Creationalism Vs Evolution Essays - Pseudoscience, Denialism

Creationalism Vs Evolution Creationism vs. Evolution The majority of people in this world believe that a spiritual being created earth. In fact, most religions and cultures believe the universe was created by a 'creative hand,' either a sky god or some other physical object (Encarta 1). Think of it, as a trial to see which will win, creation or evolution. It has been the most argued debate in all of history, but creationism is more logical than evolution. To first understand what creation is about, we have to know what creation is. The Bible defines creation as the action by God that brought the universe and all its contents into being. The Bible also states, God created great whales and every living creature that moveth, and so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:21, 27). To Doug LaPointe, the author of Top Evidences against the Theory of Evolution, there are nine articles of evidence pointing weaknesses in evolution, or strong points in creation. The first evidence is that there are no links between the fossil record and present times; therefore, there is nothing to show that evolution actually happened. Second, that natural selection cannot advance an organism to a higher order. The third being that although evolutionists believe life just came about, matter resulted from nothing, and humans evolved from animals, all of these are against scientific and nat ural understandings. Fourth, even though evolutionists present them as if they were, the hominids' bones and skull records, for example the famous Lucy, the finds are unrevealing and inconsistent. The fifth and sixth articles of evidence are the nine out of 12 hominids that evolutionists use are really extinct apes, and the other three are modern human beings and not part ape. This would conclude that all of the twelve 'hominids' are something other than hominids and are not half-human, half-ape. Evidence seven and eight show that natural selection has practical, social, and logical inconsistencies. The last evidence says that the rock strata finds are better explained by a universal flood than by evolution, which would show yet more proof in the Bible (LaPointe 1-2). Michael Behe, author of the recent bestseller Darwin's Black Box, states, I was amazed that people believe in evolution when there was this clear argument against it (Behe 3). At first Darwinism was taught at schools, but there were so many flaws that these ideas were turned down, and a different form of evolution was taught. The new form was then taught along with a type of scientific creation (Encarta 2). This shows that schools feel that Darwin was wrong, and Darwin is evolution's top scholar. In order to disprove a way of thinking we must first know what we are trying to disprove. The definition of evolution is the complex process by which living organisms originated on earth and have been diversified and modified through sustained changes in form and function (Encarta 2). Thomas Robert Malthus first stated that the human population was growing too fast for the food supply. This, he said, Is regulated by disease, famine, and war (Infopedia 1). Darwin applied this to animals and plants and came up with the theory of evolution by natural selection. His theory stated that the children of a species intensely compete for survival. Those young that survive to produce the next generation tend to be embodying favorable natural variations and these variations are passed on by heredity. Therefore, each generation will improve adaptively over the preceding generations, and this gradual and continuos process is the source of the evolution of the species (Infopedia 1-2). The notion th at populations of organisms can be transformed over generations into descendant population of different kinds has been suggested repeatedly since the early-recorded history of ideas, but if you trace all the species back to their origin, you would get one object. Now the real part of this argument is right here. How did that one object come into being? It couldn't have happened by mere chance. It did not always exist so there had to be nothing before it. If there was nothing before it, how was it created?

Free Essays on Anti-Judaism

Ruether vs. Gager: Romans 11:26 â€Å"Jesus, yes; but Paul never†. It is very clear that this statement sums up some individual’s viewpoint of the Apostle known as Paul. Everyone has their own interpretation and everyone has formed their own opinion. It is ironic that the most famous character in the New Testament outside of Jesus gets misunderstood more than anyone other person of his time. If its any consolation, Jesus also got misunderstood, this puts Jesus and Paul in a league of their own. Possibly, people just didn’t want to hear what he said so they form negative connotations against him so they are exempt from his teachings. There are a number of different scenarios you can create to figure out the enigma that is Paul the Apostle. I will concentrate on one simple verse in the Bible. The verse is Romans 11:26. â€Å"And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: â€Å"The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob† (Rom. 11:26) The first section of Romans 11:26 has been interpreted and dissected from many people. It seems to have many meanings in the form that Paul wrote it. Two particular people have written literary works about Paul and in both this verse is mentioned. Both authors have different interpretations of the verse and see Paul in a different light because of it. I will start with Rosemary Ruether who believes that Paul is Anti-Jewish. In her commentary about Paul, she clearly states that Judaism is the opposite of Faith in Christ. If you are a Jew, you are not a Christian and if a Christian, not a Jew. She makes the argument that there is nothing special about Jewish people, for Jewish and Gentile are both sinners and have fallen short of the Glory. In regards to Romans 11:26, Ruether believes in the salvation of the Jews, but she believes it is at an appointed time. If you look a verse before, Paul mentions the Jewish people as living with a mystery. He mentions a... Free Essays on Anti-Judaism Free Essays on Anti-Judaism Ruether vs. Gager: Romans 11:26 â€Å"Jesus, yes; but Paul never†. It is very clear that this statement sums up some individual’s viewpoint of the Apostle known as Paul. Everyone has their own interpretation and everyone has formed their own opinion. It is ironic that the most famous character in the New Testament outside of Jesus gets misunderstood more than anyone other person of his time. If its any consolation, Jesus also got misunderstood, this puts Jesus and Paul in a league of their own. Possibly, people just didn’t want to hear what he said so they form negative connotations against him so they are exempt from his teachings. There are a number of different scenarios you can create to figure out the enigma that is Paul the Apostle. I will concentrate on one simple verse in the Bible. The verse is Romans 11:26. â€Å"And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: â€Å"The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob† (Rom. 11:26) The first section of Romans 11:26 has been interpreted and dissected from many people. It seems to have many meanings in the form that Paul wrote it. Two particular people have written literary works about Paul and in both this verse is mentioned. Both authors have different interpretations of the verse and see Paul in a different light because of it. I will start with Rosemary Ruether who believes that Paul is Anti-Jewish. In her commentary about Paul, she clearly states that Judaism is the opposite of Faith in Christ. If you are a Jew, you are not a Christian and if a Christian, not a Jew. She makes the argument that there is nothing special about Jewish people, for Jewish and Gentile are both sinners and have fallen short of the Glory. In regards to Romans 11:26, Ruether believes in the salvation of the Jews, but she believes it is at an appointed time. If you look a verse before, Paul mentions the Jewish people as living with a mystery. He mentions a...

