Paganism and Christianity in Beowulf Essay

Like a man outlawed for wickedness, he must await the mighty judgement of God in majesty. † (Beowulf, Heaney, p. 65) Finally, as Beowulf is dying after being mortally wounded by the Dragon, he ultimately thanks and praises God for the future prosperity of his kingdom, passing off the fame and glory to God instead of claiming it solely himself: â€Å"To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well endowed on the day I die. (Beowulf, Heaney, p. 189) The attempt at bridging Pagan tradition with Christianity is clear and powerful. Fate and personal fame and glory are important doctrine in Paganism, and the author of Beowulf is able to mend these characteristics with the Will of God and the ultimate power and glory of God, all major aspects of Christianity. 2-B2 The Gospel of Matthew was and still remains a critical text to Christians, both cradle Christians and converts from Judaism. It depicts the life of Jesus, as did the other two synoptic gospels – Mark and Luke. It includes depictions of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, his temptation, his baptism by John the Baptist, his teachings, his crucifixion, and his resurrection and Great Commission to his disciples. ?The Great Commission is arguably the most significant excerpt from the Gospel of Matthew as is believed to be Jesus’ instructions dictated to his disciples to go out and spread the teachings of Jesus. It is found in Chapter 28, verses 16-20: â€Å"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, â€Å"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. † This excerpt has been interpreted by Christians as divine instruction to evangelize nations, baptize non-Christians, as well as to perform missionary work. It is central to the theology of most Christian religions. Also of note, the Gospel of Matthew served as a bridge from Judaism to Christianity. In it, Matthew attempts to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament and that Jesus is, indeed, the Messiah foretold in the old texts.

Outline for Treatment Approaches Essay

There are types of approaches to help an individual with recovering from drug and substance abuse. The approaches that are being looked at to help someone recover is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Medication Management, Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), and Community Reinforcement and Family Training Approach (CRAFT). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Cognitive behavioral; therapy (CBT) was developed as an aide to prevent relapse when treating addiction. CBT is based on the principle that the learning process is important in dealing with male adaptive behaviors like substance abuse. It is a process of identifying problematic behaviors and corrects them with various skills to fight addiction. CBT is based on identifying an individual’s problems and helping the individual’s self-control by developing the ways to cope with the problems effectively. This is done by evaluating the consequences of the substance abuse positive and negative, self-monitoring and recognizing the cravings and their triggers, and developing strategies to cope with the cravings and the triggers. Avoiding the trigger situations also help. In CBT an individual may have a support group to depend on during the recovery process. Such a group is helpful while a person is struggling with solutions. The group also gives positive encouragement during stressful times. In CBT an individual addict is encouraged for positive thinking rather than dwelling in negative thought patterns. CBT can help addicts with low self-esteem to improve their self-esteem which helps in fighting addiction. In CBT an individual learns to resist peer pressure. During CBT an individual can continue his/her normal activities which avoids strained relationships and financial crises.  It is a gradual process both in learning, maintaining and being on their own. It is also very cost effective therapy(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). Motivational Enhancement Therapy Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) is a counseling approach that helps individual’s confusing dilemma about the treatment of substance abuse and stopping substance abuse. MET is based on the principles of motivational interviewing. It draws self-motivational statements early on in early discussion and plan for change is built on that. This approach engages the addict in building the plan. Based on their own motivations as oppose to societal. People who cannot follow like 12 –steps may benefit from this therapy. Enlightenment can only occur if an individual wants to learn and MET is centered on this insight. Using peoples own statements about desired better outcomes initial resistance is countered after this is achieved an introduction of behavioral techniques can be introduced to support and individual’s ability to fend for him/herself. MET is often used with other cognitive behavioral approaches. MET could go a long way in offering insights for those effective by many mental illness. With this therapy one can heal from other associated problems like anxiety and depression for life style change (The Ranch, 2014). Medication Management Medication Management is when medical care is an option to help someone reduce the risk of drug abuse. It is usually a pharmacists or physicians that help with medication management by lowering the medications based on the side effects and how the person is with taking the medications. It is that the doctor will ask brief questions about the medications and the feel you need therapy or counseling that will then get set up (McNeece, 2012). Community Treatment Approach (CRA) The Community Reinforcement approach is an alcoholism treatment approach that aims to achieve the addict from looking at positive reinforcement for living a sober free lifestyle and to eliminate all enforcement or influences to drink or do drugs (Miller, 2014). This treatment approach embraces positive incentives to stop drinking or doing drugs verses punishing the addict for the continued abuse (Miller, 2014). Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training Intervention (CRAFT) This approach is an intervention that is based scientifically on intervention strategies designed to help the family members or those concerned with the addict, (CSO), concerned significant others, to help in the facilitation of the addict entering treatment to gain sobriety (Meyers, 2014). This new intervention method was developed with the belief that since family members can, and do make important contribution in other areas of addiction treatment (Meyers, 2014). Conclusion Treatments for people with problems with drug and substance abuse can be helpful when it comes to recovery. The treatment approaches help with managing medications, giving the individual counseling, or even prevention from relapsing back to the addiction. All of these approaches help an individual become healthier and live a longer life. References McNeece, C. A., & DiNitto, D. M. (2012). Chemical dependency: A systems approach (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.n.). Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/ The Ranch. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.recoveryranch.com/ Meyers, R. (2014). CRAFT. Retrieved from http://http://www.robertjmeyersphd.com/craft.html Miller, W. (2014). The Community-Reinforcement Approach. Retrieved from http://http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/381/1/The-Community-Reinforcement-Approach/Page1.html

Analysis Of Theodore Roethke s My Papa s Waltz Essay -- Poetry, Stanza

He tries to beautify the experience by making it a waltz. He also, by means of images and rhythm, shows the conflict between the readers, or the way any other ‘normal’ man will look at this experience, and how he sees it, or wants it to be seen ( although he does not show his father as completely innocent). It can also be looked upon as the Petty Herst syndrome – meaning having a ‘reality’ so intense and strong that one feels incapable of any other ‘reality’, fearing it can and will be worse. The poem is built of four stanzas (quatrain), each consisting of four lines. The rhyme scheme is, in the first stanza – abab, in the second – cdcd, in the third – efef, and in the fourth – ghgh. The meter is trecet iamb (stressed unstressed – three times per line). The central image in the poem is the metaphor in which the beatings are described as a waltz. The poet is led around the house, dancing – not beaten around. Which is also brought throu by the meter – trecet iamb – the beat of the waltz, thus the main image is shown through the meter as well, giving the reader more of the feeling of a dance in contrast to the ‘secondery images’ which are more associated with the rough experience of a beating. Given such parameters the poet installs some sort of relaxation in the reader (maybe even in himself), in order to make the subject – the beating – more readable, and lessening the effect of thewhen the person leaves this reality it will still, in retrospective, be the best situation he was ever been. It is possible that the narrator in this poem is ‘afflicted’ by this syndrome. He defends his father because to him it seems that this is the reality he should be in. He describes the beat ings as a waltz because he sees it as such. Although the poem is narrated retrospectively, from a grown up man point of view, something remains, the poet does not hate his father for the beating, on the contrary, he shows us that the love to his father is not, and never was lost. And twice during the poem – he talks about † But I hung on † in the first stanza, and † Still clinging to your shirt.† in the fourth stanza, which gives the feeling that he loved and stayed with his father during his childhood, and that he does that even now when his childhood is no longer with him.

My experience with Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My experience with Religion - Essay Example I would have to say no unfortunately. I did attend Sunday School but many of things that the pastor spoke about were not covered. I suppose that I was clueless about my own religion until my mother purchased a Volume of Children’s Biblical stories. These books gave me a better understanding and perspective of the religion I was practicing. At first I really did not enjoy going to church, but when I joined the youth choir and started attending Vacation Bible School, church visits suddenly had a purpose. As an adult, I continued to attend church regularly. However, I decided to change churches because my childhood church was nothing more than a fashion show. The new church that I began attending was not as big as my previous church. Also, the pastor and the congregation were very accepting of me and did not care what I wore so much. I attended this church for about six years, but I became very disgusted with the sinful acts that people in the church were engaged in. At that point, I decided to leave the church and find my way. I was told as a child that people that attended church were Christian and lived strictly by God’s way. However, I realized that many members in the church were committing great sins. These were terrible sinful acts, such as sleeping with other members’ husbands or wives, going to the bar after church, frequently using profanities, etc. Due to witnessing these actions, I lost my faith and decided to leave the church for good. After years of not attending church, I realized that going to church gave me a purpose in life. I now understand that I should have never left God’s Kingdom. I now realize that I have no control over the wrong doings of others. If I continue to live right by God, then that’s all that matters. I was very happy when I learned that Empire State College would offer a course on Religion and Spirituality. I hope that this class will give me better outlook on the various religions practiced in our society.

