The mode of production is based on the level of the productive forces. 5. Society moves from stage to stage when the dominant class is replaced by a new emerging class, by overthrowing the political shell that enforces the old relations of production no longer corresponding to the new productive forces. This takes place in the superstructure of society, the political arena in the form of revolution, whereby the underclass liberates the productive forces with new relations of production, and social relations, corresponding to it. Human nature and historical materialism Marxs theory of history attempts to describe the way in which humans change their environments and (in dialectical relation) their environments change them as well. That is Not only do the objective conditions change in the act of reproduction, e. g. the village becomes a town, the wilderness a cleared field etc. but the producers change, too, in that they bring out new qualities in themselves, develop themselves in production, transform themselves, develop new powers and ideas, new needs and new language. The first premise of all human history is, of course, the existence of living human individuals. Thus the first fact to be established is the physical organization of these individuals and their consequent relation to the rest of nature. Thus History does nothing, it possesses no immense wealth, and it wages no battles. It is man, real, living man who does all that, who possesses and fights; history is not, as it were, a person apart, using man as a means to achieve its own aims; history is nothing but the activity of man pursuing his aims. So we can see that, even before we begin to consider the precise character of human nature, real, living humans, and the activity of man pursuing his aims is the very building block of Marxs theory of history. Humans act upon the world, changing it and themselves; and in doing so they make history. But even beyond this, human nature plays two key roles. In the first place, it is part of the explanation for the growth of the productive forces, which Marx conceives of as the driving force of history. Secondly, the particular needs and drives of humans explain the class antagonism which is generated under capitalism. Conclusion and critical remarks Here I would like to say that Marxist philosophical anthropology is one sided. Its conception of human nature and human good overlooks the need for self identity than which nothing is more essentially human. The consequence of this is held to be that Marx and his followers have underestimated the importance of phenomena, such as religion and nationalism, which satisfy the need for self identity. In the study of human nature and historical materialism, history is what is made by human beings and its nature. According to Marx human beings are working and changing the world, Marx ignored all other factors that at work in the development of history. History has been developed not only by human beings but also through various elements. Historical materialism is caused by the production of things and there by arising social relationships. Here it implies that economy is the basic structure of society that controls and develops. But it is a reductionist approach, it is impossible to reduce the basic structure as economic relations alone.

Metodologi atau kaedah

Metodologi atau kaedah Pengenalan Metodologi atau kaedah yang digunakan dalam sesebuah kajian merupakan suatu bentuk kawalan dalam memperolehi data dan maklumat supaya mampu menjawab objektif-objektif yang digariskan dalam kajian yang dijalankan ini. Untuk lebih jelasnya, bab ini akan menjelaskan kaedah yang digunakan dalam kajian stres dalam kalangan pelajar sekolah menengah persekolahan satu sesi di daerah Nebong Tebal. Secara khususnya bab ini menerangkan metodologi kajian yang meliputi reka bentuk kajian, populasi kajian, sampel kajian, persampelan, instrumen kajian, kesahan kebolehpercayaan, kajian rintis dan penganalisisan data. Reka Bentuk Kajian Menurut Sulaiman Masri (2003), reka bentuk penyelidikan ialah perancangan yang menentukan cara penyelidikan yang dijalankan untuk menemukan jawapan kepada permasalahan penyelidikan yang telah ditetapkan pada bab I. Dalam kajian ini, pengkaji menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif yang dijalankan secara tinjauan (survey) terhadap responden kajian yang terlibat. Lokasi Kajian Lokasi kajian ini terhad kepada sebuah sekolah menengah satu sesi yang terlelak di daerah Nibong Tebal. Populasi dan Sampel Kajian Populasi kajian ini adalah terdiri daripada pelajar tingkatan 2 di sebuah sekolah menengah satu sesi yang terletak di Daerah Nebong Tebal. Pemilihan pelajar tingkatan 2 ini adalah kerana mereka tidak terlibat dengan peperiksaan awam yang boleh mengganggu mereka. Seramai 60 orang yang terdiri daripada 30 orang lelaki dan 30 orang perempuan dari sekolah satu sesi tersebut telah dipilih mengikut prosedur persampelan rawak. Menurut Chua Yan Piaw (2006), prosedur persampelan rawak mudah digunakan untuk memastikan setiap unit atau subjek dalam populasi mempunyai peluang yang sama untuk dipilih sebagai responden kajian. Instrumen Kajian Menurut Fraenkel dan Wallen (2007) The term instrumentation refers to the entire process of collecting data in a research investigation. (Hlm : 144) Instrumen yang digunakan dalam kajian ini terdiri daripada satu set soal selidik yang dibahagikan kepada dua bahagian, iaitu bahagian A (5 items) : yang berkaitan dengan Demografi responden. Bahagian ini terdiri daripada jantina, jarak ke sekolah, pergi ke sekolah, skor awal tahun dan skor akhir tahun. Bahagian B mempunyai 25 items yang berkaitan tentang tekanan pelajar tentang persekolahn satu sesi dan kesan yang dialami oleh pelajar akibat persekolahan satu sesi. Skala pengukuran yang digunakan dalam bahagian B adalah jenis likert yang terdiri daripada lima skor utama seperti berikut : 1 = Amat tidak setuju. 2 = Tidak setuju. 3 = Kurang setuju 4 = Setuju. 5 = Amat Setuju. Kajian Rintis Kajian rintis (pilot study) merupakan kajian sejarah kecil-kecilan yang dilaksanakan sebelum kajian sebenar dilakukan (Chua Yan Piaw, 2006). Dalam kajian ini, pengkaji menjalankan kajian rintis yang bertujuan untuk mendapatkan maklumat awal berhubung kesahan dan keboleh percayaan instrumen yang dibina. Item-item ini dalam soal selidik telah diuji bagi memastikan sama ada terdapat kekeliruan, kesukaran menjawab, ketidak jelasan, salah faham, dan lain-lain interpretasi yang tidak jelas. Sampel yang terlibat dalam ujian ini terdiri daripada 60 responden di sebuah sekolah yang berhampiran dengan sekolah kajian. Hasil kajian rintis ini mendapati bahawa semua item dalam bahagian B (Faktor stress dan beban belajar) yang berunsur positif perlu digugurkan dan digantikan dengan item yang lebih sesuai mengikut objektif kajian ini. Kesahan dan Kebolehpercayaan Kajian rintis (pilot study) juga telah digunakan untuk menguji kesahan soalan kajian. Borang soal selidik telah dianalisis bagi melihat darjah kebolehpercayaan (cronbach alpha). Ujian kebolehpercayaan (reliability test) dilakukan terhadap soalan yang berkaitan dengan faktor stres, kesan stres dan beban belajar kepada kesihatan diri dan kehidupan dalam keluarga. Kepentingan ujian ini adalah untuk mengetahui tentang item soal selidik yang disediakan mempunyai kebolehpercayaan yang tinggi. Kesesuaian soalan telah dinilai dari segi kefahaman pelajar terhadap tatabahasa, kandungan dan masa yang diambil untuk menjawab semua soal selidik tersebut. Menurut Mohd Majid Konting (2004), pekali kebolehpercayaan yang lebih daripada 0.60 sering digunakan. Oleh itu, nilai alpha yang digunakan untuk ujian kebolehpercayaan ini ialah 0.60. Hasil kajian ini mendapati bahawa soalan faktor stres, kesan stres dan beban belajar kepada kesihatan diri dan kehidupan dalam keluarga mempunyai kebolehpercayaan yang tinggi. Jadual 3.1 di bawah menunjukkan hasil yang diperolehi daripada ujian kebolehpercayaan yang dilakukan. Jadual 3.1 : Nilai alpha ujian kebolehpercayaan (reliability test) faktor diri dan latar belakang kehidupan dalam keluarga. Stres yang disebabkan oleh faktor diri, interpersonal, dan organisasi adalah sebagai berikut : Analisis Data Pengkaji menganalisis data dengan menggunakan statistik deskriptif bagi menjawab soalan-soalan kajian. Data daripada borang soal selidik akan dianalisis menggunakan program SPSS for windows version 15.0 untuk mendapatkan kekerapan (frekuensi) dan peratusan bagi setiap soalan kajian. Data kajian diwakilkan dalam bentuk jadual dan rajah serta dibuat tafsiran umum. Manakala analisis data dibuat dengan membandingkan peratusan tertinggi dan terendah serta nilai skor min dan skor piawai bagi setiap soalan kajian. Kesimpulan Dalam kajian ini, pengkaji telah menggunakan kaedah soal selidik sepenuhnya untuk mendapatkan dapatan kajian daripada responden yang dipilih secara rawak tentang faktor-faktor yang menyebabkan stres dan beban belajar dan kesan stres dan beban kerja kepada kesihatan diri dan kehidupan dalam keluarga. Sebuah sekolah menengah harian satu sesi di daerah Nibong Tebal telah dijadikan lokasi kajian dan 60 responden telah dipilih sebagai sampel kajian yang terdiri daripada 60 pelajar daripada sekolah menengah tersebut. Hasil dapatan kajian ini akan disenarai dan dihuraikan secara terperinci dalam bab 4 akan datang.

