Writing Academic Paragraphs Essay Example

Writing Academic Paragraphs Paper University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS Writing Effective Paragraphs A paragraph should be unified, coherent, and well developed. Paragraphs are unified around a main point, and all sentences in the paragraph should clearly relate to that point in some way. The paragraphs main idea should be supported with specific information that develops or discusses the main idea in greater detail. Creating a Topic Sentence The topic sentence expresses the main point in a paragraph. You may create your topic sentence by considering the details or examples you will discuss. What unifies these examples? What do your examples have in common? Reach a conclusion and write that conclusion first. If it helps, think of writing backwardsfrom generalization to support instead of from examples to a conclusion. If you know what you main point will be, write that as clearly as possible. Then focus on key words in your topic sentence and try to explain them more fully. Keep asking yourself How? or Why? or What examples can I provide to convince a reader? . After you have added your supporting information, review the topic sentence to see that it still indicates the direction of your writing. Purposes of Topic Sentences †¢ †¢ †¢ We will write a custom essay sample on Writing Academic Paragraphs specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Writing Academic Paragraphs specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Writing Academic Paragraphs specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer To state the main point of a paragraph To give the reader a sense of direction (indicate what information will follow) To summarize the paragraphs main point Often appear as the first or second sentences of a paragraph Rarely appear at the end of the paragraph Placement of Topic Sentences †¢ †¢ Supporting a Topic Sentence with Details To support a topic sentence, consider some of the possible ways that provide details. To develop a paragraph, use one or more of these: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Add examples Tell a story that illustrates the point youre making Discuss a process Compare and contrast Use analogies (eg. X is similar to Y because. . . ) Discuss cause and effect Define your terms Reasons for beginning a new paragraph †¢ †¢ To show youre switching to a new idea To highlight an important point by putting it at the beginning or end of your paragraph 1 Source: Internet AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS To show a change in time or place To emphasize a contrast To indicate changing speakers in a dialogue To give readers an opportunity to pause To break up a dense text Ways of Arranging Information within or between paragraphs †¢ †¢ †¢ Order of time (chronology) Order of space (descriptions of a location or scene) Order of climax (building toward a conclusion) Order of importance (from least to most important or from most to least important) Writing Effective Paragraphs The Topic Sentence by S. Marques, Kentridge High School A paragraph is a group of sentences dealing with a single topic or idea. Usually, one sentence, called the topic sentence, states the main idea of the paragraph. All the other sentences are related to this topic sentence. They further explain or support the main idea. The Topic Sentences Function The topic sentence of a paragraph is like a contract between writer and reader. The writer is saying, in effect, I have an idea I want to explain to you. The reader is answering, All right, explain it to me. For the writer to hold to the contract, he or she must explain the idea stated in the topic sentence. Therefore, the topic sentence controls the content of the paragraph. Judging Topic Sentences A topic sentence makes a general statement that is wider in its scope than the rest of the sentences in the paragraph. A good topic sentence is broad enough to be developed by specific details. However, if a topic sentence is too general, the remainder of the paragraph will have to be either extremely long in order to give an adequate explanation of the idea, or it will have to contain nothing but more general statements. A topic sentence can be evaluated by asking a few questions. 1. Does the topic sentence present oneand only onetopic? 2. Is the topic sentence an overgeneralization? 3. Does the sentence give strong direction to the whole paragraph? Usually, it is difficult to say that a topic sentence is good or bad. It is possible, however, to say that one topic sentence is better than another. AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 2 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS Placement of the Topic Sentence In general, a sensible plan is to tell readers what the paragraph is intended to discuss before it is discussed. Thus, the common practice in writing a paragraph is to begin with the topic sentence and to follow it with supporting sentences. The topic sentence serves the special purpose of announcing the paragraphs topic. Using this approach to placement of the topic sentence, the reader can more easily identify the central point that the writer is making. Developing Paragraphs Well developed paragraphs support their topic sentences with concrete details, lively examples and illustrations, or well developed, clearly worded arguments. The relation between the specific, concrete detailsthe facts you are basing your opinion onand your opinion must be clearly spelled out for your reader. Forms of Supporting Material In order to hold your readers attention, you must give them something worth reading. Essays containing paragraphs that are not adequately developed simply waste your readers time. Therefore, so as to keep your audience, you must bring in enough specific detail to keep the reading interesting. In fact, your goal should be to capture on paper your memories (narration), mental images (description), or reasoning processes (exposition and argumentation) in such a carefully detailed and ordered fashion that your readers cannot help but recreate the mental images or reasoning processes in their own minds. There are a number of different ways in which you can develop a paragraph. The most common are explained below. Explanation An explanation is an attempt at making a term, concept, process, or proposal clear and intelligible. An explanation may show the relationship between the whole and its parts. Often, explanation is followed by a specific example or illustration. Comparison and Contrast Comparison attempts to help the reader understand a new concept by likening it to one that the reader already knows. Contrast may be used to explain how the new concept is different from the old one, how it has its own identity. Comparison and contrast may be used alone or in combination. In the examples below, X indicates the new concept while Y represents the familiar concept: †¢ Comparison used alone is really analogy. Analogies often take the form of X is like Y in that . . . . †¢ Contrast is often used to differentiate between two closely related or outwardly similar ideas. 3 Source: Internet AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS Sometimes contrast is used to describe something by explaining what it is not. Contrast sometimes take the form of Unlike Y, X does not . . . . †¢ Comparison and Contrast together are very often the best way to convey a new idea to your readers, relating the new idea to something your readers are already familiar with and then explaining how it is NOT the same as that more familiar concept. Keep in mind that neither comparison nor contrast will work if you are not relating the new concept to one that your readers already understand. Therefore, it is important to define your audience and know who they are and what they care about. Illustration, specific instance and example An illustration is a narrative example, a story exemplifying the idea that you are trying to express. An illustration should have concrete details, all of which support the main idea you are expressing. Unlike specific instances and examples, which are usually conveyed in one sentence or sometimes in just a phrase, illustrations may make up an entire paragraph. Illustrations may be factualrecounting a true storyor hypothetical. Hypothetical illustrations present a possible event that could happen in the future if certain actions are not taken or convey a possible scenario that could have happened in the past if certain actions had not been taken. To be effective, illustrations, examples, and specific instances must be †¢ †¢ †¢ clearly related to the idea in your writing that you are trying to support reasonable and realistic, not the exception, not science fiction vivid in detail Choose your illustrations, specific instances, and examples carefully, applying the above criteria. Statistics Statistics are figures that show trends in the population. Statistics from surveys often indicate how different segments of the population differ from each other in opinion. In addition, statistics can indicate such tendencies as how people react to a new drug, which segment of the population has the greatest tendency toward a certain illness, and what the most common manner of death is for particular segments of the population. Statistics can help you to support your opinion by showing how great a problem is in the population in general or in a segment of the population or by indicating trends across time. Authoritative opinion and personal testimony Another way to support your thesis or topic sentence is through the use of authoritative opinion or personal testimony. A person qualifies as an authority on a subject either through depth of education AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 4 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS or through depth of experience, preferably both. Thus, the PhD in Sociology may be an authority on poverty through years of field research and reading in the discipline, but the woman who has reared her children successfully despite an income below the poverty line is also an authority on poverty. In rder for the authoritatave opinion or expert testimony to be acceptable to your audience and an effective method of support for your main idea, you must establish the following for your audience: 1. The person whose opinion or testimony you are using qualifies as an expert. 2. The information is based on your experts first-hand knowledge. (If your expert cites another source, try to go to that original source. ) NOTE: A well developed topic sentence paragraph will be much longer than most of the paragraphs you are reading on these web pages. Writing for the Internet is usually very different from traditional academic writing. For example, on the Internet, you will find capital letters in odd places for emphasis. ) One primary difference in these two types of writing lies in the length of paragraphs. Paragraphs tend to be much shorter in e-mail messages and on web pages. In your final drafts for this class, you should write fully developed paragraphs, which are at least eight sentences long. I do not generally care for counting words, pages, or sentences in student writing, but for paragraph development, Ive found that fewer than eight sentences generally do not constitute a well developed paragraph according to academic writing standards. On the other hand, having eight sentences in a paragraph does not assure that you have a fully developed paragraph. Paragraph development always refers to content, but chances are good that, if a paragraph looks skimpy on the page, it probably is underdeveloped. Paragraph Development: Coordination and Subordination of Details Effective paragraphs include specific facts and details that support the main idea. Since the details are more specific than the main idea, they are considered subordinate to it. But the details themselves may be equally specific. If so, we say that they are coordinate. However, some details may be more specific than others. A detail that is more specific than another is considered subordinate to it. Thus, all the details in a paragraph are subordinate to the main ideas, but some details are coordinate (equal to others), and some are subordinate to others (more specific than others). Coordinate Details One way to develop the main idea of a paragraph is to use all coordinate, or equally specific, details. For example, the supporting details in the paragraph below are coordinate. (1) Mexico offers visitors a world of contrasts. (2) Its pyramids and ancient ruins give us a glimpse of he past while its modern cities provide us with the best of todays technology. (3) Its mountains offer cool weather and majestic peaks while, only a few miles away, its beaches tempt us with brilliant sun and white sand. (4) Its elegant restaurants serve the most sophisticated continental cuisine while, across the street or down the block, sidewalk vendors sell the simples t of native foods. (5) Thus the traveler to Mexico is faced with a series of delightful decisions. AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 5 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS In this paragraph, the main idea, which is stated in sentence (1), is supported by three equally specific, or coordinate, supporting details: sentences (2), (3), and (4). Sentence (5) concludes the paragraph and reinforces the main idea. This paragraph can be diagrammed as shown below. Main idea (sentence 1) Coordinate detail (sentence 2) Coordinate detail (sentence 3) Coordinate detail (sentence 4) Conclusion (sentence 5) (1) Mexico offers visitors a world of contrasts. (2) Its pyramids and ancient ruins give us a glimpse of the past while its modern cities provide us with the best of todays technology. 