EAST ASIA IN THE MODERN WORLD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

EAST ASIA IN THE MODERN WORLD - Essay Example The Korean immigrants were able to secure employment opportunities, for example, textile manufacturing, construction, and mining (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 516). In addition, the living conditions of the Immigrants were enhanced due to the earnings they got from their cheap labor. The Korean immigrants were massacred in 1923, after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Also, the immigrant workers experienced extremely harsh conditions in their places of work (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 514). Some workers were beaten and others lynched in their different places of work. A large number of immigrants from Japan moved from their native lands to different areas as a surge of reverse migration. In addition, these Japanese immigrants moved to other regions because Japan had won numerous wars during this time. Also, during this period, approximately eight hundred thousand Japanese citizens moved to Asia and the Pacific, Russia, South and North America. These people migrated to the different areas to seek appropriate economic opportunities (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 521). Moreover, approximately two and a half million Japanese individuals moved to Japanese colonies such as Korea, the South Sea Islands, Taiwan, and Sakhalin. The Japanese immigrants were able to access employment positions in the different service and manufacturing industries. The immigrants produced development and change to the lives of the immigrants (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 521). The Japanese immigrants were able to get access to improved opportunities to achieve their objectives, enhanced prospects, and enhanced living conditions Natives of the different countries treated the Japanese immigrants as inferior. Also, these immigrants experienced social exclusion in the host nations due to ethnic prejudiced exhibited in the different social institutions (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 524). These people moved to different areas

Disney World Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Disney World - Assignment Example Disney World Walt Elias Disney, who is the founder of Walt Disney Company, had a vision of creating the best innovating and globally recognized company in the field of entertainment (DIS, 2012). This is carried forward in the present situation as well. The company has diversified the business into five main segments i.e. Media networks. Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products, Interactive Media and Parks and Resorts (Disney, 2012). The foremost reason that Walt Disney Company enjoys the reputation of providing exceptional experience of magic to all its guests in all areas of operations i.e. theme parks, resorts, restaurants, retail stores etc. is the vision and mission of the company. According to Lang (2012), the vision and mission of the company can be best described as â€Å"The Company has mission of becoming the top-ranked producer and provider of information and entertainment across the globe. We strive to create differentiation by making a portfolio of brands that have the relevant content, consumer products and services that our customers are looking for and appreciate. The main aim of the company is to constantly develop innovative, profitable and creative sources of entertainment and similar products internationally†. Among the most successful creations by Walt Disney Company is Walt Disney World. The theme park was founded on October 01, 1971 in Florida and it was originally called Disney World.

Making references to at least two of the operas that we have studied, Essay

Making references to at least two of the operas that we have studied, write on the main features of opera as an art form - Essay Example The ma8in features of opera as an art form are historicism and social reflections, a strong impact on feelings and sensation and authentic nature. Opera is a form of art reflecting historical or social events, criticism and observation of the epoch. For instance, Prelude and Liebestod from "Tristan and Isolda" by wagner show that opera becomes a matter for critical attention in the light of this nostalgia for power it can give its listeners (especially this most famous listener), a nostalgia that works even now as a high-class aestheticist cult and longing for and pursuit of a pure experience. Opera is a phenomenon whose time has come, even if the form is practically speaking dead in terms of new writing and performance of the new. "But within a society which was a structural unity the knowledge of certain types of material could always be relied on, so that the author of a music-drama was always in the closest contact with his audience" (Wellesz and Kean 89). Prelude and Liebestod break up the order of the singing contest by praising sensuality and emotions. These forces, heard in the orchestra, are those of the prelude, whos e music momentarily reappears (Zuckermann 32). Similar to other forms of art, opera has a strong impact on feelings and sensation of the listeners. ... What is more, the emotional listener "fiercely resists all attempts to make him listen structurally -- more fiercely, perhaps, than the culture consumer who for culture's sake might put up even with that." ().In short, emotional listeners display a troubling anti-intellectualism and use music predominantly as an excuse for extramusical emoting. These are people who vigorously reject the romanticized excess of emotional listening. But rather than attempting to move beyond it, into the kind of critical awareness engendered by authentically modern music, they naively retreat to the music of periods which they believe (wrongly) to be safe havens from the forces of reification and the predominantly commodity character of music. Purity and simplicity are highly desirable attributes of music destined for paidela, lest its effects become diluted, mistaken, or confused. Instruments capable of panharmonic playing were therefore particularly troublesome. For instance, in Mozart's Overture from "Don Giovanni" the unique feature is extraordinary expression of desire and emotions in music. What emerges from Prelude and Liebestod from "Tristan and Isolda" is a "sense of Wagner as a way station, revolutionary in the sacralization of art and pursuit of synaesthesia, but still too confined to produce a completely 'pure' experience" (Zuckermann 37). It was not merely a matter of draining off specificity to achieve heightened mystery and a reformulation of the Subject, but also of problematizing the relationship between word and tone (Zuckermann 39). Following Wellesz and Kean (1950) 'the very complicated laws' that govern musical discourse; these lead to two independent spheres that, fused though they may appear to be,

It is important to preserve the rule of law in Hong Kong but somehow Essay

It is important to preserve the rule of law in Hong Kong but somehow its existence in Hong Kong is more of a myth than a real - Essay Example One can hence derive the idea that the legality and equality form the roots of Hong Kong’s legislature and every other principle revolves around it. To promote equality, the country’s legislature involves a ruling system specially designed to restrict the discretionary powers of the government. It provides the courts with a guideline for ensuring that constitutional powers are not exploited in any way by the government officials. So, any unreasonable decision or any attempt of exercising excessive power is always made invalid or futile by the court orders. The rule of law holds an important place in the Hong Kong system of legislature. It most certainly, is one of its greatest strengths. It is something that ensures the country’s status as a leading centre in the financial market in terms of finance and commerce and provides a secure environment for the businessmen to work in. Thus, it is the defining ideology upon which the people of the country put their trust and faith. They are proud of possessing an independent judiciary and are very concerned about upholding the integrity of their legal system. Any threats or criticism against the rule of law is severely dealt with. It is very important to realize the rule of law actually needs a very transparent legislation to work effectively. Without a clearly defined set of laws that are justified and comfortable for every citizen of the country and an independent and strong judicial and enforcement bodies, it is impossible to govern a country by the rule of law. Hence, the rule of law resembles the British legislation as it was proposed when Hong Kong was under the British colonial rule. Although, there was much concern that the rule of law would be compromised when Hong Kong was remerged with its motherland, it did not happen so and it still remains fair and just. For those who say that the rule of law is a myth are certainly very wrong in my personal opinion. Hong Kong has always preserved the core values of its legislature that involves freedom of speech and defending the human rights. The justice department works free from any outside interference or pressures and is responsible for maintaining law and order and defining the working principles for different matters in the society. Moreover, the responsibility of giving the government legal advices is handed over to the Secretary of Justice. Not to forget the fact that the country’s legal system consists of about 5000 lawyers and about 700 law firms. Through all such measures, the judiciary of the country has been improved to quite a great extent. The courts in Hong Kong are mainly operated by its judiciary which is independent of both the executive and the legislative councils as mentioned earlier as well. The word ‘independent’ is highly stressed upon because it holds the true essence of the rule of law. The legal body in Hong Kong enjoys a lot of protective measures and cannot be questioned by the government. This allows the system to be utterly transparent and just. The highest post in Hong Kong’s judicial council is that of Chief Justice, who is then assisted by other officials of different ranks and responsibilities. To ensure that the system remains profound, the rule of law r

Struth, Thomas (German), The Smith Family, Fife, Scotland, 1989 Research Paper

Struth, Thomas (German), The Smith Family, Fife, Scotland, 1989 - Research Paper Example Today, Struth is recognized as among the very first photographers who heralded contemporary German photography. Struth has had many of his works exhibited in Museums and other exhibition centers around the world. The most recent project which has further boosted his profile is his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, the portrait was part of a collection taken to commemorate the Queen’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee. At the beginning of his photography career, Struth became popular for his â€Å"Unconscious Places† photographs; these represented cityscapes completely devoid of life. Part of this collection was on display until November at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Recently, Struth had an interview with O’ Haghan a reporter with the Guardian newspaper. In this interview, Struth described his preference of photography to painting and also explained the inspiration behind his first photographs which represented skyscrapers. In the interview he explained that he made huge â€Å"super-realist photographic paintings†, these never greatly appealed to him and felt they were somehow stupid. This displeasure informed his preference for photography, his tutors and mentors at the time, Richter and Bernd Becher also preferred his photography. Struth’s initial photographs were of his own city, he took photographs of Dusseldorf’s streets and buildings. He explained that his emphasis on building arose from an inquiry on how history would find its place in our current lives, further; he wondered how architecture represents humanity. In answering these questions he found his style and methodology. Just like every artist, Struth’s photographs depict an individual who is largely reactive to the environment around him. This also includes the people he meets and interacts with. He is one who draws great inspiration from life and structures around him. In his own words, the subject of his photographs arises from a need to talk about

What Criticisms of 19th Century Life Is Dickens Making in the Novel Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