Essay --

There is a higher incidence of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy in Black women than in White women. This is possibly related to lower socioeconomic status, their lifestyle and prior undiagnosed preexisting hypertension. Black women have greater risk of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and preeclampsia than nulliparous White women. Irwin D et al. researched the relationship between race and risk of hypertension disorder of pregnancy in a cohort of active duty military women. Researchers assessed the sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics of Black and White women. It is explained from the results that White women are more likely to be married (75% vs 56%), over the age of 35 (3.4% vs 1.6%), were higher ranked officers (9% vs. 2%) and had education post high school (21% vs 17%). Moreover, it was also suggested that nulliparous have higher risk of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (Relative risk (RR)= 2.2, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=1.8 ,2.7), Transient gestational hype rtension (RR= 2.0, 95% CI= 1.5, 2.7) and preeclampsia (RR=2.8, 95% CI=2.0,3.9). Among parous women thi...

Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology Essay -- Psychology

For a long time in history, studies of history of psychology have been done in three distinct ways. These domains were as follows: consciousness, psyche, behavior and mental life but every case stood on its own. Psychology was in this case the knowledge domain. Moreover, psychology was composed of various accounts. There was also the case of the society that was composed of views of the world or culture or industrialization. Although the history between these disciplines is not viewed sometimes, there are social aspects that are studied on how they are related to psychology. The often asked question is the relationship between the theories of psychology and its application to human life for instance, individual life, mental life and subjectivity. Presently, efforts by writers to separate the three categories have seen light. Psychology itself cannot exist without a society which supports all its facts. Moreover, psychological object cannot be taken as independent, given, discovered b ut that which is discovered and comes before knowledge. Psychology can hence be seen in two perspectives: as a discipline and as a subject of human. A conclusion can be made that psychology exists in a domain that is constructed. This is contrary to science domain where truth is constructed. Introduction Science employs an approach of empiricism. This approach states that our senses are the only place from which knowledge originates. This is in contrary to knowledge view that exists that it could be acquired purely by logical argument and reasoning. Hence empiricism views knowledge to be based on experience. Empiricism through gain of knowledge via experience came to be an approach of science and influenced greatly chemistry and physics d... ... Scientific thought on the other hand, goes ahead to justify every observation by mere experimentation. With time it is found out that there an implication that the outcome of the experiments has on judgment because many arguments can be correct till proven right. Another example is on statistics where it is implicated in relationships. Works Cited McLeod, S. A. (2008). Simply Psychology; Psychology as a Science G. Bachelard (1984).The New Scientific Spirit, tr. Arthur Goldhammer, Boston, Beacon Press K. Danziger (1990).Constructing the Subject, Cambridge: Cambridge U. P K. Gergen(1985). The social constructionist movement in modern psychology, American Psychologist Hacking (1990).The Taming of Chance, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. P. Heelas and A. Lock (1981).Indigenous Psychologies: The Anthropology of the Self, London, Academic Press