3) Its mountains offer cool weather and majestic peaks while, only a few miles away, its beaches tempt us with brilliant sun and white sand. (4) Its elegant restaurants serve the most sophisticated continental cuisine while, across the street or down the block, sidewalk vendors sell the simplest of native foods. (5) Thus the traveler to Mexico is faced with a series of delightful dec isions. Developing Unified and Coherent Paragraphs A paragraph is unified when every sentence develops the point made in the topic sentence . It must have a single focus and it must contain no irrelevant facts. Every sentence must contribute to the paragraph by explaining, exemplifying, or expanding the topic sentence. In order to determine whether a paragraph is well developed or not, ask yourself: What main point am I trying to convey here? (topic sentence) and then Does every sentence clearly relate to this idea? There are several ways in which you can build good, clear paragraphs. This section will discuss three of the most common types of paragraph structure: development by detail, comparison and contrast, and process. Finally, it will suggest that most paragraphs are built of a combination of development strategies. Paragraph Development by Details This is the most common and easiest form of paragraph development: you simply expand on a general topic sentence using specific examples or illustrations. Look at the following paragraph (you may have encountered it before): Work tends to be associated with non-work-specific environments, activities, and schedules. If asked what space is reserved for learning, many students would suggest the classroom, the lab or the library. What about the kitchen? The bedroom? In fact, any room in which a student habitually studies becomes a learning space, or a place associated with thinking. Some people need to engage in sports or other physical activity before they can work successfully. Being sedentary seems to inspire others. Although most classes are scheduled between 8:30 and 22:00, some students do their best work before the sun rises, some after it sets. Some need a less flexible schedule than others, while a very few can sit and not rise until their task is completed. Some students work quickly and efficiently, while others cannot produce anything AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 6 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS without much dust and heat. The topic sentence makes a general claim: that school work tends not to be associated only with school. The rest of the sentences provide various illustrations of this argument. They are organised around the three categories, environment, activities, and schedules, enumerated in the topic sentence. The details provide the concrete examples which your reader will use to evaluate the credibility of your topic sentence. Paragraph Development by Comparison and Contrast You should consider developing your paragraph by comparison and contrast when you are describing two or more things which have something, but not everything, in common. You may choose to compare either point by point (X is big, Y is little; X and Y are both purple. ) or subject by subject (X is big and purple; Y is small and purple. ). Consider, for example, the following paragraph: Although the interpretation of traffic signals may seem highly standardized, close observation reveals regional variations across this country, distinguishing the East Coast from Central Canada and the West as surely as dominant dialects or political inclinations. In Montreal, a flashing red traffic light instructs drivers to careen even more wildly through intersections heavily populated with pedestrians and oncoming vehicles. In startling contrast, an amber light in Calgary warns drivers to scream to a halt on the off chance that there might be a pedestrian within 500 meters who might consider crossing at some unspecified time within the current day. In my home town in New Brunswick, finally, traffic lights (along with painted lines and posted speed limits) do not apply to tractors, all terrain vehicles, or pickup trucks, which together account for most vehicles on the road. In fact, were any observant Canadian dropped from an alien space vessel at an unspecified intersection anywhere in this vast land, he or she could almost certainly orient him-or-herself according to the surrounding traffic patterns. This paragraph compares traffic patterns in three areas of Canada. It contrasts the behaviour of drivers in the Maritimes, in Montreal, and in Calgary, in order to make a point about how attitudes in various places inform behaviour. People in these areas have in common the fact that they all drive; in contrast, they drive differently according to the area in which they live. It is important to note that the paragraph above considers only one aspect of driving (behaviour at traffic lights). If you wanted to consider two or more aspects, you would probably need more than one paragraph. Paragraph Development by Process Paragraph development by process involves a straightforward step-by-step description. Those of you in the sciences will recognise it as the formula followed in the method section of a lab experiment. Process description often follows a chronological sequence: The first point to establish is the grip of the hand on the rod. This should be about half-way up the cork handle, absolutely firm and solid, but not tense or rigid. All four fingers are curved around the handle, the little finger, third finger and middle finger contributing most of the firmness by pressing the cork solidly into the fleshy part of the palm, near the heel of the hand. The forefinger supports and steadies the grip but supplies its own firmness against the AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 7 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS thumb, which should be along the upper side of the handle and somewhere near the top of the grip. from Roderick Haig-Brown, Fly Casting) The topic sentence establishes that the author will use this paragraph to describe the process of establishing the grip of the hand on the rod, and this is exactly what he does, point by point, with little abstraction. Paragraph Development by Combination Very often, a single paragraph will contain development by a combinat ion of methods. It may begin with a brief comparison, for example, and move on to provide detailed descriptions of the subjects being compared. A process analysis might include a brief history of the process in question. Many paragraphs include lists of examples: The broad range of positive characteristics used to define males could be used to define females too, but they are not. At its entry for woman Websters Third provides a list of qualities considered distinctive of womanhood: Gentleness, affection, and domesticity or on the other hand fickleness, superficiality, and folly. Among the qualities considered distinctive of manhood listed in the entry for man, no negative attributes detract from the courage, strength, and vigor the definers associate with males. According to this dictionary, womanish means unsuitable to a man or to a strong character of either sex. This paragraph is a good example of one which combines a comparison and contrast of contemporary notions of manliness and womanliness with an extended list of examples. Paragraph Development: Coherence by S. Marques, Kentridge High School Coherence is the orderly presentation of ideas. Paragraphs are made coherent by arranging the supporting details in an order that will be clear to the reader and by using transitional words and phrases to introduce and connect those details. If the reader says to herself, What are these sentences doing together in this order in this paragraph? , then that paragraph probably lacks coherence. Coherence in a paragraph depends chiefly on ordering the sentences according to a logic that is easy to follow. One sentence should logically, sensibly, grow out of the preceding sentence, as if the writers thoughts are flowing on and on. Often the plan of development is so easy that readers may be unaware of it. Order of Importance Order of importance is a way of organizing ideas according to the degree of their value, power, authority, interest, or quality. A paragraph may begin with the least important item and progress to the most important (ascending order), thus building the readers interest. Alternatively, the most-toleast-important order (descending order) may be used if the writer wants to arouse the readers attention immediately. AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 8 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS Order of Generality Order of generality is a way of arranging ideas according to their breadth or scope. When a paragraph is organized from the general to the particular, ideas are presented that are increasingly narrow or specific. The paragraph might begin by identifying a major issue, continue by focusing on just part of the issue, and conclude by giving examples of the part. On the other hand, when a paragraph is organized from particular to general, increasingly broad ideas are presented. Such a paragraph might begin with a concrete observation, expand the observation to an idea, and enlarge the idea to a rule or general statement. Comparison and Contrast Comparison and contrast are useful methods for developing a topic that consists of two or more similar items. When items are compared, the writer shows how they are alike. When items are contrasted, the writer is able to show how the items differ. A paragraph may be developed through comparison, or contrast, or both. There are two main ways to develop a paragraph by comparison or contrast. One way is to alternate details, following each point about one item with a corresponding point about the other. The pattern of this kind of development is AB AB AB. The second way is to present all of the details about one item before taking up the other. This pattern is AAA BBB. Whichever approach is selected, make certain that the treatment is balancedthat every point of comparison or contrast is applied to both items. Cause and Effect When a paragraph is organized by cause and effect, the writer is providing an explanation of the relationship between two items. A cause produces a result; an effect is a result of a cause. To claim that one event or condition causes another is to say that the first brings about the second. Organizing a paragraph by cause and effect can be accomplished in two ways: (1) Begin the paragraph with an effect and then follow with the causes of the effect. 2) Begin with a cause and follow with its effects. If the writers objective is show why something exists or occurs, then effectsto-causes is the better choice. If the writers goal is to show consequences, then the causes-to-effects order is more appropriate. Paragraph Coherence The three qualities by which a paragraph is evaluated are unity, development, and coherence. We have alr eady discussed unity and development, leaving only coherence. However, coherence is a quality which many writers have trouble achieving in their paragraphs. In fact, coherence may be the most difficult quality for most students to achieve in their writing. Coherence refers to how well the contents of a paragraph hang together. Achieving unity in your paragraphs is a good start on coherence as is having the substantive supporting detail that helps you to achieve paragraph development. However, coherence goes beyond achieving unity or avoiding digressions. Coherence refers to how the individual sentencestheir order within the paragraph and their individual structuresrelate to one another in shaping the paragraph. In order to achieve paragraph coherence, you must look at a number of different elements in your paragraph: AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 9 Source: Internet University of Dalat – Department of Foreign Languages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS the organizational pattern the use of transitional devices the repetition of key words or related terms, including pronouns the occurrence of parallel syntactic structures Connections Between Sentences by S. Marques, Kentridge High School A good paragraph has unity: All the sentences have a relationship to one another and to the main idea. The connection between sentences in a paragraph can be shown in several ways, but principally by the use of transitional words and phrases. Transitional words and phrases may be conjunctions, such as and, but, and however, or explanatory expressions, such as for instance, on the other hand, and so on. Transitional words and phrases act as signals. They give directions. They tell where the paragraph is going. In this sense, transitional words and phrases also act to hold sentences together, achieving unity. Here are some of the most commonly used connecting words and phrases and the purposes they serve. Purpose Connecting Word/Phrase To add another idea furthermore, in ddition, also, moreover, likewise, similarly first, finally, meanwhile, eventually, next, subsequently, To arrange ideas in order or time ultimately, at the same time To add an illustration or for example, for instance, in other words explanation hence, therefore, thus, accordingly, in brief, in conclusion, To conclude or sum up consequently To connect two contrasting ideas; on the other hand, however, yet, conversely, nonetheless, to differeniate ideas nev ertheless, rather, although, on the contrary indeed, naturally, of course, certainly, undoubtedly, admittedly, To emphasize or confirm plainly Logical Connectives Additionally, the logical development chosen for the paragraph can be made very clear to the reader by the words used to connect one sentence to the next. These words are often referred to as logical connectives because they make clear not only the order but also the meaning of the writing. Each organizational pattern has its own logical connectives. Order of importance may be emphasized with transitional words and expressions such as first, a second factor, equally important, furthermore, of major concern, finally, least important, and most important. Transitional expressions such as equally, similarly, just as, however, on the other hand, despite, and otherwise may be used to emphasize comparison or contrast. Words particularly suited to writing about causes and effects are as a result, because, consequently, and therefore. AUTUMNTENSA- 2008 10 Source: Internet

