Pulp Fiction Review Essays - English-language Films, Films

Pulp Fiction Review Pulp Fiction Any movie lover who is looking for a different, wild, unpredictable movie that will blow their mind needs to check out Pulp Fiction. It's definitely going to blow the minds of all watchers. The Drugs, gangs, and killing, all set in the high-class gangs of Los Angeles are more than most can handle. In this Movie, gang members played by Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, and Bruce Willis wheel and deal the streets and roads of the big city. All working for a drug lord named Marcelles Wallace, they go back and forth for four segments of different plots. These plots, which are not happening in order, along with the director's wittiness, and the vulgar graphic scenes of the show will entertain all watchers while blowing their minds along the way. This movie is without a doubt the ?Dennis Rodman? of movies. There are absolutely none like it. Pulp Fiction is divided into sections. They are four, separately named different sections. They're all separated in the movie by a screen telling the name of the next section. They are all jumbled around in the wrong order for confusion, or who knows why else the movie does this. In the first scene of the movie, before the movie cuts to the first section, two people began to rob a restaurant. The watcher forgets about the incident until the movie is coming to a close, and the main two characters end up in the coffee shop that is being robbed. Another example of the crazy order is that in the third section of the movie, Vincent Vega, who is played by John Travolta, is killed. Ironically, in the last section Vincent is back in the movie again. However, in the end, when the movie's sections are all pieced together, and all make sense of each other, a watcher realizes that Vincent was never brought back to life. The last section happened before the third section. The wildness of the plot s is a large part of why the movie Pulp Fiction is so different. The Movie's vulgar scenes are another characteristic that watchers will never forget. In one scene, Jewels goes into the apartment of men who have not gotten their drug deals taken care of, and bluntly shoots two of them after quoting the Bible. Another scene with vulgarity is when Marcelles's wife overdoses on heroin and Vincent Vega is forced to give her a shot to the heart in order to revive her. The way in which the camera showed the needle, and the heroin being injected into Vincent's body in another scene will catch watchers off guard as well. The movie's blunt, vulgarity seems to shock watchers more than anything. If a scene toward the end, the camera shows Marcelles being raped, and later shows him shoot his rapist in the genitals with a shotgun. All of these scenes are gory, like no other movie, and will totally blow a viewer's mind. The director of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Terentino, uses wittiness that will bend and break the watcher's train of thought. He uses odd story lines to bring the entire movie's plot together. For example, In one section, Butch flashes back to his childhood when his grandfather passed down a watch to him from many generations. And as the section continued, the watch played a major role in an indirect way to the story line. In other sections, Vincent Vega and Jewels carry around case all day. They fight, and even kill for the case. When the actors open the case, the camera will never reveal its contents to the watchers. Therefore the watcher never knows what is inside the important briefcase. Terentino later said the contents were a mystery even to him. The movie's theme is another mystery that brings a mind-boggling subject up for conversation. Throughout the entire movie, any clock or watch visible to the camera is set on 4:20. The reason for this is another mystery but is another reason that Pulp fiction will blow watcher's minds. The movie Pulp Fiction is a classic. It is the odd ball or the Dennis Rodman of movies. There is no person that can watch Pulp Fiction without being shocked

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements Essays

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements Essays Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements Paper Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements Paper The German economy, market trends and key developments in banking with a view to enhance the understanding of Germany’s financial and banking market. Strategic options before international players and possibilities of countering entrenched local banks on the home turf, including market leaders. Competitors’ strengths and position. Different strategies contemplated and pursued by foreign financial entities desirous of entering the German market, and the suitability or rationale of various strategic choices. Aims and Objectives This paper, banking on an analysis of some available literature, will help in the understanding of the role of foreign banks in the largely traditional German market. Simultaneously, it will seek to provide critical information on how foreign banks are trying to enhance business prospects in an emerging and growing market through an effective penetration strategy. As a related issue, it will also delve into the question of why banks seek expansion. Chapter One introduces the focus of the study and the aims of objectives sought to be achieved. Chapter Two gives an overview of the German market in relation to the banking sector and the place, role of foreign banks in one of the richest economies of Europe. It underscores the inhibiting factors in the growth of foreign banks and the competition they face vis-a-vis local competitors. The various strategies pursued at the ground level by foreign banks and their rationale is also brought forth. Chapter Three brings out the various theories, expounded by experts, which explain the rationale behind international expansion of banks and the strategic choices and modes of entry available to foreign banks along with what the available research has to offer to a strategic planner. The basic methodology and constraints in research are also outlined as well as sources of bias, if any, and the challenge for a researcher. Chapter Four presents the 10 critical findings along with analysis. Chapter Five brings to the fore the sum and substance of research. What the future holds for the German banking industry and the challenge inherent in the interplay of various forces for a future researcher. CHAPTER TWO The Scenario 2. 1 Understanding the German Banking Market Germany is Europe’s largest, second most populous, one of the most affluent and technologically advanced economy, ranking 5th in Purchasing Power Parity or GDP of $2. 63 trillion in 2006. Even so, the past decade has seen high unemployment rates because of macroeconomic stagnation, declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. Compared to an average of 0. 7% during 2001-2005, the growth rate has improved considerably to 2. 2 % in 2006 (CIA – The World Fact Book: https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm. html). The German banking sector, including central, provides jobs to about 700,000, approximately 1. 8% of the total employment. In terms of gross national product, the volume of business has grown three times as fast as the aggregate economic output since 1960. The share of total gross value added is currently 3. 2%. The dense branch network is the highest in the world with 2,400 banks, including almost 400 small banks, with a balance sheet of less than â‚ ¬100 million. German banking is structured into three primary legal groupings; private commercial, co-operative and public sector banks. Unusual in a market economy, public sector banks hold a relatively large market share compared to other countries (The Association of German Banks, Berlin). The public sector still owns (Klaus-Peter Muller, President of the Association of German Banks and Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank AG) owns over 40% of the German banking market. â€Å"It is possible for public-sector banks to acquire private ones- and indeed they do so. But by law- that is to say because of political decisions- this cannot happen the other way around. German market undoubtedly remains too fragmented compared to its international counterparts. The five biggest banks in Germany have a combined market share of only 22% the lowest in Europe. In countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands or Finland, by contrast, the five biggest financial institutions share over 80% of their domestic market. With an ROE of 13%, Germany still lags far behind other countries in the European Union. The average ROE before tax in the 25 â€Å"old† member states is 21% (Klaus-Peter Muller). †