Fodorian Naturalistic Semantics and Double Disjunctivitis :: Philosophy

Fodorian Naturalistic Semantics and Double Disjunctivitis ABSTRACT: Direct Informational Semantics, according to which [X]s represent (express/mean) X if ‘Xs cause [X]s’ is a law, and Fodorian naturalistic semantics both suffer from double disjunctivitis. I argue that robustness, properly construed, characterizes both represented properties and representing symbols: two or more properties normally regarded as non-disjunctive may each be nomologically connected to a non-disjunctive symbol, and two or more non-disjunctive symbols may each be nomologically connected to a property. This kind of robustness bifurcates the so-called disjunction problem into a Represented-Disjunction Problem, of which Fodor was aware, and a Representer-Disjunction Problem, of which he was on the whole oblivious. Fodor fails to solve these problems: his solution to the former, the Asymmetric Dependence Condition, presupposes a successful solution to the latter, while possible responses that Fodor might make to the latter either beg the former or cannot be met or else flout the Naturalistic Requirement and the Atomistic Requirement. Even setting the Representer-Disjunction Problem aside, the Represented-Disjunction Problem does not get solved, because the robustness involving phonological/orthographic sequences (tokens and types) guarantees that nothing can meet the Asymmetrical Dependence Condition. Indeed there is a serious problem of individuating phonological/orthographic tokens and types in a manner that satisfies Fodor’s expectations. This is made manifest by the presence of orthographic tokens embedded in larger tokens. I. Fodor’s Naturalization Proposal and the Represented-Disjunction Problem The specific task which the naturalization project is designed to accomplish is to construct an information-based semantic theory that articulates (I) an atomistic and (II) naturalistic — i.e., in non-intentional, non-semantic terms — sufficient condition for a syntactically primitive predicate to express a property. (1) For convenience (I) will be referred to as the Atomistic Requirement and (II) as the Naturalistic Requirement. Now if Direct Informational Semantics were correct, "tamarao" would express the disjunctive property tamarao or thump because, under certain conditions, a thump and a tamarao are each sufficient for its tokening. Thus a tokening of a symbol would be ipso facto true. There would be no accounting for the fact that meaning is robust:’ "cow" tokens get caused in all sorts of ways, and they all mean cow for all that’. (2) I shall refer to this problem (3) as the Represented-Disjunction Problem, considering that it figures on the repres ented side. Fodor proposes to solve the Represented-Disjunction Problem without abandoning the main thrust of the information-theoretic account. His proposal (FP) is that "X" means X if: (4)