What Criticisms of 19th Century Life Is Dickens Making in the Novel Great Expectations Essay Charles Dickens wrote the novel Great Expectations in 1861. He originally wrote it as weekly instalments for a magazine called ‘All the year round. ’ In the novel he criticised many things about 19th century life, for example, the importance of being a gentleman and social status, crime and punishment, childhood and last but not least the role of women. Charles Dickens was born on 7th February, 1812, and spent the first nine years of his life living in the coastal regions of Kent. Dickens’s father, John, was a kind and likable man, but he was hopeless with money and piled up tremendous debts throughout his life. When Dickens was nine, his family moved to London and when he was twelve, his father was arrested and taken to prison for unpaid debts. Dickens’s mother moved his seven brothers and sisters into prison with their father, but she arranged for the young Dickens to live alone outside the prison and work with other children pasting labels on bottles in a blacking warehouse. Dickens found the three months he spent apart from his family highly traumatic. Not only was the job itself miserable, but he considered himself too good for it, earning the contempt of the other children. After his father was released from prison, Dickens returned to school. He eventually became a law clerk, then a court reporter, and finally a novelist. Many of the events from Dickens’s early life are mirrored in Great Expectations, which, apart from David Copperfield, is his most autobiographical novel. Pip, the novel’s hero lives in the marsh country, works at a job he hates, considers himself too good for his surroundings, and experiences material success in London at a very early age, exactly as Dickens himself did. In addition, one of the novel’s most appealing characters, Wemmick, is a law clerk, and the law, justice, and the courts are all important components of the story. In Victorian society, a gentleman was a person of upper or middle class. Usually, one was born into being a part of the gentry as it was almost impossible to move up the social hierarchy. Being a part of this elite sector of the class system is what Dickens explores and in doing so exploits the ambiguity of the term ‘gentleman’ and the complications as to what makes a man become gentleman. One of the major criticisms of 19th century life in the novel is the need to distinguish between social prestige and moral worth. Dickens explores this theme by questioning ideas about the nature of a gentleman. Pip is central to this theme, as he represents the link between the social classes. He is the village boy who becomes a gentleman with the help of a criminal. However, the contrasting view given through Herbert Pocket and his father shows us that ‘no man who was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner. Although Herbert has very little money, he is unquestionably a gentleman, both in the social sense, as he is well-born and has received an upper-class education, and in the moral sense, as he teaches Pip table manners, and, by example, that manners are meaningless unless they derive from sound moral principles. This is also illustrated through Compeyson, Miss Havershams lover, who possessed a superficial elegance that blinded people to his real nature. ‘He’s a gentleman, if you please, this villain’. Drummle is yet another example of an exaggerated type of gentleman. Although he has inherited money, and great expectations, he has no moral standards and remains idle, proud, reserved and suspicious. Dickens saw two sorts of gentlemen, Joe Gargery, who is a simple and hardworking blacksmith. He is also humble and kind. This was illustrated when he claimed that his father who was also a blacksmith ‘What sume’er the failings on his part, remember reader he were that good in his heart. ’ However, Drummle defined through his knowledge of social etiquette, the extent of his education, appearance and income. Dickens showed in his novel that one does not need to be wealthy and educated to be a gentleman. Crime and punishment is a key theme in ‘Great Expectations’ which is linked closely to justice and injustice. Pip is introduced to crime and criminals very early on when he is confronted with Magwitch on the marshes. This encounter compels Pip to steal from his own family, the iron file and the pork pie. So the first crime we see committed is by Pip, which is significant because the book is centred around crime and how Pip gets more and more involved. When Magwitch is caught, he is taken to the prison hulk where Pip got an insight into the justice system and saw how the prisoners were treated. Dickenss dissatisfaction with the prison system is evident when Wemmick is giving Pip a walking tour through the streets of London. Further evidence of Dickens concern can be found in Pips reaction to the Debtors Door of Newgate Prison, in which culprits came to be hanged. Using Pip as a vessel to express his latent views of criminals, Dickens expresses his deep-rooted memories of poverty and a father sentenced to debtors prison. This contradicts the fact that in real life, Dickens ‘believed’ the ‘model prisons’ to be too lenient to their inmates and extolled instead the virtues of hard and unrewarding labour, a regime which relied more upon punishment than moral improvement. This suggests that in real life, Dickens felt that it was more important to focus on the punishment of criminals, rather than giving them a second chance to redeem themselves. Further evidence of Dickenss concern for maximum punishment can be found in this statement regarding the punishment of a local street ruffian: ‘I would have his back scarified often and deep’. This attitude most likely stems from the fact that Dickens legal training gave him a far stricter outlook on prisoners. Dickens is often credited for being influential in the passing of the Capital Punishment Act of 1868, which banned public executions The reason Dickens was against public executions was because he felt they only made people sympathize too much with murderer, rather than the victim. Dickens paints an extremely vivid picture of childhood through the eyes and mind of Pip and sees the world through the eyes of a child. This was possible because Dickens understood the thoughts and feelings of children and applied this to Pips every thought and action when he wrote the novel. Dickens had an obvious gift for creating child characters in his works. The word ‘pip’ itself refers to a seed from a plant. Seeds need to be nurtured if they are to grow and flourish. In order to understand both Dickens talent and his compulsion to write about children it important to realize that through the characters in his novels he took up the plight of all children. In Dickens view of childhood, he felt that children have certain needs, for example, guidance in a nurturing home, to be free from emotional and physical abuse, to have a good education, and to be allowed to use their imaginations and as in the novel, Pip’s father figure, Joe Gargery had to work hard like his father before him and did not get an education. The phrase ‘brought up by hand’ implied emotional and physical abuse and yet it was meant to care and love in a very harsh way. In order for children to succeed in life he felt these needs must be met. Through his portrayal of child characters in the novel, Great Expectations, Dickens demonstrates how adults rarely, nor adequately provided for these particular needs that children have. In Great Expectations one can see how the women who fit Dickens ideas were rewarded with happy lives, usually in the form of marriage. Like in the case of Biddy, she was a nurse to a maimed Mrs. Joe and was the epitome of domesticity. She was later rewarded with a happy life by her marriage to Joe. Dickens imagines two types of women, subordinate and insubordinate, and rewards women according to their ability to render domestic harmony On the other hand, the women who did not conform to these ideas were punished in one way or another. Even though not all of Dickens attitudes reflected what was typical of the period, many did. Great Expectations is a reflection of those attitudes that were most likely encouraged by the women in his life. He believed as many did during the Victorian period that the womans place was in the home. Women were the caregivers of the world. Their lives were supposed to be centred on their family, for example, characters like Biddy and Clara Barley play the part of a natural, motherly type. Biddy takes over caring for Joe and Pip after Mrs. Joe is attacked by Orlick and dies soon after. Biddy, like Pip, is an orphan. She was the one that taught Pip to read and later taught Joe. Great Expectations is set in early Victorian England, a time when great social changes were sweeping the nation. The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries had transformed the social andscape, enabling capitalists and manufacturers to amass huge fortunes. Although social class was no longer entirely dependent on the circumstances of one’s birth, the divisions between rich and poor remained nearly as wide as ever. Throughout England, the manners of the upper class were very strict and conservative: gentlemen and ladies were expected to have thorough classical educations and to behave appropriately in innumerable social situations These criticisms as defined by Dickens in his novel were felt in almost every facet of Great Expectations. Pip’s sudden rise from country labourer to city gentleman forces him to move from one social extreme to another while dealing with the strict rules and expectations that governed Victorian England. Ironically, this novel about the desire for wealth and social advancement was written partially out of economic necessity. He also portrays characters caught up by social forces primarily via lower-class conditions but which usually steer them to tragic ends beyond their control.

