Plato and the Concept of Knowledge Essay

Plato’s Theaetetus is a dialogue that discusses and attempts to find a definition of knowledge. The two characters, Socrates and Theaetetus, approach the argument with the initial idea that knowledge is the addition of a true judgment and an account. However, Socrates raises some concerns regarding the fundamental aspects that make the definition true. Ultimately, the two characters find that their original definition of knowledge is not as accurate, nor as simple as they once believed. The article opens with Theaetetus recalling a definition of knowledge he once heard, which stated â€Å"true judgment with an account is knowledge [and is therefore knowable], and the kind without an account falls outside the sphere of knowledge [and is therefore unknowable]† (126). Socrates begins to question one’s ability to determine whether something is or is not knowable, and he demonstrates the concept using the relationship between elements and complexes. In doing so, he explains a recent dream of his, which, in turn, is actually an explanation of Dream Theory. Dream Theory states that â€Å"the primary elements, of which we and everything else are composed, have no account. Each of them itself, by itself, can only be named† (126). In other words, as elements cannot be broken down further, elements cannot have an account because that would require the determining of whether or not the said elements exist. The addition of that information onto the original element itself results in something that is no longer in its simplest form. Therefore, no elements can have accounts, nor can they be knowable; elements can only be perceived. Consequently, this poses the question as to whether or not complexes are knowable given that their elements are not. When complexes are viewed as the sum of all their elements, it is safe to conclude that the complexes are unknowable, as their elements are unknowable. This idea allowed Socrates to then consider whether complexes were mere sums or if they should instead be viewed as wholes that cannot be dissected into parts. However, the problem with this idea is that, when viewed as a whole that cannot be separated, the complex is then no different than an element, and therefore cannot have an account. After failing to determine what does and does not have an account, Socrates decides to turn his attention to determining what constitutes an account. First, he defines it as stating one’s judgment through speech. Immediately, this manifests flaws in the sense that any true statement could then be considered an account. If this were the case, there would be no differentiation between an account and a true judgment. Next, he defines an account as listing the elements of the things known. Again, this must be incorrect because the possibility exists that one could simply memorize the elements without actually understanding them. Without understanding, one cannot have knowledge. Finally, he defines an account as differentiating the known thing from everything else. This would require knowledge of the differences, and ultimately would again be a reiteration of the true judgment. Additionally, one would be defining knowledge as true judgment plus knowledge, which would be considered a fallacy. This marks the final turning point in Socrates’s and Theaetetus’s overall definition of knowledge, where the two characters decide that their initial definition could not be considered correct. Through their attempts to dissect the supposed explanation of knowledge, Socrates and Theaetetus finally reach the conclusion that knowledge is â€Å"neither perception, nor true judgment, nor an account added to true judgment† (133).

The Ed Sullivan Show

Since the late 1940’s, television has been a staple in American culture. A show that was very important in American television history is The Ed Sullivan Show, created by Ed Sullivan and Marlo Lewis in 1948. The show lasted until 1971, making it the longest running variety show in history and the twenty-fourth longest running show in primetime history. The show aired on CBS from 8:00-9:00 pm after being filmed in what was eventually named, The Ed Sullivan Theater. The Ed Sullivan Show lasted as long as it did because it was able to target all audiences in the hour show, which was one of the first television programs truly to do so.It was cancelled in 1971 because of the technological advances of television which made any television program available to anyone, at any time. Although other variety shows have been incredibly popular, The Ed Sullivan Show is the most important variety show to date because of its appeal to all ages. An agreeable argument is that both the Milton Ber le Show and The Steve Allen show had great talents and success as variety shows. The Milton Berle show was started in 1948 by host Milton Berle, who became one of the most famous television show hosts ever.His nickname developed into â€Å"Mr. Television† because of how great a host he was. The show aired originally on the radio and then the idea of the public use of television sparked its television debut. Milton Berle was so successful as host, which is evident in the fact that while on the radio, the show went through four different hosts before it reached him, and then did not change after that point1-6. Another variety show that showed great success on television was The Steve Allen Show. The show debuted many impressive new acts of all kinds.Steve Allen himself was â€Å"innovative, funny, and whimsical†2-15, which made him apart of the show with jokes and comedy skits. His talents helped the show tremendously. The show’s comedy talents were so famous that a few years after the show was cancelled The Steve Allen Comedy Hour was aired on CBS to pay tribute to the original show. While The Milton Berle Show, and The Steve Allen Show can be viewed as very important variety shows, they were not as appealing to all age groups and were not well-rounded shows.The Ed Sullivan Show was so successful as a variety show for so many reasons. One of the most important parts of the success was Ed Sullivan himself. Before becoming a television host, Ed worked behind the scenes as a writer for newspapers and a producer of many television programs. He began writing as a sports columnist and continued writing sports with many different papers all over the country until 1929 when he became a Broadway columnist3-17. Ed began to learn about show business through Broadway writing and shortly after began producing one time shows on television.During World War II Ed worked as the master of ceremonies at many relief effort shows, where people began knowing him as a host. Ed Sullivan made a great host because he was not the classic host with a â€Å"sparkly† personality. He put the focus on the acts by introducing them, and then stepping off to let the performer(s) do what he hired them to do. â€Å"Ed [did] nothing, but he [did] it better than anyone else on television†-Alan King4-9. Ed helped give the show its glory. He was named #50 of TV Guide’s â€Å"50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time† which demonstrates the value Ed gave to the show5-9.He was also a brilliant businessman. Ed exceedingly wanted to be a household name because the more he was nationally recognized, the more money and sponsors he could bring to the show. Mr. Sullivan was paid $164,000 a year, and for that time, that amount of money was incredible even for a television personality, but Ed turned a simple variety show into a phenomena6-19. Another piece of the shows success was the new talent scouted by Ed and the producers. The baby boomers were becoming the new market in pop culture, and The Ed Sullivan Show captured the attention of the baby boomers with all the talent.Ed Sullivan caught the young’s notice and then kept it and influenced it with bringing in new talent. Ed brought the love of English rock to America. On February 9th, 1964 the Beatles appeared live on television for the first time in America. Ed Sullivan noticed the obsession with the Beatles while in England with his wife and made a deal with Brian Epstein that the Beatles would perform three Sunday’s in a row on the show for $10,0007-4. About 73 million people tuned in to watch the Beatles perform, which equates to nearly 60% of all TV’s in America watching8-4.That was one of the biggest TV viewing in television history. After bringing in The Beatles and really launching â€Å"Beatle mania† in the United States, Ed starting focusing on other English rock bands and discovered talents such as The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Pet er and Gordon, etc. 9-4 With all the new talents, Ed brought in many new comedians too. Ed founded the careers of many famous comedians, and shortly after starting the show, any new up-and-coming comedian wanted to be on the Ed Sullivan Show because it meant a start of a career for them.If Ed held that they were funny enough to be on his show, than America would soon agree with that. The Ed Sullivan Show was so successful as a variety show because of the shear number of types of performers that starred on the show. First and foremost, theatrical and musical acts shaped the Ed Sullivan Show. Everything from Broadway music to classical, to rock and roll was played on the show. Ed also enjoyed different dancers a lot so there was everything from ballet to jazz. He also loved showing movie clips and parts of Broadway plays.A Second key genre of acts was comedy. It was one act that the â€Å"whole family† watched and enjoyed together; no matter what comedian or the type of comedy. Ed also focused on just kids with comedy. There was a ten-inch tall puppet named Topo Gigio that was apart of the show for eleven years. 10-8 Topo Gigio along with other kid directed comedy gave the show a softer side, which helped it compete with a show such as â€Å"The Wonderful World of Disney†. The Ed Sullivan Show had so many other acts that kept it shuffled.Sometimes there would be episodes dedicated to one theme, which broke up the usual shows and would be an hour-long episode to pay tribute to somebody or something. Sometimes athletes would appear to give advice about how to play their sport or just to talk to Ed. Some of those athletes include Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. 11-2 Another very interesting type of performance would be a random celebrity in the audience coming up on stage to talk to Ed or to give an impromptu performance, which kept the show and audience members on edge.Ed Sullivan produced one of the most important television shows in history because of its impact on the careers of many and the world of television. ENDNOTES 1. Williams, Mark. â€Å"The Milton Berle Show. † Editorial. The Museum of Broadcast tttttttCommunications. 2011. Web. 22 Nov, 2011. http: //www. museum. tv/eotvsection. php? ttttttttentrycody=miltonberle. 2. Pack, Lindsay E. Saulovich, Johnny. â€Å"The Steve Allen Show. † Editorial. The Museum of ttttttBroadcast Communications. 2011. Web. 22 Nov, 2011. 3. Ed Sullivan Is Dead at 73;Charmed Millions on TV. † The New York Times 14 Oct. tttttttt  1974: n. pag. The New York Times:On This Day. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. ttttttt  . 4. Schaeffer, Eric. â€Å"Sullivan, Ed. † Editorial. The Museum of Broadcast   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ttttttCommunications. N. p. , 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . 5. The New York Times 6. The New York Times 7. Solt, Andrew, Sherwood, Mary. Rev. of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. tttttThe Ed Sullivan Show.SOFA Entertainment, 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. ttttt. 8. Solt, An drew. Sherwood, Mary 9. Solt, Andrew. Sherwood, Mary 10. Solt, Andrew. â€Å"Topo Gigio. † Editorial. The Ed Sullivan Show. SOFA Entertainment,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ttttt2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . 11. Simon, Ron. â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show. † Rev. of The Ed Sullivan Show. The Museum of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  tttttBroadcast Communications. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. tttt.