Marketing Plan for MarryBrown Essay

INTRODUCTION Ms Ponnoraliza says that Marrybrown is Malaysian home-grown restaurant chain. Founded in 1981, they have more than 350 outlets serving fried chicken, burgers, finger food, desserts and drinks. Marrybrown has extended the menu that includes seafood, rice based tproducts, noodles and porridge and they also offer a famous local Malaysian dish: Nasi Lemak (offered as â€Å"Nasi Marrybrown†). The restaurant’s one of the biggest advantage is offering halal food, to dominate halal based countries, and preventing weak direct competition with some larger fast food chains. In the 1980s Marrybrown became the first fast food chain to franchise in Malaysia (Marry Brown). Marrybrown is the largest home-grown quick service restaurant chain with a global reach of over 400 outlets in Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Marrybrown is a global food service organization and a worldwide brand. Currently, Marrybrown is in different countries such as Dubai, India, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Saud i Arabia, Kuwait, Kingdom of Bahrain, Syria, Republic of Tanzania, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Malaysia and Maldives (Marry Brown, 2012). According to Marrybrown’s official website Marrybrown is a winner of numerous awards, Malaysian International Home-grown Franchise of The Year, Malaysia Franchise of The Year, First Malaysian fast food franchise, Most Promising Franchise of The Year, pioneer member of the Malaysia franchise association and The Brandlaureate SMEs best brands Award 1007- Food and Beverage, fast food. As Marrybrown does provide franchise, the numbers of franchisees has currently increased upto 82. Marrybrown has great opportunities for both domestic and international markets. The concept of Marrybrown is to be business of the future, fast growing market, wider reach to the customers, high brand recall, cash business, lower investment and better returns and serve the food to the customers at petrol pumps, highways, and large railway stations. CURRENT MARKET SITUATION Marrybrown is a well-known as fast food restaurant internationally where they draw in clients by staying on the objectives like enhancing their position in the home-developed market and building their brand and in the meantime concentrate on the high quality of food serving by customers well.  Marrybrown’s main target is to improve their reputation amongst Malaysian’s customers, and to be recognized on what the restaurant is offering to attract more customers’ attention. On the other side, Marrybrown’s missions (2007) are to achieve a better standard in customer services, and increase sales and profits of the company. According to the official website of Marrybrown, their success is based on the high quality of foods, fast service and great value for money. Their products are prepared based on Malaysia’s Halal requirements. According to Ms Ponnorlize (2014) they provide fresh food in order to satisfy customers’ needs and make them enjoy wit h Marrybrown’s products. Furthermore, the restaurant likewise gives a brilliant, stylish and fresh look that supplements the lifestyle of today’s customers. This system attracts the attention of a certain group of customers such as kids and teenagers. Marrybrown is an example of overcoming adversity based on extraordinary tasting formulas that are unique and truly Malaysian. They work on approaches to make food, services, and establishment operations better to convey the highest standards of value. Secured in 1981, they have over 400 outlets internationally. Marrybrown has expanded the menu that offers exotic local delights such as seafood, noodles, rice based products and porridge. Nasi Lemak is one of the famous local Malay rice dish, based on the menu it is called as Nasi Marrybrown. Nowadays, Marrybrown offers a wide choice of unique, innovative products that focused on fast-food loving customers. Still, chicken presents the basic of the menu, including the signature Lucky Plate, Chicken Porridge, Nasi Marrybrown. Moreover, Marrybrown Sdn Bhd has turned into the first international company that opens an outlet in Myanmar. In three years Marrybrown has also targeted to set up 15 outlets in Southern Thailand, while this year from June until December it aims to open 15 new outlets in Malaysia. For now, there are more than 400 Marrybrown outlets in Malaysia, China, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, Kuw ABOUT THE COMPANY SWOT Analysis Malaysian based fast food chain started back in 1980s, Marrybrown is the nation’s largest fast food chain with 400 outlets in 11. Half of its outlets  are in Malaysia and others in abroad. It is the only fast food chain that satisfies halal food customers (Marrybrown.com.my, 2012). Marrybrown serves the food at affordable price and is the first Malaysian fast food franchise in the country. Marrybrown’s core values are high quality food, fast service, clean environment and great value for money. Marrybrown is expanding internationally to become a global fast food industry. Soon it will open in Syria, Azerbaijan and Iran. Marrybrown has been awarded Malaysia International Home grown Franchise of The Year in the years of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and promising franchiser award in India. Strength a) High quality food b) Halal food c) Unique fast food concept-Marrybrown carries a unique concept which brings about a fun and exciting eat-out experience. d) Adaptability to the market. Weakness a) Niche target market b) Intense competition c) Competitors quality of products and services Opportunities a) Growing market b) Improve the infrastructure for the society around it. c) Job opportunities for more. Threats a) Competition b) Consumers looking for better deal. OBJECTIVES To make a successful marketing plan, firstly have to plan the objectives of  marketing plan. Followings are the objectives of Marrybrown’s marketing plan on the new product Nasi MarryBrown (Nasi Lemak). To make the traditional recipe as well-known and penetrate into international market. To increase sales by 50% in upcoming 6 months. To increase brand awareness among targeting customers. To cover the whole target market. To increase the number of new customers. To increase the visibility and memorability of brand identity. To create value and make a difference MARKETING STRATEGIES Planning the marketing strategies is the most important for a company in introducing the new products. To penetrate the new product into market, it is vital to plan the marketing strategies. There are 4 types of marketing tools in a marketing plan; which is called 4 Ps. In order to introduce Marry Brown’s new product Nasi MarryBrown (Nasi Lemak), the company decide to apply 4 Ps to contribute into a marketing mix. PRICING STRATEGY Pricing strategy is the chase of classifying the ideal price for a product. Pricing strategy in marketing combines with other principles which are known as product strategy, place strategy and promotion strategy so that a new set of product can penetrate into market in a short period of time and build customers’ satisfaction. Marrybrown decided to use three types of pricing strategy to introduce our new product: Nasi MarryBrown (Nasi Lemak). We decided to apply discount pricing, skim pricing and market penetrating pricing systems. Marrybrown applies discount pricing in order to increase traffic and attracting new customers. This discounted pricing magnets attention to the product and can be used as a catch to bring in customers who will possibly obtaining other items. We use the skim pricing system to find the ideal price point for our product, which is unique item with unknown consumer demand. Our goal is to maximize potential profits layer by layer