Fairy tales re-telling Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fairy tales re-telling - Coursework Example He knew for the stories of other travelers that the west had the best markets for doing trade, hence he decided to head west. On his way he found a big tree which had a rocking bed fixed under it, a board said: â€Å"sleep at your own risk†. James couldn’t figure out a reason why a bed would be provided for not sleeping. As he was travelling for quite a few hours he relaxed, tied his bag with his legs and slept. The moment he woke up, he knew something was wrong, he checked for his wallet which was present. The moment he realized what had happened, his heart skipped a beat. His bag was opened and no sign of any cap. He looked here and there and suddenly he realized the importance of that sign board. He saw families and families of monkeys in the trees wearing his specially hand crafted caps. His whole life suddenly flashed before his eyes as without the caps he was ruined, both financially and mentally. After a while he observed that his every movement and gesture is being copied by the monkeys. He suddenly had an idea and tried his luck with it. He clapped, the monkeys capped. He shook his h ead, the monkeys did too; he put a piece of cloth on his head, all monkeys followed suit by wearing their caps. He then threw the cloth on the ground with an instant jerk, seeing all that the monkeys did that too. Hence he got all the caps on the ground, collected them and went west-wards where he started his quest for a better and successful future. All these years â€Å"James and Co.† went out to be the world’s best cap making company smashing all sales record every years. The business ran in the family and so did the story about the great James and his encounter with the monkeys. The legacy was told to every new child in the family. Jacob was one similar child who was brought up on the legendary stories of his great grandfather. Before he took over the company as the new head he wanted to make the

AT&T Company background Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

AT&T Company background - Research Paper Example The Company is currently responsible for operations of 34,000 of them at various places including hotels, restaurants, book stores etc. Moreover, what is rater interesting about AT&T is the fact that the customers of AT&T network are able to access around one million hot spots around the glove, thanks to the Company’s agreement with other operators across the globe ("AT&T Company Information."). The Company is also a provider of one of the largest IP based communication services for various businesses, as well as retail customers. Its portfolio of IP based communication services includes VPN, VoIP amongst others. Furthermore, all these services are properly encrypted to prevent leakage of information and enhance security. In recognition for its performance in the work place the company has been a recipient of many awards over the years including the most valuable brand award, top five service providers, most innovative company and best data provider (phone + data) amongst many others amongst a huge list ("AT&T Company

The Role of Music in My Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Role of Music in My Life - Essay Example Personally, music usually caters to my different moods. For instance, when I am feeling lonely, I listen to classical music because the kinds of Bach and Beethoven have a soothing effect that penetrates the heart. When I feel so down and hopeless, I listen to inspirational songs that lift my spirits up. I believe this manner is really very effective because after some time, I feel a lot better and continue to live, inspired. At other times, there are feelings I cannot quite express especially with the people I love, like anger. I turn to music, to songs that convey messages that relate to my situation. Songs sometimes teach me as well about facts of life especially regarding feelings and it helps to know that I am not alone in the struggles I meet. When I am glad, I also turn to music which I believe is how most of us express our happiness. Music gives the joy like what being in love brings, that is why there are so many songs that tell different love stories. Probably, it could also be said that music is another universal language aside from love.

