Rumors Summary Essays - Rumors, Charley, Eighth Doctor

Rumors : Summary Neil Simon's farce, Rumors, gives readers an in-depth look at the lives of ten wealthy individuals attending a dinner party. In an attempt to stay within the social crown, the characters start unsubstantiated rumors about their friends in an attempt to make themselves look better. The hosts of the party, Ken Gorman, and his wife Chris must cover up the fact that a friend of theirs, Charley Brock, has been shot in the ear lobe. They do not know how he got shot, but they decide that he must have tried to commit suicide, and thereby proceed to spread rumors about what they have heard in an attempt to avoid a possible attempted suicide scandal. They first lie to Charley's personal doctor, they lie about what happened to all of the servants, and they finally about a second gunshot heard in the house. When the Gormans first encounter Charley in his bedroom, they immediately call his personal doctor at the theater to tell him that Charley feels just fine. Chris relates the story to the doctor when she says, "Dr. Dudley, I'm afraid there's been an accident_ Well, we just arrived here at Charley's house about ten minutes ago, and as we were getting out of our car, we suddenly heard this enormous_ thud_ It seemed Charley had tripped going up the stairs_ no, wait, down the stairs. Down the stairs. But he's all right," (13). Finally, Chris manages to explain to the doctor that Charley had not really hurt himself in the first place and that she felt sorry to have bothered him at the theater. After hanging up the phone, the Gormans put Charley in the shower to wash off the blood, wrap a towel around his head to stop the bleeding, and go back downstairs to wait for the rest of the party guests. Lenny and Claire Ganz arrive at the party first. Coming straight from a car accident, the Ganz's ask why Charley has not joined them for the party. Ken Gorman explains that Charley has had a rough day and he decided to take a nap for a little while. Lenny exclaims that he has not had a thing to eat since breakfast and wonders where Mai Li the cook has put all of the food. Not wanting to explain that they have recently fired Mai Li, the Gormans fabricate a story about her having to go back to Japan to visit her sick mother. Claire asks, "But Mai Li is Chinese, isn't she?" The Gormans look at each other and then Chris quickly says, "I know. Her mother was visiting Japan." As a result of this, they must ask their friends to help them prepare dinner for their own party. They know that if they explain to the Ganz's that they do not have enough money to keep her in service any longer, they will fall of out favor with their friends. For this reason, they find it necessary to fabricate stories to explain happenings in the house. As the night progresses, they consistently dig themselves into a deeper hole of lies. The situation eventually gets terrible when Ken tries to hide the gun so Charley can't find it to shoot himself again. On his way to putting in the closet, Ken trips over Charley's slippers and discharges the gun straight into the wall. The report occurred right next to his ear, and for the rest of the play, Ken is almost entirely deaf. Naturally, the Gormans cannot say that a gunshot went off in the house, so they create a variety of different excuses to explain the sound upstairs. At first, Claire decides that a car backfiring has the most credibility, but because of the volume of the sound, she later changes it to a manhole cover that exploded. After some time, she again changes the story to a can of shaving cream that exploded due to the pressure from the manhole cover exploding. This story seems a little far-fetched to the other guests, so she finally says, "Oh, I know. I know. I know exactly what it was_ it was a balloon. They've been blowing up party balloons up there all day," (43). This answer seems satisfactory enough for everyone, and they lapse back into their normal conversations again. The party in Rumors has a lot of humor to it, but on the other hand, it shows just how far people will go just to be accepted by their peers. Through deceit, the Gormans lied about Charley's health to avoid an investigation. They lied about their lack

Foundation Course Evaluation Essay Example

Foundation Course Evaluation Essay Example Foundation Course Evaluation Essay Foundation Course Evaluation Essay Name: Lecturer: Course: Date: : Foundation Course Evaluation When joining this program most of the students have just but a vague idea of what entails the entire program. What I am proud of regarding my academic performance is that our paths have now been laid out clearly for us. The professors have enables us to understand the practical relevance of this course. This means that the course provides important information for the students well in time to deliberate on whether to continue with this career or to quit. I am now proud that I have chosen an excellent career that will greatly assist me in accomplishing my goals and purpose in life. I believe that this institution is one of the best colleges in Canada and by this merit, has the best program in bettering my education. I also consider the school quite capable in aiding me in its programs due to its method of handing out course outlines and other material thus helping me plan my semester in advance. In this way, the students can do additional research and at times acquaint themselves with some of the topics before they are mentioned in class. This will even give the lecturers an even easier time in explaining the contents in the topics. This I believe will work a lot in improving not only mine, but the academic performance of all the students. In particular, the lecture that mostly sticks into my mind the one on foundation in Community and Child Studies 1-CCSF-101 by professor Sama Bassidj. I enjoy taking the lectures. I guess it is mainly because during the class, we are educated on crucial life’s lessons. The lecturer enables one to achieve self-realization by being aware what one’s strengths, values, weaknesses and talents. By becoming aware of this, the students can now know what to change in their life and what to concentrate on in order to literary make the best of their lives. This is primarily why we refer to the class as the, â€Å"life class†. In the end, the lecture develops confidence in the students both psychologically and philosophically. One of the most difficult subjects is psychology taught by Professor Sherry-Ann Mohammed-Gibbes. However, it neither because the subject is not well nor is it that the institution is under equipped. The reason that I find this subject difficult and frustrating is that I do not have any prior knowledge or experience on the subject since I have never learnt it before. However, the lecturer has been doing an impressive job in carefully going though the contents and the concepts. I now consider myself confident on psychology and can perform exemplary well on the subject. If my friends in the program were to speak in one hundred percent honesty, I believe that they would advice that if one is not interest in fieldwork and especially working with kids, this is then not the program for that individual. This is because most of them now understand that in order to succeed in the career, passion plays a very significant role and could end up determining whether one will graduate with distinction or an average score. Another advice is that lectures are not to be relied upon since the lecturers tends to provide only a skeleton of what the student is supposed to learn. This means that one needs additional material and constantly visiting the library to fill the skeleton provided by the lecturers with the necessary meat. This is a requisite of any institution that is worth its salt. Spoon-feeding the student with information will only impart them with theoretical knowledge leaving out the necessary practical knowledge. What I would advice my friends is that the program is very essential as it provides the student with the relevant skills and knowledge to successfully pursue a diploma of choice in the community and child services department in the crown college. The program also goes to the limits of imparting the learner with relevant skills and knowledge that if unsuccessful to pursue the diploma at the Crown College, one may still be able to find a job as a social worker and still work competently. The professors have greatly supported my journey in the foundation program through various capacities. One is that as an international student, my English is not very good. However, the English lecturer, Wendy Chan, has assisted me efficiently and effectively in improving my diction and pronunciations in the English language. Her exemplary skills have further facilitated my learning in all the other subjects and I can now manage to express myself freely and comprehensively in the examination papers. In addition, the class on foundation in Community and Child Studies has further enabled me for identify my values and character and the same can be translated to the society at large. This is very important as one is able to understand his weaknesses and strengths in order to competitively be aware of what one can comfortable excel at. The video tools provided by Professor Cindy Brandon have also facilitated a lot in making learning of Student Success and Interpersonal Skills a great experience. Although the subject is considered as one of the competitive ones, the video tools highly facilitate learning and make them a great experience. The additional supports that could be provided by the professors include the use of video tools like the one of Professor Cindy Brandon. The incorporation of these tools in all the other subjects would help a lot in enabling the students to understand the concepts. There are those students who capture images easily as opposed to words. The use of the video tools would mean that these students are not left at a loss.