Theories on the Economics of Poverty

Theories on the Economics of Poverty Janet Owen The issue at hand is the decline in the U.S. poverty rate, which doesn’t deliver much good news. The writer, Monica Potts is an unbridled critic of the rate of poverty. Poverty is a prevalent gregarious issue that has troubled the United States and various other nations for thousands of years. While nations like the United States of America have worked genuinely hard to eradicate it domestically, it still widely subsists internationally. Neediness has been a dependable issue all through history. Despite what the normal pay, unemployment or general flourishing level is, there will reliably be people who are homeless and hungry. Despite being a champion among the most prosperous countries on the planet, the United States is not safe to it either. Without a doubt today, there are still people endeavoring to find safe house, feed their kids and find warm clothing. This social issue has diverse impacts on different foundations and people. In any case, there are conceivable plans that are open to alleviate this social issue. In discussing dejection in the United States, I will be utilizing three huge perspectives: the general condition, the creating clerical class destitution and the relationship between little associations and imperative measures to decrease poverty. The conservative hypothesis is that poverty is an individual wonder. On this hypothesis, individuals are in poverty in light of the fact that they are apathetic, uneducated, oblivious, or overall substandard in some way. On the off chance that this hypothesis were genuine, it would take after that devastated individuals are fundamentally the same individuals consistently. Also if that were genuine, we could whip destitution by helping that specific 15% of the populace to evaluate things and move out of poverty. Subsequently, a system of substantial oppressive life arrangements to help this disconnected group get things together may possibly end or significantly lessen destitution. The liberal hypothesis is that poverty is a structural wonder. On this hypothesis, individuals are in poverty in light of the fact that they end up in gaps in the monetary framework that convey them deficient wages. Since individual lives are dynamic, individuals dont sit in those openings until the end of time. One year they are in a low-wage gap, yet the following year theyve discovered a vocation or gotten an advancement, and arent any longer. Anyway, that gap that they were in a year ago doesnt go away. Others inexorably end up in that opening in light of the fact that it is an industrious surrender in the monetary structure. It takes from this that devastated individuals are not the same individuals consistently and the best way to diminish poverty is to modify the financial structure to lessen the quantity of low-wage gaps in it. To evaluate which hypothesis is genuine, the least demanding thing to do is answer the inquiry: are devastated individuals the same individuals consistently or diverse ones? The individual hypothesis predicts that they are the same individuals (and further that they require paternalist intercession to start acting responsibly). The structural hypothesis predicts that they are distinctive individuals (and further that we have to adjust the monetary structure to greatly improve the situation). As the greater part of the analysts connected aforementioned, longitudinal overviews demonstrate that devastated individuals are not the same individuals consistently. The last SIPP had approximately one-third of Americans ending up in rambling poverty eventually in the three years, yet only 3.5% ending up in roundabout destitution for every one of the three years. The PSID information demonstrates that around 4 in 10 grown-ups experience a whole year of neediness between age 25 and 60. In the event that you check kids, the quantity of individuals who experience no less than one year of poverty rockets considerably higher obviously. Additionally, it merits calling attention to that almost 45 percent of grown-ups have utilized a method tried welfare program in their life. Finally, Monica Potts, keeps up her position on destitution from the perspective of a starting late hindered economy. She battled that more than 50 million Americans were existing in a food insecure home sometime in 2009. She differentiates this with the 36 million in 2006. The essential circumstance that these dejection stricken individuals face is whether to pay their home credits or put sustenance on the table. Most likely, Potts focuses her trade not on the minorities or single folks, yet on the working populace families that are engaging. Her affirmation begins from our country over that is endeavoring to meet solicitations from distinctive scopes of the extent from the homeless to the working population. These viewpoints offer a huge array of social issues coming about because of poverty. Case in point, the viewpoint on minorities puts the negligence like a fireworks show on Hispanics and African-Americans. As a happening, the generally propelled government help projects were focused on these minorities. Thus, this raises the bigger issue of speculation and prejudice. In case the countrys advantages are for the most part utilized for a specific area of the masses, then it singles them out for accidental examination by those not gathering the resident preferences. Whats more, since little associations are the key impulses of jobs, we fight that the noteworthy conclusions of voracious business visionaries are that they are not helping the vocation creation change enough. Likewise, this methodology additionally puts pressure on governments to mediate either emphatically or adversely to sway organizations to cultivate work creation. Finally, the cubicle class desperation issue is essenti ally affecting the close-by state and city governments that are under weight to hold and supply sustenance banks for people that dont have the intends to do so. Therefore, the issue of poverty under these perspectives affects close-by and state governments, associations, and additionally peoples manner towards those tormented from desperation. The plans showed demonstrate that organization intercession is the plan. For example, Potts alluded to that destitution organization sometime during the last twenty-five years has been decreased by government undertakings concentrated on towards specific demographics. She furthermore offered game plans by enhancing preparing levels remembering the deciding objective to development a whole deal plan. On the other hand, it has been fought that since governments have control over native dollars and little associations have control over business creation; the plan would be gotten from the agreeable vitality of the legislature. Moreover, by using financing and facilitating business procedures to help assuage destitution, the agreeable organizations would definitely help advance long haul work development. Finally, while Potts doesnt offer a prompt game plan, the association of working population destitution reflects that simply short lived sponsorship is needed. In this manner, by helping sustenance banks and adjacent city governments push through updated enthusiasm for the short term, this would suffice until a whole deal game plan has been found. The proof recommends that these arrangements would, in time enhance the social state of poverty. By first concentrating on transient easing through sustenance banks and nearby city help, the quick issue of encouraging individuals would be met. For the long haul, the legislature would assume an exceptionally compelling part in helping animate this project. This would oblige the assistance and association of little organizations with investments that adjust to the central government. At long last, the length of transient support is promptly replaceable with long haul arrangements, neediness can be killed. The rotating entry way of neediness is a pummel dunk marker that the structural hypothesis of poverty is right, however we can get much more particular by recognizing where the structural gaps are. There are numerous spots to concentrate, yet one simple and undeniable one is age. To start with, consider youngster poverty. Youngsters have much higher poverty rates than grown-ups and more youthful kids have higher poverty rates than more established kids. Why is this? Two reasons. In the first place, families with youngsters in them need to get more pay every year to keep afloat destitution line than families without them. However, the business sector does not disperse families more cash simply on the grounds that they have more youngsters. Therefore, the minor demonstration of adding a kid to a family makes it more probable that the family will be in destitution. Second, grown-ups have kids when they are youthful laborers, yet adolescent specialists likewise make the minimum wage. This excessively makes it more probable a youngster will be in poverty than a grown-up absolutely on account of the way the economy is organized. Why do adolescent kids have higher poverty rates than more seasoned youngsters? Since adolescent youngsters have youthful folks and old kids have old folks. Old folks profit more than adolescent folks in light of the fact that they are deeper into their pay life cycle. Its normal to depict 25-65 as prime working-age grown-ups. Be that as it may, take a gander at the amount of poverty that falls over those working years. Almost 20% of 25-year-olds are in poverty while short of what 10% of 64-year olds are. Why? Adolescents make much less than older laborers. Youthful laborers are regularly dealing with youngsters too, while more seasoned specialists for the most part are not. This is anatomic. This is one of the exceptionally glaring anatomical reasons why you are going to see individuals swapping in and out of poverty over their life course. I could go on, yet the fact is clear. Poverty reproduces itself in exceptionally unsurprising structural ways. Since the issue is structural, the arrangement must be structural also. This is quite as troublesome an assignment as it may appear. Case in point, on account of structural poverty issues harrowing youngsters and adolescent families, it is effectively managed by utilizing a Child Allowance program, which is usually utilized all through Europe. References: Glennerster, Howard. United States Poverty Studies and Poverty Measurement: The Past Twenty-Five Years. The Social Service Review 76.1 (2002): 1-26. JSTOR. Web. 7 Mar. 2011 Singer, Alan. Business Strategy and Poverty Alleviation. Journal of Business Ethics 66.2/3 (2006): 225-231. JSTOR. Web. 7 Mar. 2011 Chen, Stephanie. â€Å"The New Hungry: College-Educated, Middle-Class Cope With Food Insecurity.† CNN. 13 Dec. 2010. CNN. 7 Mar. 2011.

Advertising Kill Bill :: Promotion Marketing Advertising

Advertising Kill Bill Explosive entertainment any way you slice it! This is how the magazine ad for the movie Kill Bill starts off. In the advertisement they have different pictures from the movie of sword fighting and also characters in the film. Also the advertisement’s background is blood red. As soon as you look at it you can tell that this movie is an intense action film. The Kill Bill magazine advertisement accomplishes its purpose very well by its eight person sword fight picture, explosive entertainment, and catchy background. The whole purpose of this ad is simply to get you to go out and buy the Kill Bill DVD. By looking at this ad and seeing six people with swords there is no doubt that this is going to be an action movie. Also there is blood red color all throughout the background and it says under the rating strong bloody violence. The author is trying to get this advertisement to reach out to all of the action fans out there. Also on the cover of the DVD you can see that is mentions Quentin Tarantino twice. They are also trying to reach out to all of the people that are fans of any Quentin Tarantino movies. There are two main ethos in this advertisement that they try and get you to believe when you look at it. The two are â€Å"explosive excitement any way you slice it† and â€Å"own the thrill before the final kill.† Under the first statement there is a picture of a huge sword fight so that makes the statement very believable. As soon as you look at this ad you can tell that this is going to be a very thrilling movie from the blood red background and again the swords. This ad makes me want to go out and buy this movie because it looks both thrilling and also entertaining. By this advertisement making me want to buy this film I would give a lot of credibility to the author who put this whole thing together. The main logo to this movie is if you are into entertaining action movies than this is definitely a movie for you. Once you look at the ad you can tell that it is an action movie from the sword fighting, to the characters faces, and the quotes on the advertisement.

The Word Nigger Essays -- Definition History Nigga Nigger Black Essays

The Word "Nigger" â€Å"My niggas. Some niggas that you don’t wanna try.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My niggas. Some niggas that’s really do or die.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My niggas. Ain’t no longer living a lie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My niggas is stong. My niggas is real.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Does this artist use the word nigger in the same way that racists have and still are? The answer to this question is a simple one- no. Today’s urban society have changed, not only the definition, but also the spelling of this word, which was once used to belittle those of African-American decent. Now, the definition as proved through today’s urban youth holds many denotations- positive and negative. But has the definition really changed? Or are today’s urban society just being ignorant and socially blinded by the hardships of our ancestors as they continue to use a word that held such great racial tension when used in the 1800’s? Two answers for this one- yes and no. Yes the definition has changed, but not totally to where it’s precedent has been forgotten. In fact, urban youth are so socially powerful that they can take a word and totally flip it and use it within themselves but when one of another race uses it, they return it b ack to the old definition and the racial remarks commence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The definitions of the word nigger are as follows: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a Negro 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  loosely or incorrectly applied to members of dark-skinned race 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a vulgar offensive term of hostility and contempt as used by Negrophobes Nigger (etymology) 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Latin niger becomes Spanish and Portugese Negro used in France for â€Å"black man† especially in Africa adapted by the English 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  latin niger, for black, occurs in such river names as the Rio Negro in South America and the Niger f Central West Africa. When used by a white person to describe a black or African American person, this can be the most hateful hurtful, offensive term in the language today. This word in American speech dates back to the late 16th century, although the modern spelling doesn't appear until two centuries later. The obsolete spelling niger dates to 1574. It derives from the Latin niger meaning black. It shares this common root with negro. The first recorded use of the word nigger was in 1786 in a poem by Robert Burns yet variations on it including negar, neger, and niger are recorded two centuries before then. The offensiveness of the term has increased ov... ...ds in the air and scream. In this thesis, I’ve actually learned a few things. From looking up the word in etymology books, I concluded that the society has come to realize that we do use the word amongst ourselves but never to the extent to which it has been used centuries ago towards our ancestors. One book quotes â€Å"†¦African Americans commonly use the word in different ways among themelves†¦Ã¢â‚¬  1. DMX, Interlude, (Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, 1998) 2. â€Å"Nigger.† The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary ed. 1973 3. DMX, Interlude, (Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, 1998) 4. â€Å"Nigger.† The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary ed. 1973 5. â€Å"Nigger† Webster’s Third New International Dictionry 6. â€Å"Nigger† A Short Etymologica Dictionary of Modern English ORIGINS ed 1966 7. â€Å"Nigga† Dictionary for American Slang ed. 1995 8. Twain, Mark Hulckeberry Finn 9. Rice Jr., Earl The O.J.Simpson Trial San Diego, CA:Lucent Books Inc, 1997 10. Peterson, Nina. Personal interview. 2 June 2000 11. Punisher, Big. Watch Those! (Yeaah Baby!, 2000) 12. Rush Hour (movie) 13. Scoop, Fat Man, Brooklyn Clan (Hot 97’s mix tape) 14. â€Å"Nigger† Encyclopedia of Word and Phase Origins ed 1997