What is price discrimination and its effect on economies

What is price discrimination and its effect on economies Introduction Price discrimination is the practice of one retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer charging different prices for the same items to different customers. This is a widespread practice that does not necessarily imply negative discrimination. In an economic term, price discrimination is the ratio of price to marginal cost that differs for similar products. The practice of price discrimination is not an isolated event. It occurs in many familiar situations but this practice is often highly controversial in terms of its impact on both consumers and rivals. Price discrimination is mainly for markets that are monopolistic or oligopolistic. In these kinds of markets the firm has to decrease price in order to sell more of the good because they are the only supplier. Because of this marginal revenue is derived from the demand but the profit maximization condition is still marginal cost equals marginal benefits but marginal benefits does not equal the demand curve. Role and Prevalence Whenever we travel, because we are interested in economics we are probably conscious that we are being charged a different price for our journey than some other persons travelling with us. A rail journey is cheaper in the middle of the day than it is in rush hour. However, even at the same time of day a range of prices is being charged. For example, some have rail cards entitling them to discounts; others do not. Children often travel at half price. It is cheaper for people who book in advance. If we travel by air the price of the ticket probably varies hugely between types of traveler. These variations occur not just for different airlines and different flight times but people travelling on the same aircraft have bought tickets for very different prices. Some will have paid no money at all if they have collected enough `air miles. These price differences are not confined to the transport industry. The rates charged at hotels vary between customers even for the same quality of room o n the same night. Doctors in the private sector charge different amounts to different patients for the treatment of the same condition Role and Prevalence Price discrimination is one of the basic concepts in microeconomics. Price discrimination plays a major role in the privacy which is much debated and one of the many privacy puzzles is that even though the public shows intense concerns about loss of privacy, they are not doing much to protect themselves. Privacy-protecting technologies have not fared well in the marketplace, and very minor rewards are enough to persuade people to sign up for grocery store loyalty programs. Another puzzle is that so many commercial organizations are actively working to erode privacy. Governments often decrease privacy in attempting to combat terrorism, or tax evasion, or to increase their political control. Criminals invade privacy to make money by using other peoples credit cards. Employers monitor their employees to increase productivity. And ordinary citizens, armed with an array of increasingly powerful and versatile tools, such as cameras in cell phones, are beginning to collect massive amounts o f information that, if combined and analyzed, could lead to dramatic decreases in privacy. However, most of the data collection efforts so far have come from private enterprises, and are the ones that attract most of the concern and publicity. These efforts are often extremely intrusive, and are extremely widespread. Moreover, they persist in spite of intense public opposition, even though there have not been too many commercially successful exploitations of the information that is gathered. Most of the privacy issues discussed above are related to price discrimination in one or other way. But it is not always true that price discrimination is bad for public even though the privacy is compromised. We are able to see best products and services for the price we pay today. It would not have been possible if the commercial organizations or the sellers have not continually researched to make their products and services to make it more customized to their customers by analyzing their behavior in different ways. Price discrimination plays very important role for both the survival of the commercial business and to the public to get the best out of the price they pay. Price Discrimination Does Not Explain  Everything Price discrimination by word meaning looks like it is like unfair pricing to customers. But when are discuss from the viewpoint of seller or the manufacturers it is totally different and sounds very reasonable. Stores must sell their goods at prices that cover the wholesale cost of the individual goods as well as the overhead costs of the store, like labor and the building lease. The amount of additional price that must be charged for each good to cover overhead costs is a function of the average turnover of the goods sold. The faster a store can sell its goods, the lower the average overhead costs of each good, and thus the less that must charge to cover the stores average total costs. If a store sells three times as much on Black Friday than they normally do, then the overhead costs are three times as small. Types of price discrimination First degree price discrimination First degree price discrimination is more theoretical as it requires the seller to have knowledge of absolute maximum price for the goods and services that the buyers are willing to pay. As the seller has the knowledge of maximum price that the buyers are willing, they are able to earn the maximum profit from the transaction. This assumes that the consumer passively reacts to the price set by the seller, and that the seller knows the demand curve of the customer. In practice however there is a bargaining situation, which is more complex: the customer may try to influence the price, such as by pretending to like the product less than he or she really does or by threatening not to buy it. Second degree price discrimination In second degree price discrimination price varies according to quantity sold. So when large number of quantity is sold then the unit price of the product is low and if less number of quantities is sold then unit price is higher for the same quality of the products and services. Second degree price discrimination is more practical in nature and is widely used in the general market, mostly in industrial sector. Buyers who are buying in bulk enjoy the discounts than the one who buys individual items. In reality, different pricing may apply to differences in product quality as well as quantity. For example, airlines often offer multiple classes of seats on flights, such as first class and economy class. This is a way to differentiate consumers based on preference, and therefore allows the airline to capture more consumers surplus. Third degree price discrimination In third degree price discrimination customers are segregated into different markets and charged different prices in each of them. Segmentation can be based on any characteristic such as age, geographic location, gender, income and many others according to the nature of the products and services. Necessary Conditions for Price Discrimination The firm must operate in imperfect competition; it must be a price maker with a downwardly sloping demand curve. For example, airlines routinely engage in price discrimination by charging high prices for customers with relatively inelastic demand such as business travelers and discount prices for tourist who have relatively elastic demand. The airlines enforce the scheme by making the tickets non-transferable thus preventing a tourist from buying a ticket at a discounted price and selling it to a business traveler. The firm must be able to separate markets and prevent resale. Example of stopping an adult using a child ticket. The firm must be able to prevent market seepage or consumer switching which is the process whereby consumers who have purchased a good or service at a lower price are able to re-sell it to those consumers who would have normally paid the expensive price. This can be done in a number of ways, and is probably easier to achieve with the provision of a unique service such as a haircut rather than with the exchange of tangible goods. Seepage might be prevented by selling a product to consumers at unique and different points in time for example with the use of time specific airline tickets that cannot be resold under any circumstances. Different consumer groups must have elasticity of demand. E.g. students with low income will be more price elastic. There must be a different price elasticity of demand from each group of consumers. The firm is then able to charge a higher price to the group with a more price inelastic demand and a relatively lower price to the group with a more elastic demand. By adopting such a strategy, the firm can increase its total revenue and profits (i.e. achieve a higher level of producer surplus). To profit maximize, the firm will seek to set marginal revenue = to marginal cost in each separate (segmented) market. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages Firms will be able to increase revenue. This will enable some firms to stay in business who otherwise would have made a loss. For example price discrimination is important for train companies who offer different prices for peak and off peak. Geographic price discrimination is used when a firm wishes to sell a product at different prices in different member states. Typically, this requires some measures in order to prevent trade between the member states from eliminating the price differentials. By getting more money out of people who are willing and able to pay more than what would be the market equilibrium price you can provide your service to people who arent able to pay the market price. Increased revenues can be used for research and development which benefit consumers Some consumers will benefit from lower fares. E.G. old people benefit from lower train companies; old people are more likely to be poor. Disadvantages: Some consumers will end up paying higher prices. These higher prices are likely to be allocatively inefficient because P>MC. Businesses dont know what people are really willing and able to pay for your service so you might lose out on some money if you underestimate what someone is willing to pay or overestimate what someone is able to pay. Decline in consumer surplus. Those who pay higher prices may not be the poorest. E.g. adults could be unemployed, OAPs well off. There may be administration costs in separating the markets. Profits from price discrimination could be used to finance predatory pricing. Conclusion: Price discrimination is one of the major issues around the world and it will remain for coming years as well. The incentives towards price discrimination and the ability to price discriminate will be growing in the coming years as sellers will be increasingly tempted to engage in differential pricing. Internet have played a crucial role in helping general public to get best out of the price discrimination due to information of products and services easily available in the Web and ease of buying from any supplier. Therefore the stress is likely to be on different ways to hide price discrimination. Sellers are always tracking every moment of their customers to best fit their needs or to attract them to their products in the form of loyalty card, security camera, coupons, store credit card and many other forms of incentives. However, privacy concerns have always hit back to the sellers as it is very important topic going on in this Information Technology world. Since intimate knowledge of consumer preferences and willingness to pay will be of advantage in creating customized packages for the targeted group of people, and will often provide crucial competitive advantage to sellers governments are likely to play an increasing role in pricing. Governments and others non-profit organizations are also likely to continue playing an important role, in order to protect the welfare of the general public without hurting the businesses. We as a general public should also be self conscious about the price discrimination and should accept if reasonable or look for best option if available and protect our privacy to the extent which is within our control. Role and Prevalence http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/privacy.economics.pdf http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3889/is_200210/ai_n9137062/ Forms of price discrimination http://else.econ.ucl.ac.uk/papers/uploaded/222.pdf Price Discrimination Does Not Explain  Everything http://modeledbehavior.com/2009/11/24/price-discrimination-does-not-explain-everything/ Different Types of Price Discrimination http://www.economicshelp.org/microessays/pd/price-discrimination.html NecessaryConditions for Price Discrimination http://www.economicshelp.org/microessays/pd/price-discrimination.html Advantages and Disadvantages http://www.economicshelp.org/microessays/pd/price-discrimination.html http://www.kkv.se/upload/filer/trycksaker/rapporter/proscons/rap_pros_and_cons_pricediscrimination.pdf