An Analysis Of Sainsburys Supermarket

An Analysis Of Sainsburys Supermarket Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury along with his wife Mary Ann in London and then gradually grew to become the largest grocery retailer by 1922. Sainsbury’s is the UK’s oldest major food retailer with their first store opened in 1869. It strives to keep up with its trusted heritage of quality with best services. Past: In the early 1990’s Sainsbury’s, market leader so far, lost its position to Tesco and in 2004 it came down to no. three after Tesco and Asda. The downfall involved many reasons including changing managements, lack of innovative strategies, failing to assess the impact of loyalty cards scheme, unhealthy acquisition in Egypt and a misleading marketing strategy which failed to communicate the right message to the consumers. Present: Sainsbury’s started to fight back and be noticed after Justin King took over the management role in early 2004 and came up with a revival strategy under the name of ‘Making Sainsbury’s Grea t Again’. The process involved a no. of mergers and acquisitions of small chains in the south east England and the Midlands. The new message of ‘Try Something New Today’ went really well with the media and the consumer led by the famous celebrity chef Jamie Oliver it encouraged buyers to innovate in their kitchens and make their food interesting. Future: The supermarket industry has reached a saturation point in the UK. How long can Sainsbury’s go on opening up new stores at locations such that its stores do not start to cannibalize each other? Using the Ansoff Growth Matrix two future strategies are suggested for Sainsbury’s: Opening up of Sainsbury’s Travels and Tours – Product Development On the basis of the success potential in the travel business, Sainsbury’s might venture into the Travel and Tours business by way of Product Development as per Ansoff Growth Matrix tool for future strategy selection. Sainsbury’s has a very high probability of success as measured with the help of SWOT analysis and assessing the keys to success and the critical factors. Sainsbury’s China – Market Development Sainsbury’s might opt for the Market development strategy by offering the supermarket business to the land of opportunities China. The move will be mad after the necessary PEST analysis has been done and company’s SWT has been assessed with Chinese perspective. Sainsbury’s – Strategic Corporate Development History: 1990 to 2004 Corporations are required to add value by mans of their business. The goal is to manage and control the businesses for a long term and sustainable success. The corporate level strategy deals with the choice of the business and the growth and development related to it. Sainsbury’s enjoyed the position of the leader in the UK supermarket industry up to the early 1990’s. It had sustained its image of a name trusted with quality and se rvice. British like old names with some history behind them. The company started to lose its grip in the early nineties due to a number of reasons. There was a change in management after the longtime CEO John David Sainsbury retired. He was replaced by David Sainsbury who bought about a change in the management style. Although the times were changing and some of the people in the management thought strongly about launching loyalty card schemes and also favored introduction of non-food items in the stores, both the options were rejected by the fresh management.