25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be)

25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be) 25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be) 25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be) By Mark Nichol Many Russian words have been appropriated by the English language. Some, like mammoth and sable, are easily assumed to be from a more closely related language. Others were originally specific to Russian culture but can be applied to analogous Western concepts, such as a reference to an American politician retreating from Washington, DC, to his dacha, or to a comment about a troika of conspirators. Here is a list of well-known Russian words and their original meanings and later connotations, if any. Below that you’ll find another set, that one consisting of words known to few, if any, speakers of English who are not bilingual in Russian or familiar with Russian culture. The latter list is ripe for exploitation in English. (Try referring, for example, to an elite cohort as the nomenklatura or to a petty bureaucrat as a namestnik.) Either list can be mined for analogous meanings. Some require no annotation, while others should be introduced carefully in context or even glossed; which approach to take depends on the content and its audience. Familiar Russian Words (Absorbed into English) 1. Agitprop: artistic political propaganda, from a truncated form of the Russian forms of the words agitation and propaganda 2. Apparatchik: a Communist Party member and/or functionary, from the Russian form of the word apparatus 3. Babushka: in Russian, â€Å"old woman†; in English, a type of scarf commonly worn by babushkas 4. Beluga: a type of whale or sturgeon 5. Bolshevik: a revolutionary or radical, from name of the majority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, ultimately from the Russian word for â€Å"majority† 6. Commissar: an official 7. Cossack: a Russian ethnic group associated in popular culture with military prowess and a nomadic society; the name, like the ethnic appellation Kazakh, derives from the Turkish word for â€Å"nomad† 8. Dacha: a country house 9. Duma: a legislative body 10. Glasnost: a policy of political openness and transparency, from the Russian word for â€Å"publicity† 11. Gulag: originally an acronym for a Soviet-era system of forced-labor camps; it now can refer to any repressive or coercive environment or situation 12. Intelligentsia: the intellectual elite of a society, from the English word intelligent 13. Kopeck: a Russian coin 14. Mammoth: a prehistoric mammal, and, by extension, a synonym for massive 15. Menshevik: the name of the minority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, originally in power briefly after the Russian Revolution but defeated by the Bolsheviks 16. Perestroika: the Soviet-era system of reform, from the Russian word for â€Å"restructuring† 17. Pogrom: originally, violent persecution of Jews in Russia; now, any officially sanctioned attack on a particular group 18. Politburo: the Soviet-era primary source of government policy decisions, a truncation of the Russian forms of the words political and bureau 19. Ruble: the basic unit of Russian currency 20. Sable: a mammal related to the weasel whose sleek black coat was long prized as a clothing material, and, by extension, a synonym for black 21. Samizdat: prohibited literature produced clandestinely 22. Samovar: an urn for heating tea 23. Sputnik: a traveling companion; also, the name given to a series of Soviet-era satellites, the first objects launched into space 24. Taiga: the far northern coniferous forests of both Asia and North America, from a Turkish or Mongolian word 25. Troika: a carriage or sleigh pulled by three horses, or a triumvirate (a ruling or administrative trio) Unfamiliar Russian Words (Not Yet Absorbed into English) 26. Druzhina: a unit of bodyguards and elite troops 27. Glavlit: the Soviet-era government censorship agency 28. Izba: a log house 29. Knout: a whip used in punishment 30. Konyushy: an official responsible for horses used in ceremonies 31. Kulak: a well-off farmer 32. Lishenets: a disenfranchised group 33. Matryoshka: a set of Russian nesting dolls 34. Muzhik: a peasant 35. Namestnik: an administrator (from the Russian word for â€Å"deputy†) 36. Narkompros: a Soviet-era agency responsible for education and culture, later called the Ministry of Enlightening 37. Nomenklatura: the Soviet elite, holding prestigious government and industrial posts (from the Latin term nomenclature, â€Å"list of names†) 38. Okhrana: the Tsarist secret police 39: Oprichnik: Ivan the Terrible’s brutal bodyguards and henchmen 40. Prikaz: originally, a bureaucratic position; later, an administrative directive 41. Propiska: a Tsarist regulation requiring subjects to remain in their hometown 42. Rasputitsa: spring and fall periods in which, because of heavy snow or rain, unpaved roads are impassable (possibly related to the name of Rasputin) 43. Sambo: a form of martial arts 44. Silovik: the elite 45. Spetsnaz: special-forces soldiers 46. Tamizdat: prohibited literature produced outside the country 47. Tovarishch: a companion or fellow traveler; used as a direct form of address in the Soviet Union, equivalent to comrade 48. Ukase: a decree; refers specifically to a government proclamation or generically to an arbitrary command 49. Ushanka: a fur cap with ear flaps 50. Zek: an inmate Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1Running Amok or Running Amuck?How Long Should a Synopsis Be?