Capital Gain & Fringe Benefit Tax

Capital gain is defined as capital in process and acquisition cost given by the capital holder. We can calculate the capital by the well known method, in which number one is known as Discount method. Discount method is applicable when history of transaction is at least twelve month old. The second method is Indexation method which is applicable when assets acquisition done before 21 st September and held for more than twelve month. The last one is residual method in which, we are calculating the capital gain when transaction history of less than 12 month. Therefore, at any condition we will apply the for calculation will come under this three tools.   The property bought before 20 th September 1985 which is further stated as   Capital loss (Long term): The is thumb rule for asset capitalization that, if there is any loss in long term capital then it can be waived against only by long term capital, if there is no gain for adjustment in the current year it can be carried forward to next year of assessment and can be settled only against Long term capital loss.   The is thumb rule for asset capitalization that, short term capital loss can be settled against long term capital gain of assets, if there is no gain for adjustment in the current year it can be carried forward to subsequent next year Assessment years and set off against both short term Gain and long term gain. Condition (a) It is very clear that Mr. Dave Solomon, who residing in his two story building for last 30 years going for sale now, the cost of purchasing this asset was $ 70,000, the sale happened for $ 8,50,000 on date of 27 th June of the present tax year. The residential building sale was organized through auction. The buyer paid him $ 8,50,00 as an advance for buying the house, but due to some unavoidable circumstances he is not able to pay rest of the money. In such condition there is rule of money forfeiting for i.e. advance money cannot be returned, therefore, finally there is profit of $85000 for Dave Solomon.   Condition (c) The Sale of luxurious motor cruiser which was happened 1 st June for $ 60,000 and this was purchased in 2004 for $ 1,10, 000. This was sold to local boat broker on that area  Ã‚  Ã‚   Condition (d)) As mentioned in the case study the selling of parcel of equity occurred which was of newly listed mining company on 10 th of January of the current year at the cost of $75,000. He sold these shares on 05 th of June of the current year for $80,000. During purchase these shares he borrowed a loan of $ 70,000 and paid interest on the loan of $5,000. In addition of these he has also given money for brokerage of share as $750 and also stamp duty paid by Dave Solomon for $ 250. There is a rule for income tax is that interest of loan is not included in the tax. Therefore, he is not liable to pay tax for interest part (Seidman, 2003).   Overall calculation for asset                             Ã‚                    Ã‚   As per given the detail calculated above, tax return of Mr. Dave shows that capital loss of $ 10,000 from the sale of shares, therefore, this can be adjusted with current year long term capital gain Therefore, Net Capital gain in long term = $ 1, 04,961 - $10,000 = $ 94,961   Net Capital gain is the sum of all gain arrived from sale from sale of capital asset subtracting loss in sale of capital assets, in this all losses of the capital assets is subtracted which also included loss on sale of capital from previous years as well. In other meaning of this ‘the tax on capital gain is tax which similar to gain occurred due to sale of asset and therefore, tax should be given for gain happened on sale of capital asset in the same year in which income has happened in which sale happened. Looking forward with given condition, Mr. Dave have gain on sale of assets in the same income year in which sale happened. Therefore, Mr. Dove has earned profit on sale of asset. So finally we can say that he can contribute to his superannuation fund. For doing this Mr. Dave al already maintained records of respective transaction which was happened during all the above stated process, for example, interest on loan, purchase receipts, fees for legal work, cost occurred in mi tigation of fees, and also record of brokerage paid on shares. (Peter 2016).   As per the above capital analysis, Net loss in capital is sum of all loss arises from sale of capital asset which includes loss from previous year, as per rule stated in condition (a) Mr. Dave cannot normalize his capital loss from other source of income but it can be carried forward for next years and deduct it from capital gain arrived in next years. Capital loss can be carry forward for indefinite periods if necessary. Mr. Dave does not able to choose not to normalize the losses against any capital gain however they can deduct such loss as per their choice with gain of capital. If Mr. Dave is not having profit in gain of capital, then he has to sell more of his assets or acquire loan so that he can contribute to his personal superannuation fund and then buy a rented city apartment and withdraw tax free amount from his personal superannuation fund once he attains the age of 60 in august of next year. (learn.nab.com, 2016).   First of all, I have to summarize all the things which is given in second part of assignment There was a manufacturer of bathtub its name is Periwinkle Pty ltd. This company provided a car to the Emma who is employee of this company and usually in regular journey for company purpose, but use of car is not limited to company purpose, this car is given by company and used for personal purpose also. The car was purchased by company at the cost of $ 33000 on 1 st of May 2015. The journey of Emma taken place about 10,000 km, during the period 1 st May 2015 to 31 st March 2016. There was maintenance cost incurred in car which is $ 550 and this was later given by company. AT one point of time the car was kept at airport. The duration of car parking was about 10 days at airport. Further, the car was given for maintenance and not used for about 5 days. A loan of $ 500000 was given to Emma by the company on the date of 1 st September 2015 at a lower interest rate of 4.45%. By using this amount Emma procured a holiday home at the cost of $ 4, 50,000 and the balance amount was given to her husband for the purpose of buying share in Telstra. One more thing happened in 2015 is that she has taken a bathtub from company Periwinkle Pty ltd. At the cost of $1300. The cost incurred for manufacturing this bathtub was around $ 700 and this company selling this bathtub at the cost of $2600.   The employer is liable to pay fringe benefit tax for their employee, if they have given facility either at no coast or at the lower cost from the market rate at it should be non-cash benefit given by the employer. If employee used this facility for personal purpose in this condition employee is also liable to pay fringe benefit tax This Tax is liable on Car parking, Property and Residual, Car, Loan, Payment of Expense, Housing, Airline, transport, The definition of Fringe benefit tax includes car as a wagon of station or any vehicle used to carry goods on net weight of less than one tons or any vehicle used to carry less than nine passengers. But when the car is used for personal purpose i.e. and such benefit given by the employer to the employee fill comes under fringe benefit and hence tax will be calculated on such benefit. If the car by the company is provided for the period of less than three month then it will not be considered as that employee is holding car and fringe benefit tax is not be computed. As per the condition given is case study the car which used by Emma comes under the definition of fringe benefit tax. Therefore, car provided by the company comes under the law of fringe benefit tax. Another thing is that car is also used for private purpose, and there is a rule that if the car is not at the premises of the employer and is given to employee for private use and the car is parked at the premises of the employee. The car for the purpose of maintenance is being considered as out of the rule of fringe benefit act. (Roger T, 2013)   In this scenario we have to note that car was not used for 5 days when it was given for repairing but car parking to the airport will be considered as car used by Emma for that 10 days. If car key is submitted by Emma to the employer, then these days are not considered as total days for fringe benefit tax. The total running of car is about 15000 km.   It is a general rule that whenever, loan is given to the employee at a lower interest rate, then it will attract fringe benefit tax. As the given condition load is given at the rate of 4.45% which lower than the market rate which 5.95%.   But as given in case study, $450000 were used for buying a house and balance amount is transferred for purchase of equity to her husband. But amount used by Emma for house purchase is $450000, in this condition tax will remain same as $7500   If the total amount is being used by Emma, then fringe benefit tax will be calculated by this method AS given in case study, the purchase of company’s product (bathtub) was taken place at $ 1300, usually this was sold at $ 2600.   Therefore, the difference in i.e. $2600 - $1300 comes and then Emma is liable for fringe benefit tax.   Ault, H. and Arnold, B, 1997,  Comparative income taxation. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Daily, F, 2003,  Tax Savvy for Small Business. Berkeley: Nolo.   j, P, 2016,  Calculating Capital Gains Tax - the basics for Australian investors | delisted Australia. [online] Delisted.com.au Koulizos, P, 2013,  Property vs shares. Milton, Queensland: Wrightbooks.   Preve, L. and Sarria-Allende, V, 2010,  Working capital management. New York: Oxford University Press.   Ross, S., Westerfield, R. and Jordan, B, 2007,  Essentials of corporate finance. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Scott, R., Currie, G. and Tivendale, K, 2012,  Company cars and fringe benefit tax. Wellington, N.Z.: NZ Transport Agency. Seidman, J, 2003,  Seidman’s legislative history of federal income and excess profits tax laws, 1953 - 1939. Clark, NJ: Lawbook Exchange. Taxation, 1995, Canberra: Australian Govt. Pub. Service.   Wilkinson, M,1992,  Taxation. Basingstoke: Macmillan.   Vataliya, K. 2008.  Management of working capital. Jaipur, India: Paradise Publishers.   Global Property Guide. 2016.  Australia capital gains tax rates, and property income tax.  

Human Right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Right - Essay Example Values, such as freedom, equality and human dignity, are relevant to all societies and all times, but differ in their forms of manifestation and their roles in society. The term 'human rights' was born of Western cultural and historical traditions, but with the passage of time it has transcended the Western cultural boundary and become a universal symbol of human values. As a concentrated expression of diverse positive values, human rights enjoy unprecedented popularity today. However, each nation or culture has its own system and ways to achieve these values. People have different understandings of what human rights entail and what the approaches are to achieve them. These differences call for international cooperation and coordinated efforts of nations to promote human rights the world over. "Dialogue on human rights is a sensible means to surmount differences and reach consensuses." (Yunlong, 2006) During the last two years, one major 'human right' issue of conflict; was that of the Lebanese-Israeli conflict which initiated on July 12, 2006 .It had ignited loud criticisms. These criticisms were basically regarding the conflicts that had occurred because of the violations of the International Humanitarian Law. The international armed conflict and the laws which governed it were a major cause of debate. The issue was twofold: The relation of Hezbollah, the guerilla group, to the international humanitarian law, the treatment of the prisoners of war, the protection of the civilian's indiscriminate attacks and access to humanitarian relief. On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite armed group, launched an attack on Israeli positions, captured two Israeli soldiers on the other side of the Blue Line (the United Nation embarked line after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon on May 25, 2000). Nine Israeli soldiers were also killed. In response, Israel launched a large scale ope ration on Lebanon. The death toll of the ongoing conflict from August 1, 2000 has climbed up to 800 killed Lebanese civilians and 51 Israeli killed civilians. The Israeli army has been accused of disproportionate and indiscriminate assaults in its operations toward Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Forces said that they were doing 'everything to minimize' civilian casualties in Lebanon. The Hezbollah on the other hand launched its rockets randomly on targets within Israel and has been accused targeting civilians and civilian objects within Israel. The actions from the Hezbollah, as also from the Israel Defense Forces are reflecting the current opposing conflict between them, as they are also considered international humanitarian law violations. The second conflict in violation of the humanitarian law took place in Azerbaijan, which accused neighboring Armenia of breaching a ceasefire, regarding the dispute about the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, causing the death of an Azeri soldier. In this latest round of feuding between these two rivals, Armenia quickly denied the charge and responded with a counter-accusation that Azeri troops had killed an Armenian soldier. When these two former Soviet republics became