Warranties and Product Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Warranties and Product Liability - Essay Example A warranty also comes to the fore in any contract of sale whenever such contract is subjected to any condition whereby such is not performed. The promisee therefore, has two options. He may refuse to proceed with the contract by reason of a breach of warranty or he may waive the performance of that condition. To test whether in a contract of sale there is warranty, the pertinent question is whether the buyer is an 'ignorant' buyer who relied on the seller's affirmation of fact or promise or not. If he is, there is warranty. However, in one case, there is no warranty when the purchaser is expected to have an opinion and the vendor has no special opinion (Spencer Heater Co v Abbot). In the hereinabove definition of warranty, there are 2 kinds of general warranties enumerated i.e. express warranty and implied warranty. A third one, statutory warranty has recently been added via legal enactments. From these 3 categories are engendered several other warranties which may be express or implied depending on the facts of the case. Express warranty is any affirmation of fact or any pledge by the vendor relating to the goods if the natural inclination of such affirmation or pledge is the inducement of the vendee to buy the same, and if the vendee purchases by reason of such affirmation or pledge. Thus, it is imperative that such warranty... express warranty and implied warranty. A third one, statutory warranty has recently been added via legal enactments. From these 3 categories are engendered several other warranties which may be express or implied depending on the facts of the case. Express warranty is any affirmation of fact or any pledge by the vendor relating to the goods if the natural inclination of such affirmation or pledge is the inducement of the vendee to buy the same, and if the vendee purchases by reason of such affirmation or pledge. Thus, it is Warranties 3 imperative that such warranty as derived from the language of the contract must be explicit and may take form as an affirmation, pledge or representation (Parish v Kotthoff). The Patricia Henley case whereby petitioner Henley sued Philip Morris for damages on the basis of the latter agent's misrepresentation to her that she should shift to Marlboro Lights in order to escape or diminish the risks of smoking, is one potent example of express warranty. The court ruled that the petitioner's carcinoma of the lungs was caused by her chain-smoking of Marlboro Lights and that such was induced by the (mis)representation of Philip Morris'agent that such is not only safe but desirable (Henley v Philip Morris). Another example is when the product contains these words in the label "This product is guaranteed free from defect". Implied warranty, on the other hand, doesn't involve any explicit promise rather the warranty is imposed on the seller by operation of law. The basis for such is the circumstances of the sale. Thus in each contract of sale, oral or written, it is implied or inferred that the

Cause and effect on the Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision Essay

Cause and effect on the Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision - Essay Example The reasoning behind the Supreme Court decision on the Dred Scott Case is complex. The ultimate conclusion was that African Americans (Born abroad or in the USA) by nature of their heritage and race were not Citizens nor could they become Citizens and ultimately, were not protected by the Constitution. As such it was the case that slaves could not sue in court by nature of their citizenship rights, Moreover it was also decided that the American Congress didn’t have the ability to prohibit slavery and as such they could not be confiscated without some sort of due-process. The background of the case is stored. According to Watson.org (1998) Scott was a slave, born in Virginia around the turn of the 19th century and was owned by Dr. John Emerson (An Army doctor who frequently traveled). At some time during Emerson’s travels he brought Scott to several free-states for a period exceeding seven years. After the Death of Emerson, Scott claimed ill treatment by Emerson’s wife (Eliza) who denied his right to purchaser his freedom. Scot brought forward a case stating that he was free by virtue of his living in Free States and by his willingness to purchase his freedom. From the perspective of economic causes and effects of the Supreme Court decision on the Dred Scot case there are a number of factors at play. ... dollars were living in the USA around this time. This factor would weigh heavily on the decision makers. Ultimately as an effect, if the court ruling had gone another direction it would open the door to probably an endless supply of slaves bringing cases There were a number of social causes and effects pertaining to this court ruling. Even though there was a strong abolitionist movement it remained the case that blacks were regarded as beneath all whites. According to PBS (2011) it was the case that under the interpretation of the Constitution by Chief Justice Roger Taney (A slavery supporter) it was believed that blacks had no rights that white men were obliged to respect. Moreover because blacks had no rights and were as such beneath white men than blacks may be enslaved for the benefit of whites and can be treated as a piece of property. Building on this previous point, it was also argued that even though the Declaration of Independence stated that â€Å"All men are created equal † it was argued that the African race was never intended to be included as they had played no part in framing the declaration. As a result of this court decision, it is likely that this drove a greater wedge between abolitionists and slavery supporters insofar as the poorly argued rhetoric of this decision would have enraged most abolitionists. Moreover, the attempt by abolitionists to impose federal rulings on slavery supporters would have likely enraged this group as well. Without question, there were a number of political causes and effects that would have played a significant role in this court case and decision. Although it may seem like an over simplification, states that had abolished slavery were developing economies that could be described as being more