The Parallel Plot Lines in Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

The Parallel Plot Lines in Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut is and will always in my eyes and in the eyes of many others the writer who made the science-fiction genre safe for not only mainstream appeal, but also critical acclaim and intellectual contemplation. Even though Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series were released in roughly the same timeframe as Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, none has held the same aura of respect and significance to the literary zeitgeist as Vonnegut's monumental masterpiece. The respect Slaughterhouse-Five garnishes among bookworms and the intellectual elite alike is no accident. Kurt Vonnegut's universal acclaim and appeal surely comes in no small part from his gift for connecting, almost unnoticiably, seemingly unrelated objects and events to give them deeper meaning, creating a phenomenon known within Jungian circles as synchronicity. By making his novel so multi-layered by drawing these comparisons, such as in being transported from a train car into a POW camp to an extraterrestrial spaceship that hums like a melodious owl, human beings being trapped within each moment in time like an insect in amber, and the writer's own repetition of his current project to a jokey old song, the writer gives us a deeper insight into the real multi-layeredness of space and time. When Billy Pilgrim and his fellow POWs are transported out of their train car and toward the POW camp, Vonnegut compares the calm peeking-in and speech of the Axis power guards to the behavior of an owl. The owl had been mentioned earlier in the novel, more specifically in the persona of a clock hanging in Billy's office, and is brought up again here to describe Billy's antagonists: "The guards peeked in Billy's car owlishly, cooed calmingly." By using the owl already mentioned in the novel as a metaphor, Vonnegut makes an otherwise uncomfortable and tense situation more familiar. The writer uses this metaphor again while telling of the movement of the POWs out of the train car