Responses - focused - adequete detail- clear point of view Essay

Responses - focused - adequete detail- clear point of view - Essay Example Instead, he is offered Celie by her stepfather. He resents her as she is not his first choice and therefore treats her as a slave. Celie’s life consists of caring for Albert’s poorly behaved children and tending to his unkempt home. She is raped and beaten on a regular basis. Because of this level of abuse, Celie reverts into a state of almost silence and withdrawal. She has really never known anything other than hardship, abuse, patriarchal dominance and rape. Unfortunately, these events are frequent and seem normal to her Celie as it is all she has ever known. A source of strength for Celie however, is her close friendship with her sister Nettie. In fact, Nettie comes to live with Celie and Albert for a time. During this time, Nettie and Celie share and enjoy a close sisterhood where Nettie teaches Celie to read. Albert however, consistently attempts to force himself on Nettie just as he does with Celie. Eventually, Nettie angers Albert when she rejects him. This causes Albert to throw Nettie out of the house which then separates the close sisters from one another. Celie is able to find closeness with another individual when Shug Avery comes to live with Albert and Celie. Shug is centrifugal in showing Celie how to find strength and acceptance within herself. Celie shares a close and almost romantic kinship with Shug but ultimately, Celie blossoms into a woman of tremendous character despite her terrible and unfortunate childhood and youth. Margaret Atwood has written several works in her career as a great essayist, which explore the concept of identity as well as loss of self. The two works in particular which depict such concepts and events are titled Great Unexpectations and Travels Back. The first work, Great Unexpectations is actually an autobiographical forward where Atwood discusses her origins as a writer as well as her fears surrounding writing as a woman. Atwood points out the clichà © of writers

Case Study 7 & 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case Study 7 & 8 - Essay Example Working as a single domain, chopperchassis.com, CCI has two domain controllers one for each facility, and three member servers, one for internal emails and other applications and others are used for CCIs main database. The business layer, as related to the Top-Down Model, has been serving the needs of all staff scattered in two facilities situation in Ohio by the IT Manager. Internet connection was not provided to the staff as such demand has not been made by the staff. Through the TCP/IP protocol, all the 50 employees were provided computers, servers, and routers with private IP address, joining two locations through a dedicated T1 line. Two subnets using the subnet mask have been created by the IT department for connectivity between the two facilities. At the application layer, Microsoft SQL Server is being used to store the main database of CCI. Strict modular separation of functionality at application layer has been provided through the TCP/IP protocol through T1 line and creating subnets. At the network layer, as per the new business requirements to provide access to suppliers and customers of important information related to order processing and supply chain management through extranets while giving due consideration to security and cost reduction, firewall and Network Address Translation (NAT) was recommended to the owner of CCI by its IT head. NAT router made it possible to purchase less IP addresses and provide security by translating the internal IP addresses of employees to external addresses. Thus, through NAT, the NAT router worked as a negotiator between public internet and private network. At the data layer, CCI has in place LAN for faster data transfer through Microsoft SQL server to its database. The technology layer of Ethernet with LAN has provided excellent connectivity among the staff at the two facilities to share resources.

Multi-generational Sustainability Perspectives and Practices Research Paper

Multi-generational Sustainability Perspectives and Practices - Research Paper Example In addition, this study aims at identifying the similarities and differences between the environmental perspectives between the two generations. The respondents were asked to rate the environment in their local community, their nation, and the world. Data was obtained through interviewing grandparents, parents, and fellow students. The data obtained was qualitatively analyzed to determine the similarities and differences in environmental perspectives between the two generations. The results, except for few surprises, were what one would expect. Most of the respondents believed that their local environments were to some extend satisfactory, while the global environment was in immense trouble. In addition, the respondents differed and concurred on some perspectives towards the environment Discussion People hold different perspectives about the environment. The way people perceive the environment determines the way they use natural resources, their consumption practices, recreation, tra vel, and food sources and storage. People’s perspectives on the environment have been divided into four classes: imperialism, utilitarianism, stewardship and romanticism. These groups of perspectives account for majority of the opinions and perspectives that most individuals hold about the environment. The opinion of stewardship holds that people have a certain responsibility and privilege in relation to their surroundings, as stewards of the environment. This is similar to what nearly all the grandparents and parents hold towards the environment. Most of the elderly noted that they believe that it is their duty, as human beings, to take care of the environment, and to treat anything that is on it with respect. One thing that came out of the interview with the elderly is that, the environment consists of both the living and non living things. The elderly consider the environment as sacred and that it is biblical to take care of it. They consider it a religious duty of every i ndividual to take care of the environment. These respondents viewed the environment as uncontrollable, unpredictable and powerful, and the only thing they can do is to be fatalistic, and accept the good and the bad that comes from it. This view implies that people can only be submissive in the face of environment. This submissive nature of the environment dates back to history, according to Nash (1967), and is based on the inability of the people to control nature and on the association of the environment with the supernatural. Just like stewardship, imperialism is connected to the biblical perspective of the environment. Some of the fellow students believe that the environment was created and given over to mankind to explore and rule over it. Among the youth and the parent respondents, they feel that there is no sacred bond that exists between God and the environment. They believe that by ruling over the environment and controlling it would earn them respect from God. This gives th e reason for the extreme actions against the environment while trying to control and rule over it. This can be attributed to the rapid increase in environmental degradation among the youths. Ancient imperialists practiced and offered sacrifices to God. One of the ancient imperialists suggested that conquering nature is the highest aspiration an

Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision Making - Essay Example From this research it is clear that effective decision-making necessitates that the person making the decision understands the situation driving the decision, recognizes and defines it, identifies alternatives, chooses the best option and then puts it into practice. Problem solving is a logical, goal-oriented process that outlines the action necessary to solve a situation where the actual and expected are differentiated. The situation has no routine solution, or there is a thing that is not satisfactory and recognizes that problem as a chance forcoming up with a solution or decision that ought to be effected by a person or persons and which lastly, and importantly ought to be worthy resolving. The person solving the problem has more or less well defined objective and solution although it is not instantaneously clear how to achieve it.This paper declares that  the decision maker and problem solver ought to comprehend their achievements and desired accomplishments. The next step invo lves collecting and gathering the relevant information and data regarding the situation. It is apparent that some of the information will be out rightly available whereas some other critical data will need to be actively sought for.  For effectiveness, it is a good principle not to make decisions without critically important information regarding the situation.  Decision-making and problem solving processes are an exceptionally critical part in business.

Language development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Language development - Essay Example Language development in a child is more than just learning to say " dada", "baba", or mama". They have to develop the ability to listen, understand and speak to others. This site explains the different stages in toddlers first years to the subsequent years. Language development involves good vision and auditory skills. . The technique involved in taking a more active role in the child's language development is by talking more often to the child about everyday activities like brushing teeth, drinking milk, etc. keeping eye contact and speaking clearly to a child with a comfortable distance. Stressing on syllables is important and listening to what the child says. If a child has problem in pronouncing some words instead of pointing mistakes repeat the words and sentences. Reading is another technique to improve language development in a child. Eventually it helps a child in writing as well. This site also explains the activities that can help language development in a child like singing songs, making faces, picture books, nursery rhymes, matching games etc.It also explains the importance of cognitive, social, and emotional development. . Language via the Internet: Language development is the task of preparing a language to serve as a tool of literacy and education. Any natural language is already a suitable tool for oral communication. The prophets of doom emerge every time a new technology influences language. It happened in the 15 the century when printing was introduced, then again when the telephone was introduced in 19 th century, and when broadcasting came in the 20 th century: and they gathered again when Internet writing broke several of and spelling, says Crystal. Internet is allowing us to explore... The human languages are known as natural language, artificial languages , constructed languages (individual groups have constructed for practical, experimental, personal or ideological reasons), formal languages, and the programming languages.Language development is the task of preparing a language to serve as a tool of literacy and education. Any natural language is already a suitable tool for oral communication. The prophets of doom emerge every time a new technology influences language. It happened in the 15 the century when printing was introduced, then again when the telephone was introduced in 19 th century, and when broadcasting came in the 20 th century: and they gathered again when Internet writing broke several of and spelling, says Crystal. Internet is allowing us to explore once more. Crystall concludes that a surprisingly small number of new words have been spawned while texting, blogging and other forms have given radical opportunities to develop new stylistic rules. He believes that the new forms of interaction seen in the Internet are far more important than changes in vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Finally, as the internet becomes more linguistically varied, it also extends a hand to minority languages and it speakers. It helps speakers of minority language to maintain virtual contact through email, chat and instant messaging environments. The recent technologies like email and text messaging will transform language in a way that certain words might become obsolete.