Nostalgia for Mysticism Essay Example for Free

Nostalgia for Mysticism Essay One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells the story of the town of Macondo, sticky with nostalgia, and the Buendia family who lived out those very years of solitude. Gabo’s work is written in a style known as magical realism, in which elements of the magical and the mundane are interwoven seamlessly, making it impossible to determine where reality ends and the extraordinary begins. The story is set in an otherwise ordinary world, with familiar historical and cultural realities, although events which occur are not always explained by universal laws or familiar logic. The story was originally written in Spanish, and has since been translated into thirty-seven languages. However, as any origins or bloodlines are important- it is equally as important to note that the birthplace of this masterpiece is Latin America. Much of the magical and resonant elements come to a climax at the end of the book. As the last chapters surge into our hearts, we are presented with the line that both summarizes the story itself, and the extraordinary magic and mysticism that is artfully omnipresent within its pages. In reference to the Buendia legacy it reads, â€Å"The first of the line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by ants.† (Marquez) At the moment we read this, we realize that Aureliano Babilonia’s son, who is bloated and still damp with the dew of birth, is being carried away by all the ants in the world. Aureliano Babilonia, the last remaining Buendia’s, is reading the manuscript of the gypsy, Melquiades, the most significant character in the novel outside of the Buendia family, who wrote the prophecy of the family one hundred years before in Sanskrit, his mother tongue. He leads us to the demise of Macondo, as it blows away in torrents of dust and whirlwinds of longing, and as the novel comes to a close we read, Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth (Marquez). The novel plays with our sensibilities however it is not fantasy. It is something entirely different, because it was born from the womb of a culture that is comfortable with the mythical and the conventionally unbelievable. Magical Realism could not have been born from any other mother, than the slippery Spanish speaking, and catholic mother of Latin America: a women who wishes on saints and casts spells in the form of prayers. Magical Realism is an art form, and represents an important aspect of Latin culture. Therefore, in order to understand the symbiotic relationship between this literary style and culture, we must have a working definition of culture. Edward B, Tylor, a British anthropologist defined culture as â€Å"a complex whole including knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capability or habit acquired by human beings as members of society.† (Danesi, 3) So, culture is a conglomeration of the creations by the members of the society. However, more importantly, according to semiotician Marcel Danasi, â€Å"Societies are simultaneously the geographical and historical ‘reifications’ (manifestations) of cultures: i.e. they have existence in time and space, enfolding the signifying processes that shape and regulate the lives of the people who live within them.† (3) The logical process of the creation of culture is that culture manifests itself from the historical and ideological backgrounds of a given sphere. According to Eduardo Restrepo, â€Å"Culture is the deepest and most solid rock of our common sense.† (Grossberg, 169) Therefore, cultural sensibilities and norms are defined and framed by the culture itself. So, any art form, which we understand to be the child of a culture, can be traced back to a historical and or ideological element. In the case of Magical Realism and its importance in Latin American culture, we can trace both its creation and wide acceptance to Catholicism, and the mystical implications of Catholicism in the region. The iron of the blood that flows throughout Latin America is arguably Catholicism, but not Catholicism in the traditional sense, a Catholicism that was born of conquest, but was not defined by subordination. One cannot understand Latin America without understanding the history of the Catholic Church in the region. Catholicism has been predominant in Latin America and it has played a definitive role in its development. It helped to spur the conquest of the New World with its emphasis on missions to the indigenous peoples. (Schwaller) Now, Catholicism in the region is characterized by various practices that could arguably be considered associated with magic. This was due to the transcultural assimilation of the religion. It is a religion that was brought by the Spanish and Portuguese during the conquest of the new world, but as they introduced their religion, elements of religious cultures pushed through and created a new Catholicism. It was met by various cultures such as the Mayas, Aztecs, and even Caribbean voodoo, which are all more commonly associated with mysticism. (Schwaller) Now Catholicism is scene in multiple facets of daily life in Latin America. In nearly every home you can find a statue of the Virgin Mary. â€Å"Representations of saints take center stage in Hispanic religion. We pray, light candles and talk to our patrons, which are saints. Each Latin American country has a patron saint or virgin they celebrate. Patron Saints are also assigned to towns and regions, and we celebrate â€Å"Las Fiestas Patronales† or the patrons’ festivities in many Hispanic countries.† (â€Å"Hispanic Culture Online†) In addition, the Spanish language itself is wrought with rhetoric that implies the existence of miracles, which in this case we equate to magic. For example words like ojala, which derives from Arabic meaning literally â€Å"Allah willing† but more frequently meaning â€Å"I wish† or â€Å"I hope†, and â€Å"si dios quiere† â€Å"if God wills it†, are abundant in everyday conversation. From a semiotic point of view, in which we seek to understand the impact of this on the culture itself, we see that language of the sort creates a certain cultural framework. The words themselves, according to Jack Solomon, †¦Do mean what we want them to mean. Although a word and its meaning may appear to be one and the same, the truth is that words are only signs of meaning, arbitrary symbols whose significance, like the dots and dashes of the Morse code, is determined by cultural beliefs and social convention (2). The words used are vital within the culture, because without cultural context they would not have significance. Therefore, a culture is the sum of it’s language, and historical background. This summation is commonly known as a paradigm. Michel Foucault, who did extensive studies on paradigms and their application, asserts, â€Å" that for a given type of action, there are different possible ways to ‘conduct oneself’.† (Harrer, 79) A paradigm is defined as â€Å"a set of associated signifiers or signifiers which are all members of some defining category, but in which each is significantly different.† (Chandler) Cultures inevitably exist within a paradigm, and in simplistic terms a cultural paradigm can be considered the intricate web of what is significant, acceptable, and understood within a culture. The paradigm is perpetuated by language and practice. In practice we see how traditions and artistic expressions are simply mirrors that reflect the cultural paradigm as it is actively and continuously being defined by the peoples of that culture. Art must exist within a cultural paradigm, and therefore understanding those very paradigms allows us to contextually understand the significance of the art form. As for understanding One Hundred Years of Solitude, and its use of magical realism, we can look to various religious practices in Latin American Catholicism and how the normalize the abnormal. A prime example is the patron saint San Antonio. It is common in Latin culture for a person who is single and wants love to place a statue of this saint face down. They will pray to this saint, and only once their love is found will they turn the saint face up. What we see in this example is that mythology, and beliefs that have no basis in science or fact are practiced because of their religious ubiquity, and the magical adherence to the catholic religion that most Latinos are accustomed too. This is not the only example that can be found. Another pertinent example comes from the Virgin Mary. Latin Americans will pray to the Virgin Mary, for example, when their child falls ill. If the illness is cured, whether or not they can truly attribute this to their prayers, they will commemorate their devotion to the saint by naming their child after him. Many people even take pilgrimages to honor the importance that the saint made in their life. These instances of belief in the supernatural are commonplace, and allow us to understand how an entire culture of people could read in Marquez’s work, upon the death of Jose Arcadio Buendia: Then they went into Jose Arcadio Buendias room, shook him as hard as they could, shouted in his ear, put a mirror in front of his nostrils, but they could not awaken him. A short time later, when the carpenter was taking measurements for the coffin, through the window they saw a light rain of tiny yellow flowers falling. They fell on the town all through the night in a silent storm, and they covered the roofs and blocked the doors and smothered the animals who slept outdoors. So many flowers fell from the sky that in the morning the streets were carpeted with a compact cushion and they had to clear them away with shovels and rakes so that the funeral procession could pass by. (Marquez) and accept that the flowers are falling from the sky, but we are not transported to a world separate from reality. We understand that their metaphoric existence is one of honoring the dead, and commemorating a life. As we read this we are living in the reality that has been constructed by Latin America herself, a culture where often times the most unbelievable and magical occurrences serve better to explain reality than the dry and lifeless recitation of reality itself. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in December of 1982 on account of his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Within his speech he recounted tales of madness and fantastical occurrences in the region. He emphasizes the fact that to him his novel resembles reality, as he understands it: A reality not of paper, but one that lives within us and determines each instant of our countless daily deaths, and that nourishes a source of insatiable creativity, full of sorrow and beauty, of which this roving and nostalgic Colombian is but one cipher more, singled out by fortune. Poets and beggars, musicians and prophets, warriors and scoundrels, all creatures of that unbridled reality, we have had to ask but little of imagination, for our crucial problem has been a lack of conventional means to render our lives believable. This, my friends, is the crux of our solitude. (Marquez) The solitude he describes comes to represent the unique roots of the Latin American cultural paradigm, one that renders the region lonely, because no other culture can quite believe the ‘unbridled reality’ that shaped the culture. He is but one cipher more because the creation of magical realism was prophesized hundreds of years before, when the conventionality of European society collided with the ebb and flow of the immense sorrows and beauties in Latin America. History and language led to a cultural paradigm which laid the very foundation for a book like One Hundred Years of Solitude to be written, and to answer to the resounding question, which we have been exploring throughout this essay, what’s the significance of magical realism in the cultural paradigm? we needn’t look any further than the immortal pages of the novel. Melquiades, the gypsy who wrote the prophecy within One Hundred Years of Solitude says so poignantly â€Å"Things have a life of their own, its simply a matter of waking up their souls.† (Marquez) The pinnacle is that Melquiades does not just say that people have a life of their own, but things. The inanimate is granted animation and soul, and it is accepted because the cultural paradigm grants importance to that which cannot necessarily be tangibly explained or experienced. Latin America, rich with history of conquest, built from the alchemy and melding of various cultures to create a new identity, and alight with Spanish that linguistically reinforces the existence of God and the supernatural, had to be the birthplace of magical realism. Latin America is a region in which the lines between the magical and real are blurred. So, the creation of the genre of magical realism simply represents the acceptance that in telling a story as resounding as one of one hundred years of solitude in a sleepy, fictional town of Macondo, metaphor and magic become more truthful than even the truth itself, just as in Latin American culture the spiritual is granted more importance and potency than the literal. Works Cited Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners. . N.p., 26 2002. Web. 27 Nov 2012.http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem03.html. Danesi, Marcel. Analyzing Cultures: An Introduction Handbook. Indiana: IndianaUniversity Press, 1999. Print. Grossberg, Lawrence. Cultural Studies in the Future Tense. Durham: DukeUniversity Press, 2010. Print. Hispanic Religion The Catholic Traditions, Meaning Celebrations AmongHispanics. Hispanic Culture Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov 2012.http://www.hispanic-culture-online.com/hispanic-religion.html. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude. Trans. Gregory Rabassa. New York: Harper, 1970. Print. Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. The Solitude of Latin America. Nobel Prize AwardCeremony. Sweden, Stockholm. 08 1982. Speech. Schwaller, John Frederick. The History of the Catholic Church in Latin America. NewYork: NYU Press, 2012. eBook.