The Count of Monte Cristo and King Lear

It is man’s path to struggle with his destiny and writers have long written about such a battle in a man’s inner soul. In the works of Alexandre Dumas and William Shakespeare such a battle is best described in their comparable works, â€Å"The Count of Monte Cristo† and â€Å"King Lear†. It is the purpose of this paper to present either novel, and the main male protagonists in the stories and pit them against each other as well as have them share in their twined destiny of faults, failures and eventual redemption.Dumas weaves a story about a man, Edmond Dantes whose life becomes entangled in another man’s vengeance and is subsequently doomed to life imprisonment. These actions are out of the protagonist’s control as he is neither aware of the person for whom the letter is intended that he is carrying to Paris (it is actually supposed to be given to Bonapartist father) nor of the rival against him, Danglars. It would thus appear as though Dant es is allowing his destiny to be overtaken from his free will.In Shakespeare’s â€Å"King Lear† Lear also allows to be a rather flotsam figure on his own path, being lead this way and that, not from a guidance of reason but by happenstance, bad luck, and fate. Blindness is recognized in the play by Lear’s grotesque nature and how he cannot stand to see the world, or kingdom he created. In King Lear’s distrust of his daughters he one by one makes himself disowned by them I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad. I will not trouble thee, my child; farewell.We'll no more meet, no more see one another. But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter; Or rather a disease that's in my flesh, Which I must needs call mine. Thou art a boil, A plague sore, an embossed carbuncle In my corrupted blood. But I'll not chide thee. Let shame come when it will, I do not call it. I do not bid the Thunder-bearer shoot Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove. Mend when th ou canst; be better at thy leisure; I can be patient, I can stay with Regan, I and my hundred knights.† (Shakespeare II. iv. 1514). Blindness is a factor in either author’s tale. For Dumas, he allows his character to remain faithful to himself but also he makes him blind to the events and circumstances surrounding him. Dantes is sent to prison, but it is in prison where he finds Abbe Faria, who teaches his about philosophy, languages, music, history, and it is in this knowledge that Dumas allows the hero to gain self confidence that he would not have otherwise come to had he not been imprisoned.It seems that either author depends a great deal upon unusual circumstances and luck (either perceived as good or bad luck) to progress the plot forward for the characters. Both characters have to face where their loyalties lie, or where the people’s loyalties lie who surround them. In â€Å"King Lear† the focus of the married daughters who are proven to be evil and usurpers of their fathers power while the younger daughter, the innocent unmarried one proves to be the only supporter King Lear has although he blindingly distrusts her from act one.The theme of â€Å"King Lear† is suitably that of loyalty from the female caste whether in faithfulness or disloyalty. With the theme of loyalty there must also be a theme of vengeance as these two factors often walk hand in hand. It is proper for Dantes to want to seek vengeance on an unjust act done to him out of jealousy from Danglars. Although it takes Dantes nine years for his plan to put into action, it takes Lear merely three acts for his vengeance to take shape on Cordelia’s life and Lear’s blindness. For, what is the purpose of having a protagonist who does not learn anything?Lear learns of his mistakes with distrusting his daughter Cordelia and by trusting his other daughters- therefore, because he was blind to this distrust in a metaphorical sense he must be made blind p hysically in order to find redemption for his actions. Dumas takes a different approach in his protagonist’s story. Dumas gives Dantes an education as well as a treasure but the idea of vengeance swallows any joy he may have gleaned from his newly found position in life as the Count of Monte Cristo. It is with a heavy heart (after finding out about his father’s death) that Dantes goes to Marseilles and then on to other European cities.Despite this occupying thought of revenge, Dantes does manage to try and save Caderousse, but is unable to help the man because Caderousse's greed is his downfall. Although he is given two chances of redemption from Dantes he falls into a life of crime and is killed. Both authors need to have progression, change or punishment in their works in order for the reader to find the humanity in the protagonists, for, without their humanity Dantes’ revenge would be a fool’s errand and Lear would not have blinded himself after seeing the error of his ways.The parallels of greed in political power (another form of the grotesque in Shakespeare’s play) are presented in how Goneril and Regan seek political power by their ability to strip the King of all his train of followers, by rejecting the King’s title, and turning him out into the storm, â€Å"†¦entreat him by no means to stay† (III. 1. 297). Also, Edmund has high political aspirations by allowing Gloucester to be blinded for his own political gain, â€Å"Hang him instantly [Regan]†¦Pluck out his eyes [Goneril]† (III. 7. 4-5), and he usurps Edgar’s legitimate title as the future Earl of Gloucester.Furthermore, Kent and Edgar both lose their nobility, the Earl of Kent is banished for his honest defense of Cordelia, and Edgar loses his claim to nobility through the deceit and trickery of Edmund. Political greed was also seen with Caderousse as well as Dantes’ other enemies who have grown wealthy and more corrup t since he has been in prison. Both author’s hinge their characters on the edge of redemption and give them each a scenario in which they can either grasp this ultimate gift and be free of blame or hate, or they can become criminals of love and honor.The authors are the same in this account, they allow their protagonists to find their redemption: For Lear, it is blindness, for Dantes it is shown in the mercy he gives to his enemy Danglars. In their redemption either man finds love again: Cordelia’s for her father Lear and Haydee for Dantes. Bibliography Dumas, Alexandre. â€Å"The Count of Monte Cristo†. Penguin Classic. 1992. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"King Lear†. Penguin Classic. 1998.