Technology Trends and Issues :: essays research papers fc

Defining Technological Literacy Given the current state of technology, a researcher should have little difficulty in finding relevant definitions that embody a spirited understanding of underlying technical and societal interactions that craft a view of the technically literate person. As an exercise, extracting the common elements from various experts’ definitions of technological literacy should result in a generalized perspective that would provide a foundation supporting further literacy definitions for aspects of technology such as computers or genetics. However, this is easier than it sounds. As Gagel (1997) confirms, â€Å"defining technological literacy has proven to be an unexpectedly complex and difficult task†. The difficulty in defining technological literacy is exposed by a number of factors. One factor relates to understanding perspective and determining whether the term is best defined by putting the emphasis on â€Å"technology† or â€Å"literacy† or whether the subject is best approached laterally. Indeed, Gagel describes the technological literacy from a technology perspective as opposed to defining literacy and then establishing parameters supporting technological literacy. Perhaps this approach contributed to the author’s difficulty in defining the term. As technology is so diverse and crosses many boundaries, perhaps the definition of technological literacy should do likewise, and not be restricted to either a â€Å"technology† or â€Å"literacy† perspective. Another factor contributing to the difficulty in defining technological literacy involves the improperly weighting of computer influence on the term’s definition. In a speech given by former President, Bill Clinton, this misunderstanding is propagated further. He states, â€Å"Today, technological literacy – computer skills and the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity and performance – is a new basic that our students must master. â€Å" (Clinton, n.d.) Clearly, this mindset is remiss and precludes the contribution of myriad other technologies affecting our daily lives. According to Harrison, â€Å"Computer literacy is but a subset of technological literacy, but if this mindset is not encouraged, then the richness of technological literacy will not be passed on to next generations. As technologists, we have the daunting task of reversing this rapidly flowing river.† (Harrison, 2000) So, the question is how to define â€Å"technological literacy† without being trapped in too narrow a perspective and without utilizing a specific technology to add meaning to the term. It is important that society controls technology for it to serve us purposefully in our daily lives and lifestyle in general. For us to control technology, an understanding and knowledge is required to allow us to make informative decisions on how it will affect our lives.

Adrift In A Moral Sea: Should We Help The Needy?

In his article, Hardin presents a compelling argument why we should not help the needy: we cannot afford it. And by all means, I agree with Mr. Hardin. The bottom line is it is not in our interests to help the needy. It may be that sympathetic people’s hearts are bleeding with the fact that 790 million of the world’s population is chronically undernourished and starving when all over the world it is standard procedure for stores to routinely dispose food that they were not able to sell for the day. We see them in pictures or news clips: the poor in Africa burning under the sun, the hungry children in Asia going through the piles of garbage looking for food. We feel sorry for them, but we are happy we are not them, that by some contingent force we ended up being born in a wealthy country. We may want to send them food and clothing and other parcels with wishes of peace and love, but if we really want to help them, then I think we should give them what they really need. Most of the â€Å"needy† come from developing and in-transition countries, whose histories are characterized by civil wars, revolutions and struggles for freedom from colonizers, then struggles for freedom from tyrants; and whose financial records show glaring foreign debt. The World Bank recorded that for every dollar that the developing world receives in grants, it pays $13 for debt servicing. In the Jubilee Year of 2000, Pope John Paul II called for the cancellation of all foreign debts so that the poorer nations can focus on rebuilding and strengthening their economies and governments and providing services to their people rather than being harassed to pay their foreign debt that they acquired because of the colonization trend (and almost all developed countries had colonies), and of the two World Wars which they were mere casualties of. It seems to me then that if we really are serious about helping the poor, then we should not be giving them food or grants – we should be repaying them for ravaging their natural resources and enslaving their ancestors, for subjecting their nations to the highest form of discrimination and robbing them of their rights, and for destroying their lands and lives with our selfish wars. And the payments should be adjusted as per inflation and with interest. Of course, no one will agree to that. If we did not let the Jubilee Year weaken our resolve, why now? If we cannot even admit our mistake at Vietnam and apologize, why should we humble ourselves before the poor of the world, even if they are the majority? Let us think of the food program and the foreign assistance to other nations as our way of making it up to them. That is the best that we can do, since handing over our wealth is out of the question. The thing is, even with the food program, there is hardly any improvement in the hunger problem, and even with the grants the poverty levels and the population issues remain. In The State of Food Insecurity in the World, it is acknowledged that there have been significant improvement in agriculture technology and by all means, there is more food than ten years ago. But the problem of hunger persists because there are adequate infrastructures and mechanisms – roads, shipping systems – to deliver the food to people. There is a vicious cycle of hunger, poverty and overpopulation, but do we solve their problem? According to the Population Reference Bureau, the less developed world has on average a population growth rate of 1.5 compared to the .1 of the more developed world. Apparently, high mortality rates, the lack of food and adequate resources are not stopping them from producing offspring. In Darwin’s survival of the fittest, they seem to be doing just fine. I may be accused of being simplistic in my argument, but the needy have governments, and more than that, they have their own minds. They should know by now that there is not enough food where they are, there are very few opportunities, and so if they wanted to help themselves maybe they should focus more on looking for food and work than having babies. If their governments cannot take care of them, should ours do? Presently, we are facing our own social security issues; why would we want to trouble our government with providing for other people when there is an impending danger that we might not be having enough for the future? And why even dwell on the hunger in Africa when in our country there are hungry, homeless people? As Hardin pointed out, there is not enough space in the lifeboat. Either they make their own lifeboat, or they learn to swim to an island, what is important is that they should do something rather than just accept their fate of drowning just because the metaphor says so. It is a battle of survival, of preserving interests. If helping the needy will not cost anything and even placate our moral sensitivities, then we will help them. But as it turns out, we cannot afford to feed the millions of hungry people. Everything that we give them we take from our future stock, from that which we hope to give to ourselves in our old age, to our children and to our grandchildren. And when faced with giving to strangers or looking after our own families, nobody is the Good Samaritan. WORKS CITED: 2005 Human Development Report, United Nations Development Programme Global Development Finance, World Bank, 1999 The State of Food Insecurity in the World. Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006.

Philippine Independent Cinema Essay

Independent films, more commonly known as indie films, are films not made by mainstream production houses or movie studios. They are independent of the influences, authority, and control of the mainstream industry (Makuha, 2010). The emergence of new and highly-advanced cameras in the market and the advancement of technology have spawned the growth of indie films. This allowed anyone to create his or her own film in accordance to his or her own style without the influences of mainstream movies, which indeed have good effects on the film industry, especially in the Philippines. These films became more noticed and more important and they have saved the slowly dying film industry (Makuha, 2010). Read more:Â  Essay About Philippine Independent Cinema In the brief history of film, advances in technology have from time to time challenged and changed industry models. These advances have wrought their most significant changes on independent sectors of the movie business. In the glory days of the studio system, a parallel or serious rival to that system coming from the independent industry would be unthinkable; the cost and challenge of production and post-production was prohibitive, difficulties of promotion insurmountable. The Internet and many new digital distribution technologies are now starting to remove barriers for the makers and distributors of independent films (Landers, 2006). The development of the 16mm camera and advances in sound technology made it possible, though still difficult, for individuals or small groups of filmmakers to make their vision clear – something rarely possible in the days of the Edison monopoly on technology, or the prohibitive cost of 35mm cameras and professional lighting setups. The challenges of film making were still large in number, but the development of an independent sector of the industry forced the majors to take notice, though the development of subsidiaries specifically tasked to take note of and distribute promising independent films failed to materialize. Independent film had a confined audience, generally limited to subcultures of underground or experimental film. (Such audiences were often primarily composed of fellow filmmakers – though it bears noting that in many cases, these self-selecting individuals were not those who would turn out to view a majority of the studio efforts.) (Tioseco, 2005) Within the last several decades, advances in digital cinema have furthered a similar and all the more powerful renaissance. High-resolution digital video offers an image quality that rivals that of film stock, while video camcorders, and relatively affordable professional-quality editing software capable of being run on inexpensive PCs have made the production and post-production process possible, reasonable and accessible for a substantial number of individuals. With the resulting increase in the number and quality of such films being made, a resulting cultural scene emerged alongside, but not quite outside, the mainstream (Landers, 2006).