Contradictory Ideas on Managing Land Lauresta Piper-Ruth :: Savory Essays

Contradictory Ideas on Managing Land Lauresta Piper-Ruth Who is Allen Savory? At Goshen College, a small liberal arts college, Land Management is one of the courses required for Environmental Studies majors. The main book required for this class is Holistic Management by Allan Savory. Savory is a well-known ecologist and author. His books cover his theories on how to take care of land. His work is so well recognized that he is known as the founder of holistic management principles. The teacher of this Land Management, Bill Minter, draws most of his lectures from the information in this book. One might make the assumption that the information in a book approved for a class such as this would not contain controversial material. Both the teacher and the students in the class assumed just this, the material within the book had subsequent evidence to back up the theories. However, this is not the case. Allen Savory’s holistic management ideas on grazing and resting the land do not work in the basic ways that he claims they do. In fact, research has been done that disputes his theories. Therefore, it has been given a great deal of criticism by other scientist. Holistic Management Theories There are two theories that holistic management advocates swear by. One is that grazing can be beneficial if preformed in the correct way. The other is that resting land is not good for it. Both theories basically state that land can and should be grazed. To understand these theories some background information must be given as to how land works. Land can be identified on a scale of how hydric or xeric it is. Every piece of land falls between those two points. Hydric lands get a great deal of rainfall and have high humidity. As a result they have much more vegetation on the ground and therefore many more organisms to break things down. Xeric lands are just the opposite; they are much drier. They have less rainfall, less humidity, less vegetation, and fewer organisms. When vegetation dies in hydric system, the great numbers of organisms quickly decompose it. When vegetation dies in a xeric system the decomposition is a much longer process. Savory also compares these landscapes using t he terminology of brittle and nonbrittle environments. The more brittle the land is, the more xeric it is. Oppositely, the more nonbrittle the land is, the more hydric it is. Contradictory Ideas on Managing Land Lauresta Piper-Ruth :: Savory Essays Contradictory Ideas on Managing Land Lauresta Piper-Ruth Who is Allen Savory? At Goshen College, a small liberal arts college, Land Management is one of the courses required for Environmental Studies majors. The main book required for this class is Holistic Management by Allan Savory. Savory is a well-known ecologist and author. His books cover his theories on how to take care of land. His work is so well recognized that he is known as the founder of holistic management principles. The teacher of this Land Management, Bill Minter, draws most of his lectures from the information in this book. One might make the assumption that the information in a book approved for a class such as this would not contain controversial material. Both the teacher and the students in the class assumed just this, the material within the book had subsequent evidence to back up the theories. However, this is not the case. Allen Savory’s holistic management ideas on grazing and resting the land do not work in the basic ways that he claims they do. In fact, research has been done that disputes his theories. Therefore, it has been given a great deal of criticism by other scientist. Holistic Management Theories There are two theories that holistic management advocates swear by. One is that grazing can be beneficial if preformed in the correct way. The other is that resting land is not good for it. Both theories basically state that land can and should be grazed. To understand these theories some background information must be given as to how land works. Land can be identified on a scale of how hydric or xeric it is. Every piece of land falls between those two points. Hydric lands get a great deal of rainfall and have high humidity. As a result they have much more vegetation on the ground and therefore many more organisms to break things down. Xeric lands are just the opposite; they are much drier. They have less rainfall, less humidity, less vegetation, and fewer organisms. When vegetation dies in hydric system, the great numbers of organisms quickly decompose it. When vegetation dies in a xeric system the decomposition is a much longer process. Savory also compares these landscapes using t he terminology of brittle and nonbrittle environments. The more brittle the land is, the more xeric it is. Oppositely, the more nonbrittle the land is, the more hydric it is.