Antigone Essays - Antigone, Civil Disobedience, Creon, Free Essays

Antigone Essays - Antigone, Civil Disobedience, Creon, Free Essays Antigone In Ancient Greece, new ideals surfaced as answers to life?s complicated questions. These new beliefs were centered on the expanding field of science. Man was focused on more than the Gods or heavenly concerns. A government that was ruled by the people was suggested as opposed to a monarchy that had existed for many years. Freedom of religion was encouraged to be exercised in city-states. These new ideals, though good in intentions, often conflicted with each other creating complex moral dilemmas. Such was the case in Antigone a play written by Sophocles during this era of change. In the play, Antigone and Creon battle a philosophical war dealing with the controversy of the Greek ideals. They both based their actions on their beliefs of what is right and wrong. The conflict arose when the ideals that backed up their actions clashed with each other, making it contradiction between morals. Antigone?s side of the conflict held a much more heavenly approach, as opposed to the mundane road that Creon chose to follow. Antigone feels that Creon is disregarding the laws of heaven through his edict. After she is captured and brought to Creon, she tells him ?I do not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten unalterable laws of God and heaven, you being only a man.? Antigone?s staunch opinion is one that supports the Gods and the laws of heaven. Her reasoning is set by her belief that if someone is not given a proper burial, that person would not be accepted into heaven. Antigone was a very religious person, and acceptance of her brother by the Gods was very important to her. She felt that ?It is against you and me he has made this order. Yes, against me.? Creon?s order was personal to Antigone. His edict invaded her family life as well as the Gods?. An important ideal in Ancient Greece was the belief that the government was to have no control in matters concerning religious beliefs. In Antigone?s eyes, Creon betrayed that ideal by not allowing her to properly bury her brother, Polynices. She believed that the burial was a religious ceremony, and Creon did not have the power to deny Polynices that right. Antigone?s strong beliefs eventually led her to her death by the hand of Creon. Never, though, did she stop defending what she thought was right. As Creon ordered her to her death, Antigone exclaimed, ?I go, his prisoner, because I honoured those things in which honour truly belongs.? She is directly humiliating Creon by calling his opinions and decisions weak and unjust. She also emphasizes ?his prisoner,? which tells us that Creon?s decision to capture Antigone was his own, and was not backed up by the majority of the people. She feels that Creon is abusing his power as king and dealing with her task to a persona! l level. Creon?s actions are guided by the ideal that states ?Man is the measure of all things.? The chorus emphasizes this point during the play by stating that ?There is nothing beyond (man?s) power.? Creon believes that the good of man comes before the gods. Setting the example using Polynices? body left unburied is a symbol of Creon?s belief. ?No man who is his country?s enemy shall call himself my friend.? This quote shows that leaving the body unburied is done to show respect for Thebes. After all, how could the ruler of a city-state honor a man who attempted to invade and conquer his city. From that perspective, Creon?s actions are completely just and supported by the ideals. Though most of Creon?s reasonings coincide with the Greek ideals, one ideal strongly contradicts his actions. The ideal states that the population would be granted freedom from political oppression and that freedom of religion would be carried out. Creon defied both of these. First, Antigone was ?his prisoner?, not necessarily the publics. In fact, the general population supported Antigone, though they were too scared to say anything. Haemon, the son of Creon, knew of this, and told Creon, ?Has she not rather earned a crown of gold?- Such is the secret talk of the town.? This proves that Creon was exercising complete domination of political power, which is