The Theme of Self Pity in the Streetcar NamedDesire Essays

The Theme of Self Pity in the Streetcar NamedDesire Essays The Theme of Self Pity in the Streetcar NamedDesire Paper The Theme of Self Pity in the Streetcar NamedDesire Paper Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Self-pity in A Streetcar Named Desire Bernard Deckle is very accurate when stating that plays deal consistently with a serious theme self-pity, the persistence of memory that holds people in its grip and will not let them go on with their lives. The Streetcar Named Desire displays this theme primarily through the unstable, dislocated character of Balance. In effect, Balance acts as the vessel for a number of themes such as the denial of reality, love, cruelty and loneliness. Williams portrayal of the theme of self- itty through the character of Balance is exhibited by her erratic manner, her characters history, certain motifs in the play and major events. From the beginning of the play it is established that Balance is an insecure character with a plethora of reasons to be on the edge of madness. In fact In our very first encounter with her suggests a moth. This gives way to our assumptions that there Is something In her past that affects her greatly. She is immediately portrayed as a fallen woman in societys eyes she has lost her family fortune and estate, her young husband omitted suicide many years ago and she has a badly concealed drinking problem. Her indiscreet sexual behavior, which she flaunts constantly through the play, alludes to her promiscuous past. It Is evident that Blanches character Is plagued with Insecurities that effectively depict the theme of self-pity her Issue with her fading beauty is but one of these insecurities. Balance is in perpetual panic over her passing physical beauty. This is initially revealed by her idiosyncrasy of avoiding direct light [Balance] chant stand a naked light bulb! and her superficial need for compliments. She constantly demands admiring compliments and reassurance from the other characters; we recognizes her little weakness as evidence of her low self- esteem and vanity. This ties In with the theme of self-pity, as her need to psychologically support herself with compliments Is an aspect of how people are affected by self-pity. One significant memory that haunts Balance throughout the entire course of the play is the death of her young husband. She laments that Just before Allens death, they danced the Virginians! Music is significant when depicting how much anguish this recollection causes Balance the Visional polka tune plays at various points when Balance experiences great remorse for Allens death. The polka plays Increasingly often as she becomes more and more unhinged, and it often drives Blanch to distraction. The polka evokes the moment when Balance confronted Allen about his homosexuality and claimed that he disgusted her which led to his suicide. It represents Blanches loss of innocence, which we can trace to her gradual mental decline into insanity. This ties in with the theme of self-pity as it represents a significant memory that holds Balance in its grip and does not let go. She Is constantly harried by this brutal memory and whenever she panics and loses nerd grip on realty, ten variously strokes up . It Is evident Tanat Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire deals with the solemn theme of self-pity its impact is perfectly exemplified through the character of Balance and she explores this theme extensively. Overall we can link her destitute state and her decline into insanity to the self-decadence that grips her invariably.