Comparative project success factors - 2550 words Essay

Comparative project success factors - 2550 words - Essay Example e above mentioned course, we will also try and make a few suggestions that, according to us, might have rendered to a better strategic move and hence, less of a fiasco. Every case study has a conclusion to make. Ours happens to outline the wrong moves and learning from the mistakes made by those involved in the strategic decision making of the above mentioned three projects. While we will be discussing the chosen three projects in details later, let us get a brief outline of the same to assist the uninitiated. The Millennium Dome Project was termed as one of the biggest and most exceptional of the projects undertaken so far. Many politicians amongst the country took personal strides to make the project work. Millennium dome was built to serve as a memento for the third millennium, and hence the name, while its purpose was to exhibit art. Our next project, the London Ambulance Project, is one that helps many in their course of lives. It has one of the largest fleet of medical services, with 24x7 help, offering mobile medical services. It is one of the oldest establishments and still runs to its utmost capacity. The Terminal 5 project in Heathrow airport is also one of the oldest projects, taking over 18 years to take form, shape and finally life. In this project, a new terminal – terminal 5 – was developed to enable smooth processing and fl ight availability by the BAA officials. a) The Millennium Dome – We have already explained what the main purpose of Millennium Dome was. Let us now take a look at the specifications of this project. The Millennium Dome was originally conceived by the John Majors Conservative government, mainly to celebrate the third millennium. However, the scope for the conception was small in nature. When the new government entered, lead by Tony Blair, in 1997, the project assumed a new and larger than life scope. The project was allotted  £399 million, while the size for the whole project too increased by manifolds. The design and

Hume and his contemporaries Essay Example for Free

Hume and his contemporaries Essay Live art performances, marked by an overture of spirituality, consciousness, physical introductions to pain, drawn further on to include specific rituals, symbolisms, varied states of emotions brought by self-inflicted hurt and eventually, culminating in a wild display of frenzy and shocking images, are less likely to please the uninitiated audience than it will provoke a sense of awe and wonderment among performance art critics. In a similar situation, Marina Abramovic’s attempts to upend the static discourses of physicality, mental states of mind and art that pervade current Western hegemony, understandably, can only be regarded in the extremes by people steeped firmly into formal traditions. Either her method of performance will elevate its spectators to a heightened degree of appreciation, therefore merit a thunderous welcome to a novel brand, sui generis, of art of our time at the end of each scene; or her gruesome didactics on the body’s threshold for pain, simply fails to pass muster. Her performance practice, a risk more than anything else, certainly inspire debates on whether or not to set moral, perhaps even social limits to art in order to determine, in precise and concrete terms, at which point creativity and imaginative art themes and performances become either delightful to the senses or noxious to the sensitivities of the general public. The idea of drawing the line along and between different shades of extremes, although already evinced clearly in the works of Marina Abramovic, seems to fit the consensus on the idea of censuring the bold and burlesque, stripping it off its material enunciation and expression to mitigate the horror and revulsion inherent in the exposition, or in the worst case, totally ignore it until the novel yet misunderstood facade fades from inattention. However, thanks mainly to Marina Abramovic’s unwavering desire to reach her audience, despite the sometimes hostile reception during her performances itself, in ways that continually push the envelope of spectator tolerance, did she carry her work from the esoteric art circles to mainstream. To wit, in one of her collaborative performances with Ulay, entitled Incision (1978), while purposively eliciting reaction, probably direct participation, from their audience, one of the spectators primed the climactic resonance of the work by jumping into the stage to kick Marina Abramovic as she was lying prostate right in the middle of the act. In her biographical work, she writes that although she expected the attack to happen any moment during the performance, she did not realize the immediacy and steeled resolution of that man who assailed her (Abramovic, 1998). Photographs of the show caught the man with a leg lifted, jumping into the air. â€Å"The next photograph shows Abramovic lying on the floor, and the man seems to be landing from a kicking action [†¦] the audiences interrogation manifested in a spontaneous physical attack (Tang, 2005). Ethical and moral questions, as well as aesthetic controversies have been discussed quite animatedly as early as the 18th century. Philosophers, like David Hume, have started to addressed the tough issues about morality, art and taste—the chief concerns that pervaded his era. Cynthia Freeland, introducing the notions of Taste and Beauty, in a book about defining the slippery strands of art, writes that Hume and his contemporaries â€Å"would not have approved of blasphemy, immorality, sex, or the use of body fluids as appropriate in art† (Freeland 2001). As a caveat to this general statement, it must be understood that even though 18th century consciousness all the way up to the present have not been too open in giving cognizance to art that smack of Marina Abramovic’s own brand of carnal art expressions, there are already extant cultural and social systems which places importance into shamanistic and ritualistic gestures. Among art critics and historians, some pursue a theory of art as ritual: â€Å"ordinary objects or acts acquire symbolic significance through incorporation into a shared belief system† (Freeland, 2001). In the same vein, Freeland further digs deep in history to provide evidence in varied cultural rituals that depict blood and physical pain. She avers that â€Å"when a Mayan king shed blood before the multitude in Palenque by piercing his own penis and drawing a thin reed through it three times, he exhibited his shamanistic ability to contact the land of the undead† (2001). Other modern artists try to recreate a similar sense of art as ritual, just as much as Marina Abramovic has had for the last three decades. Diamanda Galas, for instance, â€Å"fuses operatic wizardry, light shows and glistening blood in her Plague Mass† (2001), supposedly to exorcise pain in the era of Aids. Herman Nitsch, Viennese founder of the Orgies Mystery Theater, promises â€Å"catharsis through a combination of music, painting, wine-pressing, and ceremonial pouring of animal blood and entrails† (Nitsch, n. d. in Freeland, 2001). As it turns out, these very rituals are ingrained in Western traditions. Illuminating examples of which are the amount of blood depicted in European’s, and verily much of the cultures in the modern world today, two main belief discourses: that of the Judeo-Christian and the Greco-Roman. By taking a cursory review of religious and classical texts of Western traditions, we are able to immediately uncover a plenitude of blood representations and ritualistic sacrifices. In the Old Testament, Yahweh is seen to require â€Å"sacrifices as parts of His covenant with the Hebrews† (Freeland, 2001). Similarly, Agamemnon â€Å"faced a divine command to slit the throat of his own child [†¦] the blood of Jesus is so sacred that it is symbolically drunk to this day by believing Christians as promising redemption and eternal life† (2001). Such myths and religious stories are rather germane to Western art. We read of Homeric heroes wining the favors of their gods and goddesses by sacrificing animals. Likewise, the tragedies of Lucan and Seneca â€Å"piled up more body parts than Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Sreet† (2001). Not surprisingly, likewise, Renaissance paintings are never without a hint of blood draped at the canvassed in hard red-acrylic paint whilst Shakespeare’s tragedies typically concluded with swordplay and stabbings. The preceding examples of ritualistic performances which involves blood and sacrifices, death and disease, murder and trials, are very instructive with regards to our penchant for the macabre and the dreadful. It is in these premises that Marina Abramovic draws much of her inspiration to create an art, pro forma, that bespeak of our capacity to endure scenes of gore and violence—if only on a less exacerbated state. Her performance, for the most part, certainly places importance on the symbolic values of ceremonies, gestures and artifacts. Albeit appearing random and spontaneous, her methods establish a logical connection between her consciousness while performing and her body’s means of coping with the strength of self-infliction. In the nascent days of her art, she has performed controversial after controversial explorations into the limitations of the mind and the body. Rhythm 10, in 1973, was the first in a series of abject surrender to the inevitability of suffering. Alone in the stage, she prepared a set of knives to be used as piercing objects in a risky game of Russian hand roulette. Without signs of hesitation, she proceeded to stab the spaces between her fingers in a rough yet determined fashion. Each time she made the mistake of cutting her flesh; she dropped the knife and took out another one to repeat the process all over again until she made use of all ten knives (Abramovic, 1998). The following year, in the performance entitled Rhythm 5, she sought to re-evoke the energy of extreme body pain by constructing a huge star soused with combustible petroleum liquid. At the onset, the structure as lit to flames, and while she was standing right outside the contraption, she religiously clipped her fingernails, cut her hair and them inside the burning star. The denouement of the program was when she danced around and then flew across the flames into the center of the burning star. Serious and life-threatening complications ensued when the smoke that engulfed her from inside asphyxiated her to the point that she no longer had control of her actions. The medical team and the audience, who were all there to watch, started to suspect that something was terribly amiss. Fortunately, the quick responses from the stand-by technicians saved her from an untimely death caused by severe smoke inhalation (Abramovic, 1998). In the same year and the years that followed, Marina Abramovic designed similar art experiments that were meant to test the limits of herself and her body, and later the audience and their tolerance for vicarious agony through her body. Rhythm 2 and Rhythm 0, were performed with the hopes of proving that the consciousness can go beyond the rubric of psychological triggers in mind. The sole aim of both was to uproot the inherited tendencies of the mind to reel from stark images and provocative gestures. She sought to cultivate in the audience a sense of indifference in order that one may reach a virtual catharsis what with all the sharp and strong representations between the body and suffering. For artists like Marina Abramovic, it is clear to them that what they are performing, and while in the act of performing, there is a higher purpose that they wish to achieve regardless of the methods by which these are made possible. They have a firm understanding and appreciation for every act and gesture that they make. None of such are done without rhyme and reason. For artists like Marina Abramovic, everything that happens during any performance, in spite of the harsh opinions of critic that meet them right afterwards, makes a lot of sense. However, audiences who see and react to these artists do not enter, much less share the beliefs and values, or with prior knowledge of what will transpire, with that of the artist. When asked about the origins of her creativity and ideas for her art performance, Marina Abramovic happily recalls her childhood memories with her parents. As if to show indeed that her style was a result of previous life experiences that may be susceptible to a psychoanalytical reading, she narrates: â€Å"A long time ago I made a piece called Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful. At that time, I thought that art should be disturbing rather than beautiful. [†¦]My life is full of such contradictions. [†¦] My father and mother are divorced. As an adult, I recently wanted to go back to help them because of the war. With the embargo, there is nothing in the stores. [†¦] I called my father to ask him what he needs, and he dictates a long list antibiotics, bandages, penicillin, toilet paper, coffee, sugar, powdered milk, all these basic things for survival. Then I call my mother and ask what she needs. She says, I need Chanel lipstick, Absolute Red, Number 345, and hair spray. I am between these two. † (Abramovic, 2005) Most modern art, in this case, within the context of theatre, videos and live performances, fail to provide ample background reinforcement against the dominant traditions and systems of belief. What invariably happens is that the audiences will remain ignorant to, consequently, unappreciative of the complexities and undertones of the supposedly artful, meaningful and profound gestures. The audience, instead of sharing that same degree of catharsis, sacrifice and initiation, will shy away. They themselves are alienated from the performance so much that they are brought far afield the community, forcing them to abandon the art because of pure shock and horror, largely as a result of their ineligibility to feel as the artists do (Freeland, 2001). Damien Hirst, the ‘Britpack’ artist who sparked controversy in the 1990s with his motley display of macabre high-tech exhibits of â€Å"dead sharks, sliced cows, or lambs in glasses of formaldehyde, [†¦] has parlayed his notoriety into success with his popular Pharmacy restaurant in London† (Freeland, 2001). By no means, therefore, are the works that revolve around symbolisms, spirituality, humanity and fatalism seldom reflects the nature of most of our ritualistic traditions. Symbols of pain and suffering that are central to many religions, cultural systems, political and social units, may come off to the lay person as undesirable and may even cause the same panic as had the man in Marina Abramovic’s performance. Art performance that utilizes imageries that hint at violence, torture and distress, when it is performed in the public who has no inkling of its context, meaning and history are in danger of misconstruing art for capricious display of filth and tripe. As with all in theatre, the performer must work against mutual projection between audience and performer, the identification in which [we] believe so readily in the other as the keeper of our treasure and our disease (Tang, 2004). Valie Export, a similarly omnipresent and provocative figure in the world of art performance, shares the same problems of audience interaction, although not as much as Marina Abramovic. Beside art performance, her repertoire includes film, text, painting and photography to name a few. These avenues of artistic expression gravitate towards her criticisms for feminism and gender. A staunch activist and a progressive performer, she has oftentimes been called a woman living an anachronistic life. This is due to her revolutionary ways to present her ideas that even her colleagues, who without proper notice of her intentions to perform, usually end up dismissing her as too fanciful and idealistic. Her works on ‘Asemie or the Inability of Expressing Oneself Through Facial Expressions’ (1973) and ‘Touch Cinema’ (1968) garnered both fame and distress. Chief of the reasons that contributed to an admixture of reception from the critics and audience is the fact that her ideas do not create strong meaningful associations that the people can readily identify with. Humor and parody may be part and parcel of her work as a performer, but these effects are not what she contemplated to be so. Indeed, while she wanted to catch the attention of her spectators, her ultimate goal is to instruct them of the subtle messages regarding feminism, modernism and ritual art. Export, along with the controversial artists at the turn of the 21st century, became (in-)famous in the recent decades because of her startling presentations of objects and her body (Mueller, 2004). Of her earlier works, ‘Aktionshose: Genitalpanik’ or ‘Action Pants: Genitals in Panic’ (1968), Export engaged the audience, piquing their imagination and belief, with a series of photographs, simultaneously permitting them to engage her as the tangible representations of the images presented in the collage. In an art theater in Munich, dressed to the nines, with the crotch cut out of her pants, Valie Export threaded each row person-to-person, showed her outfit thereby giving the film-viewing public with a palpably visual representation with a real female body. In doing so Export tackled the pornographic reduction of women in static representations just when ideas of feminism and gender were starting to develop during that time. Her message is commensurate to a direct, unapologetic, political affront to the abstract objectification of the female body as a fetish. She moved an aesthetic gesture beyond the representational context of the safe boundaries of art into an actual encounter with a public. Export effectively brought to the fore the various dimension of simple, albeit arresting, bodily gestures â€Å"both to produce and to represent action [. . . ] by stressing the moment and the process of its own production† (Stiles, n. d. ). Export repudiated the representational static sign and discharged an interventionist act by revealing her yonic-self to the public vis-a-vis the photos on the display. Art performance, in the recent decades since its entrance in the mainstream, has, and is continuing to encompass a wide field of human proclivities which spans across a whole, comprehensive range of emotions, symbols and design. Although traditional views on aesthetics and taste still influence much of the productions in the art, more and more innovative, socially-informed, stunningly beautiful works of art performance are being (re-)invented and (re-)discovered every time. It doesn’t matter whether these newly created art forms subscribe to tradition or to the taste of the general public. What matters most is the never-ending quest to plumb the full extent of our humanity as individuals and as a community. Art performance is yet to supplant, at least equal the popularity of video-films, cinema, photography and painting in terms of the instances that these are demanded by the public. But with the works of Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Damien Hirst, Valie Export et al and their boundless passion to break the mold and stun the public to enlightenment, art performance can be considered as a significant cornucopia of art studies and of artistic expression. A number of critics do give favorable comments to Marina Abramovic’s performances and ingenuity, Valie Export’s live photography sessions, Hirst’s â€Å"gleaming vitrines with suspended animals inside† (Freeland, 2001). However, it must be noted that even if the critics find them beautiful and artful still its startling content warrants full attention; nothing short of shallow and pedantic in all respects of praise and criticism. Freeland writes, perhaps disinterestedness has some small and specific role in approaching difficult art by enabling us to try harder to look at and understand something that seems very repugnant to the senses (2001). The work’s content and the artist performing are just as crucial as the theories that surround art performance. It is not so much as merely an arbitrary act done through the caprice of a strange art performer. It is instead, a manifestation of our natural tendencies, our history, our sense of taste and what is beautiful, our entire spirituality and lastly, our consciousness set against the body as a tool to perceive reality. Art performance as practiced by these artists is a celebration of the body and of our community. An excellent performance and performer do more than take the audience to elevated heights, but also give them a sense of being truly and undeniably alive. And such, makes all the difference. References Abramovic, M. (2005). Marina Abramovic: the biography of biographies. New York London: Charta Publishers. Abramovic, M. (1998). Artist body: performances 1969-1998. New York London: Charta Publishers. Freeland, C. (2001). But is it art? : blood and beauty. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Mueller, R. (1994). Valie Export: fragments of imagination. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Stiles, C. (n. d. ). Aktionshose: genitalpanik (action pants: genital in panic). Retrieved January 15 2008, The Galleries at Moore database. Tang, A. (2005). Gazing at horror: body performance in the wake of mass social trauma. (Masters of Arts program, Rhodes University 2005). .