Max Weber on Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Max Weber on Democracy - Essay Example This is likely one of the reasons why Weber's outlook was so negative upon democracy. Weber felt that since sociologists are human beings possessed with the capability of having empathy and understanding for others, that social actions should be analyzed accordingly. Weber, unlike Marx and Durkheim really focused on the individual and not society as a whole. He focused on status, individual ideas, social class and religion in evaluating their impact on democracy. Weber felt that each of these facets had an individual and equally compelling effect upon the individual and therefore their perceived place in a democratic society. Weber did not believe in the notion of elections or of positional changing. He instead advocated that all elected officials should instead be lifetime appointments. There is a bit of a disparity here because it ultimately results in a single election for a lifetime appointment and the gravamen of American democracy is term limits. It is the term limits which stop the country from becoming a hierarchy and which allows for the continued growth of the country. Weber advocated the type of hierarchy that one would see in a college, university or Fortune 500 company. Any person who receives the lifetime appointment must have the proper credentials which of course required a certificate program of some sort. Thus, under his proposed, democracy would be a well oiled lifetime administrative machine. The problem with his thinking is that it completely flies in the face of the American definition of democracy especially as applied to term limits. Weber did not approve of democracy mainly because he found the democracy of Germany to be petty. He did not feel that a democracy could be successful in a country with a tremendous bureaucracy. The notions flew in each other's faces, however if the country was one that was run like an administrative university, perhaps he would have more open to the idea of democracy. Parson was fascinated by the notion of Citizenship. (Kivisto 68) By way of example, he wrote about the idea of African Americans enjoying the rights of full citizenship. Parson was particularly influenced by Marshall's three dimension application towards democracy. Marshall regarded the three dimensions as the civil, political and social. The process was regarded by Marshall as an evolutionary one, which for the most part Parson adopted, however as to the social dimension, unlike Marshall, Parson applied that dimension to Roosevelt's "New Deal". (Kivisto 68) In a complete break from his mentor Weber, Parsons felt that the future of democracy was bleak if not unattainable, Parsons' predictions for the future of African Americans was sunny. (Kivisto 69) Weber, however, felt that the prospects for democracy in Germany were dim. Parsons felt that America was the last word in modern society and opined that complete citizenship would occur when African Americans (and other similarly situated minorities) were granted the same rights as whites. At such time, Parsons predicted that democratic citizenship would be complete. (Kivisto 69). Sources Cuff, E. C., W. W. Sharrock and D. W. Francis, Perspectives in Sociology, third edition, London, Routledge, 1992. HM66 P36 1984. Gerth, Hans and C. Wright

Abbott Alkaloidal Company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abbott Alkaloidal Company - Term Paper Example The common stock of the company is traded in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ABT. The closing price of ABT stock on September 3, 2011 was $51.04. Abbott has a staff composed of over 90,000 employees worldwide. In 2010 the company generated $35.2 billion in sales. The company operates over 100 facilities globally. The corporate headquarters of the company are located in Chicago, Illinois and the CEO of the company is Miles D. White. SWOT Analysis A strength Abbott has is its tremendous variety of healthcare products. The company has a managerial staff that is fully committed to the R&D process. In 2010 firm invested $3.7 billion in research and development. The financials of the company are solid. The firm generated 2010 net income of $4.6 billion. The net margin of Abbott in 2010 was 13%. The firm’s profitability performance is quite impressive considering that in 2010 most companies in the industry loss money and as a result the industry average net margin was-23.9%. Abbott has paid a growing dividend for 39 consecutive years. A weakness Abbott has is that it faces lots of competition in the pharmaceutical sector. Another inherent weakness of the company is that pharmaceutical companies have to spend over $800 million to develop a new drugÃ'Ž A third weakness Abbott faces is strict regulatory environment which includes compliance with FDA rules and protocols. A threat Abbott faces is the production of counterfeit d rugs. Counterfeiting is a multi-billion industry that targets the pharmaceutical, software, and apparel industries among others. A second threat the company faces is the launch of new drugs that are more effective and cheaper than their products. A third major threat Abbott faces is not being able to recruit sufficient scientists with the specialized skills needed due to a shortage of available talent in technical professions. Another threat that Abbott must be aware of is the possibility of lawsuits by customers who claim one or more of their products are defective. These customers could claim that instead of helping the products hurt the health of the customers. There are opportunities that Abbott can exploit to achieve greater growth. The company currently does not have a market presence in 35% of the countries of the world. A goal for the company should be to achieve penetration in 100% of the world’s nations. The firm has other opportunities that can be achieved through innovation such as becoming the first company to find a vaccine for the AIDS/HIV virus. A cure for cancer is another breakthrough project that could generate the company billions of dollars in revenues. Strategic Objectives A strategic objective of the company is to use a diversified product offering to differentiate Abbott from the competition and to achieve superior operating performance. The strategic objectives of the firm were achieved in 2010 through growth of existing product lines, new product launches, geographic expansion and acquisitions (Annual Report: Abbott, 2010). Plans to Meet Objectives For the firm to meet its strategic objectives the executive management team has to implement various tactics and strategic options that will allow the firm to continue its path towards greater success. The firm can achieve better international growth by aggressively expanding its business in emerging economies outside the United States. China represents a market that must be target m ore aggressively by the