With Reference to Best Practice from Your Experience, Explore How Essay

With Reference to Best Practice from Your Experience, Explore How Social Networking (And Particular of Facebook and Twitter) Can Be Used For Tourism Marketing - Essay Example With an overall viewpoint, social networking can be regarded as the grouping of people. It may take place through a face to face communication, but when termed to be as online the communication takes place through social sites, i.e. the websites used for social networking such as the Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, and so on most commonly known as the Web 2.0 (Social Networking, 2010). Online social networking has somewhat the same characteristics as the face to face communication, although with a different mechanism and a higher value in the modern perspective. Evidently online social networking is gaining increasing importance in the modernisation of the business world. Organisations today, in the modern realistic world are tending more towards the inclusion of online social media in their adapted marketing strategies. It is mostly due to the fact that online social networks reward the individuals with an ease to build up relationships with other persons having a common interest in terms of preferences and perceptions. Moreover, the barriers in terms of age group, geographical dimensions, economic status and other variables also have a negative impact while opting for social networking as a marketing tool. ... To face these challenges the utilisation of social networking again proves to be beneficial for the tourism groups (Middleton & Et. Al., 2009). This paper thus focuses on two main questions, i.e. how can the social networking be used to promote a tourism company and what are the pros and cons of this process. Hence, the further discussion of the paper shall be concentrated on the features of two most used social networks, i.e. Facebook and Twitter. Facebook and Twitter as Social Media Presently there are numerous social networking sites used by different organisations to promote their business. Few of them are Twitter, Flicr, Facebook, Youtube, Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, Orkut and many others. But among them the most targeted social sites are the Facebook and the Twitter. The impact of these social networks can be evidently witnessed all around the world. Facebook This social site was created by Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskocovitz and Chris Hughes in the year 2004. Initially the site wa s started to be used only by Harvard students. But after recognising the actual potential of the site it was expanded for the inclusion of high school students, business groups and other internet users by 2008. Presently the site is ranked as one of the most visited social network sites. During 2008, the company had a base of around 67 million active visitors all around the world. And in the current scenario the site has more than 500 million regular visitors. This is indeed a remarkable achievement of the site. The basic features of Facebook similar to other social sites allow the users to enter their personal information along with e-mail, phone number and

Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abortion - Essay Example ff, 2002), fetus lacks self-consciousness thus it does it is not even aware that it is alive thus it practically does not have the will or the desire to live (Singer, 2000). Since the fetus is supposedly unaware of its existence, the mother has the right to terminate the pregnancy. The argument here is that forcing a woman to bring a fetus to full term and then raise the child thereafter is contrary to the very idea of self-autonomy and freedom of choice (Warren, Mary Ann, 1973). Although the woman has rights over her body, the fetus also has the right to life. Arguably, the right to life starts at conception (Marquis, 1989). When the woman choose to have consented sex, she become responsible for putting the fetus into her womb. As it is, she now has the obligation to let the fetus use her body. The right to life of the fetus now comes in direct contrast to the rights of the woman not to let the fetus use her body. The question now is whose rights are more important, the rights of the mother over her body or the right of the fetus to use the body of the mother to live. This clash of rights may not be resolved easily and debates regarding the issue are bound to go on for several

Plea-bargaining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plea-bargaining - Essay Example The advantage of this system is that there is no need for a trial, a right that the defendant waives losing the chance for acquittal. However, the defendant â€Å"escapes† with a lesser charge than would have been the case had trial been done. The state saves on the cost of conducting a trial (Grossman & Katz, 1983). For the system to be operational, there are issues that are pre-negotiated including the reduction of charges, recommendations regarding the sentence itself or the guarantee that the prosecution would not oppose a request for probation. The process of plea-bargaining after the crime is committed and the accused person is arrested. The accused pleads guilty in exchange of an agreed sentence recommended by the judge. There are three types of pleas bargains. These are charge bargaining, count bargaining and sentence bargaining. The first type of bargain is where the defendant agrees to plead to a charge that is lesser than the one he is charged with. The second is wh ere the defendant will have the number of charges that he faces reduced in number and the third is where the defendant simply pleads guilty with prior knowledge of what the sentence will be. The process of plea bargaining is a private matter where only the accused, the defendant counsel, the prosecutor and in some cases the judge may be in attendance. The offer of plea bargain is used to locate stolen goods, to help arrest other culprits or to know the location of a kidnapped victim or a killed individual. A plea bargain does not undermine the system of law. Although the facts indicate that the practice usually leads to reduced sentences to guilty parties without the process of trial, there are benefits that aid in offsetting the negative sentiments expressed in relation to the practice. There are many advantages to plea bargaining as there are disadvantages. Considering the success rates of plea bargaining compared to that of trials, the practice inadvertently aids in the reduction of criminals on the streets as well as guarantee speedy dispensation of justice (Goldstein, 1997). In exchange, the prosecution gets information that might be valuable to the conviction of more serious crimes or may get information that might be the missing link towards the conclusion of a case in a court or an investigation. There are instances where plea bargaining has been considered as lacking. The prisoner?s dilemma scenario plays out during plea bargains (Schulhofer, 1992). Consider two people who have been accused. The prosecution will attempt to unearth the facts of the case by offering a plea bargain to one party so that he can testify against the other party. Regardless of whether both parties are guilty or not, the person who confesses will give false information incriminating even those who may not be guilty in an attempt to get himself out of the larger sentence. Another scenario is when the defendant cannot raise bail. Such a defendant will plead guilty to the charges leveled against him regardless of whether he is guilty or not. Such a person considers the length of time that trials usually take and chooses to plead to a plea bargain that might present a lesser time than that which he would have faced awaiting trial. Some critics argue that plea bargaining does not always result in saving on costs (Kipnis, 1979). They consider that a prosecutor who has a remote chance of getting a conviction may enter a plea bargain with the aim of getting reduced time for the defendant. If such a defendant accepts the deal, he will increase the cost to the state as he will be catered for in a jail. On the contrary, if the trial had dragged on until the end, the defendant would have been acquitted and that would have carried no extra cost to the state. There are