until the ideal price is reached. The appliance of market penetrating plan is to gain market share early for Marry Brown. The introduction of Nasi MarryBrown to the market is provided at low end prices in hopes to gain the  attention, loyalty, and market share of the customer base. PRODUCT STRATEGY The product offering, the heart of an organization’s marketing program, is usually the starting point in creating a marketing mix. As a fast food restaurant Marrybrown offers variety of fast foods and other type of food which are uncommon for fast food restaurants. The products are not much different from its competitors like McDonald’s and KFC in Malaysia, especially products are much similar to KFC. The products offered are burgers, desserts, soft drinks, rice, chicken and sea food based menu. As it is mentioned above that Marrybrown operates its restaurants chains in mostly Asia, therefore Marrybrown’s new Nasi Marrybrown is segmented more for Asian customers. This is one of the reasons what makes Marrybrown stand out from its competitors. Especially, following its slogan: â€Å"Something different† which offers offers our new introduced product, despite that Marrybrown fast food restaurants, also offers different menu which are not common for fast food restaurants. The â€Å"Something different† menu are rice and noodle products, and specifically include the new introduced dish: Nasi MarryBrown. The reason for offering Nasi Marrybrown is because it is one of the local favourites and attracts Asians since the restaurants chain mainly operate in Asia. (Yuvaraj S, 2011). Zazali M. (2012) reports that Chan, the restaurant chain owner, says they had to be different, so instead of offering only fried chicken and burgers they also offer locals’ main diches such as Nasi Goreng, Nasi Lemak (Nasi MarryBrown) and Chicken and Satay. She continued claiming that their competitors from US started copying their business module. Moreover, Marry Brown’s the advantages on its products over its competitors offering only halal food in Muslim countries would help the newly introducing product to become marketable as they are halal food. The picture below is the newly introduced product DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY One of the important part of marketing is distribution or place some may say. Without it marketing would be almost impossible. Place or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them. Would you rather buy a kiwi fruit at the 24- hour  grocery store within walking distance or fly to Australia to pick your own? We have conducted an interview with an outlet operator of Marrybrown namely Ms Ponnorliza (2014). According to her, Marrybrown has tough time with distribution. Its outlets are not placed in much places needed, which means not many customers are accessible to Marrybrown restaurants. As she mentioned that one of its competitors, McDonalds, is placed almost every 5 kilometres while Marrybrown is hard to find. The picture above also proves that Marrybrown is not popular in many parts of Malaysia compared to its close competitors which are easily accessible. However, making Marrybrown more popular would cost time and more money. Therefore, we came out with the idea that Marrybrown should offer home delivery. Marrybrown does not offer home delivery service now, this is its one of downsides of it. Home delivery to near locations is good choice to customers who find inconvenient to go to nearest Marrybrown restaurants. Usually, restaurants accept orders via receiving calls from customers for delivery services. While Marrybrown should offer online sale which can be used by customers who have a little more time. Online order is more convenient than ordering by calling, because customers can easily choose which product to offer from online menu and they will have unlimited time to choose as well. PROMOTION STRATEGIES As we most of us know that promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotion’s role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or a product. Ms Ponnorliza (2014) says in the interview that Marrybrown does not do much about advertising on TVs or any other places. However, advertising new product (Nasi Marrybrown) heavily can help to draw attention to them. Since many people watch TVs, commercials on TV would be one of the best choices. Marrybrown should place more commercials on TV about Nasi  Marrybrown in order to attract more customers. Commercial timing is also important, therefore Marrybrown should consider it too. Placing its commercial about the new product before every meal time is the best choice, since people are feeling hungry and they need to eat. In today’s day, as it is information century people use internet, it is also a good opportunity to place web advertisement of the new product on most used websites, especially, social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Tweeter, Instagram and so on. This method helps Nasi Marrybrown to become more noticed. Road banners are also an effective way of advertising. Marrybrown should not forget about this too, placing its banners on the roads where traffic jam is more frequent is a good choice. Because when people are stuck in traffic jams there is more chance that they are paying attention to the advertisements. Especially, traffic jam where occur when people are coming back from their word, due to the fact that most people are hungry when they are coming back from work. Moreover, Ms Ponnorliza (2014) said that they visit and conduct different activities in different places in order to promote their products. This method is also useful and effective in promotion strategy. Additionally, telling about your about the product door to door is also one of effective ways of promoting. It can be done by mailing people’s mailboxes, mails which may include menus of the restaurant and pictures of the new promoted product. CONCLUSION According to our new marketing plan for Marrybrown product, we are planning to make it successful our plan within six months following by our objective. In our marketing plan, we are planning to apply our 4Ps marketing strategies properly so that our product can be selling well and increasing sales 50% in upcoming 6 months. Nowadays Marrybrown is using franchise system and open branches in other countries. So that we hope our marketing plan is going well not only in local market but also penetrating the international market. In conclusion, we hope our new product Nasi Marrybrown to be a best-selling product of Marrybrown in whole Malaysia and even internationally with suitable price. References Academia.edu (2014). Marketing research for Marrybrown. [Online] Available at: https://www.academia.edu/4918251/MARKETING_RESEARCH_FOR_MARRYBROWN [Accessed 18 July 2014] All Free Papers (2012). Missions, goals and values of Marrybrown. [Online] Available at: http://www.allfreepapers.com/English/Missions-Goals-Values-Marry-Brown/26848.html [Accessed 18 July 2014] MARRYBROWN. Awards. [Online] Available from: http://marrybrown.com.my/company/awards/. [Accessed: 29th July, 2014]. MARRYBROWN. Company History. [Online] Available from: http://marrybrown.com.my/company-history/. [Accessed: 29th July, 2014]. MARRYBROWN. Introduction. [Online] Available from: http://marrybrown.com.my/company/introduction/. [Accessed: 29th July, 2014]. PONNORLIZA. (2014) About Marrybrown. [Interview]. 23rd July 2014. YUVARAJ S. (2011). Marry Brown. [Online] Available from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/ 62773399/Marry-Brown. [Accessed: 24th July, 2014]. ZAZALI M. (2012) Marrybrown chain prospering after many trials and tribulations. The Star. [Online] Available from:http://www.thestar.com.my/Story/?file=%2F2012%2F3%2F28%2 Fmetrobiz%2F10997466. [Accessed: 24th July, 2014].