buy custom Knowledge, Education, and Scholarship on and through the Web essay

buy custom Knowledge, Education, and Scholarship on and through the Web essay Abstract Good communication is vital for the facilitation of effective learning. The embracing of the web in the learning has opened up a new chapter in the education sector and above all introduced new ways of scholarship that is not bounded by the walls of the class and the distance between the teacher and the learner. The increased access to the ICTs, especially the web has transformed the way people, work, learn, play and communicate thereby revolutionizing the education sector as the knowledge becomes more and more critical to our lives. The overall acceptance of the internet, and the ever advancing education applications, has also created new ways of knowledge transfer and scholarship through the web. Universities have taken the advantage of the internet, and developed courses that rely only on the access to the internet. These courses have improved the access and also reduced the cost of scholarship Author Keywords: Knowledge; education; internet; scholarship; web; Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Introduction The rapid advancement of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has dramatically affected the economic and social activities as well as in the acquisition of the, creation, dissemination and the use of knowledge. This advancement affects the way in which the manufacturers, service providers, and governments are organized, controlled and how they in turn perform their functions. Knowledge has become an increasingly important aspect in our competitiveness in the world arena. The use of the ICTs has reduced the transaction costs, time, and space barriers thereby allowing the mass production of customized goods and services and thereby overcoming the limiting factors of production and use. With investments in the ICTs, growth in the internet use has also risen. In addition, the rapid advancements in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the web use over the course of the last decade has affected a significant number of issues of our contemporary lives including the education. These new information technologies have the potential to change post-secondary education through the use of virtual universities and learning institutions (universities and institutions that offer courses exclusively through the web), distance education and new instructional practices offered through the traditional setting (this may include the normal teaching by the virtual teacher through the web in a classroom set-up). Nowadays, the educational material or knowledge can be found anywhere, anytime and by everybody who has access to the web. Its common knowledge that the web is packed with information of uncertain quality and importance and therefore, every web user should be able to pick out viable and useful information efficiently from this poo l of unsorted information. Its also essential for any web user to know how and where to obtain useful and qualitative information regarding their interests. This fact has found its way into universities and educational institutions that make the use these developments to their advantage by involving themselves in on-demand web based education and training. The course delivery is done through course delivery platforms such as Ariadne web based learning environment and electronics books which in turn make use of authoring tools such as InterBook. The Internet facilitates two way communications. The students can receive their course resources, content, and exams online as well as being updated on any small change in the versions of the curriculum. The accessibility to the web allows for the assessment of the quality of the exams and the curriculum offered. The learners can also be given potential access to learning from a variety of providers on the comfort of his or her home. The web use has significantly expanded the field of education provision and scholarship to the point where leading universities now host comprehensive online and distace education programs offering their courses at international marketplace. This borderless education or simply edgeless university ensures that same quality education can be accessed by the mass audience regardless of location, time, or space. Web usage has also led to new opportunities for informal exchange of expertise, knowledge and folk wisdom between individuals and independent institutions. Through social media applications like Wikipedia, for example, knowledge has changed from being a realm of the few to being accessible and created by all. Therefore, leaning has now shifted from taking place at the same place and at the same time to taking place anywhere and at any time. It also offers the learners the possibility of speeding or slowing down their courses depending on the content and therefore, being more learn er-centered than teacher-centered. World Bank has estimated that by the year 2020, around ninety (90) million students will be taking degrees or shorter qualifications via distance learning. It also estimates that the market of education could be worth more than one hundred billion dollars ($100b). According to John Chambers, the chief executive officer of cisco network and systems, termed the rise of the internet based learning application to be the next big thing. The major drivers of e learning are the substantial benefits that accompany it. These include: Lower costs ; Enhanced business responsiveness; Messages that are consistent or customized depending on the needs; Timely or dependable content; Prolonged study periods; No ramp up time; Universality; The build-up of the community; Scaleability; The leverage of corporate investment on the web; The provision of an increasingly valuable customer service. The use of ICTs in education can stimulate creativity, thereby providing a medium of thinking differently. The hyperlinks and related information sources can be navigated with a lot of ease and at any point thereby allowing non-linear learning that is learner centered and customized learning that has not been known before. The use of the web has also led to the development of E-psychology in which the internet technologies is incorporated with the ICTs. In E-psychology, the web constitutes the transmission medium in psychological intervention, assessment, orientation, and specialized counseling as a means of interaction between a patient and the therapist. In addition to e-psychology, the web has also found another use as a source of knowledge in the issues pertaining to health. According to a recent study, web users were found to trust entirely the results of the prominent and well known websites when they were gathering the information of their health issues without consulting their physical therapists or internet experts.These virtual environments use tools like e-mails, chat rooms, discussion forums audio and video conferencing for their interaction between the therapists and patients or in the integration of other tools for educational purposes in the e-learning environments. The numerous advantages of e-learning or education as a learner- centered over the teacher-centered learning includes the students ability to learn by discovery as opposed to instruction, learning how to learn as opposed to absorbing of the materials presented and also the teacher as a facilitator as opposed to the teacher as a transmitter. In addition, e-learning is a lifelong learning as there are no barriers to it. The students enjoy thhe courses at their own convenient time opposed to the institution based learning where the students must be available at designated time and places. The concept of digital scholarships has been on the upswing with the technologies that are core to it. These technologies that include the internet, the world wide web, computing grids and digital libraries all exist in the social and political contexts and have significantly evolved over time. The research universities are central to the internet and to the issuance of scholarship in the research discovery, integration, application and knowledge transfers all of which require the web for research and development of the research. In discovery, those awarded the scholarships must advance specific, specialized knowledge. Discovery not only contributes to the overall knowledge but also on the intellectual atmosphere of an institution or a department. In the integration, the individuals awarded the scholarship look for the new relationship between the parts and the whole and thus, bring about new insights to sustain the original research. Its the scholarships of integrations that make vi tal connections between disciplines by altering the contexts in which people view knowledge, and offsetting the inclination of to split knowledge into ever more esoteric bits and pieces. In application scholarships, the new way of knowledge utilization are addressed. In addition, the interaction between theory and the practice is addressed. The scholarship of the application consists in using the knowledge for the benefit of the individuals, institutions, and society. The main aim in this scholarship is the dissemination of useful, testable, and reproducible information to others. And lastly in the knowledge transfers scholarships the new ways of transmitting and extending the knowledge are addressed. The standards of assessment of scholarly work are the clear goals, adequate preparations, usage of the appropriate methods, significant results, effective presentation and reflective critique. These are meant to help the scholar to state the basic purpose of his work, to define the objectives that are realistic and achievable thereby identifying the important questions to use in the field. Also to show an understanding of the existing scholarship in the field, bring skills and resources to the body of the work, utilize a methodology that is appropriate to goals effectively and thereby modify the procedures depending on the changing circumstances among others in the preparation and the conduct of the research. During the presentation of the results, these guidelines help the scholar to achieve his or her set goals, utilize a suitable style and organization to present the findings clearly and with integrity and lastly to critically evaluate his or her work thereby bringing in the breat h of evidence. Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all who helped me in any way in the writing of this doctoral thesis. It would not have been possible to write this doctoral thesis without the help, support and encouragement of the kind and supportive people around me. And for any errors or the inadequacies that may arise in the course of my work, the responsibility lies entirely on me. Conclusion The Internet and the web have now become an integral component of academic life. From all aspects of education, learning and scholarship, people rely on the internet connections for access to information resources, for the interpersonal communication, in search for support of research and learning, access to administrative resources, entertainment, and simple day-to- day tasks . In order to ensure the competitiveness of the web services, the countries involved need to ensure fair pricing and appropriate legal infrastructure to deal with online transactions. Its therefore crucial to incorporate the government, the telecommunication and service providers, business, and individual users when formulating these strategies. Buy custom Knowledge, Education, and Scholarship on and through the Web essay