Murakami Harukis Norwegian Wood

Murakami Harukis Norwegian Wood Sex and Existence: A Third Choice of Human Existence in Murakami Harukis Norwegian Wood In Norwegian Wood, Murakami Haruki experiments to challenge the mainstream conceptions of sex, love and human existence, that he believes these three elements do not always coordinate with each other; and part of the reason why this novel is so celebrated even today is because it breaks what the media, the society, and the human instinct of being normal. Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life (25) is a famous quote from Norwegian Wood, and it provides a third perception of understanding life and death; similarly, a significant part of the novel discusses the relationship between love and sex, which Murakami sets different characters to perform a third way of human existence with different perspectives. To begin with, the best way to understand Norwegian Wood, is to not consider it as a romantic or teen novel, which normally conveys the idea that love conquers all (Hall Mar.16th); instead, treat it as an analytical novel which discusses the relationship among love, sex and human existence. The biggest reason that Murakami sets the main characters at young ages, such as sets Kizuki at his seventeen (and forever remains seventeen), Naoko at her twenty (and forever remains twenty), and Toru together with Midori at their twenties, is because that for post-pubertal young people, their bodies are mature enough to explore sexual world, but their minds are still not fully corrupted by the harshness outside school life, so that they have the ability to learn how to love by their bodies, yet appreciate love by their pure hearts. Naoko and Midori are two intriguing female characters in Norwegian Wood. Both characters are somehow abnormal, such as Naokos psychological anxiety towards sex, and Midoris unusual behaviour of standing naked in front of her fathers portrait. These behaviours are certainly not seen as standard code of conduct. In order to understand Naoko and Midoris abnormalities, it is important to analyze these two girls contrary views towards sex, life and human existence. In traditional romantic literature, the common plot is that the hero and heroine together overcome many obstacles, and live happily ever after. Since after so many difficulties they have been through, the ending usually ends with them having a blessed life to death for sure, and it is assumed that their sex life will be harmonious as well. However, it is not the case in Norwegian Wood. Naoko has difficulties to have a penetrative sex with her lover Kizuki, but she succeeds in doing it with Toru, though it is the first and the o nly time she gets sexually aroused. Moreover, the reason for Naokos suicide also needs to be noticed, although the reason is made implicit in the novel. However, it is certain that Naoko does not die for love. During the twenty years of Naokos life, she encounters two deaths of her loved ones. The first one is her sisters death. Naokos sister commits suicide at the age of seventeen, and Naoko as an eleven years old child witnesses her sisters dead body. Then six years later, Naokos beloved Kizuki ends his life in the same way, by committing suicide. These two deaths strike Naoko drastically, but not fatally. She manages to get into the college, although avoiding talking about the past when she meets Toru a year after Kizukis death, it is too assertive to conclude Naokos suicide as to either follow her true love, or merely disappointed with the world. There are not many evidences of which event triggers Naoko to commit suicide, but it is for sure that her only climax gives her both t he hope to carry on life, yet in the same time destructs this hope to live. The biggest fear of Naoko is her inability to perform sex with her lover as normal people do. Naoko constantly talks about that night on her twentieth birthday, and keeps question her inability to sex. This once in life sexual experience to Naoko is not only a natural physiological behaviour, but also contains the meaning of life, and this meaning is not merely limited to physiological needs, but being elevated to the meaning of continuing life. The first time Toru visits Naoko at the sanatorium, she speaks of her version of viewing the sexual intercourse with Toru: I [Naoko] was wet from the minute you [Toru] walked into my apartment the night of my twentieth birthday. I wanted you to hold me. I wanted you to take my clothes off and touch me all over and to get inside me. I had never felt like that before. Why is that? Why do things happen that way? I mean, I really loved him [Kizuki]. (112) It makes Naoko so confused that why she and Kizuki never succeed in having a penetrative sex, but why she can have one with Toru; if she loves Kizuki, why her body does not let him in; or is that if she loves Toru, why is she unable to let Toru in for a second time? Naoko keeps pondering over these questions, and the second time Toru visits her, she was less talkative than she had been in the fall (237). When Toru tries to have sex with her again, he discovers that Naoko is still unable to get aroused, and she once again questions her inability to have sex: Why dont I get wet? Naoko murmured. That one time was the only time it ever happened. The day of my twentieth birthday, that April. The night you [Toru] held me in your arms. What is wrong with me? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ What if I never get better? What if I can never have sex for the rest of my life? Can you keep loving me just the same? (239) By shaping a character like Naoko, Murakami raises a hypothesis that what if sexual impulse does not occur coincidentally with love, does it prove that there is a third choice of performing sexless affection or affectionless sex? Whether or not this hypothesis works, Murakami offers a possibility that there could be a third kind of human existence in life, other than having impulsive sex, romantic sex, or no sex life at all. Midori is in the contrary of Naoko. She is described both by herself and by Toru as a real, live girl with blood in her veins (267), and she always seems to be happy and relaxed; however, she is not born to be this optimistic, but rather she chooses to be this way. Similar to Naoko, Midori has a tragic life of losing her loved ones: her grandfather, grandmother, mother and father. Midoris mother dies of cancer, and before her death, she lives in the hospital for almost two years while Midori takes care of her everyday therefore has to delay school. Midoris father loves his wife so deeply, that he says to Midori and her sister, I [Midoris father] would much rather have lost the two of you [Midori and her sister] than her [Midoris mother] (71). Then two years later, her father dies of the same cancer as her mother. Unlike Naoko, Midori is not defeated by so many deaths, instead, she manages to live her life bravely. Every time Midori appears in the story, her activities are not limited to talking: she and Toru often eat together, drink together, she cooks, smokes, and does all kinds of things; whereas for Naoko and Toru, what they mostly do is writing letters and walking. These vigorous activities save Toru from drowning himself with Naokos pain, and Midoris strong vitality symblizes the only oasis in this novel of boundless depressed desert. Midoris vitality puts her in a somewhat awkward position in society, considering the novels setting is in the 1960s Japan; she does not cry at her fathers funeral, she unreservedly discusses sexual fantasies with Toru: asking him to think of her while masturbating, she invites Toru to watch pornography at an adult theatre, and she is never shy of telling Toru her true feelings, of how much she desires him. Midoris independent, modernized characteristics and her value of existence of careless to the normalcy contradicts to Naokos belief of perfect union of sex and love. To conclude these two girls, Naoko stands for the possib ility of a third way of existence between sex and love, and Midori exhibits the possibility of a third existence of living without confinements. Naoko and Midori are like the two opposites of a scale, and Toru is the one to decide which side weighs more. In the first chapter, Toru already makes it clear that what happens in the book are all memories: I [Toru] was thirty-seven then, strapped in my seat as the huge 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport (3), and this chapter ends with the monologue of Naoko never loved me (10). By reading this monologue, it is obvious that even twenty years pass by, Toru is still stuck in the memory of Naokos suicide. Toru tries to save Naoko, by having sex with her, by loving her, but both the efforts of love and sex can not solve Naokos psychological problems, and Toru never gets to understand the world of Naokos. On the other hand, Toru is drawn to Midoris vitality, and Midori always saves him, even at the end of the novel, Toru still seeks help from Midori: again and again, I [Toru] called out for Midori from the dead center of this place that was no place (293). There are four stages of Torus sexual development: to desire sex, to understand sex, to control sex, and to enjoy sex. The first stage of desiring sex, is reflected by the first half of the novel, when Toru starts to have sexual relationships with his first girlfriend in high school, with Naoko, and with other strange girls. Toru starts this relationship without envisaging it because of Kizukis death, since he was unable to find a place for myself [Toru] in the world around me (24), and immediately after graduation, he is devoted to leave Kobe without considering this girls feeling. The desiring of sex happens after Toru having sex with Naoko. As Toru recalls in his letter to Naoko, he honestly writes that the warmth and closeness I [Toru] felt for you [Naoko] at the moment was something I had never experienced before (41). To Toru, this is an extraordinary experience, because the other girls he has sex with are not the ones he has feelings with. Previously, when Toru has sex with st range girls, he always feels empty the next morning after; however, after his sexual intercourse with Naoko, he gets to taste the glamour of reaching climax both physically and mentally, he thereby feels hunger for women bodies: My [Toru] body was hungering for women. All the time I was sleeping with those girls, I though about Naoko, about the white shape of her naked body in the darkness, her sighs, the sound of the rain. The more I thought about these things, the hungrier my body grew (43). The first time when Toru goes to visit Naoko at the sanatorium, Naoko shows him her naked body at night, and it triggers Toru to recall their first night: A sense of imperfection had been what Naokos body had give me [Toru] that night as I tenderly undressed her [Naoko] while she cried à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I [Toru] am having intercourse with you [Naoko] now. I am inside you. But really this is nothing. It doesnt matter. It is nothing but the joining of two bodies. All we are doing is telling each other things that can only be told by the rubbing together of two imperfect lumps of flesh. By doing this, we are sharing our imperfection. (131) This whole passage of imperfection that Toru speaks forms a contrast to Naokos perfection theory, Naoko insists that if she is going to see Toru again, she wants her body to be clean of all this when I [Naoko] meet him [Toru] (246), and this hints Torus incomprehension of Naokos world. The second stage of Torus sexual development is to understand sex. Since Toru experiences several sexual activities with strange girls, he tastes the loneliness and emptiness that come after climax; at the same time, he knows that Naoko is getting further away from him after them having sex. Toru gets hurt by sex, and therefore, he chooses to not to have sex with Midori, because he realizes that youre [Midori] the best friend Ive [Toru] got now à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I dont want to lose you (250). The third stage of Torus sexual development is to control sex. Toru passes the first two stages, he becomes more familiar with sex, just like tobacco, and he does not want to be controlled by it. As he says to Midori, I [Toru] dont like having something [smoke] control me that way (70), and same for sex, he does not wish to let sexual impulses to overtake his love towards both Naoko and Midori; instead, he wants to remember that momentary experience he has with Naoko, and his commitment to Midori, so he does not let him have sex with other girls.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   The second time Toru and Midori lie down in the same bed, he still suppresses his thought of having sex with Midori, because he finds out that he falls in love with Midori: I [Toru] loved Midori, and I was happy that she had come back to me. The two of us could make it [having sex], that was certain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It had been all I could do to suppress the intense desire I had to strip her [Midori] naked, throw open her body, and sink myself in her warmth à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I loved Midori. And I had probably known as much for a while. I had just been avoiding the conclusion for a very long time. (267) The fourth stage of Torus sexual development is to enjoy sex. In the last chapter of Norwegian Wood, Toru has sex with Reiko. This time, their sex is relaxed, enjoyable, and meaningful. As Murakamis hypothesis of sex could be based on love, and it could also be independent without love, the sex between Toru and Reiko is the best proof to make this hypothesis established. To conclude Torus character as a whole, he represents Murakamis perception that sex is the basic element that exists in life, and it can be independent without love. Only with this view implanted to Torus character, he can love Naoko and Midori without the disturbance of sexual desire, and gives both Reiko and himself a new start with sex. The traditional treatment of sex in literature is to either blur or eliminate its description, in order to weaken its influence on love; whereas in Murakami Harukis Norwegian Wood, his descriptions of sex is simple but explicit, which declares his perception to sex as modernized and positive. Norwegian Wood starts with an end, and ends with a start, this paradoxical beginning and ending fits the life death opposite theory proposed in the book perfectly. By offering these paradoxes, Murakami offers a third choice of human existence, that his ideal lifestyle is never a two-point and one-line dynamic; instead, by examining and combining the extreme commonness and abnormality, a third choice of living is formed. No matter what this third existence is, it is a lifestyle that is unique, as Reiko says What makes us most normal, is knowing that were not normal (148). Word count: 2599 Works Cited Hall, Nick. ASIA 364 Modern Japanese Literature 1868 the Present. University of British Columbia. 16 March 2017. Class notes. Murakami, Haruki. Norwegian Wood. Trans. Jay Rubin. New York: Vintage International, 2000. Print.