Starbucks Weakness

Starbucks, as we all know, are one of the globally popular companies, but like everything else, it has its own weaknesses. Here I will suggest some solutions to help solve the problems faced in their inventory management processes. Starbucks follows the EOQ model, which involves heavy calculations and predictions. Without the formulas and some basic information about the demands from customers, the cost of placing orders, and other variables, the calculation of the EOQ model will not be able to reach its optimal potential. From this, collecting the accurate information for the calculations is vital, the company has to acquire reliable and timely sources. Conveying surveys, searching data online from sources like Google Analytics about the spending behavior, and carrying out research are among the ways to collect vital info from current and potential customers. By doing this, it can help determine the annual demand of the company, which can help solve or at least ease on the uncertainties of demand. Having skilled or experienced employees/ staff is also crucial as they are considered by some are the most valuable assets of a company, which they experience customer feedback firsthand. These ‘customer feedback’ are useful to further improve the customer of said company. Listening to employee feedbacks can also help to execute certain operations, selling products to customers, and how to do things better (Vos 2013, p. 1). Other than that, having good employees that takes charge of the calculation, for example the calculation of the EOQ model, are vital because they are needed to calculate the best possible figures of ordering. Through this, it can help narrow down the EOQ model predictions. Also, they can help predict through experience without completely relying on the calculations. Calculation based on the EOQ model also requires constant set of data. For example, the demand for the year has to be known (which has been covered on the second paragraph on accurate data collection), the cost of ordering has to be same throughout the year and also the lead time must not fluctuate and remains consistent. Having a good supplier can help solve the consistency of ordering cost and also constant lead time (Ready Ratios, 2013). A good supplier will be able to achieve expected results, offering good quality of products and delivering goods on time are among some of the benefits of having a good supplier. Building a good relationship with the supplier will get you more benefits, such as priority as a valued customer, competitiveness (in terms of pricing, quality, reliability ahead of the competition, in this case, Starbucks, is facing), innovation and also product development (Bob Reiss, 2010). Other than that, having good material handling can also help cope with the unpredictable usages or the uncertainties of demand. By having good material handling, the company can improve the efficiency of the production this will save time and indirectly save labor cost as productions run faster. It can also maximize space utilization by storing materials in the way it should, it also can reduce cost by saving on inventory carrying cost which is not properly handled. All of this are necessary to make sure if something goes wrong in the calculation, the loss can hopefully be covered by the savings in material handling, making the loss easier to swallow. Having good transport of goods is also beneficial by having shorter lead time and at the same time transporting more goods are both time and cost saving. Furthermore, keeping a contingency plan at the ready can also help the company in case of unpredictable situations happening, such as natural disasters, shortage of raw materials usually hits us by surprise. So, to keep the company on their toes, to be ready to face emergencies such as this, the company can either keep additional safety stocks, or have another backup supplier from another region to provide with the supplies just to counter the sudden changes and to prevent stock outs to happen. Other than that, the appropriate application of the contingency plan can showcase how the company can utilize and prove to others that the company can manage themselves well, inviting more investors to join in the company. Moreover, advancement of technology plays a part in the inventory management of Starbucks. They can use it to keep track of their inventory much faster and efficient. This allows them to keep track and keep updated with how many units they have. With this said, they can improve their inventory flow and also quickly order materials that are needed for fear that miscalculation happens in the EOQ model which leads to surplus or shortage of materials, with the help of inventory management system (IMS) that Starbucks uses, they can further improve their services and provide better quality products. To wrap things up, to have a successful company, one needs to have more than a capable workforce, it needs to have a blend of luck and some daring decisions to start up something new. For instance, Starbucks Corp. which was founded by a few teachers and their friends, and with a simple idea of a company selling overpriced coffee with decent atmosphere. Who could’ve thought that it could be this successful? References 1. Bob Reiss. (2010).  Build a Good Relationship With Suppliers.  Available: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/205868. Last accessed 15th June 2013. 2. Readyratios.com. 2013.  Economic Order Quantity Model (EOQ). [online] Available at: http://www.readyratios.com/reference/analysis/economic_order_quantity_model_eoq.html [Accessed: 16 Jun 2013]. 3. Vos, L. 2013.  People: The Most Important Asset of Any Company. [e-book] Georgia: p. 1. Available through: Georgia SBDC http://www.georgiasbdc.org/pdfs/vos09.pdf [Accessed: 16 Jun 2013].

Kill the Internet Essay

Kill the Internet-and Other Anti-SOPA Myths Essay The Article â€Å"Kill the Internet-and Other Anti-SOPA Myths† by Danny Goldberg introduces PIPA(Protect Intellectual Property Act) for online piracy on the internet. This situation is connected to the copyright piracy as well. The issue in this essay is the common problem of published articles and links being copied and pasted from people off the internet and getting credit for another person’s work. In this case I agree with the SOPA because copyright is not to be credited for those who don’t do their own work. To me, it is a guidance for help not coping. Coping someone’s work is not helping the situation and takes the away the opportunity of the author to get credit. One reason to my decision on agreeing is the leading affect of progressive voices and outlets of skillful writers work is being taken into someone else’s work. According to the Politics website, the legislation would allow copyright holders and the justice Department to seek court orders against websites associated with copyright infringement. To the legislative, they believe that the copyright holders chances of winning is not very high. They see coping as a threat to publishers and should be banned even if internet websites lose business. A second reason that got me to agree was a statement made by Clay Shirky’s assistant in the book The McGraw-Hill Guide. â€Å" Many believe that copyright isn’t coping if the creator doesn’t lose profit because nothing physical isn’t taken from them,† – Clay Shirky’s assistant. This statement is false reasoning because even if the authors profit isn’t lost, the fact that their hard work is being copied by someone else doesn’t make things alright. The publisher worked hard on the writing they published to the internet and it shouldn’t be taken advantage of. People need to realize that taking others work isn’t a very clever idea because your only hurting yourself by taking other people’s credit. It’s the same as someone taking a movie that a director worked hard to become public and then has to find out their credit was copied by another person and is being used or is being taken ownership  by that person. Because of this problem many websites are losing their businesses for links and articles of authors are declining their work to be on the internet. For this I believe the SOPA is making the right decision and should proceed in protecting the internet uses. All in all copyright should have been prohibited a long time ago. For those whose work is being taken out of context and losing credit isn’t fair. SOPA and PIPA industries should feel good about themselves for finally taking action and stopping internet copiers on the websites available to the people. Resources: The Politics Website The Nation Website The McGraw-Hill Guide book