The Womens Sports Foundation Essay Example for Free

The Womens Sports Foundation Essay There are initiatives in place to try and improve the number of women in senior roles. For example, the UK Strategy for Women and Sport (a three year plan that aims to increase the number of women leaders in sport by changing the culture of sport), the Sport Coach Delivery plan. The government has also developed a plan, which aims to 50% female representation on all public bodies (inclusive of all sporting bodies). The effectiveness of these proposals is yet to be discovered. Womens Sport In The Media  Since the growth of womens sport and sport in general, the main way of communicating with the general public has been through the media. Recently there has been a large increase in the different types of media available, apart from the traditional newspaper; there has been an increase in the number of specialist magazines available and numerous Internet websites available to display sporting results, match fixtures and other such information. However, even with the expansion of the media, coverage of womens sport is grossly neglected. Womens sport is rarely shown (with exception to large sports events such as the Olympics) and when it shown their accomplishments is rarely celebrated, instead their private life is often the topic.  Television Radio  The main terrestrial channels and satellite channels rarely show womens sports events; mens sport is often prioritised over womens. For example, in 1993, womens sport only made up 0.5% to 6% of the overall coverage of sports on television and even when female sport was covered, action shots were rare. Newspapers  Newspapers also have a long history of under-representation of womens sport. It is quite common to find absolutely few or no mention of female sports within many newspapers sports section (this is regardless of whether they are a broadsheet newspaper or a tabloid). This can be exemplified by a study between December 2000 to January 2001, which was conducted by The Womens Sport Foundation. After the analysis of 49 different issues of newspapers, they found that out of 701 pages of sports reports, there were 1,564 photographs of men in comparison to just 36 of women. This meant that overall; womens coverage was just 2.3%. The media overall has the ability to define and shape the views of women in sport. Often the coverage that female competitors receive, concentrates on their femininity and treats them as sexual objects rather than a powerful sportsperson. This type of coverage has the effect of undermining womens sports in general, and in limiting the amount of sponsorship that top female athletes receive. The Womens Sports Foundation (WSF) was created in 1984, by women who were concerned by the lack of representation women received in the world of sport. It is funded by the government body Sport England, however since May 2003, the Pentland Group Plc has sponsored them. The aim of the Womens Sports Foundation is to increase the profile of women within many sporting roles. This has been partly achieved by: The National Action Plan for Women and Girls Sport and Physical Activity this was designed to encourage sporting organisations to identify targets and implement actions that would help to address the imbalance between the two genders. The Women into High Performance Coaching Project this was a three-year pilot scheme, (established in 2000 by the foundation and Sports Coach UK) that was created to develop women into senior coaching positions.  The WSF also aims to increase the number of women and girls that are participating in sport.