Poetry Slam Essay

On my visit to Bar13 I was instructed to watch a poetry slam. I have never experience such a vivid art of performing poetry. The only way I had experienced poetry before was by reading it from books. This has change the way I see poetry now. The poetry slam is a very competitive event in which the poets perform their work. The poets are judged by people of the audience. The host, who was pregnant, selected the judges who were instructed to give a numerical score (the score being 0 – 10). The score was based on the poets’ content and performance. I was a little hesitant when the host asked me to be a judge. Since this was the first time, I was scared that I wasn’t going to be a fair judge. The host explained to me the basic rules for the contest and how the poets are selected. The first rule one is that each poem must be the poet’s own work. The second is that each poet gets only three minutes to read or say the poem. The third is that they can’t use any musical instrument or costumes and the fourth and last one is that from the score the poets receive the high and low scores are dropped and the middle three are added together giving them a total score of 0 – 30. Before the contest started the microphone was open to other poets. In my opinion there were a couple of poets who were good. After the opening performance was done, the host presented a poet who has competed before. Her name was Gypsee. She performed for about 45 minutes, the content of her work was very good and her performance was excellent. I think she has practice a lot. I remember clearly two of her poems. One talked about crossing the Canadian bridge into the United States as an immigrant (she was born in Albania). The second one was about her childhood and soldiers with shotguns. During the slam there was different kind of poetry. It was very interesting to listen to a diverse range of work within the slam. It included love poetry, social issues, personal problems and even some were kind of comic. What I really like was the range of poets presented; they are free to do work in any style on any subject. I will recommend it to my friends and I would like to go back, it was a nice experience.