Coca-Cola and Its Global Marketing Strategies

Coca-Cola is a company that is known worldwide for its product. It is a drink that spans all ages, colors, races, and countries. The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The world’s headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, with many other locations around the country. The Company and its subsidiaries employ nearly 31,000 people around the world.Syrups, concentrates and beverages bases for Coca-Cola, the company’s flagship brand, and over 230 other Company soft-drink brands are manufactured and sold by the Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries in nearly 200 countries around the world (Virginia, 1). The company has been around for over 100 years, and has used this time to perfect its marketing strategy. The success of the company was built on many people with the great business knowledge and know-how to take a simple drink, and make it into a symbol that represents h umanity.This paper will focus on not only the globalization of Coke, and Coke as a company, but also what advertising and media strategies have been used to help in the discourse of its globalization. Coca-Cola is an internationally recognized drink, popular in many countries throughout the world. The company that produces the soft drink has an interesting way of distributing it around the world, which many people may not realize. You don’t get exactly the same Coke in India that you do in the US, because bottling of the drink is franchised.What occurs is the following: the company produces a concentrate with the patented formula for Coca-Cola. This remains the same wherever you purchase the product. This concentrate is then sold to companies who have purchased franchises to bottle Coca-Cola in their area. Each bottling company adds water and whatever sweeteners are used for that specific type of coke. Slight variations may occur if the bottlers don’t conform to standa rds of production. For instance using less of the concentrate than is recommended, or changing the type of sweetener used.Though the formula for Coca-Cola concentrate doesn’t change, there can be slight differences in sweetness since bottling agencies may change the amount of sweeteners used to fit the local population’s palate, and some versions of the cola are said to be sweeter or sharper in other countries. The United States has seen, especially in countries close to Mexico, a rise in the amount of Mexican Coca-Cola imported into the US and sold at a number of Mexican and Latin or South American grocery stores. Cola aficionados say there are differences between south of the border and American produced versions of the drink.They cite the fact that most Mexican bottlers add cane sugar instead of corn syrup to the formula for Coca-Cola and many people prefer the Mexican version, though at first the taste can be a little unusual. Since the cost of importing sugar cane to the United States is expensive, bottlers import the drink from countries where it’s abundant or use substitutes like corn syrup which is subsidized by the government as well (Hays, 47). Thus the main difference is the way in which the formula for Coca-Cola has ingredients added to it from one country to another.The type of water used also may create a major difference in both taste and safety. Some countries, particularly emerging countries with high levels of pollution have been under investigation for producing Coca-Cola with alarmingly high levels of pesticides. In 2003, for instance, a government independent investigatory agency in India found that water filtration was not ridding the water of substances like DDT and Marathon (Allen, 182). Several soft drinks in India, including Pepsi, were found to have toxic and unsafe levels of these chemicals.This led to a decline in sales in Coca-Cola that lasted for several years, and an outright ban on selling Coke in certain p arts of India for a short while. Technically water filtration should eliminate most of these chemicals, but the presence of higher amounts of the chemicals in certain areas may mean filtration methods aren’t adequate to the task. Coca-Cola has defended their product and claims they test all their soft drinks, wherever produced, to make sure they meet safety standards (Coca-Cola, 1).They also stand by the formula for Coca-Cola though they do recognized small differences in taste when it is bottled outside of the US. Although the taste differences are often involuntary, in many cases the taste differences between countries and regions have helped locals adopt the Coca-Cola flavors. As a result, Coca-Cola can capitalize on its growth and spread its product base even further. In order to appeal to countries that did not adopt the standardized Coca-Cola Flavors, the company decided to expand its product lines in order to appeal to foreign countries that did not have the same taste characteristics as the United States.In order to do this it developed new flavors of water, teas, juices, sports drinks and energy drinks to appeal to a larger number of people. In some cases they acquired existing companies that already had a loyal customer base and even developed some of its own products by tweaking existing recipes or creating new drinks all together. For example, in Asia soy drinks are much popular than carbonated beverages. To combat this Coca-Cola also offers its own soy beverage in the regions where as in the United States it’s very rare to see soy drinks produced by Coca-Cola (McKay, 22).This adaptation strategy has allowed greater flexibility to consumer’s tastes and growth in the company’s market share of the non-alcoholic beverage industry. Coca-Cola places its product globally depending on several conditions. The first level that needs to be examined is the macro level including Coca-Cola’s choice of continents, countries and geographic regions. Population and the proximity of natural resources to that population are the first things that Coca-Cola considers when entering new territories.If the region does not have a large enough population to purchase enough of their beverages they will focus more on regions that do. Also, if it is not efficient or cost effective to produce drinks within the country or region the company either looks elsewhere to bottle its beverages, imports its products or moves refrains from focusing on this region all together. In countries that do not have abundant resources such as sugar cane and corn syrup, it increases the cost to produce the beverage because supplies must be imported (.The Coca-Cola Company will also consider the proximity of bottling plants to the region its promoting its products to. Either the company will purchase or build a plant to cut down on costs or contract with local bottlers to sell its product to. In some cases Coca-Cola may have even establish it self in neighboring countries because it may already inhabit locations with similar cultures and preferences. Within these regions that Coca-Cola decides to inhabit, it also must choose an area that their products have the best chance of reaching the consumer.The Coca-Cola Company sells its products to bottling and canning operations, distributors, fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers. These then distributes them to retail outlets, milk bar and corner stores, restaurants, petrol stations and newsagents. The Coca-Cola Company uses the intensive distribution strategy. The business's products are sold in almost every outlet including small shops, restaurants gas stations, schools, sports venues and vending machines. Depending on the level of popularity and extensiveness, Coca-Cola will choose areas that will have the best opportunity to sell.With these sales comes increased customer awareness and brand loyalty. The final thing that Coca-Cola must do is recognize local laws and regulations. Coca-Cola adopts a standardized practice for areas that are similar which makes it easier for Coca-Cola to distribute and sell its products (Allen, 82). In some foreign countries however, many of the taste preferences are determined by local laws, ancient religions or the countries culture. When these characteristics differ from the standard Coca-Cola model, the company adapts its products are marketing strategies to adhere to regulations and cultural norms.Coca-Cola decides if it’s then cost effective and possible to enter the market without significant barriers or alterations to its brands flavors. If the barriers are too large, the company is likely to pursue other locations. The company's beverages are generally for all consumers. However, there are some brands, which target specific consumers. For example, Coca-Cola's diet soft drinks are targeted at consumers who are older in age, between the years of 25 and 39. PowerAde sports water targets those who a re fit, healthy and participate in athletics.The Winnie the Pooh sipper cap Juice Drink targets children between the ages 5-12. This type of market approach refers to market segmentation. The Coca-Cola Company when advertising has a primary target market of those who are 13-24, and a secondary market of 10-39 (Coca-Cola, 3). In order for these beverages to reach the target markets, Coca-Cola needs to use a medium that will best reach these consumers. If advertisements are not reaching the right age group or in the tight places, sales will drop and the brand image will be damaged.For example, when advertising Diet Coke, Coca-Cola primarily advertises with in-print ads, billboards, fast food restaurants and the radio. They understand that this age group is likely to have children and spend a lot of their time driving, feeding their children and spending time at home (GSCE, 1). By using these methods they increase the chance of being exposed and having their products used. In order to reach the young adults and teens they use the internet, television and popular events such as concerts and sporting events to advertise their products.Coca Cola has researched and found that the majority of time teens spend is online or spent watching their favorite television programs. Unlike the older generations, younger generations are more likely to be electronic savvy and read less of in print advertisements. Internationally, Coca-Cola has adopted a global strategy that includes sponsoring professional sports leagues, music artists or groups and the Olympics. For example the company advertises with the NBA, World Cup Tournaments, the NCAA and popular music groups such as Maroon 5 (McKay, 13).Coca-Cola pays several million dollars in order to have the exclusive rights to advertise or partner with these events. Although it an expensive way to advertise, its benefits extend far past the cost of advertising. Millions of viewers worldwide tune into or watch these events and the bra nd exposure is enormous. Viewers are exposed to the brand and the Coca-Cola brand becomes synonymous with that popular athlete, league or artist. By paying these popular athletes and stars to endorse their products, they influence millions to buy or try the Coca-Cola brand.From there it’s up to Coca-Cola to keep the consumers to continue to use its products. In conjunction with their advertising strategy, Coca-Cola also uses specific promotions and strategies in order to gain sales. Internationally, many of these methods are similar to those found in the United States. Whether it’s to gain a first time customer, getting them to switch from other brands or keep them loyal to Coca-Cola, the company uses strategic self-selection. They purchase shelves in big departmental stores and display their products on shelves in an attractive style.Most times Coca-Cola pays more to have their products on shelves that are easier to reach and are more likely to be seen than the shelve s that other companies use. Coca-Cola is one of the leading companies to take advantage of end caps and special racks that they give to outlets to promote specific products. Often time’s salesman of the coca cola company positions their freezers and their products in eye-catching positions. Normally they keep their freezers near the entrance of the stores or in high traveled areas.The company recently introduced a revolutionary electronic vending machine that has hundreds of Coke flavors on hand that even can be mixed from one single machine. The machine is called the â€Å"Freestyle† and offers a totally new and innovative approach to the standard vending machines (Coca-Cola, 1). The company also does sponsorships with different college and school's cafes and sponsors their sports events and other extra curriculum activities for increasing market share among younger demographics. The majority of the Coca-Cola Company's products are sold in retail stores, convenient st ores, petrol stations etc.Although the pricing methods/strategies are set by those the company sells to, it does suggest specific guidelines and have some restrictions on pricing and trade. For example gas stations and convenient stores usually sell Coca-Cola products at a fixed price, where restaurants have more freedom on what they can charge. In a majority of places competition-based pricing is used. Coca-Cola products are usually priced below, above or equal to its competitors' prices. For example, during Easter (2010) sale periods the average price for a 2 liter Coca-Cola was 1. 7 and a 2 liter Pepsi bottle sold for 1. 83 on average (Virginia, 3). In order to generate more sales and clear additional product, Coca-Cola also adopts a discount price strategy. Coca-Cola products are often marked down during sale periods and special occasions. For example Coca-Cola often will send out coupons for an amount to be taken off the cost of a specific product or allow the markdown below MA P pricing to make room for new sales or products. One of the most obvious pricing strategies Coca-Cola uses is psychological pricing.Often times there advertised prices end in seven or five, which is below other competitors such as Pepsi. The Coca-Cola Company also gives trade incentives to its retailers to generate more revenue. For example, the company will send free samples and product to have events which allow consumers to try a product for nothing. As a result of this by this these retailers and middle man push their product in the market following â€Å"Seen as sold†. Lastly, the Coca Cola Company changes their product prices according to the season. For example, summer is supposed to be a good season for beverage industry in Pakistan (Hays, 96).So in winter they reduce their prices to maintain their sales and profit In essence, the examples above reveal that global marketing is not necessarily an all or nothing proposition. The Coca-Cola Company has the freedom to cho ose from many possibilities on the spectrum from total standardization through to complete customization. Clearly there are circumstances where they can gain competitive advantage through increased standardization of products and marketing, especially with respect to keeping costs down and building brand power.On the other hand, in conditions where national market differences are more marked, this strategy would harm the company and its reputation. By making standardization decisions using target market conditions as its starting point, the company insures that in the long-term customers are being offered what they want. Although Coca-Cola can seemingly gain a great deal from a standardized agenda, its decision to combine global and local resources is ultimately more long-standing in a market where national customer differences are influential.Coupled with strategic pricing and being a low cost leader, the Coca-Cola Company has enjoyed over a hundred years of success which continues to grow every day. The company uses its branding power and size to promote its products even further, which influences even more consumers to try the brand or switch from previous used brands. Regardless, Coca-Cola has been extremely successful in their international marketing mix and continues to dominate global beverage sales.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 24