Analysis of the political change the United States underwent in Research Paper

Analysis of the political change the United States underwent in 2008-2011 - Research Paper Example Political Philosophy The political situation of the United States from 2008 to the present day has been shaped by the President Obama’s political philosophy. President Barrack Obama political philosophy tends towards the leftist ideology. His focus on majority of the things is based on socialism. Socialism is an ideology that consists of redistribution of wealth through taxation and government programs. His presidential campaigns were dominated by Yes We Can mantra thus, making himself the personification of hope for the American future. He was of the ideology that the grassroots movements could change United States. However, after two years of his leadership, the ingrained â€Å"national pessimism about the economy has taken a toll, and it is Republicans, seemingly poised to seize the House of Representatives† (Breitbart, 2011) and they are posing as agents of change. Republicans criticize President Obama for not delivering the changes he promised in 2008 and they asse rt that the Americans have not experienced it (Breitbart, 2011). As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama appeared less ideological and more moderate and he vowed to unite the Republicans and Democrats under one nation. His tactics to embrace his foes in his presidency was obstructed by the staunch Republicans and thus, his appearance to the voters as a post-partisan president was largely damaged. He was forced to expose the largest government intervention to save the sinking economy; he took big chunks of the auto sectors and finance and framed stimulus package worth 800 billion dollars. President Obama implemented a social agenda with the Wall Street and health care reform; this made it easy for the Republicans to assert that Obama was eyeing a major government conquest in a country where there is deep-rooted government suspicions. Republicans argue that Obama lacks a defining political tag; he was not at ease, for example, with the politics of the New Democrat (Breitbart, 2011) . Conservatives seem him as a radical person but his followers on the left are not happy with the change because it was not as expected. Some of the liberals are not happy with Obama because he failed to endorse promises to permit gays to serve directly in the military or near the Guantanamo Bay. Others want investigations into the alleged abuses (in his war against terror) by the Bush Administration. Liberals are very disappointed with Obama and the independent voters who supported him in 2008 are joining the Republicans in large numbers (Breitbart, 2011). Thus, the popularity of Obama is diminishing on a daily basis due to his political philosophy and the failure to fulfill most of the promises he made in 2008. Economic Issues Like the other nations, United States is an exceptional to the problems associated with the economic disasters facing these nations. Majority of the people cannot see the obvious signs of the economic crisis facing the United States. The United States is no longer capable of producing what it needs in order to sustain itself. The nation imports more than it exports and it is selling off majority of its assets. To sustain its standard of living, the nation is taking huge debts; the standard of living the nation is attempting to sustain is beyond the abilities of the nation. United States is almost becoming entirely

What does the state of the British media tell us about society in Essay

What does the state of the British media tell us about society in Britain - Essay Example In the world of today, media has become as necessary as food and clothing. As per Shakeel (2013) â€Å"It has played significant role in strengthening the society. Media is considered as "mirror" of the modern society, infect, it is the media which shapes our lives. The media of a certain country is a true mirror for portraying the cultural values and issue happening in a country. British media is of high standard and report on many issue which gives the public an image of British society. The sections like art, sports, entertainment, health and education. Britain being a cosmopolitan country does have a cultural and social mannerism different to other countries. British Media mostly present political and news and information on Royal family. According to Negrine(1991,pg.12-30) â€Å"The value of "political communication" in the dictionary of useful, catch-all phrases to describe the relationship between mass media and politics comes at a price in precision†. Although, the me dia does not reflect much on the life of common men it does give out what is British society is like. The nature of British media The British media has its own peculiarities and in Europe, Britain falls third to Germany and Estonia regarding the total number of newspaper published. Also the British Press market is the second largest in Europe with regard to newspaper circulation. The frequency of British newspaper is divided as weekly, daily and Sunday newspaper. The media of Britain greatly cover economic and political news. The media has the function of public enlightenment. The celebrity gossip and sports is a major portion in British media. The British media is also extensively interested in royal affairs. Unlike other countries, Britain has a regulated media. According to Enders(2011) â€Å"Until now, Britain has regulated commercial media far more tightly than the BBC and you argue that it is time for a change†. The British media has been a bit conservative in compariso n to other media in Western countries. The country always had to keep the royal status of the country. However, the British news papers are information rich and same goes with television media. However, politics is a major topic area for British media. Apart from this entertainment and sports get lot of media attention. Crime, sex and stories of human interests are also a part of the British media. According to (Gonzalez) The British national press provides a variety of political views, interests and levels of education. The British media does give out certain ideas as follows about their society Britain as a class conscious society British media has been one which shows class segregation and it has been partial to different classes. The media always represented the royal families and celebrities as the wealthiest and influential. The upper class was shown as the well bred and cultured people. The media has consistently showcased royal families as the ideal British people. The upper class is shown to be intelligent and sophisticated. (Thorpe) â€Å"But class-warfare, whether waged by politicians or the media, merely diverts attention from those living in deprivation†. The upper class is shown to hardworking, wall mannered and decent. The media has always shown upper class people in a positive manner and hence we can see that the British society is class conscious. Class discrimination is highly visible from the fact that the media as television or newspaper is consistently publishing or broadcasting news related to royal families an