Snoopy Tool Evaluation

Snoopy Tool Evaluation Snoopy is a tool which is used for designing and animating hierarchical graphs along with others Petri nets. Snoopy also provides the facility to construct Petri nets and allows animation and simulation of the resulting token flow. This tool is used to verify technical systems specifically software-based systems and natural systems e.g. signal transduction, biochemical networks as metabolic and gene regulatory networks. Snoopy is in use for consideration of the qualitative network structure of a model under specific kinetic aspects of the specified Petri net class and investigation of Petri net models in several complementary conducts. Simultaneous usage of different Petri net classes in Snoopy is one of its outstanding features. Other features are: It is extensible as its generic design aids the implementation of new Petri net classes. It is adaptive as numerous models can be used simultaneously. It is platform independent as it is executable on all common operating systems e.g. linux, mac, windows. Two particular types of nodes i.e. logical nodes and macro nodes are meant for supporting the systematic construction, neat arrangement and design of large Petri nets. Logical nodes act as connector or multiple used places or transitions sharing the same factor or function. Macro nodes allow hierarchically designing of a Petri net. Snoopy allows edition and coloring of all elements in each Petri net class and manual or automatic change of network layout too. Prevention of syntactical errors in the network structure of a Petri net is facilitated by the implementation of the graphical editor. Editor Mode: Start Snoopy and go to File New or press the new button in the tool bar. It results in opening of a template dialogue that allows selection of the document template. File: New/Open/Close Window/Save/Save as, Print, Export/Import, Preferences (change the default visualization) and Exit. Edit: Undo/Redo, Select All/Copy/Copy in new net/Paste/Cut, Clear/Clear all, Hide/Unhide, Edit selected elements/Transform Shapes, Layout (automatic layout function), Sort Nodes (by ID or name), Check Net (duplicate nodes, syntax, consistency) and Convert to. View : Zoom 100%/Zoom In/Zoom Out, Net Information (number of each element used in the model), Toogle Graphelements/Hierachy browser/Filebar/Log window, Show Attributes (choose for each elements which attributes to be shown in the model), Start Anim-Mode/SimulationMode/Steering-Mode. Elements (list of all available elements): Select/ Place/Transition/ Coarse Place/Coarse Transition/ Immediate Transition/Deterministic Transition/Scheduled Transition/Parameter/Coarse Parameter/LookupTable, Edge/Read Edge/Inhibitor Edge/Reset Edge/Equal Edge/Modifier Edge and Comment. Hierarchy (edit and browse hierarchy): Coarse (chosen elements are encapsulate in a macro node)/Flatten and Go Up in Hierarchy/Go To First Child in Hierarchy/Go To Next Sibling in Hierarchy/o To Previous Sibling in Hierarchy. Search : Search nodes (by ID or name). Extra : Load node sets (visualize, e.g., T-, P-invariants, siphons and traps), Interaction and General Information (title, author, description, literature). Window (arrange all opened windows): Cascade/Tile Horizontally/Tile vertically, Arrange Icons/Next/Previous and Open Files. Help: Help, About (current version), check update. The tool bar holds four shortcuts that facilitate: Open a new document. Load a document. Save a document. Select an element. All elements accessible in the current net class are displayed in panel for the graph elements. Left-click on one of the elements enables user to use one of these elements. Right click on the respective element allows user to edit or select all elements of the same class. All levels are displayed in hierarchy browser and any hierarchical level can be opened in a new window by a left-click. The editor pane can be considered as the canvas which allows user to draw the network. A left-click on the Editor pane activates chosen element and places the selected element on the canvas. Click left onto one node, hold the left-click, drag the line to the other node and drop the left-click, to draw an arc between two nodes. To add edges to an arc push the CRTL key and click left on the arc which facilitates the user to drag the edge with another left-click. Grid in the canvas tab can also be used for a better orientation. User can also pick edge styles i.e. line or spline in the preference dialo gue in the elements tab. Elements: Nodes: Elements Graphics Standard transition Standard transition Coarse place Coarse transition Immediate transition Deterministic transition Scheduled transition Immediate Transition: Immediate transitions fire as soon as they are enabled. The waiting time is equal to zero. Standard Transition (Timed Transition): A waiting time is computed as soon as the transition is enabled. The transition fires if the timer elapsed zero and the transitions is still enabled. Deterministic Transition: Deterministic transitions fire as soon as the fixed time interval elapses during the entire simulation run time. The respective deterministic transitions must be enabled at the end of each repeated interval. Scheduled Transition: Scheduled transitions fire as soon as the fixed time interval elapsed during the given time points. The respective deterministic transitions must be enabled at the end of each repeated interval. Edges: Elements Graphics Description Standard edge The transition is enabled and may fire if both pre-places and are sufficiently marked by tokens. After firing of the transition, tokens are removed from the pre-places and new tokens are produced on post place. Read edge The transition is enabled and may fire if both pre-places A and B are sufficiently marked by tokens. After firing of the transition, tokens are removed from the pre-place B but not from pre-place A, new tokens are produced on post place. The firing of the transition does not change the amount of tokens on pre-place A. Inhibitor edge The transition is enabled and may fire if pre-place B is sufficiently marked by tokens. The amount of tokens on pre-place A must be smaller than the given arc weight. After firing of the transition, tokens are removed from the pre-place B but not from pre-place A; new tokens are produced on place C. The firing of the transition does not change the amount of tokens on pre-place A. Reset edge The transition is enabled and may fire if pre-place B is sufficiently marked by tokens. The amount of tokens on pre-place A has no effect on the ability to enable the transition and affects only the kinetics. After firing of the transition, tokens are removed from the pre-place B according the arc weight and all tokens on pre-places A are deleted; new tokens are produced on place C. Equal edge The transition is enabled and may fire if number of tokens on pre-place A is equal to the corresponding arc weight and place B is sufficiently marked. After firing of the transition, tokens are removed from the pre-place B but not from preplace A; new tokens are produced on place C. The firing of the transition does not change the amount of tokens on pre-place A. Modifier edge The transition is enabled and may fire if pre-place B is sufficiently marked with tokens. The amount of tokens on pre-place A has no effect on the ability to enable the transition and affects only the kinetics. After firing of the transition, tokens are removed from the pre-place B but not from pre-place A; new tokens are produced on place C. The firing of the transition does not change the amount of tokens on pre-place A. Functions: Name Meaning of function BioMassAction(.) Stochastic law of mass action. Tokens are interpretated as single molecules. BioLevelInterpretation(.) Stochastic law of mass action. Tokens are interpretated as concentration. ImmediateFiring(.) Refers to immediate transitions. TimedFiring(.) Refers to deterministic transitions. FixedTimedFiring Single(.) Refers to deterministic transitions that only res once after a given timepoint FixedTimedFiring(., ., .) Refers to scheduled transitions. abs(.) Absolute value acos(.) Arc cosine function asin(.) Arc sine function atan(.) Arc tangent function ceil(.) Rounding up cos(.) Cosine function exp(.) exponential function sin(.) Sine function sqrt(.) Square root tan(.) Tangent function floor(.) Round off log(.) Natural logarithm with constant e as base log10(.) Common logarithm with constant 10 as base pow(.) Exponent Parameters: Parameters are used for defining individual parameters and rate or weight functions but are not able to define the number of tokens on a particular place. Third group of macro elements are coarse parameters which facilitate encapsulating parameters. High numbers of parameters are not visible on the top-level or can also be categorized by the use of coarse parameters. Animation mode: Snoopy allows user to observe the token flow in animation mode which starts by pressing F5 or going to View and then start AnimationMode. It will result in opening a new window which allow user to steer the animation. This part of snoopy is very beneficial to catch a first expression of the causality of a model and its workings as it provides information about the transitions too. In order to understand modeled mechanism, playing with the token flow prove to be worthwhile. The token flow can be animated manually by a single click on the transition. A message box is displayed revealing a message â€Å"This transition is not enabled† when user tries to fire a transition that is not enabled. Clicking-left and clicking-right on a place aids addition of tokens and extraction of tokens respectively. Animation of the token flow can also be controlled by using the radio buttons present on the animation steering panel. Usage of radio buttons involves step-wise forward and backward or s equentially as long as one transition can be enabled, otherwise a notification â€Å"Dead State: There are no more enabled transitions is displayed on screen. Simulation Mode Pressing F6, going to view/Start Simulation or using the stochastic simulation button on the animation control panel, are three ways to perform stochastic simulations with the current model in the active window. Facilities of this mode include simulation of the time-dependent dynamic behavior of the model indicated by the token flow or the firing frequency of the transitions. The fluctuating concentration levels or the discrete number of the components over time is indicated by the token flow. This provides an impression of the time-dependent changes in model under consideration which is helpful in understanding the wet-lab system. More than a few simulation studies can be performed with considered model by manipulating the structure and perturbing the initial state and kinetics. All results can be manually and automatically exported in the standard *.csv-format and can be analyzed in other mathematical programs. Simulation Control: The simulation control allows selection of main settings and individualities for the simulation. It splits further into four panels: Configuration Sets: Modification of configuration sets is carried out by edition of single entries or addition of new sets and picking the configuration sets that is suitable for the simulation run. Simulation Properties: It includes setting interval start i.e. time point where simulation starts, interval end i.e. time points where simulation ends and output step count i.e. number of time-points that should be displayed in the given interval. Export Properties: Various automatic export settings are accessible to the *.csv-format. Start Simulation: It will initiate simulation with the selected settings and properties. Progress of simulation is indicated by the bar and the required time is displayed below. Viewer/Node Choice: It facilitates user by providing choices in displaying simulation results. It is divided into two panels: Viewer Choice: It provides user an option to select one between data tables and data plots. Provided buttons in panel allow user to edit, add and delete the data tables and data plots. Token flow (places) or the firing frequency (transitions) can be displayed in a data table or data plot. Place Choice: User can choose those nodes which should be displayed in the data table or data plot. Display: This panel allows displaying the simulation results as data table or data plot. If data table is selected, the token flow for the selected places is presented in a table. Some options which are used for model checking are present at the bottom of the window. If data plot is chosen, the x-axis displays the time-interval and the y-axis indicates the average number of tokens. View of the plot can be altered via the buttons located below i.e. compress/stretch x-axis, compress/stretch y-axis, zoom in/out and centre view. A csv export button allows user to export the simulation results of the selected places manually. Image of the current plot can be saved by using print button. Model Checking Mode: Snoopy is enabled to perform model checking of linear-time properties based on the stochastic simulation. A subset of probabilistic linear-time temporal logic (PLTL) is employed to formulate and authenticate properties. Various features of snoopy also include checking several features at the same time. In order to perform model checking in Snoopy, user needs to open the simulation window and select the table view. To perform model checking on all simulation traces, user have to enter or load a property that is checked by simulating the time-dependent dynamic behavior. Simulation window allows following options: Enter State Property: User can specify a property in the dialogue box and no model checking is performed if it is empty. Load state property: User can load a property which is defined in a text file. Check state property: It refers to model checking which is performed on the basis of average behavior of the previous simulation. Simulation run count is of assistance to state a number of simulation traces to which model checking can be applied. It splits into two types: Default value 1 run: User is only able to get the information if the defined property holds true or is not false. Arbitrary number of runs: The number of simulation runs supports defining probability of the defined properties as high accuracy calls for high number of simulation runs. User can set the time interval where model checking should be applied with the help of interval start and interval end. A log window displays model checking results that includes following elements: Formula displays the formula checked during simulation. Runs indicate the number of simulation runs performed. Runtime shows the number of threads used for simulation. Threads display the number of threads used for simulation. Prop indicate the computed probability for the formula. S ^2 displays the variance of the probability. Confidence Interval indicates the size of the confidence interval. [a,b] reveals the interval of the probability that is calculated from the confidence interval