Dear Diary, It's the night before the night of our first party – or rather gala. But I don't feel very gala. I miss Stefan too much. I've been brooding about Matt, too. How he walked away, so angry at me, not even looking back. He didn't understand how I could†¦care for†¦Damon, and yet still love Stefan so much that it felt as if my heart was breaking. Elena put down the pen and stared at her diary dully. The heartbreak manifested itself in actual physical pains in her chest that would have frightened her if she hadn't been sure of what it really was. She missed Stefan so desperately that she could hardly eat, could barely sleep. He was like a part of her mind that was constantly on fire, like a phantom limb that would never go away. Not even writing in her diary would help tonight. All she could write about were painfully tantalizing memories of the good times she and Stefan had shared together. How good it had been when she could just turn her head and know that she would see him – what a privilege that had been! And now it was gone, and in its place was racking confusion, guilt, and anxiety. What was happening to him, right now, when she no longer had the privilege of turning her head and seeing him? Were they†¦hurting him? Oh, God, if only†¦ If only I had made him lock all the windows to his room at the boardinghouse†¦ If only I had been more suspicious of Damon†¦ If only I had guessed he had something on his mind that last night†¦ If only†¦if only†¦ It became a pounding refrain in time to her heart. She found herself breathing in sobs, her eyes tightly shut, clutching the rhythm to her and clenching her fists. If I keep feeling this way – if I let it crush me enough – I'll become an infinitesimal point in space. I'll be crushed into nothingness – and even that will be better than needing him so much. Elena lifted up her head†¦and stared down at her head, resting on her diary. She gasped. Once more her first reaction was to imagine death. And then, slowly, because she was stupefied by so many tears, she realized that she'd done it again. She was out of her body. This time she wasn't even aware of a conscious decision about where to go. She was flying, so fast that she couldn't tell which way she was going. It was as if she were being pulled, as if she were the tail of a comet that was rapidly shooting downward. At one point she realized with familiar horror that she was passing through things, and then she was veering as if she were the end of the whip in a game of Crack the Whip and then she was catapulted into Stefan's cell. She was still sobbing as she landed in the cell, unsure of whether she had solid form or gravity, and uncaring for the moment. The only thing she had time to see was Stefan, very thin but smiling in his sleep and then she was dumped onto him, into him, and still crying as she bounced, as lightly as a feather, and Stefan woke. â€Å"Oh, can't you let me sleep for a few minutes in peace?† Stefan snapped, and added a couple of Italian words that Elena had never had reason to hear before. Elena had an immediate fit of the Bonnies, sobbing so hard that she couldn't listen to – couldn't even hear – any comfort that was on offer. They were doing horrible things to him, and they were using her image, Elena's, to do them. It was all too awful. They were conditioning Stefan to hate her. She hated herself. Everyone in the whole world hated her – â€Å"Elena! Elena, don't cry, love!† Dully, Elena lifted herself up, getting a brief anatomical view of Stefan's chest before she was sobbing again, trying to wipe her nose on Stefan's prison uniform, which looked as if it could only be improved by anything she might do to it. She couldn't, of course; just as she couldn't feel the arm that was trying to encircle her gently. She hadn't brought her body with her. But she had, somehow, brought her tears, and a cold, cable-wire-tough voice inside herself said, Don't waste them, idiot! Use those tears. If you're going to sob, sob over his face or his hands. And, by the way, everyone hates you. Even Matt hates you, and Matt likes everybody, the tiny cruel, productive voice went on and Elena gave way to a fresh gale of sobbing, absently noting the effect of each teardrop. Each drop turned the white skin under it pink and the color spread in ripples outward, as if Stefan were a pool, and she was resting on him, water on water. Except that her tears were falling so fast that it looked like a rainstorm on Wickery Pond. And that only made her think about the time that Matt had fallen into the pond, trying to rescue a little girl who had fallen through the ice, and how Matt hated her now. â€Å"Don't, oh don't; don't, lovely love,† Stefan begged, so sincerely that anyone would have believed he meant it. But how could he? Elena knew what she must look like, face swollen and blotched by tears: no â€Å"lovely love† here! And he'd have to be mad to want her to stop crying: the teardrops were giving him new life wherever they touched his skin – and perhaps the storm inside him had done best, because his telepathic voice was strong and sure. Elena, forgive me – oh, God, just give me one moment with her! Just a single moment! I can bear anything then, even the true death. Just one moment to touch her! And perhaps God did look down for a moment in pity. Elena's lips were hovering over, quivering over, Stefan's, as if she could somehow steal a kiss like this as she used to when he was still asleep. But for just an instant it seemed to Elena that she felt warm flesh below hers and the flick of Stefan's lashes against her eyelids as his eyes flew open in surprise. Instantly they both froze, eyes wide open, neither of them foolish enough to move in the slightest. But Elena couldn't help herself, as the flush of warmth from Stefan's lips sent a flush of warmth through her entire body. She melted into the kiss, and, while keeping her body carefully in the same position, felt her gaze go unfocused and her eyelids close. As her lashes swept against something with substance, the moment swept quietly to an end. Elena had two choices: she could shriek and rail telepathically at Il Signore for only giving them what Stefan had asked for, or she could gather her courage and smile and maybe comfort Stefan. Her better nature won out and when Stefan opened his eyes, she was leaning over him, pretending to be resting on her elbows and his chest, and smiling at him as she tried to straighten out her hair. Relieved, Stefan smiled back at her. It was as if he could bear anything, as long as she was unhurt. â€Å"Now, Damon would have been practical,† she teased him. â€Å"He would have kept me crying, because in the end, his health would be the most important thing. And he'd have prayed for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused and finally began laughing, which made Stefan smile. â€Å"I have no idea,† Elena said finally. â€Å"I don't think Damon prays.† â€Å"Probably not,† Stefan said. â€Å"When we were young – and human – the town priest walked with a cane that he seemed to enjoy using on young delinquent boys more than as a source of support.† Elena thought of the delicate child chained to the huge and heavy boulder of secrets. Was religion one of the things locked away, put behind doors closed one after another in secret there, like a chambered nautilus until almost everything he cared about was inside? She didn't ask that of Stefan. Instead, she said, lowering her â€Å"voice† to the tiniest telepathic whisper, the barest disturbance of neurons in Stefan's receptive brain: What other practical things can you think of that Damon might have thought of? Things relating to a jailbreak? â€Å"Well†¦for a jailbreak? The first thing I can think of is for you to know your way around the city. I was brought here blindfolded but since they don't have the power to take the curse off vampires and make them human, I still had all my senses. I'd say it's a city about the size of New York and Los Angeles combined.† â€Å"Big city,† Elena noted, taking notes in her head. â€Å"But fortunately the only bits that would interest us are in the southwestern section. The city's supposed to be ruled by the Guardians – but they're from the Other Side and the demons and vampires here long ago realized that people were more afraid of them than the Guardians. It's set up now with about twelve to fifteen feudal castles or estates, and each of those estates has control of a considerable amount of land outside the city. They grow their own unique products and sell them in deals made here. For instance, it's the vampires who cultivate Clarion Loess Black Magic.† â€Å"I see,† said Elena, who had no idea what he was talking about, except the Black Magic wine. â€Å"But all we really need to know is how to get to the Shi no Shi – your prison.† â€Å"That's true. Well, the easiest way would be to find the kitsune sector. The Shi no Shi is a cluster of buildings, with the largest one – the one without a top, although it's curved, and you may not be able to tell from the ground – â€Å" â€Å"The one that looks like a coliseum?† Elena interrupted eagerly. â€Å"I get a sort of bird's-eye view of the city whenever I come here.† â€Å"Well, the thing that looks like a coliseum is a coliseum.† Stefan smiled. He really smiled; he's feeling well enough to smile, now, Elena rejoiced, but silently. â€Å"So to get you in and out, we just head from below the coliseum to the gate back to our world,† Elena said. â€Å"But to get you free there are – some things we need to collect – and those are probably going to be in different parts of the city.† She tried to remember if she had ever described the twin fox key to Stefan or not. It was probably better not to do it if she hadn't already done it. â€Å"Then I'd hire a native guide,† Stefan said immediately. â€Å"I don't really know anything about the city, except what the guards tell me – and I'm not sure if I would trust them. But the little people – the ordinary ones – will probably know the things you want to know.† â€Å"That's a good idea,† Elena said. She drew invisible designs with a transparent finger on his chest. â€Å"I think Damon really plans to do everything he can to help us.† â€Å"I honor him for coming,† Stefan said, as if he were thinking things out. â€Å"He's keeping his promise, isn't he?† Elena nodded. Deep, deep in her consciousness floated the thoughts: His word to me that he would take care of you. His word to you that he would take care of me. Damon always keeps his word. â€Å"Stefan,† she said, again in the innermost recesses of his mind, where she could share information – she hoped – in secret, â€Å"you should have seen him, really. When I did Wings of Redemption and every bad thing that had hardened him or made him cruel came undone. And when I did Wings of Purification and all the stone covering his soul came away in chunks†¦. I don't think you could imagine how he was. He was so perfect – and so new. And later when he cried†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena could feel inside Stefan three layers of emotion succeed one another almost instantaneously. Disbelief that Damon could cry, despite all that Elena had been telling him. Then, belief and astonishment as he absorbed her pictures and her memories. And finally, the need to console her as she stared at a Damon forever trapped in penitence. A Damon that would never exist again. â€Å"He saved you,† whispered Elena, â€Å"but he wouldn't save himself. He wouldn't even bargain with Shinichi and Misao. He just let them take all his memories of that time.† â€Å"Maybe it hurt too much.† â€Å"Yes,† said Elena, deliberately lowering her barriers so that Stefan could feel the hurt that the new and perfect creature she'd created had felt upon learning that he had committed acts of cruelty and treachery that – well, that would make the strongest soul flinch. â€Å"Stefan? I think he must feel very lonely.† â€Å"Yes, angel. I think you're right.† This time Elena thought a good deal longer before venturing, â€Å"Stefan? I'm not sure he understands what it's like to be loved.† And while he thought out his response, she was on tenterhooks. Then he said very softly, very slowly again, â€Å"Yes, angel. I think you're right.† Oh, she did love him. He always understood. And he was always most brave and gallant and trusting just when she needed him to be. â€Å"Stefan? Can I stay again tonight?† â€Å"Is it nighttime, lovely love? You can stay – unless They come to take me somewhere.† All at once Stefan was very solemn, holding her gaze. â€Å"But if They come – you'll promise me to leave then, won't you?† Elena looked straight into his green eyes and said, â€Å"If that's what you want, I'll promise.† â€Å"Elena? Do you†¦do you keep your promises or not?† Suddenly, he sounded very sleepy, but the right kind of sleepy, not worn out, but someone who has been refreshed and is being lulled into a perfect slumber. â€Å"I keep them close to me,† Elena whispered. But I keep you closer, she thought. If someone came to hurt him, they would find out what a bodiless opponent could do. For instance, what if she just reached inside their bodies and managed to make contact for an instant? Long enough to squeeze a heart between her pretty white fingers? That would be something. â€Å"I love you, Elena. I'm so glad†¦we kissed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's not the last time! You'll see! I swear it!† She dropped new healing tears down on him. Stefan just smiled gently. And then he was asleep. In the morning Elena woke up in her grand bedroom in Lady Ulma's house, alone. But she had another memory, like a pressed rose, to put away in its own special place inside her. And somewhere, deep in her heart, she knew that these memories might be all she had of Stefan someday. She could imagine that these sweet-scented, fragile mementoes would be something to hold on to and cherish – if Stefan never came home.