Narrative Essay on the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay Example for Free

Narrative Essay on the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass recounts his life of slavery and his eventual flight to freedom. When he was a youngster he was placed in a household in which the naive mistress started to teach him to read. Her efforts were halted by her husband and young Douglass recalled his lecture on the reasons slaves should not be educated. However the brief lessons placed within Douglass the desire to continue to learn, by whatever means possible, to read and to write. He had discovered that education and literacy was to be his â€Å"pathway from slavery to freedom. † Douglass illustrates that literacy is the most important asset a man can ac-quire if he is to achieve life-changing goals. Douglass’ new ambition to become literate had both positive and negative effects. His new desire filled him â€Å"high hope and a fixed purpose† and his life was fundamentally changed from that early time in life. His quest for literacy was fueled with confidence that his future life would be radically different and better once he had mastered reading and writing. However it was not without negative effects as well. The more he learned of slavery the more he hated his own condition and the slave-owners that created it. As his masters became aware of his ability he was constantly watched as they tried to prevent him from reaching his goal. For a slave the path to literacy was very difficult. However the path to literacy led Douglass to consequences he could not have im-agined. An entirely new world was opened for him, and with literacy came knowledge of a life that slaves had been denied. With literacy eventually came knowledge of religion and the great Abolition movement. The greatest consequence of literacy was freedom of the mind and freedom of thought, and literacy became for Douglass the tool with which he would become his own â€Å"master†. Literacy was for Douglass and other slaves a power which they had been denied. Ignorance and illiteracy were tools more powerful than the whip and chains, and were used effectively by the slave-owners to keep slaves in submission. The slave owners un-derstood this and feared literate and educated slaves who would now know there is no truth in the slave-owner’s belief that they â€Å"should know nothing but to obey his master. † Slave owners knew the desire for literacy would spread among the slaves and would be the essential method for their eventual freedom. It was a power the slave owners were not willing to give to their slaves. Douglass defines literacy not only by describing the obvious ability to read and write, but shows true literacy as the ability to understand and communicate thoughts, de-sires, and emotions. Douglass shows literacy as being the true bond between free men and the method to unite against slavery and oppression. Literacy unites man while ignorance and illiteracy keeps man isolated from the rest of the world. Although Narrative was written over one hundred and sixty years ago it still serves as a valid reminder of the power of literacy, which remains the most important as-set a man can acquire. With literacy all things are possible, and without it the illiterate become slaves to ignorance.