Grapes of Wrath Essay: Steinbecks Communist Manifesto -- Grapes Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath as a Communist Manifesto  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Steinbeck's political views are quite evident within The Grapes of Wrath. The subject of much controversy, The Grapes of Wrath serves as a social protest and commentary. Steinbeck's views as expressed through the novel tie directly into the Marxist ideals on communism.    Perhaps the first thing Steinbeck does in The Grapes of Wrath is establish the status quo. He sets up the farmers and the banks as the two main opposing forces. "Lord and serf... in a word, oppressor and oppressed" (Marx, 1) Immediately Steinbeck sets up the very same situation Marx establishes in The Communist Manifesto complete with proletarian (farmers) and bourgeois (bankers) classes.    The Joads and the other farmers clearly represent Marx's proletariat. The entire struggle they face is that of finding work or dying on the most basic of levels. Still, they fall victim to the conditions of the Great Depression, resulting in their continued inability to procure such a job. The migrants appear strongly as " the proletariat, the modern working class... who live only so long as they find work .. who must sell themselves piecemeal ... and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition to all the fluctuations of the market" (Marx, 4). Steinbeck and Marx find an obvious agreement over the situation and classification of the Okies, the proletarian workers.    One must also consider the role of the capitalist bankers and upper-class owners in the novel. The banks serve several purposes. First in the novel, they force the rural farmers off of their lands. Being the natural proletariat, they must take to the road in order to find a job. The upper class, as well, distribut... ...hing for a reform of the current system. Bear in mind however, that there is no way to reform a system and let it be run by a "monster." Steinbeck's complaints about capitalism stem from its very basis and allow for no reform short of revolution. The old ways have died, violence is building, and as Marx would agree, revolution is imminent. The bourgeoisie and proletariat exist exactly as Marx states, and all the conditions are shaping up for a proletarian uprising. The revolution draws nigh as Steinbeck's characters learn the principles and values on which Marx bases communism. The Marxist revolution in The Grapes of Wrath is at hand, especially as working men unite.    Works Cited Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.   

Parkinsons Disease: Unraveling the Mystery :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Parkinson's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery Parkinson's disease, which affects over one million Americans, results in the progressive loss of coordination, unstable posture, and tremor (1). In 1817, James Parkinson, after whom the disease was named, was the first to document cases of what he called "the shaking palsy" and in doing so, began the scientific crusade to determine the causes and manifestation of the disease (2). The challenge before neuroscientists was to determine the link between Parkinson's behavior and alterations of the nervous system. This task would be accomplished by employing a system of working backwards - - first determining the gross problem and then attempting to understand it at a neuronal level. The first step in linking changes in the brain to Parkinson's behavior occurred in the early 1900's with autopsies performed on people who suffered from the disease (2). Such procedures revealed significant cell death in the midbrain - - more specifically of pigmented cells that are collectively known as the substantia nigra ("black substance," named for the presence of melanin). Because damage to the substantia nigra resulted in impaired motor control, it was logically hypothesized that this area played a role in the control of movement. With the knowledge that neurotransmitters were the means of communication for the nervous system, autopsy testing in the 1950's of Parkinson's patients showed that dopamine levels in an area adjacent to the substantia nigra, known as the striatum, were only about 10-20% of the levels present in unaffected individuals (3). The parallel of the low level of dopamine and the death of cells of the substantia nigra in Parkinson's patients led scientists to postulate that the substantia nigra produces dopamine. When levels were disrupted due to cell death, this would likely lead to a change in stimulation in this area of the brain, which would produce behavior characteristic of Parkinson's. Anatomical research since then has shown that the substantia nigra is part of the basal ganglia, whose other components include the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, and striatum (3). Through experimentation, a series of nerve signal pathways have been mapped out which help us to understand how this region of the brain functions to control movement. It has been hypothesized that cells of the frontal cortex initiate signals for movement (4). (It was concluded that the basal ganglia does not initiate movement because damage to this area as occurs in Parkinson's still allows for voluntary movement; if it were responsible for its initiation, the damage would likely inhibit voluntary movement.

Essay on Loosing Faith in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown

Loosing Faith in Young Goodman Brown Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown is a story of sex, sin, and the Devil, all the entertaining things in life. Hawthorne uses many literary devices to impress strength in his work. Hawthorne uses these techniques to bring out the religious themes within the story. One of the main literary devices would be imagery. One of the most important images found in the story pertains to Faith and reaching heaven. Goodman Brown says, "...I‘ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven."(H-CAL 375). This follows traditional Puritan belief that if you have faith you will go to heaven. The uses of dark and light also help convey the religious theme of good and evil. Dark is used to symbolize evil, the woods is mainly where this is seen. Light is mostly seen in the beginning, before Goodman enters the forest. Before it all becomes dark and gray. Colors also played an important role. In the beginning Faith pink ribbons in her hair, which represent that she is young and happy. With white symbolizing purity and red representing passion,...

Finlands Education System Essay

â€Å"The Finland Phenomenon† a name given to Finland’s admired education system. It is listed as the most surprising school system in the world. Its success is intently watched by other countries. The assigned video â€Å"Finland’s Education Success† was documented by Tom Burridge of BBC World News America on April 6, 2010. Week four Reading Journal for English 101 was a writing assignment asking students if the system could be implemented in the United States. â€Å"Finland’s schools score consistently at the top of the world rankings yet the pupils have the fewest number of class hours in the developed world. The proof is in the results and Finland has an education system other countries should learn from and envy. The transformation of Finland’s education system began 40 years ago as a key component to an economic recovery plan. The educators had no idea it was so successful until the year 2000, when a standardized test was given to fifteen years old students. The results revealed the scores. The Finnish youth came out on top as the best readers in the world. Three years later the youth led the scores in math as well. â€Å"By 2006 Finland was first out of 57 countries. The Finnish answer to standardized testing has been to only give exams to small groups of students and to trust in teachers. In 1991 the National Board of Education closed its inspectorate. â€Å"Teachers in Finland design their own courses using a national curriculum as a guide and spend about eighty percent as much time leading classes as their U. S. counterparts do. † Finnish teachers have sufficient opportunity to plan lessons and collaborate with colleagues. â€Å"Teachers in Finland spend fewer hours at school and less time in the classroom than American teachers. In 1979 reformers decided that every teacher in Finland earn a fifth-year master’s degree in theory and practice at one of the eight state universities. From that time forward teachers were granted equal status with doctors and lawyers. Teaching programs were flooded with applicants not because the salaries were that high, but because respect made the job so attractive. Pasi Sahlberg a former physics teacher points out â€Å"We prepare children to learn how to learn and not how to take a test†. All children- clever or less so- were to be taught in the same classrooms, with lots of special teacher help available to make sure no child would be left behind. † Compulsory school in Finland doesn’t begin until children reach the age of seven. â€Å"Children learn better when they are ready. Why stress them out? † Finnish culture values childhood independence children get themselves to school by either walking or biking. Upon arrival at school, children remove their shoes to maintain a relaxed atmosphere. Finnish children spend far more time playing outside even in the depth of winter. The children can’t learn if they don’t play. The children must play† The Finnish children are provided with seventy-five minutes of recess a day compared to the average of twenty-seven for U. S children. Finnish schools don’t assign homework because it is assumed the task is mastered in the classroom. Children are also mandated to take lots of arts and crafts and learning by doing. This is a far cry from the U. S concentration on testing in reading and math since the enactment of No Child Left Behind in 2002. The focus in Finland is on the individual child. If a child is falling behind, the highly trained staff recognizes and addresses the issues to meet the child’s needs. Nearly thirty percent of the children in Finland receive some kind of special help during their first nine years in school. The true focus on education is â€Å"equal opportunity for all. † Finnish educators have a hard time understanding the United States’ fascination with standardized tests. â€Å"Americans like all these bars and graphs and colored charts. † ‘It’s nonsense. We know far more about the children than these tests can tell us. Finland has a culture of collaboration between schools, not competition. All schools perform at the same level and there is no status in attending a particular facility. Finland has no private schools and all Finland’s schools are publicly funded. It is surprising to know that Finland spends about thirty percent less per student to achieve their far superior educational outcomes. The people in the government agencies running the schools from the national officials to the local officials are educators, not business people, military leaders or career politicians. The United States has muddled along in the middle of the pack for the past decade. Government officials have attempted to introduce competition into public schools. President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative invites states to compete for federal dollars using tests and other methods to measure teachers, a philosophy that goes against everything the Finnish schools stand for. â€Å"If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect. † Fortunately United States Federal policies continue to move away from the rigid certainties of the No Child Left Behind legislation. The law has set an unrealistic target for one hundred percent student proficiency in every school by 2014. I couldn’t agree more with the Finland approach to education. In order for the United States to come close to Finland’s success a major change would need to occur. A change I believe would take decades to complete. â€Å"The Finns have made it clear, that in any country, no matter its size or composition, there is much wisdom to minimizing testing and instead investing in broader curricula, smaller classes, and better training, pay and treatment of teachers. The United States should take heed. †