Since the dawn of civilization, people agonize for? Essay

Informatics provides the means for a development and growth of social networking services. The cost for communications has been reduced by enabling simultaneous transmission of multimedia content. On professional level, videoconference systems can accommodate people from all over the world to organize meetings and arrange their business, hence the issue of distance and time has been eliminated. On personal level, people can contact with their friends at anytime without considering the economical problem or the distance, especially when someone is resident of a foreign country. Also informatics , allows us to store, analyze and search through massive amounts of data on very short time. In addition, informatics links various devices such as smart-phones, tablets and personal computers. Modern devices are adjusted for usage of the same protocols and standards, which overcomes hardware difference. Moreover, Informatics has strong contribution on the development of algorithms, applying it on cryptography. Besides that it is used for computing, biometrics and primarily for graph algorithms, which solve problems related to scheduling, connection, transportation, games and network analysis. Algorithms are further associated with neural networks. That makes it even more efficient for data study, decision-making process and machine learning. As the complexity of solution grows and the number of people involved in the project increases, so does the further development complexity. Even there, Informatics responds with various solutions by software engineering and IT management. Neverless, the users don’t want a perfect workingly services, it also has to be interesting and handy for their needs. Therefore, informatics has to offer solutions and ideas on the field of user-user interaction, which is actually based on user-service interaction. Numerous social games or virtual worlds, where we can interact with other users like in the real world gives us the feeling that we communicate directly with other users, but such services have many tasks behind the scene. Users create groups and share interests, experience, feedbacks, habit. In the backend, the social networking service may collect, analyze and learn from data. For instance,  chat service can build database of words we use the most and add them in auto-complete functionality, which speeds up search and messaging. The main goal of user interfaces is simplified user-service (human-machine) interaction and therefore, better user experience. A social networking service has to be easy to use, attractive, competitive and scalable. It must treat users as spoiled, lazy and always unsatisfied. They want real-time monitoring, the feeling of a safe and effective application. The best systems for social networking are those, which make it possible for users to use it easily in spite of their age, previous computer skills or specific demands. Also those, who have special needs, such as people with visual, hearing or any other disability, should benefit from it. Since users have become more demanding, various browsers do not support same JavaScript Functions and HTML5 with CSS3 has brought new options, such as web storage, canvas 2D drawing, geo-location, responsive design etc. – frontend development became more complex. Static generated pages have been replaced by dynamically loaded content and scripts. We can choose from a variety of open-source JavaScript frameworks that differ in purpose, speed, assertion, community size etc. Smart devices make the user experience even more diverse and exciting by using sounds, vibrations, digital camera and other built in hardware. 3. Social networking services threats Social networking services as a product of Informatics and social networks gave us unimaginable opportunity to connect with people. On the other hand, they have many disadvantages. The illusion of safety, often make us forget the possible consequences. Heedless of the danger, we share our personal data with people who we do not know, therefore a lot of misuses appear. Companies trade information about users, there are many cases of identity thefts, in brief, social networks offer a chance for various criminal offenses. We know very little about how and where they store our personal data and who has access to them. Even when we adjust our settings for completely private accounts, our friends or services may inadvertently leak our personal information. We do not know whether they will ever actually be  deleted. Immense amount of users is not only bullied interest in networking, but also invaders, who attack and abuse either from personal satisfaction, or even receive payment for their work. They use various attack methods, based on personal profiles, trust or exploits, e.g. social networking worms, such as Koobface. 4. Influences Similar to Newton’s third law of motion, one can conclude that everything society receives, passes on in the environment. The impact of the social networks on society indirectly affects other fields like economy (PayPal Inc. 2013), education, politics (Shirky 2011), entertainment etc. These fields see social networks as an opportunity to approach to the crowd, mostly for the purpose of manipulation (Benham, Edwards, Fractenberg, Gordon-Murnane, Hetherington, Liptak & Mintz 2012). The most common use of manipulation can be seen in setting imaginary guidelines, viral marketing and targeted advertising (Mitra & Baid 2009, 366-372). Referring to paragraph three, companies have free access to some of our personal data, or they can reach us by low cost targeted advertising, offered by social networking services (Eddy2012). It may be based on specific personal profiles, such as sex, interests, education, status, age, geographical location and even on private messages content.Motivated by Domingos and Richardson Viral Marketing Model (Richardson & Domingos 2002, 61-70), numerous companies are searching for cheapest ways to adopt a new product or innovation, whilst seeking for smallest subset of individuals, which may trigger a large cascade of further adoptions. They are interested in individuals who have the greatest impact on the target social network (Kempe, Kleinberg & Tardos 2003, 137-146). Moreover, the use of technologies offered by social networking services can reduce the development costs (Churchill & Halverson 2005) or can simplify the use of applications e.g. registration system with the existing user accounts from social networks. Furthermore, with clicking on the ‘’like’’ buttons one contributes to profiling users (Hung, Huang, Hsu & Wu 2008), which is especially  interesting and useful in research, determining trends, positioning in the search engines etc. Recent studies, based on a dataset of over 58,000 volunteers suggest, that easily accessible digital records of users behavior in social networking systems, can be used to automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes (Kosinski, Stillwell & Graepel 2013), e.g. religious and political views, intelligence, happiness, parental separation etc. However, the economy influences social networks by adapting social networking and its services according to the needs of the users. Economy’s investments in the most prospective social networking services have a significant influence as they allow further development, starting new projects, research and changing habits of users. 5. Trends The expansion of new research areas in the field of Informatics led to re-implementation of social interactions in social networking services. Therefore, changes in the field of social networks are incredibly fast to keep up with. Nevertheless, in few last years, we may notice two main trends that have emerged; visualization of content and mobile use and sharing (Bullas 2012). For trend of content visualization we can find the reasons in exceptional progress in technologies for detecting patterns in digital images. Thus allow analysis and image processing on servers where social networking services can get even more personal information about users. This motivated investments in deeper research, and in further years we may expect DNA data sharing, through which social networking services may link us and connect to all our near and distant relatives. Mobile use and sharing trend will continue to grow, since use of smart mobile devices is increasing. Better user experience, mobility, availability, as well as faster and cheaper mobile data transfer are just few of many reasons. Recent technologies, like digital glasses (Google Inc.2013), may allow us to record and share each moment of our life. Despite strong efforts of the health sector, where currently more than 350 million people suffer from addiction of social networking services (Bullas 2012), at the continued growth of those services trend is likely to continue. 6. Conclusion Only a few decades ago, we have not even intuited how important role will Informatics have in our daily life and how huge contribution will have through its social networking services on us, social networks and global economy. Social networking services as part of social networks are one of the hottest research topics nowadays. We have poor insights in their long term impact on society, since we have witnessed true expansion only in the last few years. However, the first negative implications, like privacy issues are already visible, as well as first solutions, which aim to limit misuse. Recently, Apple has published a patent, which targets social network stalkers and spammers. The excessive use of social networking services promote narcissism (Buffardi & Campbell 2008, 1303-1314). As one has thousands of virtual friends, this could mean that in real life he does not have them at all (Tong, Van Der Heide, Langwell & Walther 2008, 531-549). And finally, one of the studies suggests tha t frequent use of social networking services may lead to asocial user behavior (Orr, Sisic, Ross, Simmering & Arseneault 2009, 337-340). These are just some of the findings of studies pointing to major changes in society.

comparison between Un and EU essays

comparison between Un and EU essays The purpose of this paper is to make a general overview of the main differences between the United Nations and the European Union. According to this aim, this essay will be divided into five parts: after a brief introduction, Im going to deal with three aspects in which these two entities differ, namely their Origins and the relationship with the Sovereignty of the member states, the means to implement decisions in the Security field and the decision-making process within the bodies of the two entities. Then I will try to make some conclusions based on the areas compared. The most important international organizations in the world today are the United Nations (UN) and its affiliated bodies, and the European Union (EU). Both of them were born in the aftermath of the second World War, in order to avoid new massacres and destructions. However they have different origins and have developed different aims and structures. On the one side the United Nations officially came into existence in 1945. The aim of this Organization, as the preamble of the Charter claims, is to prevent the future generations from the burden of War. In addition Art.1 of the Charter provides four main purposes, namely to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations; to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems; to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. As far as sovereignty is concerned it can be said that the United Nations is an INTER-GOVERNAMENTAL Organization made of independent sovereign states. Thus the UN Charter is one of the strongest guardian of sovereignty, enshrining that principle as one of its central pillars. However most of the problems the world faces today are of such complexity that they cannot be addressed by any single nation acting alone. Therefore the UN is a global forum where countri es come together to address c...