Thomas Hardy :: History

Thomas Hardy About Thomas Hardy and his Wessex Thomas hardy was born in 1840 and died 1928. During his 88-years old life he wrote fifteen novels and one he never published. He also wrote over 900 poems. He wrote and published four volumes of short stories. He was born, and lived the best part of his life, near Dorchester, the county town of Dorset and Devon, Somerset, Cornwall, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Oxford. To the section of south-west England he gave the fictional name Wessex, called his first book of poetry ‘Wessex poetry’ and his first collection of short stories he called ‘Wessex tails’. He even called his dog ‘Wessex’. Thomas hardy was born in a cottage which had been built for his grandfather and was brought up buy his Mum, Dad and Nan. The cottage was an isolated building on the edge of a wild heath-land, for which Thomas hardy, in one of his novels, invented the name ‘Egdon heath’. The family Hardy was made up of a Mum, Dad, a gifted boy Thomas, two sisters and a brother. The children had to make their own fun and entertainment. So they would usually listen to their father’s tales. They would involve danger, excitement, interesting characters and a dramatic ending. Thomas hardy based some novels on his relative’s storeys. The telling of such tales was a regular pastime for the small family, and as he grew up, he learned to shape them for a wider audience. For instance, when Thomas was still a boy, he knew he wanted to be a writer. As a child, the lady of the manor at the local mansion particularly favoured Thomas. She was childless, and showed special interest in Thomas, treating him almost like a child of her own, and inviting him to her grand house. Thomas’s mother resented this and according to Thomas hardy, she openly defied the lady. No one knows what exactly happened, but it is certainly true that Thomas’s mother took young Thomas away from the village school, which the lady had founded, and sent him to a school in Dorchester. Thomas Hardy’s mother had a strong will of her own, unlike the heroine of ‘the son’s veto’ who all allows her life to be ruled by the middle- class people. Her marriage has put her among, and, in the end, to be fatally frustrated by the snobbery of her own son. Thomas Hardy :: History Thomas Hardy About Thomas Hardy and his Wessex Thomas hardy was born in 1840 and died 1928. During his 88-years old life he wrote fifteen novels and one he never published. He also wrote over 900 poems. He wrote and published four volumes of short stories. He was born, and lived the best part of his life, near Dorchester, the county town of Dorset and Devon, Somerset, Cornwall, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Oxford. To the section of south-west England he gave the fictional name Wessex, called his first book of poetry ‘Wessex poetry’ and his first collection of short stories he called ‘Wessex tails’. He even called his dog ‘Wessex’. Thomas hardy was born in a cottage which had been built for his grandfather and was brought up buy his Mum, Dad and Nan. The cottage was an isolated building on the edge of a wild heath-land, for which Thomas hardy, in one of his novels, invented the name ‘Egdon heath’. The family Hardy was made up of a Mum, Dad, a gifted boy Thomas, two sisters and a brother. The children had to make their own fun and entertainment. So they would usually listen to their father’s tales. They would involve danger, excitement, interesting characters and a dramatic ending. Thomas hardy based some novels on his relative’s storeys. The telling of such tales was a regular pastime for the small family, and as he grew up, he learned to shape them for a wider audience. For instance, when Thomas was still a boy, he knew he wanted to be a writer. As a child, the lady of the manor at the local mansion particularly favoured Thomas. She was childless, and showed special interest in Thomas, treating him almost like a child of her own, and inviting him to her grand house. Thomas’s mother resented this and according to Thomas hardy, she openly defied the lady. No one knows what exactly happened, but it is certainly true that Thomas’s mother took young Thomas away from the village school, which the lady had founded, and sent him to a school in Dorchester. Thomas Hardy’s mother had a strong will of her own, unlike the heroine of ‘the son’s veto’ who all allows her life to be ruled by the middle- class people. Her marriage has put her among, and, in the end, to be fatally frustrated by the snobbery of her own son.