Intern for Contrabandit.com

For the past 10 weeks of the Fall 2004 quarter, I've had the opportunity to work as intern for Contrabandit.com. Contrabandit ran by West Coast political and cultural editor of the Source Ryan Ford aims to provide an uninhabited voice for the hip-hop community as well as inform most of the Minority readers of politics, social and educational news and issues that occur in the world. As a History major, with my interest in Film and Television journalism, Contrabandit has allowed me to study contemporary and cultural history through the medium of Hip-Hop music. I looked at this internship as a starting point to acquiring work experience and possibly advancing into working within the field of entertainment journalism. But as an African-American student at UCLA, Contrabandit has allowed me to chronicle events within hip-hop as they happen and apply the broader historical significance as they occur. Being an African-American student, I view hip-hop as not only just a musical art form, but also as a voice and representation of an entire community. Unlike Jazz and R&B, Hip-Hop was a genre truly formed out of the African-American community after the post-civil rights movement and really feels uncorrupted by mainstream pop culture, where it sets the trend, instead of following the pack. When covering the medium of Hip-Hop music, I discovered how far reaching and expansive it has become and with my education at UCLA I've been able to view hip-hop from scholarly approach. The main theme I've noticed throughout my internship has been Hip-Hop music's growth and the changes that become of it as it has become an acceptable musical genre generating billions of dollars for the recording industry studios. The three biggest new stories that I was able to cover were the Eminem-Michael Jackson confrontation, Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's Presidential voter registration campaign, and the violent incident that occurred at the Vibe Awards. On the surface there just current events that needed to be covered to feel up space on the website, but with little probing they actually had far reaching and historical impact on the website, Hip-Hop music and with me in developing my critical writing skills and applying historical analysis from my UCLA course and history major. Jackson boots Eminem off BET (published October 12, 2004) That article resulted in an immediate phone call from my editor, as well as a lecture from him on the role and responsibility of a journalist. He proclaimed my article was blatantly bias and that I was leading the reader to take one point of view or side on the issue, but my job instead was to report the facts in a news story. Which, as my editor expressed to me, is something that's continues to occur since he beginning of entertainment, and its should not be allowed despite the fact Eminem makes a very good living off of doing â€Å"Black Music† much like Elvis, but again, difference being, Elvis never insulted a African-American musical icon like Michael Jackson, like Eminem has. I'm sure this issue will be glanced over, much like the controversy of the tapes being made public by Hip-Hop magazine â€Å"the Source†, where what occurred was an investigation into why Eminem recorded these racist lyrics, but the Source was attacked for bringing this issue to the public. I must admit, just looking on the surface of the controversy I was quick to pass judgment upon BET for what I saw as its hypocrisy by stating it would not air videos disrespectful of any celebrity. Considering that's how they made their notoriety during the whole east coast-west coast beef that many attribute to the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Christopher â€Å"Biggie† Wallace. But my editor expressed to me that I needed take it into context along with Eminem's previously uncovered studio recording where he's referring to African-American men as â€Å"niggers† and African-American women as â€Å"black bitches† in a derogatory manner, is not possible to let this pass as artistic and playful expression. Again he's shown disrespect to a community that he continues to make million of dollars off of through doing their music, and can be argued is allowed to get away with such offensive behavior because he is a white. Not just with the African-American community, he's c ome under fire for his anti-gay remarks from the Gay and Lesbian community, but continues to get way with or at least not suffer any ill effects, whereas if a comparable black celerity had done similar offenses, they would find it difficult to maintain the type of celerity that Eminem enjoys. Working alongside Ryan with Contrabandit, I was able to view the controversy as bigger than Eminem just poking fun and having a laugh at Michael Jackson's expense, but greater historical, racial, and industry-wide ramification that this cause. The images of Eminem done up in â€Å"Black face† and portraying Jackson as buffoon and monster have long term consequences upon not only his image but that of African-Americans as they see one of their longest musical icons ridiculed in a way not only personally but racially offensive. And even more importantly with no consequences or accountability from Eminem. Russell Simmons; HSAN proclaims 21 million registered youth/minority voters for 2004 election(published November 4, 2004) In the aftermath of the national presidential election, it brought into prospective the efforts of voter registration among young, minority voters. The day after the election, a press release went out from Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network proclaiming that 21 million registered voters from 18-35 voted in the 2004 election, up from the 18 million that had voted in the 2000 election. Although that's encouraging it was disappointing to know that the voter registration campaign and awareness of the importance of this Presidential election that still George Bush was re-elected. But looking at the numbers and statistics shows a deeper issue and problem arising in America. Working with Contrabandit got me access to covering Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network fundraiser at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Co-sponsored by Sony Playstation, the fundraiser was an entertainment industry party to bring awareness as well as funding to the organization for needed increased minority voter registration and education. Despite their efforts, the hip-hop community that was being courted by Simmons' HSAN paled in comparison to those of the voters in the Midwestern states. I always felt it was flawed to try to reach out to the hip-hop community as despite the growing numbers of minorities, who will soon grow to be an almost equal number to the majority of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) constituents, some of those minorities are turning towards the conservative ideology. Also there is no unity among this minority group. With more WASP senior citizens living longer, that aging Considering that ultimately the Presidential election was determined by the Midwest, as the Democratic Party hasn't carried southern states in years, where as California and New York (with a combined 86 electoral votes) are perennial Democratic strongholds. Interestingly, the Midwest won the election for Bush and to me it was a shame that the backlash of gay marriages and abortion (as reported by news affiliates as the determining reason for voting for Bush) were more important than the situation in Iraq, terrorism, and the turbulent economy. I never want to question anyone's beliefs or morals, but gay marriages and abortion should be an individual's choice. Most important to take from this election is hopefully maintaining the interest of registered voters beyond this Presidential election, as there are more issues that will arise within the coming years before the 2008 election. In California on the ballot was the repealing of Proposition 187, the 3 strikes law. I understand the â€Å"spirit† of 3 strikes, incarcerating repeat violent offenders from 25 to life sentence in jails, but continually in the years since passage as laws, many third strike offenders have been non-violent repeat offenders. Some argue the old adage don't commit the crime, won't do the time, but there's a bigger issue of privatized prisons making hundreds of millions of dollars off the incarceration of young prisoners and the prison system being made up of predominately African-American and Latino men. Conservative republican fan base are carrying the votes. Melee breaks out at the Vibe Awards(published November 17,2004) Lastly there was the violent altercation that occurred at the, the Vibe awards On November 16. During the four hour taping inside the hangar at the Santa Monica Airport an incident broke as Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg were presenting an award to Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre. An unidentified man attacked Dr. Dre, who was later assaulted y several members of his entourage and left him stabbed, later identified as rapper Young Buck by authorities. With the Vibe awards, it is yet another black eye on Hip-Hop as well as on black-themed award shows. The incident alone won't spell the end of Hip-Hop or these musical award shows, but my over all perspective is the necessity of these award shows. Within the entertainment industry its become a joke that there are too many awards shows. Yet when it comes to black themed award shows, they are usually relegated to lesser channels like UPN and BET, and more often than not are taped delayed events. Such events as the NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards and Soul Train Lady of Soul, Vibe Awards, and the Source Awards all fall into this category. And incidents like this further perpetuate the stereotypes of the safety issue that constantly trouble hip-hop events. Amazingly events like the Rock the Bells concerts a week earlier at Anaheim Stadium that I covered for Contrabandit(and the Source)doesn't garner the positive press as when chaos ensues at televised events. At that event, despite some illegal drug use, the show went off without any violent altercation or incident, in front of a mostly diverse White, Latino, and Asian audience. Myself being the only amazed at this diversity and more so shows how far hip-hop music and their artist have developed with such a diverse crowd and the artist being so comfortable in front of them. But dealing with the coverage of black themed awards shows their two sides to the argument. Those that feel that its alright that the awards shows are tape delayed and marginally watched by non-blacks because its for Blacks and its best that we have a awards show tape delayed then none at all. As a matter of fact, the NAACP dubs its annual awards â€Å"Black America's answer to the Oscars, Emmy's, Grammy's, and Pulitzer, as it continues to honor overlook performances by African-American entertainers that the mainstream Hollywood community pass over. But on the other hand there is the argument that by not being a live broadcast somehow relegates it as meaningless shows that don't really count. For starters, with most of the United States having access to the numerous channels available through cable and satellite television, and at least 5-10 music themed channels, viewing music, film and television entertainers is a lot more accessible then in any era prior to the 1990's. Before then, it was rare being able to view entertainers outside of movies, therefore making movie and television award shows the only place to see them. Likewise for most, seeing their favorite musical artist perform â€Å"live† at awards show provided a free experience to catch them performing if they were unable to go to a concert to see them performing and this is remembering that MTV didn't debut till 25 years ago in 1981. But with the emergence of MTV, BET, VH1, and even E!, it has provided a near 24 hour access to view these entertainers and even more so, know them beyond their music or the characters they portray on screen and films. Awards was more than just a night of honoring actors and musician, but that rare opportunity to view them live and has human. Speaking with my editor Ryan, he allowed me to go further with this topic and try to give our readers some prospective and insight behind awards show and why they exist. Working for the Source, he gave me some inside information about the motives behind events such as the Vibe, Source, BET, and Blockbuster Awards shows: MONEY! By organizing one awards event for on night, the sponsorship and advertising for the event generates more money in one night then the magazines do for the entire year. Even the awards presentations are staged, as more then likely the winner is determined by the artist that will appear, more than who deserves to win. When you look at the BET, Source, and Vibe awards, what they provide great revenue and backlash towards to the mainstream (white) award show are not able to properly honor the hip-hop artists that were annually disregarded for their work. Honestly for the most part the Grammy's and American Music Awards do base their nomination, and I'm sure, there awards recipient on mainstream success. But whereas the NAACP Image awards and Soul Train music awards were created to make up for these lack honors to Black performers, these proliferation of the other awards show, seems to be purely done as promotion. The experience that I take from my time working with Contrabandit, has been invaluable in applying the classroom knowledge I acquired from UCLA towards real world situations. Without the historical significance and ramification of events as they occurred and relating them to past events, I would not have been able to elaborate upon them in my writing for the website or convey the importance to my audience at the site.