Australia: A Happy Place! Essay example -- Australia Essays

Australia conjures up thoughts in one’s head of a country, and a continent, where kangaroos and koalas roam freely, and where people are generally laid-back. This assumption of happiness of the Australian people is even supported by the World Database of Happiness Rank Report 2014, which ranks Australia’s happiness at a 7.3 out of 10, an extremely high number. One can only wonder, then, what does make Australia one of the happiest countries on Earth? Many factors can go into deciding what exactly makes the citizens of a country the happiest. In Australia’s case, however, location, size, and other various points help to create a country that is almost perfectly content. Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere in the Pacific Ocean. Although Australia is near Indonesia and New Zealand, this continent is basically stranded in the middle of the ocean, with no other continents close. This large amount of space in between Australia and the other countries can lead one to believe that the location has a large amount to do with Australia’s happiness rating. Countries that are extremely close together, such as Zimbabwe, Ukraine, and Jordan, have a much lower happiness rating, according to the World Database of Happiness. Australia is not landlocked, which always has a great deal to do with the citizens’ happiness, seeing as though the majority of the population lives on the eastern and southeastern coast of Australia (â€Å"Australia,† n.d.). Weather is another factor that can greatly affect the moods of people all around the world. Australia’s weather varies greatly around the country, from tropical to Mediterranean an d even desert-like climates (â€Å"Australia-Geography and Climate,† n.d.). In the southeastern part, though, ... .... Retrieved October 9, 2011, from http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States List of United States cities by population. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population Peen J., Schoevers R.A., Beekman A.T., Dekker J. (2009, July 13). The current status of urban-rural differences in psychiatric disorders. Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information website: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19624573 Still healthy, wealthy and wise – but dropping in productivity. (2011). Retrieved from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/5BD0CF73B112325CCA25792000141D51?Opendocument Tiffen, R., & Gittins, R. (2009). How Australia compares (2nd edition). Cambridge, GBR: Cambridge University Press.

A Reflection On Modern Medicine Essay

The Hippocratic Oath is a promise in essence â€Å"to do no harm† made by a new doctor before becoming a practicing physician. The oath has been a standard of the medical community for several centuries. It remains just as meaningful and valid today as when Hippocrates wrote it in 400 BC. Medical ethics in today’s modern society has become very blurry and hard to understand (Price 1). It is not the oath that has acquired a more complicated meaning. It is the practice of medicine that has become more complex. Presently, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for doctors to discern good medicine from bad medicine. In our current society political correctness, policy, and politics have come to define good medicine as opposed to what is best for the patient. Over a century ago, H. G. Wells was criticized for his novel The Island of Doctor Moreau written in 1896. Literary critics and the general public were appalled by the atrocities depicted in the text. Contemporary authors, physicians, and scientists could not fathom the cruel behavior of Doctor Moreau. And it was easy to see that Dr. Moreau was practicing bad medicine and had broken his vow ‘to do now harm. ’ The Island of Doctor Moreau was a novel written late in 1896 by H. G. Wells. The plot seems relatively simple and typical of a science fiction novel. A young civil servant is the sole survivor of shipwreck. He is found floating along side the island of Doctor Moreau who rescues him. The young man has no knowledge that Doctor Moreau has fled from his home nation fearing charges of animal cruelty. Upon first impressions, the young man falls in love with the island. Slowly he remembers stories about Dr. Moreau and the horrors he created. The lush fauna and sandy beaches are exciting and new to him. To paraphrase John S. Partington, in The Death of the Static: H. G. Wells and the Kinetic Utopia, Dr. Moreau’s island was like Eden, Dr. Moreau was God, and Prendick was like Adam. When curiosity gets the best of him he wanders deep into the overgrowth and what he finds there is deeply shocking. Doctor Moreau is using a process called vivisection to create a hybrid of animal and human. His research goal is to make man be absent of evil. In the end Moreau is killed and the young man, Prendick, escapes and lives to tell the tale. To gain a better understanding of the novel and the beliefs of H. G. Wells it is important to look at the prevailing scientific knowledge of the time in which the novel was written. The late 19th century was when Darwin first made known his theories of evolution and survival of the fittest. Darwin believed that all species including humans, change with time. In time when God was the creator of all, the idea of evolution and our link to other species was very disturbing to the general public. H. G. Wells was a contemporary writer of this time. In two of his most famous novels, The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau, he investigates the conflict between nature and God. In summary, H. G. Wells was not just an author but also a trained biologist. What could be more frightening than an island of beasts butchered by a mad scientist. Dr. Moreau does not just alter the bodies but using plastic surgery to make them appear human but also their minds (Mclean). He has them recite the laws he created. The gather together and chant â€Å"Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law. Are we not Men? † But that is not the worst of it. After the chanting of the Law comes the hymn of praise to their Creator: His is the House of Pain. His is the Hand that makes. His is the Hand that wounds. His is the Hand that heals. His is the lightning-flash. His is the deep salt sea. His are the stars in the sky†¦. To summarize Freeman Dyson point in his book titled Disturbing the Universe, a biologist like Wells has had to confront the idea, can the scientific community play god and if so, can they stay sane (Dyson 111). Can the scientific community remain objected and no let the power of life, death, and creation which is left in their hands go to their heads. If the answer is no, than the lesson is learned, and Dr. Moreau is what will be produced. A man who knows no ethical boundaries, who believes he is more powerful than God. Much of H. G. Wells writing explores the idea of what are the implications of modern biology gone wrong. By allowing people and animals to be altered, even if it is treatment for their â€Å"own good† the human race will loose two important anchors- our sense of identity, and the brotherhood of mankind. These two things keep us sane and of course any visitor to The Island of Dr. Moreau looses these completely. Certainly, Prendick does, he must fight for his life and kill, an activity he would never do had he not wandered upon the Doctor’s Island. The scientific community has come a long way since 1896. The knowledge of DNA, we know in detail how life is produced and reproduced. Whoever can read the DNA language can also learn to write it. Whoever learns to write the language will in time learn to design living creatures according to his whim. Presently, the public should fear not the crude Dr. Moreau’s with knives but the young, bright zoologist sitting at his computer cloning an extinct animal, or splicing genes in and out the human genome to create a superior human. Though it was science-fiction in 1896, Wells’ novel is frighteningly close to science today. The issues he pressed in this novel are still current. Even more so because the lines of what constitutes harm are very blurry. What Doctor Moreau did was wrong but aren’t plastic surgeons modern versions of Doctor Moreau? Except clients actually pay them to slice them up and make them more perfect humans. In 2003 there were 8. 7 million cosmetic plastic surgeries. This number is up 32% from 2002 (Hill). What Doctor Moreau did was wrong but aren’t therapists taking advantage of a nation’s worth of people who are â€Å"emotionally underdeveloped, psychically frail, and requiring the ministrations of mental health professionals to cope with life’s vicissitudes. Being â€Å"in touch with one’s feelings† and freely expressing them have become paramount personal virtues. Today-with a book for every ailment, a counselor for every crisis, a lawsuit for every grievance, and a TV show for every conceivable problem-we are at risk of degrading our native ability to cope with life’s challenges. † (Sommers). Is that any worse then Doctor Moreau solution of having his pseudo humans chant the rules of being human? Sally Satel who wrote Victimizing the ‘Victims’, which is the commentary exploring how political correctness in the medical profession is hindering the quality of patient care people receive. In summary Satel says, the goals of the public health sector have changed from using science to improve people’s lives to a â€Å"global ideology to manipulate the way people think about disease and its remedies. † The change is not for the better. Today, she argues, victimology is one of the biggest trends in medicine. There is a trend in the medical world to look at connection as the cause and make diagnoses accordingly. For example, it’s true that wealthier people tend to be healthier. But can you assume that poverty is responsible for higher levels of disease among the poor? Are the poor incapable of helping themselves? Well, yes, argue leading â€Å"indoctrinologists,† as Satel calls the backers of poltically correct medicine. Which is why two health experts could write in the American Journal for Public Health, â€Å"we must address the social inequalities that so reliably produce† these inequalities in health (Satel). HMO’s offer a similar problem. To paraphrase Sarah Cay Bradley viewpoint with the increase of HMO’s there has been a drastic decrease in how much Americans spend on healthcare, also decreasing is the quality of healthcare people are receiving. Doctors are forced to follow the rules of their demanding HMO partners. Even if what is in the best interest of the patient does not follow those rules. There are several cost effective policies that physicians are required to follow today. One concept is time is money, the quicker a doctor gets a patient out the more money that is saved. Doctors always seem to be in a hurry spending very little time actually speaking to their patients. Which can lead to misdiagnosis or overlooked health problems. Political correctness, policy, and politics drive the current scientific and medical communities. Instead of producing healthcare professionals who are compassionate and reflective, they produce professionals can simply follow instructions. Just because doctors today are following the rules set forth for them by insurance companies, and the government does not mean they are practicing good medicine. Perhaps they too, like Doctor Moreau, have forgotten their oath ‘to do no harm’ and replaced it with the creed ‘make more money. ’ In 1896 H. G. Wells, pondered in text, the â€Å"what ifs† of what could go wrong with modern medicine and science. The public rebuked his rather blunt commentary as foolishness and vulgarity. A hundred years later, Dr. Moreau has become the norm. Works Cited Dyson, Freeman. Disturbing the Universe. New York: Basic Books, 1979. Questia. 10 Dec. 2005 . Hill, Theresa. â€Å"More Than 8. 7M Cosmetic Plastic Surgeries in 2003, Up 32 Pct. Over 2002; For 12th Year, American Society of Plastic Surgeons Reports Statistics. † US New Wire Service. 8 March 2004. 09 Dec. 2005 . Mclean, Steven. â€Å"W. Warren Mclean. H. G. Wells: Traversing Time. † Utopian Studies 16. 2 (2005): 320+. Questia. 10 Dec. 2005 .