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was born on May 8th, 1753 to Cristobal Hidalgo y Costilla and Ana Maria Gallaga near Penjamo, Guanajuato. He was considered a Criollo or Mexican of Spanish descent that had been born in the New World. He was a very intelligent man who knew several languages, read French literature and wrote texts in Aztec. In 1773 Hidalgo y Castillo received his bachelor’s degree in theology from the Colegia San Nicolas in Valltolid. He was ordained in 1778 and became the priest for the village of Dolores, Guanajuato in 1803. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was an unusual priest. Contrary to Church doctrine, Hidalgo y Costilla was known to gamble, dance, challenge the papacy of Rome and keep a mistress. He was also known to speak out against the king of Spain. In 1803, when Hidalgo y Costilla was the priest of Dolores, his house was a well known gathering place. It was the equality in the house that drew people, with poor Indians and castes socializing with Spanish and criollos.  Ã‚   Current events and literary topics were frequently debated, but Hidalgo's orientation grew more scientific as time passed. He was not so interested in literary cultural enlightenment, and was more concerned with the development of social consciousness and economic awareness.   (Hamill 82) Hidalgo y Costilla was very interested in developing Dolores’s ability to be economically self sufficient. Colonists were prohibited from producing many different types of commodities and this made its difficult, if not impossible, for the colonists to become self supporting. Two of these were wine and silkworms, both of which Hidalgo y Costilla encouraged. With the French seizure of Spain in 1808, the imposition of Joseph Bonaparte on the throne, and the creation of the Cà ¡diz junta, Mexico exploded into crisis. The instability revealed acute  social divisions within Mexico. The upper classes sought to establish an autonomous government that would represent their interests, and the lower classes struggled against the dominance of the local elites.†Ã‚   (Kirkwood 75) There were many groups and each had their own list of grievances but they did have a few issues in common. One major criticism was Spain’s inability to govern Mexico properly. Another was the social identity change going on with the Mexicans. They were becoming proud of themselves as a people and changing the attitude that anything European was possibly superior. In 1810, the audiencia in Mexico City took power from Francisco Javier de Lizana y Beaumont. The audiencia was not any better at maintaing stability than any of the others and fearful of weak government leadership, semi-secret groups began meeting to discuss the nations future. To avoid detection, they disguised themselves as debate clubs or literary discussion groups. One such group was the Literary and Social Club of Querà ©taro, of which Father Hidalgo y Costilla was a member. â€Å"Noted as a defender of the downtrodden, well read, and with a capacity to forcibly express his ideas, he emerged as an important participant in the literary club in Querà ©taro.† (Kirkwood 79) It was due to these qualities and the encouragement he had shown the people regarding the creation of their own industries that Hidalgo y Costilla had become the leader of a revolution. Tired of the oppression of Spanish rule, he began planning for Mexico to gain its independence. â€Å"By 1810 Hidalgo's main energies were devoted to conspiring for an uprising that he hoped would lead to Mexican independence. The center of the conspiracy was the city of Querà ©taro, some fifty miles southeast of Dolores on the road to Mexico City. His fellow conspirators, also  criollos, planned to organize an insurrection and seize power from the peninsulares and their al lies. Initially, as a ruse, they would declare their fealty to King Ferdinand VII, but their clear final purpose was independence† (Smith 12,13) The government got word of the uprising and start arresting people who were suspected of participating. Hidalgo y Costilla was informed that this was happening and decided to take action. Racing to the church, he used the bells to call all the parishioners to him and proceeded to make a stirring speech against bad government known as the Grito de Dolores (Shout from Dolores). This speech described the situation and feeling in Mexico so aptly that it is considered the beginning moment of Mexico’s independence and made Hidalgo y Costilla a historical icon. Inspired by the Grito de Dolores, an army of 700 followed Hidalgo y Costilla on a march towards Guanajuato, by the time they were nearly there, the army had grown to almost 20,000 men. Despite his stirring speeches and large crowd of followers, Hidalgo y Costilla soon found he was in charge of an unruly mob rather than a trained army. They overtook the granary at Guanajuato and defeated the royalist soldiers but soon after Hidalgo y Costilla’s mob began destroying property, burning and pillaging and killing landowners and their families. â€Å"These excesses redoubled the resolve of the viceroy in Mexico City to put down the rebellion. Hidalgo and his military commanders were excommunicated, and royalist forces were raised to march north and engage Hidalgo's troops   (Smith 13) It was at this point that Hidalgo y Costilla made his biggest military mistake. He did not realize the forces guarding Mexico City were weak and unprepared. If he had marched on Mexico City and taken it, the war for independence would have been over at that point. Instead he and his mob headed to Queretaro, but when they were defeated, they retreated back to Guanajuato. Hidalgo y Costilla and his army tried to escape to the United States when a large, well trained royalist army appeared outside of Guanajuato, but they were captured before they could cross the border. Hidalgo was arrested, charged and found guilt of heresy and treason. He was also excommunicated by an ecclesiastical court. Now he was no longer considered a priest and was a traitor to the Spanish. â€Å"On the morning of July 30, 1811, the day after his degradation from th   priesthood, Hidalgo went before a firing squad in the courtyard of the former Jesuit College which had been his prison since April.† (Hamill 216) Despite the charges and his execution, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla remains a hero to the people of Mexico. In Dolores, the Casa de Don Miguel Hidalgo, where he lived from 1804 to 1810, is full of furniture and document exhibits from that time. The Museo de la Independencia, or Independence Museum, has been converted from the old prison into a historical arts center. A larger than life bronze statue of Miguel Hidalgo graces the center of the park and all around Dolores are opportunities to purchase Talavera, a type of porcelain introduced by Father Hidalgo. Matamoros, Mexico boasts a main square featuring monuments to Hidalgo and others who lost their lives in the Mexican War of Independence. More tributes and monuments are found throughout Mexico, Texas and surrounding areas. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla may not have been a war savvy general but his genuine concern for the plight of his people and his encouragement to fight for an independent Mexico has truly made him the â€Å"Father of Mexican Independence.† Works Cited Anderson, Geri. Dolores Hidalgo: Mexico’s Cradle of Independence. 2007. 7 Mar. 2007 Hamill, Hugh M. The Hidalgo Revolt: Prelude to Mexican Independence. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 1966. Questia. 5 Mar. 2007 . Kirkwood, Burton. The History of Mexico. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. Questia. 5 Mar. 2007 . Smith, Clint E. Inevitable Partnership:   Understanding Mexico-U.S. Relations. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000. Questia. 6 Mar. 2007 .                                             