The Ideal And The Realty Of Classical Athens

The Ideal and the Realty of Classical Athens Discovering the Western Past Introduction: Athens during the fifth century B. C. Is often identified as one of the main sources of Western values and standards. Later Europeans and Americans regarded the Athenians as the originators of democracy, drama, representational or realistic art, history, philosophy, and science. At different times over the past 2,500 years they have attempted to imitate this â€Å"Golden Age† of classical Athens in everything from buildings to literature.Many U. S. State capitols and government buildings are modeled On the Parthenon or there temples, complete with statuary of former governors in the manner of Greek gods. We still divide, drama into tragedies and comedies in the same way the Athenians did, though now we sometimes use a prerecorded laugh track instead of grinning masks to indicate that a given work is a comedy.During some historical periods, such as the Renaissance, thinkers and writers made conscious attempts to return to classical ideals in all areas of life, combing the works of Athenian authors for previously overlooked material in their quest to draw guidance and learn everything possible from this unique flowering of culture. Even more than as a model for literature and art, classical Athens has continued to serve as a relevant source for answers to basic questions about human existence.Though all cultures have sought to identify the ultimate aim and meaning of human life, the ancient Greeks, especially the Athenians, were the first in the West to provide answers that were not expressed in religious or mythological terms. Their thoughts on these matters grew out of speculations on the nature of the universe made by earlier Greeks, particularly Thales and. His followers Misbranded and Heraclites. These thinkers, living in the seventh and sixth centuries B. C. Theorized about how the universe had been formed and what it was made of by means of rational explanations drawn from observation rather than from myth or religious tradition. Because they believed the natural universe could, be explained, in other than supernatural terms, they are often termed the first true scientists or first philosophers. During the fifth century B. C. , several Athenian thinkers turned their attention from the world around, them to the human beings living in that world. They used this new method of philosophical inquiry to question the workings Of the human mind and the societies humans create.They asked such questions as. How do we learn things? What should we try to learn? How do we know what is right or wrong, good or bad? If we can know what is good, how can we create things that are good? What kind of government is best? This type of questioning is perhaps most often associated with Socrates (469-390 B. C. ) and his pupil Plato (427-347 B. C. ), who are generally called, the founders of Western philosophy. Thales and his followers are thus known as the pre- Soc ratic; and a twentieth-century philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, noted-?only half jokingly-?that â€Å"the European philosophical tradition .. Insists of a series of footnotes to Plato. † Both Socrates and Plato believed that goodness is related to knowledge and that excellence could be learned. For Plato especially, true knowledge was gained not by observation of the world but by contemplation of what an ideal world would be like. In their view, to understand goodness, justice, or beauty, it is necessary to think about what pure and ultimate goodness, justice, or beauty means. Plato thus introduced into Western thought a strong strain of idealism and was the first to write works on what an ideal society or set of laws would look like.He also described the education required to train citizens for governing this Ideal state and the social and economic structure necessary to keep them at their posts. Though he probably recognized that these standards could never be achieved, he believed that the creation of ideals was an important component of the discipline of philosophy, a sentiment shared by many Western thinkers after him. Plat's most brilliant pupil, Aristotle (384-322 B. C. ), originally agreed with his teacher but then began to depart somewhat from idealism.Like the pre- Socratic, Aristotle was fascinated by the world around him, and many of his ratings on scientific subjects reveal keen powers of observation. Even his treatises on standards of human behavior, such as those concerning ethics and politics, are based on close observation of Athenian society and not simply on speculation. Aristotle further intended that these works should not only describe ideal human behavior or political systems, but also provide suggestions about how to alter current practice to conform more closely to the ideal.Thus, although Aristotle was still to some degree an idealist, both the source and the recipient of his ideals was the real world. In classical Athens, human nature was a subject contemplated not only by scientists and philosophers, but also by historians, such as Herodotus and Discusses. They, too, searched for explanations about the natural order that did not involve the gods. For Herodotus and Discusses, the Persian and Peloponnesus wars were caused by human failings, not by actions of vengeful gods such as those that Homer, following tradition, depicted in the Iliad as causing the Trojan War.Like Aristotle, they were interested in describing real events and finding explanations for them; like Plato, they were also interested in the possible as well as the actual. History, in their opinion, was the best arena for observing the true worth of various ideals to human society. To the Athenians, war was the ultimate test of human ideals, morals, and values, but these could also be tested and observed on a much smaller scale in the way people conducted their everyday lives.Although for Plato the basis of an ideal government was the pe rfectly trained ruler or group of rulers, for Aristotle and other writers it was the perfectly managed household, which they regarded as a microcosm of society. Observing that the household was the smallest economic and political unit in Athenian society, Aristotle began his consideration of the ideal governmental system with thoughts on how households should be run. Other writers on politics and economics followed suit, giving advice after observing households they regarded as particularly well managed.Whereas Plato clearly indicated that he was describing an ideal, in the case Of Aristotle and other Athenians, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether they were attempting to describe reality, what they wished were reality, or a pure ideal. Your task here will be to examine the relationship between ideal and reality in the writings of a few Athenian philosophers, historians, and commentators. What ideals do the writers set forth for the individual, the household, and the gover nment?How are these ideals reflected in more realistic descriptions of life in Athens and in the way Athenians built their houses and their city? Sources: All the written sources we will use come from Athenians who lived during the classical period and are thus what we term original or primary sources. They differ greatly from modern primal sources, however, in that their textual accuracy cannot be checked. Before the development of the printing press, the only way to obtain a copy of a work was to write it out by hand yourself or hire someone to do so.Therefore, each manuscript copy might be slightly different. Because the originals of the works of Aristotle or Discusses have long since disappeared, what we have to work with are translations of composites based on as many of the oldest copies still in existence after 2,500 years that the translators could find. The problem of accuracy is further complicated with some of the authors we will read because they did not actually write t he works attributed to them. Many of Aristotle works, for instance, are probably copies of his students' notes combined with (perhaps) some of his own.If you think of the way in which you record your own instructors' remarks, you can see why we must be cautious about assuming that these secondhand works contain everything Aristotle taught exactly as he intended it. Socrates, in fact, wrote nothing at all; all his ideas and words come to us through his pupil Plato. Scholars have long debated how much of the written record represents Socrates and how much represents Plato, especially when we consider that Socrates generally poke at social gatherings or informally while walking around Athens, when Plato was not taking notes.These problems do not mean that we should discount these sources, they simply mean that we should realize that they differ from the printed documents and tape-recorded speeches of later eras. We will begin our investigation with what is probably the most famous desc ription of classical Athens [Source 1]: a funeral speech delivered by Prices. Prices, one of the leaders of Athens when the Peloponnesus War opened, gave this speech in 430 B. C. In honor of those who had died during the first year of the war. It was recorded by Discusses and, though there is some disagreement over who actually Wrote it, reflects Prices' opinions.Read the speech carefully and be prepared to answer the following questions: (1) Is Prices describing an ideal he hopes Athens will achieve or reality as he sees it? (2) How does he depict Athenian democracy and the Athenian attitude toward wealth? (3) How does he compare Athens with Sparta? (4) How does Athens treat its neighbors? (5) What role does Prices see for Athena Ian women? Source 2 comes from a later section of Discusses' Peloponnesus War, and it ascribes Athenian actions in the sixteenth year of the war. As you read It, think about the virtues that Prices ascribed to the Athenians. 1 ) Are these virtues reflected in the debate with the Menials or in the actions against them? (2) How do the Athenians justify their actions? Sources 1 and 2 from Discusses, History of the Peloponnesus War, translated by Richard Crawler (New York; Modern Library, 1951) up. 103-106; p. 109. 1. Prices' Funeral Speech, 430 B. C. That part of our history which tells of the military achievements which gave us our several possessions, or of the ready valor with which either we or our ethers stemmed the tide of Hellenic or foreign aggression, is a theme too familiar to my hearers for me to dilate on, and I shall therefore pass it by.But what was the road by which we reached our position, what the form Of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang; these are questions which I may try to solve before I proceed to my panegyric (festival assembly) upon these men: since I think this to be a subject upon which on the present occasion a speaker may properly dwell, and to which t he whole assemblage, whether citizens or foreigners, may listen with advantage. Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is' called, a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom, which we enjoy in our overspent, extends also to our ordinary life.There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes, or even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot fail to be Offensive, although they inflict no posit ive penalty. But all this ease in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens. Against this fear is our chief safeguard, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws, particularly such as regard the protection of the injured, whether they are actually on the statute book, or belong to hat code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace.Further, we provide plenty of means for the mind to refresh itself from business. We celebrate games and sacrifices all the year round, and the elegance of our private establishments forms a daily source of pleasure and helps to banish the spleen; while the magnitude of our city draws the produce of the world into our harbor, so that to the Athenian the fruits of other countries are as familiar a luxury as those of his own. If we turn to our military policy, there also we differ from our antagonists.We throw open our tit to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality: trusting less in system and policy than to the native spirit of our citizens; while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness,

Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim offered differing perspectives on the role of religion Essay

Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim offered differing perspectives on the role of religion. Choose the theorist whose insights you prefer and outline how they perceived religion operating socially. Discuss why you chose your preferred theorists views over the others. Marx, Durkheim and Weber each had different sociological views of the role and function of Religion. My preferred theorists view’s on Religion is Karl Marx’s as I feel his ideas are more relevant to what Religion actually is. And I have chosen Marx’s theory on Religion as I feel that it is the most similar to my own views on the subject. His views are more interesting to me as I don’t practise any Religion and his views expand on some of my own thoughts that I have had about Religion. It also has more relevance in society today as people are now struggling due to the economic down turn which is completely testing people’s faith. There is a bigger decline in this century as most of the population of the world have more resources and freedom of speech, to decide how they really feel about Religion and aren’t blind-sighted by the church anymore. Even if people are not aware of Marx’s ideas about Religion I feel that the majority of people would have similar views based on these ideas as times have gotten harder thus making people question their own beliefs. I will also briefly outline each of the theorist’s workings on Religion and then discuss why I chose Karl Marx’s theories. Karl Marx’s outlook on Religion was that it was a deception of sorts, as it was to give people false hope of something better waiting for them as they were being exploited and oppressed by these religious ideals. Marx thought it was a result of a class society because not only was its aim to ease the pain of oppression it also acted as a tool of that oppression. (McDonald, 2009) Emile Durkheim thought that Religion brought communities together and strengthened them. That all religions acted as a ‘socialising agent’ and that they shared a ‘coherent system of beliefs and practices serving universal human needs and purposes.’ He also conducted a study on the Australian Aborigines and concluded that ‘Religion was the source of all harmonious social life.’ (McDonald, 2009) He felt that religion varies between different societies and can influence people’s day to day lives. In 1912 he wrote the ‘Elementary forms of the religious life’ which showed that all religions have certain features in common. Max Weber had a view that  wasn’t too far off of Marx’s theory on Religion as he felt that it just was used to strengthened people’s work ethic and that success through hard work would lead to people’s salvation. He felt that the various religious policies didn’t fit with the development of Capitalism. Religion is defined as ‘The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or Gods.’ But when reading Karl Marx’s thoughts on the subject it becomes clearer that not only do you need a strong belief to endure what God’s plan is for you but that it can take away your sense of individuality and force people into a socially regulated group by practicing the church’s ‘norms’. One of his famous analyses of Religion was that it ‘Is the opium of the people.’(Goldstein, / McKinnon 2009) It’s amusing that Marx used opium in comparison with religion seeing as it was used to help people for a while in the 1800’s but with more medicines becoming available, that the use of opium eventually became frowned upon. Ironic then, that this is how many people would perceive the church in Ireland today. In Marx, Critical Theory and Religion Marx, McKinnon writes that ‘For most twenty-first century readers, opium means something quite simple and obvious, and the comparison between the two terms seems perfectly literal. Opium is a drug that kills the pain, distorts reality, and an artificial source of solace to which some poor souls can become addicted; so also religion.’ This metaphor for me shows that of the three theorists Marx was the most realistic and could see through the organised industry that Religion was and is ever more so today. Durkheim’s theories make sense and are for me a nice and fluffy way of looking at Religion, but I have a feeling that if he were to see the route Religion has gone down in modern society would he still feel the same about the majority of Religions, for example the scandal’s in the Catholic church over the past forty years that are only really surfacing now. And Weber’s thoughts were more rational as that what was expected of people was to keep their heads down and they would eventually be rewarded with Heaven. Even if in today’s society more numbers are in decline of practicing religion, Marx’s views on the subject are definitely the most valid. There expectations of people may not be as extreme as they were back in the 1800’s of their followers as they are now, but of the three, Marx’s views are the most realistic of what Religion truly is. His ability to see what religion was actually doing to people’s lives back then is remarkable and for his  words to still have such relevance now in modern society shows that he was extremely perceptive of society. Marxism also assumes that Religion will eventually disappear and for someone to envisage that from over one hundred years ago is clearly someone who knew what they were talking about. And that is why I chose Marx.