10 Silicon Facts (Element Number 14 or Si)

10 Silicon Facts (Element Number 14 or Si) Silicon is element number 14 on the periodic table, with the element symbol Si. Here is a collection of facts about this interesting and useful element: Silicon Fact Sheet Credit for discovering silicon is given to  Swedish chemist Jà ¶ns Jakob Berzelius, who reacted potassium fluorosilicate with potassium to produce amorphous silicon, which he named silicium, a name first proposed by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808. The name derives from the Latin words silex or silicis, which mean flint. Its probable English scientist Humphry Davy may have isolated impure silicon in 1808 and  French chemists Joseph L. Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thà ©nard may have produced impure amorphous silicon in 1811. Berzelius is credited for the elements discovery because his sample was purified by repeatedly washing it, while earlier samples were impure.Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson named the element silicon in 1831, keeping part of the name Berzelius had given, but changing the ending of the name to -on because the element showed more similarities to boron and carbon than to the metals that had -ium names.Silicon is a metalloid, which means it has properties of both metals and nonmetals. Like other metalloids, silicon has different forms or allotropes. Amorphous silicon is usually seen as a gray powder, while crystalline silicon is a gray solid with a shiny, metallic appearance. Silicon conducts electricity better than nonmetals, yet not as well as metals. In other words, its a semiconductor. Silicon has a high thermal conductivity and conducts heat well.  Unlike metals, its brittle, and not malleable or ductile. Like carbon, it usually has a valence of 4 (tetravalent), but unlike carbon, silicon can also form five or six bonds.   Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth by mass, making up over 27% of the crust. Its commonly encountered in silicate minerals, such as quartz and sand, but only rarely occurs as a free element. Its the 8th most abundant element in the universe, found at levels of about 650 parts per million. Its the principal element in a type of meteorite called aerolites.Silicon is needed for plant and animal life. Some aquatic organisms, such as diatoms, use the element to construct their skeletons. Humans need silicon for healthy skin, hair, nails, and bones, and to synthesize the proteins collagen and elastin. Dietary supplementation with silicon may increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.Most silicon is used to produce the alloy ferrosilicon. Its used to produce steel. The element is purified to make semiconductors and other electronics. The compound silicon carbide is an important abrasive. Silicon dioxide is used to make glass. Because silicate minerals are c ommon, silicon oxides form rocks and are used to make glass and ceramics. Like water (and unlike most chemicals), silicon has a higher density as a liquid than as a solid.Natural silicon consists of three stable isotopes: silicon-28, silicon-29, and silicon-30. Silicon-28 is the most abundant, accounting for 92.23% of the natural element. At least twenty radioisotopes are also known, with the most stable being silicon-32, which has a half-life of 170 years.Miners, stone cutters, and people who live in sandy regions may inhale large quantities of silicon compounds and develop a lung disease called silicosis. Exposure to silicon may occur by inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, and eye contact. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets the legal limit for workplace exposure to silicon to  15  mg/m3  total exposure and 5  mg/m3  respiratory exposure for an 8-hour workday.Silicon is available at extremely high purity. Molten salt electrolysis of silica (silicon dioxide) or other silicon compounds can be used to obtain the element at 99.9% purity for use in semiconductors. The Siemens process is another method used to produce high purity silicon. This is a form of chemical vapor deposition where gaseous trichlorosilane is blown across a pure silicon rod to grow polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) with a purity of 99.9999%.   Silicon Atomic Data Element Name: Silicon Element Symbol: Si Atomic Number: 14 Classification: metalloid (semimetal) Appearance: Hard gray  solid with a silver metallic luster. Atomic Weight: 28.0855 Melting Point:  1414  oC, 1687 K Boiling Point:  3265  oC, 3538 K Electron Configuration:  1s2  2s2  2p6  3s2  3p2 Density: 2.33  g/cm3 (as a solid near room temperature); 2.57 g/cm3 (as a liquid at the melting point) Oxidation States: 4, 3, 2, 1, -1, -2, -3, -4 Electronegativity: 1.90 on the Pauling scale Atomic Radius: 111 pm Crystal Structure: face-centered diamond cubic Heat of Fusion: 50.21 kJ/mol Heat of Vaporization: 383 kJ/mol Reference Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.