300 - a Gender Analysis

Gender The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies; A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarilythat of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. Men were typically employed, successful gentlemen, while the woman’s only job was a housewife. The film industry was mostly dominated by men. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had successful careers and did many activities outside of home. â€Å"Women were shown doing housework and men were the beneficiaries of their work† (â€Å"Women’s roles in the film industry† Women in film). As women were given a more active role in society, the gender roles in movies changed. However, many types of gender stereotypes in films still exist. Action genre movies in particular account for many of the gender stereotypes in the film industry today. Men are typically portrayed to be the hero, while women are often portrayed as sexual objects. In the movie 300, the Spartan men served and protected the city of Sparta, while the Spartan women did domestic chores and bred more warriors. Because this movie was set back in 480 BC society portrayed men to be superior to women. Some of the main characters in 300 are prime examples for the different gender roles. King Leonidas is the proud, triumphant King of Sparta. In the film, the character Leonidas possesed as a couple different male stereotypes. King Leonidas is portrayed as the hero throughout the different action sequences. Throughout the movie Leonidas takes charge of his troops and leads them into battle. Leonidas is hero not only because he is the King of Sparta, but also because he is the commander of the troops. Before King Leonidas leaves for battle with his three-hundred Spartans, he confronts his wife and refrains from saying â€Å"My queen, my life, my love,† because he, like all other Spartans, is not soft and does not want to show emotion to his queen (Zack Snyder. 00). The narrator speaks of how Spartan men are raised like brutes and are â€Å"hard warriors† (Zack Snyder. 300). This particular phrase is important to the story because it reflects the gender role of men during that time period. King Leonidas can also be classified as the family man stereotype. Throughout the film he trains his young son for battle. He plays the role of protector not only for his individual family, but also for Spart a. In the movie 300, King Leonidas represents many male stereotypes. In contrast, the character Queen Gorgo stands for many female stereotypes in the movie. The queen portrays the domestic female stereotype. In the film Queen Gorgo cares for her young son and stays at home while her husband, King Leonidas, is fighting for their country. Like many of the women in the film, Queen Gorgo performs many domestic tasks such as retrieving food and water for her family, as well as looking after her child. Queen Gorgo is also a sex object. She is easily seduced by her King. She bribesone of the councilmen with sex. At times in the film the Queen, among many other women, wear little clothing. The 300 Spartans also wear little clothing in the film. Due to the lack of clothing, the Spartans show their ripped and brute physique to reinforce the male stereotype of being brawny and strong. Lastly, the queen represents the female stereotype of beauty. The queen is an attractive woman with a small frame, much like how the media portrays what a woman should look like. Her attractive looks and sexual qualities are a large part of Queen Gorgo’s character. Queen Gorgo represents an abundance of the female stereotypes in society. The captain of the Spartan troops also shows male stereotypes. The captain is a close ally of King Leonidas. Throughout the film, the captain portrays the male stereotype of being a family man. The captain’s son, Astinos, is barely old enough to be in battle with the Persians. The captain is skeptical of allowing his son to enter battle, but decides to encourage him to serve their country. Throughout the different battles with the Persians, the captain protects his son from harm. When Astinos is killed by Persians, the captain goes on an extremely violent tirade and kills every Persian in sight due to his overpowering vengeance. After the death of his son, the captain proclaims to the king that his heart is filled with hate, and King Leonidas replies â€Å"Good. † King Leonidas feels that it is necessary for a soldier to feel hatred toward his enemies. This particular scene portrays another male characteristic of not showing emotion towards a certain subject. The captain is another character that shows the male stereotype present in this film. Although many of the characters in the movie portray the prevalent male and female stereotypes in society, there are a few characters that stray away from these social formalities. Councilman Theron is an example of one of the characters that does not abide to the brute and warrior stereotypes in the film 300. Theron is no older than the Spartan men who fight for their city, but he lacks the physical strength that the Spartan warriors possess. Because Theron is not a typical man in Sparta, he wears a gown that is similar to the gowns worn by Spartan women. Along with Councilman Theron, there are other men that are on the council of Sparta. These men are far less in physical size than the Spartan warrior and are given duties that are similar to women. The men in the council are unique to the majority of men in Sparta that serve their city. Since the men wear â€Å"woman-like† clothing, it labels women’s apparel to be very revealing. These men reinforce some of the women stereotypes prevalent in the film. There are also some specific scenes in the movie that break some of the male and female stereotypes. Directly after Astinos is killed in battle, the Captain begins to break down and cry. The captain immediately showed his emotion for the loss of his son. This scene in the movie shows how even the most masculine man has to show some emotion at some point in time. In the end of the battle against the Persians, after King Leonidas has been shot by many arrows, he stands up and shouts, â€Å"My queen, my life, my love† (Zack Snyder. 300). This phrase is contradictory to the general actions of Spartans, and men in general, because it shows emotion. Both of these sequences in the film show how every man must show emotion, regardless of who they are. 300 demonstrated the many male and female stereotypes in society. Although most of the men were relatively similar, there were a few men in Sparta who went against the normal gender role. Like many other action movies, 300 showed various roles that supported some of the gender roles in the film industry. The main characters primarily demonstrated the conventional gender roles, but they also expressed some contradictory qualities. The film industry provides arious different types of gender roles through movies. advertising. Home | Saint Marys College, Notre Dame, IN. 20 Apr. 2009 lt; http://www. diigo. com/05lfx Women in Film. Yahoo! GeoCities: Get a free web site with easy-to-use site building tools. 20 Apr. 2009 lt; http://www. diigo. com/05lfw 300 Movie Spartans. Mens Movie Guide. 20 Apr. 2009 lt; http://www. diigo. com/05lfv 300 (Widescreen Single Disc Edition). Dir. Zack Snyd er. Perf. Gerard Butler, Lena Headey. DVD. Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International, 2006.