Essay on Critical Psychology and its critics on the four mainstream

On Critical Psychology and its critics on the four mainstream psychology approaches - Essay Example These mainstream approaches are most commonly taught in universities and colleges and more often used by clinicians and researchers in explaining human behaviour (Prilleltensky & Fox, 1997, p.4). The behaviourist or behaviourism approach is concerned mainly with observable behaviour as opposed to unseen emotions like feelings or thoughts. This approach believes that behaviour manifests as a response to a stimulus. It also believes that our behaviour is largely determined by our environment (Simply Psychology, n.d.). The humanistic approach emphasizes on the importance of studying consciousness and human experience in order to completely explain behaviour. It highlights the importance of â€Å"more individualistic and idiographic methods of study, particularly in the areas of personality and abnormality† (Walker, n.d). It also focuses on the value of responsibility and freedom of choice. The cognitive approach in psychology focuses on our thought processes, how we think-and how such thought processes affect our behaviour (Psychologist World, 2008). This approach focuses on using the scientific approach in explaining human behaviour. â€Å"Cognitive†¦ psychologists attempt to create rules and explanations of human behaviour and eventually generalize them to everyones behaviour† (Psychologist World, 2008). The psychodynamic approach was popularized by several psychologists. Sigmund Freud founded this approach which â€Å"emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour† (Wagner, 2008a). He believed that the mind was composed of three elements: id, ego, and superego. Erik Erickson’s approach was also classified as psychodynamic. He expanded on Freud’s theories and emphasized the importance of growth throughout the lifespan. These mainstream approaches to psychology have been criticized by various practitioners, especially by emerging critical psychologists. They believe that mainstream

Reckoning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reckoning - Essay Example She compares England to â€Å"Jerusalem† (720), which is a holy place in her heart. According to Kincaid, England was a unique jewel that only special people got to wear (720). England the jewel is so beautiful, gentle, and delicate in her opinion that she cannot help but express her adoration. She even extends the admiration to the people of England. She says, â€Å"The people who got to wear England were English people† (720). The statement clearly shows how unique the English people were to be able to wear that special jewel, England. Kincaid forms her idea of England in many ways. First, she learned about England from school. She describes how her teacher first showed them England from a map. â€Å"When my teacher had pinned this map up on the blackboard, she said, ‘This is England’- and she said it with authority, seriousness, and adoration, and we all sat up† (720). The teacher’s tone was enough indication that the topic about England was important, and they needed to take it in seriously thus it drew Kincaid’s attention to the study and knowledge of England. Secondly, Kincaid experiences England in her daily life. An example is the can of cocoa that has a label of â€Å"Made in England† on it. Others like the box of oats, her cloth, socks, and shoes all have this particular tag. Her curiosity and knowledge of England improves with these daily experiences. Kincaid also learned much about England from demonstrations by her parents. She writes about how her father must have seen and admired the picture of an Englishman wearing a particular hat in England (721). She talks greatly of how her mother taught her to eat her food the English way (721). Although Kincaid has such fascinations about England, she is far away on an island and can only live with what she has heard or seen from few English people she met. She merely lives under the shadow of

Certain groups in society are more crime prone than others. Critically Essay

Certain groups in society are more crime prone than others. Critically discuss how social inequality might contribute to crime amongst these populations - Essay Example Social inequality should obviously contribute to the crime ranking. However, it is important to understand in what way it affects the society and groups. There exist two major approaches to the reasons making people commit a crime. Both of them are based on the concept of human nature. We all are supposed to be born with ‘inherent potentials and abilities’ that ‘interact with environmental influences to produce behaviour, some of which is considered criminal’ (Wiebe 2004). Why do some people violate the norms and laws of the society? What is more responsible for the anti-social behaviour – external, objective circumstances or our in-born inclinations? The XIX-XX centuries are notable for paying extreme attention to environment as the major shaper of an individual’s behaviour, sometimes even ignoring predispositions. These views must have spread due to socialists’ ideology. Radical environmentalism treats human nature as one consisting of "vague and consequently plastic predispositions" that constitute "the indeterminate material that the social factor melds and forms" (Durkheim, 1895/1962, pp. 105-106, In Wiebe 2004). Another radical wing of scientists keeps to the theories based on classical view of human nature, concepts developed by Hobbes and his contemporaries. The human is seen as a creature seeking ‘immediate gratification of selfish desires’ ready to ‘commit crimes in pursuit of this gratification’, which occurs ‘at the expense of the legitimate rights of others, undermining group interests’. In order to defend its interests the group may either teach its members self-control or simply limit opportunities to satisfy impulses (In Wiebe 2004). Besides, these two theories, there exist a variety of others. Strain theory teaches that people commit crime when they are blocked from their legitimate opportunities to attain the desirable goals, which are determined by the dominant culture.