Presidential Retirement Benefits

Presidential Retirement Benefits Presidential retirement benefits were non-existent until the enactment of the Former Presidents Act (FPA) in 1958. Since then, presidential retirement benefits have included a lifetime annual pension, staff and office allowances, travel expenses, Secret Service protection, and more. The FPA was inspired by former President Harry Trumans life of modest means after leaving office. Though Truman lived well more than a decade after the acts passage, it didnt apply him. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower became its first beneficiary. Pension Former presidents are offered a taxable lifetime pension equal to the annual rate of basic pay for the heads of executive branch departments, like the Cabinet Secretaries. This amount is set annually by Congress and is currently  $210,700  per year. The pension starts the minute the president officially leaves office at noon on Inauguration Day. Widows of former presidents are provided with a $20,000 annual lifetime pension and mailing privileges  unless they choose to waive their right to the pension. In 1974, the Justice Department ruled that presidents who resign from office before their official terms of office expire are entitled to the same lifetime pension and benefits extended to other former presidents. However, presidents who are removed from office due to impeachment forfeit all benefits. Transition Expenses For the first seven months, beginning one month before the January 20 inauguration, former presidents get transition funding to help them transition back into private life. Granted under the Presidential Transition Act, the funds can be used for office space, staff compensation, communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition. The amount provided is determined by Congress. Staff and Office Allowances Six months after a president leaves office, they get funds for an office staff. During the first 30 months after leaving office, the former president gets a maximum of $150,000 per year for this purpose. Thereafter, the Former Presidents Act stipulates that the aggregate rates of staff compensation for a former president cannot exceed $96,000 annually. Any additional staff costs must be paid for personally by the former president. Former presidents are compensated for office space and office supplies at any location in the United States. Funds for former presidents office space and equipment are authorized annually by Congress as part of the budget for the General Services Administration (GSA). Travel Expenses Under a law enacted in 1968, the GSA makes funds available to former presidents and no more than two of their staff members for travel and related expenses. To be compensated, the travel must be related to the former presidents status as an official representative of the United States government. Travel for pleasure is not compensated. The GSA determines all appropriate costs for travel. Secret Service Protection With the enactment of the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6620), on Jan. 10, 2013, former presidents and their spouses receive Secret Service protection for their lifetimes. Under the Act, protection for the spouses of former presidents terminates in the event of remarriage. Children of former presidents receive protection until they reach age 16. The Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 reversed a law enacted in 1994 that terminated Secret Service protection for former presidents 10 years after they left office. Richard Nixon is the only former president to have given up his Secret Service protection. He did so in 1985 and paid for his own security, saying his reason was to save the government money. (The savings were estimated to be about $3 million a year.) Medical Expenses Former presidents and their spouses, widows, and minor children are entitled to treatment in military hospitals. Former presidents and their dependents also have the option of enrolling in private health insurance plans at their own expense. State Funerals Former presidents are traditionally granted state funerals with military honors. Details of the funeral are based on the wishes of the former presidents family. Failed Attempt to Cut Retirement In April 2015, Congress passed a bill titled The Presidential Allowance Modernization Act, which would have capped the pensions of all former and future former presidents at $200,000 and removed the current provision in the Former Presidents Act linking presidential pensions to the annual salaries of cabinet secretaries. The bill would have also reduced the other allowances paid to former presidents. Annual pensions and allowances would have been limited to a total of no more than $400,000. But on July 22, 2016, President Barack Obama vetoed the bill stating it â€Å"would impose onerous and unreasonable burdens on the offices of former presidents.† In a press release, the White House added that Obama also objected to provisions of the bill that would â€Å"immediately terminate salaries and all benefits to staffers carrying out the official duties of former presidents- leaving no time or mechanism for them to transition to another payroll.†Ã¢â‚¬â€¹

Intl management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intl management - Assignment Example This leads to a cultural diversity within the company, which requires proper organizational management as well as cultural accommodation among all stakeholders. As a manager who has great knowledge about diversity of cultures as well as cross-cultural integration, I am able to bring all these diverse cultures together in order to achieve a cultural integration within the organization that leads to proper productivity. Furthermore, my skills in cross-cultural management will also enable me to influence other employees within the company to accommodate cultural differences of their fellow employees. This would lead to a religious and cultural accommodation of all members of staff whereby no one would look down upon the cultural background of others, or despise their religion. In fact, this would closely integrate the company in such a way that there would be no conflicts arising from ill opinion of workers expressed against the cultures or religious backgrounds of their fellow workers, or based on any other feature. As such, this would lead to increased cooperation and enhanced productivity within the company, hence profitability maximization. ... b.  What impact do you want to have? On whom?    I want to influence the entire company as a whole by enabling all members of the organization to be able to accommodate all people from different cultural backgrounds and settings. For instance, I want all employees to integrate properly with one another despite their different backgrounds and incorporate the virtues from their select groups in order to create a formidable production team at the company. c.  Whom do you want to know you benefited? In what ways? Apart from the general success that the organization will record as a whole due to the integration of different cultures, I would particularly want to influence the management team. This is because the management or leadership of a given company is what determines whether a company stays united as one or splits down into two or more pieces basing on cultural differences and other factors. As such, being part of the management team, I would use my position to work at integr ating different cultures within the organization and prove to the executive team that all cultures have the same output. d.  What do you want to learn? I want to learn how to mix different cultures and still have the same people without facing cultural discriminations, or breakages along any differential lines. This is because all persons carry the same equality despite their backgrounds or cultural affiliations. e.  How do you define your impact as a/n: employee, leader, manager, executive, etc.? As an executive, I define my influence in the company as monumental since cultural differences sometimes bring about serious conflicts and destruction of property and lives. For instance, in

Report on the analysis of the workplace behavior of Western Sydney Essay

Report on the analysis of the workplace behavior of Western Sydney - Essay Example Therefore the promotion of Carlene is appropriate. This therefore means that Carlene has a duty of meeting the requirements of Western Sydney, which is something she has proven to be capable of right from her position at the middle rank. Although Western Sydney is the main revenue generator for the group, it is worthwhile for them to put Carlene there as the CEO since she has the qualities necessary to steer the company to meet the requirements they have. Her one-month work at Western Sydney was a good point to get her to familiarize herself with the work environment and make changes as and when necessary. Carlene's identification of the stagnation and the traditionalist approach used by the Western Sydney was her justification for the alteration of the subsidiary's strategy from a conservative one to a more profitable business model that will generate profits. This is therefore the impetus for the need to change certain structures in different departments of Western Sydney, includin g the Operations Department where it can be logically inferred that the Operations Manager is maintaining a very traditionalist and authoritative structure which supports the stagnation identified by Carlene. There is therefore the need for the MD to give Carlene all the necessary support to attain this to ensure that Western Sydney, the cash cow of the group remains productive into the future. In the confrontation between the Operations Manager and the junior staff member, Carlene was using the mild form of disciplinary action in organizations, counseling to try to assert the fact that the Operations Manager went too far by physically assaulting the junior staff member. Assertive behavior is where an individual tries to justify,... The Operations Manager is undoubtedly a very experienced individual in what he does. He seem to have the competencies necessary to move the company to its strategic destination. All other individuals working at the company this therefore makes him a rare individual and a vital part of any progressive activity that they would be involved in. Such an individual needs to be included in the strategy of the organization even if he has some excesses as this operations manager seem to have. The Operations Manager seem to be in independent minded individual who always wants to do things according to a given plan or target. This is evident in the fact that the previous CEO stated that he is able to work within budget and meet targets. This presents the OM as a traditionalist who always works according to laid down principles and procedures. He appears to be a disciplined person and a disciplinarian who treasures authoritative systems and structures.