Canadian Criminal Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Canadian Criminal Justice System - Essay Example This paper will analyze the judicial system of Canada and the application of criminal responsibilities for rape crimes, in this country. Canadian Criminal Justice System The legal system of Canadian is based on English Common Law (old), which were brought by explorers and colonists. The law of the immigrants prevailed over the rules of the Canadian settlers, and the law of the immigrants guided the conduct of people in Canada for a long time. The judicial system is crucial in a country; it facilitates the application of justice in the society, and it helps punish the law breakers. Most aspects of the Canadian criminal justice system are unique and different from other systems in the world. However, the Canadian system of criminal justice inclines towards utilizing the due process model. The suspects’ rights are respected and protected until their guilt is proven, without doubt. This is one of the most significant tenets; therefore, a person charged with offense (criminal) is o nly proved guilty by a jury. Otherwise, a suspect of a criminal offense is treated and believed to be guilty during the process of trial, in a law court. In the event that the police are convinced that their grounds are adequate to proceed with a criminal charge against an accused person, then the accused is apprehended to answer the charges before the court (Howe & Russell, 2001). Further, the accused person is entitled to an affordable bail. In the event that the issue reaches the stage of trial, the crown attorney who is prosecuting the accused person assumes the responsibility of proving that indeed the suspect committed the offense. For instance, if it is a murder charge, the crown attorney will call the people who witnessed the accused committing the crime, and in other forms of crimes like rape or robbery, the attorney will call the victims to testify against the suspect (Howe & Russell, 2001). Depending with the strength of evidence presented by the prosecutor, the suspect m ay call on his own witnesses who would bring reasonable doubt to the case. In such an event, the jury is left with the mandate to pass judgment, with regard to the available evidence and witnesses. At this stage, the case goes to sentencing stage where the judge passes the sentence, either acquitting the accused if there is no substantive evidence, or a jail term in proportion with the nature of the criminal offence (Ehrlich, 2001). This model utilizes the adversarial system where the judge acts as an independent arbiter, and he is the one who adjudicates between the prosecutor and his witnesses and the accused and his witnesses. Apparently, the paper has disrobed the judicial system that exists in Canada, and it will shift the focus on investigating the applicability and assignment of criminal responsibility to sexual offenders. Rape is described as the act of forcibly having sexual contact with a female partner, without her consent. Sexual offences are further incorporated with ha ving sexual contact with persons who are minors. Sexual contact with minors is another serious criminal offence, which can attract heavy fines and long jail sentences. The pursuits of these cases are based on the two popular models of justice, which are employed by the Canadian law enforcement agencies, as well as the judicial system (Ehrlich, 2001). The initial model that is employed in assigning criminal responsi

NGO Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

NGO Strategy - Case Study Example The paper also looks into the characteristics of the organisation strategies with respect to the different stakeholders including the public sector. Finally, the paper discusses the weaknesses of the strategy. 1.1 Overview of Company in Question -Dell Computers At the dawn of the 21st century CSR began to gain world wide rapid importance and Dell Computers was amongst the first companies to add CSR into its business philosophy. Dell company was the second largest PC company in 2007 (Dell Company Review 2007). This was thanks to its inbuilt advantage of lower cost and highly efficient supply chain management technology (Dell Company Review 2007). Dell Company is the premier computer system provider worldwide with it highly customized products. However, today competitors are emulating Dell strategy through mass production and just in time production methods. According to the company 2007 annual report, the company currently employs more than 88000 people worldwide. As a multinational technological company, it activities are diverse. It currently sells personal computers, computers related products, servers. Data storage devices, network switches, soft wares and computers (Dell 2007 Company Review). No wonder, the Fortune 500 magazine ranked Dell Computers Corporation 8th on its annual list of most admired companies in the United States. The table below extracted from the company webpage provides a brief summary of its market structure. Items Value in Billion of $ Market Capitalisation 45.09 Revenue 61.133 Total Assets 27.561 Total equity 3735 Employees 82700 The next section discusses Dell strategy with respect to the public sector. 1.2 Company Strategy to the Public Sector Porter (1980) contends... The paper talks about the history and strategy of the Company. According to the report Dell Computers business strategy and philosophy is characterized with the Corporate Social Responsibility philosophy (CSR). In recent years, CSR has been subjected to much debate and criticism. Proponents of CSR argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, â€Å"in that corporations benefit in multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits†. Dell Computers corporate strategy is characterized with CSR requirements, an organisation must assess its organisational strengths and weaknesses, as well as its environmental threats and opportunities, which will enable it choose among alternative courses of action. In the paper we can find strength and weaknesses of these strategies. From the foregoing discussion, one can conclude that major stakeholders of an organisation have increased their concern on how the activities of the organisation affect the social and environmental setting in which they operate. Organizational strategies in order to be successful must be coined and defined within the expectations of different stakeholders. As a result there has been an increase in the requirements from companies. Such an approach will go a long way to improve the competitive position and long-term performance of the company. No wonder, companies like Dell has incorporated this in their mission and vision statements.