Free Essays on Love In Oceania

to express emotion, technically, the human mind can not comprehend feelings they are having. If humans ca... Free Essays on Love In Oceania Free Essays on Love In Oceania Although Winston and Julia claim to have been in love since the moment they met, can anyone living in Oceania ever really be in love? In Chapter five of Book One, Winston speaks with his comrade, Syme, about how newspeak is making the actual thought of love impossible: In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it†¦ In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking- not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. (Orwell 46-47) Syme believes that thoughtcrime in the end will be completely unheard of, because it will be impossible to think of views that oppose the party. Using Newspeak phrases such as â€Å"doubleplusungood† limits the train of thought to only what is necessary. There are no Newspeak adverbs or adjectives that are unnecessary to describe the essential thought process. Syme also mentions how Newspeak is the only language in which the word count decreases every year. Words such as â€Å"love† are removed from the dictionary, and Party members are made to believe that because the words are not in the dictionary, they do not exist. The â€Å"love† between the main characters in 1984 is only a mere physical attraction, for in Oceania, love cannot exist; there are no words to describe love, and the characters have either forgotten or had never known what love was. With the introduction and inclusion of Newspeak in Oceania’s society, Orwell makes the reader understand that in a short time people will not be able to have emotions, because there will be no words in which they can express it. Winston’s comrade, Syme, describes Newspeak as being the only language in which the amount of words decreases as time progresses. This concept is all in direct relation to reality control. If there are no words to express emotion, technically, the human mind can not comprehend feelings they are having. If humans ca...

Solving Common Typing Problems

Solving Common Typing Problems Theres nothing like typing away on a paper, only to find that youre not actually typing what you thought you were typing! There are several problems you can encounter with a keyboard that can drive you nuts, especially if youre on a deadline. Dont panic! The solution is probably painless. Some Letters Wont Type Sometimes a tiny piece of debris can get stuck under a few of your keys. If you find that a certain letter won’t type, you may be able to fix the problem by using a compressed air duster and gently blowing off your keys. Buttons Are Sticking Keyboards get very dirty sometimes, especially if you have a tendency to snack and type. You can clean a keyboard yourself (laptop or desktop), but it may be safer to have it cleaned by a professional. Numbers Wont Type There is a numbers lock button near your keypad that turns the pad on and off. If your numbers won’t type, you’ve probably pressed this button by mistake. Letters Are Typing Numbers It can be scary to type words and see nothing but numbers appearing! This is probably an easy fix, but the solution is  different for every type of laptop. The problem is you have numlock turned on, so you need to turn it off. This is sometimes done by pressing the FN key and the NUMLOCK key at the same time. Typing Over Letters If you are editing a document and are surprised to find that you are suddenly typing over words instead of inserting between words, you have accidentally pressed the Insert button. Just press it again. That key is an either/or function, so depressing it once causes it to insert text, and pressing it again causes it to replace text. Cursor Is Jumping This is one of the most frustrating problems of all, and it seems to be related to using a laptop with Vista or Windows XP. One possible solution is adjusting your touchpad settings. Secondly, you could disable tapping during input. To find this option with XP, go to: Control panelMouseAdvancedAdvanced feature settingsTapping and feature settingsTapping settingsDisable tapping If this doesn’t work, you can try installing Touchfreeze, a utility developed to disable your touchpad while you are typing text. Text Disappears Mysteriously If you accidentally highlight a block of text and type any letter, you replace all the selected when you type. This can happen in an instant, often without even noticing it. If you find that a lot of your text has disappeared, try hitting the undo function several times to see if your text reappears. If not, you can always hit redo to get back to where you started. Keyboard Keys Arent Functioning This isnt a common issue, but when it happens, either some or all keys stop working  or certain features of the keyboard such as backlighting may stop working. This can result from a low battery, so try plugging the computer in. It can also result in form liquid in the keyboard, causing the keys to short out.  Use compressed air between the keys and let the keyboard sit to dry for a while. Try using it again after it has dried  completely.

Computer Retail Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computer Retail Business - Essay Example In order to determine the ability of the company to generate a profit the managers of the organization have to analyze the operations of the firm based on the costs and expenses that the company will incur during its initial start up phase and the variable and fixed expenses that the company will incur in the future (Weygand, Kieso, Kimmel, 2002). When the company decided to choose the corporate business structure the first costs the company incurred were the legal and governmental fees to incorporate. The firm spent $1,500 to incorporate the computer business. An estimate of the costs the company will incur is necessary to start a business. The company will purchase $30,000 in computers to be sold in the retail market. The markup on these computers is 40%. In order to complement the store the company sells other devices such as tablets, MP4 devices, and smartphones. The markup on these electrical devices is 50%. The company will invest an additional $10,000 in other electronic merchandise. In terms of computer parts the firm will invest $5,000. The original restoration of the lease rented as the retail outlet cost is $7,500. A start-up capital cost table of the company is illustrated below: The company needs $54,000 start up capital, but there are other expenses that the company must consider prior to starting the business. The $54,000 is the money needed to set up the business, but once the business starts the owners and managers have to consider a series of other operating expenses that will affect the financial outcome of the company. The administrative expenses of the firm are $2,000 a month which accounts for the salary of the manager. The company will run on three employees at all times in the floor. The salary of these employees is $7.25 an hour. The store is open twelve hours a day, thus the daily direct labor expense is $783 a day. The rent is $2,700 a month and